RHIZOME DIGEST: 9.19.03
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Type: discussion
<br />RHIZOME DIGEST: September 19, 2003<br /><br />Content:<br /><br />+announcement+ <br />1. Rachel Greene: Rhizome Update<br />2. ancel: wireless art: Walter Benjamin vs Marcel Duchamp<br />3. Eva Stein: culturebase.net the international artist database<br /><br />+opportunity+<br />4. Rainey Straus: The SimGallery Project<br />5. Lucas Czjzek: MMM - Call for Entries<br />6. Lars Midböe: Classic II Exhibition<br /><br />+comment+<br />7. Eryk Salvaggio: Cold Calling For Democracy<br /><br />+feature+<br />8. Lev Manovich: Dont Call it Art: Ars Electronica 2003<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />1.<br /><br />Date: 9.18.03<br />From: Rachel Greene ([email protected])<br />Subject: Rhizome Update<br /><br />Dear Rhizomers –<br /><br />There have been some comments about Rhizome.org's status on Raw and<br />Thingist so we wanted to respond and issue an update.<br /><br />Rachel Greene, who has been working with Rhizome in various capacities<br />since 1997, is succeeding Mark Tribe as Executive Director of the<br />organization. Mark has recently started a new position as Director of<br />Art & Technology at the Columbia University School of the Arts. He will<br />continue to be active and take a leadership role on the Rhizome Board of<br />Directors.<br /><br />Over the last few years, we have worked with the New Museum of<br />Contemporary Art, New York, on several exhibitions and events and have<br />always found them to be a wonderful partner. The New Museum is committed<br />to showing a culturally and geographically diverse range of artists,<br />they understand contemporary art as a social practice whose relevance<br />extends beyond the art world, and they are the only museum in New York<br />with a space dedicated to new media art (the Zenith Media Lounge). The<br />New Museum is, quite simply, one of the most progressive museums around.<br /><br />Rhizome.org now has an opportunity to become more closely affiliated<br />with the New Museum. The New Museum would provide Rhizome with office<br />space and other forms of administrative support. Rhizome would continue<br />to operate as an independent organizational entity, retain our current<br />staff and programs and our web site would remain at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org">http://rhizome.org</a>.<br /><br />Our mission and core principles would not change, but we hope to<br />collaborate with the New Museum on a range of programs, including<br />exhibitions, commissions and events.<br /><br />This possible partnership with the New Museum represents an opportunity<br />to create a stable environment for Rhizome to support the global new<br />media art community while remaining true to its commitment to<br />inclusiveness and grassroots structures. Given how inhospitable the<br />current economic climate is for small nonprofits, we feel this would be<br />the best way to ensure our ability to fulfill our mission. We hope that<br />you continue to support Rhizome as we continue to evolve.<br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Rachel Greene<br />Mark Tribe<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />2.<br /><br />Date: 9.17.03<br />From: ancel ([email protected])<br />Subject: wireless art: Walter Benjamin vs Marcel Duchamp<br /><br />Walter Benjamin / Marcel Duchamp<br /><br />During a trip to Barcelona in 1997, a railway workers' strike blocked<br />off the French-Spanish border to me. This chance situation enabled me to<br />explore two border villages at the feet of the Eastern Pyrenees. Two<br />significant structures caught my attention: the Walter Benjamin memorial<br />in Port Bou on the Spanish side called "Passage" by Dani Karavan, and,<br />on the French side, the Hôtel Belvédère du Rayon Vert built by Léon<br />Baille, the Perpignan architect.<br /><br />On one side there is this memorial to Walter Benjamin who committed<br />suicide on 26 September 1940, and on the other a building in the boat<br />style of the 1930s containing a former cinema and theatre, listed as a<br />20th-century heritage building, whose name, for me, is immediately<br />synonymous with Marcel Duchamp.<br /><br />I would have to wait until the electronic projection of 23 November 2002<br />at the convent of La Tourette (built by Le Corbusier and Xenakis) to be<br />able to question artistic and aesthetic boundaries in a more direct<br />manner, in order to find out the necessary information for a search that<br />has enabled me to talk today about these two locations in Catalogne.<br /><br />Benjamin's thought and Duchamp's art are scheduled to be brought into<br />play during the weekend of 27 September 2003 at this Franco-Spanish<br />border location, and this is seen as an imaginary and symbolic meeting.<br />It is a result of, and follows, the mark that these two great figures<br />have left behind them which has totally transformed artistic and<br />aesthetic boundaries in the 20th century.<br /><br />This production will cross physical boundaries and will link the two<br />locations of Port Bou and Cerbère. In other words, the Walter Benjamin<br />memorial in Spain and the Hôtel du Rayon vert in France. The event will<br />attempt to mark the boundaries of the art disciplines and will be mainly<br />held in the Hôtel's theatre auditorium where our audiovisual reception<br />will be held.<br /><br />These days, it is almost considered to be an essential requirement that<br />this comparison will use new technologies. It will therefore be through<br />the use of wifi wireless network, together with interactive software,<br />that we will travel beyond the physical boundary.<br /><br />Our journey through and between these two locations reconnects a whole<br />set of different information:<br /><br />- The fictional novel "Traité d'abrégé de littérature portative"<br />(Abridged Treatise on Portable Literature) by Enrique Vila Mata and<br />published in 1985, and which depicts Duchamp and Benjamin in Port Bou as<br />part of a secret society linked to the number 27,<br /><br />- The "Rayon Vert" laser created by Dani Karavan for the Electra<br />exhibition in 1983 which linked the Musée d'Art Moderne (Modern Art<br />Museum) of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and the Assur Tower located in the<br />Défense quarter,<br /><br />- The photograph entitled "Rayon Vert" by Denise Bellon for Duchamp,<br />which was given to the set designer Frederick Kiesler, for the<br />superstition room at the surrealist exhibition, held in Paris in 1947,<br />the same year that "Music for Duchamp" was composed by John Cage.<br /><br />Convergence points of the universe that have hitherto been parallel, and<br />overlooked links, will appear at this event. This fake dimension will,<br />however, can give another meaning to a trip, appropriate to our world,<br />which is henceforth informational and chaotic.<br /><br />This gathering consequently offers you a short-lived journey across a<br />virtual world of concepts. It will extend the enquiry into the notion of<br />the decline of the "aura" in the wake of computing technology, and<br />serves as homage to Walter Benjamin.<br /><br />F.A.<br /><br />———————————————<br /><br />Walter Benjamin / Marcel Duchamp<br /><br />En 1997, j'ai été bloqué à la frontière franco-espagnole par une grève<br />des transports ferroviaires lors d'un voyage vers Barcelone. Cet imprévu<br />me permit de découvrir deux villages frontaliers aux pieds des Pyrénées<br />Orientales. Deux importantes constructions ont alors suscité mon intérêt<br />: en Espagne à Port Bou le mémorial Walter Benjamin, "Passage" de Dani<br />Karavan et en France à Cerbère, l'hôtel Belvédère du Rayon Vert<br />construit par l' architecte perpignanais Léon Baille.<br /><br />D'un côté, la mémoire de Walter Benjamin qui se donna la mort en ce lieu<br />le 26 septembre 1940 et de l'autre un bâtiment au style bateau des<br />années 30, doté d'une ancienne salle de cinéma et de théâtre, classé<br />patrimoine architectural du 20ième siècle, dont le nom évoqua tout de<br />suite pour moi Marcel Duchamp.<br /><br />Il m'aura fallu attendre l'occasion de questionner concrètement les<br />frontières artistiques et esthétiques lors de la projection électronique<br />du 23 novembre 2002 au couvent de La Tourette (construit par Le<br />Corbusier et Xenakis) pour trouver les éléments d'une recherche me<br />permettant aujourd'hui d'intervenir sur ces deux sites en Catalogne.