Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Hansen's Bodies in Code

Hansen states that bodies are central to virtual technology rather than lost to it.
Like Bourrioud’s relational art, Hansen says modern technology “extends man’s space for play and action” rather than limiting it. He describes several artists’ work in terms of how they broaden the sensory “commons” (20), and refutes those who have eliminated the body from modern discourse. Rayer, for example, argues we have no mind-body split because we have no body (11). In contrast, Kreuger, a pioneer in interactive art, believes artists must put humans first, making the technology figure out people rather than the other way around. With some newer pieces, viewers operate cameras, dissolving and complicating the role of the artist. To those who consider interactive art a separate realm from reality, Hansen notes, “All reality is mixed reality.”

Links: The mind-body split argument is still very much with us from ancient Greece to now.

Fear of technology – the idea that technology swallows humanity, like Darth Vader or the Borg.

Relational art is a new term for me, but I find myself seeing it everywhere. Hansen’s artists seem engaged in relational art.
This makes me wonder if interactive museums, like the Holocaust museum are forms of relational art. I don’t know if being able to categorize them as such is important, but I think categorizing can help me understand the concept.

NPR just had a segment on a California street musician, recorded by some guy, then played for musicians around the world (Zuni reservation, Soweto South Africa, et c). These musicians then joined in the recording. Each group added to the mix, listening to an increasingly complex base recording that all started with one guy and a guitar. The first song was “Stand By Me.” Then, Anne sent a link to something quite similar with video and music combined.

I don’t understand the feedback loops of Lozano-Hemmer’s work. What are they and is this projected on a building (96)?

Is all architecture relational art?

How can we have no body (11)?

What is the pre-personal (page 21)? Is this another term for a priori?