RHIZOME DIGEST: 4.16.04

discussion

Posted April 15 2004 20:00

RHIZOME DIGEST: 4.16.04

RHIZOME DIGEST: April 16, 2004 Content: +announcement+ 1. Rachel Greene: The First Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium opens May 28th in Beijing 2. jonCates: vrsn.NET_WORKS +opportunity+ 3. Camille Baker: Call For Submissions: Artists and Researchers - Deadline: May 14th, 2004 (New Forms Festival) 4. karina: Coded Cultures / Exhibition*Symposium*Workshops / Vienna-Austria 5. Patiño Juan Manuel: International Festival of Electronic Art 404 +interview+ 6. Joy Garnett: Copyright in the Digital Age +feature+ 7. Tom Brecelic: Thai New Media Festival, Bangkok + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 1. Date: 4.13.04 From: Rachel Greene (rachel@rhizome.org) Subject: The First Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium opens May 28th in Beijing Begin forwarded message: From: z <z@parsons.edu> Date: April 12, 2004 11:33:11 AM EDT To: rachel@rhizome.org Subject: The First Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium opens May 28th in Beijing ############################ <a rel="nofollow" href="http://newmediabeijing.org">http://newmediabeijing.org</a> The Millennium Dialogue - The First Beijing International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium Preface The new millennium has witnessed the growing vitality throughout the world of new media art, an art mediated via digital means, often with the internet as its platform. This emerging art, originating from an increasingly technologically dependent society, not only challenges traditional creative media, and ways of thinking, but also posits to artists and cultural workers new questions concerning all realms of contemporary life. "Millennium Dialogue" aims at creating a constructive dialogue and promoting a dynamic interaction between Chinese artists and global trends in digital art education, production and theorization. At the crest of rapid economic growth, China has enjoyed a parallel advancement in the digital realm, deploying the latest development in communication technologies and nurturing vast opportunities for both artistic creation and social progress. Chinese art has inevitably, like the rest of the world, come to face similar challenges of the digital era. Tsinghua University is commited to advocating the understanding of humanity through cooperation and exchange, in promoting originality in artistic creation and innovative thinking in the new millennium, and in advancing excellence in education and research. The ZKM | Center for Art and Media is a unique institutional model comprising classical museum representation and artistic-technological research and development in order to support new perspectives on future technologies and modes of thought. V2_ is an organization that concerns itself with research and development in the field of art and media technology. V2_ concentrates its efforts on the presentation of contemporary media art by organizing exhibitions, lectures and workshops, masterclasses, symposiums and performances. Through its activities V2_ makes a structural contribution to the ongoing debate on art, technology and society. GOAL To establish a global, high profile platform for dialogue and exchange with the most current trends in all fields of new media arts production in order to advance and promote new media arts and new media arts education. AGENDA The First International New Media Arts Exhibition and Symposium will be staged in two phases. Phase one titled: "LEADING THE EDGE" will mount the international academic exchange component of the project which is slated to open on May 28th of 2004, in which a number of internationally acclaimed leading educational and research institutions will join forces to participate in a fourteen day exhibition and a two day symposium focusing on the academic and educational aspect of the new media arts in order to foster a constructive and creative dialogue in research and education excellence. A compilation of speeches and essays will be published subsequently. Phase two will launch the international exhibition titled "IN THE LINE OF FLIGHT" in May 2005 to coincide with the Beijing Biennial. Along with the curated exhibition, "IN THE LINE OF FLIGHT" will also invite new media luminaries from world-renowned arts institutions and museums to attend a two day symposium in Beijing. Among them, Center for Art and Media (ZKM) of Germany, Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada), The Whitney Museum of American Art (US), Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (US), V2 (Holland), Ars Electronica (Austria), and Kiasma Museum of Modern Art (Finland) will be participating. A catalogue will accompany the opening. Both events will take place at the China Millennium Museum with over 10,000 square feet of state of the art facilities boasting the largest panoramic LCD screen in Asia and wireless broadband connectivity.     PRESENTED BY Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) ZKM | Center for Art and Media (Karlsruhe, Germany) V2_ (Rotterdam, Holland) In collaboration with: China Millennium Museum (Beijing, China) Parsons School of Design (New York, US) SUPPORTED BY Central Committee of Chinese Youth China Art and Literary Association Chinese Artists Association Ministry of Culture, P.R. China Ministry of Science, P.R. China Ministry of Information Technologies, P.R. China Ministry of Education, P.R. China + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 2. Date: 4.16.04 From: jonCates (joncates@criticalartware.net) Subject: vrsn.NET_WORKS ……………………… ……………………… …………….. vrsn.NET_WORKS <-+-> NODE <-+-> Version>04: invisibleNetworks April 16 - May 1, 2004 ……………………… ……………………… …………….. mini aspects, projects + participants in the Version>04: invisibleNetworks convergence engage with online networks as a part of their theorypractices, however, the vrsn.NET_WORKS NODE of the Version>04 features a selection of projects especially conceived for [+/or] realized online. ……………………… ……………………… …………….. Web based art projects, works + systems open ports to networks of meaning + connections to distributed, collaborative + anonymous activities. vrsn.NET_WORKS explores these intricate webs through an online presentation of digital [arts/activism]. A diverse + dynamic selection of projects, works + systems that engage cell phones, mobile technologies, constellations of friends + forms of protest are available via the Version>04 website during Version>04: invisibleNetworks. ……………………… ……………………… …………….. vrsn.NET_WORKS are organized in the following clusters: datamaps + executables, secrets kept + leaked, keys