Art Communication Systems

W()RDS ON W()RKS (from Culturesin Cyberspace introduction) (a response from Arts Wire; AWHUB conference, item 113) I know one thing, rather than struggle to read James Fennimore Cooper in Old Engl ish Prose, it's more easier for Indian people to go see the movie in dolby sound and technicolor! What wi II happen to cultural groups that remain offl ine? Wi II cultural groups that do access cyberspace lose their distinct identities through a process of interact ion? And) if so, is such an occurrence cu l t ur-e l evolution or homogenization -- something to explore or something to avoid at all costs? What is the r-o l e of cybercultural act ivity in cyberspace l t s e l f; what is its role in the affl ine culture that init iated it? social communication systems that can be used to make things happen. I hope that, in this way,art can cease to be a system of representation and instead become a useful and active force for people. A chronology of experiments towards these ends follows. In 1990, I organized Virtual Cultures, a collaboratively produced on-line work that explores the idea of opening a communication loop. Virtual Cultures was designed for Cyberthon, a 24-hour conference on virtual reality, as an open participation panel using computer conferencing to connect self-selected panelists from cyberspace to selfselected panelists on site. The panel discussion was to focus on cultural applications ofvirtual reality, including computer networks. I used the structure of open participation to underscore its role as a virtual reality application . Virtual Cultures sites were located on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL) in the Art Com Electronic NetFor Rmerican Indians who s t l II speak their language, I don't know of any comput er- program t hat can enhance the tot a lit y 0 f Ianguage and music through the keyboard. Even the translation of Indian music to eura-standards on a keyboard does not work! Perhaps there is some home in (t hat s ho u Id be hope) in t he new graph i cs programs t hat can be used on-I ine such as art graphics, pictorials, the er-ect ion of nat i ve I anguages on-I i ne J et c. 113:27) Randy Ross 12-NDU-92 18:51 I remember I istening and watching my grandfather speak in his Native language to his peers, and of their responses to him. There was a lot of use of hands) arms) facial expressions, intonations, his eyes, that made the language come alive, a as a result a very few words had a lot 0 f mean i ng and dept h. Even in the mus i c he sang, t he words were short, but the song meant quite a bit about a particular situation. -Cage [1] have a basic structure (metaphorically, warp and woof) in its connection of people from diverse geographic, cultural and social backgrounds and in the theme of the conversation. The actual conversation was the weaving itself, made by the participants. On-line communication fascinated me because of its ability to connect people in new ways, to be a conduit for new social communications constructs. Words from John Cage and Bertolt Brecht influenced my approach to artmaking: Wearegetting rid of ownership, substituting use. . . . The telecommunications projects I have designed are attempts to construct Art is not a mirrorto reflect reality, but a hammerwith which to shapeit. -Brecht Anna Couey, 1937A Carleton, Berkeley, CA 94704, U.S.A. E-mail: . Sometimes I say I am a weaver. Much of my artistic inspiration comes from being a weaver at the end of the twentieth century in a postindustrial society. Woven fiber has been used for containers and garments as an ancient and universal means of storytelling and identification , but it is no longer a primary carrier for language. I want to apply the storytelling and functional aspects of weaving to a fiber that speaks in the living language of my time and culture. Initially, I experimented with materials -first with fiber found in my immediate environment, such as branches and paper...