Cyberart
Introduction
Description
Please go to IVLE, Integrated Virtual Learning Environment, site for the latest schedule and module information.
How have new technologies been used in creative ways, by artists and by society?
Is there anything to be learnt from the arts, even if we do not want to become artists?
What actually is considered art? How do we make aesthetic judgments? Can we define the beautiful, and what is “sublime”?
Are business, political and military leaders creative? Are there any similarities between strategic creativity and artistic creativity?
What connections exist between art, avant-garde, leadership, risk and innovation?
Which conditions of a society foster creativity?
The term “Cyberart” refers to a field of contemporary art that makes use of media with cybernetic features. We hereby mean computer-based artworks which have been emerging since 1950s and rely on the developments in the information and communication technologies. In this module, we explore how artists have been inspired by the possibilities of these new media, and in many cases, contributed to various conceptual and technological innovations.
With Cyberart as a starting point, we touch on related aesthetic issues. We learn about main movements of contemporary art and some of the philosophical views on art and its reception. And in an excursion to an exhibition in town, we train our interpretational skills.
The rest of the semester is practice-based: three assignments requiring the use of video and internet or other interactive media follow. Focus lies in the conceptualization of the artworks, the methodology of brainstorming and aesthetic decision-making. Students will also experience interdisciplinary collaboration and the use of theory as a source of inspiration for creative works, i.e., innovations.
We also train the awareness of the relations between artworks and, for example, how to conceptualise meaningful combinations in an exhibition. All stages of the production are discussed together in class.
Finally, we reflect upon our experiences in the broader context of society. For example, we discuss how the creativity of leaders may differ from that of artists and if the lessons learnt may be valuable in other contexts.
Please note: this module encourages creative and independent thinking. Some assignments leave a lot of freedom for self-determined individual work.
Lesson
Lesson
Please notice: we reserve the right to amend and change the syllabus, reading schedules, and grading events during the semester.
Jan 11, 2006
- Part I:
Introduction of students and lecturer - Part II:
“Cyberarts” – Introduction to the Terminology
Changes of art in the 20th century and the positioning Cyberarts - Part II:
In claas assignment
Gunalan Nadarajan, Cyberarts, Intersections of Art and Technology (will be distributed in class).
Net-search: examples of cyberart and discussion by application of the new terminology. - http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/mediaartnet
Jan 18, 2006
- Part I:
The Language of New Media - Lev Manowich
Reading and discussion of the principles of New Media (Chapter 1). - Part II:
In class assignment:
Discussion of Chapter “What New Media are not” (Manovich). - In class assignment: reading and discussion:
www.mediaartnet.org
Ippolite, www.three.org
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/mediaartnet
Jan 25, 2006
- Part I:
Introduction to Video Art
Reading: Klotz, Heinrich “Video Art” in Media Scape. Guggenheim Museum Publications,1996. P. 8-11. (Refer to the Module Folder). - Selected video art projects.
- Part II:
Introduction to Digital Video. Digital Filming and Editing. Distribution of Hardware & Software.
Reading: “Final Cut Pro” Tutorials.
Feb 1, 2006
- Part 1:
Dramaturgy of Linear Media:
Classical narrative dramaturgy: excerpts of Stephen Vogler, A Writer’s Journey, 1996
http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/NarrativeTheory/ - Part I:
Creative Techniques: How to do a Brainstorming?
In class assignment: reflecting on brainstroming and concept development. - Part II:
Video Assignment: A video about the idea of “success”.
Brainstroming about “success”. in relation to linear and non-linear dramaturgy.
Feb 8, 2006
- Part I:
Introduction to Cyberarts - Central notions like interactivity, non-linaerity and hypertext.
Selected works of cyberart. - Part II:
In class assignment: central notions like control, surveillance and power and others in cyberarts.
Reading: S Dinkla "From Participation to Interaction: Toward the Origins of Interactive Art", in L. Hershman et al, Clicking In: Hot Links to a Digital Culture, 1996 (Reading Pack), and Lev Manovich "On Totalitarian Interactivity" at http://www.manovich.net/TEXT/totalitarian.html, 1996. - Discussion and in class assignments of analysis.
