Week 1 Reading Response

How might the open source system of sharing and collective narrative be a creative inspiration and useful approach for your work as an artist or designer? 

The open source system was created in part to subvert the limitations presented by intellectual property legal rights, and the construction of a collective platform for the sharing and compilation of knowledge. As an artist in the making, this open source system of sharing allows me to reference other artworks of both more established artists and my common peers, and be able to understand and pace myself as an individual against the common ground. Art is interpreted on different measures of understanding; the strength of the open source system as a platform to gather artists and thus different opinions and thinking styles, if utilised effectively, can be a resounding force to help artists, or specifically, me, to gather public opinion, and sought critiques which I believe is an essential process in honing oneself as an artist.

Screenshot: Comments from a previous project idea posted on oss; both commenters highlighted issues which I did not think of
Screenshot: Comments from a previous project idea posted on oss; both commenters highlighted issues which I did not think of

On a similar note, while the benefits of Open Source system is definitely admirable, one cannot help but to wonder if there are certain downsides to it. Open source projects which have currently been realised include Blender, Processing, and FastPokeMaps.se. FastPokeMaps however, met an unfortunate downfall when main developer Waryas allowed access to the code for a privileged few, but the code got leaked, and the project was ultimately stopped as a result. As a budding creator, while the open source system is helpful, I feel the need to be wary about the artwork/information I put up on the collaborative platform. Ultimately, this may defeat the purpose of the open; perhaps what we need is a synthesis of both safeguards, and responsible usage. For the starting artist though, the open source system will definitely be a good starting point for her.

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Tania

is a budding creator who works with digital technologies, and investigates the human thought process through her installations.

6 thoughts on “Week 1 Reading Response”

  1. Fascinating insight, Tania! I find it interesting that you mentioned feeling the need to be wary about the artwork/information you place on OSS. What do you anticipate could happen with the the artwork/information? Can you think of a scenario? Thanks.

    1. Hi Alvin, in general, there is the risk of the stealing of ideas or projects from the originator, but at the same time it is definitely also up to the uploader to take responsibility for whatever he posts. Should personal information be revealed unintentionally, privacy would be compromised.

  2. I see. That’s why collaboration is way better than stealing. Lol.

    Do you know if anyone has stolen ideas from OSS, or perhaps used them without referencing the student’s work?

  3. Thanks for this insight Tania! With the open source system, it is tricky to know what and how our information should be sent across not just for creativity purposes but also security reasoning.

  4. I also appreciate your critique of open source thinking and openness, when it is sometimes jeopardized by intentional appropriation and sometimes misuse. Of course that is the tension between open source and proprietary, it really does require a self-imposed honor system that is focused on the common good. Ultimately, as you point out, open source thinking is extremely valuable because how else can we learn if don’t share information. Open Source communities have in fact imposed systems of filtering and copyright as touched on in the article, such as in Wikipedia.

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