Burning the Interface exhibition
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
1996
Burning the Interface exhibition , curated by Mike Leggett and Linda Michael for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, March - July 1996.Sponsored by Apple Computer Australia, touring Australia, with the assistance of the Australian Film Commission, to Njapartje CMC, Adelaide 12th September - 5th October 1996; Experimenta, CCP Gallery, Melbourne 7th - 23rd November 1996; Perth International Festival, (Perth Institute of Contemporary Art), Perth 12th February - 9th March 1997; Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery and Museum 27th March - 3rd May 1997. The MCA Press Summary gives an idea of the huge amount of interest generated, before the time of ‘devices’ and when the public had little experience of computing or the internet; PDF
notes for talks at Art Gallery of WA and PICA -
the works and catalogue can be found in the research Archive and Library at the Art Gallery of NSW<Sydney, Australia
Citation:"Finally, 1996 witnessed a major event: a national institution, Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, organised .... the first international exhibition of digital works of art on CD-ROM...."
Bertrand Gauguet; Rennes Ecole Beau Artes Review.
CD-ROM - the 21st Century Bronze?
1996
Mike Leggett
Catalogue essay (extract
The ‘content’ may in some cases choose to reflect only upon aspects of the interactive encounter. Such reflection is present in all art but is a feature of much 20th Century art and is re-examined in some of the work selected for this exhibition. The exhibition includes an orientation area to enable visitors to gather background information about the work, the artists and the medium. Bibliographies and publications are available together with two exhibits which feature the work of two art publications which include CD-Rom discs as part of their distribution: the long established Mediamatic published in Amsterdam, and the more recent London magazine, Artifice. A connection to the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) provides a window on the potential of the computer on-line medium in contemporary art. An index of ‘art sites’ are provided for visitors to browse but please be patient, the WWW is an even more recent medium in its own right than the CD-Rom and, at this stage of its development much less capable of handling the visual artists stock-in-trade, the picture. The relationship between Cd-Rom and the WWW as creative mediums is, like individual works, open to your assessment. The research for the exhibition commenced 18 months ago with the financial support of the Australian Film Commission and the assistance of the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales. The Call for Proposals was delivered world-wide primarily via the Internet, the majority of artists responding via eMail - some 700 enquires were received concerning the proposed exhibition. The Call for Proposals sought to discover the range of uses to which artists were putting Cd-Rom. Given the 130 pieces of work from 110 artists in14 countries received a selection had to be made in spite of all their many individual attributes. This was in the knowledge that we had stated that a wide range of work would be considered - which it was. On that basis, we decided that discs which were essentially documentation or operated as catalogues for work in other mediums were not selected. The other area we ruled out were the titles developed essentially as games. It was found that apart from comprehending the rules and procedures of a game in the exhibition context, the exchange protocols associated with games followed within another tradition associated with other mediums, such as the board game or TV drama. We felt that the titles that were of particular interest were those that addressed issues specific to the computer/CD-ROM combination and the interacting subject, and which explored and developed the aesthetic of that encounter and the selection we made reflects the many ways in which artists have approached using this new medium. We have included the work of some 100 artists on 30 CD-Rom discs (not including David Blair’s extraordinary Waxweb Cd-Rom/Internet project which incorporates contributions from literally 100s of people). About half the discs are ‘single work’ pieces, the other half, anthologies of from three to twelve artists. These discs also represent the involvement of at least a further 450 people in support and technical roles. Artists’ work on Cd-Rom has been exhibited before but this is the first survey of the initial investigations and experiments of artists with this new medium during the period 1992 -1996. Through the generous support of Apple Macintosh Computers, it will run for three months, rather than the few days previously possible elsewhere, and allow people to re-visit the exhibition in the same way as they might browse their favourite bookshop seeking the book that through purchase, they can spend time with at home - many of the works are for sale. We would hope that the exhibition will both delight and inform those visitors who have a non-specialists’ interest in contemporary art and culture, as well as contribute to the discourse that specialists in the field need as an essential part of the continual development process that is contemporary art. The Museum of Contemporary Art has developed in the short time it has been open, a proven ability to mount exhibitions that address and are found useful by, a range of audiences. Though the MCA may appear somewhat monolithic, the experience of working with it’s professional team as a visiting curator has underlined its particular qualities of broad mindedness, ingenuity and creativeness that is part of any truly collaborative enterprise.
