El código ASCII es el acrónimo, en inglés, Código Estadounidense Estándar para el Intercambio de Información. Es un código de caracteres basado en el alfabeto latino tal como se usa en inglés moderno y en otras lenguas occidentales. Fue creado en 1963 por el Comité Estadounidense de Estándares . Este cambio produjo la unificación de la codificación telemática. De este modo el código ASCII fue el que se introdujo en todos los elementos digitales y como forma de comunicación general ya que contiene los 95 caracteres básicos para la impresión. Posteriormente, aunque este código nunca ha dejado de existir y funcionar, se ha ampliado a nuevos códigos y sistemas de lenguaje.

Ya en su inicio, gracias a la revolución tecnológica que esto suponía,  ya se empezó con la digitalización de la imagen con los medios disponibles en esos momentos.  De lo que se obtuvieron imágenes como los emoticonos o dibujos muy elementales como estos:

Posteriormente se fue trabajando con la imagen de los caracteres ASCII, trabajando con los volúmenes y los vacíos, hasta llegar a convertir estos caracteres en pixeles. Gracias ha esta evolución se llegaron a crear imágenes como estas:

Aunque la imagen central originariamente no es necesaria para la conversión a ASCII es interesante verla como otra opción de interpretación de estos caracteres.  A partir de aquí, en los años 70, salio todo un movimiento de vídeo mudo pensado para ser reproducido en las antiguas computadoras. Posteriormente, actualizando el sistema de filtrado, se han creado películas para browsers recuperando este estilo.

Como ejemplos tenemos:

Deep ASCII

Version del classico Deep Throat(1972), reeditado por el artista de net art Vuk Ćosić en los años 90. Posiblemente el precursor de todo este movimiento actual.

the Matrix

Aunque existen otras versiones también realizadas por autores anónimos.

Star Wars

Incluso se han creado animaciones a partir de imágenes creadas íntegramente en ASCII y no a partir de la reconversion del vídeo.

Otras películas en ASCII

http://newmedia.sfa.uleth.ca/~willems/mobile/

I figured while we’ve got our most recent assignment in mind, in which my class ran around wildly pointing their phones at barcodes, this article would prove interesting:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/23/blinking-leds-to-give-qr-codes-a-run-for-their-ad-money/

“la oscuridad de la nube es la fertilidad de los campos;

la oscuridad del rebelde es la libertad de los pueblos…”

Pioneer in the field, the Database of Virtual Art (DVA) has been
documenting the rapidly evolving digital installation art for more than
a decade. Cooperating with known media artists, researchers and
institutions as members allows the DVA to develop into the collective
project in the field. There have been a number of online archives
supported over the years, but almost all no longer have funding and have
either disappeared or exist in a frozen condition.

The DVA is beginning a renewed phase of further development with
existing and new members. Based on the *concept of expanded
documentation* it epitomizes a collective, *facebook-like* project
dedicated to media art. 500 artists selected from over 5000 applicants
offer the best selection of thousands of high quality artworks. Besides
the artists, more than 300 theorists and mediaarthistorians are
contributors. The DVA is a scholarly project and from the beginning a
university-based endeavor.

NEW FEATURES of the DVA :::
::: Optimized upload system allowing contributors to add, revise, &
cross-link information in a clear online procedure.
::: Artists can easily upload videos, as well as work descriptions,
digital documents, technical data, institutions and bios.
::: This rich online resource has a systematic thesaurus built from
various international keyword systems.
::: Any contributor from the field can submit to the news-ticker.
www.virtualart.at
Inviting a new wave of contributions to use the enhanced and improved
interface.
:::::::  Database of Virtual Art  :::::  ADVISORY BOARD  ::::::
Roy ASCOTT, Beryl GRAHAM, Erkki HUHTAMO, Jorge LA FERLA, Gunalan
NADARAJAN, Christiane PAUL, Martin ROTH, Steve WILSON
http://www.virtualart.at/about/advisory-board.html

http://thankyouandywarhol.com

”A Million Thank You’s for Andy Warhol” (2007) är ett verk skapat av den Londonbaserade grekiske konstnären Miltos Manetas (1964). Två animerade figurer i klara färger upprepar frasen ”thank you” om och om igen. Antalet uttalade tack registeras i en siffermätare som visas överst på sidan och varje gång sidan klickas fram startar processen på nytt. I förgrunden gungar Andy Warhols namn i olika typsnitt fram och tillbaka. Exakt hur många gånger de två figurerna upprepar detta tack har jag faktiskt inte lyckats ta reda på ännu, men förmodligen i upp till en miljon gånger..

