introduction PixelACHE 2005 theme : “...the Net is not Yet a monolithic The Dot Org Boom broadcast medium. I remain wildly optimistic about it’s potential. The The Dot Org Boom is here to stay. It recent ascent of peer-to-peer net- is the non-profit version of Dot Com works, weblogs and free software Boom (RIP), fueled by the enthusias- could be a sign of a coming Internet tic efforts of inviduals which are ac- renaissance” cumulated together through infor- - Geert Lovink, My First Recession mal but elaborate structures. Some (2003) of the key components of this rap- idly growing boom are open source “In United States and Canada, for and open content initiatives, media example, almost everyone knows activist networks, ever growing blog- about the explosion of the dot-coms osphere and vast networks of NGOs - a much smaller phenomenon - but around the world. millions have not heard the big sto- ry: the worldwide explosion of dot- Putting together the PixelACHE Dot orgs. It is a story with far-reaching Org Boom program was not an ac- implications: By sharpening the role ademic research process but rath- of government, shifting practises and er a dive into grassroot networks in attitudes in business and opening up search for ideas and initiatives with waves of opportunity for people to strong energy and hopefully a bright apply their talents in new, positive future. PixelACHE Festival brings to- ways, the emerging citizen sector is gether a very diverse group of art- reorganising the way the work of so- ists, engineers, activists, architects ciety gets done.” and designers to discuss and devel- - David Bornstein, How to Change the op the future of Dot Org Boom. World (2004) Electronic art and subcultures “a browser is also an editor The Dot Org Boom theme will blend together with other PixelACHE Festival a desktop is also a server themes which are all experimenting with audiovisual technologies and push- a user is also a producer” ing the boundaries of creative disciplines. - Sarai media lab, free media lounge The PixelACHE 2005 subthemes are: (2005) ·VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances ·Experimental Interaction and Electronics ·Interactive and Participatory Cinema PixelACHE Festival is also collaborating with the Particle/Wave hybrid radio workshop and various other events – read this publication to find out more!
*You Boom, I Boom, Everybody Boom!*
Juha Huuskonen on behalf of PixelACHE 2005 crew
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 2 index Introduction...... 2 Hecker + Blutleuchte & Cloama...... 9 Index...... 3 [RAM]7: Models of Collaboration.....69 Schedules...... 4-7 Contested Commons...... 71 Club Events...... 8 Mal AU Pixel 2006...... 73
Share, Share Widely...... 11 Dot Org Boom! Generation Wired...... 16 Intermundos.org...... 22 Disappeared in America...... 18 Dodo.org...... 23 Wikipedia.org...... 19 WebCamTalk 1.0...... 24 Streamtime.org...... 20 Franco “Bifo” Berardi...... 25 Used in India...... 21 Digitalopenandfree.org...... 26 VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances VJ Culture...... 28 Tempest...... 30 Malfunctionalism...... 38 Studio Frank & Lisa...... 31 The World of PIKU...... 39 Respam - Inbox performance...... 32 Amfibio + Selfish Shellfish...... 40 A Day on Earth...... 33 Reline2...... 41 PixelTANGO demo...... 34 Vom Club ins Museum...... 42 IIS:006...... 35 BEK to the Future: pixel04...... 43 Perm 36 Robovision...... 36 Software Workshops...... 46 Machinista...... 37 VJ in Theatre...... 47 Experimental Interaction & Electronics Interactivity is the new pink...... 49 Nuage Vert...... 55 LED Music Box...... 50 Chamber Music...... 56 ELF electronic-life-forms...... 51 Verde...... 57 Four Ophones...... 53 Sketches and Routines...... 58 Kick Ass Kung-Fu...... 54 Workshops...... 59 Interactive & Participatory Cinema One Day Video...... 61 Lipstick Traces, a narrative study...... 62 Banananose Computer Movies...... 63
Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop ääniradio.org : 99.4 FM...... 64 P/Wave Concert & Performances.....65 Particle/Wave Workshop...... 67
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 3 9.30 - 16.00 The Dot Org Boom: TUESDAY A seminar on independent and net- worked media. 12 April Organised in Stockholm in collab- oration with Embassy of Finland in Stockholm.
KIASMA WEDNESDAY Kiasma seminar room: 13 April 17.00 - 20.00 VJing and theatre workshop [page 47] (in Finnish!) also on Thursday
KIASMA Sibelius Academy m-bar THURSDAY Kiasma seminar room: 10.00 VJing and theatre workshop 14 April [page 47] (in Finnish) - also on Wednesday 15.00 Dot Org Boom introduction + PixelACHE exhibition presenta- tions - Used in India [page 21] (Kathirkeya Acharya & Aditya Dev Sood / India) - Visual Environmental Argumenta- tion [page 23] (Dodo.org, Finland) - MusicBox [page 50] (Jin-Yo Mok & Gicheol Lee / US, presented by Ahmi Wolf / US)
Kiasma Theatre: Sibelius Academy Concert Hall: PixelACHE Club [page 8] 13.00 Machinista 2004 19.45 Click! Particle/Wave concert 22.00 - 02.00 p.o.p. screening [page 37] [page 65] PixelACHE Opening Party with 17.00 TEMPEST [page 30] Particle/Wave [page 65] (Erich Berger, Norway) - International vj´s, sound artists 18.00 SF&L [page 31] (Netherlands) + and live streams. RESPAM [page 32] (US/Romania) performance
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! festival schedule page 4 KIASMA Nifca (on the Suomenlinna island) FRIDAY Kiasma seminar room: Nifca project space #1: 10.00 - 17.00 13.00 - 17.00 15 April Particle/Wave workshops Dot Org Boom - Activist afternoon and discussions [page 67] - Streamtime.org [page 20] (Eleonora - Open discussions on current Oreggia & Cecile Landman / Netherlands) themes in experimental radio. - Intermundos.org [page 22] (Vanessa Goksch / Colombia) - Muslim Activists Rewire the Net [page 18] (Naeem Mohaiemen / US) - Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi [page 25] (Italy)
Nifca project space #2: 11.00 - 18.00 Audiovisual per- formance tools workshopping 11.00 PiDiP workshop [page 46] (Yves Degoyon / Spain) 14.00 PixelTANGO workshop [page 46] (Ben Bogart / Canada) 17.00 Piksel04 presentation [page 43] (BEK / Norway)
Nifca project space #3: 18.00 Verde, DIY instruments pres- entation & performance [page 57] (Mika Rintala, Finland) 19.00 Skisser och Rutiner perform- ance [page 58] (Daniel Skoglund, Sweden) 20.00 Selfish Shellfish + Amfibio performance [page 40] (Finland)
SATELLITE EVENT: Club Bundolo [page 8] entrance 5€ (not included in passes) 22.00 - 04:00 PixelACHE VJs Sound: DJs Sampsa (Leftside Ensemble) & Kasio (Nuspirit HKI/Giant Robot)
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! festival schedule page 5 KIASMA Nifca (on the Suomenlinna island) UMO Jazz House SATURDAY Kiasma seminar room: 10.00 - 16.00 16 April Dot Org Boom - Digital open & free 10.00 Wikipedia.org [page 19] (Florence Devouard / France ) 11.00 Digitalopenandfree.org [page 26] (Kai Kuikkaniemi / Finland) 13.00 Community Media as online programme platforms (Robert Stachel / Austria) 16.00 NewMediaEducation.org : Webcamtalk with Trebor Scholz [page 24] (USA)
Kiasma Theatre: Nifca project spaces #1,#2,#3: 11.00 RELINE2 screening [page 41] 12.00 – 19.00 12.00 PixelTANGO demo + Experimental Interaction day performance [page 34] (Ben Bogart, 12:00 - 15:00 Bluetooth/mobile Thien & Yasuko, Christelle Franca / Canada) phone workshop [page 59] 14.00 Discussion: (Jürgen Scheible / Finland) VJ Culture searching for home 12:00 - 15:00 Microcontroller buf- - VJ Culture / Visual Sensations VJ fet + Sensor boogie [page 59] competition [page 28] (Tuomo Tammenpää / Finland) (Annet Dekker / Montevideo, Netherlands) 12:00 - 15:00 Chamber music for - vom club ins museum [page 42] one [page 56] (Teemu Kivikangas / Finland) (Peter Lang / Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Germany) 15:00 - 16:00 Hehe.org [page 55] - Video in theatre workshop (Heiko Hansen & Helen Evans / France) and [page 47] (Ville Hyvönen / Finland) Elf – Electronic life forms [page 51]] 16.00 A Day on Earth performance (Pascal Glissmann & Martina Höfflin / Germany) [page 33] (Canada) 16:00 - 18:00 Interactivity is the PixelACHE Club [page 8] 17.00 IIS:006 performance new pink [page 49] (discussion hosted by 21.00 - 02.00 [page 35] (RYBN collective / France) Erik Sandelin & Magnus Torstensson / Sweden) vom club ins museum screening 18.00 Interactive and Participatory [page 42] (Germany), Cinema screening Streamtime a/v performance Kino Montreal/Helsinki + One Day [page 20] (Netherlands/Iraq/international), Video [page 61] (Finland/International) Peerspex [page 8] (France), 19.00 Perm 36 ROBOVISION per- Memnon [page 8] (Finland), formance [page 36] (Pointless creations dj widerberg verhaverbeke with / UK) dj pillow & Mademoiselle (Canada) and Respam VJs [page 32] (US)
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! festival schedule page 6 KIASMA Nifca (on the Suomenlinna island) m-bar SUNDAY Kiasma seminar room: 12.00 - 14.00 Knowledge, Media, 17 April Self-Organization (Franco “Bifo” Berard, It- aly) [page 25] - Free admission – organ- ised in collaboration with Tutkijaliitto 14.00 - 15.30 Dot Org Boom seminar closing ses- sion and future directions: PixelACHE 2006 – le boom .org (Mathieu Marguerin, Juha Huuskonen) + RIXC presentation (Latvia) 17.00 - 18.00 Interactive and Participatory Cinema discussion (Petri Kola, Teijo Pellinen, Chris Hales, Marii- na Bakic, Jean-Michel Géridan, Robert Brecevic + more)
Kiasma Theatre: 10.00 - 13:00 Kick Ass Kung-Fu session [page 54] (Animaatiokone Industries, Finland) 15.00 Hecker concert [page 9] (Ger- many), Blutleuchte with Cloama con- cert [page 9] (Finland) 18.00 Malfunctionalism dance per- formance demo [page 38] (Finland) 19.00 The World of PIKU [page 39] (Finland)
Nifca project spaces #1,#2,#3: 09.00 - 18.00 Open programming PixelACHE participants can book slots for presentations etc.
PixelACHE Club [page 8] 20.00 - 02.00 BANG [page 65] PixelACHE Closing Party
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! festival schedule page 7 PixelACHE CLUB EVENTS
CLUB SCHEDULE:
Memnon P.O.P. Particle/Wave www.memnon.fi Pixelache Opening Party Memnon is an experimental music Thursday 14.04. duo of kantele player Eva Alkula and mbar 20:00 - 03:00 sound designer Ville Hyvönen. 20:00-22:00 DJ Samy Kramer 22:00 audio_z (Lithuania) Memnon examines interfaces and 22:30 NoisiV (Berlin) collisions between traditional instru- 23:00 DJ Mesak + DJ Samy Kramer ment and modern design, classical training and modern electronics, aca- Jenni Valorinta aka VJ *jen Club Bundolo night demic and experimental music, com- Videos of Jenni Valorinta aka VJ *jen Friday 15.04. positions and sound design. often relate to nature and joyful mo- Club Bundolo 22:00 - 04:00 The Finnish kantele playing and ments in life. She has worked with Peerspex entrance 5€ (not included in passes) sound tradition is taken to a new several music artists and bands in Paris –based, French - Finnish duo - DJs Sampsa (Leftside Ensemble) & modern level by approaching it different clubs and events both in Peerspex‘s music could make one Kasio (Nuspirit HKI / Giant Robot) from totally different perspectives: Finland and abroad and she has coor- think of an imaginary collaboration - VJ PatadePerro (Intermundos, Ko- memnon combines the unique Finn- dinated visuals in events like Koneis- between Aphex Twin and the Desti- lumbia) ish sound of kantele with scandina- to and Flow. *jen has been part of ny’s child. Their electronica- orientat- - SF&L - Visual Sensations vian electronic minimalism, and wid- Pixelache 2005 VJ team. Besides vis- ed music combines acid break-beats VJ competition winner (Hollanti) ens the classical kantele tradition to ual projects she’s also working at the with dreamy ritournelles, turning “The Finnish All-Stars VJ Jam”: experimental sound landscapes. University of Helsinki with main inter- them into a strange, though melod- - VJ *jen (Amfibio) PixelACHE + Particle/Wave est in user interface design and soft- ic post-r’n’b. - VJ 304 (Xploitec) Closing Party - dot.org BOOM ware engineering projects. - VJ’s Hahmo & Naïve (Visual Sys- goes out with a Bang! teemi) Sunday 17.04. XPLOITEC mbar 20:00 - 02:00 XPLOITEC is a visual collaboration of PixelACHE Club 20:00 Shadowcasting VJ PHOQ and VJ 304. Saturday 16.04. (remote networked performance, “Visualizations are based on live trig- 21.00 - 02.00 Steve Bradley USA) gering and creating narrative compo- - von club ins museum screening 22:00 August Black & Bo Bell sitions using prefixed video material. (Germany), 22:30 Basso Radio Mc Mute Open XPLOITEC is working on club events - Streamtime a/v performance Content and at art scene by xploiting visual in- (Netherlands/Iraq/international), 23:00-24:00 DJ Crankshaft live formation surrounded us.” - Peerspex (France), 24:00 DJ Indigo XPLOITEC operates in Helsinki, Vien- - Memnon (Finland), na and Budapest. - dj widerberg verhaverbeke with dj VJ performances by “It´s a digital spit on your screen” pillow & Mademoiselle (Canada) Pointless Creations (UK) and www.xploitec.org and Respam VJs (US) Teemu K + Pseudotoad labs (Amfibio, Finland)
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 8 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 15:00 Hecker + Blutleuchte & Cloama WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
Florian Hecker Blutleuchte and Cloama sounds of Russian political speech- www.mego.at/hecker.html es, harsh electronics and slavic ritu- Blutleuchte and Cloama are two Finn- alistic neo-folk as a journey into the Florian Hecker was born in 1975 in ish independent artists specialized in heart of Russia, both as a cultural Augsburg. He currently lives and crafting surreal industrial and psycho- entity and as a historical phenome- works in Kissing. Hecker has been acoustic noise soundscapes. Cloama non. “Die Blutleuchte employs Rus- working with computer music, inde- has been in existence since 1997 and sian folk music, ambient sounds of pendently and in collaboration with made seven live performances, five water, ice, and fire, assorted Rus- other artists such as Russell Haswell, in Finland and two in UK. His discog- sian vocals either ordering or prose- Carsten Höller, Florian Pumhösl, Pe- raphy includes music in LP, CD, cas- lytizing, some drum, guitar, and organ ter Rehberg, Marcus Schmickler, sette and CDR formats and many sounds, and a hell of a lot of industri- Yasunao Tone since 1996. Hecker’s of these received good reviews in al noise.” Since then, Blutleuchte has works emphasize the connection of worldwide industrial scene. The been working on material for compi- most recent as well as historic de- style from one release to the next lations and is also preparing a new velopments in computer music, hard- stays never the same. Next Cloama full-length release of pure industri- and software. Often working close- releases will present a fresh angle to al war with less emphasis on neo- ly together with software engineers the old power electronics and ambi- folk and more noises created both and scientists, his recent productions ent styles. Conceptually Cloama is a digitally and acoustically. The style incorporate psycho-acoustic effects dark and provocative vision of hu- has been compared to movie sound- disorientating the listeners spatial man life with the paradoxes of the tracks, Boyd Rice and early Current perception in live presentations and mind brought out to the front. He al- 93. Cloama and Blutleuchte have studio works. His full lengh solo re- so co-operates the neuroscan.org worked before both live and in stu- cording, Sun Pandämonium, received label which hosts, among others, dio and are creating a new alchemy the Award of Distinction at the Prix Strom.ec. Blutleuchte was formed in of their respective styles to present Ars Electronica 2003. 2000 and the debut CD “Rus” was re- to the audience. leased on Sähkö Recordings and was Compositions from both will be per- an experimental work combining the formed but also collaborative materi- al and some guests of Blutleuchte will play folk instruments to cele- brate the union of the ancient with the postmodern.
Hecker concert is organised in col- laboration with Charm of Sound.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 9 Studio Frank & Lisa www.studiofrank-lisa.nl SF&L VJ performance mixing digital images and liquids Share, Share Widely. Technologies for Distributed Creativity Interview with Axel Bruns the last year be credited merely to a dividuals who have a particular issue a profound shift currently underway. (adjusted by Trebor Scholz) massive interest in more information in common can find each other and People are very interested in creating about the US elections, or is it due build ad hoc networks. their own content, sharing their ideas Trebor Scholz: simply to the hype about blogs? We online, putting their lives out there. On the one hand weblogs are often are not sure -- but something is hap- The same people who today criti- And everybody has expert knowledge criticized as being somewhat narcis- pening. The narcissistic teenage use cize blogs for being self-absorbed of something -- from music and mov- sistic public diaries, often authored of blogs gets a lot of bad press but it and tedious accounts of everyday ies to politics and social issues. Of by individual teenagers. But at the is actually not such a negative thing life are possibly those who used to course, putting the information out same time the blogosphere is in- at all. People have written diaries for criticize the TV generation for being there does not mean that it will actu- creasingly important in political cam- centuries: for many folks this form of isolated from one another. Such at- ally be read. There is a tremendous paigning, education, research, and self-reflection is an important part of tacks may be little more than knee- information overload; an enormous content management. their lives, a key practice in develop- jerk reactions to the perceived evils number of blogs are never visited. ing and maintaining their identity. of the next new trend in telecommu- Alexander Halavais did a lot of work Blogs became an outlet for new www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144 nications technologies. On balance, about this. He is a big believer in the media research practices. Much of /report_display.asp I would prefer interaction between social power of neighborhood blogs. scholarly research appears on we- possibly self-centered journal writ- How many of these millions of blogs blogs. ‘Edbloggers’ use weblogs So, I do not have a problem with self- ers to non-interaction between couch are really being looked at or linked for collaborative learning, as person- involved teenage diaries as such, but potatoes-- it is a step forward. Sub- to? If you go to a blog you probably al portfolios, institutional interfaces, I am certainly not arguing that the urbanites who are socially challenged looked for it based on a search relat- personal reflective journaling, peer- quality of the writing is always par- may remain so no matter if they act ed to your affinities. to-peer editing, annotated link col- ticularly good or especially insight- online or off, while blogging offers http://alex.halavais.net lections, coursework, and sharing of ful. Even if this journaling would them a way to connect. educational content. The word “we- be all that blogs are good for, they TS: This trend towards the uses blog” had the highest number of on- would remain an important outlet for TS: Social book mark tools like of software tools in a site-specif- line lookups on Miriam Webster in expressing the lived experiences of del.ioc.io.us and online social fo- ic, “situated” way has been much 2004. Are blogs the social software teens. What weblogs do enable, how- ra like flickr are helpful in linking up discussed recently. Some recent du jour? ever, is a significant amount of imme- people with similar affinities. They internet art projects address the diate, ad hoc interaction between in- create linkages between social net- needs of a geographically specific Axel Bruns : dividual bloggers. They are in fact a works. Both sites link ‘users’ based group rather than the anywhere and www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 11 groups as well as for distributed putational devices, such as PDAs and diffused in many variations across lic, they still provide a useful way of team work across a number of dis- mobile phones, which makes infor- the network. sharing ideas within that group. persed locales. The are useful for fa- mation flows even faster. cilitating ad hoc interconnection be- www.daypop.com In areas where intellectual property TS: The model of the artist as 19th tween complete strangers based on www.technorati.com is important, such as the academ- century individual genius is still alive shared interests - and sometimes www.feedreader.com ic area, this is a real problem. Else- and well. Equally alive are models perform all three functions at the where, it is perhaps a moral rather like the exemplary sufferer, the self- same time. This multilayered struc- For my book Gatewatching: Collabo- than a purely legal question: the orig- absorbed individualist, and the inno- ture has always been a promise of rative Online News Production, I fo- inator of content, the person with the vator and visionary misfit. Yet there is hypertext-based information struc- cused on the field of news blogging. original idea, should always be cred- the overwhelming trend towards col- tures. There is no longer a mutual- Here (as well as in academia) copy- ited, of course. But in blogging it is laboration society-wide. How do you ly exclusive choice between catering right is a key issue: there is so much quite possible that the site of the view this development? for the ‘here’ or for the ‘anywhere re-use of articles, of text all over the original content creator will receive and nowhere’ you speak of-- it is pos- blogosphere. Information, respons- fewer hits than the major blog which AB: I agree completely, there really is sible to have both at the same time. es to political events that appear on spreads the word. There is a need a wide societal trend moving toward blogs are often copied from the news here to engage with content in a a more collaborative mode, using the Importantly, too, blogs make it very feeds of other blogs (i.e. BBC News morally sound sense which acknowl- Internet and cooperative social soft- easy for information to travel across Online now also offers RSS feeds). edges the right of the creator to be ware tools to enable that. Broadly, I the network, and this is why we What we are moving towards as a attributed appropriately, which is very see two competing approaches at speak so frequently of the blogo- result of this constant repurposing much the way that open source oper- this point, which map very well on- sphere now. Ideas are picked up of content is not so different from ates as well, and where projects like to the difference between closed and from one blog and republished on file sharing. A shared file is diffused Creative Commons (CC) also tie in. It open source approaches: others, so that blogging is not about across the networks. It is becoming is exactly what the CC attribution li- single weblogs - their strength is in hard to identify the author or own- cense requires. The locked-down institutional ap- their numbers. I am fascinated by er of a piece of content because the http://creativecommons.org proach is characterized by this mot- the trend towards blog aggregation, files are changed in the process of to: hang on to everything, keep it through sites like Daypop and Tech- getting shared across the networks, Blogs are a very useful tool for re- close to your chest until it is finally norati. Broader trends across the bl- and they are hosted on a multitude of searchers to float their ideas before ready to be exposed to a wider au- ogosphere emerge: individual words machines. Information in the blogo- they are fully formed, to enable oth- dience. or topics suddenly show up as be- sphere works in much the same way: ers to engage with these ideas, to ing in extremely high use, sometimes it travels in between blogs by way of share them and build upon them. And then there is the commons ap- from one hour to the next. This is a RSS feeds and commenting. Thereby, This returns to a more traditional proach with its motto: share, share good way to track what currently is it diffuses into the blogosphere, and form of research, of academic, sci- widely, in the belief that this ap- on people’s minds. It is less about the originators and owners of this in- entific work - a collaborative pursuit proach will attract the best con- the individual, local blog, and much formation are now increasingly diffi- of knowledge. There is a problem tributors and collaborators to the more about the travel of information cult to track, which naturally raises with this in a highly commercialized project. across the networks. Blogs enable issues about credibility as a result. research environment, of course, www.daypop.com this through commentary functions, In the case of news-related blogging, where people are unlikely to share This latter approach is also crucial- TrackBack, Really Simple Syndica- for example, rather than encounter- their ideas before they have been ful- ly driven and supported by a need www.technorati.com tion (RSS), and other technologies. ing distinct news reports readers in ly formed (and ultimately, patented). for better communication, and it is The widespread popularity of blog- the blogosphere are more likely to But even if blogs are used only with- no accident that since the advent of www.feedreader.com ging will most likely be amplified by encounter shared themes, memes, in a specific research team, without the Internet we have seen a range of the use of RSS feeds on mobile com- dealing with current events that are being accessible to the wider pub- communication technologies emerge, http://creativecommons.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 12 from email and newsgroups now all at all from openly sharing their con- er than themselves? long time. Matthew Arnison from Ac- the way through to blogs, content tent, if these materials are seen as tive Sydney still is one of the key ad- management systems and wikis. second-rate in comparison to what AB: Definitely-- take Wikipedia for vocates of open publishing, for ex- There appears to be an acutely felt MIT and others offer. example, which today is a fantastic ample, and he and the Cat@lyst need for better communication which http://ocw.mit.edu resource and builds on the fact that team also developed the first open has driven such projects, and it is a anyone is an expert on something, publishing system for Indymedia, just matter of breaking out of some of the And the fact that a particular univer- even if it is only baseball. This ena- before the Seattle protests. Austral- more locked-down institutional envi- sity is known as having originated an bles them to contribute at least on ians have always had a healthy skep- ronments, or of changing these envi- important idea is of course helpful in that obscure bit of knowledge that ticism towards authority, and promot- ronments, to enable such collabora- the recruitment of, especially, inter- they are most expert on, and if you ed the idea of a ‘fair go’ for everyone tive approaches more fully. national students and staff. put all of these contributors together - perhaps that has something to do then you do get a vast resource larg- with it... TS: What could lead to such radical TS: What would motivate univer- er than themselves. http://journal.media-culture.org.au institutional change? sities to engage in open collabora- http://wikipedia.org /0304/02-feature.php tion? www.cat.org.au AB: The software industry is a use- There is a real question of scale http://active.org.au ful example here-- we are now grad- AB: Even though faculty are often here, of course-- Wikipedia works ually seeing companies realizing that eager to collaborate, the adminis- in this way because it has a massive But as far as open source, open there is value in contributing to open tration may remain far more hesitant number of contributors, and is there- publishing, and open collaboration source, even if their main business about that prospect and still have to fore able to cover truly encyclopedic goes, we must ask: will it work eve- is still in selling software packages. work out for themselves what it is territory; in smaller teams this is not rywhere, or only in specific fields - This is a long slow change which will that would drive them towards col- necessarily the case. So, if you have are there areas which are particularly continue for some time to come until laboration. a much smaller collaborative project suited or unsuited to open source- it is fully accepted-- and it may nev- of whatever form, it may take signifi- style approaches? I do not think er be fully accepted. In an academ- TS: Foucault asserted that knowl- cantly longer to come to fruition. The this has been fully answered yet - in ic sense there are similar problems- edge is not something that is called project in this case may not be larger open source, for example, I am sure - perhaps not so much related to up or recalled from an originat- than yourself, but simply help in shar- you can find some very success- questions of commercialization but ing source to be then transferred ing the work load amongst that group ful projects which were driven by a certainly concerns of competition down from one person to another. - and perhaps you contribute to this great need for them, while there are between different institutions or in- He argued that this reproduction of project only as a stepping stone to also many others which never quite dividual academics. knowledge can only reaffirm the ex- more lucrative commercial work, us- got off the ground because of a lack isting social constructions. Coop- ing it to show your skills and knowl- of contributors. In areas like open If you take an example of an open erative technologies like blogs or edge and your ability to work effec- publishing, which I have researched educational archive such as MITO- wikis allow for network knowledge tively as part of a team. in detail recently, there are some http://ocw.mit.edu penCourseWare this becomes obvi- structures that are based on an En- projects like Slashdot which have ous. It is easy to be open and sup- gaged collective working through Why Australia is so prominent in this proven massively successful - Slash- http://wikipedia.org portive of sharing all your materials knowledge. Australia seems to pio- field, I am not entirely sure - perhaps dot has some 600,000 registered us- if you are the market leader. The use neer much of the uses of social soft- this has something to do with our re- ers - while others in a similar vein are http://journal.media-culture.org.au/ of these materials only furthers and ware in education. Do you know of moteness, and therefore our greater far less successful, perhaps because 0304/02-feature.php re-enforces your leadership. MIT ben- reasons for this eagerness of peo- reliance on communication technolo- their topic area was simply less in- efits tremendously, of course. It is a ple to contribute to the public? Do gies in the first place. There certain- teresting to a large number of users. www.cat.org.au bit different with other institutions-- you think it is related to people’s de- ly has been a great level of involve- Even open news sites that were in- they may not benefit in the same way sire to contribute to something larg- ment in collaborative systems for a spired by Slashdot, such as Kuro5hin http://active.org.au
