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Table of Contents: Another Democracy Is Possible Quim Gil <qgil@lawebespiral.org> MA in Media Design, Piet Zwart Institute matthew fuller <fuller@xs4all.nl> HorizonZero seeks Technical Development Lead Justine Bizzocchi <justine@direct.ca> Interview Yourself, Deprogramming.us, B0timati0n update... Amy Alexander <plagiari@plagiarist.org> Onirica2003 - (Ita -Fra -Eng) "ph2oartecuneo free space for art" <ph2oartecuneo@hotmail.com> AVM News March 2003 "A Virtual Memorial" <agricola-w@netcologne.de> CRISIS/MEDIA : The Uncertain States of Reportage Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha@sarai.net> Musicians on the Net Musicians on the Net <details@artistsonthenet.com> call for proposals: Impakt Online derek holzer <derek@x-i.net> Final call "ViolenceOnlineFestival" <agricola-w@netcologne.de> Onewordmovie: an internet-based installation Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.org> Year Zero One presents: the Splash Page Project Year Zero One <splash@year01.com> ------------------------------ Date: 21 Feb 2003 12:58:21 +0100 From: Quim Gil <qgil@lawebespiral.org> Subject: Another Democracy Is Possible I'd like to introduce you a political-media action we've just started in Spain. Please forward it to any Spanish contacts you have and also consider to apply it to your own country. We are open to collaborations: (Background: Parties to play the media game in elections (11/Apr/2001) http://amsterdam.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-0104/msg00065.html ) Otra Democracia Es Posible (Another Democracy Is Possible) http://otrademocraciaesposible.net [original Spanish text below, sorry for my horrible English] Become a member in a local candidature only to make that the electoral administration must print bullets saying that "Another Democracy Is Possible" in all the voting locations of you town in the elections of May 25th. Also: - - Beste Demokrazia Bat Posiblea Da (Basque) - - Outra Democracia É Posible (Galician) - - Una Altra Democràcia És Possible (Catalan) Signing in is free, you can do it in two minuts in the web, you don't need to belong to any political party, you don't need to be registered in the town, you don't need to take responsibilities nor get more work AND IT'S NOT A JOKE, THIS IS LEGAL AND REAL. Forward this to your colleagues, please. Three days after the release of the project there are already several lists opened: * Almería (1, 29 needed) * Barcelona (10, 30 needed) * Elche / Elx (1, 29 needed) * Granada (2, 28 needed) * La Bisbal d'Empordà (1, 17 needed) * Lloret de Mar (1, 19 needed) * Madrid (8, 42 needed) * Oviedo (2, 28 needed) * Premià de Mar (1, 23 needed) * Sant Cugat del Vallès (1, 23 needed) * Santiago de Compostela (1, 27 needed) * València (1, 33 needed) * Valladolid (2, 28 needed) Thanks for your collaboration. - ---------------------------------------- http://otrademocraciaesposible.net Preséntate en una candidatura municipal sólo para que la administración electoral tenga que imprimir papeletas diciendo que "otra democracia es posible" en todos los colegios de tu municipio en las elecciones del 25 de Mayo. Próximamente también: - - Beste Demokrazia Bat Posiblea Da - - Outra Democracia É Posible - - Una Altra Democràcia És Possible Apuntarse es gratis, se hace en dos minutos en la web, no hace falta estar afiliado a ningún partido, no hace falta estar censado en el municipio, no hace falta adquirir responsabilidades ni cargarse de trabajo Y NO ES UNA BROMA, TODO ES LEGAL Y REAL. Pasadlo a vuestro colegas, por favor. Tres días después del estreno ya hay varias listas abiertas: * Almería (1, faltan 29) * Barcelona (10, faltan 30) * Elche / Elx (1, faltan 29) * Granada (2, faltan 28) * La Bisbal d'Empordà (1, faltan 17) * Lloret de Mar (1, faltan 19) * Madrid (8, faltan 42) * Oviedo (2, faltan 28) * Premià de Mar (1, faltan 23) * Sant Cugat del Vallès (1, faltan 23) * Santiago de Compostela (1, faltan 27) * València (1, faltan 33) * Valladolid (2, faltan 28) Gracias por la difusión. Quim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 12:10:18 +0100 From: matthew fuller <fuller@xs4all.nl> Subject: MA in Media Design, Piet Zwart Institute MA in Media Design Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands The MA in Media Design is a two-year full-time course offered by the Piet Zwart Institute. We are the postgraduate centre for art and design of the Willem de Kooning Academy Hogeschool Rotterdam. Systems not surfaces Too often, media design has simply been the arrangement of pixels and plug-ins. For us, the computer and the networks are where dynamics that are aesthetic, social, political, technical, spatial, linguistic, rythmic, economic, numerical, meet and shape each other. The role of the designer is to track, sort and remix these dynamics in relation to others. Technology, theory, practice In a working context where software is doing half the thinking and doing for you, where is the divide between theory, technology and practice? This course is committed to a fundamental revaluation of the division between these terms. We will look for and invent the technology that is in