Verket ser egentligen ganska anspråkslöst ut. Det är upprepning av samma sak om och om igen, estetiken är nästan lite barnslig, klotteraktig och väldigt gullig. Men det finns mer tanke bakom denna till synes ganska anspråkslösa hommage.

Andy Warhol ses som en av popkonstens stora utövare och är bland annat känd för att ha reproducerat kommersiella varor som konst och för att mer eller mindre ha massproducerat sina egna konstnärliga tryck. Dessa verk har förmodligen varit en del av hans undersökning kring konst och hur långt den kan dras innan betraktaren tråkas ut. Ett verk som tydligt demonstrerar denna sömnframkallande provokation är den film Warhol gjorde av sig själv ätande en hamburgare (”Andy Warhol Eating a Hamburger” 1966). Filmen är bara ca fyra minuter lång men var ändå ett studium i att se hur länge betraktaren härdade ut att se den. Den massproducerade bilden på en kossa är ett uttryck för samma sak.

Jag tycker att Manetas kommer åt nåt väsentligt i Warhols konst med ”A Million Thank You’s”. Verket är repetititv och skapat i datorteknik, i ett relativt nytt medium för konstnärer, och som betraktare blir jag lätt förförd av den enkla, färgglada ytan. Warhol själv utforskade såväl fotografins som filmens potential i sitt konstnärskap, något som var en ganska ny företeelse under hans liv och färgskalan är ofta omisskännligt ren, stark och lysande. 

Nyfikenheten inför hur länge figurerna ska orka upprepa sitt tack (om nu animationer kan bli utmattade) känns till en början manisk, men efter ett tag blir man utmattad av surret i bakgrunden. Man orkar naturligtvis inte sitta och titta på sidan hela tiden utan gör lite annat under tiden: slösurfar, skriver, jobbar… Figurerna tackar på, men har ändå inte hunnit upp i en miljon en god stund senare. Deras upprepande mässande blir till slut övermäktigt. Jag stänger av ljudet vid omkring 25 000 för att sedan ganska snart stänga ner hela sidan. Det blir irriterande när inte rätt fönster hittas genast och det är ett faktum: Manetas har på ett effektivt sätt iscensatt Warhols idé att uttråka betraktaren via upprepning på ett helt underbart sätt. Jag är förförd, förtjust och vansinnigt uttråkad och utmattad på en och samma gång!

After a fruitful weekend, I think I found the case study/new media artist for my thesis that embodies the ideas I have about the changing roles of the 21st century artist, art, institutions, art viewer, etc.: Natalie Bookchin (http://bookchin.net/).  Her newest works are a change from her previosuly internet based works to a Duchampian appropriation method of found media on the internet which can be displayed in both on and off line spaces. I think I will focus on…

Testament series (including ‘Laid Off’, ‘My meds’, and ‘I am not’) (started 2009, ongoing)  http://bookchin.net/projects/testament.html

Mass Ornament (2009) http://bookchin.net/projects/massornament.html

and Trip (2008) http://bookchin.net/projects/trip.html

I have included the net.art introduction link below for anyone interested in written by Bookchin and another new media artist, Alexei Shulgin, in 1999 as part of an art work:

http://www.easylife.org/netart/

digital serendipity / dc2

digital serendipity / dc1

Wow, talk about last minute deadlines. Despite that, I do have some very useful links, some of them I’ve used for a good time.
It goes without saying that google.com is the most essential resource, as it powers discovery for new, awesome sites. Brush up on your google fu and you’ll be well on your way.