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 13 or Plastic were less successful. tors they do not interfere all that ob- the things that groups of users get and teaching much more learner-cen- viously - while they choose the initial up to in these games, while a clear tered rather than teacher-centered, Plastic is a good example as it ‘only’ articles which are published, com- example of distributed creativity on and teaching technology has a very has some 30,000 registered users: it menting remains open and anyone part of the users, are deemed not important role to play here. is a site that has only just managed can have their say. Some sites like to be ‘in the spirit of the game’ and www.qut.edu.au to establish itself and survive, but has Kuro5hin and Plastic even put the ed- are shut down by the games com- less of a topical focus. The common iting of articles themselves into the panies. To give you a benign exam- We currently work on a project at good or common interest in contrib- users’ hands. ple, I have just seen a ‘music video’ Queensland University of Technol- uting to the site perhaps wasn’t seen which was intricately choreographed, ogy in which we set up systems to as clearly by its visitors as this has In sites where every article must be staged and shot entirely by players support much more collaborative and been the case in Slashdot. edited and approved first, this will for players within the Star Wars Gal- creative engagements with knowl- http://slashdot.org likely be seen by the users as yet an- axies online game (see reference). edge and information. How do you http://kuro5hin.org other hurdle to jump through, and in These are very innovative, very cre- make it easy for students to use sys- www.plastic.com addition the process will take time, ative uses of the technology, total- tems like blogs and wikis? How can so that these sites are less likely to ly against what the game is really these cooperative technologies im- There needs to be a clearly felt com- respond quickly to current events. about, and so there are significant prove their learning experience? It is mon need or common interest in These setup options certainly affect problems with the games companies not enough to simply put these sys- such projects; in addition, there are the success of a site, and in cases not knowing what to do about them, tems in place and to go through blog- also obvious technical issues about where users contribute or co-create not knowing whether they want this ging and wiki exercises - rather, the the ease of use, the ease of contrib- content these are key issues to be kind of interaction to take place with- presence of such systems and the uting, the ease of interaction. The addressed. in their games. different conceptualization of and en- Wikipedia is an interesting example http://furplay.com/swg gagement with knowledge for which in this case - Jim Wales’s first ven- TS: In a recent discussion Clay /content.php?content.1 they stand change the entire learning ture, the Nupedia, largely failed, of Shirky pointed out that “Wired” had (Cantina Crawl videos) and teaching experience. It changes course, because it made it far too to shut down their entertainment the way lectures are (or should be) difficult for users to contribute con- and music online fora because users TS: On a recent blog entry you delivered, and the way people en- tent to the encyclopedia. The team launched anorexia and cutting sup- quoted Ted Nelson saying that “the gage with the material. then developed the Wikipedia as a port groups in these online spaces. present computer world is appall- fully open-access site where anyone People gave each other moral sup- ing - it is based on techie misunder- I have been using a wiki in one of my can contribute, anyone can edit, and port and hints on how to stay anorex- standings of human life and human classes (using the MediaWiki sys- http://slashdot.org it took off. ic. There are many similar examples. thought, hidden behind flash user in- tem, see reference) and I have come http://en.wikipedia.org This raises interesting moral issues. terfaces.” to the point of thinking, ‘do I need ac- http://kuro5hin.org /wiki/Nupedia www.endbegin.org tually need lectures as such or can I AB: Indeed - at the very least it is change the delivery structure of the www.plastic.com Also, how do you manage contribu- AB: There have been a number of in- important to make computers much course on the whole into something tions in these projects - there are re- teresting phenomena around the rela- less intrusive, much less visible in that is much more like a wiki, that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nupedia al differences in how open some of tionships between such ad hoc social the way that people work. This is resembles a networked knowledge these sites are, how much the con- networks and the commercial inter- partly simply a technological issue, structure - rather than imposing a lin- www.endbegin.org tent that is submitted is edited. ests which put these networks in but particularly in academia it is al- ear structure from week one to week These questions all contribute to the place. A similar issue I have recent- so about how we use technology. 13 which presents to students a sup- http://furplay.com/swg success or failure of a site. Slashdot ly become aware of has played out For example, at Queensland Univer- posedly unified history of new media /content.php?content.1 seems to have worked because in in massively multi-user online role- sity of Technology where I work there technologies?’ Linear structures may spite of the clear presence of its edi- playing games (MMORGs); some of is an ongoing drive to make learning be useful to some, but they do not www.qut.edu.au
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 14 accurately represent the multifacet- and throughout their academic ca- blending of consumption and use, of News: Notes towards a Taxono- ed field of new media studies (or any reers these blogs are useful as they using and producing which has be- my of P2P Publications” presented other field of knowledge, really) any help students to self-monitor their ac- gun to happen in recent years. I call at ANZCA 2003 conference in Bris- more; I need to find other ways to ademic development. Additionally, of this new form of active content co- bane, 9-11 July 2003 present the whole width and breadth course, people can also share their creator a producer. www.bgsb.qut.edu.au/conferences of information to students and to information and experiences, and /ANZCA03/Proceedings/papers work with them through this and collaboratively develop content. We But this ability to be an active partic- /bruns_full.pdf move into their own areas of inter- are also looking to develop peer-as- ipant or produser is not only neces- Bibliography on Blog Research est, in a much more flexible network sisted study schemes in which blogs sary from a career point of view: it is http://blogresearch.com/ref.htm structure. In the course, students in by second semester students inform also increasingly a prerequisite to be- Re-blog - http://reblog.org each semester both use the wiki as students in their first semester. ing an informed and active citizen. Edublogs Weblog Award an information resource, and then http://incsub.org collaboratively build on and extend In the process students gain ad-
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 15 Generation Wired Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Bytes
By Naeem Mohaiemen gy. When the computing center ad- of political events, strikes, floods, frills. I retreated to the computing vertised student-tech jobs, four of cricket scores, and finally, the fall room, to find my familiar VAX termi- the open positions went to Bangla- of Ershad. nal. Pecking out those complicated Fifteen years ago, I came to the deshis. I applied too late for these DOS-based dial-in commands, I was sleepy campus of Oberlin College. prestigious slots, and was stuck with By senior year, there were signs of back at home. On this first arrival in America, I was the less glamorous job of trouble- sophistication. Macintoshes with entranced not by McDonalds, Cadil- shooting. This meant I went around color screens began appearing. A Graduating from college, I went to lacs or split-level housing, but with to busted computers, cleaned the friend of ours, Jacob Attie, designed Bangladesh for a year on a histo- an odd object called “the Internet.” keyboards and dusted the interiors- animations with Quranic ayaats. We ry project. I returned to New York Everything else that the US had to of- - all in the hope that the green light were blown away. Another fellow to start my first proper job at Mer- fer, from blonde bombshells to ma- would come back on. It all felt like a Bengali, Zeeshan Hasan, discovered cer Consulting. Coming back, I felt fia kingpins, had already been tel- bit of black magic. the world of online game-playing. like Rip Van Winkle emerging from egraphed via television. But the The earliest online game was a Dun- a cave. Kurt Cobain had killed him- Internet was a strange, new and in- In my second year, Bengali student geons and Dragons variation called self, and the grunge revolution was credibly useful invention. Tushu Rahman hacked into a MIT Nethack. We watched mystified as dead. But America had discovered computer account and gave us ac- Zeeshan spent hours in front of the the Internet. When I left, it was still These were primitive times. We sat cess to the real Internet. Now we computer, playing against other gam- a fringe phenomenon-- the tiny do- at rickety VAX terminals, typing out e- could view bulletin boards where ers across the country. Every now main of geeks and techies. Walking mail messages on glowing green-on- thousands shared their thoughts. and then, he would yell, “Oh shoot, I back into Kennedy airport, a maga- black screens. Every time you made In true Bengali fashion, we by- just got the top score against Prince- zine cover blared an image of a surf- a mistake, finding the “delete” com- passed the hundreds of Boards ton” or “Hey, I just picked up a sword, board smashing a computer screen. mand was an ordeal. The Internet discussing science, philosophy, now I can slay goblins.” The technol- “Surfing the Net!” it proclaimed. was considered a luxury, so the col- women, etc, and went straight for ogy was advancing, but we were still What the hell was Surfing? And lege was stingy with its investment. soc.culture.bangladesh (scb)-- the putting it to frivolous use. since when had it been shortened to There were roughly 20 terminals for destination for Bangladeshi stu- “Net”? Like any true believer, I was 3,000 students, and communication dents scattered across the country. My summer job in New York intro- suspicious of the newcomers coming was limited to the campus network. It seems strange in this hyper-con- duced me to an Internet that threat- to invade our castle. The term “new- Access to the outside world cost ex- nected age, but back then scb was ened to disrupt a comfortable green- bie,” at once derogatory and distanc- tra-- besides, why would we need to our first source for breaking news. black VAX world. My boss at NERA ing, came into vogue. talk to non-Oberlin students? There There was no 24-hour CNN, Goog- was the first person I saw using the was no utility associated with any of le, New York Times Online, Times colorful, and later very familiar, Amer- Still, in spite of the growing publici- this. It was just frivolous chatting, Square news jumbotron, pager ica Online sign-up screens. “Do you ty, corporate America was clueless. procrastination and flirting. alerts or all the other news sources want to try this?” he asked as the Yes the Net was changing American we now take for granted. Especial- computer made that annoying dial- habits, but what did that have to do There were eight Bangladeshi stu- ly for news about Bangladesh, scb buzz-snowstorm noise. I shook my with efficiency, productivity and mon- dents on campus, and we were very was the only place to go. Through head. AOL seemed way too gim- ey? At Mercer, the company grudg- early adopters to this new technolo- this primitive method, we first learnt micky. Too many colors, noise and ingly gave five of us permission for
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 16 Internet access. The rest of the of- HBO’s New Media group. A few Everything goes in cycles. After a financier George Soros gave them $5 fice was left out in the cold. We years later we even convinced them few years of regrouping and licking million, making them a factor in the were the new Brahmins of Bytes, our to fund our idea for an Internet star- our wounds, technologists are back. 2004 US elections. exclusive caste status maintained by tup-- Volume.com, the voice of “gen- Although many of the Internet age’s a scarcity of modem lines. eration hip-hop.” At this point, com- high-flyers are gone, a few like Ama- On the election stage, Democratic panies like Amazon had overheated zon, Yahoo and Google have survived candidate Howard Dean proclaimed Gradually business began to embrace the market. Everyone wanted to be the toughest years and emerged the Internet the cornerstone of his the Internet. The go-go years were the next dot-com millionaire. We stronger. The biggest business im- grassroots, outsider candidacy. about to begin. Mercer started di- talked about bringing the Internet to pact of the Internet is certainly in Without any help from the Democrat- versifying as well. Consulting clients the black community, but people kept the explosion of outsourced busi- ic establishment, Dean built a huge like South African Railroad were no seeing dollar signs. Would the two ness to India, Philippines and Thai- following based on an Internet cam- longer hot, everyone was fighting to agendas co-exist or collide? land. When I call American Express paign. Volunteers used MeetUp.org get on the AOL project. On a Bank of at night, the operator picks up in Ban- to set up meetings, and hundreds of America assignment in San Francis- The rest of the story is familiar from galore, and I hear the distinctive Indi- people who don’t know each other co, I came face-to-face with the next the pages of BusinessWeek. In an accents coming down the phone converged for these events. Just as big thing. My friend Shahed Aman- spring of 2000, the bubble economy lines. Could any of this be possible Roosevelt and Kennedy were the first ullah (founder of AltMuslim.com) met of the stock market cratered, taking without the Internet and high-speed candidates for the radio and televi- me in a café with his laptop. “Wait, with it most of the high-flying dreams communication? sion age, there will soon be a candi- you bring your computer to cafes?” I of Internet startups. Being funded date for the Internet age. asked. “Duh,” came the very Califor- by AOL Time Warner, we had strong- In the political space, the Internet is nia reply, “It’s a laptop dude, you’re er legs than most. The group brave- causing convulsions. Especially for I recently completed an entire project supposed to carry it around.” As ly soldiered on for another year and grassroots activists with small budg- where there was never a face-to-face Did we ever imagine how completely Shahed sat in the sun and showed half. Then on the morning of Septem- ets, the decentralized Internet mod- meeting. Everything was over e-mail the Internet and related technologies me the new website he was design- ber 11, we interrupted a staff meet- el is a perfect fit. During the recent and phone. At night, when I go to would change our lives? I certainly ing, I felt the creeping sensation of ing to go the windows and watch antiwar campaigns, activists used listen to DJ friends play music in didn’t when I was pecking away at dot-com fever. I had to get into the the Twin Towers crumble. Suddenly the Internet to organize demonstra- clubs, they’re hunched over laptops that VAX keyboard in Oberlin. But business! But how? California was technology didn’t seem so invincible. tions that brought out 400,000 peo- connected to iPods-- turntables and we’re only version 1.0. Generation having its second gold rush, but com- A group of fanatics, armed only with ple in New York and 10 million peo- stacks of records are no longer nec- 2.0 is coming up fast. When I see panies like Netscape were only hiring box cutters, had brought the nation ple all over the world. On the eve of essary tools for music. In my daily teenagers multitasking with three programmers-- business people were to a standstill. They couldn’t build the Iraq War, MoveOn.org used the life, there are two compartments--po- new gadgets that I haven’t mas- not needed (yet). planes, but they could bring them Internet to organize a candlelit vig- litical activism and media consulting. tered, I start to feel my years. Re- down. Optimism was now in short il in 130 countries and 50 US states. For both, technology is indispensa- cently, the CEO of Atari told a story Returning to New York, I realized the supply. In the country’s new somber With 1.5 million e-mail addresses, ble. Laptops, WiFi, Ipods, PalmPi- about encouraging his son to learn difference between the Coasts. Cal- mood, no one at Volume.com wanted MoveOn has emerged as the behe- lots-- our houses are a plethora of Chinese. The precocious boy’s reply ifornia had Stanford and Caltech. to continue being the “voice of gen- moth of Internet-based activism. Ex- cables and connections. In an aver- was, “By the time I master Chinese, Companies that were founded there eration hip-hop”-time to retreat and panding beyond rallies, they raised age day, I may spend twelve hours on we’ll have computer phones where were unabashedly tech-centric. By ponder life’s bigger questions. Three millions of dollars online for nation- my computer and the Internet. My you’ll be able to talk in French or Eng- contrast, media dominated New months after the attacks, we accept- al TV spots, delivered a petition with friends say I am technology over-ex- lish and it will be translated into Chi- York’s Internet industry and there ed the inevitable in a Board meeting 1 million signatures to the UN and posed. They may be right. But then I nese in real time!” Is the young fu- was a serious lack of tech-savvy re- and shuttered the company. Just in organized 20,000 calls to DC Sena- look at them sitting passively in front turist right? cruits. Suddenly, my youthful appear- time for Christmas. tors in one day. MoveOn is run by 23 of the TV and I wouldn’t want to trade Who knows, anything is possible! ance and geek habits were a big ad- year-old Eli Pariser, but their work has places. vantage. Before I knew it, I was in attracted national respect. Billionaire 2005 should be really interesting.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 17 Disappeared In America ing in Political Islam. He is Editor contemporary Sound Art” (MIT Press, Muslim Activists rewire the Net of Shobak.Org, Associate Editor of edited by DJ Spooky). His work and The Internet is emerging as an es- cense in the taxi partition, or the ID AltMuslim.com and Board mem- writing has been featured in The sential tool for Muslim activists, card around the neck of a vendor. Al- ber of Progressive Muslim Union. Washington Post, The Village Voice, both working in Muslim-majority na- ready invisible in our cities, after de- Naeem directed MUSLIMS OR HER- Tikkun Jewish Journal, Alternet.org, tions and in the western diaspora. tention, they have become “ghost ETICS?, a documentary about strug- CounterPunch.org, Chimurenga.co.za By creating digital networks and mo- prisoners.” gles between moderate and rad- (South Africa), Wordt Vervolgd (Neth- bilizing against Islamophobia, dot-org ical Muslims. He is Director of erlands), Deseret News (Utah), Peace Muslims have become a “globalized DISAPPEARED has been profiled by VISIBLE Collective, which premiered News (UK), New Internationalist (UK), ummah.” NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET DISAPPEAREDINAMERICA.Org at the Prothom Alo (Bangladesh), Dawn (Pa- JOURNAL, TIME OUT, QUEENS COU- Queens Museum of Art. Naeem also kistan), and Rediff.com (India). Naeem Mohaiemen is Editor of Out- RIER, and Q-NEWS (UK). NEW YORK co-produced RUMBLE IN MUMBAI, a sider Muslim network Shobak.Org, TIMES selected VISIBLE as one of documentary on globalization, which Naeem has spoken about Islam & Assoc. Editor of AltMuslim.com and four artist groups to represent the premiered on Free Speech TV. Media at panels at School of Orien- Board Member of Progressive Mus- new art scene in Queens in “The New tal & African Studies (London), New lim Union-- all three Internet-based Bridge & Tunnel Crowd: New York Art Naeem’s essay on “Accelerated Me- York University, Columbia University, dot-orgs. In this presentation he will is filing a change of address. ”WALL dia & Bangladesh Genocide” will be Asia Society, and South Asian Jour- discuss VISIBLE Collective, a digit- STREET JOURNAL called it “moving published in “Difference Engines: nalists Association. He is a regular al network of Muslim and Other Art- & eerily impressionistic.” Thinking Race and Technology” (MIT guest on WBAI (New York) and KPFA ists. VISIBLE premiered Disappeare Press, edited by Beth Coleman) and (San Francisco) radio as well as TV dInAmerica.Org, a multimedia instal- Naeem Mohaiemen his essay on “Hip Hop’s Islamic Con- networks in the US (American Desi, lation that has parallel existence in a Naeem Mohaiemen is a writer- nection” will be published in “Sound WNYC) and South Asia. museum and on the internet filmmaker-visual artist specializ- Unbound: Music, Multimedia, and
DISAPPEARED IN AMERICA is a walk-through multimedia installation that uses a film trilogy, soundscapes, photos, objects, and the audience’s interactions to humanize the faces of “disappeared” Muslims. Since 9/11, thousands of American Muslims have been detained in a security dragnet. The majority of those detained were from the invisible underclass of cit- ies like New York. They are the re- cent immigrants who drive taxis, de- www.disappearedinamerica.org liver food, clean restaurant tables, and sell fruit, coffee, and newspa- www.shobak.org pers. The only time we see their fac- es are when we glance at the hack li- www.muslimsorheretics.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 18 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 10:00 Wikipedia.org WHERE: Kiasma seminar room
Wikipedia is a Web-based free con- problem. Its articles have been cit- dia has often come into question, be- Wikipedia is one of the most popular tent encyclopedia that is openly ed by the mass media and academia, cause the fact that the content can reference sites on the Web, receiving edited and freely readable. It has and mirrored or forked by websites. be freely edited by anyone who so around 50 million hits per day. 187 independent language editions Wikipedia’s content has not been dis- chooses opens the door for a certain sponsored by the non-profit Wikime- tributed officially or on a large scale degree of inaccuracy and poorly re- www.wikipedia.org diaFoundation. Entries on tradition- in any physical form. searched content. al encyclopedic topics exist along- Florence Devouard side those on almanac, gazetteer Florence Nibart-Devouard is an edi- and current events topics. Its goal tor of WikiPedia, and currently serves is to create “a world in which every as the Vice-Chair of the Wikimedia- single person on the planet is given Foundation. free access to the sum of all human Florence was born in Versailles knowledge.” (France). She grew up in Greno- ble, and has been living since then Wikipedia contains approximate- in several French cities, as well as ly 1.3 million articles, over 490,000 Antwerpen in Belgium and Tempe of which are in its English language in Arizona (USA).She is a engineer edition, over 200,000 in the Ger- in Agronomy man language and over 100,000 in (www.ensaia.inpl-nancy.fr) the Japanese language. It began and also holds a DEA in Genetics and as a complement to the expert-writ- biotechnologies ten Nupedia on 15 January 2001. Its (www.inpl-nancy.fr). name is a combination of Wiki, a Ha- She has first been working in public waiian word meaning “quick” adopt- research, in flower plant genetic im- ed to describe a kind of collaborative provement, and later in microbiology software, and encyclopedia. Having to study the feasability of polluted steadily gained in popularity, it has soil bioremediation. She is current- spawned numerous conceptually re- ly employed in a french firm, Quantix lated sister projects such as Wiktion- Agro (www.quantix.com) to conceive ary, Wikibooks and WikiNews. decision-making tools in sustainable The idea of a free, open communi- Although Wikipedia is a community, agriculture. Wikipedia has been praised for being ty, united by technology, where in- project founder JimmyWales insists She joined the Wikipedia adventure free, being openly accessible, cover- creasingly vast amounts of con- that this is secondary: “Wikipedia is in February 2002 and is known as ing a wide range of topics, and be- tent are actively written, reviewed, first and foremost an effort to create a contributor under the pseudonym ing detailed. It has been criticized for and debated for public consump- and distribute a free encyclopedia of Anthere. Florence is 36, and live in lack of authority versus a traditional tion, makes the Wikipedia distinc- the highest possible quality to every Clermont Ferrand (France) with her encyclopedia, systemic bias, and for tive not only amongst encyclopedias single person on the planet in their husband Bertrand and her two chil- deficiencies in traditional encyclope- but amongst informational resources own language.” dren, Anne-Gaëlle aged six and Wil- dic topics. Vandalism is a persistent in general. The credibility of Wikipe- liam eight.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 19 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 13:00 Streamtime.org WHERE: Nifca space #1
An international crew of journal- easy access, low-to-no literacy and ists, poets, artists and software multi-linguality are guidelines. Open developers source software will be preferred and http://streamtime.org stimulated.
