x

x

But is it art?

This week’s readings were an examination of the future of art, the ways that art evolves in tandem with media, and the ways it can inform social processes and personal subjectivities. I have often thought of art in a more traditional sense, as involving creative forms of expression, as physical and tangible works to be appreciated for their beauty. However, the articles by Armstrong (2005) and Whitelaw (2009) seemed to focus more on the implications of new digital technologies and media for art. For instance, the concept of transduction as transformations between different energy types using computing to create motion-based artworks (Whitelaw, 2009, Internet). In my opinion, it overemphasises the tools rather than the product, as I believe that the abstract ideals informing the construction of new art forms should play a more significant role (i.e. using new technologies to express or reconfigure traditional ideas in novel and meaningful ways as opposed to ‘technology itself as art’).

Similarly, the documentary The Future of Art (Shalom, 2011, Internet) holds that new art should showcase the ideas behind the art rather than the technology as art. It also notes that the increased infrastructure and knowledge for processing, storing and organising data, as well as the democratisation of online media has also simplified the role of the curator to mere selection rather than meaningful organisation (Shalom, 2011, Internet). Another related trend that Shalom (2011, Internet) mentions is the disintegration of ideas of originality and propriety as a result of this new egalitarianism. For me, this is mirrored in the work of Guy Debord’s Situationist International movement that saw art as fundamentally political, but subsumed into mainstream/mass-produced popular culture that commercialises or commodifies art, which subsequently loses its meaning (McDonough, 2004).

Shalom (2011, Internet) also notes that the art of the future would be characterised by increased non-linear interactive experiences that sit at the intersection of experience and interpretation. Much like the ideas I’d seen in my previous post on the future of gaming, art is beginning to resemble an augmented reality that showcases a particular performative vision. With the introduction of new layers of reality as part of our daily space, it will be harder to distinguish between reality and virtuality, subconscious and conscious experience. Thus, when considering the collaborative, mimetic and live nature of new media art, we can start to actualise the radical notion of the world as a “playground for performance” (Richard Schechner, Internet).

Sources:

Armstrong, Keith (2005) ‘Intimate Transactions: The Evolution of an Ecosophical Networked Practice’, the Fibreculture Journal 7, http://seven.fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-047-intimate-transactions-the-evolution-of-an-ecosophical-networked-practice/ (accessed: 22/05/11)

McDonough, T. (eds.), Guy Debord and the Situationalist International: Texts and Documents, MIT Press: USA, 2004 http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8jPwJsJKXn8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=guy+debord+situationist&hl=en&ei=l47CTfHzIIyKvgPMlOjJAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed: 24/04/11

Shalom, Gabriel (2011) The Future of Art, Transmedialehttp://www.emergence.cc/2011/02/the-future-of-art/ (accessed: 22/05/11)

Whitelaw, Mitchell (2009) ‘Transduction, Transmateriality and Expanded Computing’, The Teeming Void http://teemingvoid.blogspot.com/2009/01/transduction-transmateriality- and.html (accessed: 22/05/11)

The future is a high-resolution game?

For my explorations this week, I chose to focus on Jane McGonigal’s (2010) research on games, in particular online worlds such as World of Warcraft, as a key resource for solving global issues such as climate change and depleting natural resources. McGonigal (2010, Internet) believes that games “bring out the best in players”, possibly due to a certain ‘heroic element’ in the dynamics of game play that promotes a culture of collaboration in users when solving problems within virtual worlds. Furthermore, she claims that games provide us with four ingredients for a happy and meaningful life: “satisfying work, real hope for success, strong social connections and the chance to be a part of something bigger than ourselves (McGonigal, 2010, Internet).”

In my opinion, McGonigal’s (2010, Internet) argument that gaming brings out the best in players and that these collaborative resources and skills could be utilised and translated to solving global challenges is inherently problematic and flawed, as her entire philosophy is built on the notion of gaming as a purely positive experience. I feel that virtual gameplay is largely fraught with aggression that is ‘transferred’ from player to player. When I first begun playing Heroes of Newerth, I was constantly yelled at over the voice chat systems, personally attacked on forums, and kicked out of many games due to my inexperience. However, I was shocked to find myself channelling this built-up resentment towards other newbies after becoming more experienced. However, it should be acknowledged that much like McGonigal (2010, Internet), this perspective is a gross generalisation and oversimplification of gaming culture, as the dynamics and social experience of gameplay are highly contextual and subjective to users.

