b0timati0n (2000)

Programmers used to be nerds - now they're cool. Uebergeek wanted to be a rock star but couldn't play an instrument. Now it doesn't matter - she can program... No longer is Uebergeek hopelessly lost in the world of pop culture: pop culture has gone geeky - from the clerical performances of laptop techno to feature films you can view without leaving the comfort of your desk. Work is now leisure, and leisure is work. Coffeehouse culture is lattes and laptops. And at the center of this new culture is the search engine; it's not just the TV Guide of the internet anymore - it's the MTV. Except that MTV is now RealityTV. Well anyway....

Uebergeek is The Live Internet VJ for the Geek Age. Armed with air mouse, vintage Mattel Power Glove, and swanky clothes, Uebergeek (Amy Alexander) performs a search engine. She inputs a search term to the ...

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Programmers used to be nerds - now they're cool. Uebergeek wanted to be a rock star but couldn't play an instrument. Now it doesn't matter - she can program... No longer is Uebergeek hopelessly lost in the world of pop culture: pop culture has gone geeky - from the clerical performances of laptop techno to feature films you can view without leaving the comfort of your desk. Work is now leisure, and leisure is work. Coffeehouse culture is lattes and laptops. And at the center of this new culture is the search engine; it's not just the TV Guide of the internet anymore - it's the MTV. Except that MTV is now RealityTV. Well anyway....

Uebergeek is The Live Internet VJ for the Geek Age. Armed with air mouse, vintage Mattel Power Glove, and swanky clothes, Uebergeek (Amy Alexander) performs a search engine. She inputs a search term to the b0timati0n software, and the search engine results interactively animate in psychedelic colors and patterns ranging Fischinger to Pong. Hyperactive Uebergeek conducts the swirling text with the air mouse and Power Glove, and the music's got a good beat you can dance to. Aestheticization of data taken to the ridiculous extreme, but also data visualization in reverse; the "literary voice" of internet text content is brought center stage rather than aggregating it into abstraction. Search for "love" and find out where you can download the appropriate utilities. Search for "peace" and choose from the neatly-packaged offerings of a variety of institutions. Search on "we are here to protect you" and see who responds... Now you have some wicked raw footage, let the eye candy begin....

B0timati0n is a live VJ performance, as well as a strange VJ software application. At most performances, DJ Uebergeek performs audience requests (for searchterms.) The first mini-performance took place in Munich in October 2000... however the project has since been expanded (2002) and is continuing with new development...

Stills, video documentation, and whatever else Uebergeek comes up with can be found at http://botimation.org

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