Sunday, August 31, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] Programming is a creative activity

(Before I continue, much if what I'll be sharing is my opinion, fed by thirty years of teaching computer science, and let's say about forty-five years of programming and working in the arts.)

Programming, in my very humble opinion, is both an art and a science. Yes, there is a mathematical logic to any computer program, but the act of writing a good, readable, comprehendable program is an act of creativity. Some have even dared compare it to creative writing, but I'll step around that idea for the present.

It's a true shame that software engineers have tried to make people believe that the development of computer programs can be automated, and that there is no creativity in the process. Funny, but it reminds me if the argument that music "written" by a computer program is not a work of art. But I say that the original program, and the subsequent music, are together a work of art, that there was a creative, artistic process at work that led to the program, which in turn created music.

When a programmer arrives at a new solution to an existing problem, we occassionally call it an elegant solution, if the method is not only novel, but well thought out, and shows a creative use of existing ideas. Elegant. A computer program can be elegant. Imagine that.

Then again, true science, not an engineering approximation, is a discipline that often leads to elegant, creative, artistic solutions to problems. But are not artists scientists as well? Are not potters material scientists? Are not composers physicists?

By the way, I have found that music majors often make the best programs. I wonder why?

William J. Joel, Computer Science
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[Yasmin_discussions] Please allow me to introduce myself

Greetings,

(As an invited respondant for September, Roger has asked me to briefly introduce myself, and share my interest in STEAM.)

My name is William Joel, and I'm a Professor of Computer Science at Western Connecticut State University, USA. I'm also the Director for the school's Graphics Research Group. At WestConn, my main focus is Digital Media, teaching such courses as Computer Animation and Digital Media, and participating in research projects with our students. Please note, we do not have graduate programs in Computer Science, so the students I work with are undergraduates. I'm also a member of SIGGRAPH's Education Committee, for which I direct the Undergraduate Research Alliance.

But what about STEAM? Well, many, many years ago, shortly after I began teaching, I also became a professional storyteller. This led to my realizing that teaching and storytelling had much in common. I continued to explore this theme in several papers I presented over the years. More recently, I have begun to delve further back into how we learn, and how story, not just storytelling, is an integral component in how we obtain and utilize knowledge. Of course, being a science professor, I immediately saw how this concept could improve STEM education (yes, no A yet). So, about two years ago, I began writing down my thoughts on this new expanded theme.

This Fall, I have a greatly reduced teaching load, such that I will have the time to turn these notes into a monograph, which I hope to see subsequently published. The main thesis of my work is that we acquire, and retain, new data, by connecting it with data we have already acquired. This acquired data, when combined with the connections amongst them, can be termed information, and the ability to apply this information transforms it into knowledge.

I term this set of information our internal "story", in that it is how we view and explain, to ourselves, the world we live lin. Whenever we share what we know with others, we create a linear traversal through this internal information network, creating what I term a "story instance". Our individual, internal story, is constantly in flux, but once created, a story instance is fixed. Story instances can be shared orally, via writing, image, etc. As such, my thesis emcompases a holistic view of education.

Now for the 'A'. If we assume that story instances can be conveyed visually as well as textually, then ART becomes a valid method of acquiring and sharing knowledge. STEM fields, not uniquely, can therefore benefit from the inclusion of Art, or rather, visual/auditory forms of communication. Thus, it makes perfectly good sense to expand STEM into STEAM. Otherwise, we are limiting the modes of communication/expression available to STEM education.

Hopefully the above helps you to get a sense of my current work.

Bill Joel
joelw@wcsu.edu
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[Yasmin_discussions] My Introduction

Greetings.

I was invited to respond to Roger Malina's call regarding STEAM,
specifically as it relates to my work. A little over a week ago, I
successfully defended my dissertation to earn a Ph.D. in Digital Media from
Georgia Tech. Recently, I started a new position and my primary role is to
lead the creation and implementation of a STEAM laboratory at Boston Arts
Academy (BAA) that is dedicated to interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

My research specifically addresses the ways in which creative individuals
and groups underrepresented in STEAM engage with these concepts through art
and digital media. For example, Grandmaster Flash who, according to Rayvon
Fouche (2006), re-created technology based on his own "personal aesthetics
as well as using scientific methods to develop his technique." A similar
approach was used by a teenage, self-taught engineer from Sierra Leone who
goes by the name of DJ Focus (Kelvin Doe).

In the film "Underwater Dreams," viewers learn about how immigrant Mexican
high school students from Arizona beat MIT in underwater robotics. During
the film, one of the former students refers to Chicano lowrider culture as
his inspiration. These and other examples counter the view that
historically marginalized groups are uninterested or disengaged in STEM.
These examples also provide us with opportunities to involve
underrepresented ethnic groups in STEM through culture and the arts.

The practice of hacking, tinkering, or making do with whatever is on hand
to create something new has been passed on to a new generation of artists
and practitioners who modify STEM to suit their interests. These practices
can inform teaching and learning in ways that are culturally responsive, or
as Geneva Gay (2000) notes, use the "cultural knowledge, prior experiences,
and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more
appropriate and effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths
of these students."

For more information about the BAA STEAM Lab:
http://bostonartsacademy.org/today-at-baa/new-steam-lab-coming-to-baa

For more information about my research:
http://www.slideshare.net/nettrice/technovernacular-creativity-innovation-learning-in-underrepresented-ethnic-communities-of-practice

Best,

~ Nettrice

--
*Nettrice R. Gaskins, PhD*
STEAM Lab Director
Boston Arts Academy
http://nettrice.ushttp://netarthud.wordpress.com
http://blog.art21.org/author/nettrice-gaskins
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[Yasmin_discussions] What does STEAM have to do with it ?

yasminers

We are pleased to start a Leonardo - YASMIN discussion about the
current hot topic of whether we need more scientists and engineers,
or whether we need different kinds of scientists and engineers that
have grounding in the arts, design and humanities.

My own interest in the topic comes from my own hybrid background both
in the sciences and the arts. My original
university degrees are in physics and astrophysics (the field where i
carried out scientific research) but for the
past 30 years I have been executive editor of the Leonardo
Publications at MIT Press and worked with many
colleagues in the arts and humanities. And now I just started a
art-science research lab where we both work
in technoscience research and create art works.