- Reading assignment for next week: Descartes, First Meditations.(see reader in Library).
Feb 15, 2006
- Part I:
Visions of Virtual Reality
Introduction to VR – examples from cyberarts.
Oliver Grau on Immersion. (http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/mediaartnet/) - Part II:
Screening of Existenz – David Crononeberg
and Rene Descartes’s notion of cogito. - Discussion
- Part II:
Preparation of Visit of Fringe Festival.
Art as Agenda setting
Feb 22, 2006
- Mid term break
Mar 1, 2006
- Field Trip
Visiting Fringe- Festival (www.singaporefringe.com)
Class will be divided into different groups, visiting the festival. - Prepare short presentation of your visit until next week.
Mar 8, 2006
- Part I:
Screening and discussion of video assingments.
Discussion of Fringe art works.
Comparison - Part II:
Technical Training for Platform Project I
Mar 15, 2006
- Part I:
Introduction to Net-Art.
Assignment: Presentations of selected artists.
Web-research references : Net Condition : Exhibition of Net-Art; Rhizome Artbase; Mark Amerika - Part II:
Preparation for the assignment of the interactive platform project on “strategy”. - Part III:
Technical Training II
Mar 22, 2006
- Part I:
Cybergames and Strategy
Assignment – with guest lecturer on narration and strategy in games.
Artistic games. - Part II:
Discussion of concepts of platform projects.
March 29, 2006
- Part I:
Immersive Virtual Reality
Artists working with Immersive Virtual Reality. - Jeffrey Shaw's VR art and lecture streaming at http://www.cyberartsweb.scholars.nus.edu.sg/ccri/events.html
- Heim, Michael “The Essence of VR” in The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality. Oxford University Press, 1993.
- Part II:
Visit to Immersive Visualisation Lab of NUS.
Discussion
April 5, 2006
- Part I:
The Art of Human-Machine Interfaces. Reading:Stelarc “Extended-Body: An Interview with Stelarc” by Paolo Atzori and Kirk Woolford, in Digital Delirium edited by Arthur and Marilouise Kroker. St. Martin’s Press, 1997.
Web-references : Stelarc; Wearable Computing; Art & Robotics Group, found at http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/arts/uar2201/outline2.html. - Part II:
How We Became Posthuman.
Reading : K. Hayles. Excerpts from How We Became Posthuman : The Virtual Body in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Web-references : Human Genome Project ; Visible Human Project found at http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/arts/uar2201/outline2.html - Part II:
Preparation of final presentations of platform projects.
April 12, 2006
- Overview and Sum up of the module.
Presentation of platform projects (to be confirmed).
Open session.
Assessment
Assessment
Students will be assesed based on the following:
- Class Participation (with IVLE) and presentation - 30%.
- Digital Video Art Project - 40% - To be submitted by the end of Week 9.
- Net Platform Projects - 30% - To be submitted by the end of week 14.
- Note: The students' team is required to submit a clear description of each participant's contribution for all group projects, as an Appendix to the main project materials. For all other questions related to assessment, please write to the lecturer.
Project Gallery
Net Gallery
The following sites may require Java and Flash to be installed and enabled in your browser. Download the latest version of Java and Adobe Flash Player.
