<br />RHIZOME DIGEST: July 10, 2005<br /><br />Content:<br /><br />+note+<br />1. Lauren Cornell: Member-Curated Exhibits<br /><br />+opportunity+<br />2. Doug Easterly: 1-yr Full Time Faculty Position<br />3. christa@eyebeam.org: Application Deadline R&D Fellowship at Open Lab at<br />Eyebeam<br />4. Kevin McGarry: FW: [NEW-MEDIA-CURATING] Fwd: [dorkbotsf-blabber] Long Now<br />job opening<br /><br />+work+<br />5. Jim Andrews: dbcinema<br /><br />+thread+<br />6. Jim Andrews, Jason Van Anden, Rob Myers, Bob Wyman: Is Programming Art?<br />(via programmer\\\'s perspective)<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome is now offering Organizational Subscriptions, group memberships<br />that can be purchased at the institutional level. These subscriptions allow<br />participants at institutions to access Rhizome's services without<br />having to purchase individual memberships. For a discounted rate, students<br />or faculty at universities or visitors to art centers can have access to<br />Rhizome?s archives of art and text as well as guides and educational tools<br />to make navigation of this content easy. Rhizome is also offering<br />subsidized Organizational Subscriptions to qualifying institutions in poor<br />or excluded communities. Please visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/info/org.php">http://rhizome.org/info/org.php</a> for<br />more information or contact Kevin McGarry at Kevin@Rhizome.org or Lauren<br />Cornell at LaurenCornell@Rhizome.org<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />1.<br /><br />Date: 7.08.05<br />From: Lauren Cornell <laurencornell@rhizome.org><br />Subject: Member-Curated Exhibits<br /><br />Hello,<br /><br />So - in the 6 months or so since Rhizome launched its Member-Curated<br />exhibits, 30 have been organized. Curatorial approaches have ranged widely:<br />some are quite personal, while others offer more formal explorations of<br />themes such as sound art, data visualization or identity. You can see all<br />the exhibits at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/art/member-curated/">http://rhizome.org/art/member-curated/</a><br /><br />Today, we will begin to share these exhibits with the general online public.<br />Rhizome staff will spotlight one exhibit per month by featuring it on the<br />front page and also highlighting it on the Member-Curated page. During that<br />month, the selected works (regardless of the date they were entered in the<br />archive) will be available for anyone to view.<br /><br />We are starting with ?Well, they aren¹t Twinkies¹ curated by Erin O¹Brien<br />which includes work by Gustavo Romano, Gregory Chatonsky, Valery Grancher,<br />Roch Forowicz and Jeanie Finlay.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy it!<br /><br />yours,<br />Lauren<br />– <br />Lauren Cornell<br />Executive Director, Rhizome.org<br />New Museum of Contemporary Art<br />210 Eleventh Ave, NYC, NY 10001<br /><br />tel. 212.219.1222 X 208<br />fax. 212.431.5328<br />ema. laurencornell@rhizome.org<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />2. <br /><br />Date: 7.04.05<br />From: Doug Easterly <playfight@mac.com><br />Subject: 1-yr Full Time Faculty Position<br /><br />The Department of Transmedia at Syracuse University is seeking a person to<br />fill a 1-year full time position, for the academic year Fall 05/ Spring 06.<br />This is NOT an adjunct position, but a temporary replacement for a<br />tenure-track line with competitive salary and full benefits. Candidates<br />should have experience in Video, Digital Photography & Computer Art. While<br />this is a nonrenewable position, anyone hired would be welcome to apply for<br />the tenure-track line, as we will be undergoing a formal search this<br />upcoming year.<br /><br />Please send a c.v. (pdf, doc, url) to Douglas Easterly, deaster@syr.edu -<br />and I will forward your information to our chair and department for<br />consideration.<br /><br />—————————<br />D o u g l a s E a s t e r l y<br />Associate Professor<br />Computer Art / Transmedia<br />Syracuse University<br />deaster@syr.edu <br />—————————<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome ArtBase Exhibitions<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/art/exhibition/">http://rhizome.org/art/exhibition/</a><br /><br />Visit the fourth ArtBase Exhibition "City/Observer," curated by<br />Yukie Kamiya of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York and designed<br />by T.Whid of MTAA.<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/art/exhibition/city/">http://rhizome.org/art/exhibition/city/</a><br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />3.<br /><br />Date: 7.07.05<br />From: christa@eyebeam.org<br />Subject: Application Deadline R&D Fellowship at Open Lab at Eyebeam<br /><br />Eyebeam R&D seeks inaugural fellows to work on creative technology projects<br />in the Eyebeam Open Lab. The fellowship is a unique opportunity to<br />participate in a new kind of research environment and contribute to the<br />public domain. <br /><br />The Open Lab is dedicated to public domain R&D. We are seeking artists,<br />hackers, designers and engineers to come to Eyebeam for a year to develop<br />pioneering work. The ideal fellow has experience creating innovative<br />creative technology projects, a love of collaborative development, and a<br />desire to distribute his or her work as widely as possible<br />.Participation in the R&D Fellows program includes:<br />- One year fellowship<br />- 4 days/week commitment<br />- $30,000 annual stipend + health insurance<br />Application: Please submit your application by August 15th; fellowships will<br />begin in the Fall of 2005 (flexible start date).