Selected images from Thursday's webcam

AM:
Group session - defining questions.
Mel Slater, UCL Computer Science (VR).
Andrew McGrath, Amanda Oldroyd: BT Labs - Virtual Research
PM:
Extracts from CUseeme afternoon linking with Australia, America, Norway and UK
Jeff Instone seminar (in collaboration with Camerawork Gallery)



CUSeeMe sessions Multi users means that it is possible to have an in-depth conversation. Time lag is a problem.
Connections
Susan Buck Morss - Cornell
MIrek Rogala - Chicago
Leah - Perth
Paul Bonaventura and John Gerrard - Ruskin
Heaven
k - MIT
teleworking - Manchester
Saving the chat.
Mainly banal discussions. A different type of discussion could possibly be promoted.
Interesting things can be done with the cameras.
borg from Boston, Ex Machina - religious person, k - MIT, Dildo, Slade 1 ARe they viewers, participants, players, audience, interactors and creators? Rhetorical question - we can be all these things at once

Its a few physical cues and the rest we are doing internally eg wire frame and we find the rest.
Embrace and then work through it.



Slade 6: Hi Paul
Your Name: Eva Are you there? I can see the Slade 6 window but there's no image
Slade 6: is john gerrard there ?
Your Name: Eva Can you see this text? Paul
Slade 6: YES I CAN SEE YOU AND YOUR TEXT CAN YOU SEE US ?
Your Name: How's it going up there? It sounds frantic!
Slade 6: It's great
Your Name: Liar!
Slade 6: Nooooooo It IS
Your Name: Eva , how has your week been?
Slade 6: So what do you two reckon about interactive art. Is that an appropriate word to describe the exhibits in
Serious Games ?
Slade 6: hello stephen
Your Name: The Ruskin Master has just come in and says he's thinking about reducing your degree mark
Slade 6: cheers
Slade 6: stop laughing we are supposed to be talking about spontaneous reaction
Your Name: Unfortunately we haven't seen digital games... and laughing is a spontaneous reaction
Slade 6: yeah
Your Name: Yeah what?
Your Name: Hi Simon
Slade 6: ok what would you like to talk about
Slade 6: hello stephen, simon lewandowski here -have you put the camera down your trousers - we've lost vision
Slade 6: hello john I'm back
Your Name: the future potential for interactivity, virtual tube......



Slade 6: continue
Your Name: well, how can we break down this rather static monitor interface, for one
Slade 6: oh what a picture
Your Name: lets have some serious response !
Slade 6: ok we can try this ...
Your Name: where are the other participants?
Slade 6: ££
Slade 6: don't know what that was... but that is how rory sees
Slade 6: and this is how eva sees
Your Name: Eva, I am a busy boy down here in Oxford, can we begin please !
Slade 6: ok
Your Name: So what have been the dominant concerns of the week so far ?
Slade 6: Most of the work I've been calling interactive could possibly have a better title
Your Name: whats that ?
Slade 6: We began to talk about that this morning but then we heard some people speak about virtual reality
Your Name: and what did these discussions involve
Slade 6: Do you think my work is interactive or is it more about degrees of CONSUMPTION ?
Your Name: your work in general or can we be more specific about a piece ?
Slade 6: Take that Pembroke piece for example Youve heard me talk about it enough times. Were the audince and I
really interacting or was it actually more controlled than usual
Slade 6: what 's Simon got to do with this ?.......ooooohgggh was that gossip or are we being seriopus now ?
Slade 6: serious without the p
Your Name: That was Stephen "the kid" Farthing



Your Name: lovely teeth Eva!
Slade 6: i'm just hanging around in the proximity of young women as usual, stephen. Here's another serious art
question
Your Name: Stephen is going to respond VISUALLY
Slade 6: do it again I missed it
Slade 6: hello tom
Your Name: HERE COMES STEPHEN AGAIN
Slade 6: SPONTANEOUS REACTION

another question.

is the distinguishing feature of technologically mediated interactive art not a qualititative one of essence but a quantitive one - interaction no longer takes place slowly and in an arena of social and commercial transactions - purchase, review, physical placement and re-placement, responce by others some time after the event -
but within a "response-sphere" incorporated into the artwork.