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Man in the Straight Line |
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Untitled |
Fuck Art |
Theme: Success
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It Doesn't Matter (Part 1) |
It Doesn't Matter (Part 2) |
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It Doesn't Matter (Part 1) |
It Doesn't Matter (Part 2) |
Theme: Possibility
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Morning Routine |
Life |
Theme: Success
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Free (Part 1) |
Breaking Free (Part 2) |
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Skipping Stones (Part 1) |
Stepping Stones (Part 2) |
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Left Hand (Part 1) |
Right Hand (Part 2) |
Theme: Possibility
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In Finite Possibilities |
Family |
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What If |
Theme: Success
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Success Away |
Theme: Possibility
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Don't Missunderstand Me |
Theme: Success
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The Birth and Death of a Social Being |
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Chasing Wind (left screen) |
Chasing Wind (right screen) |
Success 1.2 |
Success 2.2 |
Theme: Possibility
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Inconceivable Conception |
A Tree Can Fly |
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The One |
7 Frames |
Theme: Success
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Part 1 |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Part 2 |
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The Way to Success 1 |
The Way to Success 2 |
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Success Part 1 |
Success Part 2 |
Theme: Possibility
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Inconceivable Conception |
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Dot Dot Dot |
The Print |
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Inside Outside 1 |
Inside Outside 2 |
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Success Project Act I - During |
Success Project Act II - What Comes After |
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Dead Ends |
Morning |
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6 |
Deconstruction |
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Awaken |
Traverse |
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One Moment |
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All Shall Fade |
Quest for Success 1 |
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Quest for Success 2 |
The Sandcastle of Success |
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Expectations & Reality |
Stages of Possibilities |
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Perception as Possibility |
Absurdity of Life |
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Here |
Wrong |
Theme: Success
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Final Success |
Have I Done Well |
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Strings Attached |
The Journey Continues |
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Trump Card |
Themes: Possibility & Success
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Models of Success |
Ambidexterity |
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Possibility |
Social Prep for Death |
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Art for Whom |
Water |
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Possibilities en Suite |
Success |
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Feet Part 1 |
Feet Part 2 |
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The Interview |
Themes: Possibility & Success
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Video1 |
Video2 |
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Video3 |
Video4 |
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Video5 |
Video6 |
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Video7 |
Theme: Possibility
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Who's In Control |
Loose |
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Moves and Turns |
Detours |
Theme: Success
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Elixir |
Struggle of Success |
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Success |
Go Fish |
Theme: Possibility
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Possibility |
Possibilites in White |
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10^134 Moves |
I Dwell in Possibility |
Theme: Success
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Catherine |
What is Success And How to Achieve It |
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Moulding Success |
Success |
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Sonia |
Everything in It's Right Place |
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Otto |
In The End |
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Success is a Verb |
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Fun |
Plastic |
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Skin |
Technology |
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Space |
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Image |
Machines |
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Games |
City |
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Food |
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Strings |
Glitch |
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Still Motion |
Continuity |
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Communication |
Fun |
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Future |
Human |
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Machines |
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City |
Play |
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Miscommunication |
Quantal Happiness |
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Technology |
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Communication |
Education |
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Machine |
Happiness |
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Fun |
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Corpus |
Enomortem |
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Space |
D/T |
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C3Cafe |
Desire and Sexuality |
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Eye |
Space and Architecture |
Net Gallery
Net Gallery
The following sites may require Java and Flash to be installed and enabled in your browser. Download the latest version of Java and Adobe Flash Player.