<br />Applications can be completed at R& D website at Eyebeam:<br /> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eyebeam.org/production/production.php?page=rdfellows">http://eyebeam.org/production/production.php?page=rdfellows</a><br />For further information on Open Lab and prior Eyebeam R&D projects:<br /> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://eyebeam.org/production/production.php?page=randd">http://eyebeam.org/production/production.php?page=randd</a><br />Contact/ Questions: openlab@eyebeam.org<br /><br />Eyebeam <br />540 West 21st Street<br />New York, NY 10011<br />#212-937-6581<br />www.eyebeam.org<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />4. <br /><br />Date: 7.09.05<br />From: Kevin McGarry <kevin@rhizome.org><br />Subject: FW: [NEW-MEDIA-CURATING] Fwd: [dorkbotsf-blabber] Long Now job<br />opening<br /><br /> —— Forwarded Message<br /> From: Susan Joyce <Fringe17@AOL.COM><br /> Reply-To: Fringe17@AOL.COM<br /> Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 16:12:27 EDT<br /> To: NEW-MEDIA-CURATING@JISCMAIL.AC.UK<br /> Subject: [NEW-MEDIA-CURATING] Fwd: [dorkbotsf-blabber] Long Now job<br /> opening<br /><br />We are now hiring for the curator of the initial collection of file format<br />converters for our new File Format Converter Project (see job announcement<br />below). Feel free to pass on to people you may know who are interested. We<br />would like this person to be in the San Francisco Bay Area locale that can<br />spend at least a couple days a week in our offices in the Presidio.<br /><br />_____ <br /><br />We have begun a project to locate and organize all of the world's file<br />format converters, with an emphasis on understanding formats for long term<br />data preservation. We are looking for someone to lead the curation and data<br />design efforts of this project.<br />This is initially a 2-3 month effort, with possible continuation.<br />Compensation commensurate to skills and experience.<br /><br />Ideally, you should have:<br /><br />* A desire to make something that is the best in the world<br />* An interest in digital data preservation<br />* Broad experience with software applications and operating systems<br />* Some database management experience<br />* Good technical communication skills<br />* Good analysis and synthesis skills<br />* The ability to work with speed and efficiency<br />* Comfort working in a UNIX environment and with open source tools<br />* Experience with at least one programming language<br /><br />To find out about us, please check out <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.longnow.org">http://www.longnow.org</a>. Please send a<br />resume and a short cover letter all as plain ASCII, in the body of an email<br />to kurt@longnow.org.<br />(attachments will not be read)<br /><br /> ………………………………………………………………<br /> ………dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity……….<br /> ……………………..<a rel="nofollow" href="http://dorkbot.org">http://dorkbot.org</a>……………………….<br /> ………………………………………………………………<br /><br />—— End of Forwarded Message<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome.org 2005-2006 Net Art Commissions<br /><br />The Rhizome Commissioning Program makes financial support available to<br />artists for the creation of innovative new media art work via panel-awarded<br />commissions.<br /><br />For the 2005-2006 Rhizome Commissions, eleven artists/groups were selected<br />to create original works of net art.<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/commissions/">http://rhizome.org/commissions/</a><br /><br />The Rhizome Commissions Program is made possible by support from the<br />Jerome Foundation in celebration of the Jerome Hill Centennial, the<br />Greenwall Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and<br />the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional support has<br />been provided by members of the Rhizome community.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />5.<br /><br />Date: 7.06.05<br />From: Jim Andrews <jim@vispo.com><br />Subject: dbcinema<br /><br />dbcinema : <a rel="nofollow" href="http://vispo.com/temp/Google2.htm">http://vispo.com/temp/Google2.htm</a><br /><br />this is in progress. this is, like, v 0.1.<br /><br />you type in a concept top left, press enter, stare, and free associate.<br /><br />same syntax as google searches. in fact it is a google search.<br /><br />some interesting concepts:<br /><br />epistemology<br />ruins<br />turing<br />godel<br />jenny holzer<br />joseph kosuth<br />poetry<br />visual poetry<br />visual art<br />visual music<br />pamela anderson<br />proboscis<br />dali<br />giger<br />ian hamilton finlay<br />eratosthenes<br />.<br /> .<br /> .<br /><br />i'm using director to make this. director is pretty good for image<br />processing and compositing. and advanced google image search will do things<br />like return just black and white or greyscale images. so these can be used<br />as masks and also be processed over time. things like that are in the future<br />for this image engine.