stand-ins / and other thoughts
data /
modular /
chatter /
fractured /
shape / colour / modular
in studio
tangimoana_panels
in search of data
For centuries humans have been collecting data. Ever since the first scientists, cartographers and philosophers began to question the boundaries of their existence and to explore the possibilities of the unknown, humans have been collecting, classifying and documenting their observations.
Today we continue to explore the possibilities of pushing our boundaries further outward where we extensively collect the bits and bytes of our interactions. In a series of online projects, blended-theory aims to open up a dialogue around the function of data in the contemporary; who is collecting it, what is it being used for and how might it shape us as we unknowingly participate in a world immersed in the shift to a digital existence.
dataSyphon_03
/ project . 01 encouraging a culture of : remix / sampling / sharing / zero copyright.
swipe_cover_page1
mediating spaces :
in resources
experimentations with dynamic images
An information shadow can be described as the "digitally accessible information” which is associated with a product or service such as its name, or its position in space and time. Objects or resources, which contain these data shadows are sometimes known as ‘spimes', a term coined by Bruce Sterling, from the contraction of the words ‘space’ and ‘time’.
Spimes’ have an ability to track their own existence throughout their lifetime and he believes that they are able to be “folded back into the manufacturing stream”. He sees them as “virtual images” which he suggests are most likely to be “a glamour publicity photo" which "is also deep-linked to the genuine, three dimensional computer designed engineering specifications of the object.”
Our desire to engage with our data driven society, where we create endless streams of information, has not only opened us up to the vastness of its possibilities but has also made us aware of our reliance on the patterns of modulation which are susceptible to the commodifying of content. We are incessantly consuming larger amounts of images, objects and knowledge and we are constantly reshaping content, re-creating new languages and re-appropriating old ideas.
The following documentation explores the possibilities of the dynamic image within the digital environment and attempts to expand on the notion of the ‘disruption of reality' as fiction and reality become an unbound image or an infinite experience.
INFORMATION SHADOWS : shift: the digital re-interpretation of the social
Text only version : swipe to navigate
transfer_cover4
modularity within networks :
in studio
JayZShot
in the dust of this planet
in resources
Ok ok ... probably a bit off topic and I am not sure how I got here but I thought it relevant, especially the idea of making connections, social-media and recent discussions. If you ever think nobody is listening, that nobody is looking or question what you are doing and why, here is a fascinating story from WNYC radiolab, where the hermeneutics of philosophy, pop culture and the contemporary embrace.
In_the_Dust_of_this_planet
It also left me wondering if our fascination with nihilism could be due to the lack of language for the contemporary or the increased use of machines (technology) to mediate order through knowledge, experience and relevancy; or the use of algorithms and statistics to track and trace us as our identities are being increasingly defined through our online interactions? ... those 'transactions' that occur in the everyday and exist in all aspect of our lives. Does it link into what we value, how we define desirability and the relationship we have with our sense of worth?
We talk nihilism with Eugene Thacker & Simon Critchley, leather jackets with June Ambrose, climate change with David Victor, and hope with the father of Transcendental Black Metal - Hunter Hunt Hendrix of the band Liturgy (retrieved from WNYC radiolab – hosted by Jad Abumrad)
non-logical axioms / machine images ...
in studio
a pair of skis
2014.09.13 – 17
hito_battlefield
bitflips and battlefields : Hito Steyerl
in resources
[image] Hito Steyerl, Is a Museum a Battlefield? was shown at the Adam Art Gallery Wellington - 4th July to the 10 August. http://www.adamartgallery.org.nz
If you have never considered a museum as a battlefield, consider again. In Hito Steyerl's lecture/video installation/performance Is the Museum a Battlefield, she gives a convincing presentation that might make you consider otherwise. Her ‘work’ traces the debris from a battlefield in the mountainous areas south of the city of Van, Turkey where the Kurdistan PKK has been fighting for independence from Turkey. Some of the items collected includes the ‘invisible’ shell casings of a 20mm Gatling gun made by General Dynamics.
Steyerl goes on to retrace the origins of these shells back to their manufactures which implicates various corporate and industrial giants in a technological ‘bit-flip’ linking them to the biggest museums in the world through architecture, software, the 'gentrification of culture' and the corporatisation and sponsorship of art institutions by some of largest weapons manufactures in the world.
Steyerl’s uses the term ‘bit-flip’ to describe the dual use of technology, where it can be both culturally and scientifically important but at the same time can act as the collaborator to humankinds atrocities. This usage resonated with my views on the ‘new and disparate interactions’ which we are enacting through our mobile devices. Technically, ‘bit-flip’ is not a word but it suggests a manipulation of sorts where a 0 becomes a 1, an off an on and vice-versa. For me, it conjures up images of multiplicities where intent is polyvalent, where technologies ‘flip back’ on themselves, masking one of their binate ambitions.
The following video is an edited version.
Documentation of Hito Steyerl's lecture "Is the Museum a Battlefield", first shown at 13th Istanbul Biennial. Steyerl’s new lecture, produced for the 13th Istanbul Biennial, takes as its departure point her March 2013 talk ‘I Dreamed a Dream: Politics in the Age of Mass Art Production’ and focuses on the arms industry, a phenomenon constantly re-conceptualized by the media through the regular flow of images. It asks the question of how a museum and a battlefield could be related. The question emerges when Steyerl follows the trace of an empty bullet casing which she found in the area where the mass grave of Andrea Wolf and her friends were located in Van, Turkey.
Converstations with Doug Aitkens : artist / interviewer / facilitator
in resources
process | patterns | chaos | motion | place
"Doug Aitken was born in California in 1968. He lives and works in Los Angeles and New York. Widely known for his innovative fine art installations, Aitken utilizes a wide array of media and artistic approaches to leads us into a world where time, space, and memory are fluid concepts [...] Aitken’s body of work ranges from photography, sculpture, and architectural interventions, to films, sound, single and multi-channel video works, and installations." Retrieved from http://www.dougaitkenworkshop.com/bio/
In this series of interviews Doug Aitken's talks with contemporary visual artists, musicians, architects and socially conscious individuals across a diverse range of topics, disciplines and practice. They discuss processes, inspiration and art making and of interest to me is his interview with artist Aaron Koblin and the underlying theme of patterns. Through out all of the conversations the presence of patterns and systems is touch on, whether they be organic in nature, constructed visually or assembled aurally they exist within all that we do which facilitates our connections to and with our social world.
Station to Station (http://stationtostation.com) is another Aitken's initiated project where a train ride "connect[s] leading figures and underground creators from the worlds of art, music, food, literature, and film for a series of cultural interventions and site-specific happenings. The train, designed as a moving, kinetic light sculpture, broadcasted unique content and experiences to a global audience [...]" which takes viewers on a "journey into the new cultural frontier." Retrieved from http://stationtostation.com/about/
http://dougaitkenthesource.com http://www.dougaitkenworkshop.com http://stationtostation.com