Furthermore, such a perspective fails to consider Donath’s (1999) theories on identity deception in online realms, which posits that the anonymous nature of the Internet allows the assumption of multiple or hidden personas that in turn encourages experimentation with ‘negative’ forms of expression. For example, the act of “trolling” online, where a user attempts to pass as a legitimate participant and subsequently posts offensive or disruptive information. It is interesting to note such behaviour like these have been translated into real world acts and vice versa, as seen on websites such as www.theartoftrolling.com.

Conversely, the concept of context-aware gaming that ameliorates digital gaming practices and contexts and integrates them into the physical world seems a more likely candidate in examining the future of games (Institute for the Future, 2006, Internet). These future games will tend towards an augmented reality of life as having layers of meaning, where the terrain of daily life is repurposed and reconfigured to coexist with game, content will come from the bottom-up (much like today’s micro-politics) and the blending of real and virtual identities will allow for the development of skill sets relevant to both areas (Institute of the Future, 2006, Internet). The key difference is that here, there is less emphasis on games as a panacea for global problems, but rather as a gamification of life that results in increased engagement and deeper connections between people and technologies.

Sources:

Donath, J., Identity and Deception in the Online Community, 1999, http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html (accessed: 20/05/11)

Institute for the Future, All the World’s a Game: The Future of Context-Aware Gaming, 2006, http://www.iftf.org/node/748 (accessed: 20/05/11)

McGonigal, J., “Be a Gamer, Save the World” in Wall Street Journal Online, 22 January 2011, http://janemcgonigal.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/the-benefits-of-videogames-wsj-com.pdf (accessed: 20/05/11)

Science as Knowledge

I found myself struggling with these week’s readings, as I know very little about the sciences and there was excessive use of scientific jargon in some of the readings. However, I did notice a general trend of an open-source culture that supports a micro-political approach to science in the readings. Pisani (2011) notes that a culture of selfishness has long dominated the field, and even with the shift towards a collaborative culture, scientists may be unwilling to admit to mistakes, which could result in the continued transmission of false information. For example, Nobel Prize-winning ethologist Konrad Lorenz’s views published in 1949 saw dogs as descended from jackals and wolves was widely accepted until genetic evidence was discovered many years later (Dawkins, 2010, pp. 28). Furthermore, the fundamentally subjective nature of scientific processes of interpretation of facts and observations may exacerbate the problem, as there is a heavy reliance of pre-existing conceptual frameworks and ideas. This is further justified by the fact that scientific fact and method are an accumulative structure, aided by technological advancements that build on earlier techniques (Seed, 2011, Internet).

Having recently read Richard Dawkins book The Greatest Show on Earth (2010) that was foisted upon me by my father (an atheist and staunch believer in Darwin’s theory of evolution), I was particularly interested in Craig Venter’s creation of a synthetic life form and its implications for humanity, as well as the controversies surrounding ideas of eugenics and evolutionary theory (e.g. should we attempt to ‘play god’?) (Sample, 2010, Internet). This exemplifies the potentially disruptive nature of discovery and invention, as it threatens to undermine pre-existing knowledge and destabilise society. In this situation, I see the core problem of science as being very esoteric and ‘too separate’ from other disciplines and subsequently, not easily accessible to the masses. Hence, media must play a key role in disseminating and publishing information in an easily understood, and also engaging way (e.g. climate change not as something only to be dealt with by technocrats and governments but as a key issue facing every one of us). So in essence, in the field of sciences, we should also strive to reconcile the scientific fact and methods with media – the medium is the message.

Sources:

Dawkins, R. (2010), The Greatest Show on Earth, UK: Black Swan

Pisani, Elizabeth (2011) ‘Medical science will benefit from the research of crowds’, The Guardian, January 11, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/11/medical-research-data-sharing&gt;

Sample, Ian (2010) ‘Craig Venter Creates Synthetic Life Form’, The Guardian May 2, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form&gt;

Seed (2011) ‘On Science Transfer’, Seed <http://seedmagazine.com/content/printon_science_transfer&gt;

Micropolitics: Contemporary Struggles against Capitalism

In this week’s readings on micro-politics, there were several recurring themes such as collaboration and collective action, ‘a bottom-up approach’, transversality and open source culture. However, these only provide us with a simplistic understanding of the concept, which can be loosely defined as the creation of techniques for collaboration that entails openness and experimentation (Jellis, 2009, Internet).

