I’m experimenting with having a daily post of my new Del.icio.us links; we’ll see how that goes; it’s in beta right now… Ok, apparently it didn’t work… maybe I’ll just do the link roll for now.
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Author Archives: Kim
Book Project?
Last spring I decided to start researching how institutions that study, produce, and/or teach new/digital/cyber/hyper/whatever media organize themselves. At first I just wanted to see what other places were doing so that as we worked on our new center we would have some sense of possibilities and pitfalls. Pretty quickly I realized that certain choices made by these organizations seemed to really change their character, audiences, etc. Looking for research, I also saw that there wasn’t too much, and most was sort of fragmentary–only about one institution or span of time, one locale, one project, etc. And I started to get really interested in how the philosophy of the institution seemed to shape it’s decisions about who to work with, what the goals were, what counted as success; at the same time funding sources had a powerful effect on these as well, and often created tension.
At first I planned to survey institutions all over as the opportunity arose, but in the US they are so spread out and work in such different contexts that it seemed hard to figure out a coherent approach that would allow comparisons. At the same time, I already was going to the Netherlands for about two weeks during June-July 2007, so I thought I’d interview people there,at first just with the idea of identifying best practices. –There are numerous very well-known institutions in the NL and I figured it would be helpful to hear how they did things.
Those interviews were revelatory because besides being informative about individual institutions, they provided numerous unique perspectives on the cultural scene in the NL. And I suddenly realized that there was so much to say about how knowledge was being created and dispersed, and I was so interested; I should write a book. But I couldn’t figure out how the structure should work or how to include everything, without spending 10 years on it–and I really only want to spend 3-5! Just recently it occurred to me that rather than trying to go all over the US, Europe, Asia, etc. I should start by just looking at the Netherlands because the countries small size yet high concentration of these institutions make them great for comparison. There all kinds of institutions that differ from each other in many ways, but they are all dealing with the same national-level funding scheme, and many of them work together on projects. So certain variables would be reduced or eliminated.
I also just started reading some things about Dispositifs and I think it could be a key notion in my study. Different theorists use it quite differently so I need to get a firmer grip on who has said what, and when, before figuring out how I think it can be applied in my study. One good starting point is some notes Frank Kessler has online at his website. Thanks to Mirko for the connection to Kessler and dispositif.
Now I just have figure out how to say all of this in a really compelling way so I can get a grant or fellowship to go to the Netherlands a bunch more times.
Finally I found some amazing digital art
So I was saying last week (or maybe two weeks ago) that I hadn’t really found any art that really moved me emotionally, but lo an behold, this week it falls into my lap. Or rather, inbox. Out of the blue I got a message from Joseph Nechvatal about a new Viral Symphony he has posted over at UbuWeb. We hadn’t met, but we’re both on Nettime-L and I guess he thought I might like it, which I did. But, since of course I then had to google Jospeph (because I am one of those who will virtually stalk someone via their online appearances if I find them interesting) I found his website and blog, both of which have links to some of his digital paintings.
I have to say I just love these. The paintings are really disturbing (in a good way) and also just cool as they are consumed by the virii, and I really connected to the music because in some way it really works with the blazing heat and profusion of growth we get in this part of the central valley during the summer. When you combine irrigation with constant sun, you get not only amazingly fruitful farms and orchards, but also weeds, molds, ants…all kinds of living things that seem poised to take over.
In addition to how much I enjoy the way these works express some sort of fecundity, also, reading some of Joseph’s own texts and some texts about his work, I finally feel like I have a grip (however slippery) on some theoretical concepts I’ve been struggling with, so that was an unexpected pleasure.
Joseph has also been nice enough to answer my questions via email and pointed me to this video that shows the consumption of a digital painting:
And, if you like that, you can see more at his YouTube page.
–so cool to meet an artist who will answer emails even when they contain questions that are probably really basic.
Traditional award categories
One challenge to developing programs or projects in digital media is determining whether there are any prospective students, or any interest from local communities. This really struck me when I went to the county fair. Though CSU Stanislaus is an “urban campus” and the population of Turlock is about 70,000 (and growing rapidly) still, local identity seems to still really be based on agriculture, as is obvious in this picture.
Of course this element will be highlighted at the fair, but what really got my attention is the way it’s highlighted in spite of, for example, the 4H club having programs in science and engineering, communications, and metal-work. There wee no exhibits of that work, just the agricultural group’s petting zoo of farm animals.
