Remix Project Response

The remix project that stood out the most to me among the class submissions was Owen Ito's re-dub/sub of a 1930's Christmas Carol. Part of the appeal was how it shared a 'lost-in-translation' theme with my own remix project. I always enjoy how a simple shift in language can have such a dramatic impact on the context of any piece. To communicate eloquently and articulate complex ideas and feelings in one language is fascinating enough but to do so across multiple languages is nothing short of brilliant. I appreciated the irony of how Owen changed the audible context of the original piece through the written form of its original language. By simply converting what was once heard to something that is now read opens an infinite number new directions to be explored/exploited.

It brings into the focus the age-old question of what is truly original in art and literature anymore? When someone calls something new is it truly new and original or a remix of something that was done before? If the answer is the latter then every new work of art or literature is in reality a remix of something from the past. But that brings another question to light. Was there one piece that was the absolute and truly original form from which all subsequent remixes were derived? Or was there a core set of THE original ideas (i.e. multiple originals) from which multiples of remixes spawned from? Either way this is a philosophical question that may never be answered.