All about X, 0 and 1 – Mez Breeze

Mediakult is very pleased to be presenting the work of Mez Breeze this month on All about X, 0 and 1. I first came across Mez in 1995 when I joined the Nettime list, when at the time Mez was publishing a lot of her poetic code work known as Mezangelle. Here is some information from Wikipedia:

Mezangelle  is a type of poetry Breeze developed in the 1990s using Internet text language found in ASCII codes, online games, and other forms of Internet communication. “Mezangelle” refers both to the works themselves and the hybrid language in which they are composed—codeworks of this sort “playfully utilize programming terminology and syntax” (Sondheim, Alan. Introduction: Codeworks) alongside “human-only” or so-called natural language, creating a creolized language that combines human language and code. In these works, the primary message is semantically overcoded in such a way that multiple different readings are made possible.

Our paths ‘virtually’ crossed again when we were both included in the 2000 publication of the Net Art Guide, (Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, 2000), compiled by the Electronic Business Innovation Center (EBIC) based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Since her early days of  creating code poetry, Mez has gone on to create and collaborate on many interesting projects.  For example, she also explores and exploits environments that involve online socializations or encounters. Such encounters involve the modification of online gaming environments, such as World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and Second Life, and social networking and alternate gaming software such as Facebook, Passively Multimedia Online Game (PMOG) and Twitter. As a member of the online group Third Faction, Mez has been involved in a number of in-game projects within World of Warcraft, with the aim of disrupting and challenging the combative structure of the game. In this way, Breeze challenges the assumed binary division between the online environment and the real world, and acts to subvert the factionalized “confrontational player-vs-player interaction” ^{( Evans, Sally. ‘The Anti-Logos Weapon’: Excesses of Meaning and Subjectivity in Mezangelle Poetry}) that the game world tries to enforce. Breeze’s use of multiple avatars for her digital works further emphasizes the breakdown of the division between digital and real selves.

Other recent projects include The Dead Tower, a collaboration with Andy Campbell, (see a review by Leonardo Flores) and a book titled Human Readable Messages.

For her submission to the ‘All about x, 0 and 1’ program, Mez provided us with a great video of what it means to be a networked artist.  Hope you enjoy it!

THATCamp CBR – Digital/Augmented space session

In this session, the focus was on how we can traverse physical space with digital tools, map our location and connect with others. There was a particular focus on who has been in the same location and what this could mean for sharing an experience of a space or idea of place. The discussion was led by Dr Chris Chesher, who initiated the discussion by sharing his interest in robots and augmented space.

This topic is close to my heart as it is related to my creative practice as well as my PhD research.

This discussion covered a lot of ground in terms of covering tools, conceptual issues, future possibilities and challenges. For this reason, the majority of this blog post is a list of dot points which are split into three sections – concepts/issues, tools and references. The best aspect of this session was that there was a lot of blue sky thinking about what was imagined, what was possible and what is already emerging. Thanks to @ellenforsyth for providing the initial list of discussion points.

Concepts/issues

There were so many ideas, concepts and issues that emerged from this discussion, that I thought it prudent to try and only list some of the main themes:

• how robots inhabit space – robots moved from science fiction to reality
• gps – networked connections which inform about the space
• spaces which have embedded information systems
• what are the regulatory questions?
• using mobile devices to record knowledge, stories in situ and feed it back for others
• problems have changed – the technology gets smaller – perhaps the tablets are the solution – better image size – can make available in museum (Puke Ariki doing this now or soon)
• two sides – using location based information to access received wisdom (museums, libraries, archives) but the other side of the community generated knowledge – accumulation of wisdom about specific locations – mention of 4square as a way of getting local recommendations
• looking at memory – it may be the experience of the place, not the place itself – the personal stories, example of visiting the site of the former World Trade centre and the stories around
• issue of following people on twitter who may over tweet their location – are we interested?
• question about how to represent “my space” in a physical and an online way – how can an indiviual represent their physical space
• second life mapping? dashboard with all spaces represented – could have a physical representation at some point, virtualising
• artists working with gps locating combining in physical space – eg. Nigel Helyer
• need for a truly topological architecture which can change, be exploratory, but can leave a trace others can interact with
• AR – example which uses face recognition technology – as a navigation and access tool – using separate feeds for interaction,
• is there an intiutive, pure way of leaving the trace in the environment?
• the audio moving as you move through physical space – wanting diversity
• who funds the staged experiences? collaborations? scalable? interlinking? example of staged experience cycling through inner west Sydney looking at galleries – other wise would not explore
• push space – potential for marketing, but also possible for heritage and art discovery
• example of Blutooth enabled signs in Adelaide for a band – song sample played
• rfid – can slide tags in everywhere – no way of judging/evaluating them – perhap a solution is to be able to put filters on?
• is there a market for the cultural sector to be a collective filter for people to opt to – as a collaboration rather than organisation by organisation?
• idea that aggregators with crop up in the future – subscription option – also location filtering?
• there could be a place for local aggregated information for discovery
  multiple view points helpful for many areas/locations
• are the technologies providing the connections or enabling the connections
  broadening connections and also ultra local possibilities
• different platforms with different norms about who you will have relationships with – differences with facebook, twitter, delicious…
• need to keep in mind W3C standards and full accessibility – plus multilingual options? also social inclusion is very important – eg. iPhone ad showing people using their phone to sign
• example of developing countries doing really interesting things with mobile phones, mobile phones as leap frogging technologies
• example of using mobile phone technologies in refugee camps, and in transitioning to settlement
• mobile phone as private space – this feeds into the notion of augmented space and personal/public have become blurred with the use of technology
• banking transfer system in one African country based on mobile phone
• are we already augmenting reality – by sharing things in different ways?
• phones in West Bank provide a way around the changing boundaries – as can reroute people about the changes, adn map for boarder crossing pathways with real time updates
• parking police mobile app – you know where they have been…
• rfid tracking of cattle and sheep – genetics and feeding
• stories from the US passing laws the prevent employees being micro chipped

Tools

• readcloud – for ipad – people in a book club can comment, add images, where they are, twitter feeds, within the application of the book club, bringing together online and physical
• soundcloud – similar with comments on the audio track, or kindle ap with high light within text to share possible sections of reading
• Parramatta Library/Heritage centre will loan devices for accessing the walking tours
• Museum which created a story ending at at secret room at the museum, online sources from Nina Simon blog
• Tools for geocaching audio – blockchalk.com, graphito (iphone app)
• What about qr codes, qr queries? has their time passed? Issues of adding qr codes to buildings – who owns the plaque, can the code fit? Not all phones can read qr codes
• new forms of fiction – King Park app finding your way to particular points – you are part of the story – also a version for Sydney Park
• judas goat – feral goat tracking device – way of doing feral goat reduction
• mesh technology could tie in with local applications as well
• in France – Free – two boxes – networked foneros (?) works feeding “extra” maps.fon.com bandwidth into shared area – sharing your own bandwidth
• 4square – using gps to recognise where you might be, and can share information with friends or tweet or post tips for anyone to read – game mechanic “mayor” of place
• Parramatta Heritage i-phone app for Governor Macquarie heritage walking tour, walking the past in Parramatta through the built up environment
• mesh mobile phones – mobile phones reaching the tower through other mobile phones – for emergency phone towers

References

• Cyberspace first steps (text title) this book was refered to, circa 1999, but I have not yet found it in a collection)

_Augmentology 1[L]0[L]1_

_Augmentology 1[L]0[L]1_ explores concepts that shape and are shaped by an extensive range of online/synthetic encounters. These concepts are formed through principles generated internally within specific online environments. These environments include – among others – Massively Multiplayer Online Environments [World of Warcraft, EVE Online, Second Life], Social Networking Platforms [Twitter, Facebook, OpenSocial, Friendfeed], Social Gaming [Passively Multiplayer Online Game, Parallel Kingdom] and Alternate Reality Games [I Love Bees, Perplex_City, Year Zero]. Entries will dissect post-geophysically defined notions of reality through a mixture of:

* Platform-specific case studies.
* Analysis of contextual behaviour sets.
* Construction of theoretical projections derived via synthetic, mixed and augmented formats.

Check it out at: http://arsvirtuafoundation.org/research/