I feel that my career has been 'hybrid'= but for many years I had two
professional CV's - one
for my science work and one for my art field work; and for periods of
my life I was very focused on
one area to the exclusion of others

When we did last year the US National Science Foundation SEAD Study on
Enabling new forms of collaborations
between science, engineering with the arts, design and humanities,(
http://seadnetwork.wordpress.com/white-papers-report/ )
one of the things we discovered was that of the 200 people in the
study, 20% were hybrid in the restricted
sense that they had one university degree in science or engineering,
and one university degree in art/design or humanities =
with a broader idea of hybridity much of this YASMIN community of
practice maintains professional activities in both
the sciences and the arts- they are not marginal- but our institutions
marginalise them ( or only recognise one of their
areas of professional practice)

robert root bernstein in his studies of succesful scientists and
engineers- found clear that the most succesful
scientists and engineers had significant activities in the arts- and
they viewed this as part of their methodology
for scientific research not as a past time or hobby.
http://www.sunyacc.edu/events/presentation-macarthur-fellow-dr-robert-root-bernstein-arts-foster-scientific-success-and
His study of more than 200 biographies of high-level scientists found
a correlation between a deep practice of an art form
(as an avocation) and beneficial skills and problem-solving thought
processes needed for success in each subject's
specific area of scientific focus. His findings conclude that the more
successful the scientist, the more likely he or she
is to have one of more adult Arts and Crafts avocations... and some
people learn better drawing on hybrid learning
methodologies

Mass education over the last century has benefited society immensely=
but in many secondary schools and
universities individuals who are deeply hybrid with both interests in
the sciences and the arts , and or hybrid
in the way they learn, find it impossible to pursue their hybrid interests.

Not everyone is a hybrid- many people are deeply passionate about one
area of interest- all their
life or during part of their life ( during my phd in astronomy i
focused deeply and narrowly on astronomy).


So what does STEAM have to do with it ? unfortunately many programs
for training scientists, technologists,
engineers and mathematicians create un-surmountable choices for
hybrids- for me the STEM to STEAM
argument is a call to create pathways through educational and
professional systems so that individuals
with professional activities in both the STEM and in the Arts, Design
or Humanities can thrive= and the hope
is that these pathways will include more diverse types of students

roger malina

our other invited discussants are listed below and will make opening
statements-but we welcome
discussion from all YASMINERS

Discussants will include:

Nettrice Gaskins: Who is launching a STEAM Lab in an urban art school
in Boston and led the National Science Foundation funded project on
Culturally Situated STEM
http://dm.lcc.gatech.edu/~ngaskins3/NSF_Workshop_2014/index.html
Her web site is at : http://www.nettrice.us/

Celia Pearce: who is a game designer, author, researcher, teacher,
curator and artist, specializing in multiplayer gaming and virtual
worlds, independent, art, and alternative game genres, as well as
games and gender her web site is at: http://cpandfriends.com/

William Joel: Dr. Joel received his PhD in Computer & Information
Sciences from Syracuse University in 1995. Currently he is Professor
of Computer Science at Western Connecticut State University, and
Director for their Graphics Research Group.
(http://cs.wcsu.edu/joelw/)



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[Yasmin_discussions] Fwd: for Yasmin re-collection

yasminers

we are about to begin our discussion on
What does STEAM have to do with it

but johannes goebbel sends us a final though on
our discussion with job ippolito and rick rinehart
on re-collection and conservation of new media art

roger


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Goebel, Johannes <goebej@rpi.edu>
Date: Sun, Aug 31, 2014 at 7:30 AM
Subject: for Yasmin
To: roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu>


Dear Yasminers,

Adding a couple of pointers to the discussion of authorship of
"technicians" (allow me to put that in quotes"). I am writing
currently a longer text for our production and curatorial teams at
EMPAC on these questions – not only form the point of view of the
individual as contributor or contributing/collaborating author, but
also from the point of view of the institution. If you are employed by
an institution (as opposed to be an artist who may get a commission)
like a university (or museum), you are a co-author, but your work
(contribution) belongs legally speaking to the institution ("work for
hire"). But that is yet another question.

FILM
The way film credits are handled should be a guide-line for all time-based arts.


MUSIC

Since the recording systems in the fifties allowed the role of
sound-engineers to become a major shaping agent in music, the issue
how these main forces in creating a "sound" are credited (be it in
pop/rock music or in classical music – they have had an equal
influence on the final music). Are they "technicians" - are they not
"interpreters"/"artists" as much as the musicians? What about the role
of the producer (different role in music than in film)? Yes, they
are. How are they credited?


Music with live-electronics has a long tradition of dealing with the
question of disappearing technology and the port from analog to to
digital – and then from one generation of digital environment to the
next. There are two categories: Performing artists (and sometimes
composers) who keep a composition with electronics alive as part of
their performance praxis. And then institutions – where the
institutions decide which piece/compser is worth being ported.

A major undertaking was with the live-electronic works of Luigi Nono
(may be known to some on this list - "famous", "big name" - great
music). He had done his live electronic works with the then analog
equipment of the Experimentalstudio Freiburg at the South-West German
Radiostation. The Experimentalstudio was the largest studio for music
with live-electronics in the analog age – and is still a major force
having switched to digital technology.

It was a major, major initiative by the Experimentalstudio to document
the eletronics how they were used in Nono's pieces. Not only to
describe the "patches" and technology used, but to actually annotate
the scores with all details what had to be "manipulated" during a
performance at which point in time. This was started while the
founding director of the studio and the first generation of
technicians – who had all performed the pieces many times - were
still around.

The switch of the very expansive analog equipment to the digital
world, was a painful process – but eventually successful.

I do not know how IRCAM in Paris is managing the situation of porting
music from one digital generation to the next. The works by Pierre
Boulez come to mind which certainly will be maintained as flag-ships
of IRCAM.

Just to mention two institutional examples of time-based arts in the
much more contained area of music.

Johannes

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Saturday, August 30, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] Upcoming YASMIN Discussions on STEAM in September and Art, Science and the Supernatural in October

Yasminers

We are pleased to announce two forthcoming YASMIN discussions:

During September: What does STEAM have to do with it ?
around the current hot topic of whether we need more scientists and
engineers, or whether we need different kinds of scientists and
engineers that have grounding in the arts, design and humanities.
Invited Respondents Nettrice Gaskins, Celia Pierce and William
Joel.(details below)

During October: led by Stephen Nowlin on the "elephant-in-the-room"
topic of the "supernatural" as a concept, as it relates to science, to
pseudo-science, and to the pairing of art with science. invited
respondents to include
Andres Collazo, Director, Beckman Institute Biological Imaging Center
California Institute of Technology
Daniel Lewis, Chief Curator of Manuscripts (History of Science,
Medicine, and Technology)
Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens
oseph Klein, Distinguished Teaching ProfessorChair, Division of
Composition StudiesUniversity of North Texas College of Music..others
to be announced

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Here are the details of the What does STEAM have to do with it topic
and we welcome your comments and thoughts
(please send your comments to the YASMIN discussion list NOT to the
YASMIN announcements list)

Roger Malina


Announcing a Leonardo-Yasmin Discussion: WHAT DOES STEAM HAVE TO DO WITH IT ?