<br /><br />La mise en jeu de la pensée de Benjamin et de l'art de Duchamp qui sera<br />proposée à ce point de la frontière le samedi 27 septembre 2003 agit<br />comme une rencontre fictive et symbolique. Elle est créée à partir des<br />traces laissées par ces deux personnalités du 20ième siècle qui ont<br />totalement transfiguré les frontières, artistique et esthétique.<br /><br />De même, cette réalisation tente de délimiter les disciplines<br />artistiques. Elle traversera les frontières physiques et reliera deux<br />lieux, Port Bou et Cerbère. Autrement dit, le mémorial Walter Benjamin<br />en Espagne à l'Hôtel du Rayon Vert en France. La manifestation se<br />déroulera principalement dans la salle de théâtre de l'hôtel où seront<br />présentées et diffusées, en temps réel, réceptions visuelle et sonore.<br /><br />L'usage des nouvelles technologies semblant incontournable dans cette<br />confrontation. Un réseau de connexion radio wifi qui survolera la<br />frontière physique sera utilisé, complété d'un logiciel interactif.<br /><br />La navigation entre ces deux sites reconnecte un ensemble d'informations<br />:<br /><br />- la fiction romanesque "Traité d'abrégé de littérature portative"<br />d'Enrique Vila Mata en 1985 évoquant Duchamp et Benjamin à Port Bou dans<br />une société secrète liée au chiffre 27,<br /><br />- le laser "Rayon Vert" réalisé par Dani Karavan en 1983 pour<br />l'exposition Electra qui avait connecté le Musée d'Art Moderne de la<br />Ville de Paris, la Tour Eiffel et la Tour Assur du quartier de la<br />Défense,<br /><br />- la photo "Rayon Vert" de Denise Bellon pour Duchamp confiée au<br />scénographe Frederick Kiesler, pour la salle des superstitions à<br />l'exposition surréaliste de Paris en 1947, année qui vit naître<br />également la "Music for Duchamp" de John Cage.<br /><br />Cet événement mettra en exergue des lignes de convergence entre des<br />univers jusqu'alors parallèles et aux liens méconnus. Cette dimension<br />prétend pourtant pouvoir redonner du sens à une déambulation, à l'image<br />de notre monde désormais informationnel et chaotique.<br /><br />Ce rendez-vous offre ainsi un passage éphémère à travers une virtualité<br />de données. Il prolongera un questionnement sur la notion du déclin de "<br />l'aura " face au numérique, en hommage à Walter Benjamin.<br /><br />F.A. french contact -> [email protected]<br /><br />—————————————————————–<br /><br />Walter Benjamin / Marcel Duchamp<br /><br />El 1997 vaig quedar-me bloquejat a la frontera franco-espanyola a causa<br />d' una vaga de transports ferroviaris durant un viatge a Barcelona.<br />Aquest imprevist em permeté de descobrir dos pobles fronterers als peus<br />dels Pirineus Orientals. Dues importants construccions suscitaren<br />aleshores el meu interès: a Portbou, a Espanya, el memorial Walter<br />Benjamin de Dani Karavan, Passagen; i a Cerbère, a França, l'Hotel<br />Belvédère du Rayon Vert, construït per l'arquitecte de Perpinyà Léon<br />Baille.<br /><br />D'una banda, la memòria de Walter Benjamin, que se suïcidà en aquest<br />indret el 26 de setembre de 1940; i de l'altra, un edifici d'estil<br />vaixell dels anys 30, dotat d'una antiga sala de cinema i de teatre,<br />declarat patrimoni arquitectònic del segle XX, el nom del qual m'evocà<br />de seguida Marcel Duchamp.<br /><br />Calgué esperar l'ocasió de qüestionar concretament les fronteres<br />artístiques i estètiques en ocasió de la projecció electrònica del 23 de<br />novembre de 2002 al convent de La Tourette (construït per Le Corbusier i<br />Xenakis) per trobar els elements d'una recerca que m'ha permès<br />d'intervenir avui en aquests dos emplaçaments a Catalunya.<br /><br />L'exposició del pensament de Benjamin i de l'art de Duchamp que serà<br />proposada en aquest punt just de la frontera dissabte 27 de setembre de<br />2003 funciona com una trobada fictícia i simbòlica. Es crea a partir de<br />les empremtes deixades per aquestes dues personalitats del segle XX que<br />transfiguraren totalment les fronteres artística i estètica.<br /><br />De la mateixa manera, aquesta realització intenta delimitar les<br />disciplines artístiques. Traspassarà les fronteres físiques i enllaçarà<br />dos llocs, Portbou i Cerbère. Dit d'una altra manera, el memorial Walter<br />Benjamin a Espanya i l'Hotel du Rayon Vert a França. La manifestació<br />tindrà lloc principalment a la sala de teatre de l'hotel, on es<br />presentaran i difondran, en temps real, imatges i recepcions visuals i<br />sonores.<br /><br />La utilització de les noves tecnologies semblava ser ineludible en<br />aquesta confrontació. S'utilitzarà una xarxa de connexió de ràdio basada<br />en l' estàndard wifi que sobrevolarà la frontera física, completada per<br />un programa interactiu.<br /><br />La navegació entre ambdós espais posa en relació un conjunt<br />d'informacions:<br /><br />- la ficció novel.lesca Història abreujada de la literatura portàtil<br />d'Enrique Vila Mata de 1985, on s'evoquen Duchamp i Benjamin a Portbou<br />en una societat secreta lligada al número 27,<br /><br />- el làser Rayon Vert realitzat per Dani Karavan el 1983 per a l'<br />exposició Electra, que va connectar el Museu d'Art Modern de París, la<br />Torre Eiffel i la Tour Assur del barri de la Défense,<br /><br />- la foto Rayon Vert de Denise Bellon per a Duchamp confiada a l'<br />escenògraf Frederick Kiesler, per a la sala de les supersticions a l'<br />exposició surrealista de París del 1947, any que veié també néixer la<br />Music for Duchamp de John Cage.<br /><br />Aquest esdeveniment posarà de relleu línies de convergència entre<br />universos fins aleshores paral.lels però amb uns vincles desconeguts.<br />Aquesta dimensió pretén tanmateix poder donar sentit de nou a un<br />passeig, a la imatge del nostre món d'ara endavant informacional i<br />caòtic.<br /><br />Aquesta cita ofereix així un passatge efímer a través d'un seguit de<br />dades virtuals. Perllongarà el qüestionament sobre la noció del declivi<br />de "l'aura" de cara a l'era digital, en homenatge a Walter Benjamin.<br /><br />F.A.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />3.<br /><br />Date: 9.19.03<br />From: Eva Stein ([email protected])<br />Subject: culturebase.net the international artist database<br /> <br />www.culturebase.net<br />The International Artists Database<br /><br />Whatever you always wanted to know about artists from Afghanistan to<br />Zimbabwe but had to look long and hard to find, now you can find it with<br />one click. culturebase.net is the name of the new Who's Who of the non<br />European art and culture scene.<br /><br />Detailed portraits on artists from more than 150 countries and<br />territories are immediately available through this multimedia database.<br />So far culturebase.net contains information about 1,000 artists who work<br />in the genres of visual arts, film, photography, design, theatre, dance<br />and music, as well as literature and science.<br /><br />Portraits written by experts offer detailed information about the<br />included artists. Additionally, audio and video files, images and texts<br />enable the user to have direct insight into artists? work. All<br />information can be accessed in English and German in this initial phase.<br /><br />Furthermore, there is a search method for so-called ?crossroads?. An<br />example of a ?crossroad? is a term like ?Islam?, ?Globalisation? or<br />?Deconstruction?. The list of results from a search like this includes<br />all artists who deal with such topics in their works - listed by<br />relevance.<br /><br />culturebase.net is the result of a strategic cooperation between four<br />European partner institutions: The House of World Cultures in Berlin,<br />The Danish Center for Culture and Development in Copenhagen, Intercult<br />in Stockholm and Visiting Arts in London. The database is a tool for<br />collaboration, which has been initiated by the House of World Cultures.<br />culturebase.net is funded by the EU programme Culture 2000 and kindly<br />supported by The Circle of Friends ? House of World Cultures.