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Re-Reading, Internet Travelogues, Devon Think Databases / Encyclopedias / Documentary Capture Projects, Field Trips through Electronic Archives or “Voyages-Detour”
Short Summary: The work is mainly concentrated on an exploratory mode of internet- and cultural- research on the internet (internet-travelogues) which is at large resulting in databases / encyclopedias / documentary capture projects or field trips through electronic archives - all stored in a devon think database. All searches newly found data objects as text, websites, other formats and / but mainly images on the most diverse topics are strictly based on specifically defined rules of collections / lists from cultural references out of books & electronic text. Work includes: The “As We May Think” Database / encyclopedia / documentary capture project, based on the cultural references out of the Jargon File. (4653 items mai 06) and the “g.a.s.” Database / encyclopedia / documentary capture project, based on the cultural references out of the novel “ Sewer Gas & Electric” by Matt Ruff, published 1997. (1692 items mai 06) (Both projects are work in progess.) Let’s say; a “Voyage Detour” – from books to the web back to the desktop and again fed to the web or to other media.
Links to infos, unregularly blogging, and ordinary homepagethingies on the web are:
As We May Think Info Site
As We May Think collaborative workshop blog
1066 And All That - personal blog / web based work space on books & reading
SSL LUES collaborative blog / web based workspace together with Sabine von Fischer
Malloryneelyhouse Net / Homepage
Sewer Gas & Electric (G.A.S.)
Re-Reading a “Voyage-Detour” –through and –out. 24th Mai 2006
This evening Claudia Hardi will re-read a „voyage-detour“ -through and -out her new work, another fieldtrip through electronic archives, called „G.A.S.“ (short for Sewer, Gas & Electric). Project at the ACC Weimar Galerie, Weimar, Germany. International Residence Program. The G.A.S. project is a new documentary / database based on the references and main characters of the comic-, science fiction novel: “Sewer, Gas & Electric” “The Public Works Trilogy” by Matt Ruff , 1997. The book’s story could be described as a wild ride between the good, the evil, and the indifferent. The New York sewer department that takes explosives and small arms in the battle against the alligators and other mutant creatures living in the effluent of the city, radical eco-terrorists with extravagant submarines and the industrialist with huge dreams building towering shining monuments to human acheivement. This documentary / database looks deeper into the main characters’ (hi)stories, draws and doodles its own assumptions and new fragmentary combinations out of the novel. Some characters you will meet in this documentary / database are: Donald Trump, real estate tycoon and his buildings, Ayn Rand and her pop philosophy and novels of the “heroic man”, John Edgar Hoover, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln, the history of the submarine, and the space monkeys.Claudia Hardi’s work is mainly concentrated on an exploratory mode of research on the correlation between popular culture, computer science, comic- game- and sci fi culture, network communities and the cultural aspects of technology. Re-collecting and documenting as a set of navigation experiences on a field trip through electronic archives; the (hi)stories of computer science or / and as we speak of now – simply called “g.a.s.”. It’s the idea to produce an itself commenting and opponent structure through visuals and images with the assistance of cuts, blendings, cross-overs and counterproposals. It’s the goal to document and to provoke new discussions about historical and social themes, which are occurring through this new montage. The interest is focused on images, facts, and (fictional) data. Much of this material stands on the peripheries of common interest. Images and texts that do not fit in particular “politics”. Inevitably – and inherent to such work, meaningful notes vanish in between the banal, meandering thoughtful and anarchistic loops. Contradictions and absurdity are present in the same space. Poetics, facts and oddities are being mixed up. Reasonably; because the work is determined by curiosity, exploration and stories and not as much by the “correct” and scientific historical documentation and archive. Because on a trajectory through the internet, even thought it is a “fictional” space, one is not so much confronted with a distant screen, as one could assume; but is actually enclosed by images.