Streamtime is a loose network of me- Streamtime wants to research, indi- dia activists dedicated to assist local cate, point to amazing stories of peo- media to get connected. Streamtime ple that, against all odds, are building uses old and new media for the pro- a new Iraq. We want to help break duction of content and networks in the media barriers, provide tools and the fields of media, arts, culture and knowledge to build their own radio activism in crisis areas, like Iraq. broadcast stations, make programs and exchange content.
http://streamtime.org/upload/poetry /merbed/audio/m_i_ud2_jo.mp3
http://streamtime.org/upload/poetry /merbed/audio /m_p_gulala_ara.jo.mp3
http://streamtime.org/upload/radio /AboutBaghdad.mp3 On Wednesday 14th. of July 2004, between 11 a.m. and 1.30 p.m (CET) http://streamtime.org/upload/radio the first live streaming radio trans- /r_d_mohamed_eng_jo.mp3 Eleonora Oreggia mission was realized from Bagh- Cecile Landman A modem is a device to MOdulate dad, facilitated by the Streamtime http://streamtime.org/upload Worked as an independent journal- and DEModulate campaign. On the 30th of June, two /streams/2004_08_03-Int ist from Rome, Italy; researched on a signal can be communicated www.ecn.org/tpo/ weeks before, the first ever internet erviewsBombChurch.ogg (petro) chemical industries for Green- to do more than one thing at once radio program came from the Kurd- peace; investigated in Italy and The You can describe yourself as anything www.telestreet.it/ ish village of Halabja, which suffered http://streamtime.org/upload/radio Netherlands on women traffic for that you want to (a note of warning...) a poison gas attack by order of the /r_d_mo_oday_eng_arab_jo.mp3 Blinn (Bounded Labour in the Neth- and no one will be any wiser www.montevideo.nl/ former Iraqi president. erlands), researched recently on ‘In- selectively decide who reads vestigative Journalism’ in Italy for It is much safer when there is no http://streamtime.org/ The flow of Streamtime is deter- the VVOJ (dutch-flemish investiga- physical evidence if you intend your mined by shared needs, skills, knowl- tive journalists association). Works system a safe place to express your http://dyne.org/ edge and experiences of all involved. since June 2004 on the Streamtime opinions Openness, free publishing (copy left), project. http://scii.nl/
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 20 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 15:00 Used in India WHERE: Kiasma seminar room PixelACHE Exibition: Media Practices from the 20th Century DATE: 14.-17.04. WHERE: Kiasma lobby Used in India is a multimedia instal- eration of micro-industries in India? The term ‘media’ encompasses a vast Aditya Dev Sood lation, which showcases both media What uniquely Indian sensibilities do range of technologies in practice, Aditya Dev Sood is Founder and CEO devices and narratives of their use, to they cater to? What service and dis- communication and experiences, of CKS Consulting PL. With founda- illumine the nature of street innova- tribution networks and monetizing which are being constantly reformu- tional training in Design and Critical tion, technology production and so- strategies do they adopt? lated and reinterpreted by theorists Theory at the University of Michigan, cial exchange in India. Used in India and practitioners. However, media is he is now completing doctorates has been conceived of and produced Technology companies and designers often interpreted along readily availa- in Socio-Cultural Anthropology and by CKS, a research and design prac- who wish to cater to the next-gen- ble yet specious categories that imag- South Asian Languages from the tice in Bangalore. eration of Indian users, might then ine a divide between ‘old’ and ‘new’, University of Chicago. This year he find value in engaging with the sto- ‘broadcast’ and ‘peer-to-peer’ or ‘dig- initiated the ‘Learning Lab’ project Our collection of actual devices ries Used in India wishes to tell, in or- ital’ and ‘analog’ media. For the pur- which uses mobile phones for edu- and inquiry into user practice sug- der to learn more about the multilay- poses of our inquiry, however, we cation, funded by Nokia Insight and gests that local users are infinitely ered socio-cultural fabric of India and will seek to transcend such synthetic Foresight. He is directed the ‘Used well versed in innovatively repurpos- create the products, services and ap- distinctions and understand media as in India’ media archeology installation ing, repairing, reworking and refur- plications of tomorrow. all forms of mediated interaction. Me- and show, which opened at the India bishing technology to suit their social dia devices by corollary come to in- Habitat Center in March 2005. He is practices and contextual needs. Be it clude the range of tools that enhance also the India Director of the ‘Doors the use of LED (light emitting diodes) and amplify our ability to engage in of Perception’ Conference. A former to adorn pictures and idols of local mediated interactions. Fulbright scholar, he maintains a deities or the creation of a mosqui- multidisciplinary interest in social re- to-repellent-cum-mobile phone, India search, technology and design. abounds with examples of ‘jugaad’ or street innovation. Such user creativ- Karthikeya S Acharya ity thrives on informal knowledge Trained as an architect, Karthikeya networks of production, consump- is interested in conceptualizing and tion and transaction, and has large- designing the dynamics of sustaina- ly remained hidden from the view of ble and self-governing systems. His technologists, product developers graduate work explored the feasibili- and designers in the mainstream. ty of recyclable housing for commu- nities in transit such as the iron ore In our opinion, a closer examina- mine workers in South India. As an in- street cultures, user practices and tion of the ‘scenarios of use’ that teraction designer at CKS, Karthikeya design innovations across rural, ur- have emerged out of engagement has been principally involved in field- ban and peri-urban India. He was also with the field, as articulated through work and related research and doc- the assistant curator for the Used in our exhibits, will open up new spac- umentation activities for the Used India installation at the British Coun- es for understanding user needs in in India project. This has given him cil and India Habitat Centre in New India. What has led to such a prolif- a first hand experience of diverse Delhi, India.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 21 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 13:00 Intermundos.org WHERE: Nifca space #1
The Intermundos website is to be wars” whereby MEDIA COVERAGE make possible that the speaker voice youth and the youth of other nations our main window to the world. is limited to a minimum information her uncensored opinion and for the may establish a dialogue. and maximum of disinformation. This reader to decipher his own interpre- It was created in a region which is is unfortunate because we do have tation. completely removed from anything many worthwhile values, ideas, arts to do with contemporary art, tech- and knowledge to share with human- Hiphop – Our urban voice nology and communication. This ity. We are citizens of this new glo- To develop an interest in, and access region is the Caribbean coast of balized earth and are searching for to, the arts in a marginal sector of so- Colombia, which, because of its ge- means to establish contact with our ciety, we feel it is important to work ographical position, has historical- peer thinkers, activists, artists, musi- with a movement, which reflects that ly always been an important point cians etc. from other nations. sector. Therefore we have chosen to Vanessa Gocksch of communication and exchange. work with a culture created by the Vanessa Gocksch aka PatadePerro, Colombia is the only country which Conception of site oppressed black and latin youth of was born in the north but opted for communicates South America by The strategy insofar as the concep- the first world - hiphop. the south. Traveling from Brussels to land to Central and north America tion and design of the website has Miami then Mexico, now she resides and also has access to both the At- been to depict indigenous and afro Hip-hop has become a way of life in Cartagena de Indias on the Carib- lantic and Pacific Ocean. It is threw Colombian cultures by utilizing their for many people around the world. bean coast of Colombia. She studied this region that for millenniums, thought system, knowledge, prod- It is made up of many artistic forms visual arts with an emphasis in sculp- communication flowed between the ucts, designs, ideas and applying or of expression such as the “MC” who ture in Florida International Universi- indigenous groups of the Americas, expressing these utilizing new media raps over beats provided by the “DJ” ty, La Cambre - Ecole Superieure de and it is threw our ports that during technologies. which samples and mixes records; Arts Plastique and Universidad Au- the colonial times most of the Afri- Because cultural concepts of in- the “B-boys and girls”, that dance tonoma de Mexico. She has worked can population was brought to South digenous ancient communities are and the “writers” or “graffiti artists” in many different mediums including America and the gold and silver taken non-western and non-linear, the paint murals on whatever canvas the sculpture, etching, photography, in- out. Today, it is threw Colombia that multimedia formats, non-linear and urban landscape provides them with. stallation, performance, video and “drugs” and dollars are exchanged interactive themselves provide the It is an open, dynamic movement— documentary. As of the year 2000 between the Andean region and the ideal context for portraying their always evolving, changing and letting she started venturing into the digital first world. multi dimensional conception of re- creativity and new tendencies flow. realm, self teaching herself the tools Yet we are isolated from the commu- ality. Instead of portraying these cul- There are neither limitations nor pre- necessary to communicate and cre- nication processes that evolve be- tures by utilizing traditionally western conceptions, making hip-hop unique ate in what she calls an indispensa- tween the experimental movements means such as writing and Cartesian within contemporary conceptions of ble medium when located in a “re- of the thinking youth of the first analysis, I propose to absorb the lo- limiting, naming, and pigeonholing mote” region of the planet. She is world. This is due partly to our sta- cal thought system and apply it in the every artistic movement. presently performing as a video jock- tus and reality as a third world nation, construction of the visual language ey under the name of Pata de Perro, which implies lack of technology (ex- of the website. In Colombia exists one of the strong- as well as producing a documentary cept for the hi-tech guns) and lack of The written content is mainly un- est hiphop movements in South and developing the project Intermun- education. But, this isolation is also edited interviews or transcribed America. This phenomenon repre- dos and its website. GREATLY AFECTED by a media policy speeches, not interpretations writ- sents an already established commu- which accompanies all “low impact ten by third parties, this in order to nication bridge whereby Colombian www.intermundos.org/vanessa.htm
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 22 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 15:00 Dodo.org - Visual Environmental Argumentation WHERE: Kiasma seminar room PixelACHE Exibition: Many important environmental deci- DATE: 14.-17.04. sions are made at home or work by WHERE: Kiasma lobby each and every one of us, every day: Do I buy Finnish dairy cream or In- donesian coconut milk? Is it better for the environment of Helsinki if I ride a bike or take a tram? Should I move to the country and heat my house with firewood? These deci- sions are not always obvious and the options straightforward, which often leaves people feeling isolated and frustrated. Dodo’s flash animation shows how the world looks from an envi- ronmentalist point of view. Ideas were collected from visitors to the www.dodo.org website. The anima- Alternative 2: striving towards more and more ma- www.dodo.org tion compiles a story called “Hap- A Happy End Vision terial possessions, people aspire to www.ngophotos.org py Family” with three alternative sto- People’s awareness of the destruc- gain spiritual tranquillity, through www.creativecommons.org rylines. tive nature of their lifestyle increases both construction and destruction. significantly all over the First World. Let’s all kill for life and fight for Working group: Alternative 1. The need to change the direction of peace. Tuuli Kaskinen A Catastrophic Vision development towards a more ecolog- Sami Keto The greed and short-sightedness of ically and socially sustainable model Dodo is a dynamic, modern envi- Kirmo Kivelä people’s actions cause enormous en- becomes a widely accepted notion. ronmental organisation that avoids Jepa Leväsvirta vironmental catastrophes and even- There’s a rise in environmentally black-and-white views of the world. Aki Liuski tually the destruction of all life. Peo- friendly trends and many destructive Dodo approaches environmental is- Hanna Lönngren ple are misled by their ideology of habits, such as driving, become un- sues in an open-minded way, trying Aleksi Neuvonen efficiency and ignore the needs of fashionable. A new sense of commu- to find new perspectives. Dodo relies Tea Tönnov future generations and other living nity is born. Sharing and caring be- on the power of factual discussion. organisms. Indifference to the com- come important guiding principles in Public events, discussion groups and mon good is rife and people’s lives people’s lives. projects are typical of Dodo. are filled with anxiety and hurry. Ma- terial possessions are the only ac- Alternative 3: Dodo will also present their ceptable measure of happiness and A Totally Far Out Vision NGOphotos.org project, an image well-being. Wars over rapidly declin- Mind rises above matter. Hate be- bank for NGOs where all images are ing resources are fought all over the comes love. Love turns into hate. made available under Creative Com- world. Hate and love embrace. Instead of mons licence.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 23 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 16:00 WebCamTalk 1.0 WHERE: Kiasma seminar room Guest Speaker Series and Conference on New Media Art Education Find a series of 20 interviews on and art? How can new media theo- these issues at: ry be activated as a wake-up call for http://newmediaeducation.org students leading to radical change? Which educational structure proves Over the past ten years new-me- more effective: cross-disciplinary, dia art programs have been start- theme-based research groups or ed at universities. Departments are media-based departments? Does the shaped, many positions in this field current new media art curriculum al- open up and student interest is mas- low for play, failure, and experiment? sive. In China, India, Indonesia, Sin- How can we introduce free software Key Issues: gapore and Thailand enormous devel- into the new media classroom when -Vocational training versus solid crit- opments will take place in the next businesses still hardly make use of ical education few years in “new media” art educa- open source or free software? How - Open Source Software, open ac- tion. At the same time technologists, can we break out of the self-con- cess, open content, technologies artists and educators acknowledge a tained university lab? What are ex- of sharing crisis mode: from Germany to Cana- amples of meaningful connections -Edblogging, blogsperiments Trebor Scholz da, Finland, Ireland, Australia, Taiwan between media production in the -Creation of meaningful connections Trebor Scholz is a New York-based and Singapore to the United States university and cultural institutions between art, theory, technology, and media artist whose current practice and beyond. But so far, at least in the as well as technology businesses? history Includes the facilitation of discursive United States there has been surpris- How can we introduce politics into -Education of politics, politics in ed- networks and writing about collabo- ingly little public debate about educa- the new media lab? ucation rative new media art, mapping and tion in new-media art. Between imagined flat hierarchies -Shaping of core curriculum without education. His work has been exhib- and the traditional models of top- fear of experiments and failure ited at the Venice Biennial (with Mar- Many educators point to a wide- down education, participants will -Distributed learning tools: empower- tha Rosler/ The Fleas), the Sao Paulo spread tension between vocation- give examples based on their expe- ing for the knowledge commons (or- Biennial, FILE (Sao Paolo) and many al training and a critical solid educa- riences that offer a middle-ground ganizing academic knowledge and other venues. Trebor organized sev- tion. There is no stable “new media between these extremes. Further connecting new media educators) eral large scale programs such as industry” for which a static skill set questions address anti-intellectual- -Intellectual property issues in lFreeCooperation? (2004, with Geert would prepare the graduate for his ism in the classroom and the high academia Lovink) and Kosov@: Carnival in the or her professional future in today’s demands on educators in this area -Use of wifi devices to connect peo- Eye of the Storm (2000). In 2004 he post-dotcom era. Between Futurist in which technology and theory have ple on campus and in the classroom founded the Institute for Distributed narratives of progress with all their few precedents and change rapidly. -Uses of social software in the class- Creativity, a research network that fo- techno-optimism and the technopho- In response to this-- several distrib- room (wikis, and weblogs, voice over cuses on collaboration in media art, bia often encountered in more tradi- uted learning tools will be present- IP, del.icio.us, IM, and Flickr) theory and education. (http://distribu tional narratives-- how do we educate ed that link up new-media educators -Battles over the wireless commons tedcreativity.org). students to be equally familiar with to share code, theory, and art in re- -Models for connecting universi- technical concepts, theory, history, al time. ty lab with outside institutions and http://molodiez.org non-profit organizations. [email protected]
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 24 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 13:00 Franco “Bifo” Berardi WHERE: Nifca space #1 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 12:00 Franco Berardi an italian philosopher, cially with non-institutional zones of munication technology and culture WHERE: Kiasma seminar room political activist, writer, mediatheo- experimentation with ways of life. within a new regime of production. rist, media-activist... has been known According to Bifo, capitalism is al- He has given sustained attention to as “Bifo” since he began to sign his ways flogging a dead horse: in its at- the shift from the New Economy to abstract paintings at school with the tacks on unions, strikes and terrorism the war economy. He also published name. He later became a left-wing it fails to notice the emergence of a one of the few books to reflect on activist, joining the group Potere ope- new uncapturable figure, outside the the experience of Potere Operaio (La raio (Worker Power). After Potere op- domain of conventional politics. Nefasta Utopia di Potere Operaio). eraio broke up into an archipelago of autonomous groups across Italy be- Subsequent to the repression of More recently he has published a tween 1973 and 1974, Bifo was a part the autonomist movement in Italy in book on Felix Guattari “Felix” (2001) of this autonomist movement’s more the late seventies, Bifo fled to Par- and the book “Telestreet - Macchina “cultural” wing, which experimented is where he worked with Felix Guat- immaginativa non omologata” on the with media and cultural production. tari. During this time he wrote for experiment of Telestreet, a network The result of the political turmoil of the Chimeres journal in Paris, the of micro-channels spreading all over the period around 1968 was for Bifo Semiotext[e] journal in New York, and Italy against the media-dictatorship. a thorough rejection of any “Partyist” the Musica 80 journal in Milan. idea of political organisation in favour In his latest book “Il Sapiente, Il Mer- of developing a concept of “auto-or- The relationship between communi- cante, Il Guerriero” (The Warrior, the ganisation” that would explicitly not cation technology and social move- Merchant and the Sage)published in constitute a party. ments had became permanently cen- 2004 Bifo re-reads the experiences tral to Bifo’s thinking and action. He of Autonomia and launches a rigor- In 1976 he was amongst the found- published in the magazine “Alfabe- ous analysis of the political situation ers of Radio Alice in Bologna, the ta” the article “Tecnologie comuni- of the present and its possibilities for first Italian pirate radio station, cative” (Communicative Technolo- radical transformation. Analysis links which chronicled the insurrectional gy), which forecast the explosion of the economic crises from the end of events of 1977 in the city and was networks as a decisive social and cul- the 1990’s with such phenomena as In 2002 Bifo was an integral part of shut down by the authorities. Be- tural phenomenon. In 1989 Bifo pub- the flourishing pharmaceutical econ- setting up the www.rekombinant.org tween 1976 and 1981 Berardi was lished the pamphlet Cyberpunk with omy of drugs from cocaine and Am- website, a web environment of infor- also one of the editors of the maga- the publisher Synergon. That was fol- phetamines to Prozac, the multiplica- mal communication that does not add zine “A/traverso”, which became the lowed by “Piu’ cyber che punk” (More tion of disorders such as depression, up to identity. Bifo’s articles spread paper of the Bologna creative move- Cyber than Punk), “Cancel”, “Politiche attention deficiencies, new forms of all over the Net, some Finnish trans- ment. For Bifo and other activists of della mutazione” (The Politics of Mu- dyslexia etc.Some of the most cen- lations may be found in Megafoni-we- “Creative Autonomia” use of medias tation) and “Mutazione e cyberpunk” tral concepts Bifo is working on now- bzine (http://megafoni.kulma.net/). enabled the constitution of a zone (Mutation and Cyberpunk). adays are precariat and cognitariat, of linguistic self-organisation of the new proletarian figures under the movement in alliance with other ar- In the 1990’s Bifo has focused more fractalized networks of semiocapi- The lecture of Franco “Bifo” Berardi is www.rekombinant.org eas of auto-organisation such as the closely on the changing nature of talism. organised in collaboration with factory or the University and espe- capitalism and its utilization of com- Tutkijaliitto. http://megafoni.kulma.net
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 25 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 11:00 Digitalopenandfree.org WHERE: Kiasma seminar room
Digitalopenandfree.org is a collabora- tors to enter the market, because the living. Virtual worlds will be much Besides the organizational prob- tive paper exploring the means and monopolistic system has become de- more interesting places if there is lems related to open and free de- modes of digital open and free facto standard. Today when people a high amount of baseline technol- velopment, there is also an other po- systems. Code or content are not make a search, they say that they ogy and systemic resources, which tentially even more severe problem, the only things that can be free or “googled it”. Company in such po- are free and open. Think about the and this is quality. Many times, like open. What do you think about open sition is not interested in develop- possibilities that open information, in Wikipedia, the open and free sys- search, open store, open communi- ing the system in a way that individ- open search interfaces, open trans- tem is very efficient in producing vast cation, or open network? What if Am- ual users, or economy would like to. action systems and open communi- quantities of material, but there can azon, Google, Ebay, iTunes, would be They try to just maximize directly or cation can provide for emerging vir- be problems in achieving high quali- non-profit, and open systems, like indirectly profit, and that is why they tual worlds, as well as for existing ty. In future we have to concentrate Wikipedia or Linux. prefer to make more protective and communities. on finding practices and processes expanding maneuvers (like Microsoft which improve the quality of open Healthy markets need competition. expanding to Internet, and Games), Building a digital open and free sys- and free systems. One solution to Amazon and Ebay are good exam- instead of concentrating developing tem is not easy. Linux is the flagship the quality problem may be money. ples of the mechanism which pro- their core system. Digital open and example of how it can be done, but It may sound contradicting to speak duces digital monopolies. Lets con- free systems can compete with ex- it is not by far a perfect case exam- about money and open and free sys- sider a system, like digital market isting monopolies, because they are ple. Both the support, as well as the tem at the same time, but having place, which clearly benefits net- fundamentally different. They can technology of Linux has its flaws. money for running the organization work effect. Network effect here concentrate on providing maximum Organizing an open and free sys- and maintaining the system almost means, that the quality of the sys- functionality for end users, despite tems development may fail for sev- always helps. If the organization re- tem in increased when the network monetary looses. They are not made eral reasons. The lesson learned with mains non-profit and democratic, related to the system grows. Once for money making. And by replacing Open office was that too big project then there are usually no problems the system achieves critical mass these company monopolies, with dig- couldn’t be managed only with good related to the moneymaking. then there is a clear danger that net- ital open and free systems we actu- spirit and good intention. Office sys- work effect boosts the system un- ally improve markets. Value network tem is so complex, that the project Digitalopenandfree.org is a collabora- til it is a dominant monopoly. This will be better balanced because there management would have required tive paper exploring digital open and has happened basically already with is no dominant player, which protects more resource in order to succeed free systems. What are they? How Ebay, and Google. own business and tries to increase better. And there are thousands and they can be built? As well as what its value profile all the time. thousands promising case examples are the concrete cases in question? Monopolies damage markets. One of other open source projects, which Idea is to raise discussion, and stim- Kai Kuikkaniemi company, especially one, which is Besides economic benefits open had the same or some other prob- ulate new endeavors in this frontier. Kai is currently working in Helsinki In- listed in stock exchange, has only and free systems have also individu- lem. Community development proc- I am looking forward in hearing your stitute for Information Technology, in a function of being a moneymaker. al benefits. Our life is more depend- esses, and development process in comments, opinions and ideas, on digital content and communities re- Shareholders in public markets are ent on digital systems, especially in general are not easy to manage, but how we could make the digital do- search group. Kai has studied indus- mostly faceless institutional instanc- communication, and information ex- we are learning about them all the main better place to live. trial engineering and management, es, and look only highest return for change, but also in leisure activities. time more, and hopefully in future motion picture production, theoreth- capital investments. Monopoly has Open and free systems are the air there are more tools and practices ical physics and economics. Kai has dominant competitive advantages. and water of digital domain. Things for managing open and free system Kai Kuikkaniemi been and likes to be involved in both Basically it is very hard for competi- needed for sustainable and diverse development process. profit and non-profit ventures.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Dot Org Boom! page 26 Alex Dragulescu, Timothy Jaeger www.respam.com re:spam inbox performance visualizing data junk VJ Culture