Is too much STEM or the wrong STEM a bad thing ?

We are pleased to announce a Leonardo - YASMIN discussion about the
current hot topic of whether we need more scientists and engineers, or
whether we need different kinds of scientists and engineers that have
grounding in the arts, design and humanities. The discussion will be
conducted during September 2014 with a number of invited respondents.

Many professionals are arguing that government and funding agencies
need to increase funding and recruit more young people into careers in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
But after decades of STEM funding= the result is that only 17% of
engineers in the USA are women, and the statistics for inclusion of
ethnic and other minories in western countries are also dismal. It is
particularly problematical in the computer sciences and engineering,
but professionals are more diverse in the biological and life
sciences.

And in the USA 70 % of students in the USA who get a degree in a STEM
field- do not work in STEM professions - why are STEM careers so
unattractive that most students who get a degree do not go on to work
in STEM fields ?:

These statistics can be found in the recent US Census Bureau on STEM :
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/employment_occupations/cb14-130.html

In recent years there has been a movement of STEM TO STEAM- or
integrating the arts, design and humanities - into STEM teaching. I
recently wrote a discussion that highlights some of the issues:
http://leonardo.info/reviews/aug2014/malina-STEM.php

One of the arguments of STEM to STEAM is that STEM needs fundamental
rethinking- with one argument that many STEM careers are now in the
arts, design and entertainment,and more broadly the creative
industries; secondly that STEAM approaches are more succesful at
interesting more diverse students

Discussants will include:

Roger Malina, Art-Science Researcher and Executive Editor of the
Leonardo Publications at MIT Press: http://malina.diatrope.com/

Nettrice Gaskins: Who is launching a STEAM Lab in an urban art school
in Boston and led the National Science Foundation funded project on
Culturally Situated STEM
http://dm.lcc.gatech.edu/~ngaskins3/NSF_Workshop_2014/index.html
Her web site is at : http://www.nettrice.us/

Celia Pearce: who is a game designer, author, researcher, teacher,
curator and artist, specializing in multiplayer gaming and virtual
worlds, independent, art, and alternative game genres, as well as
games and gender her web site is at: http://cpandfriends.com/

William Joel: Dr. Joel received his PhD in Computer & Information
Sciences from Syracuse University in 1995. Currently he is Professor
of Computer Science at Western Connecticut State University, and
Director for their Graphics Research Group.
(http://cs.wcsu.edu/joelw/)

You can follow YASMIN discussions at: http://yasminlist.blogspot.com/

You can join the discussion at:
http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions

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Monday, August 25, 2014

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Your Yasmin moderator this week

Hi Roger,

At the risk of railroading this new Yasmin discussion immediately into a single issue, here are two news articles from this week on the gender dynamics of STE(A)M:

"Computing's Narrow Focus May Hinder Women's Participation"
http://cacm.acm.org/news/177843-computings-narrow-focus-may-hinder-womens-participation/fulltext

"Among Gamers, Adult Women Vastly Outnumber Teenage Boys"
http://games.slashdot.org/story/14/08/24/0328203/among-gamers-adult-women-vastly-outnumber-teenage-boys

The undercurrent of both articles (and the sexist comments that accompany them) is a distinction between "hard-core" STEM and the more contextual/creative/casual use of computers. The ACM article goes so far as to blame the retreat of women from computer science on the rise of personal computers. That strikes me like blaming cars on the declining interest in railroads.

If women are already using computation in fields such as biology or anthropology, do we need to worry that they aren't well represented in Computer Science degrees or the ranks of Google engineers? Should our definition of STEM flex to accommodate Candy Crush and Pinterest as well as Call of Duty and Python? How might society benefit from an expanded definition of what constitutes a technological contribution to society?

jon

On Aug 25, 2014, at 1:41 PM, roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu> wrote:

> Dear Yasminers
>
> This is Roger Malina in Dallas at the moment, your YASMIN moderator
> this week. If any of you are in Paris
> on Friday September 12- I will be presenting at the Google Cultural Center.
>
> During this week we will start a moderated discussion on the YASMIN
> discussion list
> around:
>
> What does STEAM have to do with it ?
>
> exploring some inflammatory discussions such as Is too much STEM or
> the Wrong STEM a bad thing ?
>
> the discussion will engage with the current hot topic of whether we
> need more scientists and engineers: many professionals are arguing
> that government and funding agencies need to increase funding and
> recruit more young people into careers in Science, Technology,
> Engineering and Math (STEM).
>
> But after decades of STEM funding= the result is that only 17% of
> engineers are women, and the statistics for inclusion of ethnic and
> other minorities in western countries are also dismal.
>
> And in the us 70 % of students in the USA who get a degree in a STEM
> field- do not work in STEM professions- why are STEM careers so
> unattractive that most students who get a degree don't work in STEM
> fields ?
>
> In recent years there has been a movement of STEM TO STEAM- or
> integrating the arts, design and humanities - into STEM teaching. I
> recently wrote a discussion that highlights some of the issues:
>
> http://leonardo.info/reviews/aug2014/malina-STEM.php
>
> One of the arguments of STEM to STEAM is that STEM needs fundamental
> rethinking- with the additional argument that many STEM careers are
> now in the arts, design and entertainment, and that STEAM approaches
> are more successful at interesting more diverse students.
>
> Invited Discussants will include: Roger Malina, Nettrice Gaskins:
> Celia Pearce, William Joel
>
>
>
> We are also currently working with Stephen Nowlin who is developing a
> new YASMIN discussion topic
>
> Announcing A Yasmin Discussion: The Problem of the Supernatural: With
> What Science Does Art Pair?
>
> Looking at the way that art-science practice engages with beliefs in
> the supernatural.
>
> Roger Malina
> _______________________________________________
> Yasmin_discussions mailing list
> Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
> http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
>
> Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
>
> SBSCRIBE: click on the link to the list you wish to subscribe to. In the page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and password in the fields found further down the page.
> HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: on the info page, scroll all the way down and enter your e-mail address in the last field. Enter password if asked. Click on the unsubscribe button on the page that will appear ("options page").
> TO ENABLE / DISABLE DIGEST MODE: in the options page, find the "Set Digest Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
> If you prefer to read the posts on a blog go to http://yasminlist.blogspot.com/


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[Yasmin_discussions] Your Yasmin moderator this week

Dear Yasminers

This is Roger Malina in Dallas at the moment, your YASMIN moderator
this week. If any of you are in Paris
on Friday September 12- I will be presenting at the Google Cultural Center.