media philosophy; find the conceptuality of an operating system; and design in a way that synthesises the power of all three. The course started last year and maintains the excitement of a process that is still being invented. For participants, work is carried out as a series of group and self-initiated projects. In certain cases participation in single projects may be arranged. A primary focus of the work is the internet, education in these technologies is a staple part of our work. Core themes in our programme are: transmission, use, behaviour, and experience; knowledge and memory; the political economy of the information society; citizens and consumers, public and private identities; urban and virtual reality, network and diaspora. Find more information at http://pzwart.wdka.hro.nl/ Application dates for 2003-2004: Recommended (for visa purposes) for applicants outside EU: April 1st Recommended for applicants inside EU: July 1st Final application deadline: September 1st ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 10:39:24 -0700 From: Justine Bizzocchi <justine@direct.ca> Subject: HorizonZero seeks Technical Development Lead Position Description This position for has key responsibility for technical design, implementation, testing, and software development for the Canadian new media web site, HorizonZero (www.horizonzero.ca). The Technical Development Lead works collaboratively with the Technical Production Lead to support the development and delivery of content on HorizonZero. The position is responsible for developing and maintaining proper documentation of projects, and may be called upon to develop proposals for development of new applications or approaches as well. The Technical Development Lead also assists with other Banff New Media Institute productions when available and provides leadership and mentorship to work studies and junior designers. The TDL reports to the Producer and to the Creative Director for HorizonZero. This is a full time term appointment to December 31, 2003, located at The Banff Centre, Banff Alberta. The appointment may be renewed dependent on funding. Responsibilities - -Reviewing specifications and recommending or creating technical solutions, including software development or choice of software tools - -Initiate proposals for new approaches or technical solutions to improve the site or better meet the goals of the project - -Participating in ongoing special projects in support of the Banff New Media Institute environment. - -System administration for the Horizon Zero web and development servers; - -Ongoing development and maintenance of the established development and QA processes for HZ - -Creating and maintaining development and testing documentation - -Supervise design, implementation and testing for all new features for HZ - -Recommend the best of breed in all technologies used for HZ - -Assisting the production team with programming support as required (including database, XML, PHP, PERL, Javascript, HTML) - -Contributing to the Object Repository development project, especially with application development Experience and Skills - -A proven history of successful, complex and large scale website development in a team environment (minimum of 3 years in the New Media/Web field, please provide references and URLs); - -Experience with a broad range of software tools and web development applications - -Experience and knowledge of audio and video compression and delivery tools an asset - -Demonstrated knowledge of Linux administration, CVS administration, Samba - -Excellent knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, MS NT Server, Linux, Mac OS X Server, and Open Source solutions - -Demonstrated knowledge of PHP, MySQL, PERL - -Demonstrated knowledge of OO practices and methodologies - -Additional knowledge with Javascript, C, XML Java and Flash is an asset - -Friendly, outgoing and an excellent communicator; creative problem solver - -Interest in the arts an asset. Application To apply for this position, send a cover letter and resume to horizon@banffcentre.ca or via fax to 403-762-6665. Applications will be reviewed as they are received and individuals selected for further consideration will be contacted by phone or email. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 03:05:14 -0800 (PST) From: Amy Alexander <plagiari@plagiarist.org> Subject: Interview Yourself, Deprogramming.us, B0timati0n update... Interview Yourself, Deprogramming.us, B0timati0n update... Plagiarist.org and its local affiliates announce the following up-to-the-minute updates! ** Interview Yourself (now in semi-retirement) leisurely adds hot new interviews from Brian Mann, Tamara Lai, and Loz from Provisoire.com! ** Our new friends, the Deprogrammers at deprogramming.us, have launched their software art debut, "ep #1 - did the dotcom bust you?" now available online at http://deprogramming.us As well as their salute to US foreign policy, Forkwar! Crash your system the patriotic way! http://www.deprogramming.us/forkwarindex.html Read more about deprogramming philosophy at: http://www.runme.org/project/+deprogramming/ Coming Soon: Deprogramming Presents: The Extreme Typing