The term VJ was popularised in the cotheque was not just a place were was much more a new element, an The year 1981 marks another impor- beginning and mid-‘80s by television you could dance, it was a custom- addition to a culture. Parties consist- tant step that was of importance for broadcaster MTV. A few years before, made environment, where the décor ed of music, lights, paintings, live the intertwining of sound and im- the end of the 70s, the term was in- and the ambience were as impor- shows and many other things. “At age and the future of video. Music troduced by the crew of the Pepper- tant as the music. “[The DJ] experi- ‘Die Macht Der Nacht’ (1989/1992), television station MTV started non- mint Lounge, a popular dance club in mented with lights and mirrors in the we had hairdressers, still photogra- stop broadcasting of music-video New York. The performers wanted to club, and saw himself as doing more phers, high wire artists performing clips. These clips were intended to distance themselves from the stuffy than just playing records: his selec- over the dance floor while everyone boost sales on the music charts. In video artists that were part of the art- tions were responding to the crowd, danced below, fire artists – including the meantime the clips also provid- and cultural scene in New York. MTV controlling the atmosphere on the fireworks artists!!!, theatre, black ed the singer or band with a more co-founder Bob Pittman appropriat- floor”.ii With the arrival of new tech- light artists, as well as other assort- profound image. By overturning tradi- ed the term for his MTV presenters.i nology, the drum beat and the syn- ed goodies I’m sure I’ve forgotten. tional conventions regarding image- To this day the term VJ is still a dis- thesizer, the disco sound changes To say nothing of all the little stands ry a new visual language was created puted name. and an electronic feel surfaces. This selling various products made by the which reached thousands of people cleared the room for House, Acid and culture. All these elements were to- at the same time. With the coming According to Dutch VJ Micha Klein Techno music. tally secondary to the main element of digital video editing this became “The difference between a VJ on TV of the evening – the PEOPLE getting even more apparent. Regardless of and a VJ in a club is the same as the 1977 marks the time in history when together and communicating with all that can and has been said about difference between a radio- and a this new technological tool - the syn- each other”.iii These days House mu- the advantages, disadvantages and club-DJ”. According to many VJs, a thesizer - is introduced, which be- sic was more than just something to meaning of this new phenomenon, VJ is again much more than just a comes paradigmatic for a shift in at- dance to. It was a huge shared se- the fact remains that it did lead to club VJ. For these people the most tention. That year bands and singers cret, incomprehensible to the main- a stronger connection between mu- important aspect of VJ-ing is the live from different musical backgrounds stream. A whole generation was in sic and visuals. Many VJs today still Annet Dekker (NL, 1970) is a cura- connection between the sounds and start making use of this new tech- on it, meeting at motorway service say they are inspired by all the visu- tor at the Netherlands Media Art In- images, be it in a club, theatre, exhi- nology. After the second Summer of stations in the middle of the night to al manipulations and effects in mu- stitute, Montevideo in Amsterdam, bition hall or in small gatherings. But Love in 1988 the new Acid House be- follow coded directions to illicit par- sic-video clips. NL. She works in the area of new foremost VJ’s are often seen and re- came widely accepted and very pop- ties and dance until dawn. The police media: researched, published and garded as a follower of the House ular. The spirit of the House scene and local government officials hunt- Although visuals were seen in clubs curated media (art)exhibitions and and Techno scene. And the aesthet- was one of togetherness, happiness: ed down these outbreaks of outlaw before, it was not until the introduc- debates. She presented at various ics are mostly compared with those the gateway to collective communi- spirit that spurred hundreds of thou- tion of House music that visuals be- international festivals / seminars and of video clips that get broadcasted ty action and euphoria. This was re- sands of people to break into ware- come aesthetically synonymous with was part of the international festival by different music channels on tel- flected in the staging of the events. houses and set up sound systems the music. Different people started jury’s. Currently she is also co-cura- evision. The House Parties were large gath- in remote fields. But by the mid- around the same time in different tor for Impakt Online and the Nether- erings of people who came to enjoy ‘90s the now more generally termed places, but all had the same goal: lands Film Festival. Subjects of inter- a short history the music as one united group as- ‘dance music’ retreated back into the trying to create a real-time continu- est are the influence of new media In the late 1970 and start of the 1980s serting their identity. Although some clubs, opting for constraint and con- ity between image and sound. The and popular culture on art and vice a new sound surfaces in both Europe people claim that the VJ came into trol, and in the process created its aesthetics, goals and material they versa. Her current research is “VJ and the United States. A sound that play to give the parties a more pro- first generation gap. used were as varied as the people culture: a phenomenon in history, had its origins in disco. The early dis- found look, a face or even an icon, it producing them. Important to realise presentation and perception”.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 28 is “that this is a music that came in- er, as culture became more and more of perception, but everywhere you heyday in the mid and late 1990s. By to existence because it could, a way commercialised, the social messag- went these were nothing more than this time the differences between of life that has always stood at the ing which permeated the initial peri- vague notions. “This was a move- VJ’s are enormous, many VJ’s start very forefront of change. Designer od of video mixing was replaced in ment about feeling, about friend- editing their material live on a com- drugs, drum machines, synthesis- great part by the flashings of the in- ship and fun rather than serious puter which could change and rec- ers, samplers, speakers, lights, la- dividual VJ. thought”.viii People demanded more ompose the material in many ways. sers, motorways, mobile phones – than the disco glitter ball of the 70s, Some use found footage and other dance culture has always taken the The House parties of the late 1980s a few flashing lights or liquid slides. film material to tell their story oth- very latest technology has to offer and beginning of the 1990s shared They wanted a total experience, col- ers produce their own footage. The and twisted it to its own hedonistic parallels with the sixties. The starting ourful images that bounced on the way of working very much reflects ends. But it has also been the fore- years of club culture, 1988-1991, co- screens that hung at the side of the the 1990s post-modern culture that front of social change. Clubs have al- incided with the fall of the Berlin Wall dance floor, multiple coloured la- was reworking, recombining and an- ways been places hidden from the and the Tianamen Square Student sers, fire eaters, magicians, exiting alysing already existing media materi- everyday world, where we can ex- Protest and gave birth to the Love Pa- live acts and MDMA, pleasure in pill al to make sense of the world. At first periment with new identities and life- rade, Mayday and Techno. The House form, the instant escape. the motto for the performances was styles, where people forced out on and Techno scene exploded as a so- to use as many colourful images as to the margins could find space to cial force throughout the world.v The The art of the VJ of the second half possible that would change fast and escape, dance and feel free. Where imagery of the VJs was mostly realis- of the ‘90s had become as diverse apply as many layers as you can. No- they could transcend”.iv tic, which engaged the clubbers into as the different styles in music. Eve- ticing that this strategy was not very an involvement with life, and when it rybody seemed to work with digital satisfying, many VJs started to focus from raves to club to gallery was abstract is was used as a means technology and everyone could be a on their own identity. The first VJs in the mid 80s did not to give an alternative example to the DJ or VJ. The more generally termed conceive of their work as an exten- processed MTV visualising of the ‘dance music’ retreated back into the This forming of an individual style sion from the world of music or art day. A fundamental change started clubs. Many people abandoned the and identity brought about differ- but, rather, they regarded their work in 1991, when the DJ was placed at large (many commercial) raves to ent performances. Many VJs left the as a form of progressive social com- the centre stage. “It was because of start their own experiments, leaving clubs to perform in cafés, theatre munication. Their goal was to devel- the energy and excitement generat- inclusiveness for constraint and con- shows, shops, art galleries and mu- op new theories and practices re- ed by the global House Nation that trol, but making their own decisions. seums. Today we see a VJ playing in garding visuals, music and social the industry decided to invade the In the process they created the first different locations and if it wants, the side than inside a club tend to see ideology (i.e. how to best commu- club scene at the end of 1990 and generation gap. The background of public can see a different style eve- themselves not as VJ but more as a nicate social messages within the throughout 1991”.vi the VJ had also changed. The pio- ry night of the week, from graphics, visual artist or visual performer. Also rapidly changing technological envi- neers in the VJ scene were experi- video, found film footage, television those playing in clubs are not fond of ronment). At the heart of these ex- 1994-1995 marks the point were mental filmmakers, people from light- show material, computer generated the association the word VJ has, as periments was the presumption that commercialism finally supersedes ing companies or artists who had abstracts to slides. But are all these it often gets treated as a minor de- the power and scope of sound and the idealism of the first generation. been trained in art academies. The different people VJs? And do they tail in the entertainment scene. So image in perfect balance could best The new VJ was without politics. In second generation of VJ’s formed still consider themselves a VJ? Look- other names come across like visual meet the needs of these latest chal- the spirit of the House scene peo- collectives with people from differ- ing at the diverse history of live inter- jockey, visual performer, pixel jockey lenges. As described above, a club ple in the mid 90s wanted to create ent traditions. Some had their roots action performances between sound and visual mix artist. Hopefully these was seen as an environment wherein beautiful images and create positive in computer programming while oth- and image, its ancestors and the different names will do justice to a one would not run away from reality icons that are uplifting and will “give ers in graphic design, film directing ground that was shaped for the VJ field that is as diverse as the imag- but, rather, get the inspiration and re- you a boost and a positive vibe for or sound. These collectives were the to perform its task, it seems almost es they create. newed mindset to improve the condi- the whole day.”vii There was talk of perfect example of the cross-discipli- impossible to come up with just one tions that exist within reality. Howev- a new age, about opening new doors nary collaborations that found their term. VJs who are playing more out- Annet Dekker, April 2005
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 29 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 17:00 TEMPEST WHERE: Kiasma Theatre by: Erich Berger / Norway http://randomseed.org/tempest
The audiovisual performance TEMPEST is based on the surveil- lance technology known as Van Eck Phreaking - computer screen con- tent can be reconstructed remotely by picking up the emitted EM-field of the screen. TEMPEST utilizes this technique to transform purely gener- ative graphic into a tight and intense composition of noise which again is fed back into the image generating process. Several AM receivers are tuned into different frequencies of a screen and plugged into an audio mixer for further sound processing. The graphics on the screen become a means of producing sound and it is only the graphics which determine the different timbres and rhythms. It is a synaesthetic instrument mas- tered by surfing on the space of possibilities of an autopoietic feed- back loop. Van Eck Phreaking is the name for a surveillance technology Erich Berger which is, that intelligence services www.randomseed.org are able to reconstruct the content Artist / Researcher lives and works in of a computer monitor by picking up oslo / norway the electromagnetic(em)-field of the signals or data within a computer de- References: Erich Berger is a media artist work- computer monitor. Over the years, vice by monitoring and picking up ing mostly in collaboration. His inter- programmers developed methods the em-fields. The U.S. government http://whatis.techtarget.com active and networked environments and algorithms to convert em-fields has been involved with em-field in- /definition deal with telerobotics, mobility, gen- to screen ghosts to view screen da- terpretation for many years under /0,289893,sid9_gci550525,00.html erative realtime systems, group bi- ta without using cables or cameras. a top-secret program code-named ofeedback and autopoiesis. He is Van Eck Phreaking is a form of eaves- “TEMPEST.” www.eskimo.com/~joelm exhibiting internationally and per- dropping in which special equipment /tempest.html forming regularly with his impro duo is used to pick up telecommunication BERGER or solo.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 30 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 18:00 SF&L WHERE: Kiasma Theatre DATE: 15.04. TIME: 22:00 by: Studio Frank & Lisa We use a plain old ‘window’ and In normal daytime hours we are a WHERE: Club Bundolo - Frank Schaap & Lisa Sportel 3ccd camera on a tripod as a realtime graphic design studio designing 2d (Groningen, The Netherlands) analog cutting, pasting and smudg- printwork, illustration and interior de- www.studiofrank-lisa.nl ing with paint, sheets and all sorts of sign for events. At night we experi- fluid. We want to create an atmos- ment with video and motion typog- phere that is rather raw in design. In raphy to create ‘moving posters’. our veejaying we use text animations And so far, we are going in a good to give comment on todays, mostly direction.. Dutch, society. We try to make mo- tion graphics have it’s own charac- ter, like someones handwriting. We also use a lot of humor.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 31 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 18:00 RESPAM – Inbox performance WHERE: Kiasma Theatre DATE: 16.04. TIME: 21:00 RESPAM is a project started in April of ‘real-time coding’ into the rich his- we manipulate and query the data- rithmic processes. By aestheticizing WHERE: UMO Jazz House 2004 acting as a net art platform for tory of multimedia video installation. base, retrieving results and trigger- common transactions that we take the collection, implementation, and Inbox is structured in the same way ing events. for granted (such as ecommerce, cultural integration of unwanted, ab- as a VJ/DJ performance, but with a online shopping carts, or even click- ject data in the form of solicitous few caveats: In most VJ/DJ perform- Our interface and process of navi- ing to retrieve an email message) a messages (heretofore referred to as ances, the techniques and actual ma- gating the database becomes thus new sensibility is cultivated through spam) by artists Alex Dragulescu nipulations that the performer is do- transparent, contrasting the way da- exploring database semiotics. and Timothy Jaeger. ing are often times hidden: we wish tabases are used today: a ubiquitous to foreground this aspect of the per- yet hidden cultural form. We guide The focus of RESPAM is multifold. formance. All our gestures will be the audience through a wide variety The first is to create a repository of superimposed over the projections of electronic visual and sound spaces extremely large sets of spam data and the audience will witness how that are transformed by various algo- that aren’t filtered or organized but left in their natural, untouched state. This repository will be publicly avail- able, for both cultural and technolog- ical probing. We encourage Internet users to participate in this en- deavor and send us their spam to [email protected]. The second is to tap into this data to create visuali- zations, electronic music, multimedia performances, net.art projects and other artistic interventions. The third is to act as a portal for all spam-re- lated information where one can find the latest in spam research, articles, legislation, tools and tutorials.
The goals of RESPAM are broad and diverse, but ‘performing the data’ is an integral part of our desire to turn this unwanted email into a veritable habitat, a landscape comprised of both sound and image. RESPAM is generously supported For the Pixeche 2005 our perform- by UCSD Visual Art Department, ance is entitled Inbox. With Inbox we CRCA, Experimental Game Lab, wish to expand the nascent practice and Darrel O’Pry of THE THING
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 32 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 16:00 A Day on Earth – What time is it? WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
acoustic performer, Christelle has been exploring the vast universe of sound art for over 6 years.
Patrick Watson www.patrickwatson.net Patrick Watson possesses the voice of an angel and his songs are psych- folk tales of melancholic euphoria. It’s Jeff Buckley signing on Philip Yasuko Tadokoro imagination. Favouring a certain idea Glass’ music, with a hint of Portis- aka VJ Mademoiselle (Japan), In this world where everything moves of positivism, Mademoiselle’s video head. His last CD is the soundtrack Thien Vu Dang at the speed of light, there’s one performances are characterized by a of an imaginary movie and his shows, aka VJ Pillow (Canada), thing that has a relatively stable na- sense of freshness and lightness and complex and elaborated, hit all sens- Christelle Franca (Canada), ture and it’s the land that holds our they obviously bear the print of tech- es in every angle and stick to the au- Patrick Watson (Canada) feet. This land where we were born, nical development in digital art. dience’s memory long after the last raised, the land on which we grew note has been played. Resume up is part of our geographical iden- Thien Vu Dang What makes us what we are? In this tity. It’s an identity we share with http://vjpillow.com performance, 2 individuals from 2 the people in our city or in our coun- Thien Vu Dang aka Pillow performs different locations on Earth express try. Things as simple as the weath- in Montreal’s electronic scene since how their surrounding environment er and the food or more complex like spring 2001. He uses his background is shaping an important part of their the history, the architecture, the cul- in fiction and documentary cinema to identity. tural life and even the language that experiment new forms of narativity. This performance benefits from a res- we speak plays a key role in our iden- His work is a constant quest to find idency of Kiasma. Description tity. new ways of communicating through With progress in technology and images and sound. He finds in video communication, the earth has be- performances an ideal organic play- come like a huge town. Information ground for his experimentations. We acknowledge the support of the and people are flowing through the Canada Council for the Arts. whole world as easy as we would Yasuko Tadokoro cross a street. In this global village, We can feel the influence of the New Christelle Franca where everything is mixing up, iden- Wave cinema movement in the artis- With a background in dance, liter- tity had become a fragile idea. In all tic approach of Yasuko Tadokoro aka ature and theatre directing, Chris- this jumble, I am wondering what VJ Mademoiselle. Her stay at the telle Franca has chosen sound as makes us what we are? What is the prestigious Art Tower Mito Museum the common denominator for artis- essence of our identity? also helped to shape her vision of art, tic expression. which she now transposes into visu- Alternating professionally from DJ, al experiments dictated by her fertile to sound designer for dance and theatre, to documentary and electro- PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 33 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 12:00 PixelTANGO demo WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
by: Ben Bogart of self similarity. Self-Similar gen- www.ekran.org/ben erates images though an openGL feedback process so that the part Vector resembles the whole. Self-Similar is Vector is another performance in performed live in response to an au- process along side “Volume Curva- dience and musical context. ture.” There is a similar emphasis The first version of Self-Similar was on form in space, but the main focal- performed in 2004 as part of the The point for “vector” is a strong sense of Machine Shed Issue #3 Release Par- line whereas Volume Curvature often ty with The Convertible Robots. becomes abstracted to the point of texture. Vector is my first project to www.ekran.org/ben/self-similar be created enitrely with open-source software: The Gimp, OpenOffice Threads Draw and Pd/Gem. Threads is a visual performance piece that uses letters and words as Ben Bogart Volume Curvature the material of the image. Threads is Ben is an installation artist, visu- Volume Curvature is a performance performed live in response to an au- al performer and programmer. He piece settled in the body of work dience and musical context. The text works in an open-source context known as Self-Similar. During per- is generated as a trajectory through and makes the software he develops formance, complex organic volumes the vocabularies of both the old tes- available under the GPL. His installa- are created. I think of these volumet- tament and the bible. Feedback is tions create content live and on the ric forms as virtual kinetic sculpture. used to build up dense textures of fly in response to the work’s sensed The colours, structure and style of text. environment. These works may in- the piece are inspired by the architec- Threads was first performed in 2004 volve interaction from the audience, tural work of Frank Gehry. The piece as part of Anyware with audio by Jer- or the work may simply respond to is a fusion of the structure of music emy Rotsztain. the context in which it exists. Ben is over time and architecture. This per- a structural thinker and imagines his formance is the first iteration of Vol- www.ekran.org/ben/threads work as the production of media ar- ume Curvature. In future develop- chitectures. Physical modelling, cha- ment the piece will be realized as an os, feedback systems and evolution- interactive installation. ary algorithms have been used to inform and engage in his creative www.ekran.org/ben Ben Bogart has performed “Self-Sim- process. Ben is currently develop- www.ekran.org/ben/threads /volume_curvature ilar” and “Threads” numerous times ing the pixelTANGO visual perform- and is now developing two new per- ance software for the Société des www.ekran.org/ben/self-similar Self-Similar formance projects with the work- arts technologiques. Self-Similar is a visual performance ing titles of “Volume Curvature” and http://www.ekran.org/ben www.ekran.org/ben piece centered on the fractal theme “Vector” http://www.ekran.org/ben/cv.html /volume_curvature
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 34 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 17:00 IIS:006 WHERE: Kiasma Theatre by: RYBN / EOL [Fr] al objects », urban deserts without www.rybn.org human presence. The photographic series are about life space sectorisa- RYBN will release a real-time per- tion, about which the division is set formance system, where projec- by urbanism. The spaces are repre- tion of pictures, odours spreading sented in a poetical way: sequences, and sound diffusions enter in inter- under an unremarkable appearance, action. Multisensory databases con- reveal ambivalence, an inscrutable/ stitute the raw material of a plastic impenetrable reality. The human be- experiment, the common vocabulary ing has disappeared, awarding these of performers from which they estab- spaces an abstract dimension, ele- lish a dialectic link. From a principle vating them to the rank of subjective of improvisation, they create a men- objects. The aesthetic bias is refer- tal universe, a representation built by ring to the « uncanniness ». successive layers addition. Sound Layer: The sound element is tremes and their contrasts. RYBN and contrast or contradict the per- Visual Layer: Video sequenc- created in real-time, with a multiplic- plays with the deletion and corrup- ceptions. es, projected on the centre of the ity of creation platforms (poly-soft- tion of reference points and percep- stage, are made up of digital pho- ware), and a plurality of sources (re- tive reflexes linked to music (rhythm, Audience: The audience has to re- tographs series, structured by mi- cordings, samples, loops, numeric / loops and melodies), the perversion consider their habits of perception, cro-movements. Photographs are analogical / acoustic instruments, si- of musical material to the benefit of and recombine the different signals. taken at night, with long exposure. lences). The process is based on Sound. They are at the heart of a sensory im- They try to represent « architectur- the tolerance threshold, auditory ex- mersion experience which question Olfactory Layer: The olfactory el- and test our perceptive systems and ement is based upon a control-com- our cognitive principles. mand technology, regulated through a digital interface. Used on a se- RYBN is questioning Language, de- quential mode: as a musical score, leting contextual links – sound/ the « olfactory score » is played by pictures , odours/referent, etc… - spreaders placed in the performance to recreate new unpredictable, im- space, spreading smells at control- provised links. The collective is reap- led frequencies and intervals. The ol- propriating the dreamy field texture, faction is used as an abstract driving where spatiotemporal and sensory force: smells, extracted from its in- elements are interlocked, permeable itial sources, are used as a link be- to each others. tween olfactory memory and its at- tached symbolic to the collective unconscious. The olfactory layer would be able to moderate, qualify
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 35 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 17:00 Perm 36 Robovision WHERE: Kiasma Theatre by: The Pointless Creations / UK screen robovision DVD”. Pointless’ The Pointless Creations collective Our installations make use of imag- www.pointlesscreations.co.uk own video instrument: the Video grew out of the Radar sound system es as building blocks to create 3 di- Switchboard, is used to trigger sound and their infamous club nights and mensional environments with light Perm 36 Robovision is a video per- and images on the fly, in an impro- outdoor parties. We are still active during our performances using vid- formance featuring live manipulation vised upbeat style. The soundtrack in those fields whilst getting regular eo and slide projections on custom of footage captured at the Perm 36 is a live remix of tracks by Micromu- commissions from theatre groups, made, mobile screens which encour- Gulag Museum (Near the location of sic artists Mr.Electron (Glasgow) and community art events and media art age playful interaction with the au- the first Machinista festival ) togeth- Spoonbender (Newcastle). festivals. dience. er with 3D animation of the Machin- The show created for Pixelache also ista robot created for 2004 Glasgow includes a turntable performance by edition of the festival and the “Full- FI$T using experimental needle con- traptions (the Double Needle and The Hand), Screening of Jay-Go Bloom’s Tabla Pong and a live videoscape by Ablab.
for more info: www.pointlesscreations.co.uk
video switchboard instrument: www.thesoundsurgery.co.uk /videoswitchboard
FI$T’s experimental needles: www.pointlesscreations.co.uk/fist
Jay-Go Bloom’s videos: Jaygo Bloom www.gabba.tv www.gabba.tv JAYGO BLOOM presents to you a re- Ablab audiovisual Labyrinth: working of the popular 80’s arcade www.ablab.org game classics ‘BREAK-OUT’ ‘ELE- KTRAGLIDE’ and ‘PONG’. JAYGO BLOOM’S particular game play tech- nique provides the initial basis and response for an all new AudioVisual accompaniment, derived from equal- ly misguided and random ‘home mu- sic tutorials’ downloaded from the world wide web.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 36 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 13:00 Machinista WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
Pointless Creations/ Machinista Full Screen Robovision is the collec- code, animations and VJ mixes were The Machinista DVD is available as a Crew (PointlessDav, WillAdams, tion of short films selected from the entered in response to an open call full (4.2Gb) legal (Creative Commons Fi$T, Geraldine Greene) best moving image works amongst to illustrate the idea of “the world as Licenced) download using the Bittor- the 259 entries uploaded during the seen by the machines”. rent software. www.machinista.org.uk/dvd second edition of the Machinista “arts and technology” festival and Machinista.org is an open unmediat- Presentation and screening of the presented at the offline event. ed exhibition of creative and techno- Machinista DVD project by David Experimental imaging, audiovisual logical innovation relating to the idea Bernard (Curator) and Will Adams of “artificial intelligence in the arts” (designer) and “wo/man-machine interaction”.