I think there’s a lot of nostalgia shaping local identity, and a real reluctance to connect with the “other” California of Silicon Valley and the high tech industry. Lately several residents who have been here a long time have commented to me on how closed a city this is. I’m starting to wonder if ICT’s much vaunted ability to connect people has been completely misunderstood. When I think of the regions I know that are very connected online, they are also very connected with public transit, while those that are not well-connected online also don’t have much public transit.
Has anyone ever studied a possible connection? Something else to track down…
A Different Kind of Remediation
I’ve been thinking about a statement I heard while at conferences this summer; I think I probably blogged the talk, but I’m too lazy to check right now. Anyway, the claim was that appropriate response to a good work in new media was “how clever.” I’m not sure now that I think about it whether that was supposed to be what the audience expects, or what the creator aims for, but in any case it was set in contrast to traditional art that aims for “how beautiful.” And certainly I can think of art that aims for beauty. But does this mean new media art should forget about all of those categories? I’m thinking about the sublime right now; I think it would be amazing if someone created something in new/digital media that struck me as sublime. But so often it does seem to only be about cleverness. Even when it claims to be political, it’s usually addressing politics in a clever parodic way. I can’t think if I’ve ever seen software art, or media art that was just using computers instead of brushes, that really moved me emotionally.
While visiting Rotterdam I went to the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum and saw a lot of art, from Medieval to contemporary. It was cool to see the Tower of Babel, for example. But one painting really struck me; a Madonna and Child–the type where Mary is cradling her dead son. This is the first time I’ve been confronted with one of these since having my own children, and it stopped me dead. I stood there tearing up not because of any Christian meaning, but because I was thinking of how agonizing it would be for a mother (or I suppose any parent) to experience such a thing–or worse, to lose you child without having the chance to be with her or him at the end. In fact, even now, it’s upsetting me to even type this in. Can software art or net.art or any other new media art ever create this kind of response? –not grief per se, but something this powerful?
If not, it may never get that far beyond a small academic or expert audience, because many people, in the face of their everyday tragedies and triumphs will simply find it irrelevant.
I’m now thinking of this whole experience–hearing the comment, weeks later seeing the painting, almost a month later having this thought–in terms of the emerging complexity Hayles defined. At the moment, the recursive paths my own thoughts took are very clear to me, as are the unpredictable interactions between different intellectual inputs.
But I also am struck again by how really central experiences aren’t addressed in a lot of the research. –For example, lots of people are writing about virtual communities and social networks, but most people seem to be studying rather groups/networks that are focused on rather shallow things (myself included, to some degree). What about online communities of people who have lost a child? Or who have aging parents for whom they must care? Or who escaped from a camp in whatever war-torn country (plenty to choose from right now)? Or have I just missed it somehow? Is it just not well-publicised? Not tagged as a Technorati fave? Not
In fact, this didn’t bother me a week ago, and maybe it won’t bother me next week either. Maybe this post is just the record of my overthinking. Or the news that my friend’s wife went to the hospital because she thought the baby had stopped moving.
Traditionally, art, music, poetry, etc have (among other things) helped people deal with the aspects of life that are difficult (sublime, maybe?). What is net.art or software art or whatever, for? I mean, really? (and I just know at least one friend who may be rolling his eyes at this question, and he is free to comment!) Oh well, it’s late and I’ll end this post before it gets even more rambly.
I am a "third back-up"
No, I’m not talking about computers. A friend’s wife is expecting a baby and they already have a little girl who is about 18 months old, so when the baby comes, I am 3rd in line to watch the little girl. –of the three of us on the list, my own kids are youngest, so I guess that makes me least eligible, or something like that. My own require the most attention, this actually means, which I hope is a function of age. Anyway, my friend is quite anxious because if his wife needs a C-section, she won’t be able to lift either baby for about 10 days, my friend works full-time, and their families are far away. He asked “what will we do?” And I said, “you call me, and M, and S, and T, (other friends) and you ask for help, of course.” Parents know that you have to help other parents because you have to be able to trust others will help you, and it’s the right thing anyway.
–I’m also thinking about how no one ever flames parents for asking newbie questions, which we all have done, in spite of reading all the manuals and guides obsessively. The first thing parents learn is that infants are full of buggy software, installing new apps never goes as planned, predicting up or down-time is impossible, and the documentation never seems to cover your exact problem, the error messages are well nigh unintelligible (voice recognition training takes forever). Even input and output are pretty unreliable.
Really, after kids, computers are an f-ing cakewalk.