<br /><br />This free service will serve all those who are interested in art and<br />culture. Journalists and academics can also use culturebase.net for<br />their research. The service works as a virtual contact zone for<br />institutions that are engaged with intercultural exchange. Artists known<br />earlier only in their countries can now present their work to a wider<br />audience. In this way, in initiators hope that culturebase.net will<br />enable 'journeys of discovery through intercultural similarities and<br />differences'.<br /><br />contact: [email protected]<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />4.<br /><br />Date: 9.16.03 <br />From: Rainey Straus ([email protected])<br />Subject: The SimGallery Project<br /><br />Become a Sim Artist<br /><br />The SimGallery Project Call for Entries<br /><br />Contribute to the SimGallery Project as we investigate the worlds of art<br />and performance in The Sims Online (a multiplayer online game) in<br />conjunction with the 'Counter Gaming' show at the Yerba Buena Center for<br />the Arts in January 2004.<br /><br />Help us to explore what happens when an ?real world? white-cube gallery<br />lands in the pre-fab, populist online experiment known as the Sims<br />Online? What kinds of art and performances are relevant, or even<br />possible in virtual space?<br /><br />The SimGallery project brings the world of computer games and high art<br />together to anticipate and explore the transformation of art creation<br />and consumption in the current social and technological moment. The<br />project will combine an on site installation which blurs the boundaries<br />between t online game space and the real world galleries of the Yerba<br />Buena Center. Museum goers will have live access from computer stations<br />in the physical galleries to the virtual galleries within the Sims<br />Online game.<br /><br />Submit artwork or a performance proposal for inclusion in the Online<br />SimGallery Project's show and performance series.<br /><br />Some issues we hope interested artists will explore:<br />- What art can be within the constraints and rules of an online game.<br />- How virtual embodiment affects performances and the experience of art<br />online.<br />- How the Sim aesthetic merges with and reshapes your own, when you<br />bring your work into this venue.<br />- How a traditionally-styled art space functions in an online game.<br /><br />Screenshots of the galleries and performance space are available at<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.simgallery.net/gallery.html">http://www.simgallery.net/gallery.html</a>. You can also arrange a hosted<br />visit to the SimGallery in TSO by sending email to<br />[email protected]<br /><br />Deadline for entries: October 31, 2003.<br /><br />Complete submission details are below (and available in pdf format at<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.simgallery.net/ent.html">http://www.simgallery.net/ent.html</a>)<br />Please note: It is extremely important for artists unfamiliar with TSO<br />to explore the constraints of the game world when envisioning works and<br />planning proposals.<br /><br />Important dates:<br />Deadline for Entries: Oct. 31 2003.<br />Notification of Status: November 15, 2003.<br />Exhibition Dates: January-April 2004.<br /> Proposal Format:<br />Your proposal must include:<br />- Project description<br />- Artist(s) resumé<br />- Indication of category for your work (performance or artwork)<br />- At least one of the following:<br />- A SIM location for existing works and project description.<br />- 3 URLs to other online works with project descriptions.<br />- 10 jpgs representative of other works, with a slide list and project<br />descriptions.<br />- Portfolio CD, VHS video or 10 slides with slide list or project<br />descriptions and accompanying SASE.<br /><br />Submission Process:<br />Please send your materials either by email to [email protected]<br />or by postal mail to:<br />SimGallery<br />C/o Katherine Isbister & Rainey Straus<br />1904 23rd Street<br />San Francisco, CA 94107<br /><br />All materials must be received by midnight, October 31, 2003 to ensure<br />full consideration. We will notify you by November 15 about the status<br />of your submission.<br /><br />For more information: To learn more about the SimGallery Project venue,<br />visit our website (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.simgallery.net/">http://www.simgallery.net/</a>) or visit the gallery<br />itself by logging into TSO's Alphaville. (Send email to<br />[email protected] in order to arrange a hosted visit.)<br /><br />To learn more about TSO, we encourage you to visit the official product<br />website (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.eagames.com/official/thesimsonline/home/index.jsp">http://www.eagames.com/official/thesimsonline/home/index.jsp</a>).<br />There is a brief overview of the game on the project site, as well.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />5.<br /><br />Date: 9.16.03<br />From: Lucas Czjzek ([email protected])<br />Subject: MMM - Call for Entries<br /><br />MMM - CALL FOR ENTRIES<br /><br />VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV<br /> VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV<br /> (SCROLL DOWN FOR GERMAN VERSION)<br />Moving Media Multiplicator<br /><br />MMM is a publishing platform for<br />visual media productions (moving media)<br />of emerging contemporary artists<br />in various genres.<br /><br />Works of all types (Videos, Films, Demos etc.)<br />can be submitted to us starting today.<br /><br />The MMM infrastructure offers<br />public screenings (at the Kunsthalle Wien),<br />the web interface (Fs2),<br />a global independent artists forum<br />and a diversity of other events,<br />guaranteeing you a high quality program.<br /><br />The sharing of information is a<br />fundamental part of human activity in<br />the 21st century. <br />MMM offers an opportunity to fish<br />independently, by oneself,<br />for treasures within the information flood.<br /><br />starting: october 8th<br /><br />further information and submissions:<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://mmm.ok.ag">http://mmm.ok.ag</a><br /><br />please forward!<br /><br />Sorry for Crosspostings.<br /><br />MMM.ok.ag<br /><br />_____________________________________________________<br />_____________________________________________________<br />Moving Media Multiplicator<br /><br />ist ein Medium & Forum zur freien Publikation<br />visueller Medienarbeiten unabhaengigerer<br />GegenwartskuenstlerInnen.<br /><br />Arbeiten jedes Genres<br />(Videos, Filme, Demo Szenen etc.)<br />koennen eingereicht werden.<br /><br />Die MMM-Infrastruktur bietet<br />oeffentliche Grossbildprojektionen<br />(Terminal bei der Kunsthalle Wien),<br />Events, dem Webblock und ein<br />unabhdngiges globales KuenstlerInnen-Forum,<br />welches fuer Programm,<br />Inhalt und Qualitaet buergt.<br /><br />MMM bietet die Moeglichkeit frei<br />und selbstbestimmt aus den Informationsfluten<br />des Netzes Schaetze zu bergen.<br /><br />Eroeffnung: 08. Oktober<br /><br />Naeheres und EINREICHEN unter:<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://mmm.ok.ag">http://mmm.ok.ag</a><br />mit freundlichen Gruessen,<br /><br />MMM.ok.ag<br />PS:<br />Bitte moegliche InteressentInnen informieren!<br />Sorry for Crosspostings.<br />____________________________________________________<br />THE MOVING MEDIA MULTIPLICATOR<br /><br />>> HTTP://MMM.OK.AG<br />Sponsors:<br /><br />>> Kunsthalle Wien (Project Space)<br />>> Pani Projecting & Lighting<br />>> University of Applied Arts Vienna<br />_____________________________________________________<br /><br />*****************************************************<br />******** /'\_/`*****/'\_/`*****/'\_/`*************<br />********/ ***/ ***/ ************<br />******** \__ ** \__ ** \__ ***********<br />********* \_/ ** \_/ ** \_/ **********<br />********** \_\ \_** \_\ \_** \_\ \_*********<br />***********/_/*/_/***/_/*/_/***/_/*/_/*********<br />*****************************************************<br />* M O V I N G M E D I A M U L T I P L I C A T O R *<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />6.<br /><br />Date: 9.19.03<br />From: Lars Midböe ([email protected])<br />Subject: Classic II Exhibition<br /><br />Call for entries The Classic II Exhibition - Short version.<br /><br />Electrohype will organize an exhibition with 24 artists presenting works<br />on the Macintosh Classic II computer. The exhibition will take place at<br />Electrohype-ROM in Malmo, Sweden during the period December 1st. 2003<br />and January 20th. 2004.