"Freedom is conceivable only as an absurd game with apparatus, as a game with programs." -Vilém Flusser
Berlin, 13.2.2013
Dear Reader and Coded Narratives participants at transmediale/CTM.13,
After many great conversations post-performance and numerous emails with questions, here's my reflection that hopefully will contribute to keeping the dialogue open and ongoing. This text although clarifying some aspects of the work and my intentions is not meant to be a full explanation of the performance-installation. Instead I want to propose some thoughts for further analysis on the experiment. And this is by no means a finished thought, but in the interest of time here's something... for now.
Some of you might know me from my previous work Digital Anthropophagy and the Anthropophagic Re-Manifesto for the Digital Age, also presented at transmediale, in 2011, recipient of the Vilém Flusser Theory Award Distinction.
So I'll start by saying that Coded Narratives is in a sense a manifestation of one of the characterizations of digital culture about which I theorize in Digital Anthropophagy: the so-called user culture, as yet not fully defined, but nevertheless the producer of culture in the internetworked environment. A player in the double-role of the colonizer and the colonized of thought and data production.
In Coded Narratives I want to offer a blank space, an empty canvas so to speak, onto which I invite the audience to create its reflection as an interconnected group, by guiding it initially in an attempt to build a narrative. Let's say this is a chance to test intersubjectivity. For the premiere of this performance-installation, there was a very large group of about 700 people in the main auditorium of Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin at the transmediale/CTM festival performance programs. This large number of attendees although not enabling everyone to participate (only 90 people got to submit a text), naturally mirrored hierarchies online/offline to exist in that space. Not everyone wants to participate and that's absolutely fine. No one should be forced to do anything. But to be fair to those who wanted to feel close to the participation, I invited enough people to create a circle around the campfire onstage with me. The audience response was not immediate. It may have been the northern European reaction, even though this was an international festival. But to be fair, we'll only know for sure as the work interacts with other cultures, and also as I reinforce the invitation and create a better connection to a theme and to the audience. Notwithstanding, for this first iteration of Coded Narratives anyone had a chance to respond to the invitation by coming onto the stage, and in 10 minutes or so the circle was formed with about 15 people. I knew the single iPad would not reach every hand in the auditorium. But anyone sitting far in the back would've also had a chance to come forward upon my invitation. I know this group dynamic is not perfect, but it was a test nevertheless, as much for me as everyone else. The hierarchy formed online may have mirrored what happened in the venue: people farther away from stage/computer terminal tend to be more like mere spectators in user culture. But in the interest of speeding things along and involve as many people as possible, the human interface was presented with a theme to respond to and build a narrative along the one-hour experience so that the iPad could travel faster from hand to hand. I expected that upon the initial explanations and my own text contribution, which was the first one sent in an attempt to focus the group's attention on the theme, that the other users would have formed some reactive thought and would be ready to type up to 2 lines of text and hit ENTER. In my explanatory introduction to the audience I asked them to write something related to the theme of demotion, displacement, irrelevance, how they felt/feel in these circumstances and what might come from these "downgrading" situations (transmediale's theme) or that they could react to the text line before theirs, pose a question to another audience member/user, etc. This information was also printed in the programs and online (see left column). But I know that a lot of people don't read about a performance before going to it. And that's fine as well.
Upon entering the venue, the ambience setting is a technological jungle (on slide projection). Crickets sing. But it's a sampled sound of crickets. My persona is a syncretic figure composed of artifacts collected along the way... Indigenous headdress whose central feathers according to indigenous culture represent the antennas of communication; a white dress with silkscreened black numbers – bought in China; black painted mask – as much a warrior indigenous mask as a replicant in Bladerunner; Zen-like beads found in a forest; arm bands like tree nodes. My introduction before the invitation to participate sets up a sci-fi type of atmosphere, bladerunneresque with soliloquy inverted (TIME TO LIVE!) and adapted, slightly remixed, cross-cultured into the temporal mash-up for us to live our sci-fi in the very present... and reality is indeed stranger than fiction, but in fact we are already living the projections of our imagined science fictions. The future is now and a partial verdict as transpired in the text feed during the performance is copied below this text. However frail the initial connection to a theme may have been, the narrative style disintegrated into code, passing through memes and spamming. I'm not that surprised, because we can see this same behavior throughout a lot of social network platforms. But this gives me reason to continue my inquiry into digital culture. So here are some further considerations.