I bring all this up because it occurred to me that in all the discussion of how communities work, and why some people will help others with computer stuff for free, or put effort into communities for free, this is one model I’ve never heard mentioned. That is, I think just about anyone who has had children understands that sometimes you have to just ask for help without knowing if you’ll ever be able to repay it, and sometimes you offer help without worrying about being repaid. Both cases require swallowing your pride, I’d say. Maybe that’s why it’s not discussed, because people are so firm in believing that net culture is all about reputation. (I assume it’s not lack of experience, because net/computer/whatever scholars can’t all be childless!) And people think the web is all about impatience; but regardless of anything else, parenting requires incredible patience for years on end, with consistently insufficient sleep.
Also, thinking about intellectual property, our children represent perhaps the only group to whom most of us will give money, time, energy, and maybe most important, ideas, without the least concern about who gets the credit. Maybe this last sounds silly, but it’s rather novel for an academic who lives and prospers on the strength of her ideas (or doesn’t).
Well, I think the failure to consider parenting as a useful behavioral model might represent a blindspot in the research. Not sure yet; now that I’ve thought of the possibility, I have to watch and see if it seems to be borne out. (so to speak. *g*)
Cultural groups and academics take over social networking sites
OK, not really, but Theory.org.uk has a Facebook account now, MySpace has a group called “multimedia electronic literature and art: the subversive and avant-garde” and a number of the edgier arts and academic groups have MySpaces, such as Worm, in R’dam, and the C’Lick Me festival has a MySpace. And of course many people are on Linkdn–me, Henry Jenkins, several folks from De Waag Society. Of course some people have the “excuse” that they are researching social networking sites, so they have to register, but I do find it creepily addictive, or would if it were my only way of connecting to people.
Yes, the debate has run for years and years about whether socializing online isolates you or the reverse, and I’m not going to get into it here (which means I’m going to get into it some, but not a lot). I think that most of the time, the extent to which people socialize online reflects the the extent to which they socialize generally, with some specific exceptions, such as GLBT people who have no local community, or members of an ethnic diaspora, or something like that. (and in fact, a Pew study on internet use finds this as well). Ok, I have to find the link to that study…meanwhile, according to the latest Pew quiz, I am an “omnivore” when it comes to ICT. That means that along with 8% of Americans (who unlike me are in their 20s!) I use ICT “voraciously” for all kinds of things, including socializing.
And I do fit the pattern they report; I am usually very sociable in person as well–as any of my colleagues will attest having wasted enjoyed chatting with me at length while I (at least) am escaping some actual work. On the other hand, I’m not so fond of mobile devices, or rather, of what some people assume my having them means–that I will always be available. But some people even assume that about email. –Just say “no” to instant responses.
Anyway, what I’ve noticed is that when I have many avenues available for socializing, I don’t care so much about doing it a lot on line–face to face is always nicer, when possible. During those times I just email or chat with people I just can’t see because they are too far off–and even then we send pictures back and for or maybe skype also.
But, when I get so busy that I can’t actually meet up with people, or when everyone is away, or whatever, then I find I am far more focused on email and other online contact, and even get quite agitated if I try contacting a bunch of people and no one answers. And then of course I feel like an idiot, because what am I, 12? Do I seriously think someone is shunning me? No, so why worry? Which leads to the next question; after how many days is it reasonable to worry that a) someone is ignoring you on purpose, or b) he or she has met with some misfortune? And is it different between friends as compared to professional connections? –Of course these questions are hardly unique to the ICT age; “waiting for a call” is a widely recognized scenario; Neil Gaiman recently published a really funny poem about it, and it could just as easily be about waiting for email, or IM, or text-messaging.
So I was originally talking about academics and social networking, and my point is, that while some might say they just do it for research, I think most of us end up rather enamoured of the whole business. It’s rather flattering to see that some people link to my Del.icio.us page–it affirms that my sifting through the sea of information is yielding at list some value. And knowing that people are linking to that actually makes me feel a certain sense of responsibility; I know how disappointed I’ve been when I find that a really useful site is no longer being updated. Maybe it’s not creepy (maybe that’s only me 😉 but it’s certainly interesting. Or maybe that’s also only me…
And does this mean teens all over the US (at least) are going to become all saavy about critical theory and computers too? You are now entering the twilight zone…
The joys of a conference co-chair
So after months of not hearing so much from anyone else involved with our biannual conference, my co-chair, Betsy Eudey, and I have taken the bit in our collective teeth and chosen “Empire: Migrations, Diasporas, and Networks.” Now we just have to line up speakers and finalize the dates… Hopefully I can get the website up and the call out next week.