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The Bucket List The Bucket List explores the theme of death, and the thoughts of an individual before death. Once again, what would you think about right before you die? Some may reminisce their loved ones and wonderful times, but others may choose to focus on their regrets in life. |
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Testimony Trade Testimony Trade creates opportunities for you to send and receive eulogies to and from people you care about. Through our personalized platform, you will get a chance to match yourself with someone you love and exchange eulogies with one another. |
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The Closet Dreamer Share with us your greatest wish or the greatest goal you want to achieve or work towards. With The Closet Dreamer, you can express yourself, link up with others with similar dreams, and find others with complementary dreams. |
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Zukunft The damage from the disposable industry is not just to our health and our wallets; it also shapes the world animals and our future generations will live in. At Zukunft, we offer a fair valuation of items that have become too easily demanded and disposed in the new age of consumerism. Zukunft, for the future. |
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Taste of Home In today's globalized world it might not always be possible to go home and spend time with family due to traveling, work or living arrangements. Sometimes, what we really need the most is a home cooked meal to pick us up. Taste of Home offers the unique experience of bringing your family's authentic cooking right to your door. |
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Juju Divine Juju Divine is an online store and platform that gives users access to divine artefacts of various religions, superstitions, etc. Juju, in its original context, refers specifically to objects, such as amulets, and spells used as part of witchcraft in West Africa. In the context of Juju Divine, however, we use the term Juju broadly to encompass any artefact that has some sense of the metaphysical. Juju Divine promises to be a one-stop shop where users can access such items that promise to change their destiny, releasing users from the chains of fate. |
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Still Life Still Life is a community where artists and readers imagine about the world in fiction and transform it—its characters, scenes, anything—into a visual work. |
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Payback Your kid’s future is extremely important. It requires detailed planning and intense discipline to make sure he succeeds in life.But getting your kid exactly where you want him to be is no easy task, and you should get payback for your hard work. They will thank you later. Payback gives you the opportunity to monetise your parenting accomplishments. Through a series of short- and long-term investments, put the future of your kid on the market, and get the returns and recognition you deserve.. |
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Heartcure As inherently fragile entities, relationships can be filled with uncertainty. We invest our time, money, and most importantly, our emotions into it, but sometimes things just don't work out in the end. And when that happens, you end up with nothing but emotional trauma and distress. We understand that nothing can quite fill the void that's left whenever a break-up happens, but what if we can somehow reduce the negative effects of a bad break-up? Heart Cure is a novel concept that allows members to hedge against the emotional trauma and distress that happens post break-up. |
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ChildEX ChildEX is a government-independent solution to the income disparity and aging population in our society. Children listed in the ChildEX trading platform get a financial subsidy for education and the investor receives iShares that will return a percentage of the child's monthly salary back. |
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Death Planner Death is inevitable but few plan for it. Death Planner provides a whole spectrum of services to ensure your smooth transition to death. |
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NUStalker NUStalker is a social platform that is built on Facebook where users agree to give out some private information to allow others to stalk" them while they also gain the privilege to "stalk" other users. |
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NUStress NUStress is a satire on some of the frustrating setbacks faced by students due to our current education system at NUS. |
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Run Away Run Away is a fictitious marathon which collects money for our own personal benefits under the pretense of donating towards charity for the benefit of humankind. |
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Daily Runway The Daily Runway is a platform for fashion artists and the general populace to trade fashion options. The options give the fashion artists the right to mandate the Muse to adorn a pre-determined set of clothings at a future date. |
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Stock The Future Stock The Future is an online marketplace that combines financial industry with charity. Play with credits in a virtual stock market with your friends from social networks. Any loss is converted to real currency, and donated to charity. |
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Self Help Empower yourself to 'clean your place' of spirits by buying a self-help package at your own price. |
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Lenses Allow people to see the world from your eyes in short videos. Viewers have to make their own videos accessible to you in return. |
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Ice Cream Gallery Ice Cream Gallery is a food lab, concept store and cafe all rolled into one. Use the latest molecular cooking techniques to create your ice cream flavors. |
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World Market World Market is an online shop that sells items that are priced at a percentage of your salary. The percentage is derived from the item's original price and the salary of someone earning $1 a day. The markup is donated to charitable organizations that aim to eradicate poverty in your chosen country. |
