Plazaville - G.H. Hovagimyan with Christina McPhee & Artists Meeting (2009)

"Plazaville is a new media video art work. It is based on the classic 1965 movie Alphaville by Jean Luc Godard. It is set in 21st century New York City. The scenes from the original Alphaville are being re-enacted, interpreted and improvised upon by the artists, actors and videographers. The piece uses the internet as one means of distributing the short video clips. This is somewhat like a serialized program but is not in any order. Viewers can download new scenes as they become available on the Turbulence website as well as iTunes and youTube. The videos can be viewed on computers, iPhones and large screen HD televisions (using AppleTV). The final presentation of the work is a video projection/ installation work at Pace Digital Gallery scheduled for April 2009. Plazaville is a 2009 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Produced by G.H. Hovagimyan with Christina McPhee & Artists Meeting."

Plazaville - G.H. Hovagimyan with Christina McPhee & Artists Meeting (2009)

Edward A. Shanken's essay NeMe: Hot to Bot

Edward A. Shanken's essay NeMe: Hot to Bot (originally published in Technoetic Arts 3:1) is now on NOEMA > IDEAS:

"The idea that non-living matter could be used to invoke, influence, and emulate living beings is probably as old as human life itself. Over thousands of years this concept has become deeply ingrained in the human imagination as a locus of desires and fears about the future; and about the role of art and technology in forming it. In reviewing some of this history, I shall focus on, for lack of a better term, the moral of the story; in other words, what prevailing attitudes towards robots and other surrogate beings at a certain place and time tell us about the values of that culture. This background sets the stage for a similar consideration of robots with regard to contemporary morals, mythologies, and values, as they relate to the production of robots and artificial life forms by artists. Norman White has written that, “For me, Art comes alive only when it provides a framework for asking questions.” The intersecting histories of art and automata offer a fertile context for people like White to frame interesting questions and make art come alive – and come alive in a sense that arguably extends beyond the merely metaphorical."

from: http://www.noemalab.org/sections/ideas/ideas_articles/shanken_hot_to_bot.html

Antikythera mechanism working model

"The Antikythera mechanism has fascinated both scientists and people with a singular obsession with brass and the idea that aliens held architectural design workshops for the ancient Egyptians, since its discovery in 1901 in a wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete. Dated to about 150–100 BC, the mechanism has been described as the first mechanical computer, and calculated the position of the Sun, Moon, and other astronomical information such as the location of other planets as well as allowing for rudimentary spreadsheets and solitaire.

Here Michael Wright, of the Imperial College London and noted Antikythera devotee, demonstrates his working model of the mechanism, gleaned from years of study and x-ray imaging. It should be noted that Wright was unable to reconcile all of the known gears found in the mechanism. Solitaire enthusiasts take heart, for Wright remains on the case with the help of The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project.

Antikythera mechanism working model.mov [YouTube]"

Posted by Ross Rosenberg on ECTOPLASMOSIS!

atompunk + the dead media project

a recent mailinglist started by bruce sterling about the cultural period 1945-1965
http://www.antenna.nl/mailman/listinfo/atompunk

+the dead media project (i think nina had mentioned before): sterling's project for collecting information+notes on media archaeology...
he' s also offering 50$ to whoever publishes the The Dead Media Handbook
cool indeed.

principality of sealand

sealand is a sovereign micronation located on a north sea fortress, occupied since 1967 by a retired british army major. since 2000 a web hosting company named HavenCo has been based there, aiming at functioning as a data haven for companies and corporations..does it remind you of something?

with the kind support of the barlas

video vortex reader

http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/portal/files/2008/10/vv_reader_small.pdf

as proposed by ana peraica and googled by die gabi!

Expanded Cinema blog - Joao Ribas (2006 - present)

"Expanded Cinema is an online platform for experimental film, early video, and sound-based, durational work. All of the material is being curated from available media online, emphasizing an overlooked facet of the archival function of new media. Joao Ribas"

Expanded Cinema blog - Joao Ribas (2006 - present)

Eric Archer's modded 8mm film cameras

perhaps we should file the following reblogged post about Eric Archer's modded 8mm film cameras under Media Archeology + Media Art or Media Archeological approaches to Media Art but in any case i thought it would be of interest to those involved in Media Art Histories as well... - jonCates



"Eric Archer mods old 8mm cameras to record sound instead of light. He chose vintage movie cameras because of their amazing design, and because the 8mm format fits well with semiconductor light sensors.