Project... ** B0timati0n - The Live Internet VJ... for The Geek Age: Still photos are now online from ENSBA/Paris and Transmediale performances... find them at http://b0timati0n.org ... and yes, Coming Soon: Public beta of b0timati0n software! - -- plagiarist.org: we are family ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 07:40:17 +0000 From: "ph2oartecuneo free space for art" <ph2oartecuneo@hotmail.com> Subject: Onirica2003 - (Ita -Fra -Eng) This is a multi-part message in MIME format. - ------=_NextPart_000_529a_b30_4239 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed Comunicato stampa - Communiqué presse - Press release - - Italiano Titolo esposizione: Onirica 2003 15 giovani artisti, selezionati fra più di 100 partecipanti, esibiscono la loro idea di contemporaneità. Dalla pittura alle ricerche più innovatine del web, si confrontano forme ed idee che esibiscono un’espressività del nostro presente, sempre più complesso ed affascinante. Al suo terzo anno di promozione dell’arte, questa rassegna supportata da un notevole successo di pubblico, indice un premio all’opera più interessante. Esso verrà annunciato nella serata d’apertura presso i rinnovato saloni della Provincia di Cuneo. Progetto ideato dalla Consulta Giovanile, in collaborazione con il Comune di Cuneo e l’Assessorato per le Politiche Giovanili della Provincia di Cuneo. Curatore dell’evento Domenico Olivero. Dal 29 Marzo al 6 Aprile 2003 presso il Salone Europa, Palazzo della Provincia di Cuneo, Corso Nizza 25 - 12100 Cuneo. tel:+39.0171.445111 fax +39.0171.698620 e-mail: onirica2003@inwind.it Tutti i giorni dalle ore 16,00 alle ore 19,00. Ingresso libero. Serata d’inaugurazione Sabato 29/03/03 alle ore 17,30. Ringraziando per la Vostra attenzione porgiamo cordiali saluti. - - français Titre exposition: Onirica 2003 15 artistes jeunes sélectionnés entre 100 participants en exhibent leur idée de contemporanéité. De la peinture aux recherches plus innovatives du web se mesurent formes et idées qu'ils exhibent une expressivité de notre présent, de plus en plus complexe et fascinante. A son troisième an de promotion de l'art, cette revue soutenue par un succès considérable de public, index un prix à l'oeuvre la plus intéressante. Il sera annoncé dans la soirée d'ouverture près des renouvelés salons de la Provincia di Cuneo. Projet idee par la Consulta Giovanile, en collaboration avec le Comune di Cuneo et l'Assessorato per le Politiche Giovanili di Cuneo. Curateur de l'événement Dominico Olivero. Depuis le 29 Mars au 6 Avril 2003 près du Salon Europe, Palee de la Provincia di Cuneo, Corso Nizza 25 - 12100 Cuneo. tel:+39.0171.445111 fax +39.0171.698620 e-mail: onirica2003@inwind.it Tous les jours depuis 16 h au 19 h. Entrée libre. Soirée d'inauguration Samedi 29/03/03 à 17,30 h. En remerciant pour Votre attention nous présentons sincères salutations. - - English Title: Onirica 2003 15 young people artists, selected about more than 100 participants, exhibit their idea of contemporaneity. >From the painting to the searches more innovatines of the web, are compared forms and ideas that exhibit an expressiveness of our present, more and more complex and fascinating. To his third year of promotion of the art, this review supported from a notable success of public, proposer a prize to the most interesting work, promoted by the varied corporate body. It will be announced in the evening of opening near the renewed saloons of the Provincia di Cuneo. Project created by Consulta Giovanile, in collaboration with the Assessorato alla Politica Giovanile del Provincia di Cuneo ed il Comune di Cuneo. Curatore dell’evento Domenico Olivero. To 29 March from 06 April in the Salone Europa, Palazzo della Provincia di Cuneo, Corso Nizza 21 - 12100 Cuneo. phone:+39.0171.445111 fax +39.0171.698620 e-mail: onirica2003@inwind.it Everyday 04,00 alle ore 07,00 p.m. Free entrance. Opening day: Saturday 29/03/03 05,30 p.m. Thanks for your attention and best regards. http://www.msn.it/msnservizi/es/extra_storage_tag/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 09:06:34 +0100 From: "A Virtual Memorial" <agricola-w@netcologne.de> Subject: AVM News March 2003 ****************************************************** A Virtual Memorial - Memorial Project against the Forgetting and for Humanity www.a-virtual-memorial.org New Media art project by Agricola de Cologne ****************************************************** Table of Contents: a) News b) [R]-[R]-[F] - Festival - Call for submissions c) Features of the month February 2003 ****************************************************** a) News 1.Agricola de Cologne, brand of the virtual instance, media artist and founder of NewMediaArtProjectNetwork of the same name, who manifests himself physically only a few times a year, had his first physical manifestation in 2003 recently during "New Media Nation - Festival of Festivals" Bratislava 20-23 February 2003. www.nmn.sk Side aside of 11 festivals (among them Prix Ars Electronica/Austria, Impakt Festival (Netherlands), Lumpen Chicago/USA Transmediale Berlin/Germany and others) he presented as a participant his Violence Online Festival www.newmediafest.org/violence/ 2. on 