[Mark Daggett is an artist and graphic designer. His work has been
displayed at PS1, Ars Electronica and the Whitney Museum's "Artport." He
has also developed games and DVD's for major motion pictures including
"The Matrix" and "The Perfect Storm."]
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Q: You recently released a screen saver called "Deskswap"
(http://www.deskswap.com). Can you explain what it is and how it works?
Daggett: "DeskSwap" is an online screensaver that allows people to
exchange images of their desktop with each other. When the user stops
using their computer, "DeskSwap" starts as a normal screensaver. It
quickly takes a snapshot of the user's screen and uploads it to the
"DeskSwap" server. Since screensavers only become active during periods
of inactivity, "DeskSwap" catches candid images of the user's desktop.
"DeskSwap" has two modes a "peer to peer" mode where the user's can
choose a specific person to swap desktops with and a "round robin" mode
where the user joins a ring of other people who trade with each other.
Q: How many people use "DeskSwap" on a regular basis? Do you have users
who are upset about swapping their desktops with other people?
Daggett: "DeskSwap" does raise several issues about privacy, but for the
most part the users of "DeskSwap" are either not bothered or not aware
of those issues. Most of the people who are hot and bothered about
privacy don't install the software. Presently there are almost 20,000
"DeskSwap" users since the project launched in September.
Q: That's a lot of people. Can you talk about your collaborative
process… Did you have to team up with programmers to create a system
robust enough to accommodate so many users? Was the collaboration an
enjoyable experience?
Daggett: Yes, it is a lot of people but according to the developers the
server can easily handle more. In addition the server can be distributed
so that others can run their own server, which would make "DeskSwap"
infinitely scalable. Originally, I built the piece myself, I made a
working demo as a proof of concept and showed it around to my friends
and other developers and tried to drum up interest in the project.
Derrick Woolworth who is an uber-programmer friend of mine really liked
the idea but in his words thought the programming was "a pile of shit."
He offered to re-write the server for me. Vincent Toms offered to write
a new client for me and together we all came up with the version of
"DeskSwap" that is available today. I have had very painful
collaborative experiences with other developers in the past mainly
because I was not clear what I wanted them to develop for me. It was
helpful that I already had a working model for them to work from. In
general, they were very good to put up with my crazy sometimes ill-
informed ideas about peer-to-peer technologies; a common response to my
questions would be "Why would you want to do that?" The thing that made
this collaboration work was that ultimately I made lots of technical
concessions and they labored intensely to make sure the client and
server had all the functionality I was hoping for.
Q: Your work often takes the web browser itself as a type of artistic
medium. Can you describe the blur technique used in your "Blur Browser"?
(http://www.flavoredthunder.com/dev/browser-gestures/)?
Daggett: The "Blur Browser" is a part of a larger series called "Browser
Gestures." "Browser Gestures" is an ongoing series of applications that
reinterpret what a browser is. Originally, these experiments were
started to unsettle the page metaphor, which dominates how people
typically expect web sites to be displayed. In the case of the "Blur
Browser" it takes the page that the user requested and anti-aliases the
contents of the page until it becomes an abstract color field.
Q: But it's more than anti-aliasing, right? It's computer feedback. The
analogy I use is to close-circuit video. If you point a video camera
at it's own monitor the image starts to fold in on itself in an endless
feedback loop. This is essentially the same visual technique you are
using, only on a computer. How did you discover this technique?
Daggett: That is a good comparison. The "Blur Browser" does create a
feedback loop when it starts. Since the user can guide the direction of
the blur with the movement of his/her mouse some very interesting vortex
type effects can be created. I discovered the technique the same way I
imagine the video artist discovered the feedback loop. The video artist
pointed the camera and the monitor to see what would happen and I did
the same with the computer: I fed the visual output back in as input for
the imaging subroutine.
Q: What other techniques have you experimented with?
Daggett: I am working right now on various types of image processing,
along the lines of the blurs but with more depth and subtleties. In
addition to the imaging effects I am experimenting with real-time 3D.
Q: What do you like most about 3D? The relationship to gaming? The
immersive quality?
Daggett: I am very interested in the pop culture significance of 3D
gaming to today's society. I imagine that if Warhol was painting today
that his celebrities might be Mario or Lara Croft. Since games have
become so technically sophisticated it's easier for the player to use
these game characters as surrogates for entertainment's sake. For game
players these characters are more interesting role-playing objects than
imagining oneself as the lead in a movie. They truly have become
celebrities and idols for many of the players.
I am working with real time 3D engines now mainly because of the
fluidity of motion that they provide. 3D games and environments are
immersive because people desperately want to believe in them. So I have
a willing audience who are going to give me the benefit of the doubt
because they are in search of entertainment and escapism. Because they
assume I am going to entertain them, the audience is completely
receptive to whatever I want to give them.
Q: You also work as a game designer. Do you ever call upon your game-
making skills while crafting an art project? What are some of the skills
that cross over between the two genres?
Daggett: I am part of the "garage game" scene, which is a group of
basement developers that make small games for fun and sometime (very
rarely) for profit. It is an enjoyable way to make games. The same
programming skills that I use in making games often are used in my art
and the reverse is also true. Also I find that sometimes organizing my
art projects the same way I might lay out my games helps clear up
exactly what I am trying to accomplish in my work. The trick of course
is to make sure that the art still develops through the process of
making it and that the structure is not so rigid that innovation and
inspiration aren't stifled.
Q: What are your future projects?
Daggett: I am working on a follow up to "DeskSwap" right now. It is
going to be a virus greeting card system, I think. I'll know more as it
starts to work. I am also working on some 3D environments. Oh, and I am
going to write a book and I am going to lose 30 pounds.
