This situational tour entitled "A New Day by Sundown" is a remix of the situational tour "Finding College Station" by Yurike and Andy of Texas A&M.

To view the situational tour click here.

Mori: An Internet Earthwork

Centuries ago the tie to the Earth was a real one. People lived and died by the whim of Earth's generosity or wrath. Today, to a certain degree, and in a very philosophical sense, technology separates us from both the dangers and wonders of what the Earth is capable of. This separation, however, is an illusion. While technology can somewhat serve to insulate us, the Earth is still very much in charge. We like to think that we are in control, that we can ignore the Earth (why we think a work like Mori is necessary in the first place). Greedy conglomerates like to think they can suck the Earth dry without consequence; tree-hugging environmentalists like to think that humanity has the power to destroy the Earth, therefore making it necessary that they save it. Ultimately however, the Earth will continue to exist whatever we do. The only difference will be whether we are able to survive on it if we continue on our present course.

I say all this to say that while I thought Mori was an interesting experience and a novel idea, I think it is indicative of human hubris to believe that the Earth which has existed so much longer, and which wields so much more power than humanity, needs us to amplify it so that it may be heard. If the point of Mori was to remind us of our connection to the planet, perhaps a picture of some horrible natural disaster where thousands of people die instantly would be more appropriate, or for that matter, a visual representation of how the ozone layer protects us all from being literally roasted by the Sun.

While I know that it is fashionable to accept the premise that everything is now mediated by technology, and in spite of the fact that man is indeed a narcissistic creature, Earth does not need a megaphone... When it wants our attention, it will have it.

The Katzen Museum Situational Tour

Final Project Situational Tour

Ben and I focused on Union Station, a busy travel, shopping and tourist destination in Washington, DC. Themes used for my narrative were:

transportation
security
government influence
weather
decoration
contrast

The Moti/on Exhibit at Flashpoint

This exhibit, while in some instances (most notably Phenomenal Separation by Mark Brown) spoke to underlying themes of culture and multimedia in my opinion was more of a showcase of the "Uh, that's cool." or of the promise of information technology to instruct (5 Steps by Niels v.d. Heijden) or to make life easier (Remote Control by Jorn van Dijk, et al.)

Unfortunately, I am finding that a majority of multimedia art to which I have been exposed suffers from this same afflication: either simply being novel and clever, or only a presentation of new technology. While I find the solutions created by the MICA students to be innovative and in all cases ingenious, I have to admit that I continue to miss the point.

"Is There Love in the Telematic Embrace?" by Roy Ascott

This question while interesting, in my opinion relies very much on those involved and the circumstances surrounding the correspondence over various platforms but is not necessarily a result of the technology itself. Furthermore, people are able to find meaningful connections in all kinds of situations and over any means of communication, granted the need for the connection is strong enough.

A more vital question would be how much of this connection is real and how much is only perceived. As discussed in early essays, the Internet provides great opportunities for anonymity. How does this affect the validity of the feelings we have for people we meet on the Internet, and are they really what they represent themselves to be?

Ultimately, I believe that the Internet and the various new communications technologies are simply the next tool allowing people to prolong and reinforce relationships that they already have, and perhaps to meet others who share their interests and opinions.

The Naval District of Washington




Can't Fight on an Empty Stomach




The Navy Museum




The Ubiquitous Anchor




Old Alliances




WWII




In Recognition of...




How Nick Learned To Stop Worrying




Refreshing




Captain Nick

On “Welcome to ‘Electronic Cafe International’: A Nice Place for Hot Coffee, Iced Tea, & Virtual Space”

This essay is another interesting study of the ideas of telepresence and virtual space. Particularly interesting is the insight provided on the effect that this technology has on the way we as human beings interact with one another. While covering some old ground, the essay commented on many new facets of this technology. Among these, the increased familiarity allowed by not being physically in the same space as others, but also exploring the duality of this mindset in that individuals are still disturbed by the violation of their image in virtual space. Also intriguing, was the promising use of this technology to bring disparate groups of people together, allowing them to resolve long-standing conflicts and to dissolve old prejudices. Finally, it should be noted that while the authors take a somewhat anti-corporate stance, it was indeed large companies that brought the full extent of their ideas to fruition.

GHOST CITY by Jody Zellen - Rhizome.org


GHOST CITY is an eerie piece. Sitting and viewing it conjures strange feelings in one's very core. This is not due to any explicit or troubling content, but rather to the fact that it is so successful in transporting the viewer to this place, envisioned by Zellen, in which everything is constructed by various representations by the mass media. The images that comprise this work, while individually are very stunning, combine to create a virtual landscape that in effect surrounds the viewer with small captured moments in time making the experience incredibly compelling, like opening a time capsule or viewing old family photographs.