I invite you warmly for this cruise through electronic archives at the 24th Mai 8pm at the ACC
Bon Voyage, (April 2006, ch)
The As We May Think Database - The (Hi)stories of Computer Science
Awmt is the acronym for “As We May Think”. “As We May Think” is originally the title of a paper written by Vannevar Bush (1890–1974). He is the pivotal figure in hypertext research. His conception of the “Memex” introduced, for the first time, the idea of an easily accessible, individually configurable storehouse of knowledge. “Memex”, which was described by Bush as a: theoretical machine to enhance human memory by allowing the user to store and retrieve documents linked by associations. This associative linking was very similar to what is known today as hypertext. Douglas Engelbart, Ted Nelson and J.C.R. Licklider were directly inspired by his work, and, in particular, his article, “As We May Think.” Neverthless Vannevar Bush was never directly involved with the creation or development of the Internet. He died before the creation of the World Wide Web. The “Awmt” database is a collection of data, as web pages, txt, and images based on all cultural references such as books, movies, computergames, papers, comics, persons, places etc. found in the Jargon File Version 4.3.1. The database counts almost 224 maps, each containing material of one reference. The collected material is stored in a information manager, freeform database software named devon think. But to begin with, let me describe the Jargon File in a few sentences: The Jargon File 4.3.1 is a hacker dictionary. It is a collection of slang terms used by various subcultures of computer hackers. The main subject of this lexicon is programming, computer science, electronics, and other fields connected to hacking, as science fiction, comics, games, and movies. The Jargon File is in the public domain on Jargon File 1 and Jagon File 2, to be freely used, shared, and modified. I have taken this lexicon as the departure point for a extensive internet research which describes loosely the first period and philosophies of the internet and it’s documented inherent culture. Awmt is therefore a re-collection based on the associations of this notes of diverse internet communities. Over the course of one year, (March 2004 – March 2005 ) I have developed the conceptual structure for this database, which finally resultied in a lecture, and a workshop & installation. The workshop & installation is essentially an inventory of stories. Also it can be seen as a massive documentation-capture project and cataloging system which will be published in the form of a workshop & installation, let’s say; a real-time documentation-capture performance where invited people and visitors alike are tracking and interpreting the already existing material as well as creating new internet travelogues. The workshop & installation is primarily thought as a continuation of this database by diverse authors and researchers, hopefully each providing an opportunity to address the collection from a different point of view, in a different kind of way. Awmt is an ongoing project that allows the content and context of the database and publication process to converge. The Installation & workshop comprises: The visual material which is added to the database, and which is additionally documented in “worksheets”. These are printed out and mounted on the wall, starting at the top left-hand corner of its venue and continuing across all the walls in rows. (January, 2005, ch)The Awmt database is a work in progress and meant to be continued and extended in collaboration with others within the frame of intensive workshops and in collaboration with media institutes. The project has been supported and made possible by the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart. A lecture with a following 2 days workshop took place on the 3rd, 4th & 5th March 2005 at the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany. Link for more information: awmt info site
Anthologies on Network Communities & Other Geographies
My work is mainly concentrated on an exploratory mode of research on the correlation between popular culture, computer science, comic- and game culture, network communities and the cultural aspects of technology. Re-collecting and documenting as a set of navigation experiences on a field trip through electronic archives; the (hi)stories of computer science. An experiment with (hi)stories of fragmented portraits of multilayered occurrences, identities and entities in physical and electronic space. Research that is focused on data-events, specific languages, which are occurring in on-line communities; their ramifications and references. It’s the idea to produce an itself commenting and opponent structure through visuals and images with the assistance of cuts, blendings, cross-overs and counterproposals. It’s the goal to document and to provoke a new discussion about the historical and social themes, which are occurring through this new montage. An important aspect within this practice is the representation of “themed” issues and as mentioned before, in collecting material and data. The interest is focused on images, facts, and (fictional) data. Much of this material stands on the peripheries of common interest. Images and texts that do not fit in particular “politics”. Inevitably – and inherent to such work, meaningful notes vanish in between the banal, meandering thoughtful and anarchistic loops. Contradictions and absurdity are present in the same space. Poetics, facts and oddities are being mixed up. Reasonably; because the work is determined by curiosity, exploration and stories and not as much by the “correct” and scientific historical documentation and archive. Because on a trajectory through the internet, even thought it is a “fictional” space, one is not so much confronted with a distant screen, as one could assume; but one is actually enclosed by images and scrolling text. The documentations should keep this mood. In my research and work, i’m interested in possible and existing navigations through the internet. Out of the experiences, i design representations who are complementing one another by similar or parallel concepts and developments, or which are in contrary, representing counterproposals. The doubt and ambiguity that occurs through mixing and formally folding different platforms of “reality” are provoking thoughts on our environment and the way we could understand, and (re)present it. I track, read, collect and construct and observe locations and connections on the web. From txt, images, stories, papers, to other, different and disorienting settings. Exploring the surfaces and tactics of communication. I guess if cartographers represent space by drawing it into two dimensions, and archaeologists drawing the axis of historical time by studying human artifacts, it must be possible to find more accurate methods and forms for mental mapping contemporary visual (networked) culture which refers closer to an experience of our current condition. The work can be seen as small sketches or mental maps, sometimes vast panoramas. It is concentrated on individual productions which can be combined into groups and layers of works again in other settings. (Essay August 2004, ch)