During this week we will start a moderated discussion on the YASMIN
discussion list
around:

What does STEAM have to do with it ?

exploring some inflammatory discussions such as Is too much STEM or
the Wrong STEM a bad thing ?

the discussion will engage with the current hot topic of whether we
need more scientists and engineers: many professionals are arguing
that government and funding agencies need to increase funding and
recruit more young people into careers in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math (STEM).

But after decades of STEM funding= the result is that only 17% of
engineers are women, and the statistics for inclusion of ethnic and
other minorities in western countries are also dismal.

And in the us 70 % of students in the USA who get a degree in a STEM
field- do not work in STEM professions- why are STEM careers so
unattractive that most students who get a degree don't work in STEM
fields ?

In recent years there has been a movement of STEM TO STEAM- or
integrating the arts, design and humanities - into STEM teaching. I
recently wrote a discussion that highlights some of the issues:

http://leonardo.info/reviews/aug2014/malina-STEM.php

One of the arguments of STEM to STEAM is that STEM needs fundamental
rethinking- with the additional argument that many STEM careers are
now in the arts, design and entertainment, and that STEAM approaches
are more successful at interesting more diverse students.

Invited Discussants will include: Roger Malina, Nettrice Gaskins:
Celia Pearce, William Joel



We are also currently working with Stephen Nowlin who is developing a
new YASMIN discussion topic

Announcing A Yasmin Discussion: The Problem of the Supernatural: With
What Science Does Art Pair?

Looking at the way that art-science practice engages with beliefs in
the supernatural.

Roger Malina
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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] ART, NEW MEDIA, AND SOCIAL MEMORY

Hello Yasminers,

ART, NEW MEDIA, AND SOCIAL MEMORY
was one of the liveliest Yasmin discussions
with nearly hundred feedback contributions from
dozens of people discussing early technologies
preservation, collecting. etc., etc.,

It would be great and might be useful to summarize
some of these separate threads perhaps with the i
incorporation of some earlier recorded surveys,
reviews (CRUMB etc.,). Such a compilation compliments
Roger's initiative on the roles of key technicians in
pioneering art and technology work

nina



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Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Loose ends

Hi all,

Here are some quick responses to posts from the past month. I apologize that the impending academic year makes it difficult to reply to every thread--there have been enough issues raised to warrant writing a sequel to our book ("Re-re-collection?").

* Other books

We would be remiss without citing some of the other books to come out recently, especially those that tackle issues of new media preservation. I think Rick already mentioned the Blackwell "Companion to Digital Art" that Christiane Paul is editing; Beryl Graham's Ashgate anthology "New Collecting" includes chapters by Pip Laurenson and Caitlin Jones on conservation; and Bloomsbury's "Digital Arts" by Cat Hope and John Ryan, written as a textbook, includes a sophisticated discussion of variable media preservation.

* Google and memory

I mentioned Bronac's comments about Google's erasure of history in its "DevArt" sponsorship to net artist Eryk Salvaggio. Apparently Eryk is writing a piece for Rhizome about the uncanny images that result when the Google Art Project robot catches sight of itself in a mirror. (God knows why they dressed it up like a Dalek in drag.)

* Variable Media Questionnaire and Digital Curation

I would love for some of the artists who have contributed their thoughts on the future of their work to this Yasmin discussion to record those perspectives on the Variable Media Questionnaire for posterity:

http://variablemediaquestionnaire.net

You can do this directly, or if you prefer an interlocutor (usually more fun!) email me and I'll give your contact info to the grad students in my Digital Curation class, who have the option to interview artists for our preservation class:

http://DigitalCuration.UMaine.edu

* New documentation tools

I'm glad to learn from Christiane and Clarisse Bardiot about two new tools for documenting the creation and exhibition of new media art, Botaniq and Rekall. I will add them to the list of software for my students to review.

* Big thanks to Roger!

Finally, I want to give Roger a huge thank you for organizing this forum and bringing so many important voices out of the woodwork, including key historical figures whose views on preservation I'd never read but hope will live on in ThoughtMesh and other archives.

Enjoy what's left of August, everyone!

jon
______________________________
Re-collection: Art, New Media, and Social Memory
http://re-collection.net/
"Read it if you want to prevail"--Bruce Sterling


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Saturday, August 16, 2014

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Re-Collection

Yasminers,

While this comment might avoid the primary issues, it could be that
even the vaguest evidence of works---including periods marked by an
absence of form---will stimulate imaginative responses through
speculation about what the indications are, once were, or might have
been.

Thanks,

Robert Thill

On 8/17/14, roger malina <rmalina@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> Yasminers
>
> we are concluding our discussion with Rick Rinehart and Jon Ippolito
> around their book Re-Collection
>
> Re-collection Art, New Media, and Social Memory
>
> http://re-collection.net/
>
> we would welcome any final comments this weekend-
>
> clearly this is the beginning of the story- current archiving and
> restoration
> practices for non digital media have evolved over the centuries with past
> practices now considered un acceptable= and many older museums have closed
> and their collections dispersed
>
> the internet archive
> https://archive.org/index.php )
>
> functions on the basis of donations as they could not keep up with the
> volume-they
> state
> The Internet Archive was founded to build an Internet library. Its
> purposes include offering permanent access for researchers,
> historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public
> to historical collections that exist in digital format.
>
> .... Archive has been receiving data donations fromAlexa Internet and
> others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more
> well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes: texts,
> audio, moving images, and softwareas well as archived web pages in our
> collections, and provides specialized services for adaptive reading
> and information access for the blind and other persons with
> disabilities.
>
> Cloud storage is in the hands of commercial companies that make no
> commitment to archival storage
>
> i think i mentioned the work of a colleague expert in Mesopotamian
> clay tablets.. christine proust
>
> http://isaw.nyu.edu/people/alumni/2009-2010/christine-proust
>
> i remember in a talk she gave that many clay tablets were rescued
> because they were re used
> as building materials in the admin buildings of mesopotamia- there are
> millions of them now
> being dug out of clay walls= including exercises by students in their
> class work and the
> dissemination of new syllabi by the central educational
> administration= and no doubt also
> sketches by art students of the time
>
> too bad you cant recycle digital media into something useful that will
> last centuries
>
> roger malina
> _______________________________________________
> Yasmin_discussions mailing list
> Yasmin_discussions@estia.media.uoa.gr
> http://estia.media.uoa.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions
>
> Yasmin URL: http://www.media.uoa.gr/yasmin
>
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> page that will appear ("info page"), enter e-mail address, name, and
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> Mode" option and set it to either on or off.
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> http://yasminlist.blogspot.com/
>
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[Yasmin_discussions] Re-Collection

