Sat 1/22: Net Art Exhibition and Hands-On Workshop at New Langton Arts

Subvert Big Brother data collection and reclaim your digital identity at this artist-led workshop …

WORKSHOP/ARTISTS’ TALK

Zapped!
Beatriz da Costa, Jamie Schulte and Brooke Singer
Saturday January 22, 8 pm
$5/$3 members, students, seniors

New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom, SF

New Langton Arts presents Zapped!, a participatory workshop with machine artist Beatriz da Costa, robotics engineer Jamie Schulte and digital media artist Brooke Singer. The workshop is presented in conjunction with Cyphorg Citizens and Unwitting Avatars, a net art exhibition at www.newlangtonarts.org which charts the shifting boundaries between individual, corporate, and civic spaces in an era where techniques of personal data collection threaten an all-out assault on the privacy of citizens. The Zapped! workshop is a hands-on exploration of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) technology, a new method of electronically tracking people and products. Workshop guests make their own RFID detector keychains which light up, vibrate or make sounds when a RFID reader is within range. Participants may also wear items from the Zapped! fiberoptic clothing line, which light up when in proximity to an RFID reader.


RFID technology is used to tag merchandise, airport luggage, library books, pharmaceuticals, military equipment, and possibly in the near future, currency, postage stamps and cell phones. The devices consist of a small microchip and antenna which allow a tagged object to be read at a distance. Privacy issues arise when a person unknowingly carrying a tagged pbject may be “zapped” for information without notification or consent. This allows for potential tracking and information gathering that goes far beyond the alleged goal of inventory management.


The Artists
Beatriz Da Costa is a machine artist and tactical media practitioner. She has worked with Critical Art Ensemble and has taken part in the development and implementation of various bio-tech initiatives and models of contestational science. Da Costa's work has been exhibited at the New Museum, New York; ISEA, Japan; and the World Information Organization, Belgrade. She recently joined the faculty of University of California, Irvine as an Assistant Professor of Studio Art, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She lives in Long Beach, California.

Jamie Schulte is an engineer interested in designing systems that engage human aesthetics, culture and politics. He is currently a robotics researcher at Stanford University. Schulte earned Masters degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering and in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining from Carnegie Mellon University. He has exhibited work throughout the United States as well as Canada, Germany, Austria, England and Brazil. He lives in San Francisco.

Brooke Singer is a digital media artist and arts organizer who has exhibited work throughout the United States and abroad, including at the Biennale de Montreal; Break 2.2 Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Subtle Technologies, University of Toronto, Canada; FILE 2002 Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil; and SIGGRAPH 2002. In conjunction with NYCwireless, Singer co-produces "Art in the Wireless Park" events, bringing networked art off the screen and into public spaces. She was recently appointed Assistant Professor of New Media at SUNY Purchase, New York. She lives in Brooklyn.

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NET ART online at www.newlangtonarts.org
Cyphorg Citizens and Unwitting Avatars
Lucas Bambozzi, Radical Software Group and Brooke Singer
January 19 - February 19, 2005


Digital media artists Lucas Bambozzi, Radical Software Group and Brooke Singer examine the shifting boundaries between individual, corporate and civic spaces in an online exhibition that explores the invisible bread crumb trails we leave behind as we shop, drive and surf the web.

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