Virtual Justice

Words on Works are short, informal statements about new artwork in which art and technology coexist or merge. In the spirit of Leonardo, the information in Words on Works is what the artists themselves have chosen to say about thdr own w d . In some of these statements, rather than describing the work in detail, the artists use nontraditional language that echoes the work itself and is expressiveof their vision. By intre ducing artists whose work might not otherwise appear on thepages of Leonardo, Words on Works operates in the same way that alternative art spaces operate in thegallery -museummilieu. GULFWAR MEMORIES Joseph DeLappe, 5003 East Holland Street, Tampa, FL 33617, U.S.A. Gulf WarMemories (Fig. 1) is an electromechanical digital image sculpture that attempts to memorialize the Persian Gulf Media War by recontextualizing television images, fast food and electronics . The imagesfor this piece were culled from cable television broadcasts and videotapes of the Gulf War and from commercial advertisements. A large vertical image column consists of six 11-X-14inback-lit duratrans prints of computer-manipulated television,processed in Adobe Photoshop, flanked on both sides by eight 4-x-4-in box fans mounted on an aluminum structure, each angled in order to blow the aroma of bones from previously consumed Kentucky Fried Chicken towards the viewer of the piece. At the base of the piece near the floor is a bracket that houses the empty bucket of chicken. This.piece sets up associations of sensory information that together are intended to provoke thought and contemplation about our nation’s recent history . It is an absurd memorial for an absurd conflict. The idea for this work came about after I read of the large increase in fastSection Editor:Judy Mall9 food sales which took place during the Persian Gulf conflict as people rushed home from work to view the war on television . Gulf WarMemories represents the ironic nature of our national obsession with this most recent television war, which was consumed and forgotten as readily as a fast-food dinner. VIRTUALJUSTICE Muriel Magenta, School of Art, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1505, U.S.A. In response to relentless media exposure , the public turns conflict and tragedy into an outlet for parody. Virtual Justice (Fig. 2) examines this phenomenon through a look at society’s fascination with courtroom trials. This 30-min video work focuses on the moment of transition when a viewer’s interest shifts from the serious consideration ofjustice to a preoccupation with criminal issues as a source of entertainment. In six hypothetical casesa visualization of this shifting attitude is presented. In each instance the judicial process is abruptly interrupted at a criticaljuncture in the trial. The scene changes and the protagonists then appear within a showbusiness context, transformed into flamboyant entertainers. For example, an arrogant tycoon on triai for bank fraud becomes a raucous stand-up comedian telling tastelessjokes about money and ethics. The transformation from defendant to entertainer as each case unfolds poses the following questions: (1) What values Fig. 1.Joseph DeLappe, GuyWar tion comprised of digitalimages and electro-mechanical sculpture. Exhibited in the Performance SpaceGalleryas part of The Thiid InternationalSymposium on ElectronicArt, Sydney,Australia, November 1992, Gulf War MemorieS recontextualizes television images, fast food and electronics to createan absurd memorial for an absurd conflict. Me~lOrieS, installa01994 ISAST LEONARD0,Vol.27, No. 1, pp. 13-18.1994 13 are we as a societywilling to compromise for the sake of entertainment? (2) To what extent has media overkill on crime and violence desensitized us to the seriousness ofjustice? A layer of public responses has been recorded into the courtroom soundtrack . These spontaneousone-liners by a simulated viewing audience provide a range of comments, from genuinely concerned to blatantly amused. A digital graph at the bottom of the screen maps the sound of the voices. VirtualJustice premiered at Scottsdale Center for the Arts,Scottsdale, Arizona, in April 1993. ETERNITYIGNORED Stephen Moore, 2842 NW 66th St., Seattle, WA 98117, U.S.A. Ann Rosenthal, Studio Tara, 3131, Western Avenue #323, Seattle, WA 98121, U.S.A. Eternity Ignored is a collaboration that defines the initial part of a larger work in progress. The culmination...