7 March TURBULENCE/New York www.turbulence.org will launch the Spotlight on three interactive works of Agricola de Cologne, which all are connected to "A Virtual Memorial": Violence Online Festival Version 4.1 Family Portrait and ]and_scape[ 3. On 17 March, Version 5.0 of Violence Online Festival will be launched on occasion of the participation in Videoformes Festival Clermont-Ferrand )France) 19-23 March The new *Violence Play Station* promises to be pure fun!! where all the little Bush's in the world can play their privat or public wars 4. Violence Online Festival calls for submissions to be included in Version 6.0. Launch in April 2003: subject "RAPE!" Deadline: 3 April - Use the submission form on www.newmediafest.org/violence/ b) [R]-[R]-[F] - Festival Call for submissions for inclusion in Version 1.0 - new deadline 15 April!! - subject: "Memory" terms and submissions form on www.newmediafest.org/rrf/ ********************************** New month - new subject ********************************** c) ***Features of the Month Selected Memorial Days in March 2003 International Year of Fresh Water 08 March 2003 - World Women Day 21 March 2003 - South Africa Human Rights Day 22 March 2003 - World Day for the Water 23 March 1945 - Allied Forces cross the river Rhine near Cologne/Germany *The Features of the Month are monthly changing collections of multimedia works and links which form in the totality of the composition an artwork of theirown to be created on a webpage of theirown within the Memorial project.* ************************************************** Features of the Month March 2003 Subject of the Month: Hidden and yet visible?? Featured Project: Antarctica by John Murphy TextObject: Kashmir ArtObject: Carnaval Witnesses of Eternity: Trebic/Moravia (part 1) Animal of the month: Condor People of the month: Bushmen/South Africa Perceptions: Speech Exercises ***************************************** Until the next time all the best, Wilfried Agricola de Cologne info@a-virtual-memorial.org www.a-virtual-memorial.org Memorial project against the Forgetting and for Humanity - ongoing New Media art project by Agricola de Cologne A short description as PDF file for free download from http://www.a-virtual-memorial.org/downloads/pdf/pdf.htm Optimized for 1024x768 VGA resolution, MS IE 6.0+ and NN 6.0+, soundcard, Flash 6 required ***************************************** A Newsletter is a free InformationService of NewMediaArtProjectNetwork Public Relations pr@nmartproject.net NewMediaArtProjectNetwork - -the experimental platform for art in Internet - www.le-musee-divisioniste.org www.javamuseum.org www.a-virtual-memorial.org www.engad.org www.agricola-de-cologne.de www.nmartproject.net www.newmediafest.org copyright © 2000-2003 by AGRICOLA de Cologne All rights reserved. *************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 16:56:35 +0530 From: Shuddhabrata Sengupta <shuddha@sarai.net> Subject: CRISIS/MEDIA : The Uncertain States of Reportage CRISIS/MEDIA : The Uncertain States of Reportage For Concept and Programme, http://www.sarai.net/events/crisis_media/crisis_media.htm For more Details and Reports see http://sarai.waag.org/crisis For Live Stream http://www.opuscommons.net:8000/crisis Crisis/Media : The Uncertain States of Reportage, a workshop produced by Sarai-CSDS and the Waag Society/for Old and New Media begins today at Sarai in Delhi. The three day workshop brings together independent media practitioners, journalists, writers and scholars to reflect on the role of media in times of crisis. Key note speakers include Arundhati Roy (writer), Delhi, Ranjit Hoskote (Journalist and Critic), Mumbai, Danny Muller (anti war activist) Chicago, and Subarno Chatterjee (media researcher) Delhi. And journalists/activists./practitioners from Buenos Aires, Moscow, Melbourne, Srinagar, Mumbai, Delhi, Amsterdam, Imphal. The workshop features panels and discussions on crisis situations in South Asia, Crises of Everyday Life, Ecological Crises, Case Studies of the Media in Ex Yugoslavia, and the Future of Global Independent Media, as well as screenings of films and exhibitions. Reports from the workshop will be posted on this list (and others) soon regards Shuddhabrata Sengupta ------------------------------ From: Musicians on the Net <details@artistsonthenet.com> Subject: Musicians on the Net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 17:29:38 +0100 From: derek holzer <derek@x-i.net> Subject: call for proposals: Impakt Online Impakt Online Update: Friday, Feb 21, 2003 http://www.impakt.nl - ----Contents---- 1) Winners of the "Art of the Narrative" Commisssion 2) Call for Proposals: "Out of the Box [Net.Art and the 'Real World']" Commission 1) Winners of the "Art of the Narrative" Commisssion Launch Date: April 1, 2003 - ---Ramesh Srinivasan: "Village Voice" - ---Tamar Schori: "Beadgee" Impakt Online is proud to announce the the two winners of the latest net.art theme, "Art of the Narrative". This theme was chosen to reflect on the new ways in which the internet can be used to tell stories, use language and change perceptions. These projects will be launched on the Impakt website April 1. Ramesh