Artcontext on Fri, 29 Aug 2003 01:34:05 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> Collabyrinth |
Collabyrinth Recalling the surprises of public space online. By Andy Deck http://artcontext.org/act/02/collabyrinth/ At first the software resembles many free online services. Indeed, the main function of this site for many will be its ability to produce files of a particular type ("favicon.ico" Windows ICO files). Styled after Photoshop and promoted as "ICO LAB", the initial interface invites confidence and goal-directed behavior. In its conventional service capacity it works well enough. And it's free. But by blending tool, expression, and online experience, Collabyrinth examines the sea change that public space undergoes when it is reconstructed in cyberspace. What has gone missing from contemporary experience of the Web is that one seldom comes upon the unexpected. Predictable commercialism and the marginalization of independent media offerings has meant that people are more likely to be startled by viruses than by artists. Like the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice, the sensible facade of the tool gives way to a curious labyrinth of images that were left behind by the site's previous visitors. Confronted with these unanticipated corridors, disorientation ensues. This harmless entrapment calls for aesthetic interpretations that are typically absent from encounters with software. Though the carceral qualities of the labyrinth resemble some popular "shooter" video games, the guns are missing. Confinement, creativity, and a striving for freedom are set against one another. Adopting the high-tech idioms of mass-culture (3D-computer game, paint program), Collabyrinth is intended to be thought-provoking but not elitist. Conventional wisdom may find it too fanciful to be useful, and too useful to be art, as well. But in the moment of doubt, when goal-orientation appears to be at odds with the functioning of the software, beauty and fascination may intervene to invite exploration of alternative goals, perhaps even aesthetic goals. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net