Jellis (2009, Internet) sees micro-politics not solely as small-scale and not aligned with any particular ideology, but as “operating transversally and activating the potential of the interval between feeling and doing”. The modern autonomist Marxist movement Planka Nu, which focuses on self-organised action (bottom-up approach) outside of traditional structures of authority and aims to counter capitalism through ‘dodging transport ticket fares’ and promoting free public transport, instantiates these aspects of micro-politics (McGroarty, 2011, Internet). Furthermore, it is not simply a stand-along reform, but also operates transversally in addressing wider issues such as climate change, unequal distribution of wealth and economic growth.

Similarly, the Coalition of the Willing (COTW) is another example of a micro-political movement, which frames the issue of global warming as (for the most part) a struggle against capitalism. They argue for a counter-culture revolution that emphasizes collaboration between individuals, activists and sponsors, as well as the pooling of resources to ‘converge’ and ‘swarm’ against climate change (Coalition of the Willing, 2010, Internet). I found their views on capitalism interesting and relevant in that they can be reconciled with Marxist theories of capitalism, which is expanded upon in Guy Debord’s (1983) work on the situationist movement.

Initially, I found difficulties in forming linkages between the COTW’s framing of the issue as an anti-capitalist movement and concepts of micro-politics and transversality. Read (2003, pp. 2) believes that “it is no longer to possible to separate capital, as the producer of goods and commodities, from the production of ideas, beliefs, perceptions and tastes.” This is because modern capitalism has directly and indirectly appropriated the production of culture and beliefs to the production of commodities (Read, 2003). For instance, mass advertising of high-end real estate tends to showcase a lifestyle of prestige rather than the property itself. This changes our perception of the value of the property, to not solely its material characteristics but also something more abstract by commercialising our deeper desires (e.g. happiness). Hence, we can see modern capitalism as ‘micro-political’ in a different sense, as it has become an integral part of the fabric of daily life and experience.

Bibliography: 

Debord, G., and Knabb, K., Society of the Spectacle, Aldgate Press: London, 1983 http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yBB4f_dQ3rIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=guy+debord+situationist&hl=en&ei=l47CTfHzIIyKvgPMlOjJAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false(Accessed: 22/04/11)

Jellis, Thomas ‘Disorientation and micropolitics: a response’, spacesof[aesthetic] experimentation, 2009 http://www.spacesofexperimentation.net/montreal/disorientation-and-micropolitics-a-response/ (Accessed: 22/04/11)

Knife Party and Rayner, Tim and Robson, Simon, Coalition of the Willing 2010 http://coalitionofthewilling.org.uk/ (Accessed: 22/04/11)

McDonough, T. (eds.), Guy Debord and the Situationalist International: Texts and Documents, MIT Press: USA, 2004 http://books.google.com.au/books?id=8jPwJsJKXn8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=guy+debord+situationist&hl=en&ei=l47CTfHzIIyKvgPMlOjJAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed: 24/04/11) [I briefly skimmed the first few pages of this book and hope to finish eventually it if I have the time. I found it really well-written and would recommend it if you are interested]

McGroarty, P., “Freeloaders unite to fight subway fares”, in The Wall Street Journal, 29 March 2011, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580004576180383768578942.html (Accessed: 22/04/11)

Read, J., “Introduction: There Is No Time Like the Present” in The Micro-Politics of Capital: Marx and the Prehistory of the Present, State University of New York Press: NY, 2003, pp. 1-19 http://www.scribd.com/doc/24813182/The-Micro-Politics-of-Capital (Accessed: 22/04/11)

Some Thoughts on Actor Network Theory

Latour and Delanda approach the analysis of assemblages with the view that all elements and relations/human and non-human actants be treated equally.  For me this is an equivocal statement, as it assumes a certain ‘homogeneity’ and does not consider the ‘decentred’ nature of social life. According to Latour, this is because Actor Network Theory assumes that no actant can exist outside this network of relations, as actants in a network are defined by their relations with each other (Wikipedia Contributors, Internet). Similarly, Deleuze and Guattari (1988, pp. 101) argue that “tools exist only in relation to the interminglings”, in other words, it is not the technologies that define the assemblages but rather the way we utilise them.