Testing the Bridge or the Divide between Individuality and Collectivity / Subjects and Objects.
The experience is the game apparatus. In Coded Narratives I did not want to over-explain anything. In order to create a room for pure expression I withdrew distractions - these days no one reads the rules of a game before playing it anyway, so in that sense my setting was minimalistic. I did not want to offer any more influence other than the atmosphere, the proposed theme of discussion and a brief invitation to participate with an explanation of the apparatus. Please keep in mind this aim at pure expression is not at all a desire toward objectivity. I do not believe in objective scenarios, as there's no one true reality. Science itself cannot be objective as it is a human function. Of interest to me as a researcher is the examination of Flusserian intersubjectivity and the Simondonian concept of individual and collective individuation through transduction, in this case showing us the metastable environment unfolding live. And as an artist I confess I want to enjoy the pure expression with the people who are present at this social experiment.
Testing Velocity: But Why Involve Morse Code? I use Morse Code as speed metaphor to slow down the process of communication in order to create a moment of reflection. We can't appropriately consume information at the current speed rate. So the Morse mediation in the apparatus is used as a step back to reflect on the information that's in front of us. No matter how vapid some of the text lines were in the feed, they said a lot about the so-called user culture.
In fact, in the text feed of the performance there were some comments about the lack of speed of the means of communication provided. The interesting thing to note is that I provided a technology that is as fast as humans can think-react, type, read and reflect. And upon writing up to two lines and pressing enter, their lines could be seen instantaneously onscreen, along with its corresponding morse code binary tone which the musician kept up throughout most of the performance as a subconscious tonal reminder of a pre-digital era. I do grant that "users" farther away from the "terminal" could not do much except watch and listen, more akin to a regular theatrical/cinematic experience. But when given the chance, the users sitting closer who texted gave us an outcome nevertheless. So the question is: Is the user no longer used to sequentiality? Have our brains truly made the crossover to fragmentation to such an extent that it can no longer create or follow narrative? As technology increases, does brain function decrease and intelligence gets reduced to the lowest common denominator, not unlike the brain-washing of pop-culture in the days of the lone TV set? I'm sure that specially for the audience members who chose or could only be in fact audience, the experience was either unnerving or beautifully revealing. Either response would be a matter of taste, patience, and interest in the subject of user culture. Or as others told me, they simply liked the aesthetics and the reflective underpinnings of the slowed-down proceedings and seeing user culture unfold in front of their eyes. The ones who had an adverse reaction, either left the venue or stayed till the end suffering through their boredom, and some commenting on it. I'm fine with this facet of the work as well, as I think a lot can be revealed through boredom.
The meditative quality of Coded Narratives is also underscored by a syncretic indigenous imaginary where the communication space is non-verbal. The techno-shaman persona in Coded Narratives seeks to transcend the frustration of formalized structures of information processing, and instead wishes for a collective wisdom to materialize in order to break away from the binary isolation. What will happen around the campfire is anyone’s guess, but I am determined to undergo the experience with the invited audience, even if at my own peril as artist facing up to a technical failure of the user.
