The images that are shown on the cloud are “archived
footage of time-honored traditions such as the Corp of Cadets, the Aggie Band,
Kyle Field traditions, and past Aggie graduations.” In addition to past
memories, the cloud has the ability to show a “real-time feed of everyday
student life” from a closely mounted camera by the flag room in the MSC. By
incorporating this real-time video feed, the Memory Cloud is able to involve
the students into the art form and bridge the gap between the culture of the University’s
past with its absolute present culture.
This is interesting in regards to culture because
this art form itself encapsulates the culture not only of today’s tech savvy technology
era, but it shows how Texas A&M’s culture continues to change and evolve,
much like in my last post I explored how music seems to evolve. When some people
mention Texas A&M University, they think about the Corps as the Memory
Cloud mentions. When my Grandfather went to Texas A&M the only students
allowed were males and they were all in the Corps. The Corps, itself is a very
traditional aspect of A&M, but much has changed since he went there. Today,
A&M is a co-ed university that not only has a Corps of Cadets, but also
non-corps students. Besides allowing a co-ed non-military student base, A&M
has become one of the top research institutions in the United States and offers
education in a vast amount of disciplines. However, with all of these changes
the core values of Texas A&M are the same and so are its traditions! With
this Memory Cloud, the University is not only trying to express its enthusiasm
for our culture past and present, but also for the advances in science and
technology.
http://tamutimes.tamu.edu/2013/02/18/traditions-depicted-in-art-when-memory-cloud-opens/
It awesome to use what we have to solidify what we believe in. it is very easy to let go of the past when new flashes of interest slip in. But its even more endearing to use this new flashes of interest to solidify what was believed in and not change it. Culture is awesome, let it stay that way.
ReplyDeleteI like your insightful observation that "the Memory Cloud is able to involve the students into the art form and bridge the gap between the culture of the University’s past with its absolute present culture." This piece certainly seems to do that. It also really fits in with the "participatory culture" of the twenty-first century where everyday people are "creators."
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about the Memory Cloud from your point of view because you did a nice job in explaining the significane of the art and what it represents. It's crazy to think about how much Texas A&M has changed in three generations and all the possible changes that could be made in the future but you're right, the core values will never change no matter how much the culture around and in it changes. The Memory Cloud does do a good job in linking the past to the present and showing that at Texas A&M the two will always be connected through the core values, which is why it is such a cool piece of artwork.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that you posted a blog about the memory cloud because I've been wondering how it works and what all it does, so this is particularly exciting for me to finally understand. I didn't know that the cloud also displayed images of the past as well, so I do agree that is a very interesting way to keep the traditional older culture of A&Mope to alive and present for everyone to see. I really enjoy this piece of art and hope to one day see it work in person, or better, take the time to stop and appreciate it.
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