Personas and Personalities

"If 'identity' is one of the most important topics concerning the digital possibilities of reality construction, 'personality' is a more general aspect of the core personal traits that let us still recognize an (almost) 'human' (opposed to a 'machine'). In this issue of the valuable Aspect dvd magazine, works focused on artificially constructed or artistically abstracted personalities are included and commented, as usual, by some interested critics. Singular human entities are effectively constructed (or duplicated) upon social conventions, gestures, dresses, expressions, assumed roles and identity crisis. The daily mediated experience made us used to perceive a vast range of entities to naturally interact with. But destructuring pieces of identity and constructing credible personalities is a different process than configuring an attracting avatar. Nevertheless the avatar form is a recognized liquid second skin, that embodies some of the instinctual traits of the owner. And both these methods of representing an apparently independent entity constitute nothing more than an appropriate meaningful conglomerate of data, that can as well represents a completely artificial entity in a crowded mediascape. So the question could be: will persons be recognized as 'human' because of their ability to manage themselves as an information node? In this collection there's a wide investigation, ranging from the seminal work 'Roberta' by Lynn Hershmann made in early seventies, to the Kristin Lucas' 'Involuntary Reception', the Jill Magid's 'Evidence Locker' and The Yes Men's 'WTO', building a seminal selection that represent these topics for future references." -- Neural.

ASPECT :: Personas & Personalities, Vol 7, Spring 2006.

This volume of ASPECT features artists working with issues of identity and personality. For some, a constructed identity is an opportunity to explore personal or cultural issues of gender, accountability and culpability. Other artists make their own personality an integral part of their work and process. All the works in this issue examine the role of personal psychology in how we interact with others and our surroundings on an everyday basis. We are thrilled by the quality and diversity of work in this issue, and with the diverse ways in which the artists and commentators interpreted our open call. Enjoy.
In this issue:

Tea Party by Anthony Goicolea
w/ commentary by Terri Smith
Boop-opp-A-Doop by Sachiko Hayashi
w/ commentary by Nicholas Economos
Becoming Roberta, DiNA by Lynn Hershman
w/ commentary by Claudia Hart
Involuntary Reception by Kristin Lucas
w/ commentary by Marcia Tanner
Evidence Locker by Jill Magid
w/ commentary by Jelle Bouwhuis
The Day We Met by Christian Jankowski
w/ commentary by Bill Arning
More Man by Erik Levine
w/ commentary by Elizabeth Smith
Dow by The Yes Men
w/ commentary by Marisa Olson
The Veils of Transference by Adrianne Wortzel
w/ commentary by Christiane Paul
Bequeaths, Oaths of Signature by CarianaCarianne
w/ commentary by Julie Rodrigues Widholm

Credits: Editor:Michael Mittelman; Assistant Editor:Liz Nofziger; Production:Meghan Tomeo;

Art Direction: 2Communique; Animation:Jonathon Ouellette; Intern:Keagan Stiles; Sound Design:George Cox; Audio Mastering:Dexter Media