Yasminers

we are concluding our discussion with Rick Rinehart and Jon Ippolito
around their book Re-Collection

Re-collection Art, New Media, and Social Memory

http://re-collection.net/

we would welcome any final comments this weekend-

clearly this is the beginning of the story- current archiving and restoration
practices for non digital media have evolved over the centuries with past
practices now considered un acceptable= and many older museums have closed
and their collections dispersed

the internet archive
https://archive.org/index.php )

functions on the basis of donations as they could not keep up with the
volume-they
state
The Internet Archive was founded to build an Internet library. Its
purposes include offering permanent access for researchers,
historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public
to historical collections that exist in digital format.

.... Archive has been receiving data donations fromAlexa Internet and
others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more
well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes: texts,
audio, moving images, and softwareas well as archived web pages in our
collections, and provides specialized services for adaptive reading
and information access for the blind and other persons with
disabilities.

Cloud storage is in the hands of commercial companies that make no
commitment to archival storage

i think i mentioned the work of a colleague expert in Mesopotamian
clay tablets.. christine proust

http://isaw.nyu.edu/people/alumni/2009-2010/christine-proust

i remember in a talk she gave that many clay tablets were rescued
because they were re used
as building materials in the admin buildings of mesopotamia- there are
millions of them now
being dug out of clay walls= including exercises by students in their
class work and the
dissemination of new syllabi by the central educational
administration= and no doubt also
sketches by art students of the time

too bad you cant recycle digital media into something useful that will
last centuries

roger malina
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Friday, August 15, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] Fwd: [Yasmin: STEM - STEAM and satellite

yasminers

we are calling for final comments on the re-collection
discussion

next week we will start a discussion around stem to steam
here is a pre view of the kinds of topics

roger malina


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Annick2 <abureaud@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Aug 14, 2014 at 4:10 PM
Subject: [Yasmin: STEM - STEAM and satellite
To: Yasmin <yasmin_announcements@estia.media.uoa.gr>


Dear Yasminers,

Recently Roger mentionned the STEAM/STEAM issue and calling for a
discussion on this list.

I don't know if mixed curriculum can be built and how they could be
sustainable in the long term, that is survived what a teacher or a
team has explored at a certain time in a certain environment.

But there are beautiful case studies like the Japanese ARTSAT project
that saw a team of over 70 people, from 2 universities (Tama Art
University and Tokyo University), one leading on the art, the other on
the science and engineering, with teachers and students, with artists,
musicians, engineers, scientists, and much more (support from JAXA,
the Japanese Space Agency, companies, and the whole network of radio
ham, etc.)
build an art satellite ARTSAT:INVADER that has been launched in
February and will deorbit any time soon.

The same group is finishing a Deep Space sculpture ARTSAT: DESPATCH to
be launched in December, a 3D printed spiral shape.

The INVADER project is currently part of a group show at the
MOT/Museum of Contemporary Art of Tokyo.

Project web site :
http://artsat.jp/en/about

Facebook page of the project :
https://www.facebook.com/artsat

This is one example of art/science collaborations, where the same
"object" has different goals. There are many more, specially around
satellites at the moment (or may be I see them because I am currently
researching art satellites).
Could this be a model ? Or just a project or two that cannot be
repeated ? Or should curricula be "project-based" with different
projects along the years ?

Annick
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] re-collection: Vasulka Archives

Dear Richard,
Thanks for updating me with info about Steina and Woody Vasulka.   In Nov.-Dec. 1987,  my "Computer Angels" and the Vasulka's "The West" were the two exhibition filling the Fine Arts Center Art Gallery at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  We also shared a catalog.  At the time, I was head of the art department at Pratt and adjust professor of computer graphics at SUNY Stony Brook.  I was also happy to spend time with the Vasulkas at ZKM Karlsruhe about ten years ago when I lectured there.  We're mutual friends of ZKM professor Michael Bielicky.

Best wishes for the success of you project.
Mel 

Professor Mel Alexenberg
Author of The Future of Art in a Postdigital Age: From Hellenistic to Hebraic Consciousness and Educating Artists for the Future: Learning at the Intersections of Art, Science, Technology, and Culture (both published by Intellect Books/University of Chicago Press) and in Hebrew: Dialogic Art in a Digital World: Judaism and Contemporary Art.
Former art professor, Columbia University, head of the art department, Pratt Institute, research fellow, MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and professor at universities and art colleges in Israel
melalexenberg@yahoo.com, http://www.melalexenberg.com


On Monday, August 11, 2014 1:07 AM, Richard Lowenberg <rl@1st-mile.org> wrote:

>
>
>Thanks everyone for this very informative and important discussion.    It resonates with very real current involvements of mine, which I'll describe below.   
>
>By way of personal introduction:  I've been on a creative path since the mid-sixties, variously exploring our emergent 'information society', along the way having been a student helper at Nine Evenings, being one of the Kitchen's founding team in '71, initiating numerous arts-sciences collaborations, deploying early analog, digital and photonic media and tools, setting examples for open telecom. infrastructure and services at community, state and national scales, all within an integrated ecological context.      www.1st-mile.org   
  www.radlab.com   
>
>I have recently stepped into helping facilitate and realize the Vasulka (Steina and Woody) Archives.  Jon will recall a past effort to use MARCEL for Vasulka archiving.  Their work was also 'archived' by the Daniel Langois Foundation in an earlier iteration.    www.vasulka.org        www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=422
>
>There are a number of elements now converging to make the Vasulka Archives and some major upcoming London/Paris shows, a publication series and more, likely realities (and much work).
>
>The Brakhage Center at UC Boulder, by agreement, will now be the primary Vasulka Archive location and online node in the US.  The National Gallery of Art, (building the new Vasulka Chamber, to open in Oct.) in Reykjavik, Iceland, will also create a
Vasulka Archive, along  with nodes in Brno, CZ and Santa Fe, NM (home to the Vasulkas since 1980).    Much has already been done.  What seems most interesting to me (having known Woody and Steina since 1969), is the larger 'electronic media arts ecoystem' represented in their life's work and creative associations, from the '60s to the present.  Representing, linking to and providing long-term access to this dynamic 'electronic media arts ecosystem' is intended be a major aspect of the Vasulka archiving effort.
>
>In terms of the means of preservation and archiving, Woody's work especially, requires understandings not just of various video tape formats, photographs, and documents, but of 'old code' and one-of-a-kind machines, which want to live on.    My sense is that the Vasulka Archives could and should serve as a testbed for 'best practices' in preservation, archiving,
searchability, open public access, learning, international cultural support and exchange.
>
>One other note:  I am Board President of the annual CURRENTS: Santa Fe International New Media Festival.    http://currentsnewmedia.org/   
>I am now considering the likelihood and worth of working to arrange/host an "Old & New Media Preservation" working meeting and public forum, to be held as part of CURRENTS, June 2015.    If the idea, place and time seem right, I'd greatly appreciate, ideas, involvements and recommendations, so as to use this opportunity to move the field, current efforts and required funding forward.
>
>Much more to discuss about the devil in the details, if folks are interested, on or off this list.
>All creative best,
>Richard
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
>1st-Mile Institute          www.1st-mile.org 
>P. O.  Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM    87504
>505-603-5200                rl@1st-mile.org
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] wrapping up re-collecting and new STEAM discussion topic next week