Media art works without genre lim- itations were accepted: video-art, music and sound, vj demos, multi- media installation, net-art, software art, graphical / 3D experiments etc. Works were uploaded on the Machin- ista website and published automati- cally. Each category was assigned its own online curator who could super- vise work submission and give pre- liminary assessments.
Machinista received around 250 works from many countries. The most interesting entries, in the opinion of the category supervi- sors, were selected to feature on the online shortlist and moving im- age works were compiled on the Ma- chinista DVD.
This was released in conjunction with the festival, and served as a di- rectory for an emerging network of exciting new digital artists.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 37 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 18:00 Malfunctionalism (0.1b) WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
Concept: Mikko Kallinen & LLR3 Choreography: Mikko Kallinen Dancers: Elena Ruuskanen & Mikko Kallinen Computer Graphics & Audio: LLR3 Costume Design: Elena Ruuskanen
Malfunctionalism is a story about a mechanically deterministic man- machine relationship and its evolu- tion through a computing error into something more unpredictable and organic. Malfunctionalism is a live performance combining two danc- ers, one domestic 8-bit computer for minimal real-time video, some audio equipment and a system operator.
Mikko Kallinen has made several choreographies that have been per- formed in Finland as well as in Lon- don, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Paris. In his performances, Kallinen combines dance with new technol- ogy, video techniques and electron- ic music.
LLR3 operates a personal under- ground studio in Helsinki, utilizing both vintage home computers as well as modern studio equipment as tools of art.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 38 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 19:00 The World of PIKU WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
The World of PIKU is an audio-visu- al live-mix project / performance. As much as a collection of stories / im- ages / songs / sounds, PIKU is also an experiment in real-time narrative. Personal memories, visions and ex- periences become collective stories pasted together with weird ambiance and funky electronic quirkiness.
In this performance The World of Piku is exploring individual, emotional and subjective experience in social or private situations. Mapping of forces that put us in motion and gives us di- rection. Memories, perceptions etc. that un-variably and in every situation dictate our interaction and molds our current perception of reality. Henrik Axlund aka Naïve was ed- Pete Ruikka aka VJ Hahmo lives Tuomas Toivonen is 30 year old ucated in animation in Sweden, in and works in Helsinki. Pete forms to- multi-talent. Tuomas is working as a The World of PIKU is a new Audio- 2002 he made the move to Turku, Fin- gether with VJ Nadve the Visual Sys- freelance architect and as a design- Visual group which consists of Visual land where he still lives and works. teemi collective. Within the Visual er in Anteeksi and M41LH2 groups. Systeemi VJ’s Naïve and Hahmo and He is active as a VJ, animator and de- Systeemi context Pete has produced He is a founding member and a vo- musician Tuomas Toivonen, a found- signer of graphic, interactive and mo- a number of media art related per- calist, programmer and composer of ing member of the Finnish band Gi- tion media. He is one of two found- formances / pieces, clubs and hap- the band Giant Robot. He is also a ant Robot and member of the band ing members of Visual Systeemi VJ penings. Over the last three years member a of Acid Kings band. A Acid Kings. collective. In Turku he runs the Mul- Pete has been VJing extensively in Journalist in the Nyt –supplement of ti-disciplinary arts and culture space Finland and abroad and held sever- Helsingin Sanomat writing the Mitä Find more info from: STUDIO. al residencies in different clubs. Vis- kuulin tänään –column in 2003. Jour- www.visualsysteemi.com/piku ual Systeemi has recently teamed nalist and a DJ in hundreds of radio www.visualsysteemi.com up with musician Tuomas Toivonen shows in Radio Helsinki (Ruuhka (mu- [email protected] to form an audiovisual group called sic), Unelmien Helsinki (city planning, the World of Piku. Pete is also work- -politics, -culture and architecture) ing in the Pixelache 2005 VJ team. and Luksuslauantai (live electronic In addition to VJ related projects music). Hundreds of DJ gigs in Fin- Pete is freelancing in different sec- land and abroad from year 1996. Mar- The World of PIKU is supported by tions of media production working on ried to Nene Tsuboi (graphic design- AVEK projects ranging from photography to er, illustrator and artist). game design. www.visualsysteemi.com/piku
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 39
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Org Dot - 2005 PixelACHE 0 4 page Performances Audiovisual and Culture VJ
“Herätessään eräänä aamuna tamm- ja vanhat spektaakkelin keinot: sirku- ijäärän toukka tunsi kummaa kihinää sakrobaatin tehdessä notkeita temp- alaosassaan. Vuosia sen ainoa mie- pujaan hänen varjonsa yhdistyy lihalu oli ollut nakerrella puuydintä, videoprojektioihin ja eläviin varjoku- josta kertynyt kalkki oli muodosta- viin, jotka vaeltavat holvikaarissa ja ti- nut paksun renkaan sen vyötärölle. laa jakavissa harsokankaissa. Mutta nyt jokin selittämätön himo Tilan rakenne pakottaa katsojan tule- kutsui sitä aivan väärään suuntaan, maan jurojen tammijäärien ja vaaniv- kauas puun ytimestä ja kohti pintaa, ien hämähäkkien sekaan osaksi josta kantautuvan pommien kaltaisen installaatiota. Musiikki soi määrit- jylyn se oli pidemmän aikaa tuntenut telemättömästä suunnasta, pienistä matalana värinänä ruumiissaan...” tilaan kätketyistä kaiuttimista. Pian katsoja kuitenkin huomaa kato- Selfish Shellfish on näyttävistä ja sta roikkuvien toukkapussien soitta- viihdyttävistä esiintymisistään tun- van instrumentteja ja laulavan. nettu orkesteri, jonka musiikillinen lajityyppi on Saksan kiertueen yhtey- Onko Selfish Shellfish koteloitunut dessä määritelty paikallisessa lehdis- aloittaakseen uuden elämän koiper- tössä JENGAksi. hosina? Tarkkaavainen yleisön jäsen voi jopa syrjäsilmällä bongata hein- Amfibio on Suomen johtava VJ- ien lomassa VJ:n liikuttelemassa me- kollektiivi, joka on toteuttanut vis- kaanisia paperinukkeja tai aktivoimas- uaaleja mm. Koneisto-tapahtumiin, sa videosekvenssejä tietokoneelta. Nuspirit Helsingille sekä Flow04-fes- tivaalille. Esityksen teemat on tiivistetty kol- meen sanaan: teinit, sota, hyöntei- Yhdessä pyrimme luomaan esit- set. Esitys jakaantuu kohtauksiin, yksen, jossa kuva on yhtä “live” kuin jotka muodostuvat kuvan ja äänen musiikki. Se toteutetaan Suomenlin- yhteisvaikutelmasta - kappaleen lop- naan Nifcan tiloihin. Esityksessämme uttua saattaa kohtaus jatkua vielä ku- bändi ei soita lavalla kirkkaissa valois- vassa, tai toisin päin. Kohtauksista sa yleisön katseiden kohteena. muodostuu draamallinen kokonaisu- Sen sijaan rakennamme tilan, jos- us, mutta ei varsinaista juonta.
sa yleisö ottaa pölyhiukkasten roo- Musiikki on ensisijaisesti teemoihin
lin mikrokosmoksessa. Toteutukses- liittyviä yleisölle tuttuja kappaleita
sa kohtaavat saumattomasti uudet käsiteltynä uudessa kontekstissa. - NOW IN FROG PERSPECTIVE FROG IN NOW -
Selfish Shellfish VS Amfibio Amfibio VS Shellfish Selfish
Nifca space #3 space Nifca WHERE:
20:00 15.04. TIME: DATE: DATE: 16.04. TIME: 11:00 RELINE2 WHERE: Kiasma Theatre
RELINE2 artists investigate mod- THE WORK: ABOUT THE RELINE PRESS ern mythology, examine environ- SOMETIMES: DVD SERIES: “The 10 video manipulations on show ments, explode form, and play with PLEIX WITH MUSIC BY KID606 The goal of the RELINE series is here hint at some of the deeper cur- similes between machine and body. FROM BROWN TO GREEN: SCOTT to compile an array of work show- rents running through the twin di- From buildings ripping apart by un- PAGANO WITH MUSIC BY TWERK casing artists engaged in the cre- mensions of programmable space.” seen forces to characters on strange E3: ROBERT SIEDEL ation of new visual forms deriving - WIRE magazine journeys in wild imagined spaces, DRAWDOWN: PHOENIX PERRY & from experimental techniques and “The ten artists on Reline manip- these videos explore the integration ARNOLD STEINER & Brian Jackson the re-orientation of high-end pro- ulate, break, and build technology of technology into every strata of UNTITLED FOR TELEVISIONS: duction processes. Part video ar- to link, warp, and tune a new visu- our lives. Through the use of custom SCOTT ARFORD chive, part work of art itself, RELINE al language of graphic abstraction.” software, unique processing meth- LAPTOPS AND MARTINI’S: serves the dual goal of contextualiz- - XLR8R magazine ods, and envelope-pushing applica- MOTOMICHI WITH MUSIC BY ing and developing an emerging me- tions of traditional production tools, OTTO VON SCHIRACH dia form. This compilation aspires ABOUT THE CURATORS: these pieces push technical limits REGRET: TRONIC STUDIO WITH to establish a solid ground from Reline creators Scott Pagano and and very bounds of style and imag- MUSIC BY Q DEPARTMENT which to create and distribute vid- Phoenix Perry began with a vision to ination. This second disc is marked 3X6: MAGNETIC STRIPPER eo in a world with an increasing de- create a lasting record of the emer- by a stronger conceptual focus, with MUSEE HOFSTDAT: C-TRL LABS sire to have a dialog with its screen gence of technology based art in technology playing an enabling role WITH MUSIC BY ANON and explore the possibilities beyond 2001.There collective vision fuels instead of being the primary agenda. DATA_FLOW: D-FUSE WITH MUSIC the constraints of broadcast content. this project and its future develop- Works in this collection offer an in- BY LUSINE ICL ment. sight into the current world and it’s CELLULOID: JUDE GREENAWAY SCREENINGS: potential future as imagined through REGEN3RAT10N: BEN SHEPPEE The first RELINE DVD has been a For biographical information, see graphic re-interpretations, biotech- WITH MUSIC BY SEWN worldwide success, providing expo- http://reline.net nology, architecture, and the envi- AN OPEN THOUGHT: OWLANDIA sure for the represented video artists Phoenix Perry ronment. FOR YOU: JARON ALBERTIN WITH and experimental video art as a me- (Co-curator, Art Director, NYC) MUSIC BY SOLVENT dium. Screenings include: Yerba Bue- [email protected] MANUFACTURED MUSIC: ACTOP na Center for the Arts (SF), the Gug- www.phoenixperry.com WITH MUSIC BY RADIOBOY genheim Bilbao (Spain), The Lincoln Scott Pagano STILL NOT STILL: SUE COSTABILE Center (NYC), Austin Museum of Dig- (Co-curator, DVD Production, SF) WITH MUSIC BY AGF ital Art, Santa Fe Art Institute and gal- [email protected] SPAN: CHRIS MUSGRAVE leries and festivals through out the www.neither-field.com ADITI: YOSHI WITH MUSIC BY THE US and Europe. KNOBS LASER GRAFFITI WRITER: TEN- ZIN WANGCHUCK WITH MUSIC BY http://reline.net VENETIAN SNARES www.neither-field.com
www.phoenixperry.com
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 41 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 14:00 vom club ins museum WHERE: Kiasma Theatre DATE: 16.04. TIME: 21:00 Fourteen artists, who are working Participating Artists: WHERE: UMO Jazz House with electronic media, were invited HC Gilje [NO], PixelACHE Exibition: by Peter Lang, Curator at Künstler- Patrycja Grimm (PL), DATE: 14.-17.04. haus Bethanien (Berlin) and Lillevän, Ryoichi Kurokawa [JP], WHERE: Kiasma lobby video artist and member of the group Katarina Löfström [SE], Rechenzentrum to select a concrete Gerhard Mantz [DE], piece out of their programmes of Mikomikona [DE], sounds and visuals, which can ap- Ogi:noknauss [IT], pear like an image on a wall of a mu- Otolab [IT], seum. Rechenzentrum [DE], Skoltz_Kolgen [CA], Starting-point for this condition is Ran Slavin [IL], the question of how an electroni- Jorinde Voigt [DE], cally produced audio-visual piece Bert Wrede & Alexander du Prel [DE], can take on the position of a classi- Ralf Ziervogel [DE] cal museum’s exhibit as it is extend- ed by one dimension in concerning time and sound.
A comparing compilation of the works of artists from the fields of Fine Arts and Club culture is setting the background of a fundamental question: Which possibilities might be revealed to electronically pro- duced images by the Museum as an institution? And in how far can this electronically produced image itself broaden the role of the clas- sic painting? www.lueckeundpartner.de
www.lueckeundpartner.de
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 42 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 17:00 BEK To The Future: piksel04 WHERE: Nifca space #2
United under a Free Software definitely snowballed from last Norwegian filled the small spaces of technology which often seem at log- banner, a motley crew of audi- year’s more modest gathering which BEK and C, C++, Lisp, Scheme and gerheads with one another. Anoth- ovisual artists and developers was more about a close grouping of Forth all rubbed shoulders in this er worry is that smaller apps, which gathered in Norway this Novem- a small number of video developers warm code sauna. address specific artistic concerns, ber for an intense week of dis- pursuing a common set of concerns Of course, a more formal structure have a tougher life within an eco- cussion, workshops and perform- around interoperability. Sure such is- was laid out for the week’s activities, system dominated by major players ances. Martin Howse reports sues were very much to the fore this with daytime public and closed work- such as Pd and SuperCollider. Ques- back from the frontline time round, with a core team of de- shops based around major packag- tions of interpretation and artistic velopers such as Jaromil and Tom es such as Pd and GEM, or the LiVEs cohesion are also often dangerously Nestling between fjord and moun- Schouten hunkering down to thrash NLE (Non Linear Editing) and VJ tool. overlooked in favour of more techni- tains, Bergen, a small, friendly town out the internals of the LiViDO (Linux Evenings were reserved for artists to cal or political concerns, and in some which attracts more than its fair Video Dynamic Objects) plugin showcase their work in perform- instances issues of quality become share of Norwegian rainfall, makes framework, but with three times ance or presentation within the suit- flattened or ignored. Is it enough to for an unlikely meeting ground for as many coders and artists in resi- ably modernist setting of Landmark, unite artist-coders under a collec- international artist-coders. Perhaps dence in the tight intimacy of BEK, a prestigious local venue within the tive, Free Software banner, if they thanks to the damp climate, the piksel04 presented more diverse, ad- Kunsthall. However, in common with have little else in common, or should warm environment of BEK (Bergen hoc groupings. Intimate, tightly knit the free software development mod- an event such as piksel04 moder- Centre for Electronic Art) has proved clusters would form for temporary el such a structure was very much ate and define this commonality for fertile enough to spawn a second, discussion at all hours around such open to mutual change and improv- the public? Can a shared purpose be much enlarged iteration of the excel- issues such as streaming solutions, isation, serving to some extent as teased out of such diverse threads lent Piksel event, uniting Free Soft- with Ogg Theora very much in favour, pegs on which more informal cod- whilst still maintaining difference and ware-centred developers and artists geek toys, and the vagaries of lap- ing and discussion could be hung. a sense of artistic originality? in defining and sharing common in- top manufacturer’s repair deals. Win- In short, piksel04 was more about Sharing a code base is obviously terests. And few could argue with dow managers were compared, driv- mutual inspiration amongst develop- a good thing, and to some extent the global nature of this event, with ers tweaked and kernels recompiled. er-coders, rather than a structured apps such as FreeJ and VeeJay rep- representatives of more than 13 na- Within the hothouse atmosphere of public event. Aside from the hefty resented at piksel04 fit the bill, but tionalities crowded into the small of- BEK, nearly every project, including schedule of presentations, most this much enlarged event also saw fices of BEK to take part in the week the highly usable Dyne:bolic distro, artists and developers were happy refreshing new approaches to 3D long code-fest that is piksel04. saw a new release, with program- to show both work and coded un- work, with the intriguing Fijuu project The size of this unique event, which mers hammering out code for the full derpinnings as larger groups of in- based around the Nebula free soft- now functions as an essential get-to- roster of open source artistic apps, trigued parties would group around ware game engine, and Gullibloon, gether and brain-storming session from the venerable Pd (Pure Data), their busy laptops, peering eagerly incorporating an advanced OpenGL- for artists and developers involved PDP (Pure Data Packet) and Super- over onlookers’ shoulders. based graphics server. Indeed, it is in free software on all platforms, is Collider to GePhex and the extrava- possible to rather artificially divide good testimony to the popularity of gantly named Gullibloon. The need Too many cooks? the groups within piksel04 along such approaches for audio, and pri- for speed was very much an issue, Such a large, diverse grouping of the 2D, 3D axis and useful aesthetic marily video work. Subtitled FLOSS with coders swapping tricks, tips and artists and developers does raise its comparisons can be made between (Free Libre and Open Source Soft- elegant maths. Heated discussions in own issues, with so many varying ar- these differing approaches to visu- ware) in motion, piksel04 has most German, Spanish, Dutch, English and tistic and conceptual approaches to al data with the work of Jaromil and
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 43 Kentaro Fukuchi definitely emphasis- as a Free Software meeting gives lit- rably by James Tittle II in his GEM MuSE for the absolute beginner. With ing an old school flavour. Indeed, pik- tle idea of this sheer diversity. Yet if workshop, does raise several ques- the arrival of artist coders over the sel04 is still very much in touch with you were to attempt to tease out a tions over the necessity for such a weekend, the heat was most definite- its roots, with the founders of what thematic concern for piksel04, then plugin architecture. Lightweight OSC ly on as geeks battled to throw down could be termed the open source ar- surely the concept of networking does seem the way to go, in keeping the first free streams using spanking tistic scene sitting comfortably along- readily fits the bill in both its tech- with the pluggable Unix philosophy, new technologies such as Flumotion side younger coders and new philos- nical and social sense. It’s all about and artist Daniel Fisher put both Pd from Fluendo (see review issue 44). ophies. sociability of course, with coders and OSC to good effect on the clos- Within just a few days Free Software- And many coders are well aware of eating, drinking and talking togeth- ing night of piksel04, with the much based audio and video streams had this history, as evidenced by an in- er in a charged yet playful working hyped interoperability gangbang. been set up from machines scattered teresting discussion about the Dem- environment. Of course it’s obvious Prior to this finale, the Gullibloon across the floors and rooms of BEK, oscene following Monday night’s but still worth stressing that hackers crew admirably demonstrated net- from ad-hoc wireless laptops, and presentation from Antti Silvast of still have yet to devise an Internet working as display, with a virtuos- from Landmark itself all day and eve- Pseudotoad fame. Antii was a ma- enabled over-the-shoulder protocol ic set, again using OSC in this case ry night. URLs were shouted across jor player in the Demoscene in the for informal discussion, bouncing teamed with their own, highly pow- workrooms and MPlayer switches early 90s, and he eloquently de- around of ideas and mutual inspi- erful software suite with GsrV2, an traded madly. scribed how, with the death of the ration. Free software coders simply OSC message hub, at the core. Self Streaming as a tool for communi- Demoscene and the rise of the PC, have to meet. coded network traffic information ties was very much the order of the a few coders made the shift to open Networking also implies interoper- collectors and sniffers threw data day, and an excellent presentation source. To some extent the free soft- ability, a concern which powerfully to clients through this hub, and both midweek from Tatiana de la O and ware VJ scene does share with the fuelled the first Piksel meet last year. Pd and SuperCollider patches along- Lluis Gomez i Bigorda demonstrat- Demoscene a similar eye candy aes- Piksel04 picked up the interoperabil- side a purpose built graphics engine ed a beautiful model of interfaces thetic and obvious concern for speed ity challenge, with hardcore coders translated these streams into an im- for social connectivity. Their web- and efficiency. However, Demoscene such as Niels Elburg and Salsaman pressive storm of 3D shapes, imag- based Gollum app throws together coders always kept their cards well seeking to push forward the LiViDO es and rhythmic noise. audio and video mixing, streaming, hidden, and could easily be likened common plugin architecture, through chat and a map-based interface, al- to rather miserly magicians, hoard- serious discussion and hefty code Social networks lowing for a good level of integrated ing their best tricks and secrets. sprints. During the week the piksel- Streaming, which could also be well multi-user communication. Gollum is Open source coding for visuals is, dev list, reserved for work on LiViDO, defined as networking for social con- all about levelling the playing field, of course, equally, if not more, com- reached melting point with heated nectivity, was very much on the agen- when it comes down to media ac- petitive. Openness makes poor code exchanges over API and implemen- da this year, both in terms of provid- cess. Audioflow and Videoflow, pre- evident and shared results create an tation. Andraz Tori, lone developer of ing access to those outside Bergen sented on the closing night of pik- expectation of even faster develop- NLE Cinelerra fame, took great de- and within presented apps them- sel04 by Rama, are also built on a Pd ment. light in fanning the flames, but im- selves. Distribution is a key issue base, and again present a highly us- portant questions were raised none- which is often overlooked on the ar- able platform for free and open glo- Rich mix theless as to whether a common API tistic scene in favour of content pro- bal communication. And thanks to Piksel04 is tough to pin down, with could exist between both real-time duction. Prior to the start of piksel04 August Black’s Userradio project, performances and presentations em- apps and NLEs. Indeed, the rise in proper, Adam Hyde from r a d i o q a set of tools for collaborative net- bracing embedded solar powered de- use of the highly flexible OSC (Open- u a l i a delivered a three day open worked audio production, piksel04 vices, live wireless video processing, SoundControl) protocol amongst all streaming workshop which well cov- participants were able to contrib- EEG monitoring, GPS data use for in- manner of artistic apps at piksel04, ered basic concepts of delivery, audio ute to a radio performance stream- stallations in Iceland, and lively Play- and sheer usability of Pd as overarch- setup, GNU/Linux use and finally fully ing and mixing across connected lo- Station interfaces. Defining the event ing framework, demonstrated admi- featured streaming software such as cations in USA, Holland, Austria and
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 44 Norway during the night of the US keylinks elections. Piksel04 stressed the importance of Piksel04: networking across the board, though www.piksel.no/piksel04 perhaps questions of public interface did arise, with developers outnum- BEK: bering public for most events. That www.bek.no said, such a rich mix of projects and personalities provided plenty of food PDP: for thought which artists will sure- http://zwizwa.fartit.com/pd/pdp ly bring back to their own, more lo- cal communities and publics. Artists GEM: such as Federico Bonelli, from SUb http://gem.iem.at multimedia, with a nod to the Futur- ists, and Yves Degoyon with his punk Pd: “rm -rf /” performance demonstrated http://puredata.info an awareness of a history in which the Free Software artistic movement, LiVES: though hard to define, will surely play www.xs4all.nl/~salsaman/lives an important role, with artists work- ing under proprietary models consid- Gullibloon: ered more as an unfortunate aside. http://gullibloon.org
Gollum: http://gollum.artefacte.org
Fijuu: http://fijuu.com
Userradio: http://aug.ment.org/userradio
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 45 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 14:00 SOFTWARE WORKSHOPS WHERE: Nifca space #2 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 12:00 PixelTANGO Who should Attend? Introduction to the PiDiP WHERE: Kiasma Theatre by: Ben Bogart (Canada) Vjs, visual music performers and vis- PixelTANGO Architecture PiDiP is a video extension for PD/ www.tot.sat.qc.ca/eng ual artists interested in alternative - Layers PDP. As PDP is more dedicated to /pixeltango.html free software. Any users of pd/Gem - Header Modules low-level and highly optimized video are also encouraged to attend. - Footer Modules processing tools ( biquad filters, con- PixelTANGO (aka “pt”) is a set of ab- - Modifier Modules volution, ... ), PiDiP is more focused stractions and externals, for pd/GEM, What will be covered? - General Modules on high-level processing objects, in- that make using pd and GEM easier, What is Open Source cluding video effects, motion de- faster and more satisfying. The pur- Software? Future Functionality tection and tracking tools as well pose of pixelTANGO is to foster cre- - Demo Patches as streaming utilities. It is meant to ativity in the area of live visual per- - Video Inputs Introduction to basic be used for interactive installations, formance and make open-source - Layer Effects PixelTANGO modules dance/theater setups and network software more accessible to visu- - OpenGL Effects - pt.window streaming configurations. It is now al artists. - Layer Types - pt.layer mainly developped for free and dis- - Parameter Interpolation - pt.video tributed media production like in the The purpose of pt is to balance usa- - Parameter Presets - pt.layerfx Gollum/GISS project : bility and ease of learning with pro- - Preset Animation - pt.translate, pt.rotate, pt.scale, http://gollum.artefacte.org grammability, modularity and flexibil- - File Access pt.fader, pt.squeeze ity. This balance means that pt will - pt.source Author : Yves Degoyon, always be playing catch-up to build Basic introduction to Pure-Data Contributors : Lluis Gomez i Bigorda, easy to use interfaces to the ever - How to install pixelTANGO Tatiana de la O. growing and complex functionality - How to open & save patches URL : of GEM. This means that often pix- - How to open examples http://ydegoyon.free.fr/pidip.html elTANGO will be used with “tradition- - How to access module reference al” pd/Gem programming for and by - Where to ask for help artists to create performances/instal- lations as well as contribute more Demo Patches specialized pt modules back to the - Video Inputs We acknowledge the support of community. - Layer Effects the Canada Council for the Arts. - OpenGL? Effects http://gollum.artefacte.org What is it used for? - Layer Types PixelTANGO can be used to: Cre- - Parameter Interpolation http://ydegoyon.free.fr/pidip.html ate animations live Create interac- - Parameter Presets tive installations Work with full-qual- - Preset Animation www.tot.sat.qc.ca/eng ity DV Videos (movie files, fire-wire - File Access /pixeltango.html and network streams) Create imag- es in both 2D and 3D Remote con- www.ekran.org/ben trol using Open Sound Control, MIDI and AID. www.ekran.org/ben/cv.html
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 46 DATE: 13.04. TIME: 17:00 VJ in THEATRE WHERE: Kiasma seminar room DATE: 14.04. TIME: 10:00 Genres and techniques of media and WHERE: Kiasma seminar room art are blending together. DATE: 16.04. TIME: 14:00 Theater has widely adopted drama- turgy of movies, modern dance is in- WHERE: Kiasma Theatre fluenced by videoart and drama mov- ies use narration borrowed from MTV and TV ads.