In my opinion, Latour’s method is somewhat technologically determinist in attributing equal agency to non-human actants. For instance, if we consider the reading by Edwards’ (2010), the importance of computer models and technologies are emphasized in their contributions to monitoring climate change. Furthermore, in implying that all actants in a network are equal significance, it does not consider pre-existing structures of power or authority (Wikipedia Contributors, Internet). Thus, in the reading by Edwards (2010), we can see how vast amounts of information, data, as well as metadata – ‘information about information’ (e.g. computer models), require a massive exteriorisation and displacement of memory into these mnemotechnologies. It is precisely the essentiality of these technologies that lends them to be exploited by those in control over them.

Another point I found to be particularly interesting was the concept of ‘punctualisation’ within Actor Network Theory, which suggests that almost all actors can be seen as a conglomerate of smaller actors, whose existence may not be recognized until the actor network breaks down (Wikipedia Contributors, Internet). For me, this could also be applied in the political sphere, whereby civilians accept weaknesses in the state, and only recognize this and take action when other significant issues start to affect them.

 

Sources:

Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F., A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia, London: Athlone Press, 1988, pp.93-120

Edwards, P.N., ‘Introduction’ in A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010, pp. xiii-xvii

Wikipedia contributors, “Actor-network theory,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Actor-network_theory&oldid=420579902 (accessed April 7, 2011).

Memory as Archive?

What interested me most about this week’s readings and lectures, was the concept of human memory as an archive, in particular, the implications of new media technologies for human memory. I also noted several key themes in the readings regarding personal experience and perception (senses) contribute to memory as an archive, and hence form the basis for individual identity and collective culture.

Plato notes that memory can be classified into anamnesis – ‘natural’ memory, and hypomnesis – the extended memory that utilises technical devices for recollection. Stiegler argues that we are now over-reliant on these “global mnemotechnics” as tertiary forms of retention that intervene and constitute our memory (2003, Internet). Conversely, Ogle contends that online micropublishing platforms such as Twitter and Facebook aid us in archiving seemingly insignificant moments of our lives that would otherwise have been forgotten. In my opinion, it is precisely this overdependence on such technologies, which has caused a rapid deterioration of our capabilities of memory.

In addition, Stiegler (2003, Internet) believes that man has never had a purely natural memory, and argues that with the exponential developments in “mnemotechnical systems of retention” post 19^th century has led to the challenging of ‘consciousness’. Initially, I found Noë’s definition of consciousness as something dynamic and actively achieved through our extended involvement with the environment somewhat farfetched. However, his theories of ‘movement as consciousness’ are embodied to our engagement with new media technologies such as the Nintendo Wii, whereby an understanding of bodily movement is integral in navigating gameplay.

Furthermore, the increasing exteriorisation of our memories and data into archives via the proliferation of mnemotechnologies (e.g. photos on Facebook, Blogs) ma y not necessarily lead to a loss of memory, but a displacement of memory, whereby it can become a basis for authority and power, as well as the formation of a control society of knowledge (Stiegler, Internet). This is because we relegate our cognitive functions themselves to mnemotechological equipment, which can then be exploited by those in control and used to alter the content or ways we experience memory.

Sources:

Noë, A., and Solano, M. Barrios, ‘dance as a way of knowing: interview with Alva Noë’, 2008, http://www.dance-tech.net/video/1462368:Video:19594 (Accessed: 29/03/11)

Ogle, M., ‘Archive Fever: A love letter to the post real-time web’, mattogle.com, 2010, http://mattogle.com/archivefever/ (Accessed: 29/03/11)

Stiegler, B (n.d.), ‘Anamnesis and Hypomnesis: Plato as the first thinker of the proletarianisation’  http://arsindustrialis.org/anamnesis-and-hypomnesis (Accessed: 29/03/11)

Stiegler, B., ‘Our Ailing Educational Institutions’, Culture Machine, 5, 2003, http://www.culturemachine.net/index.php/cm/article/viewArticle/258/243 (Accessed: 29/03/11)

 

 

 

Is the Virtual Real?

This week’s readings attempted to address the differences between the virtual and the real. In his book The Virtual, Shields sees the virtual as “an absence, an unreality and a certain non-existence”, and describes it as “the not-quite” as it is something that does not strictly adhere to definition (e.g. a virtual office), and rather, implies a certain ‘lack of’ (2003, pp. 18). In discourses surrounding virtuality, everyday talk tends to focus on virtuality as concrete and tangible, and a whole separate sphere. On the other end of the spectrum, some academics such as Bergson take a more philosophical approach to the virtual, which seems to distract from its key place as an issue in everyday life.