Yasminers

we are wrapping up this week the discussion with rick ippolito and rick
rinehart around conservation and restoration of new media art triggered
by their book

http://re-collection.net/

let me encourage yasminers to inject final comments - Jon
is going to be transferring all the posts to thoughtmesh

the discussion has triggered proposals for some meetings between
experts on the topic

PROPOSED NEW DISCUSSION

we are thinking to organise the next yasmin discussion around the
stem to steam debate that is very hot in the USA right now=

STEM is the trainig of professionals in science, engineering,
technology and math

the current controversies surrounds dealing with the issue of claimed
shortage of trained scientists and
engineers, but also the problems of gender and cultural diversity
among scientists and engineers ( see for instance the recent US
census report on STEM (
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/employment_occupations/cb14-130.html
)
there are striking statistics like : Approximately 14 percent of
engineers were women
and
74 percent of those who have a bachelor's degree in science,
technology, engineering and math —
commonly referred to as STEM — are not employed in STEM occupations

something is very vvrong about the way we train scientists and
engineers- and part of the problem
is perhaps the artificial segregation of scientists and engineers from
professionals in the arts, design
and humanities

- i just wrote a review around the issue which is available at:

http://leonardo.info/reviews/aug2014/malina-STEM.php

we have just spent several weeks on YASMIN discussing the archiving
and restoration of new media art- the pioneers
in technological art were instrumental in the developing of whole
industries of art and technology
in entertainment gaming, but also social media, cultural industries
more broadly- and we are perhaps guilty ourselves of ghettoizing
their contributions in the art world rather than looking at the
broader cultural impact that work in
art, science and technology has had

anyway-we would be interested in knowing if yasmisers would be
interested in discussing the STEM to STEAM
topic

if you would be interested in being an invited responded please drop
me an email to rmalina@alum.mit.edu

roger malina

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Monday, August 11, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] games in the museum

yasminers

for those of you not on the CRUMB list
From: Curating digital art - www.crumbweb.org
To: NEW-MEDIA-CURATING@JISCMAIL.AC.UK
Subject: NEW-MEDIA-CURATING Digest - 5 Aug 2014 to 6 Aug 2014 (#2014-128)

there is a discussion on 'Games in the Museum' at the moment which is discussing
many of the specific conservation and restoration issues
--
Roger F Malina
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Re: [Yasmin_discussions] Keeping works

In a July 12 message to this list, I applauded Frieder Nake's idea to create diagrams to help other recode his early computer art. In the same message, however, I mentioned Jeff Rothenberg's skepticism about developing a generalizable abstract language for representing code, given the idiosyncrasies of computer languages and hardware.

I just caught wind of the Wyvern project out of CMU, which attempts to be a "polyglot" language that can detect which language software is written in at any given point and execute the appropriate instructions:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/new-nsa-funded-programming-language-is-all-programming-languages-in-one

Despite the fanfare, Wyvern seems to me less a generalized abstraction than a yoking together of disparate languages. Despite its NSA funding in the name of security, this hodgepodge will likely multiply potential failure points rather than reduce them. I fail to see how Wyvern like any chimera, will turn out to be anything more than a fantasy.

So let's hear it for diagrams :)

jon
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Re: [Yasmin_discussions] re-collection: Vasulka Archives

Thanks everyone for this very informative and important discussion. It resonates with very real current involvements of mine, which I'll describe below.

By way of personal introduction: I've been on a creative path since the mid-sixties, variously exploring our emergent 'information society', along the way having been a student helper at Nine Evenings, being one of the Kitchen's founding team in '71, initiating numerous arts-sciences collaborations, deploying early analog, digital and photonic media and tools, setting examples for open telecom. infrastructure and services at community, state and national scales, all within an integrated ecological context. www.1st-mile.org www.radlab.com

I have recently stepped into helping facilitate and realize the Vasulka (Steina and Woody) Archives. Jon will recall a past effort to use MARCEL for Vasulka archiving. Their work was also 'archived' by the Daniel Langois Foundation in an earlier iteration. www.vasulka.org www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=422

There are a number of elements now converging to make the Vasulka Archives and some major upcoming London/Paris shows, a publication series and more, likely realities (and much work).

The Brakhage Center at UC Boulder, by agreement, will now be the primary Vasulka Archive location and online node in the US. The National Gallery of Art, (building the new Vasulka Chamber, to open in Oct.) in Reykjavik, Iceland, will also create a Vasulka Archive, along with nodes in Brno, CZ and Santa Fe, NM (home to the Vasulkas since 1980). Much has already been done. What seems most interesting to me (having known Woody and Steina since 1969), is the larger 'electronic media arts ecoystem' represented in their life's work and creative associations, from the '60s to the present. Representing, linking to and providing long-term access to this dynamic 'electronic media arts ecosystem' is intended be a major aspect of the Vasulka archiving effort.

In terms of the means of preservation and archiving, Woody's work especially, requires understandings not just of various video tape formats, photographs, and documents, but of 'old code' and one-of-a-kind machines, which want to live on. My sense is that the Vasulka Archives could and should serve as a testbed for 'best practices' in preservation, archiving, searchability, open public access, learning, international cultural support and exchange.

