- New folk media
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New Folk Media is a developing movement in experimental film and video art which is concerned with the use of existing media for artistic expression without regard for copyright or ownership. The movement traces its roots in Joseph Cornell and his film Rose Hobart and other found footage films. It can also be traced to Sergei Eisenstein's aborted film project Que Viva Mexico which has been edited by countless filmmakers and artists including Kenneth Anger. Other early examples that have influenced the development of New Folk Media can be found in the works of Bruce Conner, Jonas Mekas, Ken Jacobs, Craig Baldwin and Kenneth Anger.
New Folk Media is a reaction to the growing ownership of every form of media. Practitioners of New Folk Media consider existing media to be the same as paint or words that can be used by the artist to create a new work.
New Folk Media is also often concerned with issues such as post-colonialism and ownership of culture. Often the works involve world cultural events that are broadcast on television, but according to practitioners of New Folk Media are not truly owned by anyone because they are part of world culture. Through there works this group of artists seek to represent these televised cultural events in a personal way, creating a new meaning for the media as it relates to their own experience of the event.
Youtube can be seen as part of the New Folk Media movement, as many videos are mash-ups of pre-existing content given new meaning. Snakes on a Plane is also considered by some to have some relationship to New Folk Media, although there is no consensus regarding its inclusion in the movement.
The earliest definitive examples of the movement include Inauguration (2004), Brooklyn Waterfront/North Sixth (2004) and Televised Pope Funeral (2004).
Other influences on the movement include the sampling in music such as the KLF and Negativeland.
New Folk Media is also seen as a descendant of Pop Art and Post-Modernism, but it is generally considered a 21st Century art movement.
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