And, I’m having two meeting. with our new dean, Carolyn Stefanco, today about all the projects we are trying to get started–the new MA, the new minor, the faculty workshops, my own research…and there are all the grant proposals! And the conference…We had one meeting, and that just wasn’t enough time this morning, so we are meeting this afternoon as well! She’s really interested in the idea of collaborating with Piet Zwart (yay!) and in international education generally. In fact, she will be away herself on a Fulbright scholarship during the fall term. I need to get her advice on applying for one of those…in a year or two.
Americans in the Netherlands
I met quite a few Americans while in the Netherlands; that by itself isn’t so surprising but I was startled at how many were from Californian universities, mostly the UC. At New Network Theory, Alan Liu from UC Santa Barbara spoke, and Ramesh Srinivasan from UCLA (discussed in my last post), and Warren Sack from UC Santa Cruz–there may have been others too. Then at Remediating Literature, Katherine Hayles, also from UCLA, gave a keynote. Apparently I need to go to another country to meet fellow Californian faculty. Well, I could make some kind of snide comment except I also met Nanette Wylde from California State University, Chico. She was very pleasant and is doing some very interesting work. I didn’t realize it at first, but she’s part of the group that created Meaning Maker, which I love. The conference edition is hilarious, and bitingly accurate. So I was actually rather thrilled to meet one of the creators, and to find out she is also at a branch of the CSU.
In addition to all the Californians, I also met Renee Turner, who originally hailed from Texas, but has been in the Netherlands for at least 10 years, I think. I mentioned her weeks ago now, but never got back to really describing her work or our meeting. Renee was making a presentation at Remediating Literature about A Seance with Guy Debord, one of the projects by De Geuzen (the three-woman artist collective of which she’s a member). This was more a performance than an academic paper; I wished the panel had focused on that exclusively so we had more time for discussion. (Not that the other papers weren’t interesting as well!)
Anyway, even before I saw her panel, Renee and I happened to start chatting during one of the tea breaks, and really hit it off. W e turned out to know some people in common because she has worked in the past (and will again come Sept.) for the Piet Zwart Institute and also just because she’s been in the Netherlands since the early 90s. So she very kindly gave me the scoop on some people I’d met only recently on this trip, and we hung out quite a bit between sessions and during meals. I was really impressed to hear about how she balances her own artistic work with new pursuits in creative writing, along with her teaching. She doesn’t have (or want) a steady connection with any of the schools at which she has taught, and that struck me, because it’s so different from what I’ve chosen, which is is a pretty traditional journey down the tenure track. If I were single, with no kids, maybe I would feel able to take a less certain path, but Renee has a child, so I think she must be just more adventurous, or less risk-averse, or something. Anyway, I admire it.
–That’s not to say I want to trade; I’m actually pretty amazed at well things are going for me at the moment. As grad student I sometimes felt I was most talented at getting in my own way, and for the past 12 months I’ve seemed to avoid my usual self-entrapments. I only hope I don’t have a relapse!
After this conference was over, Renee and I connected again in Rotterdam, where it turns out she lives. We went to the Euromast tower, which is weird and campy, but does have a really nice view of the city. Renee was also nice enough to give me some chocoladehagl (chocolate sprinkles) to take home for my kids. These are a traditional Dutch condiment for breakfast toast, and of course the kids loved it. (And got really hyper!) So thanks to Renee for being so friendly and also interesting. I’m looking forward to doing some work with De Geuzen, related to their Female Icons project, because in addition to all the tech-y academic stuff I do, I also am a comic book fan and write about those quite a lot. More on that when it gets sorted out.
And now, off to a meeting about the next few grants I’ll be writing. –It may sound boring, but it’s a welcome interruption from the revisions to a book chapter I’m forcing myself through…
Scholars and Artists
In the last couple of months I have enjoyed meeting a host of really interesting scholars and artists. I’ve written about those I was seeing or meeting in an official way–keynote speakers, panelists, interviewees, etc. But, I also met quite a few people in a more casual way who are also doing research and or art that ought to be getting some attention. Plus they were just cool and I enjoyed meeting them so much!
