April
5
-
11,
2003
Originally
published
on
03/31/03
In
the
National
Museum
of
Contemporary
Art
in
Oslo,
there's
at
the
moment
a
remarkable
exhibition
going
on
with
the
name
"Skrevet
i
stein.
En
net.art
arkeologi."
The
show
is
about
the
heroic
time
of
net-dot
art,
that
in
the
first
place
seemed
to
be
the
time
of
ironic
statements.
An
example
of
this
is
the
physical
dot
of
net-art
that
is
shown
on
a
velvet
pillow
at
the
entrance
of
the
exhibition.
Besides
that,
you
can
also
see
a
lot
of
physical
net-dot
art
artifacts
like
an
Etoy
Lego
van
or
a
Vuk
Cosic's
ascii,
Deep
Throat
t-shirt.
Completely
in
the
line
of
net-dot
art,
there's
a
whole
computer
/
print
installation
that
lets
you
construct
the
exhibition
catalogue
yourself.
Just
select
what
you
want
in
it;
print
and
bind
it
right
away;
and
you
have
your
own
personal
net-dot
art
catalogue
that
even
has
its
own
official
ISBN
number.
Except
for
the
essay
"The
Dot
on
a
Velvet
Pillow
-
Net.art
Nostalgia
and
net
art
today"
by
critic
Josephine
Bosma,
the
whole
site
is
in
Norwegian.
From
what
I
understood,
all
essays
will
soon
appear
in
English.
So,
if
you
are
interested
in
the
essays
by
Per
Platou,
Grethe
Melby
or
Anne
Lise
Wullum,
you
should
check
the
site
later.
::
Peter
Luining
::
Originally
published
on
03/30/03
Mediamixer is not a new piece of work but it is highly relevant due to current events and allegations that the media are once again influencing both politic and social events like never before.
During the Gulf War, masses of criticism were hurled upon CNN for making the war a televised event. This time its Al-Jazeera, the Quatar-based channel, who are being accused of unsound broadcasting techniques. Mediamixer is a step toward a liberalization of the media using notable new media techniques. An "interactive multimedia project series blurring the boundaries between the traditional dissemination of 'News' media and new forms of artist-created media manipulation mixers," its aim is to allow users to create their own interpretations of news events.
While it uses a mass of plug-ins, this project lacks on several points: nothing is live or even really 'seeded' by the user; so, while you can mix your own news, the choices are highly edited by the news corporations who have made the original source material (and the copyright to this?), as well the artist who has pre-selected the sounds, videos etc. for the user to use. All in all, though it's an interesting collage, it shows little progress from the days of Braque and Picasso using newspapers in their collage-based works.
:: Garrett Lynch ::
Originally
published
on
03/30/03E-commerce being as ubiquitous as it has been in the last few years, it's become a great target for artistic appropriation. Kate Armstrong's CATALOGUE: Spring 2003: Nothingness appropriates the structure and spirit of many shopping-cart-driven e-commerce sites while injecting a strong vein of humor into the transaction.
Users can find virtually nothing in this catalogue and purchase it at a very low price. My favorite bit of DHTML jollity that Armstrong has coded here is the drop-down menu in the "Loop" section of the piece. Select from an array of options (such as "The feeling of Overwhelming Disuse") and click on "Search," and you'll be directed to a corresponding e-commerce site which has already been queried for your selection.
It is a wonderful parody of contemporary internet protocol, at least from the business side. I can only wonder:Êwill Kate accept coupons for this site?
:: Lewis LaCook ::
Originally
published
on
03/29/03I remember my first giddy experience with a computer. I was six years old and my brother got a $50 Vic20 from Toys R' Us in the early 80's. If I was lucky, he'd let me spend hours copying a program from a manual. If I typed everything right, we'd be rewarded with a little flashing box or maybe a euphoric beep or two.
Such was the nostalgic excitement I felt when stumbling upon the hypnotizing Can-D.org by Berlin's own Markus Kleine-Vehn. There's an assortment of mini projects which feature moving shapes, bleeping blips, and even the historic 09112001 dialed over and over again on the telephone keypad (this seems to be the only project which refers to a specific event).
The
simplicity
and
antiquity
of
the
shapes
and
sounds
will
awaken
your
inner
computer
child
and
provide
a
welcome
retreat
to
a
simpler
time.
Artist:
Markus
Kleine-Vehn
::
Kristen
Palana
::