One other note: I am Board President of the annual CURRENTS: Santa Fe International New Media Festival. http://currentsnewmedia.org
I am now considering the likelihood and worth of working to arrange/host an "Old & New Media Preservation" working meeting and public forum, to be held as part of CURRENTS, June 2015. If the idea, place and time seem right, I'd greatly appreciate, ideas, involvements and recommendations, so as to use this opportunity to move the field, current efforts and required funding forward.

Much more to discuss about the devil in the details, if folks are interested, on or off this list.
All creative best,
Richard

---------------------------------------------------------
Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute www.1st-mile.org
P. O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-603-5200 rl@1st-mile.org
---------------------------------------------------------


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[Yasmin_discussions] Role of Google in terms of memory and preservation

Dear All

Bearing in mind this discussion, I thought it may be worth sharing a
response to the Barbican's digital revolution show from some artists and
designers. The Discuss section is particularly interesting.

One main point being made by the very talented Matthew Plummer Fernandez
is that they (the artists) were initially prompted to devise this
counter 'protest' because of the dehistorical nature of the Google call
which omits acknowledgement of a long history of work.

http://hacktheartworld.com/discus.html

A mainstream review which also makes the point about erasure of memory
is worth a glance:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-reviews/10935600/Digital-Revolution-Barbican-Centre-review-gimmicky.html


This is not just a London thing. My understanding is that the Barbican
show is due to tour for five years presumably to N America and beyond so
how it will be viewed and perceived elsewhere is also worth considering.


Perhaps the role of Google in relation to memory and preservation issues
needs to be looked at further within this stimulating Yasmin discussion.


best

B

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Saturday, August 9, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] Fwd: Re-collection and Andy Warhol's digital art

Hi all,

It's been great to get feedback this summer from this list on ideas
from the new book Re-collection (http://re-collection.net). We've
heard from many pioneers of digital and variable media art as well as
some younger people in the field. I hope we can compile some of these
responses in both printed and online form for the benefit of future
artists and historians.

Roger mentions ThoughtMesh (http://thoughtmesh.net) as a possible
vehicle for the latter:

if you are not familiar with thoughtmesh i recommend you take
a look-its an interesting text networking system that Jon Ippolito
started
ThoughtMesh generates tags to connect scholarly essays published on
different Web sites.


As one example, I just used ThoughtMesh to publish an essay on the
remarkable forensic recovery of Andy Warhol's lost "paintings" for the
Amiga, thanks to Cory Arcangel and a dedicated crew at CMU including
artist Golan Levin and members of the CMU Computer Club:

"Go Forth and Multiply"
http://three.org/ippolito/writing/go_forth_and_multiply

It's a great story about how the persistence of one zealous fan ended
up unearthing an entirely hidden side of one of the most talked-about
artists of our age.

Although I found out about the Warhol trove too late to include an
analysis in the book, my essay above argues that the discovery
exemplifies several trends identified in Re-collection. These include
legal obstacles to access, proliferation as preservation, and the
critical role of so-called amateurs in digital conservation.

Note that even though the piece is hosted on my personal website, it
still links to other essays, thanks to coding magic from ThoughtMesh
co-creators Craig Dietrich and John Bell. For example, if you click on
"law" in the tag cloud, you get excerpts from my essay; but if you
then click on the "excerpts out" tab, you get links to related
passages by folks from legal scholars like Wendy Seltzer to
anthropologists like Robin Boast.

ThoughtMesh is a free service. If you have any interest in using it as
a platform to publish your own work, I'm happy to help!

jon
______________________________
It's not too late to catch up to the 21st century
Digital Curation online certificate
http://DigitalCuration.UMaine.edu
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Thursday, August 7, 2014

[Yasmin_discussions] Fwd: Fwd: Dragan critique on Yasmin?

Dragan, Yasminers,

I'd like to join Jon in replying to your insightful critique, but
focus here on the "Open Museum" part (with apologies to anyone who has
not yet read the book - I'll try to keep my replies as general as
possible.)

One of the cases I make in the book is that, in order to figure out
how to change our institutions to serve us better, we must acknowledge
historic forces that are still at work, but are now taken as base
assumptions and so become invisible. These forces are not all
malevolent either; some are positive forces which can be fanned into
flame. To wit, museums are indeed at their core utopian; the public
museum, specifically, is part of the Modernist utopian vision of the
"betterment" of all people through culture and knowledge. Yes, I'm
aware of how that dream plays out in reality and museums are as
elitist as they are enlightening, but what functions serve which end
is what we must sort.

Museums can and have evolved in response to changes in society. For
instance, in the 19th century they became, by default, public
institutions and in the 20th century their primary curatorial function
rightfully ceded some ground to their new emphasis on education (and
the rise of the museum educator, programs, etc.) In the 21st century I
have not seen the dream of an Open museum move further away; consider
that public access to collections data used to be all but
non-existant, but with the advent of the web, nearly every museum with
a collection is working on providing networked access to that data.
This is not a new form for previous access; this is a new kind of
openness. Similarly, public programs that were previously trapped in
the ephemera of moment and geography are now often accessible through
online video on a qualitatively different scale.

I agree that museums still must do better at re-thinking their role in
a networked age, though I'm not actually arguing that they get ahead
of the game (art museums, for instance, should follow where artists
lead), but I do argue that they (we) should not lag quite so far
behind. For instance, every museum innovation I propose in the Open
Museums chapter is not new to society, only new to museums, and that's
why there are so many precedents to cite (creative commons, etc.) and
extant tools for museums to adopt (ccMixter software.)

I also agree with, and am familiar with the problem you cite with one
idea in particular - that instead of selling one copy of a digital
artwork as a "unique" instance for a high price, that they might sell
multiple copies for lower price. My dubious claim to fame is that I
was perhaps the first net.artist to sell a work of digital art on eBay
(http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/07/cyber/artsatlarge/08artsatlarge.html)
but I sold only one copy - for $52. But the losing bidder was the
Walker Art Center....What If?? Then again, a web post recently sold
for $90k (http://recode.net/2014/08/02/this-post-is-art-framed-4chan-post-sells-for-90900-on-ebay/)
so perhaps I was too far ahead of the game :) But, seriously, your
point about new media artists being led to traditional (sellable)
mediums is well taken and something I address in a chapter for a
forthcoming book that Christiane Paul is editing for Blackwell (OK,
OK, that was a bit of a punt.)

