Critical Intelligence in Art and Digital Media

Can digital art practice do more than propagate technical progress and provide affect stimulus in estheticized production-cycles? How can cultural intelligence work to provide an informational context
for others and apply technologies of the imagination to tell another story?

Konrad Becker
reposted from Nettime
(this is a draft posted on the list serve Nettime. Especially for Nick and Stacey and others working with dispersed social media/visualization tools-- what kinds of reflections can 

The creative imperative has become a dominant force. With culture as an economic engine in post-industrial societies, artistic practice diffuses into business practice and the realm of the Creative Industries. In the shift of the economic focus toward a dematerialized value creation, innovation cycles of planned obsolescence and estheticized experience design turn into standard market models.
In creative cities job profiles demand "creativity" for even the most mundane tasks. Dreams, of everyone being an artist, turn into nightmares of internalized gouvernmentality.

Just as Situationist tactics have been appropriated for advertisement, Tactical Media concepts of the 1990's are now Public Relations and viral marketing standards. Dissent is easily appropriated in the new
spirit of capitalism and todays critique is tomorrow's business. Creative Industry appropriations of estheticized boutique activism offer affective relief with a maximum of inconsequentiality. While
effective strategies of resistance and critical interventions need to
build on an understanding of the past, the change from disciplinarian
institutions to a society of control transformed the playing field.

In new control regimes the traditional disciplinarian modes of
preconfigured enforced categories and educational indoctrination
give way to the fluid mining of cognitive response and reaction
flows. Electronic networks and intelligent materials weave into the
fabric of social space and into infrastructures of urban places.
Embedded in ambient Big Data intelligence, proprietary protocols
and orchestrated devices exploit the individual. Density and speed
of digital networking veils paradoxical effects of increasing
fragmentation, segregation and asymmetric relations.

Not merely tickling cultural taste buds but providing a critical instance of reflective intellectual work, artists as agents of intelligence demystify the power of media over matter. New forms of collective practices that intervene in processes seem more interesting than past models of individual genius. A practice that offers a
critical technical intelligence and a critique of representation
by mapping the flows of ideas and power is necessarily based on
cooperation. Are there forms of cooperation outside a creative class
and a digital proletariat modeled on ecstatic internet bubbles?
What are models of critical artistic practice in a fluid field of
post-Fordism? What are potential roles of cultural agents in societies
saturated and structured by powerful communication technologies?

The Contingency of Illuminated Music

Some thoughts on Todd's sound/light interaction piece.

I documented this (poorly) on my phone:

The setup is simple enough: a single, bare lightbulb mounted to a stand, a flight box with a portable amp/speaker, a 1/4" cable, and an iPad. What belies this gear is an interaction between the digital and the analog, between sound and light, operated by hand and at the subject's discretion of position. And it is here that I think a very interesting intersection occurs.

Sound, generated by the iPad, operates the light, that fluctuates voltage based on the sounds volume. Pitch didn't seem to have an immediate effect since the light was varying in degrees of brightness, louder sounds made the light brighter, a lower volume sound was dimmer. In turn, the iPad's sound is affected by the light.

This is a convergence of light waves and sound waves. Sound waves, much longer and "slower" than shorter, much "faster" light waves, is a interesting example of the way in which these two properties or "states" can and do interact. While both can reflect, refract, be diffused and absorbed, light travels through a vacuum while sound requires a medium to emit through. In this piece, the interaction between both is brought to attention and they become dependent on one another.

How does this question musicianship? This is an "instrument" that can be played. The performer's proximity to the light, ad as it seemed from the demo performance, angle and direction of approach also seem to affect the sound output. These positions could be mapped and recreated, and performed according to a score, with the intent of creating a unique sonic and visual effect. With experiment and practice one could come up with an interactive light-and-sound instrument that, depending on the options with the audio software on the iPad, be almost limitless with possibilities.

What are some of the "dependencies" about this piece? The light depends on the sound for activation, but he sound is also dependent on the light as well. Are both balanced? Is there one quality that might have a value or advantage over the other? Which one starts it, or how is it started? Is there a "primer" of some kind like the bulb on your lawnmower engine that you push in order to prepare the engine for its first step of combustion.