Purpose of VJ in theatre -seminar is to get together people working with video from the wide field of perform- ing arts.
Theatre director and author Krisian Smeds and video designer Ville Hy- vönen present their co-operation work “Three sisters” a play by Anton Tsehov that they made a “live movie” at Kajaani citytheatre.
Peeter Jalakas from Von Krahl -thea- tre of Tallin has been using video in his drama plays for 15 years. His theatre group “von krahl” has been invited to perform in Berlin, Brussel, London and New york. He will tell his experiences combin- ing video and live-actors.
Juhan Ulfsak, actor and producer will show and tell his work with Esto- TV, an underground gonzo-TV that’s a spin off of Von Krahl theatre group.
Ville Hyvönen will also demonstrate Newtek’s Videotoaster in Theatre and VJ use.
www.videotoaster.com
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! VJ Culture and Audiovisual Performances page 47 August Black http://aug.ment.org DataDada performance visualizing windows and linux operating systems in raw data format DATE: 16.04. TIME: 16:00 Interactivity is the new pink WHERE: Nifca space #1 by Erik Sandelin & Magnus Human language has a tendency, as but also being seen by the high-tech of the Swedish Interactive Institute Torstensson, Unsworn has our perception, of leaving out goddess on the other side of the are refocusing their themes from be- the things that are no longer new screen. In a way, these dotcom sites ing various approaches towards the A year back, we did a lecture at the or important to us. It didn’t take hu- offered its visitors some interactivi- digital material towards harnessing a Interactive Telecommunications Pro- manity many trips with the electric ty pretty much the same way most wider notion of interactive. It seems gram in New York. We talked about train or many minutes on the cellular flowers offers the bee some nectar. that the formerly tight connection be- interaction design – as we tend to phone to begin referring to them as Interactive was the new pink. tween digital media and interactivity do. To our surprise this was a con- just trains and phones leaving in the is breaking down. New media is get- cept that a lot of the students there wake neologisms such as steam en- Commissioned to do an interactive ting old. Could it be that the days of had never heard. They described gine trains, and landline phones. sound art piece, the Four Ophones, material studies are over? If yester- their work as interactive media de- Are we at a similar transition now we found some similar traits and years focus was on creating new, in- sign or interactive design. where the interactive qualities of treats within the art world. We found novative man-machines interfaces modern media and systems have be- the concepts of the art piece and par- (tangible interfaces, gesture recog- So, at this year’s Doors of Perception come something to which we have ticipation clashing like Kilkenny cats. nition or intelligent devices) today’s conference in Delhi we kept our ears grown so accustomed that we no The traditional piece requires deci- innovations with social implications peeled for the word interactive. This longer feel the need to mention it? sion, precision, and control while par- are mostly using existing technolo- time around we found that neither ticipation calls for openness, ambi- gies (think Wikipedia). Perhaps the the word interactive, nor previous- Could it be that we use the word in- guity, and the possibility for misuse. Big Science of interaction is losing ly omnipresent words such as digital, teractive less because we are less Already half a decade before the hey- relevance? During the dotorg boom ubiquitous, pervasive, interface, and concerned with the superficial expe- days of the dotcom frenzy, Brian Eno “small is not small” - radical social intelligent were to be heard. Instead riential qualities of the stuff we use exclaimed: “The word is out, and the change is possible even with scarce words such as social innovation, lo- and are increasingly eager to find out word is wrong.” They say interactive. monetary resources. cal, platforms, infrastructures, col- what we can do with it and what we Unfinished is a better term, accord- laborative, and sharing were buzzing can do with other people, using it? ing to Eno, to describe how culture- So, it seems we will not miss our through the air conditioned hall. Could it be that the shift from con- makers are moving away from pro- old friend Interactive. Because we sumerist dotcom catalactics to par- viding pure, complete experiences to have better words. And, above all, Interactive is a word, an adjective, ticipatory dotorg co-creation has left providing the platforms from which we have better things to do! There tightly tied to digital technology a subtle scar in our professional ver- people then fashion their own expe- is no interactive media, just various roughly meaning capable of acting nacular? riences. materials with special properties and on or responsive to user activity. The characteristics. There is no interactiv- most important clue to the mysteri- In the heydays of the dotcom boom Accompanying the disappearance of ity, no property you can add to your ous disappearance of interactive in designers were occasionally asked to interactivity, there seems to be a be- artwork/product/system like a colour. current colloquy might lie not in the toss some interactivity into a com- ginning shift also in the conditions of There are merely people who interact word’s lexical meaning but in its syn- mercial site. Reactive flash movies interaction design research. While with each other, in situations where So let’s stop sprinkling interactivity, tactic roles in most sentences: Like and image-swapping mouse roll- some major institutional players in (digital) artefacts and systems some- like magic powder, around us and other adjectives interactive serves as overs were used to convey a modern, the interaction design world, like times mediate or act as props and start thinking and acting on the very a modifier of a noun. It describes a state-of the art feel to a site and give the Dublin outpost of the MIT Media catalysts. real consequences of technology. quality of a thing and distinguishes it the visitor a pleasant, although super- Lab, are closing down, others are re- That could lead towards participation from similar things. ficial, experience of not only seeing aligning their interests. The studios that actually means something.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 49 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 15:00 LED Music Box WHERE: Kiasma seminar room PixelACHE Exibition: by: Jin-Yo Mok (Korea/USA), seum of Art and other online and of- Korea. His experimental web site DATE: 14.-17.04. Gicheol Lee (Korea/USA) fline venues. He recently received an Typorganism.com received awards WHERE: Kiasma seminar room www.playmusicbox.com artist in residency commission from from the Communication Arts Inter- the Harvestworks Media Art Center active Annual and in the HOW Mag- The LED Music Box is a sound instru- Jin-Yo Mok is a multimedia artist liv- in New York. azine’s Interactive Design Competi- ment that integrates an installation ing and working in New York. He re- www.geneo.net/resume.pdf tion. Gicheol currently works as a with interactions over the Internet. ceived his BFA and MFA from Hong-Ik senior developer at Firstborn Multi- The physical installation consists University in Seoul, Korea and contin- Gicheol Lee is an interactive de- media in NYC, where he develops in- of an old-fashioned music box with ued his studies at New York Universi- signer and programmer who is in- teractive contents for clients in vari- a crank handle, in which the pins ty’s Interactive Telecommunications terested in applying art and science ous industries. have been replaced with LEDs and Program. His artwork has been fea- concepts to information and inter- the notes with photo sensors for tured and invited internationally: Art- face design through programming. Ahmi Wolf is an Integrated Media user interaction. Users can draw a port at Whitney Museum of America; He holds an MFA degree in Com- Artist and Technologist currently liv- shape and pattern on the screen WIRED NextFest; Chelsea Art Muse- puter Art from the School of Visual ing and working in New York City. with their mouse and the same pat- um in New York; Media City Seoul; Arts, NY and a BS degree in Math- Having recently received his Mas- tern of LEDs will light up on the phys- Korea web-art festival; the Seoul Mu- ematics from Sogang University in ters from the Interactive Telecom- ical music box. Turning the crank han- munications Program, Tisch School dle on the LED cylinder, any sensors of the Arts, NYU, Ahmi continues to that detect the light from the LEDs program computers, invent gadgets will make sounds. Data submitted and smile. Before ITP, Ahmi worked by users is stored in a database and as a lead developer of interactive shared by both the online and offline performance technology at the Stu- music box. Through the electronic dio for Electro-Instrumental Music augmentation, users can compose, (STEIM), Amsterdam. He received a save, select, share and play their B.SC in Computer Science from the own music. College of Creative Studies, Universi- ty of California, Santa Barbara. While in Santa Barbara, where he was a re- searcher at the Center for Research in Electronic Art Technology (CRE- ATE) headed by Stephen Pope and Curtis Roads.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 50 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 15:00 elf electronic-life-forms WHERE: Nifca space #1 PixelACHE Exibition: 1. elf – the installation 2. elf – the philosophy omy, development, and evolution are strong interest in simulating biolog- DATE: 14.-17.04. also mentioned. In general, life is re- ical phenomena through the use of WHERE: Kiasma lobby Robots still do not have the abili- Even though there is no general garded as a complex biochemical biochemistry, mechanics, robotics or ties, science and fiction promised agreement for the definition of life, machine. These ‘bio-machines’ have computer models. us. Therefor our work is focussed there is a cluster of properties con- been available for studies af1 as car- on very simple life approaching sys- nected to life: growth, reproduction, bon based life forms af1 for many It started with simple captures of liv- tems. ‘Elfs’ are small mechanical sys- adaption, responsiveness, metabo- years now, but at the same time re- ing organism in statues, drawings tems powered by solar energy that lism, movement. Sometimes auton- searchers and artists always had a and paintings having movable body behave as natural living systems in many aspects. The immediate com- passion for these life forms is an amazing experience, even though their abilities are very limited.
‘Elf‘ is a two-part installation devel- oped in the context of the research project ‘electronic-life-forms‘ by Pas- cal Glissmann and Martina Höfflin. On one hand, the ‘elfs‘ are docu- mented in their natural habitat, and the fading contrast of electronics and nature gives the scenario a surpris- ing common impression. On the oth- er hand, the imprisonment of these life forms in Weck-Preserving-Glass- es reminds one of childhood adven- tures, exploring and discovering the world around us. The light-sensitive ‘elfs‘ desperately use their chaotic sounds and noisy movements to call the attention of the outside world.
a project by Pascal Glissmann and Martina Höfflin at the acadamy of media art cologne, inspired by Ralf Schreiber and Mark Tilden www.electronic-life-forms.de [email protected]
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 51 parts that needed human power to technology. We do not rebuild organ- be activated. After further progresses ic creatures with the feeling of being like the early Egyptian water clocks, forced to use ugly technology. We Clepsydra, based on the technology explored technology af1 especially of water transport and the Pneumat- small electronic components and its ics produced by Hero of Alexandria, functions af1 which made us think- the first more complicated forms of ing of the ‘elf‘ project. It is fascinat- simulation have been developed in ing to use very un-organic material, the age of mechanical clocks. Com- put it together in a way that it is still plex internal catenations made the recognizable but adding some sim- simulation of life-like motion possi- ple pure function that gives this living ble. Famous inventions like the Duck expression. The whole idea of this of Vaucanson and the Lady-musician project is the exploration of technol- of Pierre Jaquet-Drot (1774) followed ogy and putting it in a new context/ and started a new direction of arti- environment/perspective which ques- ficial life. The copies of nature be- tions the relationship between tech- came more and more complex lead- nology, nature and humans. ing to contemporary high-tech robots which simulate human senses and movements almost perfectly in cer- tain aspects.
As we can see, one important push for building artificial life was the de- sire for machines that could help organizing the every day life more Martina Höfflin comfortable. Today these ‘support Pascal Glissmann [email protected] functions‘ of robots are very com- [email protected] www.brauchbarkeit.de plex and only traceable by teams www.subcologne.com Martina Höfflin, born 1971 in Kenz- of experts and computer-based sys- Pascal Glissmann, born 1973 in Ger- ingen, Germany, studied Computer tems. Nevertheless the fascination of many, studied Communication De- Science at the Academy of Applied creating life is still present: not to re- sign at the University of Applied Sciences in Furtwangen and the San alize basic functions but as the op- Sciences in Düsseldorf focusing on Francisco State University focusing portunity to communicate ideas of photography, typography and inter- on interaction design, usability and life and its philosophy in an artistic action design. After completing his internet applications. After 2 years context. Our motivation is the enthu- MFA in audiovisual media at the of freelancing as a media designer siasm of creating living things, ob- Academy of Media Arts Cologne, for different companies and custom- serve their independent behaviors gaining work experience in New York ers in Berlin and Munich, she is now in lab and nature and peoples‘ reac- City and working as an Art Director in working in research at the Academy www.electronic-life-forms.de tion when they get in contact with Germany he is now researching and of Media Arts in Cologne since 2002. simple life forms. In this case, art is teaching at the Academy of Media Besides she is cofounder of the Büro www.subcologne.com Arts Cologne. für Brauchbarkeit, a studio for media, art and fashion in Cologne. www.brauchbarkeit.de
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 52 PixelACHE Exibition: Four Ophones DATE: 14.-17.04. WHERE: Nifca space #1 by: Unsworn (Erik Sandelin and Magnus Torstensson Magnus Torstensson, Sweden) Magnus Torstensson is an artist, de- www.unsworn.org signer, and educator exploring the narrative and psycho-social potential Four Ophones is an invitation - and of interactive systems and media. an unwritten score - for a composi- His work includes tools for senso- tion that lasts as long as the exhibi- ry relaxation and stimulation for au- tion does. You and other visitors take tistic children, interactive sculpture, part as audience, musicians, and co- clothing for urban interventionism, composers. No one knows what will postoptimal electronic attire, and happen or how it will sound. Be pre- service designs for Telecom Italia pared for everything from subtle in- and Sony Design Centre London. terference etudes, to collaborative Magnus received his MA in Interac- chanting and big, bad rhythm or- tion Design from Interaction Design gies. Institute Ivrea as part of the Personal Technologies research group.
Erik Sandelin Erik Sandelin is an independent in- teraction designer based in Malmö, Sweden. In his educational, indus- trial and artistic practice he critically explores the role of increasingly inti- mate digital technologies in people’s lives and dreams. Erik has created award-winning work on post-optimal, electronic attire; de- signed urban interventions; produced interactive sound installations, and hosted workshops on critical fash- ion design. Erik holds an MA in Interaction De- sign from K3, Malmö University in Sweden. He has worked with clients including Sony Ericsson, Swedish Radio, and The Interactive Institute, and has exhibited and performed in- ternationally.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 53 DATE: 17.04. TIME: 10:00 Kick Ass Kung-Fu WHERE: Kiasma Theatre feat. Team Cuidado & eBottle
Kick Ass Kung-Fu is an immersive game installation that transforms computer gaming into a visual, phys- ical performance like dance or sports. The embodied interaction takes you inside virtual reality where the laws of physics no longer apply. Film style jump-kicks, weapons, acrobatics, freestyle - come and show us your kung-fu!
Kick Ass Kung-Fu is created by Animaatiokone Industries www.animaatiokone.net
Gravity-defying stunts by Team Cuidado www.teamcuidado.com
Live electroacoustic speaker trash- ing by eBottle www.acoustics.hut.fi/demos/eBottle
Creators of Kick Ass Kung-fu:
Animaatiokone Industries: Perttu Hämäläinen, Ari Nykänen, Mikko Lindholm eBottle: Henri Penttinen, Jaakko Prättälä www.animaatiokone.net
Team Cuidado: www.teamcuidado.com Kurt Berger, Niilo Tynnilä, Jan Brunnström www.acoustics.hut.fi/demos /eBottle
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 54 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 15:00 NUAGE VERT WHERE: Nifca
Helen Evans und Heiko Hansen ological activities of the local com- veloped in terms of project planning www.hehe.org munity, such as recycling or energy and it’s technical requirements. This www.hehe.org/pollstream Pixelache 2005 Artist Residency consumption. process includes research on imag- at the Nordic Institute of Contem- Gas emissions have two sides to ing and tracking technology, institu- Helen Evans (United Kingdom, porary Art them: the visual and the chemical. tional and industrial partners have 1972) & Heiko Hansen (Germany, These aspects impact differently on been approached for its realisation 1970) design and build performing Nuage Vert is part of the longterm art the individual depending upon their in Finland. spaces. Using a language based on project Pollstream by Helen Evans location and their situation. Nuage The research on the second attribute, light, sound and image, their prac- and Heiko Hansen in collaboration Vert is based one the first attribute, the chemical has led to two new tice explores the interactive possibil- with industrial and scientific part- the visual impact. The visual appear- works, “Chambre d’air” and “Smok- ities between individuals’ and their ners. Pollstream speculates on aes- ance of the gas can lure us into an ing room”. Chambre d’air is looking architectural and urban environ- thetic and contextual ways of mate- experience and is detached from the into the fluctuations of CO2 produc- ment. Looking at a broad range of rializing pollution in ways that alter second possibly dangerous attribute, tion in an enclosed environment in contexts, from public transport de- our perception. the chemical. Chemically speaking regards to the number of people in sign, pollution monitoring, meteorol- Is pollution something that is arti- gas pollution is measured in Parts Per it. This process and its first installa- ogy, public advertising, architecture ficial, man made, something extra, Million (ppm). In science this numer- tion has been developed in collabo- to civil engineering, their work offers which we add to the natural word? Or ic approach spans usually from “nor- ration with Vaisala in Finland, a com- a critical, non-commercial reinterpre- Their work has been shown in a does pollution always exist, even in mal saturation in office buildings” to pany which develops environmental tation of these systems, putting the range of contexts, including the environments that are not interfered “instantly lethal”. Pollstream should and industrial monitoring sensors spectator in the centre of the expe- Centre George Pompidou Centre, with by humans? And even if we con- decipher these numbers and trans- world wide. Smoking room is an in- rience. Broad in their approach, they Electrohype in Malmo, ISEA Nagoya, sider the emissions, the waste and late terms like “end-tidal breath” into stallation that reacts to people smok- have been members of scientific re- CynetArt in Dresden, the Palazzo all the other “synthetic” overflows as collective experiences. ing. The sensor for this installation search laboratories, taught graduate delle Papezze Center for Contempo- not natural, they are still part of the has been developed by HEHE during and undergraduate media design stu- rary Art in Sienna. In 2001 they were same system. The entity from which During the Pixelache residency the the Pixelache residency. Both works dents and collaborated with other awarded the CyNet Art Award for in- we take and into which we stream Pollstream research has addressed are reflecting the discussions about visual and performance artists. teractive installation. back stays the same, in the words the two issues, the visual and the gas emissions, ownership and re- of Martin Creed: “the whole world + chemical. Nuage Vert has been de- sponsibility. HeHe most recently collaborated the work = the whole world”. with the In Situ research group, a Pollstream is being materialised as joint project between LRI (Paris-South a body of research, writings, project University) and INRIA Futurs (The Na- proposals and technology develop- tional Institute for Research in Infor- ment. At the core of the project is matics and Mechanics). Since 2002 the proposal Nuage Vert. This pro- HeHe has been based at the prodi- posal suggests using industrial waste gious artist factory Mainsdoeuvres, burning plants as a site for architec- a multidisciplinary space for cultural tural installations, by utilising artifi- projects based in St-Ouen (Northern cial vapour emissions as a canvas for Paris). In 2003 HeHe became a rec- information flow. The choice of infor- ognised non-profit Association un- mation shown is related to the ec- der French law.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 55 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 12:00 Chamber Music WHERE: Nifca by: Teemu Kivikangas formance ends when the perform- Teemu Kivikangas Film Festival and Tampere Film Festi- er decides it’s over and the musical Teemu Kivikangas (1979) is media art- val) in Finland and internationally. Chamber Music is a musical perform- piece is played to an end. The whole ist and designer working and living in Together with Amfibio-collective he ance for one performer and audience performance will probably last about Helsinki. Currently he is working on has crafted audiovisual performanc- of one listener. Aim of the perform- 10 to 20 minutes. his final thesis for MA in New Media es with a number of Finnish and for- ance is to critically examine the para- at Media Lab of University of Art and eign musicians, dancers, theatre digm of art as mass communication. Musical instruments used in the per- Design Helsinki and studying fine art makers and artists - for an exam- Modern mass media tends to treat formance include software instru- in Helsinki Academy of Art. Teemu al- ple with PixelACHE-festival, Amfibio it’s customers as target markets ments created with Pure Data and so works as a game artist, creating did a tour of video performances in and pools of people with certain de- electronic instruments based on mi- game graphics and designs for lead- New York and Montreal during the mographics. Can artist take this ap- crocontrollers, Basic Stamp and sim- ing Finnish game publisher and stu- summer 2003. As part of Destina- proach to the viewer or should they ple contact microphones used as dio Sumea. He is active member in tion: Helsinki workshop during win- seek to establish a more personal re- loudspeakers. The musical piece is Helsinki-based media art collectives ter 2004, Teemu worked with the- lationship? performed using earphones for both Katastro.fi and Amfibio. atrical live visuals. In the end of the the listener and the performer, creat- Teemu has worked with interactive summer 2004, Amfibio’s most ambi- The performer sits opposite to his ing a rather intimate sound-space ex- installations, interactive narrative, tious piece of experimental real-time one person audience and using a isting only for the two. Instruments experimental cinema and video per- cinema, The Stories of the Sea, pre- custom made electrical and software are designed to keep the musical formances. His cinematic works, of- miered in ISEA 2004-festival. Since instruments tries to develop a rela- piece simple but flexible. ten experimenting with narrative, then he has performed for an exam- tionship to the listener with his mu- interactivity and various viewing ple at Piksel.no-festival in Bergen, sical performance. Each performance It can be a difficult and scary situ- platforms, have been exhibited - and Norway, together with Antti Silvast is unique - something that is based ation for both, rather intimate, pos- sometimes also awarded - on numer- from Pseudotoad Labs. on unique qualities of the listener sibly annoying – how can the two ous festivals (for an example Cracow and the performer and the chemis- come together and communicate? try of nonverbal communication be- There is no need for words, there tween them. are more universal languages: music and nonverbal communication. Me- The performance aims to take down diating technology is taken down to the performer from his securely ele- minimum and within these bounda- vated position on a platform in front ries anything can happen. of an audience and force him to com- municate on a personal level with his tiny audience of one person. The lis- tener isn’t perfectly safe either - the experience and the work of art ex- perienced is moved to a much more personal level. The listener remains free to leave when ever he or she wants, but if he or she stays the per-
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 56 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 18:00 Mika Rintala / VERDE WHERE: Nifca space #3
Homemade electronics instru- ments by Mika Rintala / VERDE
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 57 DATE: 15.04. TIME: 19:00 Skisser och rutiner WHERE: Nifca space #3 / Sketches and routines Sound and musicperformance with nonmusicianmusical techniques.