So, who did I meet…
Well, I guess it’s easiest to go chronologically. At New Network Theory I met Matthew Fuller briefly; he was Course Director at Piet Zwart before Florian, and I had the fun of listening as they argued over the rough draft of Florian’s talk. We didn’t actually get to talk much, but I have just been informed by our library that his Media Ecologies book has come in, so I will probably write him about it later. And post more here, of course. Then I met Olia Lialina, whose talk on html style I enjoyed a lot. I don’t think I posted about that yet–maybe by next summer I will have caught up. Anyway, she was nice, but I was so jet-lagged, I doubt I said anything remotely intelligent or memorable. Maybe next time. I spent a little more time with Jacob Lillemose when he and I and Florian had dinner on the first day. He’s on the board of a Danish group called ArtNode, an independent Research Center for Digital Art and Culture. I should interview him! But when we met we talked more about his dissertation which if I recall aright, is about “Post-object Aesthetics.” One thing I found really interesting about several of the people I met is that they already have a lot of authority in the field, have publish, are giving keynotes, directing things, all before they have even finished their doctoral work. Very impressive. We all shared Rijstaffel and it was delicious.
The next day I met few interesting people very briefly, but then met two again later at length. My panel was chaired by Ramesh Srinivasan who is in his own words an
Assistant Professor of Information Studies – University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), holds a M.S. Degree from MIT’s Media Laboratory and a Doctorate degree from Harvard, and has focused his research globally on the development of information systems within the context of culturally-differentiated communities. He has studied how an information system can be developed to engage communities to develop their socioeconomic, educational, and cultural infrastructures. This has included an analysis of how the cultural practices specific to communities can manifest themselves into an information system’s architecture, particularly with respect to how it represents, categorizes, and disseminates the information it stores. This research allows one to uncover mechanisms by which local visions and practices can converge with international development initiatives. His research has spanned such bounds as Native Americans, Somali refugees, Indian villages, Aboriginal Australia, and Maori New Zealand.
We spoke briefly afterwards and agreed we should stay in touch. I need to email him now that I’m home because I think the kind of work he’s done would be really relevant to our students and community.
One of the most interesting panels I attended was the one actually titled “Network Theory” –why they got that title out of everyone, no one seems to know– and I thought the most interesting speaker was Mirko Tobias Schäfer who was proposing a new metaphor, foam, for discussing social relationships. In this case online, but actually there’s no reason to restrict it to that. Anyway, I spoke to Mirko a bit after the panel, but we were both rushing because everything was behind schedule and we almost missed lunch and the next session (which I was speaking in). Happily, we both were at the Piet Zwart graduation show where we were able to chat much more comfortably over beer and art.
Mirko has written numerous papers about opensource culture and communities, many of which are available at his website; about half and half English and German. (of course, not the one on Foam…) Right now he’s writing his dissertation on “Bastard Culture! Competent Users, Networks and Cultural Industries”. More to the point, he’s a nice guy who has offered to let me grill him about his work via email and skype. And, he’s another who seems to have accomplished a lot even while finishing his PhD. Coincidentally (or I suppose not, given our shared academic interests) Mirko is doing his doctorate at the University of Utrecht where he sees a fair amount of William Uricchio, whom I knew at MIT, and UU is where my other conference was.
Anyway, he’s written quite a bit lately about how users of both software and hardware contribute to it’s development through hacking, and how people actually learn to do this–that is, how naive users gain enough knowledge to even join communities in which they can learn more. Figuring out this second part will be crucial to the success of our new programs because our students may be as inexperienced a group of users as you can find inside a developed nation, so I’m glad to have found some people who are studying this, and who are so cool! It’s lovely to have so many nice and grown-up conversations in such a short time–in fact, after 4 years during which the majority of my talk was with someone under the age of 4, such intellectually stimulating discourse feels almost an illicit pleasure. And I want to especially thank Mirko for our long talk at the graduation show; all the other people I already knew from Piet Zwart were obviously busy, so I might have felt a complete wallflower. (Not to mention that professionally interesting talk with charming people is the thing I enjoy most during conference trips, so I’m indebted to anyone who contributes.)
He also offered to sightsee with me, which would have been fun, but we both ended up being too busy to coordinate very well. (In fact, given that I was visiting for 16 days, I didn’t do so much sightseeing.) –Several people I met offered to let me stay with them if I wanted to visit their city during my trip, and I only wish I could have had more time to do that, and know these people better.
Finally, I also got to speak a few times with Kristina Andersen, who this year has been a tutor at Piet Zwart and who is an active artist connected to Steim. We had and interesting talk about being working moms, and gossiped a bit about other people in the field. She gave a very interesting talk a few years back about how artistic collaborations work (or don’t) and hopefully we’ll talk more about that some time. She’s another PZI teacher who clearly has meant a lot to the students and who cares about them too.
I think that covers the first conference and the PZI events. Next time some people I met at Remediating Literature.