<br /><br />The idea is that the exhibition will focus and reflect on the<br />development both in computer based art and the accelerating demands on<br />hardware used to create and present art.<br /><br />Electrohype will provide the opportunity, and the hardware. The artists<br />are hereby invited to provide the content.<br /><br />The exhibition has a clear reference to the 1997 exhibition, called "Mac<br />Classics (the immaculate machines)" at the Postmasters Gallery in New<br />York. This exhibition was curated and organized by Tamas Banovich. More<br />info and text about this exhibition can be found on our web site, please<br />follow link in the end of this mail.<br /><br />Opening Marathon According to our plan we will organize 24 openings, one<br />for each work, from December 1st. to the 24th. Each day during this<br />period will be an opening for a new work and the exhibition will grow<br />during December. After the opening marathon the exhibition will be on<br />display for 14 days with all works running simultaneously. This might<br />seem like a strange idea but it refers to a Nordic traditional Christmas<br />calendar where you open one window each day in a paper calendar, each<br />window containing a surprise.<br /><br />Deadline It is not much time left until the December 1st. So the<br />deadline to contribute to the exhibition will be November 15th. But<br />please feel free to submit material as soon as possible, we continually<br />evaluate the material we receive and do basic testing on our computers<br /><br />So blow the dust of your old 98030 or 386 and start testing your art.<br />Just remember to step back a few years in version history of the<br />software you would like to use.<br /><br />For a complete description of the project, including links to the 1997<br />exhibition, technical specifications, and practical info and conditions<br />please visit:<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.electrohype.org/rom/classic2/index.html">http://www.electrohype.org/rom/classic2/index.html</a><br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />7.<br /><br />Date: 9.15.03<br />From: Eryk Salvaggio ([email protected])<br />Subject: Eryk Salvaggio: Cold Calling For Democracy<br /><br />) I am Speaking for Eryk Salvaggio<br /><br />So am I!<br /><br />My current ongoing political artwork is called "Cold Calling For<br />Democracy." Working on a campaign really gives a crystal clear<br />understanding of what the state of politics is in this country. I've<br />done three days worth of calling democrats and unregistered voters (for<br />the Howard Dean Campaign, for the time being) calling essentially random<br />people and talking to them about their ideas for this country and<br />thoughts on the political process. I mean it's one thing to sit around<br />and say, "America needs ______" or "America wants _______" but it's<br />another thing altogether to actually interrupt America while it's eating<br />dinner, and ask them. In only three days, my idea of "what America<br />needs" has had a drastic shift; to a degree, it's liberating and to a<br />degree it's frightening; things are better and worse than I thought,<br />simultaneously.<br />1. May I Ask Your Husband About Your Political Views, Ma'am?<br /><br />I called this woman who was unregistered- meaning, basically, that they<br />haven't ever voted in a primary before, or chose to remain independent<br />for whatever reason, to vote for whatever primary. She says, "Let me ask<br />my husband." Her husband comes on with, "Let me tell you, I am a<br />Republican, and I am certainly not going to vote for Howard Dean; after<br />his gross incompetence in Vermont, he should not be president of this<br />country." The guy hung up before I could ask him what exactly Deans<br />"incompetence" was in Vermont. I don't care what the guy thought of<br />Deans incompetence in Vermont- where like, everyone on Earth basically<br />says he single handedly saved the state from fiscal disaster. What I am<br />interested in is the number of people who gave me their opinion and<br />immediately hung up the phone afterwards with no chance to actually<br />discuss anything. That makes me really nervous. It's at the heart and<br />soul of what's rotten about politics.<br />2. Score: 6. (Hostile to Dean / Voting Bush)<br /><br />"Let me tell you something, I don't believe in gay rights and all that<br />shit so don't call me anymore." (click)<br />3. Stats<br /><br />Then on the other hand you have totally amazing people who you find. I<br />mean, seriously, the atrocities shine brightest here, but 3 out of 5<br />people who answered the phone were great, and only 1 out of 5 seemed<br />really rude.<br />4. Kings of New England<br /><br />One woman wanted a triumvirate- and she was serious. She had read up on<br />it, thought about it, wanted to talk to me about it. I said: "I'm<br />speechless. I have nothing to say to that!" and she said "I know you<br />don't!" She explained that she's lived all over the country, that there<br />was no way that any one candidate could represent all the people, and<br />that we should split the country into three regions- the west, the<br />northeast, and the south east. Then have the three people work as a<br />Council of Presidents. She also said Dean couldn't win in the south, but<br />should be able to represent the people he represents- the northeast. I<br />like this idea, especially because it means California and New England<br />will basically run the country and Louisiana and Arkansas will be forced<br />to reckon with its liberal tidal waves in off the coasts.<br />5. What Is Said To The People, Say It Through The Phones.<br /><br />"Hello, my name is Eryk and I hope this isn't a bad time? But I am a<br />volunteer here at Governor Howard Dean's Presidential campaign, and<br />we're just trying to get in touch with voters and see what people are<br />thinking about here at the start of the political season."<br /><br />Then pause. If they say nothing, I say, "Have you considered who you're<br />going to support in the upcoming election?"<br /><br />The original script is totally telemarketing. "I am (name) and I am<br />working for Governor Howard Deans Presidential Campaign. How are you<br />today? (Pause) We know it's early in the primary season, but…" then we<br />ask about who they want to support.<br /><br />I decided to take be "authentic" about it and it works. I got through<br />more pages than anyone else and I also got a lot of positive responses.<br />The kid next to me was really bad at it. Anyone who just reads the<br />script at people is doomed to failure. One key thing I did was emphasize<br />the word "volunteer" with an "Aw, shucks!" sort of emphasis. "Aw geez, I<br />dunno what I'm doin, maybe you can help a poor fellow out, who just<br />wants to hear what you have to say?" Poof! People with crying kids in<br />the background are talking to me, or asking me to "call back later, but<br />really I mean it, call back." I was told I should go into a career as a<br />telemarketer.<br />6. A Good Man.<br /><br />I like how older people said, "Howard Dean, I know he's a good man, but<br />that's about all I can tell you right now." I would say "well thank you,<br />that's very kind of you, how about I send you some mail on Howard Dean's<br />ideas?" and they say "sure!" But they said it like that a lot, "Howard<br />Dean, he's a good man." It makes me want to vote for the guy. We need<br />commercials of old ladies saying that. "Howard Deans? I don't know much<br />about him, but I know he's a good man." Just like that, with the name<br />wrong and everything.<br />7. A Short Conversation With Roger, In Which The Tables Are Turned Upon Me<br /><br />Me: Hi Roger! I'm a volunteer for Governor Howard Dean's Presidential<br />campaign, and I really hope it's not a bad time for you, but we're<br />trying to see what voters are thinking about this time of year and see<br />what issues are important to them.<br /><br />Roger: Sure! I have the time.<br /><br />Me: Great! Thanks. So, who are you leaning towards in the-<br /><br />Roger: I have the time, but this is my time. Thank you! (hangs up phone)<br />8. Barroom and Billiard Hall Politics<br /><br />After we made phone calls, a bunch of the campaign staff were going to<br />the nearby bar to catch the Democratic debate on the tv there. And here<br />I realized that the problem with politics in this country is the voters.