Daniel Skoglund uses electronic and mechanical machines of own design. They are controlled by choices and by chance. Movement is translated into rhythm and unhierarchical explorations creates an engaging and visual sonic art.
Daniel Skoglund is a swedish artist. His work includes sound and mu- sic performances, installation art and sound composition. Over the past years he has been collab- orating a lot as well, for instance with Dj Olive, Mats Gustafsson, Luke ear- goggle and Hans Appelqvist. He also has produced music for the Swedish Radio and EMS - institute for electroacoustic music in Sweden.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 58 DATE: 16.04. TIME: 12:00 WORKSHOPS WHERE: Nifca
Hands-on, DIY, input-output, Python for series 60 (Nokia, Connect and communicate via Blue- microcontroller buffet + sen- Symbian OS) Mobile devices tooth with devices like PC, GPS de- sor boogie with Max/PD for workshop by Jürgen Scheible vice, Upload/download files to/from newbies the net (HTTP, FTP, ... - picture, vid- workshop by This workshop provides you a prac- eo, text, ...) Tuomo Tammenpää tical introduction on how to program your own mobile application by writ- For whom is this Workshop ? Pop-in pop-out style basic electron- ing simple python scripts that run on Everyone who has interest in mak- ics try-out day for beginners the phone. E.g. making your own Mo- ing “fast” prototypes of mobile ap- looking for first advice in entering in bile Blogger takes 20 lines of code plications. to the scary world of (incl. picture and text upload). Python Even if you have never had anything microcontrollers and simple sen- for series 60 platform is very useful to do with Python, but have some un- sors in connection with Max/MSP for creating prototype applications derstanding of programming princi- or PD. I and making proof of concept. ples or have done some script writ- try to have different setups available For Artists and Designers in the field ing e.g. with PHP or Director etc., for demonstration on affordable of new Media, this provides an easy you will quickly be able to start mak- solutions for media artists, musi- way of starting to ing own little mobile cians, vj’s and like for making their do your own “stuff” and be crea- applications with Python scripts that own controllers and experimental in- tive with it. E.g. applications that work and can be hands-on tested puts. Available resources include: use SMS messaging, HTTP, FTP, Cell- with the phone. Basic Stamps, PICs, simple sensors ID, Bluetooth, XML, text input fields (proximity, light, acceleration), and dialog notes, menus, listboxes, Equipment needed: simple wireless modules (serial RF) forms etc. Laptop with Bluetooth, Text editor, and serial or midi connections to No Software, No other Hardware. pc/mac. Besides a “hands-on” programming If you have a Nokia 6600 or No- session, the workshop includes a kia 6630 or Nokia N-Gage QD, then I have learned by doing barely mod- Tuomo Tammenpää, born 1969 demo session with a variety of appli- bring it along. est skills in physical computing Tammenpää works as a media artist cations that demonstrate the power A whole bunch of Phones will be pro- during last years, so I can’t promise and designer in Finland, just outside and limitations as well as the poten- vided for the Hands-on session any problem solving or even Helsinki. During the last ten years tial use, that python for series 60 pro- correct advises, but something to get he has participated in several ex- vides for artistic purposes and New The workshop is held by Jürgen started with and carrying on hibitions in Europe, Asia and North Media projects. The Workshop aims Scheible, a music and video artist self-education with these matters. If America presenting interactive media to inspire people to generate new and engineer. He is currently a Doc- you are new to these things drop installations dealing with control and ideas and to open up the field on toral student at the Media Lab of Uni- in and get started, if you have experi- consumerism. how we can use the mobile in the versity of Art and Design, Helsinki, Research website: ence, drop in and share your future, especially for interaction be- running the Mobile Hub, a prototyp- http://mlab.uiah.fi/~jscheib insight. portfolio: tween people, people and objects. ing environment for Mobile technol- Artist Website: www.needweb.org/box Demos include e.g.: Collaborative ogy related projects. www.leninsgodson.com tools, interaction with large screens,
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Experimental Interaction & Electronics page 59 http://streamtime.org DATE: 16.04. TIME: 18:00 ONE DAY VIDEO WHERE: Kiasma Theatre PixelACHE Exibition: DATE: 14.-17.04. WHERE: Kiasma lobby
One day. Same topic. Different “As I grew up, everything started On the One Day Video website, as Words from Anttu: people and different places. getting grey and dull. I could still we collect the videos of a particu- Professionally, I work with animation Every day a new video is initi- remember the amazing intensity of lar day, from a range or artists, we editing, writing and directing. And as ated and completed. ONE DAY the world I´d lived in as a child, but I get a landscape of the day - expres- a hobby, I´ve got theatre and video VIDEO is a format for creating thought the dulling of perception was sions that are individual as well as projects going on, and One Day Vid- videos through improvisation re- an inevitable consequence of age” - influenced by the external variables; eo is a seed of that. Well, actually lated techniques. They bring back Keith Johnstone mood, weather, location, event, that these are more than hobbies. A vari- the joy of kindergarten art lessons any particular day has. ety of stuff makes a good cabaret! where invention was encouraged Spontaneity has the power to open over the limitations of profession- our eyes to new things. The dulling Here´s how it goes: Words from Osmo: al quality productions. of perception is not just a result of 1) Get your starting point from A photographer who is also into age but a result of education - ed- our website in the morning mixed media things. Currently do- The project has been started by Ant- ucation that teaches artists how we (www.onedayvideo.org) ing a MA degree at Goldsmiths Col- tu Harlin and Osmo Puuperä. The should interpret the world, education 2) Improvise from the day´s theme, lege, London. Pixelache festival is the first time that that stifles spontaneity. alone or in a group. The technique One Day Videos are screened public- and style is up to you. ly. The project is expanding to reach If I think about this really simply: I 3) Finish your video before you go more makers through the website, learned how to use Radial Blur a long to bed. where the videos are collected. time ago. If I could forget all that Ra- 4) Send your compressed QuickTime dial Blur should be used for (like file to us as soon as possible. All makers of One Day Videos are quick zooms), perhaps I could make encouraged to explore their imme- a whole 1-minute video just using a Come back to the website and check diate ideas without the responsibil- creative impulse based on using Ra- out how different people from differ- ity of making anything original, pro- dial Blur. In this way, I want to re- ent places have interpreted the same found or meaningful. The seemingly lease myself from doing what I think theme on the same day. Quite often, constraining limit of one day is in fact I should, and learn to re-see the ele- the little seeds of a One Day Vid- a liberating help. Through this tech- ments in video production. eo lead to inspirations for a longer nique, the makers can find their first project based on something learned creative ideas without the pressure here. of making meaningful content, or self-censorship. The one day limit is Come on! at: an improvisation technique that helps www.onedayvideo.org us to tap out of our inhibitions. www.onedayvideo.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Interactive & Participatory Cinema page 61 PixelACHE Exibition: Lipstick traces, a narrative study. DATE: 14.-17.04. WHERE: Kiasma seminar room
Lipstick Traces is an interactive in- Jean-Michel Géridan. Mariina Bakic stallation composed of two screens Jean-Michel Géridan is born in 1977. www.webdrama.net and a Touch Pad. It is an interactive He is living in Paris, France. He is art- Mariina Bakic is finnish-serbian, Par- movie work, where the spectator’s ist and researcher in the Laboratory is-based artist and researcher, explor- touch generates algorithmic draw- of Interactive Aesthetics (Labei, Par- ing fields of esthetics of interactivity. ings, directing the film. is 8 University). He teaches aesthet- Mariina focuses on linguistic figures ics of new medias in the Paris 8 Uni- through interactive cinema and play- The installation is based on two versity, and the Fine Arts School of ful interfaces, connecting musical, screens put side by side, interracting Paris (ENSBA). visual and communicating languag- one with another through the touch es. Mariina is doctorating in Paris of the spectator. On one screen an 8 university, and also plays in Peer- algorithmic drawing is created in re- spex, an electro-hiphop band, with al time by both the spectator and the Jean-Michel Géridan. program. As the handling creates new figures, it reprograms the film, and the audioelements, seen on the other screen and becomes sort of witness, the incarnation of the con- versation between the performer and the program. This object, influenced by the movements of the relation, be- comes one of the characters of the movie, perhaps even a narrator influ- encing our vision of the story.
Lipstick Traces proposes an experi- mental tool for what we used to call « interactive cinema ». It explores the capability of a graphic interface to build cinematic narratives in an inter- active situation and interrogates the place these different elements take in the interactive cinema, by trans- forming the interactive graphics in- to one of the main characters of the film, meanwhile the manipulation of the object becomes an aesthetic ex- perience.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Interactive & Participatory Cinema page 62 PixelACHE Exibition: Banananose Computer Movies DATE: 14.-17.04. WHERE: Nifca #1 The study of how characters move, Selected works by Robert Brecevic how they walk, how they stand - by have been on display at: themselves or in relation to others, in looped and non-looped phases Museum of contemporary art, Minsk as well as stylized or realistic repre- (2005), Banananose: “Don’t Pee On sentation - is central to me. It is ex- My Sneakers – the Trilogy”; Media amined through the eye of the cam- Centre Lume, Helsinki (2005), final- era. Improvisation is used as well as ist at the Prix Möbius Nordica with painstaking direction. People tell sto- “Don’t Pee On My Sneakers – the ries about themselves through nerv- Trilogy; ”Bergviks galleria, Karlstad ous ticks or how they place their feet (2004), Share: “Men that fall”; Arvi- on the ground. ka music festival (2004), Share: “The Well”; The Culture House, Stockholm by: Robert Brecevic, Sweden Don’t Pee On My Sneakers By gathering a loosely knitted collec- (2004), Banananose: “Don’t Pee On www.banananose.se - the Trilogy tive called “Banananose Computer My Sneakers – the Trilogy”; Liljew- ...is a series of short movies “pre- Movies”, I attempt to turn film into alchs museum, Stockholm (2004), How does it feel to be stared at while tending to be a computer game”. computer game logic - with a play- Banananose: “Don’t Pee On My standing in front of the urinal? The in- Set in a public toilet for men, right in ability supported by joysticks and Sneakers”; SOC, Stockholm (2003) itial question popped up when pick- front of the urinals, the piece deals lit-up control pads. Characters are “SonicPong”; Björkanderska Ma- ing the subject for the next game-like with male forms of rivalry around filmed in different situations and dis- gasinet, Visby Sweden (producer of video production. It was not hard to space and masculine integrity. It is sected into animation phases. Video computer game/art exhibition “All convince people that it could be a re- about men-not-performing-properly segments are assembled into game- Systems Go” (2001) – including Ba- al treat panning the camera in front and about men being exposed to the like short movies by a custom-made nananose: “HandsOn”); CocaCola of a pissoar, “bumping” the image intrusive scrutiny of other men. video player called VOS PLAY. Xperience Center, “The Sixth Sense” while characters stand there, watch (design and concept); winner of New them step to the side and get at each Wacky Moves I work also with the Share Stu- Talent Competition, Milia2000 Festi- others guts and nerves. There came I use game-like video to examine dio, the Interactive Institute, as an val, Cannes (2000), “ShoesOn”… an idea of a series about the Perma- the on-screen choreography of play- artist/developer. My work facili- www.banananose.se nent Tourist, a sans-papiers stuck in er characters. An inspirational mo- tates research (public digital media); www.tii.se/share the transit zone of an airport wear- ment appeared to me while I laid out projects have been realized and dis- ing shiny white sneakers - a ne- the work with a Swedish game title: played not only in conventional ex- Robert Brecevic glected victim that is present only “some of the platform games from hibition spaces. Commercial places Based in Stockholm, Sweden – born through means of indirect represen- the 80:ies contained such wacky such as a shopping mall have been 1971. An artist and a filmmaker with tation. Mode of interaction is that of moves performed by the player char- used as a backdrop for responsive, some years in computer game devel- a 2d-scroll early 80:ies tile-based ar- acter; it felt good just moving the PC playable video. opment, turned (partially) into a soft- cade game. around, couldn’t we do a game which ware developer. The “game engine” is just about that?”. is assumed to be a crucial part of the design process, why I prefer having the proper skills in programming.
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Interactive & Participatory Cinema page 63 ääniradio 99,4fm : 10-20 April Be a part of the experiment ...on air ...online ...on the street !
ääniradio 2.0 : mitä kuuluu? interact open audio content hybrid radio @ pixelache
ääniradio 2.0 takes an experimen- we will be filling the city with im- ääniradio is all about experimental ääniradio is the broadcast playground tal approach to public broadcasting. mersive sonic landscapes using mo- sound, we only play open content for pixelACHE we use special event fm licenses in bile mini fm transmitters, we’ll be programmes, this means everything 2005 and hybrid radio festival Particle/ helsinki, and low budget netradio, putting your mobile phone to new we broadcast will be licensed for free Wave and international sound artists mini fm, podcasting and anything radiophonic uses, and letting you broadcast under creative commons, will also be descending on Helsinki we can get our hands on to explore use the internet to interrupt our fre- copyleft, or other open content li- to flex their radio imaginations. oth- new ways of making radio. as well quency... censes. what you hear on ääniradio ers will also be streaming events to as public radio participation and is non-commercial, you won’t hear ääniradio from their own corners of performance we showcase a range look out for Street Radio day on sat- the latest hits on this station, but the globe - sweden, u.s.a., belgium, of creative radio from around the urday 16th april... don’t leave home you might just find something that japan, australia. all ears are tuned to world. each broadcast take a differ- without your radio! opens your ears. finland... ent approach, this is bleeding-edge http://aura.siba.fi/particlewave radio experimentation in the public User Radio Hour from monday 11th sphere. forget what you know about till sunday 17th april... from 2-3pm ääniradio 99.4 FM live broadcast en- radio. join in the experiment. everyday you can play with äänira- vironment. An innovative temporary dio’s sounds live online radio project of the Centre for Music listen & Technology, ääniradio, is available tell us what you can hear... mitä ku- for workshop participants to exper- you can listen to ääniradio 2.0 april uluu? share you sounds and experi- iment with a live FM broadcast en- 10-20 2005 on 99,4 in central helsin- ences over the phone on the äänira- vironment. This is connected to a ki and online at aaniradio.org. you dio listening line uniquely flexible network radio soft- can also join us at live broadcasts ware architecture based on open during particle/wave happenings at send an sms direct to masa our au- source tools developed by some of mbar, sibelius academy, taidehalli tomatic radio personality and hear it the most creative contemporary net klubi and kiasma and tune in for live on air... radio practitioners. streamed performances from all over ääniradio is a media & sonic arts the world! things are changing all the time, so project of Centre for Music & Tech- tune to 99,4 fm, or aaniradio.org for nology details... aaniradio.org hello(at)aaniradio.org
http://aura.siba.fi/particlewave
ääniradio 2.0 : 99,4 kuuluu hyvää! http://aaniradio.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop page 64 DATE: 14.04. TIME: 19:45 Particle / Wave Concert & Performances WHERE: Sibelius Academy DATE: 14.04. TIME: 22:00 Click! p.o.p. BOOM Bang ducer for The Listening Room, Aus- Emmanuel Madan is a musician, WHERE: m-bar tralian Broadcasting Corporation’s ac- composer and sound artist based in DATE: 17.04. TIME: 20:00 concerts and performances at 2way radio with Six 2-way audio claimed program for Acoustic Art. Montréal, who works in radio broad- WHERE: m-bar siba chamber music hall and streams after La Radio (Marinetti & casting as an engineer, journalist, mbar featuring: Pino Masnata) explores the radio as Bridge... Stream producer, programming director and apparatus of communication (Bertolt DJ and produces collaborative instal- Click! Brecht) and Imaginary Landscape No. Prototyping the global bridge sym- lation projects as [The User]: Sym- 4 (John Cage) phony, an experimental networked phony for dot matrix printers and Si- ...a concert of multichannel live http://mxHz.org multi-location bridge streaming per- lophone. streamed composition formance playing the cables on the www.freedomhighway.org Thurs 14th April klo. 19.30 Presented by Sophea Lerner and the Matinkaari and Heureka Silta bridg- Chamber Music Hall, Centre for Music and Technology, Si- es in Helsinki. The mixed streams Sibelius Academy, P.Rautatiekatu 9 belius Academy. With a committ- will be broadcast on ääniradio, on- 2WR ment to bleeding edge technology, line ääniradio.org and in person at Internet Radio, Hörtexte v.16.1 anything can happen! the chamber music hall of sibelius Two Way Radios (2WR) is a project (Sherre DeLys & Helsinki Computer academy, with live video and elec- for six 2-way audio streams, after “La Orchestra) tronic music improvisation. Radia” by F. T. Marinetti and Pino Ma- Bridge...Stream Internet Radio, Hörtexte v 16.1 snata (1933), “The Radio as an Appa- (Jodi Rose, Mari Keski-Korsu and in- Australian sound artist Jodi Rose ratus of Communication” by Bertolt ternational bridge team) The 1983 radio classic by Ferdi- travels the world recording the Brecht (1932), and “Imaginary Land- Freedom Highway nand Kriwet ‘Hortext 16’ will be rec- sound of bridge cables. Mari Keski- scape No. 4” by John Cage. With (Emmanuel Madan) reated for the internet radio age as Korsu (mkk) is a person, whose in- akihiro kubota, code31 (lahaag) and Two Way Radios (2WR) a live streaming public event. Kri- terest lays in human communica- goto10 (jk, chun, fbar, aym3ric)... and http://mxHz.org wet’s mission to ‘create a polyphony tion, coincidences, creating spaces praha (NOD Media Art Institute) of the world history of radio’ by col- and befallings. http://mxHz.org Helsinki Computer Orchestra do their lecting radio broadcasts from around www.singingbridges.net first fully networked performance to the world and editing those into a 36 www.artsufartsu.net ...immediately followed by: P.O.P. bring you Sherre Delys’ live net-radio minute and 9 second montage creat- PixelACHE? + Particle/Wave Open- remix composition: ing what he called a ‘fictitious world ing Party @ mbar with performanc- Hortexte I-radio v.16.1. radio.’ Today that world radio is a re- Freedom Highway es from NoisiV? (berlin), audio_z (vil- ality, which will be performed by vol- nius), and Pixelache DJ’s. www.singingbridges.net Sonic Art Star, Jodi Rose prototypes unteers harvesting live audio streams Beginning in September 2002, Em- Bridge... Stream, a symphony of worldwide, edited and mixed to cre- manuel began driving through the http://aaniradio.org bridge resonances. ate Hörtext v 16.1. United States and recording talk ra- dio shows and religious program- www.artsufartsu.net Take a radio ride on Freedom High- Sherre DeLys is an internationally rec- ming on the AM band. The result is way with Emmanuel Madan in a dis- ognised radio/sound artist recently edited and remixed into a disturbing http://mxHz.org turbing portrait of American Empire working at WNYC Public Radio NY. portrait of American Empire as heard as heard from the inside. Sherre spent many years as a pro- from the inside. www.freedomhighway.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop page 65 Shadow Casting is a live networked P.O.P. BOOM performance and broadcast event Particle/Wave - 14/4 - 17/4 for ääniradio at pixelACHE via Bal- Pixelache Opening Party timore, Maryland. Three renowned 14/4 mbar klo.20:00 - 03:00 BOOM : particle/wave interface @ sound artists, John Hudak, Joe Re- dot.org boomstreet radio and user- insel, and Steve Bradley will cre- 20:00-22:00 Pixelache DJ radio hours on ääniradio 99,4 FM see ate a live net performance stream, 22:00 audio_z (Lithuania) http://aaniradio.org for details... each “audio-casting” from 3 remote 22:30 NoisiV (Berlin) sites in the USA, mixed into one sin- 23:00 Pixelache DJ’s gle stream via art@radio Using inex- Bang! pensive software, live microphones, Decangular Vibes PixelACHE + Particle/Wave Closing and moderate processing, to create Party @ mbar dot.org BOOM goes a hybrid sonic space based on 3 loca- Tautvydas Bajarkevicius will present out with a Bang! tions. This project shows us possibil- Decangular Vibes, an open-struc- ities of connecting between remote tured audio mix of spoken concepts, Sun 17th April 20hr locations to shrink distances, com- essayistic-poetic interferences, and mbar klo.20-late bine simultaneous existences and experimental sound objects which is re-contextualize our immediate en- the result of continuous collaboration 20:00 Shadowcasting (remote net- vironments into a new “connected” with Lithuanian sound artists. worked performance, Steve Brad- landscape which transcends each of http://jenty.ghost.lt/surfaces ley USA) our own physical borders. /srfc007frame.htm 22:00 August Black & Bo Bell http://art-radio.net 22:30 Basso Radio Mc Mute Open http://bassoradio.net noisiV Content 23:00 Pixelache DJ & VJs noisiV is a berlin based indepedent group who produce audio visual elec- tronic environments by means of a variable arrangement of digital com- puters, video, selfmade analog elec- tronic devices and live manipulation using prerecorded sound, visual and http://aaniradio.org acoustic noise, generators and feed- back. A journey through the ocean of http://art-radio.net chaos, order and structure. www.noisiv.de.vu http://bassoradio.net
www.noisiv.de.vu
http://jenty.ghost.lt/surfaces /srfc007frame.htm
http://mxHz.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop page 66 Particle / Wave :: workshop :: hybrid radio practices DATE: 15.04. TIME: 10:00 WHERE: Kiasma seminar room
ing the rules. The morning will be fo- es of collaboration. Participatory ra- ...be a part of the experiment cused on rapid skills exchange and dio based on shared tools requires sharing production practices for get- shared sound materials. particle/wave hybrid radio workshop particle/wave fosters points of con- ting out on the streets and making ra- This project explores how open con- explores the interface between the tact between radiomakers working dio together. The afternoon themed tent, which is exchanged for free, creative traditions of terrestrial radio in traditional and emergent ways. by discussions will be streamed to the and open tools impact on produc- broadcasting and emerging practic- bringing together radiomakers from remote participants, with irc chat pro- tion processes and economics of es of internet radiomaking. particle/ a diverse array of practices to ex- jected in the seminar room to feed- supporting radio art. wave rethinks community radio prac- change skills and perspectives on back into the conversation. tices through distributed and partic- radio art and technologies and cul- the distributed studio : unreal ipatory networks of sonic exchange, tures of radiomaking from across times in hybrid space open content models and new radio- public, community and independent Themes making tools. particle/wave examines net and participatory radio. When broadcasting breaks free of the dual nature of radio as wave and The workshop explores a number of the studio, and we can make radio packet.. network and sound.. trans- The workshop takes an approach that themes which stimulate a critical in- anywhere there is internet access or mission and reception... maximizes active engagement and terface between tools, production a telephone; it changes the frame collaboration amongst participants practices and creative philosophies. of reference for a shared simultane- Radio artists, geeks, and activists are and with audiences and avoids pas- ous experience. For example, User- converging on Helsinki for particle / sive consumption of information. In re:casting radio art : traditions Radio by August Black is an elegant wave. Bringing extraordinary ideas of this way we aim to build lasting net- and trajectories in radiophon- tool for collaborative mixing from an- how to make radio, they will be giv- works and collaborations as well as ic practice ywhere that participants can access ing the city a new soundtrack, and in- rich learning exchanges. Our com- a web browser. Working with an en- vite you to mix it. Particle/Wave will mitment to process based practices Many participants bring projects that tirely temporal mode such as sound, be happening on air, online, on the and flexible infrastructure mean that actively engage with the radiophon- shifting notions of ‘realtime’ invites street and even on your phone. all systems and schedules are open ic past to reinterpret important ra- fresh approaches to the local and to change and development. dio repertoire for hybrid networks. temporal. Helsinki, April 14-18 2005 We look at the changing contexts of TALK RADIO radio pratices over time, and foster materialities of radio : electro- During recent years we have seen a dialogue between different forms magnetic fieldwork creative radio disappear from sta- Particle / Wave Public Discussion of radio, exploring what is and is not tions around the world while at the Friday 15th April new about working with recent tech- As radio moves into the ‘packets same time net radio, podcasting, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary nologies. and bits’ environment of the internet mini fm transmission, pirate radio Art 14-17hr there is also an increasing awareness and hybrid wireless projects have participation and production : of the physical nature of radio waves boomed. Open discussions on current themes open content and new econo- as a medium with their own fascinat- in experimental radio... find out what mies of radiomaking ing characteristics. Far from cherish- It’s the future of radio and it’s going all the noise is about. As part of pix- ing a nostalgia for terrestrial broad- off with a Bang (Click! and p.o.p) at elACHE’s dot.org.BOOM, you can A number of radio artists are making cast, artists such as Adam Hyde Particle/Wave. get the latest in do-it-yourself radio their own software to address the have developed a deep appreciation and meet the people who are rewrit- potentials of new networked practic- for the radio spectrum as a rich envi-