#1 HTML goodies
Need anything basic explained in a simple tutorial? This site taught me basic html coding way back when I was 11 or 12. A little dated? It some respects, yes, but I believe it’s still regularly updated, and it provided me with a great starting point way back when.

#2 W3Schools
A more recent and obviously web sanctioned resource, this site has very useful basic tutorials and lists out a lot of values used in many different languages. Great for a quick reference if you’ve forgotten what certain things do in a language.

#3 More to come later…

Haggen’s is a local grocery store in my hometown. I used to work for them, so I thought it’d be interesting to switch things around and do a little evaluation on them! I’ll outline things using Jakob Nielsen’s design guidelines for business homepages.

1. Include a One-Sentence Tagline: 5/5
This was an easy point to evaluate on this site, as the first thing the user sees when the page opens is the company’s tagline. It’s strong, simple, and descriptive, and it’s emphasized by it’s font and placement upon the page.

2. Write a Window Title: 5/5
The title on the homepage hits the mark exactly, beginning with the company name, and then a description of which page you’re on (Home Page). This is precisely what Nielsen describes for this point.

3. Group all Corporate Information in One Distinct Area: 3/5
Corporate information about the company is available, but the information was mixed amongst other links about the company’s services. It’s there, but it is a little obscured, and the user would have to click around to find all the information he or she wanted. I gave Haggen’s a 3/5 on this point for having the info there, but not placing it in the best manner.

4. Emphasize the Site’s Top High-Priority Tasks: 4/5
The homepage contains several visible tabs giving users a clear view at some of the common services available from Haggen’s. My criticism would be that they aren’t the highest priority services Haggen’s provides; instead, some of those links get mixed in on the sidebar.

5. Include a Search Input Box: 0/5
Plain and simple, there is no search bar located on the homepage, making it impossible for users to dynamically find information that might be buried in the website.

6. Show Examples of Real Site Content: 3/5
This point was difficult for me to grade. Since the company is obviously a grocery store, sometimes it’s hard to say more about that on the homepage. However, I have to grade Haggen down providing barely any specifics about their work. Instead, the home page is dominated by an ad, and users have to navigate elsewhere to find content. On the other hand, the homepage does link directly to some of the site’s services.

7. Begin Link Names with the Most Important Keyword: 5/5
The Haggen’s website very obviously portrays this element of Nielsen’s guidelines. All along the sidebar are links that provide the user direct navigation to the services he or she wants.

8. Offer Easy Access to Recent Homepage Features: 0/5
The homepage had no links to recently featured content, so if users saw a product or article they wanted to return to, there was no way to do so (especially since there was also no search bar).

9. Don’t Over-Format Critical Content: 2/5
Haggen’s site has all sorts of oddly aligned boxes, which I feet weights the balance of the site very poorly. Additionally, their graphics are a bit mishmashed: some elements are tabs, some elements have shadowing to them, some are blocks, and none align very well. I don’t believe they did a good job of the navigational areas, either, as links seem to have no order to them.

10. Use Meaningful Graphics: 3/5
Though the graphics created an odd collection all together, the actual graphical elements when considered separately were average. The banner along the top of the site was their strongest element, as they contain pictures of actual employees, though they were posed in a nonexistant environment.

C’est aussi utile qu’une galerie qui présenterait des hommes avec un doigt dans le nez; ça n’a pas l’intention de dire ou de vendre autre chose que le titre : c’est une succession de filles avec le poing dans la bouche… et puis ont trouve aussi “les filles chaudes qui sourient à ground zero…” celles qui débouchent les chiottes, celles qui ramassent la merde de leur chien , et celles avec un hot dog dans la bouche… du coup on se dit que la série peut-être longue, complétée et que ça fait parti des ovni du net…

www.hotchickswithhotdogsintheirmouths.com/

www.hotchickswithfistsintheirmouths.com/

www.hotchickspickingupdogshit.com

www.hotchicksplungingtheirtoilets.com

www.hotchickswithdogswithboners.com

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

#1 http://www.zenvironments.com/
I thought this website was interesting because, considering our most recent assignment, the class should be fairly familiar with this layout. It’s very similar to what we’re working with, and it looks very appealing visually. There are some more advanced functions than we’ve learned so far (though nothing too complicated), but all the images, the font and the layout could be replicated. I think it’s inspiring because it’s a professional example of what we could do with the material from our Net.Art class.

