(Miller Freeman)
Think about it. Those two kids who killed Michael Jordan's dad and stole his car didn't have a clue how easy it is to trace cellular phone calls. It probably took the cops all of an afternoon to find the kids' tracks in cyberspace and follow them back to friends or home. Serves 'em right. The moral? Know the tools you use, or risk getting fucked by someone who knows them better .
No one's happier than me that the alleged murderers are off the streets, so don't get me wrong. But those of us who would rather dance, paint or write than commit felonies still would be smart to learn as much as we can about the technology waiting fo r us up ahead.
Which brings me to this book, CyberArts, a collection of short essays taken from a conference called CyberArts International. There's a lot of boring writing, redundancy and superficiality here, but the book's still good because of the wide range of topics it at least outlines, from 3-D sound and ÒintelligentÓ musical instruments to outdated copyright laws and guidelines for guerilla videographers. The level of insight of the contributors varies widely (virtual reality guru Jaron L anier clearly has a better grasp of the social consequences of interactive multimedia than that phone-company engineer), but hey Ñ you too might enjoy laughing at some folks' endless faith in the power of machines to transform humanity for the better. Eve n diehard technophobes should find head-poking ideas in this mess if they avoid the relentlessly technical chapters in favor of those that focus on the issues raised by artistic work with hi-tech tools.
There's a great chapter, for instance, describing early experiments with 2-D virtual worlds and looking at Merce Cunningham's use of computerized Òshape librariesÓ to help choreograph dances. And check out these glimpses of your future:
It's neat stuff, I admit, but a far cry from the redefinition of art some of these folks think is im minent. When I read about how these tools Òprovide a handy way to stop being a passive consumer of someone else's creativity,Ó I think Òduh, so do crayons, and for a lot less money.Ó Still, we'll be better off the more we learn about the stuff. This techn ology's gonna filter down to the average citizen as something like interactive home shopping or the ability to choose which camera angle you watch that touchdown from. Meanwhile, every item purchased and show watched will be carefully recorded for future marketing and better control. Paranoid? You bet.
You and I are going to have to discover the buried radical potential (artistic or otherwise) of cybertechnology for ourselves; it won't be revealed to us by the governments and corporations currently weal thy enough to do the research. They'd be delighted if all we did was bought the latest cool toys they were selling. Fuck 'em. Be smart. Learn the tools. Find an in that excites you and get to it. This book's a decent place to start. (Todd Morman)