My point with all this, and the chapter in question, is that museums
still can and should be part of the solution in preserving new media
art; that new forms of openness are necessary for them to do that;
that the suggestions in the chapter would put them a little closer to
the game than they are now; and that it's not off-mission for them to
implement these - in fact it's back to their core mission and values,
just updating their methods for the 21st century. On a practical
level, museums are already in this game, trying to preserve this art,
so let them do it well. And, collectively, they command huge resources
that we would all do well to tap in our collective efforts. Lastly,
what's the alternative? I don't ask that rhetorically. I think that we
should conduct the thought-experiments and real world tests that don't
involve museums and we should simultaneously work to change museums to
be better partners.

So, I'm left with some questions for you, Dragan, and for everyone
here. Museums need to re-think their role in order to be helpful here.
How? What new directions would help? Dragan, you said that digital art
needs to be (re)valued before museums even enter the picture. Can you
talk further about how this might happen? Lastly, Dragan, you now work
at Rhizome which is attached to the New Museum. Do you plan to
leverage that relationship in any way toward these efforts? Everyone,
how can museums be more helpful here?

Lastly, perhaps it's self-serving, but this discussion on Yasmin has
been truly enjoyable and is one of the few things that can tear me
away from watching "Vicious" nightly!


Richard Rinehart
Director
------------------------
Samek Art Gallery
Downtown Art Gallery
Museum Collection & Study Room
------------------------
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA, 17837
(570) 577-3213
http://galleries.blogs.bucknell.edu




On Aug 6, 2014, at 11:08 AM, roger malina wrote:

yasminers

a comment from Dragan Espenschied with response
at end from rick

roger malina



On Jul 31, 2014, at 12:37 AM, Dragan Espenschied wrote:

Dear Rick and dear Jon,

reading your book has been a very pleasant experience. There are many
interesting lines of thought in there, and it shows that you took care
to refine terms and create meaningful potentials from all the ideas
you have been writing about for such a long time already. To a degree
that I am applying some things in the Artbase's new design to see how
that will go.


There are just two chapters where I have a hard time connecting.


The first is about the Open Museum. To me this sounds like a kind of
outdated utopia, one that has moved further away into the future
instead of coming closer. I believe this is an indicator that there is
something wrong with the idea or an important step in between has been
overlooked.

Your base agitation in the book is that museums kind of get in front
of the game. Their traditional role is being behind the game and
seeing that as an asset. Even the VA's new rapid response collection
policy is behind the game, because when faced with the challenge of
conserving performance/activity, they will still collect a stand-in
object, a symbol or indexical symbol. I think museums cannot simply be
asked to copy what is 'happening' at large, but they have to rethink
their roles in a new environment.

When I have seen 'museum' and 'open' be combined, it brought out the
worst in both in some cases. Meaning that for example the creator of a
purely digital artwork would not sell two editions for $25'000 each,
or 500 editions for $500 each, but 25'000 editions for $0 each. :) Or
museums using 'open' art as a driver for funny and exciting events,
but through their power and process in fact offering the involved
artists the next step only as move into traditional art forms -- and
artists gladly taking up on this offer. (There is so much of this
around it is scary.)

Anyway, I believe that not only artists and museums or galleries or
archives have to change their ways of doing things, but the value of
digital art has to be recognized by another force before.


The second chapter that doesn't work for me is about biology. I feel
this was simply not ripe for the book, you're oscillating between
biology as a metaphor or biology as actual digital memory ... and the
examples kind of make no sense to me. So, for instance, if this girl
that wants to know if a plant is poison ivy has all the knowledge of
humankind stored in her hair ... why would the smartphone she needs to
read this info not come with some random hair built-in and already
indexed? Every hair would be as good as any other. Or the idea to have
algorithms create versions of environments to enable digital artifacts
to perform, or have algorithms applied to the artifact itself so it
might be able to perform in a contemporary (or rather arbitrary)
environment ... this won't work. The metaphor of guided evolution
applied to algorithms requires rules that need to be described for
weeding out useless mutations, and rules for mutation. While simple,
constrained goals, like keeping a certain identifier 'alive' via
copying, or moving in a simulated 3d world, or winning at tictactoe
can be formulated as a test for the algorithms -- in the form of an
algorithm -- this cannot be formulated for an effect on the human
consciousness. Hence, all the mutations would need to be checked by
humans for 'fitness', which again means absolutely no stellar
evolutionary speed gain or self-replicating system. Then, software
works on so many levels of abstraction, and these genetic algorithms
are usually locked to one layer or scenario. To make meaningful
mutations that span several abstraction layers, the systems have to be
deeply conceptualized and the mutations be restrained. Otherwise some
evolutionary program might try for 50 years to guess the right ABI
call of its host system for displaying a letter on the screen. And
once a system is so deeply known as to formulate these rules, it is
much simpler to just create what is required than to wait for it to
come up by itself. So, I dunno, this chapter just feels far out. :)

But maybe I am totally not getting something here?


The problem is real and tangible though.

In the bwFLA Emulation as a Service research project, we constantly
try to make artifacts perform with the least possible knowledge on the
side of the user, and also the archivist. There is a minimal set of
knowledge required about a system, and the artifact. Maybe the
challenge is to make this knowledge cargo-cultable, so that some
actions can be performed with minimal understanding, but at the sime
time these actions could provide the maximum required context.

To stay inside the oral history metaphor, not the digital artifacts
themselves should be encoded in a dance, but how to use them should.


Alright, had to tell somebody! :)
I've been holding off the Yasmin list for this.


In the end, I want to emphasize again how valuable your work is and
how accessible it is written. Thanks!!


With only the best greetings,
Dragan

--
http://1x-upon.com/~despens/ >NEW!<
http://noobz.cc/
http://contemporary-home-computing.org/1tb/

From: Jon Ippolito <jippolito@maine.edu>
Date: Wed, Aug 6, 2014 at 8:06 AM
S
O
Dragan,

I want to thank you, for buying the book in the first place :) but
also reading it so thoughtfully AND taking the time to give the
authors your candid feedback (that almost never happens!) and your
discretion at sending your critique to us first before the world. Much
appreciated.

I'm not speaking for Jon here, but I'm totally cool with you sending
your critique to Yasmin, et al. Why write a semi-academic book if not
to invite debate? In fact, I believe one of our final chapter
recommendations is for academics and historians and everyone to debate
all of these issues and thus refine them into practice. Anyway, if you
choose to post; I'll follow up, naturally, with a defense of my
pie-eyed open-museum utopianism :)

Seriously, though, you open up a lot of good questions, not just for
the book as an artifact, but for how we approach the larger problems.
Thanks and onward!


Richard Rinehart
---------------------
Director
Samek Art Museum
Bucknell University
---------------------
Lewisburg, PA, 17837
570-577-3213
http://galleries.blogs.bucknell.edu
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