#2 http://www.kinseyvisual.com/ and http://www.wkinteract.com/
I love both of these sites for their simplicity. They exist mainly to function, and their design is secondary. However, the sites still feel complete without all the visual interest. I post both of them because they’re so similar to each other, and I want to compare a little.
My favorite of the two is WK, for having a bit more usability and visual interest. Things move on this page, whereas KinseyVisual is very static. You click, and the browser simply loads to a different page. You click on WK, and you are introduced to a new page, with information swooping in but still everything is presented in a timely manner. Both pages are very straight forward and organized, which I probably appreciate the most.

#3 http://www.bk.com/
This last one may seem a little strange to post, but I have my reasoning (and my complaints). The layout is extremely dynamic with it’s use of the Flash Applet. However, the flash applet is not my main concern for design. As you navigate around the site, each page is wildly different from the other, but still feels part of a cohesive whole. Navigation can be a bit complicated, but it’s part of a delicate hierarchy. (more to be said, later!)

I used Stumbleupon to find these sites, so feel free to use it as your own source of inspiration.

Here’s the link to the next assignment!

http://newmedia.sfa.uleth.ca/~willems/css_site/

An interactive supermarket in augmented reality, a radical marketplace squatting the infrastructures of consumism. Logos transform into places, becoming access doors to the domains of communication, action, opportunity. Information, relations and emotions become readable, creating a new way of writing into spaces, expressing the stories of products and people, beyond corporations’ practices of control and information manipulation. “Shoptivism” is born.

Art is Open Source: Squatting Supermarkets van kunstenaar xDxD.vs.xDxD

This is a net.art experiment: go to thwonk.com, sign up for an account (near the top there is a join button – you have to create an account for me to get your message), and then send me an email at short_story@thwonk.com with whatever you want to add to the story in the subject line. I automatically ignore anything in the email body, so please just use the subject line (I did this so that people most likely won’t be enticed to add too much at one time). As I get new messages, I’ll update the story. To give you an idea of what this will be like, below is the story I started the experiment with (for testing and an example):

A magician wandered along the beach, but no one needed him. Except me… For I am the one that seeks the wanderer!

There are three emails total here. “A magician wandered along the beach, but no one needed him”, “Except me…”, and “For I am the one that seeks the wanderer!”. So, as this example shows, anything you add will get appended to the end of the current story.

The updated story can always be found on my THWONK Short Story page (see the right navigation bar or click here). I look forward to your submissions!

I just uploaded my next assignment at this link: http://newmedia.sfa.uleth.ca/~willems/assign2/index.html

An interesting collection of (possibly) all of the different iterations of an “under construction” gif ever made. Be warned, it takes a bit to load.

So far we have mentioned some of new forms in literature, fine arts and music. They all have in common technology as part of creating process but also as integrated part of artistic
forms.

Let’s go back to music. This time we will take a closer look into traditional meaning of  “musical piece”. For centuries, musical piece meant some amount of specific information that
was transmitted from composer to listener. In these terms, instrument was considered as medium for this transmission. Of course, each instrument has its own rules for this transmission, but still remains the fact that composer was the only carrier of a message; a carrier who used  his own thoughts, emotions, perceptions experiences for transmitting a message.

But, when a machine became a part of this process, everything dramatically changed. Nowadays we do not talk only about computer as an instrument but also about “cognitive leap” which active part is computer. Therefore, dual relationship between composer and listener get a new dimension of trinity in which very important place belongs to the machine (yet human-made!) that works on completely different basis that the ones called “artistic inspirations”.

This fact brings totally new cognitive and aesthetic thinking about music itself which we will discuss in our next blog.