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EMIT EMIT is an experimental pop-up cafe with books and an art installation. You are charged for time spent inside to enjoy the present moment with coffee and cake. |
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VIX Vix is a virtual music project where 5 featured artistes every month come up with raw tracks on which participants can add their own music elements to. The top 10 tracks are voted by the community to be published. |
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Amore International Group Amore International Group is a relationship insurance organization that partners with tertiary institutions to encourage young people to form relationships.Participants pay an annual premium based on their social conditions and couples get a one-time payout based on accumulated premiums plus interest. |
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Wish Upon The Sky Wish upon the Sky is an online marketplace for wishes. Make someone's wish come true and you gain credits to put up your own wish to be fulfilled. |
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Child's Partner At Child's Partner, you sponsor the transformation of a poverty-stricken candidate or orphan into a high class social citizen and perfect partner for your child in the future. |
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Elite Fetus With Elite Fetus' education/investment packages for the fetus, parents can treat their own children as investment assets with monetary and non-monetary returns. |
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Spamaps Spamaps reverses the negative transactions incurred through email spam by allowing you to execute your revenge on the email spammers in return. |
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Starburst Purchase stars, declare your constellation or trade them with others in a celestial marketplace. |
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Paint Inc PaintInc is an online portal that lets you buy paintings from budding artists and resell them for profit through a multi-level marketing scheme. |
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Project Isa Project ISA (Intelligent Simulator Autobot) is about an artificial personality, Isa Robott, who acts as your best friend on Facebook. After 10 days, you have to unfriend 10 Facebook friends if you want to continue interacting with the personality.. |
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Artist's Jacket Artist's Jacket is an art piece that explores the issues of ownership and value assignment through 2 parts. The first is a perfomance art piece with an artist who trades his jacket on-the-spot for another worn by a member of the public. The second involves the sale of ideas for a dollar each to famous artists. |
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Values are in Dreams The nature of risk, values and the valuation of goods and services are explored here by offering a service in return for expertise in managing a financial portfolio. Documentation of the final outcomes over a fixed period of time reveals the nuanced relationship between the valuations of different objects and transactions. |
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agreement.on.lease The agreement.on.lease website, the lease contracts on art pieces, and the lessee community interaction all form the network of transactions. New contracts are drawn up every 6 months for art pieces and the artist earns revenue for the accumulation of transactions. |
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Betcha Betcha is a platform for a community of students to discuss and share goals. You place stakes to challenge someone in achieving something related or different to his/her goals within a timeframe. The highest achiever with the most Betcha points earned in challenges get a gift and title from the community. |
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Scruples Scruples is an online retailer selling items at bargain prices. Consumers are informed if they purchase goods from companies with irresponsible business practices. Depending on the transaction, good or bad 'Karma' points will be given. Good karma points can be used to redeem vouchers while bad karma points can be offset by donations to charities. |
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iCon iCon is an online company offering reconstruction of one's social identity through the provision of social capital and loaned/purchased status symbols. Money is exchanged for 'fake' social value that can help one acquire 'real' status symbols or posessions. |
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Dream Factory Dream Factory is a platform for people to collaborate together to create art by sharing ideas or expertise. Ideas are ranked and top ones get implemented by professionals. |
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Story Story Maker is a platform for members of the public to collaborate in writing short fiction that are good enough to be published. |
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Lexicon At Lexicon, you start off with a set of pre-allocated and randomly generated words. Use these words to create avatars, come up with the perfect description of yourself, and tell people who you really are. |
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Saving the Earth Register a free account on the "Saving the Earth" website and download a simple software that will help you optimise your device's energy consumption. For every 50 watts saved, 3 virtual trees will be awarded and can be redeemed for environmentally-friendly products. |
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P.O.D P.O.D, Price of Democracy, is an online stock exchange game with politicians represented as stocks. |
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Year Zero In an age, where terrorism strikes fear in any nation, where relationships are no longer taken seriously, and divorce rates are soaring high, we question the values of our society. Year Zero serves to mock our current societal principles by pushing the extreme boundaries of how much we are willing to permit the interference of technology with regards to matters close to the heart. |