A salient and relevant illustration of the relations between the virtual and the material is the use of online gaming technologies. In this case, the inherent interactivity of the virtual is seen through the continuous engagement between players and the virtual environment. It is precisely this engagement and internalisation of the game’s logic through gaming practices that leads players to willingly see the virtual as real, and mirroring the continuous mediation of the material world by socio-cultural forces. Hence, we can see that the virtual exists insofar as it is measured against the cultural values and practices of reality. For instance, Popular Science tested the realness of driving simulator – Forza, by comparing lap times of drivers in both real life and virtually, and found that simulated laps were consistently faster due to the lack of fear of real-life impact when driving on the track (Lockergnome, 2005, Internet). Here, we can see a certain ‘lack’ in the simulation’s replication of reality, as the element of human fear existed only in real life.

In conclusion, we can see that the virtual and real are not essentially linked, though the virtual may become more realistic as technology advances. Thus, we should see the virtual not solely as a technological construction of reality, but also fundamentally cultural.

Sources:

Shields, R., “The Virtual and the Real” in The Virtual, London: Routledge, 2003, pp. 18-43

Lockergnome, ‘Virtual Vs. Reality: Can You Tell the Difference at 150MPH?’, 11 March 2005, http://www.lockergnome.com/game/2005/03/11/virtual-vs-reality-can-you-tell-the-difference-at-150-mph/ (Accessed: 29/03/11)

 

Media Ecologies

This week’s readings elucidated the notion of media ecologies as a means to further examine the complex relationships and interactions between human life and media communications as well as associated technologies, techniques, processes and structures.

 

Theorists such as Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan subscribe to the idea that the media ecology is akin to an environment that can aid in understanding human culture and nature (Fuller, 2004, pp.4)). Postman (1970) expands on this and notes that the media (as an environment) can determine human action through our internalisation of the logic of different media forms, social constructs and (though implicitly so), normalises expectations of our behaviour in certain media environments (e.g. radio, internet, television). For me, this is reminiscent of Moore’s principle of “doubling” or pluralisation of place whereby he claims that electronically mediated communications can alter the “situational geography of primary life” (Moores, 2004, pp. 21). However, the varying definitions share a unifying theme in that they note that media ecologies have a broad scope and are highly contextual in that they are interrelated and interdependent.

 

Conversely, Nystrom (1973) proposes that they key idea characterising this discipline is a shift away from positivist scientific approaches towards a convergence of physical and social sciences. She also notes that media ecology exists without a coherent framework and in a sense ‘transcends categorisation’ (Nystrom, 1973). I believe that this poses a significant issue for the discipline, as lacking a paradigm could mean it is too overarching and might potentially overestimate the power or reach of media, and thus must be reconciled with existing media theories and discourse. I propose that media ecologies should be further characterised as involving elements that are mutually-defining and based on dynamic relationships between media and human engagement. In other words, it should be seen as a means to explore the impacts of media technologies, without being obscured by positivist rhetoric.

 

Another aspect of the readings, which I found to be particularly interesting and relevant, was Rawling’s ideas on online games as a service and game feedback loops that fostered a collaborative culture in games development, as I hope to focus on Real Time Strategy games of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games and related meta-gaming practices for the research project.

 

 

Bibliography:

Fuller, M.,‘Introduction: Media Ecologies’ in Media Ecologies: Materialist Energies in Art and Technoculture. Cambridge, MA; MIT Press, 2005, pp.1-12

Moores, S., “The Doubling of Place: Electronic media, Time-Space Arrangements and Social Relationships.” In Couldry, Nick. And McCarthey Anna., Eds. MediaSpace: Place. Scale and Culture in a Media Age. London: Routledge, 2004, pp.21-37.

Nystrom, C., Towards a Science of Media Ecology: The Formulation of Integrated Conceptual Paradigms for the Study of Human Communication Systems, Doctoral Dissertation, New York University,1973.

Postman, N., “The Reformed English Curriculum.” in A.C. Eurich, ed., High School 1980: The Shape of the Future in American Secondary Education, 1970.

 

Rawlings, T., ‘Games as a Happening, as a Service (Notes from my Talk at Goldsmiths)’, A Great Becoming, 2010 (http://agreatbecoming.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/games-as-a-happening-as-a-service-notes-from-my-talk-at-goldsmiths/)

(Accessed: 16/03/11)