“The Art of Sleep”

The title of this piece stood out from the rest of the artwork to me. The thumbnail was just a blank box as opposed to all the other colorful eye-catching pieces. The piece is simple; comprised of a plain blank canvas with changing big black font that is synchronized to a catchy soundtrack. The artist, Young-Hae Chang, does a great job of pacing the sentences to keep the viewer interested enough to keep reading, well, at least for me. I felt like he was trying to be a little too artsy with it (maybe trying to prove his “art”work), but overall, I thought his presentation and concept were simple and intriguing. It’s kind of long.. http://www.tate.org.uk/netart/artofsleep/ It’s not letting me link the Gif/thumbnail to link to the website so please copy and paste the address.

Umpa Lumpa What? Lampedusa!

Hello All,

I am hoping this post comes out correctly, here goes.I decided to lose myself in the world of net art, but soon became confused and my head started to ache. I didn’t follow your leads Josephine (darn)…that’s what I get for going off solo into cyber-space…he he he.

Anyhow, I felt a lot of the net art bled into each other & I could no longer tell what was what: interactive art, installation art, performance art, video art, net music art, collaboration net art, multimedia net art…aaaah, the information overload was ENDLESS!

I finally came across a project (which I am hoping IS net art but am unsure) titled “How To Reach Lampedusa.” I wanted to paste a visual but was unsuccessful. This project did have an affect on me & that’s what I was after: an emotion. This project was included in a larger art site called, “Cute or Creepy.”

A video begins with images of loads of people bunched up & sitting on an over-crowded rocky beach. Words appear in the middle of the screen, a martian-esq female voice sings the words as if they were lyrics to a song, and it has a very karaoke feel to it. (You, the viewer, are able to follow the singer along.) A strange vibe does enter the picture slowly (both visually & sonic-ly.)

The island of Lampedusa is teeny compared to a regular-sized island & exists in the middle of nowhere; a forgotten destination of sorts, only reachable by plane or ship. Some experts claim that it is one of the best beaches in the world.

Lampedusa seems awful: hot, desert-like and colorless. Why would anyone want to go there, I balked. But this is where I feel the artist connects w/ a deeper message.

I felt land-locked & trapped with nowhere to run or escape to. There are a few bizarre shots of small crosses sticking out of the earth (like tombstones in a cemetery.) The camera goes back & forth from the tourists to the starkness of the island. Not much is happening: life passes & the people sit passively by on Lampedusa.

There is symbolism woven throughout: boredom, death, passivity. Once you arrive on Lampedusa, you’re dead. There is no going back. But then the artist surprised me! From out of the blue, a gorgeous miracle of a shot saves the day! My whole perception was suddenly twisted…aaah, these crazy net artist.

Take a look & enjoy!

1. http://artonline.jp/lampedusa/index.html

   Comment by raiinthesky | February 13, 2008 <!– @ 3:06 am –>

Interesting Panel discussion tonight

I can’t make it tonight to this but I thought maybe someone else might be able to

Confounding Expectations: Photography in Context
“Parallel Worlds: Explorations in Second Life”

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 – 7:00 p.m.
The New School, Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street
New York City
Free Admission

Related to a series of articles in Aperture magazine wherein Fred Ritchin explores postphotographic media and emerging technologies, this discussion focuses on the 3D virtual world Second Life, created entirely online by its residents.

Panelists:
Richard Minsky, founder of SLART magazine, a critical review and journal of Second Life Art
Fred Ritchin, New York University professor and a contributing editor of Aperture
Michael Van Horn, curator, the Joseph Monsen Collection, Seattle