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 –>