unlock promises and personal profiles + networks. ……………………… ……………………… …………….. //datamaps + executables: ……………………… ……………………… …………….. [murmur] [murmur] <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.murmurtoronto.ca">http://www.murmurtoronto.ca</a> radial Amanda Gutierrez <a rel="nofollow" href="http://mkn.zkm.de/radial/index.html">http://mkn.zkm.de/radial/index.html</a> Infowarmation k-hello.org <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.k-hello.org/infowarmation">http://www.k-hello.org/infowarmation</a> this is MAPS for you Alan Sondheim <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lm.va.com.au/pipermail/_arc.hive_/2004-February/006979.html">http://lm.va.com.au/pipermail/_arc.hive_/2004-February/006979.html</a> Trace Route Mark Daggett <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flavoredthunder.com/invert/trace-root/index.phtml">http://www.flavoredthunder.com/invert/trace-root/index.phtml</a> ……………………… ……………………… …………….. //secrets kept + leaked: ……………………… ……………………… …………….. Cabalster Cabalster <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cabalster.com">http://www.cabalster.com</a> An investigation into the oddity of submarines Joanna Griffin <a rel="nofollow" href="http://breakingthesurface.net/featheredwater/">http://breakingthesurface.net/featheredwater/</a> minimal garden holger lippmann <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.lumicon.de/minimal_garden">http://www.lumicon.de/minimal_garden</a> The Bomb Project joy garnett (first pulse project) <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.thebombproject.org">http://www.thebombproject.org</a> //keys unlock promises: Plug'n'Pray usine de boutons <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.plug-pray.org">http://www.plug-pray.org</a> Make Your Choice Nino Rodriguez <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.know-our-enemy.net/make-your-choice/">http://www.know-our-enemy.net/make-your-choice/</a> WiFi-SM Christophe Bruno <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.unbehagen.com/wifism">http://www.unbehagen.com/wifism</a> ……………………… ……………………… …………….. //personal profiles + networks: ……………………… ……………………… …………….. IdealWord IdealWord <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.idealword.org">http://www.idealword.org</a> K'MUNI CITY PROJECT sinz <a rel="nofollow" href="http://kmuni.com/">http://kmuni.com/</a> popchart IdealWord <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.idealword.org/projects/popchart">http://www.idealword.org/projects/popchart</a> Stop Motion Studies - Tokyo David Crawford <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.turbulence.org/Works/sms">http://www.turbulence.org/Works/sms</a> true looks isabelle jenniches <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.9nerds.com/isabelle/truelooks/">http://www.9nerds.com/isabelle/truelooks/</a> ……………………… ……………………… …………….. vrsn.NET _WORKS is a project conceived, curated + organized by jonCates as a NODE of the Version>04: invisibleNetworks convergence April 16 - May 1, 2004. ……………………… ……………………… …………….. to connect to these works + other NODES, aspects, projects + participants: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.versionfest.org/">http://www.versionfest.org/</a> ……………………… ……………………… …………….. – //jonCates —> Version>04: invisibleNetworks curator NODES: vrsn.NET_WORKS —> Version>04: invisibleNetworks organizer NODES: vrsn.NET_WORKS, vrsn.NET_HUBS, vrsn.EXCHANGE, … <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.versionfest.org">http://www.versionfest.org</a> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 3. Date: 4.8.04 From: Camille Baker (camib@telus.net) Subject: Call For Submissions: Artists and Researchers - Deadline: May 14th, 2004 (New Forms Festival) The New Forms Festival is an annual event highlighting emerging forms at the junction of art, culture and technology. It includes performances, panel discussions, workshops, and interactive exhibits on contemporary Media Arts issues. The NFF environment encourages new forms of Media Art to be created, experienced, and understood. NFF04 will be held in Vancouver, BC, from October 14 to 28, 2004. The theme is TECHNOGRAPHY: the inscription of culture in technology. NFF04: TECHNOGRAPHY is a forum to explore and embody these inscriptions in the form of artistic expression and discourse. NFF04: TECHNOGRAPHY looks at the ways in which cultures inhabit and transform media spaces and technologies. NFF04:TECHNOGRAPHY will bring together practitioners and theorists from across grassroots, gallery academy and academic contexts and provide a platform for conversations among the diverse voices of contemporary digital regionalism. NFF04: TECHNOGRAPHY programming incorporates the principles found within an ecological model of the cultural sphere: complexity, variety and balance. Like nature, culture is also a changing phenomenon, affected by the ways in which technology inhabits the environment and relates to it. Call for proposals for projects, presentations and performances Deadline: May 14th, 2004 Proposals are invited for four areas of the festival: the Conference, the Exhibition (digital art, performance, installation, immersive environments, Net.Art), Performance Series (sound art, performance art, live film/AV) and Late Night Events (music, visuals, post-digital, laptop, group performance, screenings). Gallery Exhibition/Events/Workshops This year the Exhibition (Gallery and Net Art), Performance Series, and Late Night Events will present a range of works that embody and interpret the theme of TECHNOGRAPHY as defined above. For more details, see <<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newformsfestival.com/">http://www.newformsfestival.com/</a>> Conference The NFF04 Conference, Old And New Forms , negotiates new global parameters for contemporary media culture, as it charts a post-traditional ?technography? of world Media Arts. The post-traditional is what remains of modernism and postmodernism when modernization is abandoned as an unfinished and unachievable project. While the post-traditional view is clearly meaningful in the post-colonial and developing spheres, Old And New Forms posits that it is equally germane to the global post-industrial scenario as a whole. For more details, see <<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newformsfestival.com/">http://www.newformsfestival.com/</a>> Deadline: May 14th, 2004 Contact us if there are concerns at: New Forms Festival 2004 Programming Committee Suite 200, 252 East 1st Avenue Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA V5T 1A6 T: +1 604-648-2752 F: +1 604-648-2754 E: curatorial@newformsfestival.com or info@newformsfestival.com + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Rhizome is now offering organizational subscriptions, memberships purchased at the institutional level. These subscriptions allow participants of an institution to access Rhizome's services without having to purchase individual memberships. (Rhizome is also offering subsidized memberships to qualifying institutions in poor or excluded communities.) Please visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/info/org.php">http://rhizome.org/info/org.php</a> for more information or contact Jessica Ivins at Jessica@Rhizome.org. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 4. Date: 4.13.04 From: karina (k.lackner@5uper.net) Subject: Coded Cultures / Exhibition*Symposium*Workshops / Vienna-Austria ———————————————————————— CODED CULTURES | decoding digital culture * EXHIBITION * SYMPOSIUM * WORKSHOPS * 16.05. - 30.05.2004 | Freiraum/ MuseumsQuartier Vienna ———————————————————————— *Coded Cultures is an open forum* Digital realities are coded. In this context Coded Cultures decodes and acts as an agent between the creator and receiver of information. The ways of origination and reality design of various artists and art groups shall be demonstrated on hand of workshops and an exhibition, whereas a new approach towards digital art in the 21.century will be acquired beyond its technical background. [EXHIBITION] Young medial art, media- art and conceptional art from eastern and western Europe of the last 20 years will be shown in the "Freiraum" in MuseumsQuartier Vienna, presented by the well known slovenian curator Dunja Kukovec. [SYMPOSIUM] Parallel to the exhibition there will be a complementary, theoretical as well as interactive line-up. It should help to decode and reflect upon the ways of origination and the perception of various artists and art groups, who either are or have been active in the aforementioned fields. [WORKSHOPS] Several workshops will take place during Coded Cultures. These will picture the tools and methods of digital art and progressvive projects. How does digital art define itself? Can one speak of the complete loss of the aura of digital media art in order of decentralisation in the creation and distribution of art in terms of Walter Benjamin? Is there a new aura being created? A step backwards cannot be considered, but how can the step forward look like? Where are the prospects of digital media art and what are the new approaches and discourses like, which absorb or are taken up by the artists? The production of art has massively changed because of digitalisation and the global network resulting in the decentralization of the locations of creative production. Inspite of- or because of- the elusive elements used by electronic media, many digital groups of people with same interests (digital subcultures, "Öffentlichkeiten") evolved. Through the permanent creation of new (digital) groups of interest, many projects are formed which point out new ways of distribution and presentation of artistic content. The presentation of new trend- setting channels, as well as the demonstration of common aims of subcultures, which organize themselves by means of new media, are part of Coded Cultures. Since 20 years new forms and methods of publicising are shaped by these groups, which often have the same motivation. Aside massculture the image of the artist is not clearly defined. Many "digital artists" do not refer to themselves as such. Furthermore, the artistic work is coded on behalf of different cultural backgrounds, cultural connotations and (visual) symbolism. These codes will be pointed out and compared. The aim is to make the "art of the new media" apprehend- and experiencable. Apart from the technical approach, narrative elements, interaction and transparency are of importace to the viewer. The term of "digital art" will be discussed- the ways of creation, perception, aesthetics and norms will be reflected upon and decoded. Artists and the interested audience shall be brought together in the open forum Coded Cutures: the contemporary situation of digital forms of expression is to be illustrated, new ways and possibilities in these disciplines to be found and the discussion about digital art shall be stimulated. ———————————————————————— detailled schedule and programme at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://5uper.net/codedcultures">http://5uper.net/codedcultures</a> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 5. Date: 4.16.04 From: Patiño Juan Manuel (jmp@c2mi.com) Subject: International Festival of Electronic Art 404 www.404festival.com.ar "Astas Romas" is organising the first "International Festival of Electronic Art 404", to be held at "Juan B. Castagnino Art Museum" and ?CEC?, in Rosario, Argentina on 7th -12th December 2004. Our Organisation is making a world-wide call to artists and theorists to take part in this Festival 404. Authors may participate in the following areas: net-art, website, static image (digital prints, photography, etc.), animation, video, electronic music, theory, installation, performance and any other proposals made by the authors. Participation in this festival is free, open, and has no age-limit. The only requirements to submit your work are to follow the instructions detailed in the participation terms published on www.404festival.com.ar + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 6. Date: 4.16.04 From: Joy Garnett (joyeria@walrus.com) Subject: Copyright in the Digital Age <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58249-2004Apr7.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58249-2004Apr7.html</a> Transcript Copyright in the Digital Age Lawrence Lessig Professor, Stanford Law School Wednesday, April 14, 2004; 1:00 PM Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig was online to discuss his book, "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity." In his book, Lessig argues that the entertainment industry conspires with Congress to use copyright law to destroy our traditional notion of freedom in culture. washingtonpost.com reporter David McGuire moderated the discussion. A transcript follows. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. ________________________________________________ David McGuire: Dr. Lessig, thanks for joining us. In your new book: "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity," you argue that the debate over piracy has obscured a larger movement on the part of the media industry (movie, music and software makers) to "remake the Internet, before it remakes them." How, practically, is that movement unfolding? Where are those battles being fought? Lawrence Lessig: The content industry has done a good job convincing the world that the internet will enable what they call "piracy." That has obscured the fact that the internet will also enable an extraordinary potential for creativity. And it has obscured the fact that the weapons they use to eradicate "piracy" will also destroy the environment for this "creativity." They spray DDT to kill a gnat. We say: "Silent Spring." _______________________ Bellingham, Wash.: What are your thoughts on the debate on anticircumvention regulations and how they may impact fair use? Do antipiracy concerns outweigh the importance of allowing legitimate uses of circumvention software (for example, by DVD owners making backup copies)? Lawrence Lessig: The anticircumvention regulations of the DMCA have been interpreted in a way that does plainly restrict any sensible understanding of "fair use." They are therefore regulations that will be found, imho, to violate the constitution. As the Court indicated in Eldred, fair use has a constitutional basis. Congress is not free simply to remove it. Thus whether Congress – "persuaded" by the content industry – believes that antipiracy concerns outweigh the constitution or not, no law may outweigh the constitution. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: You are on the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has recently volunteered to defend alleged copyright infringers that are being sued by copyright holders, the RIAA. As a law professor and a copyright holder yourself (Free Culture book), do you feel that the RIAA has a legitimate gripe in protecting what property is legally belongs to them? Would you support a foundation established to defend literary copyright suits, if professors were to crack down on student text book copying - or even worse, yours? Lawrence Lessig: I believe that copyrights, properly defined and reasonably balanced, ought to be defended by copyright owners, and organizations (whether the RIAA or others) devoted to defending such rights. I'm sure everyone at the EFF believes the same. But just as a lawyer who defends someone charged with auto theft does not therefore support auto theft, so too with the EFF: They are, rightly, defending the rights of individuals that they believe, rightly, should not be prosecuted in this way under this law. As a law professor – and more importantly, as a citizen of the United States – I absolutely support their actions. We here are supposed to believe in the right to a defense. We are supposed to believe that laws are not to be overreaching in their effect. We are supposed to oppose abuse of the power of prosecution. And I fundamentally oppose those who would question anyone who would defend rights that our constitution was designed to guarantee. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: Good afternoon - Prof. Lessig, will you state once and for all that the widespread theft (or whatever term you wish to apply) of copyrighted works online is illegal? Can the conversation about copyrights in the digital age at least recognize this? Don't you feel that it is a dangerous society that believes that because the Internet lets you do something, it is permissible to do so…whether morally or legally right or wrong? I find that in all of your articulate presentations, you seem to blame the people who create and invest in the creation of music, movies etc. and place no blame on those who take those works without compensating the artists/copyright holders. Lawrence Lessig: Great question. First, I have "recognized" this. Here's a great derivative work of my book – permitted because I released my book free under a Creative Commons license. (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://trevor.typepad.com/blog/free_culture_lawrence_lessig_purple_numbers">http://trevor.typepad.com/blog/free_culture_lawrence_lessig_purple_numbers</a>. html) On that page, each paragraph of my book has been marked by its own url. As you'll see at paragraphs 84, 110, 367, 372, 377, 382, 388, 389, to mark a few. Or go to (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://free-culture.org">http://free-culture.org</a>) and download the book and look at the section "Why Hollywood is Right" beginning at 124. But my whole point is that if we as a people can think about only one issue at a time, then we as a culture are doomed. For if we set our policy focused on one end only – ending piracy – then we will end a tradition of free culture as well. Yet the content industry has done so well because they've convinced DC that there is really just one issue out there – piracy. And they certainly are more successful than I in shaping this debate. So it may well be that we as a people can think about only one issue at a time. And again, if so, then we as a culture are doomed. _______________________ Takoma Park, Md.: Is it fair to call pervasive free availability of any copyrighted song anyone can think of a "gnat"? I appreciate your concerns but it seems to me that you're downplaying the impact of file-sharing on creative industries. Lawrence Lessig: Is it fair? Well, what's the harm. In my book, I assumed there was a substantial harm, and the question I asked is: how might we minimize the harm while not destroying the internet or its potential. So I would push for different policies even assuming the gnat is a lion. But since my book was published, there has been substantial work – by independent researchers, not paid by the content industry or anyone else – to suggest that there is no substantial harm from p2p sharing. More precisely, that when you add up all the effects (people exposed to new content which they buy, etc.), the effect of sharing is statistically indistinguishable from zero. Whether you buy that analysis or not – and, I think we should remain skeptical about it until it has had a good chance for further peer review – I do think that relative to what we lose by waging this war, the interests of one particular industry are small. By this system of federal regulation, we are creating a regime of creativity where the only safe way to create is to ask permission first. You might think that's simple, but just try it someday. But I'm with those who think that there's something fundamentally wrong about this regime, whether it is simple or not. I as an academic don't need anyone's permission before I write an article criticizing someone else. But the same freedom is not accorded a filmmaker, or webmaster, under the rules as they exist today. _______________________ Madrid, Spain: Do you really think there will be a unbreakable technology to