Howdy fellow pd-ers,
Thought I'd throw this at the artists on the list ...
For the past 6 months or so my wife, Anika, has been working her master's thesis, a critique of media art in the form of a Dogme 95-style manifesto, entitled SCHEMA-D. The idea came up from numerous discussions with her friends as well as both of our views while working behind the scenes at Ars Electronica:
"This is an experiment, a reevaluation by looking back, around, and inside to media art. This manifesto is not intended to produce masterpieces but I hope it will provoke thought and discussion.
I want to address the commerce, the superficiality, and the mainstream which I see in many media art and especially in interactive art pieces. I now ask myself is the technology itself the art or is there more, shouldn’t there be more? When is it art and when is it a tool?"
She's adapted the Dogme 95 ruleset thusly:
Technology and technical devices must be older than 3 years and chosen according to the content, as opposed to function.
Sounds can be amplified but must be live. Samples and recordings must not be used unless they are recorded and played back with video material. Computed or generated sounds must be an action of a live event.
If a computer is in use it must be a laptop or a mobile device. The presentation of the work must be in a space within context of the artwork.
Projections must not use the given format of the projection device. Screens must be part of the artwork (the work cannot be exhibited as documentation).
Optical work and filters on video or photographic content are forbidden. Generated graphics are forbidden.
No superficial interaction. Instructions must not be needed; Games are not acceptable.
Nothing is to be covered or hidden
The interface must not be the artwork. It must be aesthetically and functionally part of the artwork.
The artwork must be able to be turned on and off using a single action.
The artist is a single entity! Collaboration is a myth; Let’s collaborate.
I sending this to you partly to promote discussion but also for the fact that Anika is looking for feedback as this topic has become much tricker then she ever imagined. It's like "nailing pudding to the wall...".
If you have any ideas, insights, rants, raves, links, books, quotes, etc you can visit her thesis site and comment on each rule (and it's accompanying explanation): http://anika.deadbeat.cc/schema-d/
Thanks all!
Dan Wilcox danomatika.com robotcowboy.com
