**Excerpt from my Masters Journal Jan 2011**
“The shortest distance between two points is no longer a straight line, as it was in the age of the locomotive and the telegraph. Today, in the age of satellites and fiberoptics, the shortest distance between two points is real time”
- Eduardo Kac
It is impossible to calculate the number of machines on the internet. Research suggests that nearly 30% of the world’s population has access to connected computing with at least 58% of European and 77% of North American citizens having a permanent connection. Add to that the number of educational establishments and enterprise facilities such as cyber cafes, and handheld/mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones, then the quantity could well run into the billions. Yet, what does this global network of inter-connectivity represent to individuals? For many, the internet can be a medium for entertainment, or an avenue for research, or perhaps a gallery in the public domain in which to display their images. For artists however, the internet provides a unique opportunity to integrate their work with the remote interactivity of others, moving from continent to continent with the simple click of a mouse. It allows artists to create hybridised works that go far beyond the web page, art that combines the interactivity of users in cyberspace with that of robots - connecting them to the world wide web and other such networks that act as vehicles for their telepresence. Artists that explore this technology scrutinise the perception of distance, examining the connection of being present in one space, yet making a contribution and exercising physical control in another.
“The shortest distance between two points is no longer a straight line, as it was in the age of the locomotive and the telegraph. Today, in the age of satellites and fiberoptics, the shortest distance between two points is real time”
- Eduardo Kac
It is impossible to calculate the number of machines on the internet. Research suggests that nearly 30% of the world’s population has access to connected computing with at least 58% of European and 77% of North American citizens having a permanent connection. Add to that the number of educational establishments and enterprise facilities such as cyber cafes, and handheld/mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones, then the quantity could well run into the billions. Yet, what does this global network of inter-connectivity represent to individuals? For many, the internet can be a medium for entertainment, or an avenue for research, or perhaps a gallery in the public domain in which to display their images. For artists however, the internet provides a unique opportunity to integrate their work with the remote interactivity of others, moving from continent to continent with the simple click of a mouse. It allows artists to create hybridised works that go far beyond the web page, art that combines the interactivity of users in cyberspace with that of robots - connecting them to the world wide web and other such networks that act as vehicles for their telepresence. Artists that explore this technology scrutinise the perception of distance, examining the connection of being present in one space, yet making a contribution and exercising physical control in another.
No comments:
Post a Comment