protect CD, video or stop MP3 exchanges in the web? In others words, is it possible to protect intelectual property with a piece of software? Do you really think the technological measures will be effective? Lawrence Lessig: By "do you really think" you make it sound as if I've suggested such a "solution." I have not. Indeed, I think all solutions that rely upon technology to control access suffer important and unavoidable costs. More importantly, an arms race around technologies for locking up and liberating content is a waste. We should push for a regime that helps assure artists get paid without simultaneously breaking the most valuable features of the internet. _______________________ New Orleans, La.: Do you think that the Court's strict constructionist reading of the Copyright Clause in Eldred blows open the door to the continued and expanding success of special interests appropriating the public domain? Lawrence Lessig: Yes, it absolutely does. By ignoring the original meaning of the constitution's text – indeed, by ignoring even the text, for the Court does not even try to explain what the words "to promote the Progress of Science" means – the Court has given Congress, and lobbyists, a green-light to continue what they have done so well over the past 40 years – extend the term of existing copyrights. It is totally obvious that in 2018, there will be another bill to extend copyright terms. It is totally obvious that all the money in the world will be spent by those who have copyrights that are about to expire. And totally obvious that nothing (yet) in the Court's jurisprudence that would stop such an extension. Now of course, there's lots that can, and must be done, independent of the Court. PublicKnowledge.org, for example, is doing a great deal of good to get Congress to consider reasonable balances in the field of copyright. They have, for example, taken up the challenge of getting congress to pass the Public Domain Enhancement Act, which would require a copyright owner, 50 years after a work has been published, to register the work and pay $1. If the owner pays the $1, he or she gets the benefit of whatever term Congress has set. If he or she does not, the work passes into the public domain. We know from historical data that more than 85% of copyrighted work would pass into the public domain after just 50 years under such a regime – clearing away a mass of legal regulation governing the ability of people to reuse culture. But even this reasonable proposal is being resisted by, for example, the MPAA. _______________________ Georgetown: Isn't the source of the problem in copyright law the extension of the copyright to derivative works? This aspect of copyright should be limited or eliminated after, say 50 years. That way Disney would be able keep selling its classics while the others would be able to use the work as the basis for new creations. Have there been any such proposals in Congress? Lawrence Lessig: This is a great suggestion. Yes, the one really radical way in which copyright law today differs from the copyright law our framers gave us is derivative rights: They didn't protect them, and we do. And that extension does, in my view, muddy many issues. I understand and support laws which control the ability of A to sell a verbatim copy of B's copyrighted work without B's permission. But whatever wrong that is, it is totally different from the "wrong" of building a work based on B's work. Our law does not adequately distinguish between the two, and it should. A shorter term might be one solution. I suggest others in my book. But it is plainly an area where serious reform could do serious good. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: How is distributing copies of copyrighted works to a stranger without the authorization of the artist, as in P2P, not a violation of copyright? Do you not agree that an artist's ability to copyright his work, if he chooses to, creates incentives for that artist to innovate and create? Without intellectual property protections incentives to innovate disappear. Lawrence Lessig: So I answered something close to this question before, so I won't repeat what I said there. But in summary: (1) "How is distributing copies of copyrighted works to a stranger without the authorization of the artist, as in P2P, not a violation of copyright?" It may be under the law as it is just now. I've not contested that generally. (2) "Do you not agree that an artist's ability to copyright his work, if he chooses to, creates incentives for that artist to innovate and create?" OF COURSE I do! Absolutely it does. And most of my work these days is devoted to making it easier for ARTISTS to choose how best to deploy the rights the law gives them. (see, e.g., <a rel="nofollow" href="http://creativecommons.org">http://creativecommons.org</a>). (3) "Without intellectual property protections incentives to innovate disappear." In some contexts, absolutely correct. In other contexts, no. There's plenty of incentive to innovate around Shakespeare's work, even though no one has a copyright in Shakespeare. There's would be plenty of incentive for law professors to blather on endlessly in law review articles, even without copyright protection. In my view, rather than treating (3) as a matter of ideology, we should treat (3) as a question of fact: IP is a form of regulation; regulation makes sense where it does more good than harm. So we should be asking where IP protection does more good than harm. _______________________ David McGuire: Does the pending case of 321 Studios over its DVD X Copy software – which allows users to make copies of their DVDs – seem to you a likely vehicle to address some of these fair use concerns before the Supreme Court? Lawrence Lessig: I don't think the Supreme Court is ready for these issues. I thought it was. I was wrong. I believe 321 should prevail in the case, and I hope it does. But the hysteria around this "war" is too great just now for this Court to consider the matter with the usual balance of judgment it has displayed in (most) copyright cases. _______________________ Alexandria, Va.: If a company has a valuable copyright and it wants to continue making money off it, why should it not be able to renew that copyright forever? I understand what copyright law says, but isn't it naive or even greedy to suggest that everything we create should ultimately be given away? Lawrence Lessig: Well, first one might point out that the Constitution says Congress can grant copyrights to "Authors" not companies. Second, one might observe that the Constitution says Congress can secure "exclusive rights" for "limited times." And third, one