simon L
Slade 6: is that karly
Your Name: GIVE ME A MOMENT TO CHEW OVER THAT ONE
Slade 6: someone just shot past
Your Name: yes
Slade 6: hellooooooo... We have been having serious talks honest but now ....
Slade 6: don't scowl karly
Slade 6: .....come on speak
Slade 6: alison
Slade 6: star
Slade 6:
Slade 6: what do they reckon
Your Name: it has nothing really to do with speed, it has more to do wiyh generating a dialogue, however that is achieved, to Simon...
Slade 6: some text for you
Slade 6: .......or maybe too out of focus
Slade 6: pictures even
Slade 6: that's better
Slade 6: why didnt you come down to london today john
Your Name: Eva I am going to bail out and log on in Heaven, come with me...
Slade 6: someone else to talk to you
Slade 6:
Your Name: Hello new person
Slade 6: `Hello John , Eva has passed me over to you don't go away
Slade 6: My name is helen and I have been notetaking for the sessions. My typing has improved!
Your Name: I shall stay, promise
Slade 6: What else have you been talking about with Eva
Your Name: notetaking? are you a student?
Slade 6: No, I'm a curator, writer, researcher interested in the convergences in artistic and scientific practice
Slade 6: Hello Tom
Your Name: Johnny has had to go sort out personals, are you helen? we think we have a positive i.d.
Your Name: p.s. the camara has personals of its own
Slade 6: How did your degree show go?
Your Name: Has been immensly entertaining um lots of drama big sucesses and gossip all round . Have actually
enjoyed the experience. shock horror!
Slade 6: We have been anthopomorphising a lot. Our camera is called Agnes? What is yours called? We have also had an
amazing week of workshops on interactivity
Slade 6: The week has also been full of surprises - not least that for the fourth time this month I feel like changing the direction of curating and the PhD I'm doing
Your Name: Ooh by the way we are on the beeb today. News although i dont know pour quoi.. the camara is called mine.
I just happened to stroll in whilst jon and paul were setting up and theyve nicked it. What does
anthropomorphologiising?
Your Name: thats you that is



Slade 6: Come back. Anthorpomorphising means making an inanimate oject seem like an animate one. Agnes also also
does that . But we have seen quite enough of me
Slade 6: This is Anneke
Your Name: Terribly sorry that idont have anything terribly exciting and arty but im actually just entirely over
excited bty the teknology
Your Name: Hi Anneke
Slade 6: Yes so are we. We have talked about completely useless things all after noon and waved at the screen a
lot
Your Name: I saw the number six in Gold....
Slade 6: Please wave bac
Slade 6: Are you seeing things we can't see
Your Name: hello
Your Name: O.K , I am now off to Heavan, get the I. P . from Susan
Slade 6: bye then . come to london tonight with fabs etc
Your Name: Eva, give me a call on my mobile, bye, but do join the site in Heaven....
Slade 6: ok
Slade 6: how come everyone else is having clever conversation nd we arent
Your Name: or we could keep discussing stuff.... ?
Slade 6: please what do you think about that pembroke piece was it interactive ...see earlier question
Slade 6: dont look so pained
Slade 6: !!!
Your Name: I did not actually see that piece but from documentation I saw it appeared to be interactive in quite a
domestic and lo-tek
Your Name: way
Slade 6: was it ? How much could they actually change what I had set up
Your Name: did you feel that the teddy hall piece was challenging in terms of interactivity...?
Slade 6: how much control did I have in balance with them. Okay e dont have to talk about that pice. Any piece. Les talk
about my stairs
Slade 6: teddy hall.... do yopu mean the table cloths



Your Name: I am not going to have vision for a while... but lets keep talking
Your Name: no I mean the stairs piece
Slade 6: ok do you mean the table cloth interventionist piece ?
Slade 6: come on ?
Your Name: the stairs piece allowed people to engage with your work in a refreshingly fresh way
Slade 6: Do you know Catherine from Blackpool, 2nd year?
Slade 6: Ok the stairs
Your Name: in the Ruskin ?
Slade 6: yes
Slade 6: the stairs
Your Name: Ok lets talk stairs, I will be visible again in 5
Slade 6: Engaging yes I hope so ... but they had followed their usual pattern of behaviour and they could not choose the
words
Slade 6: they could not choose but to use the stairs if they wanted to go upstairs
Slade 6: yes they could add their own emphasis to my text and even set their own combinations of words if they were
acrobatic enough and had worked out how it worked
Your Name: yes, but as was discussed before one nature of technology is the exclusive nature due to expense
Slade 6: i don't understand
Your Name: sorry delay in transmission
Slade 6: who i talking about technology... I'm not ... not directly anyway
Slade 6: is not i!
Your Name: as in you made a very interesting interactive piece very much informed by its surroundings
Slade 6: but was it really interactive for the viewer and i that is what I'm wondering
Your Name: I am now being filmed by the Ruskin Digital camera
Slade 6: ok but please answer
Slade 6: a work about taking and making yours but not a work which actually did this ... ?
Your Name: It was interactive to the extent that the presence of a "viewer' involved a series of 'results' but perhaps
anything that creates a response is interactive...?
Slade 6: hmmm nice profile
Slade 6: please john behaviour.....okay our being spontaneous
Your Name: Eva, lets both log onto Heaven...
Your Name: This is Stephen 'the kid' Farthing again.....
Slade 6: can you see the angels
Slade 6: hanks
Slade 6: thanks I mean
Your Name: can you see the Ruskin devil
Slade 6: yes
Slade 6: is it you
Slade 6: ok see you in heaven
Your Name: no it is that brat Paul b.
Slade 6: we're hanging up now, see you there...if problems, then meet you back here?
Ex Machina: Heaven must be in the net
Your Name: eva can you show some signs of life
Slade 6: hello again Ex Macina
Ex Machina: hello there, anyone home ?
Ex Machina: Hi Your Name!
Ex Machina: Hello Slade 6
Your Name: Susan Paul here Shall we get back to the main q and a session re: interactivity
Ex Machina: do you know were you are ?
Slade 6: aidy here, fire away
Ex Machina: I think Ive been here before
Your Name: Hi Aidy So why is the net interactive and a painting not?
Slade 6: ignore ex machina, it seems to have failed the turing test for intelligence
Ex Machina: Im getting plenty of chat from you
Ex Machina: Im getting plenty of chat from you
Your Name: Aidy are you still there?