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Republic Republic is a platform for a citizen to make or vote on virtual laws and experience democracy. The website explores the issue of surveillance, and the conflict between public vs self interest. |
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ValYou Street At ValYou Street, you trade different forms of your capital (social, intellectual, financial, cultural and material) to increase your net worth. |
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emoTEE emoTEE is a fashion brand in Second Life, an online virtual world developed by Linden Labs. There are 8 tees, each designed with a specific emoticon based on Robert Plutchik's set of emotions. They come in antagonistic pairs and prices within each pair vary in inverse proportion depending on demand. |
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DelayFrance France's economy is suffering due to lower value creation and reduced work hours. Use the DelayFrance simulator to calculate the effect of selling French art to sustain the economy. |
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DreamsInc Dreams are turned into commodities by DreamINC with its professional team of dreamers to be bought, sold, experienced and gambled with. |
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IdeaBank The IdeaBank is a "bank" of ideas deposited by people. When an idea becomes the basis of other people's ideas, it collects interest, evolves into a more refined idea and gets developed. |
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Meta Personality Meta Personality styles itself as the ultimate personality test. |
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Dream Date Pick your date from a list of 6 beautiful celebrities and answer her tough questions. |
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A Nice Little Wolf, 3 Evil Pigs and the Art of Strategy Play the nice wolf in a game inspired by the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs". The game is an examination of the nature of strategy, as a concept and its link between both our past and present day society, as well as the concept of time. |
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City Stop and see common sights of the city by moving your mouse cursor over one of five spinning reels of images. |
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Food You are about to create an online entity. It needs sustenance, and you need to provide. Feed it, teach it, love it. In the only language it knows. You type, it bytes. |
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Game Turn on your speakers and get ready for The Game. |
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Images |
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Machines |
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Still Motion |
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String Strings is a net-based artwork that deals with the concept of identity on the Net. |
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Glitch Samuel Beckett's sentient computer is a blogger who decides to cause a hard disk crash when it realises Beckett, its owner, has decided to upgrade to a new computer. Based on Beckett's plays, Waiting for Godot and Endgame, his existentialist concerns are brought into your current context, where issues of postmodernity and posthumanism demand attention. |
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Continuity Explore the demise of a quaint little website from the present moment to 1 million years in the future. |
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Communication Enter the realm of GoC and have a question answered. |
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Fun NUF is dedicated to establishing a global community of scholars and knowledge workers all pursuing to make advances in the field of fun. |
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Human Space is a precious commodity as the world population increase. Immortalise the memory of your deceased loved one in a virtual space on the Internet and log on anytime anywhere to pay your respects. |
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Machines Man build systems and machines for greater efficiency and quality in work and life. Like machines, humans have programmed themselves a certain way to perform tasks and live within an orderly framework. |
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Net Resources (to be extended during the semester)
General
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/mediaartnet/
http://netzspannung.org/index_flash.html
http://www.media.mit.edu/mas
http://www.zkm.de/
Institutions, Festivals and Exhibitions
Ars Electronica: www.aec.at/
Transmediale: www.transmediale.de
Walker Art Center: http://aen.walkerart.org
ZKM- Masterpieces of Media Art: http://on1.zkm.de/zkm/stories/storyReader$4188
ZKM-Making Things Public: http://makingthingspublic.zkm.de/, http://makingthingspublic.zkm.de/fa/dings/exhibition_tour9.htm
ZKM- Screening War, On the Representation of War in Video Art http://on1.zkm.de/zkm/stories/storyReader$4763
Future Cinema, The Cinematic Imagery after Film http://www.zkm.de:81/futurecinema/index_e.html
Digital Aesthetics
Digital Aesthetics Site: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/digita/hotlinks.html
Virtual Art
Oliver Grau - From Illusion to Immersion - Introduction to Virtual Art http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=10335&mode=toc
Netart
Jodi interview: http://www.heise.de/tp/english/special/ku/6187/1.html
Net-Art Documentary: http://journalism.berkeley.edu/netart
Selected Artists and Projects
Maurice Benayoun, http://www.benayoun.com/
We-Make-Money-Not-Art http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/cat_ars_electronica.php
Etoy: www.etoy.com
RTMark: www.rtmark.com
Josh On: www.theyrule.net
Stelarc: http://beehive.temporalimage.com/content_apps41/app_a.html
www.stelarc.va.com.au
Warren Sack: http://makingthingspublic.zkm.de/fa/dings/exhibition_tour9.htm
Logicaland: www.logicaland.net
The Institute for Infinitely Small Things: www.corporatecommands.com
Transnational Republic: www.transnationalrepublic.org
Preemptive Media: www.we-swipe.us