might ask when the term granted corporations is already almost a century, who's being "greedy" here? Of course one might well say the framers were idiots about this, and we should reject their wisdom and follow the wisdom of corporate lobbyists on this. Maybe. But I'd rather focus on the agreement we have: you write, "why should it not be able to renew that copyright forever?" I'm all in favor of a renewal requirement. Indeed, I've proposed a relatively long term (75 years) so long as the copyright owner "renews" the copyright every 5 year. No doubt that might sound like a hassle – and it is, given the way the government typically does things. But imagine one-click renewal. Imagine a system that was simple. In that world, I'd be totally ok with terms as long as they are, so long as terms had to be renewed. We know from history that the vast majority of copyrights – 85% - 95% – would not be renewed even after 28 years. So my aim – to minimize the senseless burden of endless terms – would be achieved with a renewal requirement. _______________________ Scranton, Pa.: It seems like you think the entertainment industry's endgame is to control all content from the cradle. At that point, presumably, all content would be puerile trash. But the industry likes this idea because we've seen that the average American consumer loves the smell of garbage. Is this the depressing landscape that you see on the horizon based on our present course? Or is this scenario extreme? Lawrence Lessig: I hope it is extreme. But it is an aspect of what I fear. I think ARTISTS and CREATORS are great. I think our framers intended them to be benefited by copyright law. But I believe our Congress (and FCC) has produced a world where PUBLISHERS (in the broadest sense of that term) are the real beneficiaries of our copyright system. And as they become fat, slogging giants, the stuff they produce (or allow to be produced) will be increasingly awful. _______________________ Anaheim, Calif.: Hello, Dr. Lessig. Is there any way to clearly define the line between fair use and infringement? I am not a copyright expert nor am I a lawyer. Is there a way to explain your answer in plain English? Lawrence Lessig: No, there is not, and that 95% of the problem. Fair use in America is the right to hire a lawyer – which is fine for CBS, or NBC, but useless for most creators. That's why I've proposed changes that produce clear lines, rather than lines requiring the services of $300/hr plus professionals. The great thing about the public domain, for example, is that it is a lawyer-free zone. Anyone can use anything in the public domain without asking permission first (except if you use Peter Pan, but that's another story all together…). _______________________ Arlington, Va.: Reps. Boucher and Doolittle have introduced a bill (H.R. 107) that seeks to provide the kind of balance to the DMCA that you suggest is important. Are you familiar with and, if so, do you support their legislation? Lawrence Lessig: Yes, and yes. Boucher and Doolittle have been rare but important voices of balance in this debate. Zoe Lofgren and Chris Cox too. All who believe in sanity in this "war" should be doing whatever they can to support these few, brave souls. Especially Congressman Boucher, who has a well funded opponent in this race (funded by whom I wonder?) _______________________ Flatland Crest, Mont.: You said earlier that if we can only examine one issue at a time - in this case piracy - then we as a culture are doomed. Doomed to what? Will artists fail to flourish because the entertainment industry has a lockdown on copyright? I doubt that a 13-year-old who set his or her pen to paper and suddenly produces a precocious, beautiful novel even knows what "Fair Use" means. Lawrence Lessig: I guess it depends on what you think "fail to flourish" means. There were many who thought art flourished in the soviet union, even though the artist couldn't publish or distribute his or her art. Of course, we're not the soviet union, but the same point is true nonetheless: I don't believe we have a FREE CULTURE if creativity is criminal. I don't believe we respect the tradition of FREE SPEECH if the act of remixing culture is an act that requires permission from publishers first. I don't believe we will have a vibrant FREE MARKET if it is so heavily regulated by lawyers. So even if in the dystopian future I describe, a 13 year old is physically able to create an "precocious beautiful novel," we don't live in a free culture unless she can create that work without hiring a lawyer first. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: In a recent article published in Forbes by Stephen Manes, he says that you are going to harm the creator and reward the people doing illegal activity as well as put "the U.S. at odds with international law." How do you respond? Lawrence Lessig: I've responded at length on my blog: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessig.org/blog">http://lessig.org/blog</a>. But I'll say that there was no review that more disappointed me than Mr. Manes'. I've got great respect for Forbes the man, and Forbes the magazine. And as, for example, Stu Baker in the Wall Street Journal noted, my argument is not really an argument for the left. Indeed, as he argued quite effectively, it is more powerfully an argument for the right. (Copyright law, as he put it, is the "asbestos litigation" of the 21st century). So I was very surprised both with the substance of Mr. Manes's review (which was unthinking and ill-informed) and with its tone (which was rude and abusive). Both seemed to me to be beneath the quality of the publication. And as I said in my first response to Mr. Manes, it just goes to show how much more work we in this movement have to make to make our ideas understandable. _______________________ Washington, D.C.: Hi Prof. Lessig - with each book that you release on the subject of IP rights and the 'net, I think you've become more readable for the masses. I'm thrilled with this, because I think these issues are of incredible importance for everyone. However, I think that there remains a long way to go before the general public thinks of "fair use" as anything other than an excuse used by those music-stealin' college kids. How can we better present your (our) concerns to the public in a way that helps them better understand the importance of these things to their lives? Lawrence Lessig: Thanks for the kind words. It is extraordinarily easy as a professor to believe your ideas are clear and obviously right. And the hardest lesson of the last 5 years for me has been the recognition of how many ideas I was sure are right are, it