Ex Machina: I can not disconnect, I will try again, see you for now, in case I do
Slade 6: i'm not sure how to approach that question, if i take sculpture/installation as an example of supposedly
traditional media then i would suggest that ther eis very little difference, save for the medium of communication
Ex Machina: ask heaven what Virilio would have to say about this
Ex Machina: heaven seems to be talking to itself
Your Name: Aidy, can you put Susan on
Slade 6: the net only becomes interactive when viewers contribute, in itself it can be just a more confused space
Ex Machina: lets meet your visitors
Slade 6: susan is out of the rooom right now
Ex Machina: Im getting plenty of chat from you
Slade 6: is ben her going to say something
Ex Machina: I will put my video levels up
Slade 6: are we engaged in a situation about the impossibility of possibilities
Ex Machina: Were are you Heaven ?
Slade 6: finite/infinite
Slade 6: its susan
Ex Machina: lets meet your visitors
Slade 6: grahame?
Slade 6: jaron?
Slade 6: susan'll be back in 2 mins
Your Name: surely by virtue of being affected by information or visuals to be found on the internet, that is in some
way interactive... ?
Ex Machina: This is Heaven isnt it
Slade 6: more of a perceptive response wouldn't you say?
Ex Machina: it certainly is a weird place
Your Name: yes I suppouse so, but
Slade 6: the mediation created by the network can suggest more than it provides i sometimes think
Ex Machina: Its been a long day, hows it going with you ?
Slade 6: who is there, and where is there
Ex Machina: Im getting plenty of chat from you
Your Name: Slade 6, do you use the internet within your work... ?
Your Name: Ex Machina, you are very strange
Ex Machina: god thinks he knows everything
Slade 6: no, i come from a background which is interested in the use of technology in relation to objects and space
Ex Machina: I have no idea what these images are
Slade 6: i have a deep dislike/fascination dichotomy created by "black boxes"
red: is that like ben her over
Your Name: i.e installation...
Your Name: what the hell was red wearing......
Slade 6: i am at a point where i have to decide whether to enter into the computer space as a means to expand my
practice
Ex Machina: it was in his essay Radical Thought that Jean Baudrillard said ,This challenge is more vital to our
survival and to that of the human species than the belief in reality and in existence, which always refers to spiritual
consolations pertaining to another world. Our world is such as it is, but that does not make it more real in any respect.
The most powerful instinct of man is to be in conflict with truth, and with the real
Ex Machina: red, what do you expect here?
Ex Machina: I can not disconnect, I will try again, see you for now, in case I do
Your Name: I think that artists have an enormous role to play in the future interaction of machine and man, definitely
use computer space to expand your practice...!
Slade 6: porque puedemos
Ex Machina: These images look pretty hellish to me
Ex Machina: Im not sure were Im located how about you ?
Ex Machina: These images look pretty hellish to me
Slade 6: this is the probable route, but still i am wary of my work becoming dependent on unknowable systems, and
consequently shaped outside of my control
Ex Machina: Do they call you, or do you call them
Slade TWO: hello
Slade TWO: hiya 6
Your Name: Aidy, what do you mean by unknowable systems
Ex Machina: Im getting plenty of chat from you
Your Name: hello to slade two
Ex Machina: Hi Slade TWO!
Slade TWO: what's the discussion
Ex Machina:
Ex Machina: all technology is a religious phenomenon
Slade TWO: it's very slow over here, where are you coming from Your Name
Slade TWO: all religion is a form of technology, can we talk about something else?
Ex Machina: I can not disconnect, I will try again, see you for now, in case I do
Slade 6: by unknowable systems i am refering to both the hardware and software. to use the computer as a tool i feel i
will need to devote a lot of time to learning software and possibly programming, whist the chances of me ever
understanding the processing/technology is zero
Slade TWO: Aidy I can see me in the back of your camera
Ex Machina: I can not disconnect, I will try again, see you for now, in case I do
Slade 6: hello your name
Slade 6: what is your name
Slade 6: anyone ther e
Slade 6: lets go to the pub