A larger deployment? A field of these lights mounted with enough room to move between them, and a map or other process to follow to create a sound and light "symphony". Perhaps the lights are arranged in a matrix, so the performer could have better access to a field of lights that, for example, where of a different wattage or type than the others. I assume that a frosted 60w incandescent bulb would have a differet affect on a light sensor than a clear 200w lamp; or fluorescent or halogen or mercury vapor or any number of light-emitting bulb.

Could pitch be represented by color (like a multi-led)? I've been looking into LED and Arduino-controlled devices. The possibilities for multi-color LED are extensive. Does this iPad and software react differently to colored light? Part of a Net.Art project I'm working on this semester has to do with local weather data and the creation and composition of colors based on this changing data. How might Todd's piece behave if the light source was colored, or maybe always changing colors?

How does this piece intersect the analog with the digital? This is an excellent example of how the analog (light, sound) interact with the digital (processing of both of these signals). Like I've said it provides an intersection, a crossroads where the two media meet, and they then rely on eachother and constantly change based on the gesture of the performer. Even in this stage of its development, the possibilities for the use of a piece like this are clear and, happily, without definition.

Response To Nick's Work

This response is being posted on behalf of Ryan due to technical difficulties

The response to Instagram has been overwhelming not only on the consumer side but to the academic mind as well. It seems that I haven't had class this semester at some point in the hour we end up talking about Instagram. I believe this be for two reasons, one, the social network side of the app and two, the nostalgic filters and how they function in our current culture. For myself the interest the lies in the social networking aspect of Instagram. It's the ability to share ones thoughts and views through the use of images and apply a filter to either obscure it or heighten it. Slowly but surely more and more artists are using Instagram as a database in making art, whether its mixing a single image with multiple filters till the image is no more or appropriating images from Instagram by doing simple word searches. With regards to Nick's work he took an approach that I have yet to see when making art in the context of Instagram.

            When I first started looking at Nick's four images, all four images looked to be bad light leaks from the camera. The images where very small about the size of a medium format negative. Which is the actual size of an Instagram image. So at first I thought they were contact prints and it wasn't until Nick said they were from Instagram that I became more aware of the intent of the images. By looking at what was in front of me I would of never thought these images where from Instagram. They looked like photographs I use to take with my Holga camera with the mixture of whites and oranges in the images. Nick grouped his four images into two double sided glass frames with black edges, each frame had two images in it with the images stacked vertically upon one another. For myself framing the images this way treated the images like precious objects that are to viewed almost on a scientific level. What I mean by this, it reminds of going to museums and viewing the large butterfly’s that are collected for research. When I think of Instagram, I think of it as a large database of images of ones lives in images and don't think this type of framing works with images taken or made on Instagram.

             When thinking about Instagram and how it functions as an application on a smart phone I had to go back and read Lev Manovich “The Language of New Media” specifically chapter two. It deals not only with GUI (graphic user interface) but also the function of cut and paste. The filters in Instagram are really the same as the filters in Photoshop, click and paste. A person just doesn't have the options to get into the detail of the image but one can download or purchase filters for photoshop and those filters will work the same as in Instagram. Instagram's filters are a cut and paste function but where people come to a divide seems to be the labeling of the filters which goes into the nostalgic language of photography. To myself the labels are really nothing more than apart of GUI of Instagram. It's how the filters make the photo look and feel that draws my interest and how amateur photographers choose to use these filters.

            Ultimately I feel Instagram is about the continual building of a database of images that is taking place all the time and what we can draw from the images. In regards to Nicks work I think there have to be more images and what I mean more, is hundreds of images. This I feel would show the simplicity of the filter and how nostalgia can now be easily applied. Nick could keep the same basic image and simply remix it over and over but how those images would be displayed could be thousands of images laid upon the floor. 

Response To Darren's Work

This response is being posted on behalf of Ryan due to technical difficulties

In looking at Darren's images the first thing that caught my eye was the contrast of the black borders to the actual images. With images being behind glass I could see myself easily in the image from the mirror effect. Every image was horizontal in a vertical frame which I also found very interesting. With the size of each image I had to lean in to view the detail of the photograph which made my reflection even more apparent, asking the question of where I belong in this subject matter? I don't know what types of frames Darren is thinking of using for this work but glass with no type of frame dedge is something I really liked. In that, most frames that I see around images these days really deter from the image, even if a simple black frame was used with this work the image would become a frame within a frame. The subject matter in these images frame themselves and adding another frame I think would take away from the work. By not having a frame and using the glass also allows myself to easily go from one caption to another.

