Chapter 3 discusses the different themes that digital art explores. A few examples from the book include artificial intelligence, telepresence, database aesthetics, mapping, the body and identity. Digital art explores many of the same themes that traditional art explores but they also have their own themes specific to digital art.
As the book states artificial intelligence and Artificial life have been an area of research and speculation in the scientific realm for a very long time. Now artist and and scientist are creating projects that combine aesthetics and science. Karl Sim's installations Genetic Images and Galapagos allow people to influence a simulated evolution of images/organisms by making aesthetic decisions. The participant choices two organisms. The organisms respond by mutating and reproducing. The offspring are a combination of genes from the two parents with random mutations by the computer. Creating a simulated evolution by combining human and computer interaction. This project sounds very interesting. It combines the human reaction to images and aesthetics to scientific applications. It would be an interesting learning tool and just something fun to play around with.
People are also looking at the evolution of digital organisms. Rebecca Allen with a team of collaborators have created a project, a software system, titled Emergence. It creates a three dimensional, computer generated environment that is geared towards the exploration of social behaviors and communication through gestures and movements. This is an interesting project. In the physical world we communicate more through our body movements than with words. However it seems that people are more bold in the virtual world which I think would translate into different gestures and movements in the virtual world. It would be interesting to study the difference between how people react to the same situation in the real world versus the virtual world.
The book also discusses telepresence and how it influences people and communities. One of the projects talked about in the book, which was very interesting to me, was The Telegarden installation created by Ken Goldberg and Joseph Santarromana. The project had live plants that could be viewed through their website and people could water the plants and plant seedlings. It is reminds me of a virtual community garden. I wish the project was still around I would love to participate. Telepresence projects allow people to insert themselves into a distant environments and communities. They also allow people to create their own online communities. With the Telegarden people were not actually in the room with the garden but through the Internet they created their own community and created a physical environment along with a virtual environment.
Another interesting theme included in the book is mobile and locative media. Julian Bleecker explores locative media by creating the WiFiArtCache. An access point for digital art consisting of a free-floating WiFi node which has been deliberately disconnected from the Internet making it necessary for the user to be within physical range of the node to retrieve information. Once people are close enough they can download Macromedia Flash animations created by the artist. This is so interesting, it is like having a digital museum or gallery. This gives more people access to art and exposure to new artist.
Digital art explores artist themes in a different way. I believe giving more people exposure to art, different artist and ideas.
Nice job, Wendy. Full credit.
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