Human factor as unpredictability into apparatus: Machines are creating us as much as we've been creating them. The speed of code, the code which is created by humans, beats back at us with exponential speed. But the problem with code is that it's really not extremely sophisticated. Coding has a lot of limitations, including most of it being articulated in the English language, already by itself creating some limitations and a hierarchy. And we're learning to adapt to those limitations by decreasing ourselves as we're concurrently increasing the potentiality of programming just about everything in life. We can translate abstract thought into projects and objects with the ease of 3D printers for example. But we do it via programming, even if we're not all programmers. And the rapid-fire response from computer calculations is far surpassing our ethical and emotional development. It will be very interesting to see how Digital Natives develop in comparison to the transformations of the Digital Immigrants. For now what we see is that communication development tends toward visual culture and that the break-down of textual language comes from the speed engendered by digital culture, which spurs knee-jerk blurb and slogan language as seen in memes and sometimes spamming. What is this trend really showing us? We must escape the binary prison. The lovely machines we create are indeed liberators when used well. When not, it can enslave us into a dark hole of futility. A masturbatory environment to make any hardcore porn site blush. So what are we to do with ourselves when we are entertained to death in a sort of "alone-together" mode?
Having been a user, prosumer, multimedia consultant, artivist since the first Mac at a young age, I was prepared for any possible outcome in Coded Narratives (Beta). Whereas this initial outcome does not make me happy, I find it absolutely necessary as probatory collective experience. I wanted to hold up a mirror to the audience as culture-makers and and give them a chance to reveal themselves. And in Beta there was something deeper going on in that reflection... We know this audience is not stupid, these are well informed people, coming to one of the top international festivals of art & technology, and some really well-meaning people too. But what occurred is perhaps proof of a brain meltdown, a break of the neurological system stemming from the break of the linear code, a break which philosopher Vilém Flusser foresaw. This is no McLuhan global village, this village concept belongs strictly to the pre-digital electronic era. Flusser jumps much farther into the "future" we're living now and beyond. While McLuhan sees Media as mere extensions of the body, Flusser sees the ontological transformation of the human as phenomenological development deriving from the emergence of programmed apparatus. The interconnected mediation of networked/user culture experienced via a system that for the first time emulates our neurological function – the next evolutionary step after the Mathematical Revolution.
So, what is the Digital Revolution doing to us? Perhaps at least from a phenomenological standpoint this is a quiet revolution, with deep-set ontological changes occurring unnoticeably. The irony is that the unpredictable factor (human free-will) in relation to operating the apparatus can produce a predictable result. And this is happening because of programming. User culture produces digital culture artifacts such as spamming and memes and this tells me that no matter how hard I or anyone try to glue an internetworked group's attention at building a narrative, a break in the linear code may always be the outcome, the only difference perhaps being the platforms' way of enabling communication which may vary the speed at which dialogue disintegrates into trivial discourse. Please note these comments only relate to platforms where dialogue is possible or its very aim. And this disintegrative phenomenon by itself would not be so much of a problem, except this behavior transfers to life AFK. And before anyone thinks I'm skeptical toward technology, I'll just say that my laptop is more natural to me than my plants (sorry), and I simply can't imagine my life without computer technology. I'm an optimistic and I do think that any sustainable technology combined with quality communication (speed+empathy+ethics) can point us in the right direction, whereas it's toward a livable planet or an emergency exit to the Moon.
Private x Public Dynamics in a group environment: Is there a community?