<br /><br />While we're sitting down watching the tv in the corner, some of us are<br />in Dean shirts, (not me, but I got a free sticker that I was still<br />wearing).<br /><br />"I hate Howard Dean. What does Howard Dean think about supporting the<br />troops?" I hear from the corner.<br /><br />"Well, Howard Dean supports better retirement benefits that George Bush<br />took away from them while sending people over-"<br /><br />"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever." says Barstool Guy. "What does he think about<br />______?"<br /><br />"Well, Howard Dean has come out to say-"<br /><br />"Yeah yeah yeah." Then he said something I couldn't hear, and Campaign<br />Guy turned around, really annoyed looking. Barstool Guy yelled something<br />else- he said "All you assholes know how to do up there in Vermont is<br />make cheese." Campaign Guy turned around and had this expression of<br />total bewilderment. Barstool Guy keeps yelling these anti-Vermont<br />slogans.<br /><br />"None of us are from Vermont." says Campaign Guy, "We're not getting<br />offended by the things you are saying about Vermont"<br /><br />"Yeah yeah yeah." says Barstool guy.<br />9. And The Problem Is…<br /><br />I got a voter, Unregistered, 26 years old, and I called her up. She was<br />on the phone, talking to me, and I say, "What issues are important to<br />you this year?" She says, "No issues are important to me." I was<br />shocked, on the phone. I had to repeat it back:<br /><br />"No issue is important to you." I wrote it down, just like that, on the<br />piece of paper where we list comments on the caller.<br /><br />There's two wars in two countries; people are out of work, 1 in 10<br />people in our society are at the mercy of the supreme court just to be<br />able to see someone they love who is dying in the hospital. I looked at<br />the TV, tonight, when I came home, and there's this commercial of this<br />guy walking through a hotel with a blindfold on. He navigates the hotel<br />perfectly. I think to myself, "That's the most important issue, to some<br />people- to be able to navigate through as much space as we can with a<br />blindfold on." Really- sincerely- I understand that position, and I<br />think, to a certain degree, people have a right to have that position.<br />10. Barroom and Billiard Hall Politics, Volume II<br /><br />We were watching the debate when two people behind us got up to talk to<br />the waitress and tell her that they were leaving because their dinner<br />was ruined by having the debate on in the back of the room.<br />11. Can't Even Hit A Home Run<br /><br />I have to say, whenever I see Howard Dean, I want him to hit a home run.<br />I want to see a Jed Bartlett moment. I mean, I know; the debates on the<br />West Wing are scripted, that no candidate can ever hit as many home runs<br />as that. But just once, I want to see Dean in an interview and just hit<br />it out of the park. To just say something so perfectly that there's<br />nothing else to say, that stands up for what's right in a way that makes<br />it seem like it's right, and not "liberal" or "weak" or "foolish" or<br />"idealistic" but just that it's the best thing to do because it's the<br />right thing to do.<br /><br />Today, I spent three hours calling people on the telephone, and every<br />number I called I was terrified of getting a phone slammed in my face,<br />or finding sleeper cell Republicans. When I watched the Democratic<br />primaries and Dean did not hit a home run, he bunted runs but he hit no<br />home runs. He got attacked by Lieberman; (whose name, after 4 years on<br />the public psyche, I've only just now realized means "loverman"). Dean<br />defended himself well, but not as well as he could have. I hate Joe<br />Lieberman- his smugness, his GW-Lite Politics, his offensive<br />conservative centrism. If Lieberman gets the nomination, I might not<br />even bother voting.<br /><br />I also really like Kucinich and Carol Mosely-Braun; I like that they<br />support each other because they both know they are too liberal to win; I<br />like Braun because you can tell she secretly loves Howard Dean, and I<br />like Kucinich because you can tell he actually, truly hates Howard Dean.<br /><br />Clinton knew the secret to achieving actual humane leadership for<br />progressive causes was simple. The people who care about human rights<br />because they think it's a moral obligation are already going to support<br />something that improves the lot of desperate people; it's the people who<br />want to improve their own lots first that need to be convinced. Dean<br />knows this too, I think, and though it seems cynical- filter humanism<br />through economic benefits- That, I think, is the essence of politics.<br />Even within my own streaks of political idealism and radical leftist<br />politics, it really, really really comes down to a war for every<br />centimeter that adds up to moving this country an inch.<br /><br />But how do we convince the people who hang up in our faces, who can't<br />hear a word we say? That's what I want to know. The nation's political<br />beliefs are a behemoth, and the nation is not moved easily; I don't know<br />if art can do a damn thing in bringing around people who don't give a<br />damn about art. How do you talk to the people who say, in a genuine<br />statement, that there are no issues that affect them? Or people who<br />state thier cases into a phone, hanging up before I can even ask if they<br />want to be taken off the list. People who are angry at the people who<br />ask them questions about what they believe. How do we ask them- how do<br />we ask ourselves, really- to listen to the other side of what we're all<br />thinking?<br /><br />Art is a ventilation device for the frustration of desperate or angry<br />individuals, or else it is a career ladder, or best of all, it is an<br />opening and a pathway towards a new realm of thinking and a new way of<br />being- not a new realm of thinking that, say, "Ashcroft sucks", or that<br />Bush is the Anti Christ- those are old ways of thinking that rely on a<br />duality, a closed mind, and a binary opposition thought process. The new<br />way of thinking is something like funneling explosions into spontaneous<br />movements within the infrastructure; giving people a vision of a world<br />without fear and without the hostility that our nation is slowly growing<br />so accustomed to that it can't move. I don't know how to do that with<br />art, I don't know how to do that in a conversation, I don't know how to<br />do that in my own day to day life. I see it sometimes in the speaking<br />style of certain people- Howard Dean, before he became the front runner<br />and started hedging his bets; and I've seen it lately in the language<br />that General Wesley Clark uses. I don't see it in most of the political<br />art nights at coffee houses; where people dwell on apocalypse and keep<br />the fear alive; I don't see it in a lot of political net.art or in the<br />language of radicals; and I think that's a sad thing, because standing<br />up for the opening of possibilities is the most radical political notion<br />that can be.<br /><br />-e.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />8.<br /><br />Date: 9.17.03<br />From: Lev Manovich ([email protected])<br />Subject: Dont Call it Art: Ars Electronica 2003<br /><br />Lev Manovich <br /><br />Don't Call it Art: Ars Electronica 2003<br /><br />In choosing CODE as its theme, Ars Electronica 2003 has capitalized on<br />(some would say: appropriated) developments within the field of new<br />media art that already have been going on for a few years. As Andreas<br />Broeckmann, the Artistic Director of the Transmediale festival<br />(Berlin), reminded the audience in his concluding presentation during<br />the Ars Electronica symposium, already 5 years ago New York based<br />artist John Simon suggested that it would be useful to treat<br />software-based art as a separate category. Consequently, since 2001 the<br />Transmediale festival competition has included "artistic software" as<br />one of its categories, and devoted a significant space to it in the<br />festival's symposiums. Another important platform for presenting<br />software art has become the Whitney Museum in New York and its Artport<br />web site where curator Cristiane Paul has organized a number of<br />important exhibitions during the last few years. As of 2002, software<br />art became the subject of a new, smaller-scale but very significant<br />festival, README. The 2002 README took place in Moscow, while 2003's<br />was in Helsinki. Finally, in January 2003, festival organisers (Alexei<br />Shulgin, Olga Goriunova, Alex McLean, and others) established a<br />comprehensive web portal for software art RUNME.ORG. Containing at<br />present more than 60 categories, RUNME is an evolving conceptual map of<br />what I see as the larger meaning of the term "software art": the<br />significant, diverse, and real creative activities at the intersections<br />between culture, art, and software.