Site Report on "Trust Me" @ The New Museum's Media Z
Lounge, organized by Anne Barlow.

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Before we get into the show, I would like to say a few things on the
New Museum and the Lounge itself in order to get the context correct.
The New Museum has a certain nature to it. It tends to show artist and
mediums of art that other museums often skip over. Underground comixs,
Political Art, Women Artist, Latin American Artist, and Conceptual Art:
You name it, they've shown it, before it registers on the general
artworld radar. I would also like to mention that it is small in size.
We are not talking about a MOMA/PS1 scope here. "Small body, big heart"
is perhaps the simplest way to say it.

The Media Z Lounge is down in the basement past the bookstore. The space
was designed by Lot/ek and has a "Post-Industrial Sci-Fi Look" to it.
I'm not exactly sure as to why media spaces always end up with the "Post-
Industrial Sci-Fi Look", but, as they say in New York, "What'cha goin'
ta do?" (Words are usually said followed by a general shrug of the
shoulders.) Anyway, the main part of the space contains a Christian
Marclay installation (thumbs up) which fills the space with the
disjointed sounds of remixed Christmas music. In the passageway between
Marclay's installation and the bookstore are the computer terminals on
which the net art projects of "Trust Me" may be seen.

The Trust Me introduction wall text is as follows: "A selection of
interactive online projects by artists exploring and testing the concept
of an intimate, one-on-one relationship between the computer and the
user. By subverting formats we have become used to–questionnaires,
diaries, and information websites–the artists in 'Trust Me' ask us to
reconsider how we behave in on-line space."

Okay, two brief complaints before we go on. 1) This is a well-curated
group of net artists with an interesting lens/subject set up to look at
their works. This is why I have no idea why "Trust Me" is not online as
well as in the physical space. 2) The names of the artists in the show
do not appear on the New Museum web site, Media Lounge wall text or
booklet available at the space.

Okay, now on to the show. Each screen displays one page with the artist
or group name. Each page contains a link to the project as well as a
link to some extensive background information. Here are the artists and
links to the works shown:

Mongrel, BAA
http://www.mongrel.com
(note: I have not been able to find a direct link to the BAA
project…anyone have it?)

Mouchette, Mouchette
http://mouchette.org

Paul Vanouse, Persistent Data Confidate
http://lena.ucsd.edu/~pdc/

Olia Lialina, Will-n-Testament
http://will.teleportacia.org/

Some brief personal notes on the works: 1) I hope that some day Mongrel,
rtmark, and rdom will join forces and save the world or at least show
the rest of the art world that politics and art can meld seamlessly
together. 2) I am in love with a 12-year-old dead French girl and I
don't care who knows it. 3) I've nothing to confess to Paul except for
what I said about Mouchette, but I do thank him for the chance to get
this off my chest. 4) Oh! I also love Olia and would like to ask her to
leave me a bottle of beer in her will. Please..

Okay, that's it. All in all, a great group of works with a few display
problems that I hope can be worked out as the Media Z Lounge gains
experience exhibiting net art, trust me.