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The arts are perplexed about how to respond to the whirlwind of innovation and invention coming from scientific research and technological development. For a long time they tried to ignore it or to assimilate it to traditional forms. There is a growing realization, however, that the arts must be much more proactive -- independently initiating scientific inquiry or pioneering new technological innovations rather than just using its gadgets. Artists undertake these activities not for utilitarian purposes but rather to probe the cultural implications of the new possibilities and to pursue lines of inquiry abandoned or ignored by other disciplines. Stephen Wilson is an artist and writer who has been exploring this new role of artist as researcher for the last 20 years. He will discuss several of his award winning art installations including "Is Anyone There" in which his computer called 5 pay phones 24 hours a day for a week, trying to engage answerers in conversations; "Crimezyland", a large outdoor public art "Disneyland of Crime" installation in which robot clowns activated on a large map of San Francisco when crimes were statistically indicated; and "Body Surfing", which allowed visitors to navigate cyberspace by drumming, stretching, gesturing and running. Several of the works explored the relationship of the physical to the remote by allowing both physical and web visitors to activate the events. He will also discuss his new book "Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science, and Technology" from MIT Press which identifies several emerging areas of research which call out for artistic attention. |
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http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/
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