<br /><br />Given that Ars Electronica has much more significant resources than<br />probably any other festival of media or new media art in the world, one<br />would expect that it would correspondingly take the discussions of<br />software art and culture to a new level. Unfortunately, my impression<br />of the festival (note that although I spent five full days at the<br />festival, I still could not make it to every single panel and<br />performance) is that instead it narrowed the focus of these<br />discussions. Intentionally or not, software art became equated with<br />algorithmically generated media: still and moving images and sound. To<br />quote the definition of "art created out of code" from Ars Electronica<br />program, it is "a generative artform that has been derived and<br />developed from computational processes" (the statement by the directors<br />of Ars Electronica, festival program, p. 2). More than once I had to<br />check my program to make sure that I was indeed at Ars Electronica 2003<br />rather than SIGGRAPH - or an earlier Ars Electronica edition from the<br />1980s when computer imaging indeed represented the key creative area of<br />digital arts field. In a strange loop, Ars Electronica festival came<br />full circle to include its own past. In the mid 1990s, recognizing that<br />production of computer images was no longer confined to the digital<br />"avant-garde" but became the norm in culture at large, Ars Electronica<br />dropped this category, replacing it with "Net Vision / Net Exellence."<br />So why in 2003, would the Ars Electronica exhibition and symposium once<br />again devote such significant space to algorithmically generated<br />visuals and sound? As even a quick look through the RUNME.ORG<br />depository demonstrates, "software art" constitutes an extremely<br />diverse set of contexts, interests, and strategies, with algorithmic<br />media generation being only one direction among many others.<br /><br />It is true that the Ars Electronica 2003 symposium has made important<br />gestures towards addressing larger social and political issues, since<br />along with the discussions of code as software and the corresponding<br />area of "software art," it also included discussions of "law code" and<br />biological code." And the Festival statements describing these topics<br />were right on target, for instance: "software sets the standards and<br />norms, and determines the rules by which we communicate in a networked<br />world, do business, and gather and disseminate information" (Gerfried<br />Stocker, statement in Festival catalog). Yet by having only a few<br />speakers to cover each of these areas, the symposium could not explore<br />these important areas in much depth. I see this in general as<br />simultaneously both positive and negative feature of many European<br />media festivals. On the one hand it is very stimulating and<br />entertaining to attend a festival which includes art exhibitions, film<br />screenings, music performances, intellectual discussions, and late<br />night parties - these kinds of hybrid events are practically<br />non-existent in North America where one goes a museum to see a thematic<br />exhibition, to a University to attend a conference on intellectual<br />topics, to a club to dance, and so on. On the other hand, just as a<br />typical software program which tries to cover a number of different<br />areas rarely has as much depth as the programs dedicated to these<br />separate areas, often after attending a European media festival I have<br />a feeling that the broadness of coverage prevented analysis of anything<br />with much depth. <br /><br />This definitely was my feeling at the end of this year's Ars<br />Electronica - in spite of the brilliance of individual participants<br />such as media theory veteran - Friedrich Kittler and emerging star<br />Florian Cramer; virtuoso graphics programmers / designers Lia, Ben Fry,<br />Casey Reas, Schoenerwissen, and others; the faculty and the students<br />from the Department of Media and Art at University of Art, Media, and<br />Design in Zurich who put on the show of student projects which I found<br />to be the best exhibition at this year festival; Giaco Schiesser,<br />Christian Hubler, Christiane Paul, Andreas Broekmann (and I am sure<br />many others speaking in the sessions I missed); last but not least, the<br />musicians who put on what for me and many others I talked to was the<br />highlight of the festival - a five hour marathon concert entitled<br />Principles of Indeterminism: an Evening from Score to Code which<br />presented a number of key works in the history of electronic music with<br />a focus on Iannis Xenakis.<br /><br />While CODE exhibition and Electrolobby staged at Brucknerhaus presented<br />a lively and diverse set of artistic practice in and around the theme<br />of software art, I felt that the larger questions about the role of<br />software in cultural production were not taken up. Yet outside of Ars<br />Electronica festival these questions are being already actively<br />discussed. For instance, only during 2003 summer and fall exhibition<br />seasons one could see a number of large museum exhibitions which go<br />much further in addressing this area. I am thinking, for instance, of<br />the presentations of the architects whose practice is closely linked<br />with software: solo exhibitions of Zara Hadid (MAK, Vienna), Greg Lynn<br />(also at MAK), Asymptote (NAI, Rotterdam). In another example, the<br />works of a number of the software artists who were shown at Ars<br />Electronica exhibition were also included in a large exhibition<br />ABSTRACTION NOW currently on display in Vienna's Kunsterhaus. By<br />combining these software-driven works with the works of many other<br />contemporary artists who do not use computers directly but instead<br />practice what can be called "conceptual software" approach - that is,<br />they base their output on particular conceptual procedures (sometimes<br />closely approximating algorithms) – this show by two young curators<br />Norbert Pfaffenbichler and Sandro Droschl (both ex-students of Peter<br />Weibel) successfully achieved precisely the effect which was missing<br />from Ars Electronica's CODE exhibition. That is, ABSTRACTION NOW<br />inserted software art within the larger fields of contemporary cultural<br />production and thought, giving its visitors enough intelligently and<br />provocatively organized material to reflect about the relationships<br />between modern and contemporary art, media, visual culture, and<br />software. <br /><br />If I extend the context beyond the current exhibition season, Peter<br />Weibel's curatorial practice after he left Ars Electronica in 1999 to<br />become the director of ZKM exemplifies one effective strategy for new<br />media field's survival. After his arrival, ZKM mounted a number of<br />large scale shows devoted to large questions of cultural history<br />(CTRL[Space], ICONOCLASH, and others); while new media was an essential<br />components of these shows, it never provided the whole context. The<br />recent show FUTURE CINEMA which more centrally focused on new media<br />pursued another successful strategy: similar to Abstraction Now, it<br />presented a larger context by including a range of artists, from<br />hard-core "new media artists" (Masaki Fujihata, Luc Courchesne) to art<br />world "media artists" (Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Isaac Julien, Gary Hill) amd<br />older experimental filmmakers (Michael Snow, Chris Marker)<br /><br />In the 1980s and first part of the 1990s when few outside of digital<br />arts field used computers, the existence of the festival devoted to<br />this field was very important. In the last few years, however, the<br />situation changed dramatically. If pretty much everybody in the<br />cultural field now uses digital media, computer networks, and the like,<br />what exactly then do we see in Ars Electronica exhibitions during the<br />last few years? What exactly is the phenomenon of "software art" - or<br />larger phenomena of "digital art," "new media art, " "cyberart," etc.?