Reading Responses #2



Reading responses on assigned readings will be due throughout the semester as posts to your Research Blog. The responses will consist of three-paragraph statements on the readings or screenings, answering the following three questions (one paragraph per question):

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.


I chose "Sound, Art, Music?: Searching For A Personal Aesthetic" by Aaron Ximm for m reading response. My reasoning for choosing this article is simple. I know that he is coming to UW-Milwaukee for our Experimentations With Sound class so I wanted to make sure to read it (plus the teacher did ask us too). Because of this it is very important to understand him and his work so I can better understand him when he comes to class.


2. What are the main points of the essay?

I think the most important point of his essay is to not limit yourself to a certain part of a field of study. He talked about how he uses the title of Sound Artist to describe what he is because it both gives him a chance to do multiple things for other people and it does not stop him in his own endeavors. Through these"infusements" of ideas he is able to further his learning experiences. He uses both sound and visual components which take different types of thinkers so it forces himself to adapt and change on many levels. 



3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

For me, his main point about not limiting yourself in a field of study struck home. I am somebody who is "I want to make full length movies"! Nothing more, nothing less. Anything else is just a failure. But this is a very interesting idea that Zimm brings up. This idea that by not limiting yourself in the field your pursuit you are really going to gain a better understanding of things. He even talks near the end that by not understanding all of these things the work you do becomes unenjoyable. That is something I don't want to happen to me. Filmmaking is such a big part of the way I move around my world that for it to become unenjoyable would put a metaphorical dagger in my heart.