He starts by removing the film transport and shutter, leaving just the optics, "My standard modifications include a battery-powered preamp with audio line-out (1/4″ mono jack) + a viewfinder-mounted LED that indicates sensor overload, and a headphone amplifier (1/8″ jack). I’ve prototyped an accessory mount that holds the sound camera steady along side a video camera, focused on the same point for audiovisual recording.

Looking through the viewfinder, you see a normal image. The light sensor’s active region corresponds to a tiny spot in the center of the viewfinder; sweeping the camera across a scene can reveal different sounds, and their source can be pinpointed easily."

So how does it sound? Weird. Some recordings are like eavesdropping on a robotic mosquito's dream, while others evoke a microphone stuffed into a bucket of sand or the roar of escaping steam.

Eric Archer's Sound Cameras [via Ektopia]" - James Grahame from Retro Thing

The Media Art Notation System

Documenting and Preserving Digital / Media Art

Abstract
This paper proposes a new approach to conceptualizing digital and media art forms. This
theoretical approach will be explored through issues raised in the process of creating a
formal declarative model (alternately known as a metadata framework, notation system,
or ontology) for digital and media art. The approach presented and explored here is
intended to inform a better understanding of media art forms and to provide a practical
descriptive framework that supports their creation, re-creation, documentation and
preservation.


Richard Rinehart
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
2625 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA, 94720
University of California, Berkeley
rinehart@berkeley.edu




http://www.coyoteyip.com/rinehart_leonardo.pdf

THE WEB OF COKAYNGE; CANDLE AND BELL - Dain Oh (2008)

THE WEB OF COKAYNGE; CANDLE AND BELL - Dain Oh (2008)
http://thewebofcokaygne.info

Dain Oh (a current student in the Film, Video & New Media department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago whois also now studying with Media Art Histories bloggers Nina Wenhart and myself) is curating a screening program which is influenced by and reflects creatively on Media Art Histories. The program, called THE WEB OF COKAYNGE; CANDLE AND BELL looks at the file format of the (online) Animated GIF through the lens of (early) cinema in order to artistically "reflect the history of the moving image". This screening program takes place on Sunday December 7th, 5 pm at the Nightingale in Chicago. The full description of the event and artists included follows below. - jonCates

"THE WEB OF COKAYNGE; CANDLE AND BELL is an experiment that seeks to place curatorial process in the same realm as art. Through particular selection of work WoC mimics the conventions and histories of cinema as a Modernist medium while at the same time epitomizing the information society by working as a decentralized and interactive database. WoC displays different permutations of the moving image in relation to file formats, search queries and methods of artists and non-artists working with the medium of the Internet.

The Web of Cokaygne; Candle and Bell is a three part screening. In a traditional sense it maintains a beginning, a middle and an end. The first section is 0P3NFR4M3W0RK, an open DIY digital art exhibition initiated by Jon Satrom, instantiated by Dain Oh for the Web of Cokaygne; Candle and Bell and previously at (A) r4WB1t5 micro.Fest (initiated by jonCates and jon.satrom). The second portion is 787 Cliparts, by Oliver Laric. A video in which he displays hand-selected clip art that he has found on the Internet in a manner that suggest continuity in motion and the persistence of vision. The third and final section of WoC is a selection of animated GIFs by both artists and non-artists working with the Internet. The artists include Petra Cortright, Olia Lialina, Guthrie Lonergan, Tom Moody, Jon Satrom and Paul Slocum. The selected GIF's are important examples to reflect the history of the moving image. Examples are gif versions of: a goat found on a bowl from Iran's Burnt City, Muybridge's horse, then moving to commercial cartoons, video games and finally, new media and www gif's. The screening will be executed in real time and accompanied by a live piano performance.

The screening is on the 7th of December, 5 pm @ the Nightingale in Chicago." - Dain Oh