Testing Empathy: My interest in Phenomenology in Digital Culture stems vastly from seeing that faster communication technologies and an enormous array of choices have not necessarily contributed to the quality of communication. And in this process I look into interpersonal relationships and intersubjectivity. The quantity of communication has certainly exponentially increased in the digital era, but humans still struggle with establishing quality in communication. As shown in the text feed during the performance, many, if not most participants wound up projecting themselves as single planets circling in their own orbit without much interaction with the Other. Most comments were self-centered blurbs without creating reactive commentary or showing empathy to one another. So the question of velocity of the apparatus became inevitable. Has boredom set in because the interface is not fast enough? But along with it, the question of who is the apparatus-interface? Has the user become it ? Would a faster interface or multiple interfaces change the outcome? I predict that maybe yes and maybe not. I know this sounds frustrating, and I accept responsibility if the audience did not completely understand my intention of creating a narrative and a narrative theme. But let's think of an current-day IRC chat room: the synchronous conferencing does not necessarily build sequential thinking or empathy. Too many thoughts are lost in the velocity of the scroll. The collective conversation ends up quite often in random individuality. A moderator sometimes helps but that's also a form of censorship of the users' desire to be heard and "seen". And the faster the exchange, the lower the quality of the communication. The essence of the quality in the communication is the emotional response and the ability to create sequential thought. Otherwise we're no better than machines. The core of the issue is that as technology evolves toward inhuman speed, our phenomenology will also continue to change, and this change is inevitable. We must accept that we have already changed, and there's no going back. Evolution does not stop for nostalgia. We must appreciate the past but carry on making the best use of current technologies and make twice the effort against being programmed to death. If we accept the prison of becoming functionaries of the machine, a possibility that phenomenologist Vilém Flusser warned against, we'll lose the possibility of freeing the Homo Ludens. In this context, art is of highest importance to create spaces for this Homo Ludens to break away from all this constant programming. But there's also something else that will help us break away...
Where has the freedom gone?
Dear reader, don't let this become a perverted game where the machine sucks our collective soul and they become us as we become them. But I do accept that at some point we meet them in the middle like ships passing in the night. No one will notice when we're all hybrids. Will anyone care? Probably not, especially if machines will absorb our empathy. Whereas we'll have a real owl on a tree outside or a chip-owl next to our pillow, life will go on as (un)usual.
As for me, I think I have an answer to the labyrinth of the abundance of technology and the uncontrollable desire to upgrade and go faster, faster, pussycat:
- LOVE
Yes, love will save us. Please dear reader break away from the binary limitations. Sharing means caring, share yourselves and love one another. Get out there and have fun Homo Ludens, with each other, as much as with your machines of loving grace.
And dear participating audience, I love you! May we find our way out of the matrix. Or at the very least, when we can no longer find satisfaction in our wonderful machines, that we're not afraid to die trying.
p.s. I also love transmediale and CTM for taking a chance and embarking on this adventurous experiment with A Guy Called Gerald and I.
HELLO WORLD!
Coded Narratives 1.0
The things I will do differently in order to increase emotional response and the dilation of the pupil:
-Increase the input/output. That means faster interfaces overlapping the current one to allow for multiple synchronous commentaries coming even from outside the performance-installation venue. And as always, everything in real-time.
-Soundtrack to include bending the binary tone. By now you know what Morse code sounds like, so next up we'll bend it like Beckham.
-The volunteers sitting around the campfire can leave once they've contributed a text in order for someone new to come into the circle. That means, an even more democratic campfire experience.
-Gerald and I will behave more like avatars, reacting/responding to each of the user's text input (as much as humanly possible :-)
-A new theme with a concrete example to help you, the user, articulate your thoughts into a formidable narrative, but as always, it’s up to you.
This upgrade will test not only the speed of the overall human interface, but also the quality of intersubjectivity.