            The captions flowed really well together I don't remember from class if Darren arranged these images in any particular order. There were only a couple of miss spellings from what I saw but that can be fixed up quick. I was more interested in the use of text and what font was used. Through the use of white text and the black and white imagery the overall group of photographs had an editorial feel, also by having them laid out in a single row made them look like the were getting ready to go to print in the morning newspaper. Although, I became in thralled with Darren's use of the blind field not only in the images but in the use of the text.

            The last photograph in the row the text read something about a monument being out of the actual frame of the photograph. This was the first photograph that I viewed during the critique and left myself in a little bit of wonderment. This wonderment though left me wanting to go to the next image very quickly. I'm not sure if this was a good thing or bad thing because I don't remember the image that well except for there was a tent in it. I believe this to be one of the difficulties of using text with photographs. People always seem to gravitate towards one or the other, so they both have to work on a give and take system. The other image that I remember the most was some where in the middle of the row and the people on both sides of the photograph where almost out of the frame. A man was walking out of frame with a cell phone to his ear and he was an older gentleman. I thought this one spoke to more of what of is going in that moment and what is happing outside of the frame itself, like we are missing what is really going on or that we should be hearing what is going on.

            With regards to the future of Darren's project I want to see more use of the blind field not only in the use of imagery but also with text. I looked for several resources to help Darren to further his project and the only one that applies that I have is a book called “Porn Studies” by Linda Williams. This book is actually written by her graduate students and in this book there is an essay on Andy Warhol's movie “Blow Job”. It is all about the use of the blind field. I have this book also if anybody would want to barrow it or I can scan the article as well.    

Critique of Krista's piece

At the first glance, Krista’s photographs remind me of Jerry Uelsmann’s works. Especially these two (on the right). I was impressed by the vitality comes out from both of their works, The combination of organic plants and human body makes me think of the mysterious relationship between human and the nature. However, Jerry’s pieces mainly choose one organ instead of the whole human body, the human part always is always enlarged and looks stable and peaceful.  That is also the impression I got from the left photo of this series, that one looks more peaceful and a more harmonious relationship that the human has with the nature. When I read this piece, I read from the right to the left, and viewed this order as showing a progression. For the right one, I felt it showed a struggle that the woman is making and then from the right one I saw a beautiful result came out from this struggle.  In the right one, we can tell that the woman is fighting against something on her wrist, her  facial expression speaks about the pain that she is suffering, and since her wrists are still tangled together, I can feel a strength on that part, which makes me feel the invisible power that she is fighting with is a strong power which is equal to a human’s limits.

For the man’s picture, with his knees on the ground, the gesture looks more like nurturing something instead of fighting against something. Maybe that is the reason that many of us thought the right one can express the idea of pain more. Although that may not be her original intention, I still think the mixture of human and other creature is very interesting, For visualizing the pain, probably the man’s gesture can look more unnatural and uncomfortable. His body can be twisted and maybe there are vines tied around his body and he tries to get himself out from it? Or maybe the thing grows up from his body should look more dangerous and sharp, such as a thorn. I think I would feel painful and uncomfortable if I see a thorn grows from a someone’s body. Then it will be more obvious the two elements (the plant and human) run counter to each other instead of one is cultivating another.

I like the texture on the surface of the image, which helps me establish an association with pain. However, I prefer the cracks only appear on human body instead of on the whole picture, so it suggests that the body is undertaking the pain. The human body becomes a battlefield for fighting against physical pain. Maybe a simpler way is to use real properties, like put mud on the body, in order to make the body differentiates and stands out from the background.

In the discussion, Alexa and I mentioned that we can “hear” sound from these still images. Probably an audio element can be added into this piece. If the image is made by two layers, the audience need to tear the first layer to see what is underneath, the upper layer can be made of material that makes very harsh sound. Or the image itself has a rough surface, the plant is not only framed in the picture, but also pierce through the paper, points to the audience. Silvia also suggested that the color of these images can be darker, these photos now are in beautiful light setting and pleasant looking, probably the experience that viewers get from them can more uncomfortable, so that the viewer kind experience some torture as people in the pictures are going through.