Srinivasan's "Village Voice" is an online video database filled with stories from the Somali refugee community of Boston, Massachusetts. The stories can be accessed by various themes, including government & legality, beliefs & religion, cultural adaptation and traditional customs. Far from being an ethnographical survey, "Village Voice" allows these Somalis to speak for themselves, in their own language, about their transition into a new society. Tamar Schori's "Beadgee" is a whimsical project taking its inspiration from a series of drawings made by Alexander Calder for a collection of 19th Century nursery rhymes entitled "Three Young Rats and other ryhmes". Schori has created a new library of drawings, which can be exploded and rearranged by the user. Rearranging the drawings also rearranges the nursery rhymes, and a strange language game ensues. Users will also have to opportunity to enter both their rearranged drawings and new words and phrases into the database for others to play with. 2) Call for Proposals: "Out of the Box [Net.Art and the 'Real World']" Deadline: April 1, 2003 http://www.impakt.nl No longer content with pure formalism and self-referentiality, and unwilling to be dismissed into the simple catagory of "graphic design", net.art is redefining itself in the realm of social critique and commentary. The old elements of hyperlink, the embedded images and sounds, the database and the live stream all remain in place, as do the digital pranks, parasitic spoofs and deliberate 'errors' which gave early net.art its timeliness and humour. Their scope, however, has been refocused and their use redefined in recent years to a razor-sharp critique of technological "progress", globalization, and the ever-present machinery of surveillance and control which the internet has helped to usher in. Working from this position, the "Out of the Box" theme for the Impakt Online seeks to examine how technology and the internet manifest themselves on the human level by asking such questions as; where do such on-line concepts as navigation, avatar, or algorithm find their place in the "real world" outside the computer? And, similarly, how can such physical activities such as performance, protest, or love maintain their "real-ness" in a virtual environment? In short, we seek the point where real life affects the internet,and (more importantly) where the internet affects real life. Impakt will commission two projects for this theme. The accepted commissions for this project will be invited to produce a hybrid project involving a website and a live, "real-world" intervention [performance, action, prank, interface, etc] which will take place during the Impakt Festival this coming spring, between June 3 and 10. Depending on the submissions we receive, we may invite the accepted artists to collaborate on a single project. Because this is a commission for new works, previously exhibited projects will be immediately disqualified. However, as we realize the timeframe is somewhat short, we are happy to support projects already under development with an eye towards their premiere at the Impakt Festival 2003. Applicants are urged to submit their proposals early so that the editorial team has a chance to go over them and contact with artist with questions and suggestions. Final Deadline: April 1, 2003 Launch: June, 2003 *Proposals must be written in English, and the project accessible to an English-speaking audience *They should include a project description: - ---description of content - ---technical implementation - ---time line - ---relation to the theme *They should also include an artist[s] biography: - ---short CV - ---documentation + URLs of previous projects *Previously exhibited projects will be immediately disqualified Impakt will provide webhosting for the project for 1 year, and pay a fee to the accepted artist[s] of EURO 1000. The winning commission[s] will also be invited to submit a budget for the live event which will take place during the festival. Address for submissions: online@impakt.nl http://www.impakt.nl IMPAKT PO Box 735 3500 AS Utrecht The Netherlands ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:25:31 +0100 From: "ViolenceOnlineFestival" <agricola-w@netcologne.de> Subject: Final call War!! . Violence Online Festival www.newmediafest.org/violence/ is looking for new submissions to be included in Version 5.0 . Deadline 3 March 2003 ************************************ *Violence Online Festival* will participate with its coming Version 5.0 in Videoformes - 18th International Video and Multimedia Festival Clermont-Ferrand - 20-23 March 2003. >War!!< is the subject of the new feature to be presented in Version 5.0. ************************************* >>War belongs to the heaviest forms of violence. Nearly any war is based on an insane idealogy constructed by insane people. The phantom of a war in IRAK becomes increasingly threatening. The fear how the consequences for each single individual could look like is far spreading in all parts of the world. There is no question what the insane ideology and who its insane constructor is this time - dictating a war in order to protect personal/national economical interests against the rest of the world. The feature of WAR!! on Version 5.0 is meant as a contribution particularly against the War in IRAK, but beyond that - against any war, as - if this war will really come or not- there will be other wars taking place simultaneously and later, as well.