Text file of live text feed during performance proceedings. 2.1.2013 transmediale/CTM
1, ....;
2, ...;
3, .....;
4, "hello world";
5, "hello world!";
(actual start of narrative)
6, "i dont count on a secure position. i never had one.";
7, "if i\"m taken down. i get up and move on, come with me!";
8, "move with the freedom of the fire, let water lead the way.";
9, "no time. no space. no place. just people.";
10, "feel the beat.beat.beat";
11, "always pull up the bass";
12, "time has come to stay at pluto,at acid pluto.";
13, "hey a guy can you call the audience";
14, "the fire is a flying textiletexture";
15, "okso well really it is athimgthat causes fire i am a physical thimg like fire i am going";
16, "guys. it smells really good here.";
17, "the one who has the key to enter earth, pls, show us.";
18, "destruction of european culture... emergent cities worldwide";
19, "and on exquisite. the corpse. the wood is real, fire walks with me";
20, "i will walk rherough the fire. where eslse will turn? let it burn...";
21, heartbeatplutoputoblood.;
22, "...reporting from earth. opinions so far are not very clear...";
23, "they seem to like fire and water...";
24, "i\"m still curious about the downgrading thing";
25, "i want to be the girl, who warms your mothers heart";
26, "pass me the beer my friend.";
27, "you have just won 150.000 in the european lottery";
28, "viagra without a prescription";
29, "lets burn another one down";
30, "being userless";
31, "please, save me";
32, "just wondering what";
33, "when did u was writing the letter last time? i meen sending it by post, not an email....";
34, "downgradimg myself by anticipation of what others might think. and my heart goes boom boom boom";
35, "if i was a fish, i would never know the world above the surface";
36, "damn, this digital dutchie is realy getting me high";
37, "where am i?..";
38, "i wear my beard oon the inside an the only way you will ever see it is if you cut me open witha cleaver made of love...";
39, "downgrading is all in the mind. think of it as a free upgrade and ou will feel much beteer. anyway pluto doesnt care.";
40, quadrophony?...;
41, "sorry pluto mi english kuld changeyour cours";
42, "please downgrade me umtil i\"m back where i started.";
43, "we just proved that community is not a collection of individuals...";
44, "what does morse happiness sound like? :)";
45, "pluto the forbidddn planet and how she doth laugh";
46, "it feels like watching an arthouse remake of cloud atlas. seriously what is going on?";
47, "never forget to look at the world with your own eyes";
48, "it seems good art really needs a superuser.";
49, "my heart is bleeding as i have lost a spiritual father. may my tears become a river that leas him to the next dimension";
50, "sry butthisboring me";
51, "hab ich das richtig verstanden";
52, "stay free and you will be skipped out of the system.";
53, "irc might have been a faster input sydtem...";
54, "boom. boom. bom. bombom. bumbum.";
55, "now i know what it feels like to sit in the middle of a facebook newsfeed..";
56, "when the shark stops moving it will sink to the ground and die";
57, "&k&sdruhks&tftktfsuhg&krdshuh k&xudrghgkxduhrlk&xudrhg k&xdrhg&kjshd kj&fxrh&kjsndgr dsrk&jhxfgk&jnh";
58, "i am im in the dark. let me show you the way.";
59, "dot dot dot dash dash dash dot dot dot";
60, "kann jemand esperanto?";
61, "and on the stagethey r drinking,liquid in the bottle is getting less";
62, "my friemd jonathan romley watvhes his dog mastabbate";
63, "delete yourself you have no chance to win";
64, "anasthatics intead of aesthetics?";
65, "i wonder how long will it take for the orgasm...";
66, "i am pluto, goofie.s dog, i am lproserpina,in,orbit half the year";
67, "did u no morse speld bakwrds is esrom";
68, "this ipad will explode in 5 mim and burn your face, go ahead, insteaf mdma for free in the toilet, it might help with the boredom";
69, whazthesecretofthemeaningless;
70, "shamanista, prevai!!!";
71, "more input equals more music - give this guy sth to play around!!!!!";
72, "toger but alone";
73, "my eyes are cds and my mind is the player :)";
74, "love is a well aimed sledgehammer in someones smiling face";
75, "lets downgrade to acid techno";
76, "is there any good doctor in the hall?";
77, putmorselayerloudersssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo;
78, moremusicmoremusic;
79, q:);
80, "eat up it will do you good!!!!";
81, "searching 10010010010010000100101000100101 complete";
82, applaus;
83, "turn around, every now and then ...";
84, "hey i was thinking the same";
85, .;
86, ". .";
87, ". .";
88, ". .";
89, ............................;
90, \,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,\,;
91, )))))))))))))))));
92, ?????????????????;
93, 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111;
94, lol;