<br /><br />also, as you may know, i like to do interactive audio work. but like visuals<br />too with them. this piece will eventually be the image engine for some<br />interactive audio works. you've seen the visual music prevalent on the<br />screen these days. mostly its music videos or abstract patterns that respond<br />to amplitude. nice, but i'd like something else. this is v 0.1 of an image<br />engine for audio works. this can combine the strong abstract dimensions of<br />what you think of when you think of visual algorithmic art with the<br />relevantly representational. and it opens into the social/collective in<br />interesting ways.<br /><br />also, it frees me up from making pictures in the normal ways. i prefer to<br />write images. riffing on the google global image database with a few<br />well-chosen keywords and a lot of 'image display schemas' (there is only one<br />now: one after another, simplest possible) could generate lots of<br />significantly different dbcinema pieces.<br /><br />there's a dowload manager, a media manager, a query manager, and an image<br />display manager at this point. various other managers to go along with lots<br />of 'image display schema'. and other things that you normally find in a<br />browser, like history and so on. would also be nice to be able to edit<br />pieces. all down the road.<br /><br />ja<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://vispo.com">http://vispo.com</a><br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Support Rhizome: buy a hosting plan from BroadSpire<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/hosting/">http://rhizome.org/hosting/</a><br /><br />Reliable, robust hosting plans from $65 per year.<br /><br />Purchasing hosting from BroadSpire contributes directly to Rhizome's fiscal<br />well-being, so think about about the new Bundle pack, or any other plan,<br />today!<br /><br />About BroadSpire<br /><br />BroadSpire is a mid-size commercial web hosting provider. After conducting a<br />thorough review of the web hosting industry, we selected BroadSpire as our<br />partner because they offer the right combination of affordable plans (prices<br />start at $14.95 per month), dependable customer support, and a full range of<br />services. We have been working with BroadSpire since June 2002, and have<br />been very impressed with the quality of their service.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />6.<br /><br />Date: 7.06.05 - 7.08.05<br />From: Jim Andrews <jim@vispo.com>, Jason Van Anden <jason@smileproject.com>,<br />Rob Myers <robmyers@mac.com>, Bob Wyman <bobwyman@pubsub.com><br />Subject: Is Programming Art? (via programmer\\\'s perspective)<br /><br />Jim Andrews <jim@vispo.com> posted:<br /><br />"…the aim of all this is to create poetry. So, I like to speak about<br />algorithmic poetry. A poem is a text that procures you poetry if you read<br />it. The code I'm trying to write is a text that procures you poetry if a<br />computer reads it for you…."<br />Frédéric Durieu<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://turbulence.org/curators/Paris/durieuenglish.htm">http://turbulence.org/curators/Paris/durieuenglish.htm</a><br /><br />Donald Knuth is a renowned computer scientist, but the idea of 'the art of<br />programming' as promulgated in a book like that series is terribly outdated.<br />There are dimensions to contemporary software art that were not<br />anticipated/anticipatable by Knuth. He sees the 'art' as consisting in<br />choosing the right algorithms and the right implementations of the right<br />algorithms. *Perhaps* this is true once you decide what the thing is going<br />to do. But it leaves aside the whole question of what the thing is going to<br />do. And why one would want to do such things. And the relation of these<br />things to what's going on in the world. Programming is now a part of<br />writing. Writing is a broader thing than it was. The art of programming is<br />not simply a craft of design and engineering but involves all the sorts of<br />issues we find in other arts plus its connections with engineering and<br />mathematics, which occur also in other arts where the making is not without<br />relation to things like engineering and mathematics. Such as architecture.<br /><br />ja<br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Jason Van Anden <jason@smileproject.com> replied:<br /><br />Warning - the following article is quite possibly a waste of time for the<br />more erudite amongst us ;) Regardless - I found this article rehashing the<br />age old question as to whether programming is art, from a programmer's<br />perspective, interesting (and easy to read).<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/artofprog.html">http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/artofprog.html</a><br /><br />Jason Van Anden<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.smileproject.com">http://www.smileproject.com</a><br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Rob Myers <robmyers@mac.com> replied:<br /><br />On Wednesday, July 06, 2005, at 01:14PM, Jason Van Anden<br /><jason@smileproject.com> wrote:<br /><br />>Warning - the following article is quite possibly a waste of time for the more<br />erudite amongst us ;) Regardless - I found this article rehashing the age old<br />question as to whether programming is art, from a programmer's perspective,<br />interesting (and easy to read).<br />><br />><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/artofprog.html">http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/artofprog.html</a><br /><br />The Slashdot discussion on this is quite fun as well:<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/2158213&tid=156">http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/05/2158213&tid=156</a><br /><br />Paul Graham's essay on the subject:<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html">http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html</a><br /><br />And a well deserved critique of it:<br /><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm">http://www.idlewords.com/2005/04/dabblers_and_blowhards.htm</a><br /><br />So is programming art? And which part of "no" don't people get? ;-)<br /><br />- Rob.<br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Jim Andrews replied:<br /><br />to extend what i posted a couple of days ago.<br /><br />because knuth is a (deservedly) renowned computer scientist, people think he<br />must know about the art of programming–particularly since he wrote a<br />multi-volume book with that title. and that book is a classic. but if you<br />pick any of the volumes up, you would find very little if any talk of art in<br />it. it is a big book of algorithms. how do you most efficiently search<br />through text to find a given string? it addresses questions like this. how<br />fast is the algorithm? it addresses questions like this, also. can the<br />algorithm be proved to be the best we can do? etc.<br /><br />the art of architecture, should we speak of it, i think we could agree, is<br />not circumscribed within the matter of how you build a structure. it isn't<br />addressed so much in the physics books and the engineering books, the<br />references that detail the properties of the materials etc. which isn't to<br />say that those books have nothing to do with the art of architecture. a good<br />architect will know how to consult such books and be intimately familiar<br />with the principles that underly them. just like a good programmer will know<br />how to read books like knuth's and be familiar with the principles that<br />underly his massive and impressive analysis of algorithms. but the art of<br />programming is discussed as little in knuth's books as is the art of<br />architecture in the physics and engineering books on architecture.<br /><br />knuth identifies the art of programming with how we choose and implement our<br />algorithms. and that is not without art. but the art of programming is far<br />broader than such issues. just as the art of painting is far broader than<br />the issue of how you paint a painting. we see that this is largely a<br />question of technique and craft. just as the question, in architecture, of<br />how you build a structure is largely a matter of craft and technique.<br />whereas the issues of art occur largely in more global contexts.<br /><br />why would you want to make the thing? what are its relations with its<br />brothers and sisters? what are its relations among the history of ideas? how<br />can its meaning be interpreted? how does it mean? what sort of statements<br />are involved? is it in any sense innovative? if so, how so? what is the<br />experience of it like? these are less quantitative than ambiguous and<br />qualitative questions and issues. and of course there are many more such<br />issues.<br /><br />the work of art, whether it is binary or analog, is typically made by people<br />who have some awareness of these sorts of questions and issues and it can be<br />read/experienced in such contexts in a rewarding manner; it usually<br />addresses some such set of questions more or less explicitly, even if<br />ambiguously, even mysteriously. even if there is utility to the work, as<br />there is, typically, in works of architecture and software.<br /><br />ja<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://vispo.com">http://vispo.com</a><br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Bob Wyman <bobwyman@pubsub.com> replied:<br /><br />Jim Andrews wrote re: The Art of Programming<br />> if you pick any of the volumes up, you would find very little if<br />> any talk of art in it.<br /> If the viewer sees no art, is it because there is no art to be seen<br />or is it because the viewer can not see it?<br /> I've treasured my copies of Knuth's "Art of Programming" since I<br />bought my first volumes in the early 80's. I hope desperately that Knuth<br />will live long enough to complete the project and won't be distracted any<br />more… For me, his books are wondrous aesthetic experiences that equal or<br />exceed much of what others would claim to be "great" art. Frankly, their<br />utility is secondary. In fact, some of the volumes are really quite<br />out-dated in their technical content…<br /> Knuth created Tex, still one of the most powerful typesetting<br />systems simply to produce those volumes. He created MetaFont, a system for<br />the mathematical definition of typefaces so that he could create the<br />Computer Modern Roman typeface which assured that the words he wrote lay<br />properly, powerfully, and pleasingly on the page. He invented the Mix<br />language in order to make concrete the algorithms that he discussed. All<br />this was essentially choosing colors, brushes, and canvas for the very real<br />"conceptual art" that shines from his discussion of every algorithm and<br />problem addressed.<br /> Knuth's books are much more than just lists of algorithms. They are<br />experiences in a conceptual space which is, admittedly, hard for most folk<br />to enter. But, if you're lucky enough to catch sight of what is there, it is<br />beautiful. It is art.<br /><br /> bob wyman<br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Jim Andrews replied:<br /><br />If you ask whether programming is an art, and then define it predominantly<br />in terms of technique and craft, the answer must finally be 'no'. It seems<br />to me this is what continues to happen in discussions of art and<br />programming.<br /><br />As I said in my last post, books about a computer science approach to<br />algorithms are not without art. And Knuth is surely a master thereof. But<br />there is an art of programming that is beyond the analysis and<br />implementation of algorithms, as I have said, and it is to the detriment of<br />the art of programming that technique and craft-centered views of it<br />continue to prevail.<br /><br />ja<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://vispo.com">http://vispo.com</a><br /><br />+ + +<br /><br />Jim Andrews added:<br /><br />why is it detrimental to the art of programming to define it predominantly<br />in terms of craft and technique?<br /><br />this is a question that one could as well ask concerning poetry or other<br />arts.<br /><br />in a nutshell, craft and technique issues/questions do not address the<br />human, social/political contexts in which the object/program is operative.<br /><br />the cultures of computer science (and mathematics) are cut off from their<br />human concerns. the art/science split makes for both sociopathic science and<br />ineffectual art. computer scientists should be aware of the artistic<br />dimensions and traditions, the humanistic concerns implicit in their<br />discipline. those to whom the students of computer science look up to should<br />be the great artists of the digital, eventually, who both in their works and<br />their contributions to computer science strive for a better world and deeper<br />individual experience and understanding, not simply a more efficient widget<br />or algorithm.<br /><br />digital art should attract the best minds. the most driven and talented<br />artists. who bring it all together. bring it home. and these should also be<br />the great scientists of the digital. they should not be different creatures.<br /><br />what is at stake is whether we have societies in which the machine is simply<br />oppressive of humanity or whether the art of programming can flower into<br />something beautiful not only in the austerity of mathematics but in its<br />poetic vision for the benefit and joy of humanity.<br /><br />ja<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://vispo.com">http://vispo.com</a><br /><br />ps: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18112">http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18112</a> is a fascinating review of a<br />recent biography of Norbert Weiner, the 'father of cybernetics'. he was well<br />acquainted wih johnny von neumann, one of the main minds behind the rise of<br />the computer. von neumann was the model for dr strangelove. von neumann was<br />the inventor of game theory. he also thought that the usa should bomb russia<br />as soon as possible. see how these two figures contrast.<br /><br />yet even still, " They shared a passionate interest in biology. Both of them<br />saw a deeper understanding of biology as the ultimate goal of their<br />explorations of the science of computing and information." computing is all<br />about us, is toward our understanding the extent to which we too are<br />language machines.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome.org is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization and an affiliate of<br />the New Museum of Contemporary Art.<br /><br />Rhizome Digest is supported by grants from The Charles Engelhard<br />Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for<br />the Visual Arts, and with public funds from the New York State Council<br />on the Arts, a state agency.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />Rhizome Digest is filtered by Kevin McGarry (kevin@rhizome.org). ISSN:<br />1525-9110. Volume 10, number 28. Article submissions to list@rhizome.org<br />are encouraged. Submissions should relate to the theme of new media art<br />and be less than 1500 words. For information on advertising in Rhizome<br />Digest, please contact info@rhizome.org.<br /><br />To unsubscribe from this list, visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/subscribe">http://rhizome.org/subscribe</a>.<br />Subscribers to Rhizome Digest are subject to the terms set out in the<br />Member Agreement available online at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/info/29.php">http://rhizome.org/info/29.php</a>.<br /><br />+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +<br /><br />