<< ******************************************* Participating is expressing solidarity with all people who are against this war by submitting one work of art in a digital format reflecting war and violence. Following digital formats are accepted: 1. URL (no size limit) or 2. media files (size limit: a single art work may not exceed 1Mb) 2.1) webpage: HTML 2.2) text: plain email, .txt, .doc, .rtf 2.3) image: .jpg,.gif,.png (max. dimensions 800x600 pixels) 2.4) video/animation/movie: .mpeg, .mov (Quicktime), Flash .swf, Shockwave .dcr (max. dimensions 800x600 pixels) 2.5) sound: .mp3 Please use this entry form for submitting: *************************************************************** Artist: name: first name: Email: URL: short bio (not more than 300 words in English) Work: Title URL (if net based) * - screen shot to be attached as .jpg (max 800x600 pixels) Year Technology/type of media file short description (not more than 300 words, in English) *Confirmation/authorization: I confirm that I hold all rights on the submitted work and agree that it can be included in future versions of Violence Online Festival, as well. signed name email Please send your submission together with the media file(s) exclusively to violence-war@newmediafest.org Deadline 3 March 2003. ********************************* Violence Online Festival www.newmediafest.org/violence ********************************* ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 19:22:27 +0100 From: Felix Stalder <felix@openflows.org> Subject: Onewordmovie: an internet-based installation One Word Movie An Internet-based project by Beat Brogle +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + March 06, 20:00 at [plug.in]: «onewordmovie» Opening: Presentation of + the Project and Prototype +Installation by the artist. + March, 7 - 23 «onewordmovie» at the [plug.in] Wed - Sun 14-18 Uhr + Starting 7. March «onewordmovie» Onlineversion accessible under: + www.onewordmovie.ch. Preview-Version for the Media 27. February: + www.xcult.ch/onewordmovie + www.youplugin.org / office@iplugin.org + St. Alban-Rheinweg 64 + CH 4052 Basel / Switzerland + Tel. ++41 (0) 61 283 60 50 / Fax. 51 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ About the Project ============================================================================ One Word Movie From a world of images to an image of the world. «One Word Movie» is an on-line platform which organizes, based on user-supplied terms, the flood of images on the Internet into an animated film. A word turns into images, images turn into a movie. Using a specially programmed search engine, users can call up images from the Internet which match their search term. The project's search engine is built on top of the most popular image search facilities available on the Internet. Supplied with a search term, the engine produces first a «hit list». This list can be several thousand images long, depending on the term. The images on this «hit list» provide the «raw material» for the movie. Following the ranking on the «hit list», the images are animated into a film in real-time, following a fixed and predetermined score, which consists of series of interwoven loops. Each film has an individual trailer, displaying the search term as the title and each film lasts until the «raw material» is used up. This project plays with the tension between on-line and cinematic approaches to images. Consequently, it functions as well online as in real space. Hence, it will be presented in two versions: as browser-based application and as an installation. The on-line version is accessible via a normal internet connection and standard browser at http://www.onewordmovie.ch. The installation, closer to the cinematic experience, consists of three video projections onto three screens. On-line version Like with any search engine, the user enters a search term into a web form. The engine then collects images from its database and creates a hit list. This happens in the background, invisible to the user. Based on this hit list, a film is being created and streamed in real-time over the Internet to the user. The server can handle several streams, hence several users, in parallel. Each film will be generated instantaneously using the latest images from the web. Installation The central spatial element of the installation is a triptych consisting of three screens, each showing a different data projection. Each projection is one animated film, hence the user can see up to three films in parallel. The installation creates a cinematic situation, i.e. the projections dominate an otherwise darkened room. In this room, in addition to the screens, there is also a control monitor which indicates which search term each movie is based on. Even though the situation is cinematic, the audience is not passive. Rather, the control monitor also allows users to enter their own