Turning now to the analysis of the piece. While from the above one might conclude that the most prevalent of the multimedia concepts in this work is immersion, as a work of Internet art, the linking of the various sections of the GHOST CITY together makes the concept of hypermedia the most functionally vital to the work. The varied and decentralized nature of this piece is reminiscent of Mark Amerika's Grammatron. However, the two differ in the purpose of Grammatron being the telling of a story and the objective of GHOST CITY being the construction of a virtual realm changing not by the flow of a plot or the influence of characters but rather solely by the selections of the viewer.


This brings me to the concept of interactivity in this work. Depending upon the choices the viewer makes, GHOST CITY can be a very different place. Much like the streets of a real city, entering certain back alleys will provide a very contrasting experience to staying on the well-lit main avenues. In his lecture at San Jose State University, David Ross described one of the paradigms of net art as being the shift of authority from the artist to the viewer. In the case of Zellen's piece, the landscape, if you will, is laid out and it is left to the viewer to wander in it creating infinite new experiences.


Finally, GHOST CITY seamlessly integrates photography, poetry, prose, random text and dynamic web design to create what the Rhizome.org description aptly refers to as a "collage of moving parts". Like Fragment 2 for Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky, many of the sections of GHOST CITY require the viewer to look deep within to find a meaning that ultimately becomes as personal as the nonlinear trip through the work itself. Particularly impressive, however, is the fact that the rapidly changing and incredibly varied sections are never jarring or disjointed but rather always seem to fall into place within the cohesive whole. Perhaps this is the genius of GHOST CITY and of all excellent multimedia works: the combination of disparate parts to create a unified work of art.


In conclusion, Zellen's GHOST CITY is the epitome of multimedia art. By providing perfect examples of the concepts of immersion, hypermedia, interactivity, integration, and to some extent, narrativity, this piece shows that good net art has both inherent structures and archetypes but also remains fluid and constantly relevant. GHOST CITY proves that multimedia deserves as much consideration as its more traditional counterparts, and that the experimentation in this field may alter the way we think of and experience art forever.

On "Virtual Interface Environments" by Scott Fisher

Mr. Fisher's essay while incredibly visionary and interesting fails to address certain negatives inherent to virtual reality technology.

First, I believe that the most obvious concern with virtual reality is a matter of cost vs. reward. While Fisher notes the decreasing cost of the systems that comprise VR technology, the 16 years since the writing of this essay have proved that even with those costs going down the necessity for VR has not increased to the point where the technology has reached critical mass. Evidence of this is the fact that the 1990s were full of fringe interest in VR but very little commercial investment. I can name several movies off the top of my head that addressed the technology, but can name only one mainstream commercial application of it: Nintendo's ill-fated Virtual Boy, which I actually own but only used for some months after receiving it.

The above suggests that the world is a place where while certain technologies are interesting and "cool" they still don't bring enough substance and functionality to the table to make them commonplace. I recall a year 2000 commercial where Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Avery Brooks ruminated over the question "Where are the flying cars?” The commercial was for IBM and concluded that with the current state of information technology flying cars were unnecessary. I feel that being completely immersed in virtual environments has also proved unnecessary, as even intricate surgery (let alone a mere rehearsal) would only require extensive mapping of a patient's interior anatomy, a monitor displaying a proper vantage of the patient, and an apparatus allowing the surgeon to use a robotic appendage as his or her own; not the detailed recreation of the entire operating room environment as Fisher suggests.

This leads me to the next negative inherent to VR technology: the ultimate death of human imagination and empathy. As the realism of artificial experiences increases the need for the viewer's imagination to become engaged and fill in the blanks decreases. As a child, daydreaming was a favorite pastime of mine. I could do it for hours and be perfectly entertained. However, as my access to television and the Internet increased, not only did my desire to daydream decrease, but also my ability to do so.

More dangerous than this is the addicting nature of increasing levels of realism in artificial experience. As the individual's imagination is further eroded by exposure to increasingly realistic artificial environments, increased levels of realism become necessary to create an emotive response. Thus, a "hyper-reality" will have to be created once artificial reality reaches a level of parity with actual reality. At this point, the individual will no longer be moved by the actual world around him and will be desensitized and indifferent to all but artificially created fantasy.