<br />The key participants of Ars Electronica 2003 themselves take different<br />positions here: Casey Reas told me (if I remember correctly) that he<br />and Ben Fry think of themselves as designers while Golan Levin thinks<br />of himself as artist (all three are ex-students of John Maeda from MIT<br />Media Lab who himself acts in different roles of a designer, software<br />designer, and artist). While this review does not give me space for a<br />comprehensive analysis, lets briefly review the possible answers to<br />these questions. <br /><br />For instance, can "digital art" be considered a branch of contemporary<br />art? Since the end of 1960s, modern art has become fundamentally a<br />conceptual activity. That is, beyond conceptualism proper, art came to<br />focus not on medium or techniques but on concepts. How these concepts<br />are executed is either secondary, or simply irrelevant. When an artist<br />asks gallery visitors to complete a questionnaire and then compiles and<br />exhibits statistics (Hans Haacke), takes up a job as a maid in a hotel<br />and documents hotel rooms (Sophie Calle), cooks a meal for gallery<br />visitors (Rirkrit Tiravaniija), presents a found video tape shot by<br />Russian troops in Chechnya (Sergei Bugaev, a.k.a. Africa), the<br />traditional questions of artistic techniques, skills, and media become<br />largely unimportant. As the well-known Russian artist Africa has put<br />it: "the role of modern art is not to uncover a secret but instead to<br />steal it." Put differently, more and more contemporary artists act as a<br />kind of journalists, researching and presenting various evidence<br />through different media including text, still photographs, video, etc.<br />What matters is the initial idea, a strategy, a procedure, rather than<br />the details of how the findings or documentation are presented.<br /><br />Of course not all artists today act as journalists - I am simply taking<br />this as the most clear example of the new role of an artist, in<br />contrast to the older roles of artist as craftsman, as the creator of<br />symbols, allegories, and "representations," etc. In short, a typical<br />contemporary artist who was educated in the last two decades is no<br />longer making paintings, or photographs, or video - instead, s/he is<br />making "projects." This term appropriately emphasizes that artistic<br />practice has become about organizing agents and forces around a<br />particular idea, goal, or procedure. It is no longer about a single<br />person crafting unique objects in a particular media.<br /><br />(Of course contemporary art is also characterized by a fundamental<br />paradox - what collectors collect are exactly such old-fashioned<br />objects rather than "projects." Indeed, artists selling their works for<br />highest prices in contemporary art market usually do produce such<br />objects. This paradox is partialy resolved if you consider the fact<br />that these artists always employ a staff of assistants, technicians,<br />etc. - i.e. like everybody else they are making "projects" - only the<br />collective nature of production in this case if concealed in favor of<br />individual artists' "brand names.")<br /><br />Although its highly social nature (people exchanging code,<br />collaborating on projects together, treating audiences as equal<br />participants, etc.) aligns "software art" with contemporary art, since<br />it is firmly focused on its medium rather than medium-free concepts,<br />"software art" cannot be considered "contemporary art." This is one<br />reason why it is indeed excluded by the art world. The logics of<br />"contemporary art" and "digital art" are fundamentally at odds which<br />each other, and I don't see any easy way around this. So, for instance,<br />when Ars Electronica program asks "In which direction is artists' work<br />with the new instruments like algorithms and dynamic systems<br />transforming the process of artistic creativity?" (festival program, p.<br />9), the very assumptions behind such a question put it outside of the<br />paradigm of contemporary art.<br /><br />If "software art" does not belong to the cultural field of<br />?contemporary art," does it perhaps follows the earlier logic of<br />artistic modernism? In other words, are we dealing here with a kind of<br />"Modernism ver. 2," since "software" and "digital artists" clearly<br />spend lots of energy investigating new possibilities offered by digital<br />computers and computer-based networks for representation and social<br />communication and cooperation? This interpretation does not work<br />either. Contrary to what you might have learned in art school,<br />modernist artists were not formalists - at least in first half of a<br />twentieth century. The incredible and unprecedented energy which went<br />during these decades into inventing fundamentally new languages of<br />visual communication, new forms, new artistic concepts of space and<br />time, and so on, was rarely driven by purely formal concerns - i.e.<br />investigating the specificity of a particular medium and purifying it<br />from other influences to create works which did not refer to anything<br />outside themselves (Greenberg). Instead, artists' inventions were<br />driven by multitude of larger questions and goals - representing<br />absolute values and spiritual life; creating new visual language for a<br />working class; representing the dynamism of contemporary city and the<br />experience of war; representing the concepts of Einstein's relativity<br />theory; translating principles of engineering into visual<br />communication; and so on. In contrast, today's "digital artists" are<br />typically proper formalists, with their discussions firmly centered on<br />their particular medium - i.e. software. In short, they are not "new<br />modernists," because modernists were always committed to larger<br />political, social, and spiritual values.<br /><br />(Of course many European modernists were also quick to "sell"<br />themselves, translating their achievements into simply a new style. By<br />mid 1920s, Lissitzky, Rodchenko, Moholy-Nagy and others often took on<br />commercial jobs for commercial clients who were happy to have ads and<br />graphic identity done in new style. In short, within a few years modern<br />art also became modern design. Yet this does not negate my argument<br />because at least on the level of theory, the modernist artists were<br />always advocating larger ideas and values, even when working for<br />commercial or state clients.)<br /><br />If "digital art" does not qualify as "contemporary art" or "modern<br />art," does it then belong to "design"? Although some designers today<br />indeed focus their energy on systematically investigating new<br />representational and communication possibilities of digital media -<br />John Maeda and his students being a perfect example - these designers<br />represent a very small percentage of the overall design field. A<br />typical designer simply takes the client's brief and does something<br />using already established conventions, techniques, and iconography.<br />Thus to identify "digital art" with design is to wrongly assume that<br />contemporary design field as a whole is devoted to "basic research"<br />rather than "applications."<br /><br />If there is one social field whose logic is similar to the logic of<br />""digital art," or "new media art" in general, in my view this field is<br />not contemporary art, modern art, or design, but computer science. Like<br />digital artists, computer scientists working with computer graphics,<br />multimedia, networking, interfaces and other "cultural" parts of<br />computer science (as opposed to, say, chip design or computer<br />architecture) are true formalists - that is, they are investigating new<br />possibilities for representation, social and human-machine<br />communication. Like software artists, these computer scientists<br />routinely translate their ideas into various working demos and<br />prototypes which often do not have life outside of their own<br />professional domain: academic papers, conferences, demo presentations.