search terms, hence directly influence, though not fully control, the films that are shown. The installation consists of three projections so that the users can relate the different streams to one another and thus explore yet another level of Internet-specific image-word relationships. One can imagine, for example, that the same search term entered in different languages creates different films, or that two words whose meaning is very similar are associated with very different image clusters. The best context for the presentation of the installation are media festivals, galleries or museums. These institutions still struggle with the question how to integrate the Internet into their traditional exhibition spaces without recreating the individualizing situation - one machine = one user - that we all know from the office or home use of the computer. The installation version of the project can help to overcome this difficulty by choosing a format that is adapted to the exhibition spaces as much as it is to the Internet. Discussion ============================================================================ The set-up - create a film according to predetermined score - has a certain kinship to the structural film of the 1960s and 1970s. There, as in this case, the role of the individual author is minimized, without ever disappearing completely. It shifts from the selection of images and scenes to the creation of an algorithm that guides the selection. In «One Word Movie» the remaining fragments of authorship are split again, into those pertaining to the author of the set-up and those pertaining to the user who initiates a particular search. However, such similarities to conventional (experimental) film are outweighed by differences and these differences are the actual core of the project. They stem from the altered status that images have online and the strong influence of the specifics of the technologies employed. The strong and influential particulars of the technology relate to the fact that a semantic search strategy is employed to solve what is - from a human perspective - a pictorial search problem. Instead of analyzing images according to the visual content, as humans do, the machine is searching for semantic terms which appear either in the image's file name or in the text closely associated with it. This approach to image searching is the most widely used today, including the large commercial image search engines. All attempts to analyze visual content automatically have failed so far. One program to look for pornographic images, for example, the «naked people finder», was searching for colors resembling that of naked (white) people and analyzed the shapes of these colors. Two pink cylinders, say, were interpreted as two naked extremities. The search precision, however, was too low to be of any use. Particularly often, images of desserts were misidentified as pornography. The project is no longer continued.1 Because of such non-trivial challenges to automatic content analysis of images, it is highly likely that the semantic approach currently used will remain predominant for quite some time. No matter how adequate it may be, it is the way most people will search for images. It makes little sense to critique it, since there is no alternative available. One Word Movie explores its ramifications. Two questions come to the fore: What is the relationship between the file name and the image content and, secondly, what kind of selection is being made, supposedly representing our search interest? The question that has figured prominently in modern art - the relationship between image and text - is posed anew, this time a practical and urgent one, directly affecting the habits of millions of Internet users. The fast-paced sequences of the images appear to the viewer initially as random. The human cognition, focusing on image content, has a hard time understanding the machine's selection criteria. There's a fundamental disconnect. As little, or as well, as we cannot infer the file name from the image content, the machine cannot infer the image content from the machine. However, these flickering images contain rich cultural information. As an example, the film visualizing the search term «me» contains patterns that are revealing the current state of (online) culture. The majority of images we see are of young white males, females appear only after a while and non-whites even later. Intermixed with this quite expected standard imagery is a surprising number of x-rays and CT scans offering new, highly technological views on the individual body. A lot of people apparently take these images as good representations of themselves, which we can assume since they call the file "me" or associate the term closely to the image. This implies the question how far new visualization technologies are changing the view on the human body. The film suggests, this is not only a problem affecting some specialists, but changing perceptions of the (online) population at large. What is particularly striking is that there seems to be such trust that these complex, heavily mediated images are indeed good representations of an individual