Jodi is a collaborative creation by two net artists, Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans. Together, they have created original artwork via the Internet, using software art and computer game modifications as their main medium.

As predicted, Jodi faces  many questions and panicked responses from viewers of their net.art. Can it be sold? Is it political? But most importantly (at least for me) is the question, what is this “net.art”? The interview addresses these questions.

To answer the question whether this kind of art can be sold, Jodi simply answers by saying that whether art is “alternative”, “normal”, or “mainstream”, if it is a material (“be it on a computer screen, videotape, an etching, whatever,” Paesmans) that is good, then it can be sold.

To answer the two latter questions, we will have to actually see some of Jodi’s art to understand its vision. Different net artists focus on different aspects of Internet art. What Jodi in particular is play with the computer monitor’s output. They break down codes, games, etc. to its basic parts and recreate them to form art:

http://map.jodi.org/

(other works at the bottom of the post)

Jodi describes its work as a “collage” of reused elements or things found on the net, such as a virus. It deals with form and screens rather than content and order. Dirk Paesmans explains by differentiating magazines on the net with their work. Magazine designers on the Internet are concerned with which features should be put in Netscape, how to put two columns of text next to each other, and other technical “stuff”. He continues by describing how aspects that seem dysfunctional or useless are of importance to Jodi. Netscape 2.0 had a background that was capable of changing all the time. This was a plus for Jodi, who saw it as a potential to make movies with them. But, Netscape decided to take this out in version 3.0, thinking it was a bug. Jodi’s response is, “where is the bug?”. Paesman responds to this change: “I can’t see the bug here, it was just a free animation effect that was in there. It was threatening the stability of a certain type of lay out, it was disturbed too easily. So they took it out.” Jodi sees in glitches/viruses an aesthetic value and creates artwork from these unique features.

The interview also discusses the role (or lack thereof) in Jodi’s work. Hypertext is absolutely of no use to Jodi. They describe it as a “battle”. Instead of using works as links as in hypertext, Jodi uses simply what is in the computer or Netscape (collages of things that are found on the net). Because they do not use hypertext, Jodi finds solutions to have people navigate or “have the navigation happen as if by itself”. An example is creating “buttons that by clicking there you DO make a link. So you don’t have to invent a letter A, B, C….”

In terms of net.art becoming an institution or part of the artworld commerce, Jodi comments that the importance is not that they are in an “art.net context” or in a corner or a group. Each viewer has their “own little circuits” and each net.artists has their separate groups. Jodi believes that it is “artificial to keep people in a certain group, because in reality on the net this is not one group. It’s different sites.”

Additional examples of Jodi’s artwork:

http://sod.jodi.org/

http://asdfg.jodi.org/——————————-/——————————-/——————————-/———————–402vm981/vb661cc.html

http://text.jodi.org/

http://jetsetwilly.jodi.org/

http://wwwwwwwww.jodi.org/ (jodi’s first website)

There’s something very romantic about watching a story projected onto the wall in the darkness of night.  Like our cave dweller ancestors we like to huddle around the fire together.  There is safety in numbers.Galactic Tides by Night is an animated film that uses black typography on white, projected onto the side of a building and set to quirky jazz to tell a story.  It was very entertaining to watch the letters (words, phrases and sentences) shrink, blink  and swell to both narrative emphasis and the musical score.

The hero of the story is the poet/author(s) and he is utterly alone.   And at the mercy of US border guards who incarcerate him because they don’t believe he is telling the truth when he says that he makes his living as a poet.  He even shows them proof on his successful poet claim on his website.  After reading a poem, the guards are even less convinced.  Oh the irony!

The sense of humor is Kaufmanesque in that it puts a seemingly regular guy into an absurd world, bringing him to contemplate the wonders of the universe and his place in it — thus the reference to the “Galactic Tides” a real phenomena that involves going with the flow to which he is invited to jump to freedom.

This was my favorite piece of the night.  Funny, irreverent and clever.  The sensibility was oddly very Canadian in tone since it was created by a Korean and an American.