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop page 67 ronment with an ecology of it’s own. INTERACT User Radio : 11-17 April Other artists take up the electromag- netic environment at a very local lev- Street Radio : Sat 16th April For an hour each day anyone will be el. By fieldwork we mean a range Don’t leave home without your ra- able to mix our radio programme of sound gathering and distribution dio. from anywhere they can get online, practices that situate the listener in using a normal web browser. During a soundfield, or integrate a broadcast The area around Kiasma, mbar, and Particle/Wave there will also be pub- into a community of listeners, or sim- central railway station will be buzzing lic access points for User Radio Hour ply explore the local field of opera- with secret transmissions. Through- at mbar... tions from a sonic perspective. out the day you will have the chance to activate the space around you via Particle/Wave - hybrid radio, Participants: your phone. Performers will be carry- be a part of the experiment ing radios and transmitters. Sounds Adam Hyde (NZ), Alexis Baghat (US), will be secreted in space using WiFi. dot.org boom :: particle/wave work- Andrew Paterson (FI/UK), August Use the radio and your phone to lis- shop joins pixelACHE 2005 in explor- Black (US), Bo Bell (US), Colin Black ten for hidden stories and decode the ing the thematics of open tools and (AU) , Dinah Bird (FR), Elisabeth Zim- found sounds, or use your mp3 play- open content. particle/wave will ex- merman (AT), Emmanuel Madan er to follow the podcast. tend the thematic of sound in public (CA) , Erik Sandelin (SE), Guy Van Further instructions await you on space from last year’s signal | proc- Belle (NE), Jay Needham (US), Jean- ääniradio 99,4... ess workshop into the arena of pub- Philippe Renoult (FR), Jo Frgmnt Grys lic broadcast spaces, and introduce Particle / Wave is funded by: (IE), Jodi Rose (AU), Johannes Mayr participants to a variety of approach- (DE), Joshua Gumiela (US), Karsten es to low budget / d.i.y. open radio- Centre for Music & Technology, Asshauer (DE), Kate Sieper (AU), making. Sibelius Academy Lee Azzarello (US), Leena Gävert Australia Council for the Arts (FI), Marie Wennersten(SE), Mark http://aura.siba.fi/particlewave Finnish Arts Council McLaren (UK), Mark Shepard (US), http://aaniradio.org Piknik Frequency Marko Ala-Fossi (FI), Matze Schmidt http://pixelache.ac (DE), Oliver Thuns (DE), Richard Wi- with additional support derberg (SE/FI), Seamus O’Donnell ------for participants from: (IE), Sherre DeLys (AU), Sirpa Jok- inen (FI), Sophea Lerner (AU/FI), Ste- Particle/Wave is a co-production of Mondrian Foundation ve Bradley (US), Sumugan Sivanesan Piknik Frequency and Centre for Centre Culturel Français (AU), Tautvydas Bajarkevicius (LI), Music & Technology, Sibelius Acad- Irish Arts Council Tianna Kennedy (US), Ugo Vallauri emy Australian Network for Art (IT), Veronica Wiman (SE), Ville Tikka and Technology (FI), Zoe Bouras (UK) Director Particle/Wave, ääniradio: Sophea Lerner FREEDOM HIGHWAY was support- Particle/Wave producer and radio ed by, and comes to particle/wave bridge conductor : Jodi Rose with assistance from, Ääniradio producer : Kate Sieper the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! Particle/Wave Hybrid Radio Workshop page 68 [RAM]7: Models of Collaboration
Minsk, March 4-9, 2005 tise a newly started NGO. The local Science collaboration) dedicated their nary use of mobile phones. The com- organizers got support from The Be- discussions to growing necessity of petition processed on a popular fo- Introduction to RAM 7 larus Art Academy and the muse- network based educational and inter- rum www.onliner.by Minsk, Belarus in nowhere land, um for Contemporary Art where a disciplinary initiatives/structures. Col- “RAM 1-6” documentary exhibition, the bad ass country of Europe was retrospective exhibition describing laborative Creativity section came up which took place at the Museum for hosting the RAM 7 workshop dur- the RAM-project that started 2001 in several groups and activities. Contemporary Visual Arts had a par- ing a week in mars. An internation- was held. We started the seminar inviting all in- ticular target to express solidarity/ al group representing over 10 coun- The exhibition and RAM 7 activities ternational participants to join pop- collaboration of the RAM network tries had a great time living at the 40 were given a lot of space in local and ular community based game called and at the same time to present years of Victory Hotel and making national television and news. PHOTOhunt (www.photohunt.by), RAM-project as publications map. new friends and contacts in a deep All the open presentations and sum- where dozens of local amateurs Except RAM documentary the ex- frozen monument over old time so- maries of workshops where present- groups were competing in digit- hibition exposed three individual viet architecture mixed with newly ed at the Belarus Art Academy and al photography browsing the city projects by Nomeda and Gedemi- erected suburbs creating a Gotham one of the most striking results of and random society sites during the nas Urbonas, Robert Brecevic, Nils city like feel. RAM 7 is ongoing negotiations be- whole first day of the seminar. Claesson. Minsk is a big expanding city with tween the local organizers and the The “Photomachine” workgroup by Denis Romanovski a young population that has seen Art Academy that may host a future headed by Valery Lobko turned pho- the explosion of users of new me- centre. tographing process into collective The Art & Science seminar dia the last years. Today the coun- by Nils Claesson action: “a photomachine made from The Art & Science seminar was aimed try has 1.3 million mobile phone us- plenty of photo-eyes”. During the to discuss different issues concern- ers and Internet is expanding all the Workgroups. seminar days the group grew up to ing interdisciplinary collaboration. time. This is a great opportunity to The workgroups were planned to 45 persons, moving between loca- Discussion, in which artists, scien- create a critical net culture and de- adapt them effectively to the local tions, themes and concepts. tists, students and teachers were velop a new media art scene. context: needs, interests, possibil- Two groups were studying Open participating, had two different levels It was the first time ever that Minsk ities and existed initiatives. There Source tools in master-classes of – theoretical one and practical one. hosted an International New Media were three workgroup sections ini- Barbara Huber: “How to produce net- Theoretical level covered a big ar- workshop. The theme was Models tiating both theoretical discussions working on/with/between free radios ea of questions – from mathemati- of Collaboration in a broad sense: and practical studies: Free-Universi- and audio-producers” and by Andrei cian’s point of view on connection from multiple authorship creating ties, Art & Science collaboration and Savitsky: “Using Pure-Data”. between vectorial geometry and ab- collective photo-project to free uni- Collective Creativity. The idea of such The Laboratory of Media-culture and stract paintings, to discussions about versities, tactical media, collabora- wide angle of topics has the target Communications from the Lomonos- different models of building of inde- tive projects concerning research to explore approaches to new me- ov Moscow State University leaded pendent interdisciplinary platform for and development, hands on pure da- dia culture available in Belarus while “Tactical Media” workgroup. collaboration between artists and sci- ta, and an introduction for the Bela- sharing experience, inspiring creativ- On-line-collaboration group sponta- entists. rus audience of new way and meth- ity and teaching practical tools. On neously formed around a competi- Practical level consisted of presen- www.onliner.by ods of working. the other hand the variety of groups tion “1000 and 1 way of using mo- tations of different examples of al- The event was organized in collabo- appeared as collaboration models re- bile phone technologies” submitting ready existing media labs and other www.photohunt.by ration between CRAC (www.crac.org) alized during the seminar. First two and commenting their proposals of institutions for collaboration between and Minsk Office 4 innovative Prac- groups (Free-Universities and Art & the most funny and the most unordi- art and science. Participants tried to www.crac.org
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 69 adapt the existing role models to has been shut down. The ques- mercial organizations and networks, Belarusian reality in different ways. tions conserning the problem of including the next aspects: using of Wide spectrum of solutions was pre- “university”survival, the influence of the same technical and program- sented – from regular member-based digital technologies on development ming meances (open source, wiki, organization with most of activities of more flexible and open models of digital radio, streaming, virtual con- in virtual space, to unusual compu- remote educational system, using of ference etc.) and the same ideolo- ter game-based studies of situation meanses and methods of communi- gy (free spread of knowledge and in new media sphere – an instrument ty supporting inside and around of information, collective form of par- to connect different parts and made “virtual university” have became ex- ticipation in creative and educational a map of net-working needs in art tremely actual in this situation. The process, strict preference to horizon- and science areas. [Free-Universities] working group was tal and democratic model of commu- The main results of Art and Science experimental attempt to gather in an nication. seminar are knowledge exchange non-academical open discussion at- It is possible to say that an assump- and the inspirational factor. Foreign mosphere the local and internation- tion of efficiency art - education inter- participants learned much about sit- al actors having various interests action was justified, within four days uation in Belarus and Belarusian par- and the defferents points of view on of an intensive exchange of experi- ticipants got some better knowledge the distance learning and knowledge ence the [Free-Universities] working about the development of art and sci- sharing subject in general. group has turned to collective of ad- ence collaboration in different Euro- herents. And according to the opin- pean countries. For future participants was proposed ion of belorussian participants, the Inspirational factor of RAM 7 as a a broad range of themes: a history, experience of artistik networking whole and Art and Science seminar value, examples of anti-, open-, free- gives a new impulse for development particularly is already expressed in , non-traditional universities; the self- of educational and informational net- international mailing lists discussion organized educational attempts, anal- work resources, to the development about future net-working and in build- izing of distance learning systems, of new courses and educational pro- ing of new media center in Minsk, educational open source programms, gramms in the new open -, digital- which is taking place right now at the innovational interdisciplinary ed- free University. The Belarusian State Fine Arts Acad- ucational courses on crossing of the by Tatiana Tushina emy. This new media center is a first science, art and digital technologies. of its kind in Belarus and most like- The seminar was opened for all appli- ly the very first example of collabora- cations and form of participation and tion between independent new me- became a real collaborative research dia artists, curators and activists and at a local and international level. big state educational institution such As a result in the seminar took part as Belarusian Art Academy. the representatives of the belorus- by Dmitri Plax, moderator of Art sian educational and informational and Science seminar projects and artistic - educational eu- ropean networks. The basic direction Free-Universities seminar of discussion was: using and com- An initiative to lead a [Free-Universi- bining the digital technologies in ed- ties] seminar came from a fact that ucational and artistic areas, possibil- in the summer of 2004 the Europe- ities of cooperation between «virtual an Humanitarian University in Minsk university» and the artistic noncom-
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 70 Contested Commons / Trespassing Publics
Report from a Conference on In- hotting up. Industries whose busi- temporary moments of disposses- model could accommodate this re- equalities, Conflicts and Intellec- ness model is based on aggregating sion and criminalisation, between the ality of piracy. According to his ci- tual Property, 6th - 8th January intellectual properties and who feel open source movement and discus- tations of Lawrence Lessig’s latest 2005 in New Delhi threatened by the internet and new sions on traditional knowledge and book Free Culture, Lessig draws a de- ways of disseminating content such biodiversity.” The structure of the marcation line of il/legality between Introduction as peer-to-peer file-sharing are urging conference, the composition of invit- the file sharer on the internet and the Over the last 20 years the notion governments to tighten legislation ed speakers and topics and the dis- video shop pirate. The file sharer is of the digital commons has steadi- against what they call ‘piracy’. They cussions and debates underlined the adding value through her/his way of ly been gaining support. The hackers have also sought ways of protecting important differentiations that Sarai/ consumption whereas the video shop of the free software movement have content technologically through copy ALF have made. As Jebeesh Bagchi, pirate is not (or at least that is how acted as an avantgarde who created protection schemes -- socalled digit- Lawrence Liang and Ravi Sundaram Liang reads Lessig and how I portray a shared space of programme code, al rights managements. New legisla- pointed out in their introduction for this critique now in a somehwat sim- and a practice based on ‘hacker eth- tion was introduced, first in the USA, the final discussion panel, the com- plified way). By the introduction of ics’ and a collaborative way of work- that criminalizes the breaking of such mons debate has reached a certain this demarcation line Lessig/CC pos- ing. After the success of the operat- copy protection schemes and govern- level now that makes it necessary to tulates a ‘safe’ zone of user based ing system Linux and the rebranding ments have been lobbied to rigorous- challenge some of the assumptions, activities of appropriation, remixing of Free Software as Open Source ly enforce this and other legislation. to go further and deeper in this de- and annotation (like the making of Software this way of working be- This whole discussion can by now be bate. They asked, “can we have a playlists) legally protected by CC li- came ever more popular. Software assumed to be well known and I only commons debate version 2.0?” cences from which the purely ‘com- protected by the ‘copyleft’ licence summarize it in order to point out the mercial’ pirate is excluded in terms of GPL and similar licences spread rap- specific approach that Sarai have ex- The figure of the pirate played an the discourse that CC leads. idly and formed the -- sometimes hid- plored with their conference. important part in this debate about den -- core of the internet revolution the commons 2.0. Traditionally only But the matter of the fact is that this of the second half of the nineteen The Conference those people were considered to be ‘commercial’ piracy remains big in nineties. Soon attempts were made The conference hosts, Sarai and Al- intellectual property pirates who pro- Asia, not just in India but also in Chi- to adopt this model and transfer it ternative Law Forum (ALF), write in duced large quantities of illegitimate na, Taiwan, Thailand and many oth- to other areas of work such as digit- the introduction brief for the ‘Con- copies of cultural commodities such er countries. American attempts of al content creation in music, images, tested Commons’ conference: “The as software, film or music. But the curbing piracy in various ways, for text and video. past three years have seen conflicts copyright industries have managed example by threatening trade sanc- over the regulation of information, to shift the goal posts. Everybody tions by applying Section 301 have The most well known endeavour in knowledge and cultural materials in- who downloads a music track from so far failed to make a real impact. this direction so far is the Creative crease in intensity and scope. ... It is the internet without paying is called So, can this ‘commercial’ piracy be Commons project in the USA which important to recognize that the na- a pirate, as is the owner of a small accommodated in the commons de- has developed a range of licences for ture of the conflict gets configured video rental shop in Delhi who rents bate or does it transgress the bound- digital content. Creative Commons li- differently as we move from the Unit- out pirated DVDs or VCDs. The pub- aries of the categories in which this cences are now being ‘translated’ in- ed States and Europe to social land- lic does not seem to have any issue debate is being held? This was just to versions which suit the legal sys- scapes marked by sharp inequalities with this form of ‘piracy’ and happily one of the questions that Bagchi/ tems of other countries. Throughout in Asia, Latin America and Africa. ... integrates it into its behaviour of lei- Liang/Sundaram raised at the begin- the same period of time the ‘battle we would like to push comparative surely consumption. Lawrence Liang ning of this panel which was prob- about intellectual property’ has been discussions between earlier and con- questioned if the Creative Commons ably the late highlight of this con-
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 71 ference. Generally they sought to was opened by John Frow’s lecture thinks that public-ness is under ac- concerned with processing informa- bring in some other not so easily fit- on ‘New World Order and the Pub- tive construction in some of those tion in the broadest sense, from the ting stories into the CC led narrative lic Domain’. His key statement was contested areas. Rosemary Coombe personal assistant to the philosopher. of progress, commons, property and that the ‘system of unequally distrib- did not share this optimism. Accord- With the West heavily focussing on creativity. uted immaterial property rights has ing to her the very same UN conven- immaterial property rights and out- all the hall marks of an imperialist or- tion gives the pretext for neo-liber- sourcing production to poorer coun- The panel on ‘Media Empires and der.’ Some of his shockingly reveal- al policies. Well meaning efforts by tries ‘the question is how to form a the figure of the Pirate’ gave some ing factual research showed how IP NGOs who try to help indigenuous transnational, cross-class alliance of more flesh to this discussion. Jane is used in areas such as agriculture people lead to a ‘culturalization’ of hackers, workers and farmers with an Gaines showed that the early days and medicine to give multinational landscapes, it creates ‘records of interest in the restoration or expan- of cinema were a heydey of copy- companies ever more rights, higher knowledge open for commercial ex- sion of an information commons, to ing, this to such an extent that it be- profit margins and at the same time ploitation’. The struggle for the rec- free information from its chains’. comes questionable if there ever was the ability to stiffle critcism. He re- ognition of traditional knowledge such a thing as an ‘original’. Shujen minded that the public domain was ‘exposes the limits of modernity’s It would be impossible to represent Wang set out in her lecture to throw constitutive for the introduction of categories for imagining social jus- here the diversity of presentations some light on the ‘complex and con- copyright in the first place but has tice’. At some points during the con- which enriched the discussions, by flicting realities of piracy that are not fallen from view in recent years. Frow ference a debate emerged about the highlighting specific notions of IP, solely reducable to the realm of the made the TRIPS agreemenet reached use of ‘public domain’, ‘public’ and the public domain, the figure of the ly helped to have a much more glo- economic, the legal, the political, the at the Uruquay round of world trade ‘commons’ as near synonymous. It pirate, the discussion of authorship bal viewpoint. It is not yet sure if we cultural or the technological’. It was negotiations and subsequent trade is certainly worthwhile to think about or, just to give a very specific ex- can really see a commons 2.0 rise a common theme at this conference agreements responsible for this de- such distinctions but the debate did ample, the potential role of artists from the ashes of the Western cen- to discuss IP in ways that go beyond velopment. As a result, according to not come to any conclusions. in subverting the territorializations tric discussion about IP in the digital legal concepts. What is the cultur- him the public domain is now only that arise from the rapid growth of domain. What we got was a big and al ‘meaning’ of those acts that are a residue, an entity that can only be Some of the talks focused on the mega-cities. The variety of contribu- detailed picture that gave us many denounced as ‘piracy’ by the copy- negatively defined. But an emerging philosophical meta-level. Nick Dyer- tions helped to broaden and deep- useful starting points for further in- right industries? What are the links discourse about monopolies offers a Witheford referred to Marx’s notion en the terms of the discussion but vestigations which probably need to between piracy and creativity? Laik- chance to apply ‘well rehearsed and of species-being, a notion that Marx made it sometimes also plain that it find focus with another conference wan Pang presented some very funny existent mechanisms of critique and brought up in 1844 but later never is very difficult to have a conversa- of a similar type. If there could be examples that showed how pirated struggle’. By such means a new dis- went back to. It describes humani- tion across the boundaries of various any criticism then it would be that copies of Kill Bill grossly changed the course about rights and the public ty’s capacity to cooperatively change academic terminologies. The confer- the role of artists, activists and oth- meaning of key scenes of the movie interest could maybe lifted to pub- the conditions of its collective exist- ence ended with a very lively debate er practitioners was under-represent- by mistranslations in sub-titles. lic awareness. ence. Exercising an ‘archeological which could have gone on for much ed and too much weight given to ac- futurism’ Dyer-Witheford sees some longer. If there was any conclusion ademic papers. Maybe this could be The conference went well beyond the Cori Hayden presented a more op- potential in the counter-globalisation reached it might have been that it is corrected with any future event. usual discussion about intellectual timistic outlook. The 1992 UN Con- and anti-war movements for advanc- worthwhile to look more closely in- property which tends to focus on the vention on Biological Diversity rec- ing a new type of species-being that to the ways in which ingredients of Conference URL: audio recordings internet, open source and the copy- ognizes a right of indigenous people drives 21st century politics towards a social organisation combine to form of the presentations and discus- ing of cultural mass market goods. for recompensation if, for example, new form of ‘commonism’ or a ‘com- different commons regimes. As one sions are available The impact of IP and the struggles traditional herbal medicines are get- monwealth of species-being’. McKen- participant put it, maybe the cornu- www.sarai.net surrounding it on the real world and ting commercially exploited. Hayden zie Wark presented the core thesis of copia of commons has the capacity /events/ip_conf/ip_conf.htm the life and health of people took a asks if the social struggle surround- his new book, A Hacker’s Manifesto. to displace some of the disruptions major role in the presentations. This ing benefit-sharing can contribute to He extends the meaning of the word that neo-liberalism creates. Having Posted by Armin Medosch other major thread of the conference the establishment of ‘publics’. She ‘hacker’ to everyone whose work is had this conference in India certain- on Sun, 02/20/2005 - 16:45
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom! page 72 Credits: PixelACHE // Mal AU Pixel 2006 Festival director, Dot Org Boom program: Juha Huuskonen le boom.org à Paris! Program planning team: Aura Seikkula, Antti Ahonen, Collaboration with Mains d’Œuvres – Petri Lievonen, Jenni Valorinta, Pete Ruikka, Ville Hyvönen, www.mainsdoeuvres.org Teijo Pellinen, Petri Kola, Ari Nykänen, Perttu Hämäläinen, Mikko Lindholm Mains dŒuvres is a cultural place open to contemporary research in the fields of arts and society. This place of resi- VJ program coordinators: Pete Ruikka, Sami Sorvali dencies, public events and experimentation aims at hosting Kiasma theatre program coordinator: Ville Hyvönen artists from all disciplines, as well as associative and citizen PixelACHE exhibition coordinators: projects. The place is dedicated to all the people who seek Aura Seikkula, Zeenath Hasan synergies, interfaces, whatever are their artistic field – mu- Dot Org Boom coordinators: Juha Huuskonen, Zeenath Hasan sic, visual arts, dance, theatre, multimedia, citizenship... Experimental electronics coordinator: Antti Ahonen As a non profit organization, Mains d’Œuvres proposes Interactive and Participatory Cinema program coordinators: technical, logistics and human resources to the resident Teijo Pellinen, Petri Kola artists and associations in order to accompany them in their PixelACHE UMO Club coordinator: Ossi Luoto projects and artistic production. Thus, Mains d’Œuvres intends to supply all the best condi- Production assistant: Mikko Laajola tions for the development of creations and new experienc- Video documentation: Christina Kral, Jenni Valorinta es willing to link art, culture and society. Web development: Petri Lievonen, Ville Aho, Juha Franssila This 4000 m2 space, with its unfinished and friendly touch, Graphic design: Wojtek Mejor was a former property of Valeo Industries, and as been Photographer: Antti Ahonen turned in an art factory in 2000. Mains d’Œuvres is part of TransEuropeHalles European Particle/Wave and ääniradio director: Sophea Lerner network. Particle/Wave producer and radio bridge conductor : Jodi Rose Ääniradio producer : Kate Sieper
Thanks to: Staff of Kiasma and all the venues + all the supporters, volunteers and artists!!!
PixelACHE 2005 - Dot Org Boom