person. The flood of images that «One Word Movie» channels into a movie are at the same time without meaning - they haven't been assembled by a cognitive subject - and full of unintended meaning if viewed by a perceptive person. The lack of meaning is heightened by the difficulties of a semantic image search in a non-semantically classified image pool. Despite certain similarities, the Internet does in this regard not resemble a structured library or an archive. The meaning of the images lies not in the individual image - which, after all, passes by so quickly that it can barely be detected - but the patterns that this high-speed view of image groups reveal. This is a cognitive mode quite typical for the electronic culture. McLuhan understood this clearly when we wrote: Information pours upon us, instantaneously and continuously. As soon as information is acquired, it is very rapidly replaced by still newer information. Our electrically-configured world has forced us to move from the habit of data classification to the mode of pattern recognition.2 «One Word Movie» forces us, who are used to look for narration, to shift our perception. In these films, there is nothing narrative, even if we tend to detect some fragments of a narration from time to time. But any narration rests on a narrative intention, which we cannot assume a machine to have. However, if we are able to free ourselves from this search for narration, we can explore hidden informational patterns. The flickering films open our view on to a hidden «psychogeography» of the Internet. Technology ============================================================================ Input of search terms and search parameters and output of the animated movies are delivered in standard web browsers - like e.g. Netscape or Internet Explorer - on the computer of the viewer of One Word Movie. The One Word Movie application has active components on three levels: a shockwave application in the browser of the viewer, a script on the web server and the image search engine of Google. After the web page with the embedded shockwave application is loaded, an input field for the search term is displayed, along with different options like play-speed, image repetition, image size and image-loop length. By clicking on the search button, the search term is sent to a script on the web server which transmits the term to the Google image search. The results page from Google is parsed and interpreted by the script to extract the image URL's which then are sent back to the shockwave application. The application is loading the images from the internet to the computer of the viewer and standardizes the images since they exist in different formats and sizes on the web. On the interface of the application the growing animation can be viewed. In the background, invisible to the user, new images from the Internet and new image URLs from Google are loaded and inserted constantly into the animation. The image search itself and the transfer of the images from the Internet take place with a certain delay, wherefore the beginning movie is only a few images long but grows up to the full length within seconds. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 00:55:18 -0500 From: Year Zero One <splash@year01.com> Subject: Year Zero One presents: the Splash Page Project + + + Year Zero One presents: the Splash Page Project March 1 - May 1 2003 : linkoln.net We are pleased to present net.art bumper stickers by linkoln.net. Grab some printer-friendly labels and print out these slogans for the information age! Since most net.heads have laptops worth more than their cars (if they own a car) perhaps these stickers will appear on more laptop lids than bumpers... The work is currently on view at http://www.year01.com abe linkoln is one online persona of sound / multimedia / and sometimes net artist rick silva (http://lightmovingintime.com). in his one year life online abe linkoln has launched two projects, "net art bumper stickers" and "net.art paparazzi," as well as been the curator of 3 different net art shows; "4z4: a net.art no show", "screened out: a collection of rejected proposals," and most recently "fuck net.art." linkoln.net is also known for its "start page" which features one of the best net art link collections online. Find out more about the mind behind linkoln.net at the website - http://www.linkoln.net Year Zero One has offered its splash page as an exhibition space for artists that will operate on a bimonthly basis. A selection of Canadian and international net.artists have been invited to show their work in this forum. The Splash Page Project launched on Feb. 1, 2002 with a piece by net.artist Mouchette. The Project is curated by Michelle Kasprzak. If you have a proposal for this space, please e-mail: splash@year01.com Year Zero One is an on-line artist run centre which operates as a network for the dissemination of digital culture and new media through web based exhibitions, an extensive media arts directory/bulletin, and the Year01 Forum - an electronic art journal. http://www.year01.com + + + - -- ------------------------------ # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net