<br />(However, in contrast to the works of digital artists, some of these<br />ideas do enter into mainstream computing and thus have huge impact on<br />culture: think of GUI, hyperlinking, or World Wide Web).<br /><br />At the end of the day, if new media artists want their efforts to have<br />a significant impact on cultural evolution, they indeed to generate not<br />only brilliant images or sounds but more importantly, solid discourse.<br />That is, they need to situate their works in relation to ideas that are<br />not only about the techniques of making these works. The reason that we<br />continue discussing Duchamp's urinal or as Paik's early TV sculptures<br />as though these works were created today has nothing to do with the<br />artistic and technological skills of these artists - it has to do with<br />their concepts, i.e. the discursive statements these artists were<br />making through their objects. In short, if modern and contemporary art<br />is a particular discourse (or a game) where the statements (or moves)<br />are made via particular kind of material objects identified as<br />"artworks," digital artists need to treat their works as such<br />statements if they are to enter the larger cultural conversation. This<br />means referring to the historical and presently circulating statements<br />in the fields of contemporary art and/or contemporary culture at large.<br />And while Ars Electronica 2003 festival organizers seem to understand<br />this - "A media art that is coherently and consistently conceived will<br />never be limited to the artistic use of technical media" (Gerfried<br />Stocker, statement in the 2003 Festival Program, p. 7) - the festival<br />itself, in my view, did not encourage the real dialogue between new<br />media art and contemporary art, simply because it did not include<br />anybody from the latter field.<br /><br />If brilliant computer images are not supported by equally brilliant<br />cultural ideas, their life span is very limited. Either they are<br />destined to be simply forgotten, the way it happened with the great<br />deal of media art - simply because the software and the hardware they<br />required to run on no longer exists. Alternatively - and it hard to say<br />which fate is worse - they would end up as buttons or plug-ins in<br />mainstream graphics and multimedia software. This the ever-present<br />danger of anybody working on the cutting edge of technology - if the<br />results do not become part of other cultural conversations, they<br />inevitably stay within the field of technology itself: either simply<br />erased by new generations of software and hardware, or incorporated<br />within it as elementary building blocks.<br /><br />In saying all this I don't want to imply that contemporary art is<br />somehow "better" than digital art. Every culture has a need for<br />different discourses, statements, and practices; historically they are<br />distributed across - -varied cultural fields. Today, for instance, you<br />will find that the development of new styles is mostly done with<br />design; the tradition of portraiture (representation of a particular<br />human being) is primary carried on in commercial photography;<br />literature and cinema have taken on the role representing human<br />existence via narratives, which in classical period was the function of<br />theatre; and so on. Some fields within computer science, the<br />research-oriented wing of designers, and digital art are playing their<br />own unique and extremely important role: devising new representational<br />and communication methods and techniques. As for contemporary art, it<br />does not actually have a well-defined role within this cultural<br />division of labor. Rather, it is a field there one can make statements<br />which are not possible to make in all any other field, be it science,<br />media, etc. These statements are unique in terms of their subject<br />matter, how they are arrived at, and how they are presented. Not every<br />contemporary artist fully takes advantage of this unique situation, but<br />the best do. <br /><br />While the fields of contemporary art and digital art play very<br />different roles and both are culturally important for different<br />reasons, they are also are both limited in a complementary way. If the<br />two fields can learn from each other, the results can be very exiting.<br />Contemporary art is too historical: a typical statement in this field<br />either by artist or by critic inevitably refers to another statement or<br />statements made during the last few decades in the field. Digital art<br />has the opposite illness: it has no memory of its own history, so it<br />can benefit from remembering its past more systematically.<br /><br />To conclude: this brief analysis was not meant as attack on the whole<br />fields of "digital art" or "software art." Its best practitioners are<br />concerned with larger social and political questions. Moreover, the<br />best works of digital art are able to find just the right balance<br />between the strong concept that is not inherently technological and the<br />attention to software medium (I am thinking of such classics as<br />Carnivore and Auto-Illustrator). Others may be more concerned with<br />technological or design issues but, here as well, the best works are<br />making a unique contribution to the larger dialog: for instance, Ben<br />Fry's visualizations which allow us to see relationships in data and<br />its dynamic development - something which was until now not possible to<br />do in the history of visual representations. Still, others are<br />programmers who do not even consider themselves as artists, which<br />allows them - even though they may not know it - to make genuinely<br />interesting artistic statements (RUNME.ORG recognizes that some of the<br />most interesting activities in "software art" come from the outsiders -<br />in the same way that Shulgin's much earlier "medal for web art" was<br />awarded to web sites which were not done by self-proclaimed artists but<br />displayed "original artistic sensibility." As - the RUNME.ORG site<br />states, "Software art is an intersection of two almost non-overlapping<br />realms: software and art…The repository is happy to host different<br />kinds of projects - ranging from found, anonymous software art to<br />famous projects by established artists and programmers." )<br /><br />What I wanted to critique was not the extremely dynamic and important<br />field of "software art" but the way it was represented by Ars<br />Electronica 2003 festival. Its paradigm can only be described as<br />cultural isolationism. This is a dangerous position to take. Today,<br />when pretty much every artist and cultural producer is widely using<br />computers while also typically being motivated by many other themes and<br />discourses, is it in fact possible that "digital art" happens<br />everywhere else but not within the spaces of Ars Electronica festival?<br />LINKS: <br />www.aec.at/en/festival/<br />www.transmediale.de/<br />www.runme.org <br />www.m-cult.org/read_me/<br />www.abstraction-now.net<br />www.zkm.de/futurecinema/<br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome.org is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization.<br /><br />Rhizome Digest is supported by grants from The Charles Engelhard<br />Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for<br />the Visual Arts, and with public funds from the New York State Council<br />on the Arts, a state agency.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome Digest is filtered by Rachel Greene ([email protected]). ISSN:<br />1525-9110. Volume 8, number 38. Article submissions to [email protected]<br />are encouraged. Submissions should relate to the theme of new media art<br />and be less than 1500 words. For information on advertising in Rhizome<br />Digest, please contact [email protected].<br /><br />To unsubscribe from this list, visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/subscribe">http://rhizome.org/subscribe</a>.<br />Subscribers to Rhizome Digest are subject to the terms set out in the<br />Member Agreement available online at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/info/29.php">http://rhizome.org/info/29.php</a>.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br />