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Essay by Mike LEGGETT CD-ROM - the 21st CENTURY BRONZE ? (draft)
4150 words
Illustration(?) with text from Finnagan’s Wake overlaying image of its author, James Joyce. by Greg O’Connor to article by Darren Tofts: The Bairdboard Bombardment; 21C #2 1995
# The Computer & Art
For many years visual artists have used the computer simply as a tool to perform more quickly the often mundane task of making something visible. Designers and architects have much experience with computer-aided-design (CAD) software capable of producing drawings which can incorporate changes of detail from earlier versions and thus save hours of repetitive re-drawing. The computing apparatus and its ability to respond flexibly and rapidly as an idea or project develops has been as a result of visual artists intuitions combining with the skills of the computer scientist. In the more experimental areas artists have customised computer hardware and software to the requirements of working in artforms such as installation, audience interactive and performance work, where the configuration is unique for each occasion. This of course makes the work fresh and new - and also ephemeral. Such work is not tradeable in the conventional sense. It requires public or private patronage, or another source of income. Or if the ephemeral is promoted as a virtue, the artist needs to develop a tolerance for poverty. The model worlds recently developed by a handful of artists have illuminated the significant difference between the computer and the video monitor - the non-linear option to guide or navigate an order and duration of events not pre-determined by the maker. It is not an exaggeration when it comes to describing some of the works a few artists have so far put together by saying that such an interaction can be cathedral-like:- blocks of images, movies, sounds and texts, assembled complete with nave, transept, choir, chapels and chapter house; and of course crypt (not to say dungeons). Such constructions are not attempted unless the foundations are sound. At complex levels of data management, (another way of saying multimedia), it is not only the time invested by the artist that is at stake but that of the audience too - the machine system must be able to reproduce accurately the instructions used by the computer for the execution of a design or sequence of visual and sound events; one bit out of place on the fresco might not be missed but something missing from the crownstone brings the lot crashing down. To prevent a crash in computing jargon, requires well designed software running smoothly from the memory store. The CD-ROM primarily has more stable attributes than the memory storage devices normally linked to the computer's processor, such as floppy discs, hard discs, cartridges, Digital Audio Tape etc., which are based on magnetic media and so subject to interference both electro-magnetic and physical. CD-Rom - the Technology
A CD-Rom, (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), is the same thing as an audio CD, simply that the data it carries is understood by a computer rather than a stereo amplifier, though the hybrid form enables the CD to be played on both computer and stereo - the machine sorts out which digital data it can read. Conventional mass duplicated CDs are hot pressed. The stamping die is electroformed from a 'glass master' which has been coated with a photoresist surface. The recording laser creates minute pits on the surface of the master. To read the data on a CD, a focussed laserbeam is aimed at the disc. Light is reflected back from a reflective aluminiumised layer. Light from the pits interferes with light reflected from the disc's surface. This interference is detected by a photosensitive component which then feeds a computer’s processors. When an individual CD is ‘burned’ in a desktop machine, the laser heats an organic dye layer sandwiched between the substrate and a thin reflective gold layer. The recording layer fuses and the expanding substrate forms an impression on the gold layer, thus simulating the pits and lands on a pressed disc. During 1993, various manufacturers marketed desktop CD burners capable of making an individual CD-Roms, a desktop technology initially intended for the archiving of company accounts and records. Besides attracting commerce however, the technology attracted the attention of artists. This medium of storage could be said to mirror the impact of the arrival of bronze casting on the development of the art object - plasticity and permanence. CD-ROM - the Medium As the availability and viability of CD-ROM as a storage and therefore distribution medium began to be felt, various problem areas traditionally associated with making computer art began to be addressed. Quite rapidly the positive characteristics of the new medium began to emerge. In summary these include: Convergence: Computing systems, with infinite combinations of hardware and software, from the shrink-wrapped off-the-shelf to the customised, have presented artists with issues about technical standards for making, exhibiting and replicating the artwork - often this has meant using what was available. The range of systems and standards has been narrowing even though this may not have directly improved the artists’ access to resources. It is quite common now for commercial discs to be distributed suitable for reading via the two major and incompatible systems - Macintosh and Windows. Cross-platform developers software, carefully designed requires minimal re-writing of multimedia routines, can address 95% of the installed CD-ROM user-base, and has encouraged the artist to invest time and develop production resources. Archival Properties: The ephemeral and fugitive nature of much computer-based work has restricted its exhibition potential to one-off installations, or playout through video/film recording etc. The archival specifications of CD-ROM can more or less guarantee that a completed work as "art-on-disc":
cannot be erased, or tampered with and altered;
cannot be duplicated, with the correct safeguards in place, thus preventing the unauthorised copying of artists work and its illicit commercial exploitation;
has very good archival specifications and therefore good prospects for financial return to artists through:
-purchase by collections both private and public, of limited editions of a work;
-the editioning of multiple runs for wider distribution by niche publishers;
-the licensing of titles to networks via servers or linked CD-ROM players. Such arrangements are capable of giving assurance to the artist concerning the time and material resources invested and offer better prospects for financial compensation than through rentals on films and videotapes, or fees for installation.