turns out, wrong, and how hard it is to make the rest understandable. That's especially hard for me, and it has taken many years to learn differently. I agree that it will take a great deal of work to make these ideas even more understandable. But I think the way to do it is by showing people the law, not arguing about it. Show parents the extraordinary creativity the technology of Apple enables. Show them what their kids can do with it – the music they can make, the films they can produce, etc. And then show them the billion ways in which the law would deem that creativity criminal. When people begin to see that this is a war we're waging against the next generation, they might begin to wake-up to its threat. (Then again, it's not as if our policy today is really much concerned with our kids at all. We don't tax ourselves so we can tax our kids (deficits); we don't pay to clean up our environment so our kids will; we wage wars that will excite a generation of hatred directed against – again – our kids. Etc. So I guess it is not surprising that here again, we wage a war whose primary target and victims will be our kids.) _______________________ Edgartown, Mass.: Good afternoon. Is this the first time that you have permitted your book to be made available for free on the Internet? How are the sales of your latest book stacking up against your previous works? Lawrence Lessig: It is the first time I've succeeded in convincing my publisher, yes. I have tried before, but am blessed this time to have a great and innovative publisher (Penguin Press) and an astonishing editor. (It was my editor who did the real work convincing the publisher). And sales are going much better than with any other book. But the part that has been the most interesting and surprising to me is not the sales. It is the derivative works. I released my book under a Creative Commons license, which left others free to make derivative works. If you go here <a rel="nofollow" href="http://free-culture.cc/remixes/">http://free-culture.cc/remixes/</a> you can see a list of the amazing number of "remixes" of the book that people across the net have made. There are many different formats available now (we released a PDF only). There are audio versions. There is a Wiki (which allows anyone to change or extend the book). I never expected the energy that the net has demonstrated. And as that energy will assure the ideas spread broadly, I am extraordinarily grateful. _______________________ San Francisco, Calif.: During the mid to late 1970's, the music industry be came moribund by it marketing ploys of only promoting large sales music groups who could fill arenas and stadiums. The response of musicians and consumers to the lack of creativity in rock music were the punk movements and new wave which developed on small independent labels. These were later coopted into the larger music industry just as rap was in the '90s. Are such consumer/artist uprisings still possible in our media controlled environment? Lawrence Lessig: They are possible, but would be more possible if the law was not such a heavy handed regulator in this space. More important to me, it would be possible if labels would be more tolerant of experiments by authors. Creative Commons, for example, has launched a number of licenses that enable authors to mark their content with freedoms – freedoms that will, many believe, lead to more sales of records. But these artists have been met with strong resistance by the traditional labels. We should all recognize something that no one admits: None of us know what will work best in the future. So in the face of that ignorance, we must depend upon a competitive market offering alternatives, and encouraging experiments. And a room filled with lawyers is not a great way to inspire experimentation. _______________________ David McGuire: Professor Lessig was good enough to take an extra half hour to answer more of the many insightful questions we received. Unfortunately we're out of time. I'd like to thank the professor for taking the time to join us today and our audience for contributing so many thoughtful questions. _______________________ 2004 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + For $65 annually, Rhizome members can put their sites on a Linux server, with a whopping 350MB disk storage space, 1GB data transfer per month, catch-all email forwarding, daily web traffic stats, 1 FTP account, and the capability to host your own domain name (or use <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.net/your_account_name">http://rhizome.net/your_account_name</a>). Details at: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/services/1.php">http://rhizome.org/services/1.php</a> + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 7. Date: 4.16.04 From: Tom Brecelic (t_brecelic@yahoo.com) Subject: Thai New Media Festival, Bangkok Thai New Media Festival, Bangkok. By Tom Brecelic Koh Samet, an island in the Gulf of Thailand, surely doesn't look this bizarre, but there's a virtual-reality version of the resort island in Bangkok this month that's one of over 100 individual works from 30 countries displayed at Thailand¹s Second New Media Festival, from March 20-28. ³The increasing use of communications technology in Thailand, combined with the unique Thai lifestyle and culture, is an excellent environment for exciting media art to emerge and fertilize the global art scene,² says festival director Francis Wittenberger, an Israeli born Hungarian who has spent the last ten years in top media labs in Europe. This year's success was attributed to sponsorship from various European institutions including the Israeli Embassy says, Francis, a media artist himself who started the first media festival in Thailand last year, in the northern resort town, Chiang Mai. Fifteen international artists participated this year. ³I also wanted to tap into institutions that may not actually have supported these kind of creative expressions,² says Wittenberger. . ³So much has been written about the political perspective of Israel in the mass media that people are not aware of the cultural and social dimensions of the country. Taking this into context, the Israeli embassy extended its support to facilitate Israeli artists and institutions for the festival.² ³The same goes for Srinakarinwirot University,² the main venue sponsor of the event, says Mr. Wittenberger, ³where there are no media courses in the Faculty of Fine Arts, let alone the incentive to support a New Media Event.