Other aspects emerging which affect the artist in particular:
Cost
The cost of transferring computer files from "the studio", (the workstation with hard disc/server) to "the gallery",(the Compact Disc), has been reduced, enabling a relatively low cost of 'casting'. This can be as little as the cost of a ‘raw’ disc if a 'burner' can be accessed. The relatively low cost of making test and ‘artist’s proof’ editions enables the work to be seen easily by other artists and researchers, curators and publishers. With a world-wide Pressing industry now established the cost of producing multiples and editions has further extended the potential for the artist to expect a financial return.
Technology:
Alongside the marketing of tools for the consumption of CD-ROM, the Industry has developed tools for production, designed for specialist users rather than programmers, thus offering artists independence at the production stage from commercial production companies. It should however, be remembered that the number of craft skills required of an individual are considerable. To make a multimedia production the skills required include: photographer, film/video camera operator, lighting director, graphic designer, writer, picture and sound editor, typographer, sound recordist, computer programmer and line producer. While some artists are capable of undertaking all these skills to a high professional standard, most restrict their expertise to a few and work within their limitations, or go out and raise a budget to be able to pay for the expertise required. For many though that option is too much 'like working in the real estate business...' to reappropriate Peter Weir's immortal words when receiving his Hollywood Oscar.
Studio Practice
Finally of the problems now being tackled, though the business of developing a studio practice is in its early days, pioneers in the area can begin to remove the structures and procedures erected by computer specialists. For instance the magpie approach to amassing material with which to work, having converted it into digital form, is to catalogue the stuff onto a CD-ROM and use the disc(s) as an archive, accessing onto the working disc as and when the need arises; no backups, no maintenance.
Consumption
Art produced using computers, can be reproduced using home or office equipment connected to a CD-ROM player - in the home, over lunch at the office, as well as in the public gallery. The computer-with-CD-Rom-drive, or multimedia computer, is the standard computer of 1996. It is being marketed in a way reminiscent to that used for the selling of domestic video - as a universal enfranchiser. (We should remember in this context that the main visible achievement that such national suffrage has given us is Australia's Funniest Home Video Show). Interactivity Much interest from artist and audience alike is attracted to the interactive element of this area of computer-based art and permits the viewer to directly guide or influence the order, or rate of development, of the display of the artwork. A majority of CD-ROMs made by artists function in this way using a variety of strategies and interfaces. An Intermediate Technology?
Whilst the Web sites on the Internet continue to define what the 'superhighway' might become - at the moment this seems as if it might be a series of giant hoardings obscuring the Exit sign for the garden at Giverny - artists are developing advanced and sophisticated works which utilise the CD-ROM medium and its speed of picture presentation, (compared to the sluggish arrival of data from many Web sites). For CD-ROM has to be regarded as a medium, with advantages and pitfalls but essentially within computer-based work offering a commonality of standards and resources, and a production interface for the advanced-user rather than a meta-linguist programmer. This medium can usefully produce art works which are also physically stable and therefore distributable in the market.