² But Mr. Wittenberger isn¹t deterred. He believes that Thailand is a new media haven that just needs a bit of nurturing through festivals like this. ³You find teenagers at night-markets sitting on carton boxes cracking the code of the latest picture phones. These kids are potentially electronic artists.² Mr. Wittenberger set up a platform for cross-cultural exchange in 2001, the International Cultural Exchange Computer Activities¹ (ICECA), non profit organization that was set up to foster cross-cultural activities in the new media industry in Thailand after being invited to participate in the Chiang Mai social installation, titled ³Eu-ka-Buek² where he exhibited Oman, a thinking robot that was programmed to communicate in Thai. ³Thais are innovative and ?auto-bridge¹ the gap between their traditional culture and modern lifestyle,² says Mr. Wittenberger who use to teach computer-related courses at Chiang Mai University, where the inaugural festival was established in 2003. The festival opened up at the Goethe Institute, where Benoit Maubrey presented ³Performances with Electro-acoustic Clothes (1985-2004). The togs did the talking in this startling concoction by Berlin¹s Audio Gruppe, of which Maubrey is the director. ³Via movement sensors they can also trigger electronic sounds that are subsequently choreographed –or "orchestrated"– into musical compositions as an "audio ballet " (YAMAHA choreography)² said Maubrey of Performances with Electro-acoustic Clothes. He also uses a variety of other electronic instruments –mini-computers, samplers, contact microphones, cassette and CD players, and radio receivers– that allow them to work with the sounds, surfaces, and topographies of the space around them in a variety of solo or group choreographies. " I was particularly interested in working with local Thai dancers and integrating some of my equipment into their costumes and Thai classical dance," says Maubrey, who has done this site-specific work in other countries– AUDIO GEISHA/Japan, AUDIO CYCLISTS/France, AUDIO HANBOK/Korea, AUDIO BALLERINAS/ Bolshoi Dance St. Petersburg) — reflecting local customs, themes and traditions. At the Alliance Françoise, South Korean artist Jung Chul Hur screened her video art ³New Territory/A Beautiful Dream². These computer-edited digital films about a Thai island, Koh Samet, depicted Bangkokians¹ favorite getaway as a strange, aggressive place where anonymous man could be a metaphor for life. The video has been seen at Canada¹s Images Festival 2003, the Most Significant Bytes 2003 gathering in the Midwest US and Breakthroughs: New Experimental Films from Asia at Washington¹s Smithsonian Institute. At the British Council, German artist Hermelinde Hergenhahn displayed his video installation, ³Day in Day Out.² With the aid of a mirror, a segment of a street and sidewalk are filmed from above for one hour each day, and then the footage is projected via the same mirror onto the exact spot. Like a security camera made visible, the video shows the ³remains of the day², creating a mix of past and present. Lydia Ayers, the co-author of Cooking with Csound: Woodwind and Brass Recipes, a CD-ROM package which gives wavetable synthesis designs for wind instruments, demonstrated in a workshop at the British Council how to solve tuning and compositional, using demos of flute harmonics, Tuvan throat singing and synthesizing a bassoon tone. Then she compared the synthesized examples of traditional Chinese music with live demos of the same pieces at the workshop. Inspector Londan, inspector@inspector-london.com, from the UK, a project sited on eBay, was set up as a response to new possibilities emerging through new technologies and the virtual marketplace. Inspector takes looks at how ³these developments have redefined our interaction with the product and transformed the notion of manufacturing itself.² They gave a lecture on the implications of shopping culture. And eBay recently pulled the sockets out of their online piece due to its irreverent approach to consumer society. "The holy tree, the Banyan was where Buddha received enlightenment ," writes Berlin based artist, Alfred Banze of the Banyan Project, that started in January, 2004: on route to Tahiti and Thailand - to coincide with the festival- and other South East Asian countries that have a cultural heritage with the Banyan tree. The Banyan Project only requires a generator, a projector and a laptop, that is the technical basis of the project and is exhibited in the proximity of the Night markets, temple areas and rendezvous points, ceremonial sites and arterial roads of the metropolises and jungle locations. "The Festival uses the infrastructure for the baking packman individual tourism. That is called inexpensive Guesthaeuser, the public transportation network and Internet cafe, " explains Alfred Banze of the Banyan Project. The JavaMuseum - a forum for Internet Technologies in Contemporary Art- launched it¹s "I-Ocean // Netart from all Asia & Pacific area", kicked off at Festival here in Bangkok as part of the [R] [R] [R] 2004 (v.2) www.newmediafest.org/rrf2004/index.html project, an experimental New Media art project by media artist and New Media curator Agricola de Cologne. This is a completely online project developed as a global networking project during 2004 and 2005. The local media showered the event with accolades. ³New Media has arrived, and Mr. Wittenberger has been hailed as the techno-guru, ³ wrote the Bangkok Post. ³Next year¹s festival will my my new media creation, ³ says Mr. Wittenberger of MAF05, who will generate an online program where artists can submit their work for the festival. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Rhizome.org is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization and an affiliate of the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Rhizome Digest is supported by grants from The Charles Engelhard Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Rhizome Digest is filtered by Kevin McGarry (kevin@rhizome.org). ISSN: 1525-9110. Volume 9, number 16. Article submissions to list@rhizome.org are encouraged. Submissions should relate to the theme of new media art and be less than 1500 words. For information on advertising in Rhizome Digest, please contact info@rhizome.org. To unsubscribe from this list, visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/subscribe">http://rhizome.org/subscribe</a>. Subscribers to Rhizome Digest are subject to the terms set out in the Member Agreement available online at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rhizome.org/info/29.php">http://rhizome.org/info/29.php</a>. Please invite your friends to visit Rhizome.org on Fridays, when the site is open to members and non-members alike. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +