Today: From Belfast to Basel
Iterations, original and virtual, of the Dante Hotel
While we here on Pacific Standard Time have not even finished our first pot of coffee, amazing things are happening on the other side of the world (and, in other worlds)! For example, part of ISEA2009: The Exhibition has opened at the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast. Simultaneously, the works featured in this exhibition are viewable from around the globe on Kriti Island (not the one in Greece, the one in Second Life). This synchronicity creates a space to explore both the physical and virtual gallery environments, where viewers and visitors can encounter the work, and also each other, as both bodies and avatars. The Dante Hotel Regenerated is one of the works installed on Kriti Island and at Golden Thread, as part of Kritical Spaces: The Kritical Works in SL II Project. ISEA2009: the Exhibition is presented in conjunction with the ISEA2009 Symposium, and
addresses contested spaces, focusing on the environment, political and economic conflicts and the human body. Curated by Kathy Rae Huffman, it will display an exciting range of innovative and challenging work at the interface of art, science, communication and technology.
Still from Lorna (1979-83)
Meanwhile, in Basel, PhD candidate Inge Hinterwaldner is preparing her thesis for publication by Wilhelm Fink. It is entitled Das systemische Bild. Ikonizität im Rahmen interaktiver Echtzeitsimulationen (that’s The Systemic Image: Iconicity in the Framework of Interactive Real Time Simulations, for those of us without the native tongue) and it references Lynn’s narrative installation Lorna(1979-83), the world’s first interactive video art disc game. The piece allows viewers to explore Lorna’s environment via remote control, revealing pieces of a narrative that diverge and contradict even as they conjoin to reveal a story. In many ways, it is a commentary on the condition of contemporary communication, just as relevant today as it was when it was programmed.
Back on this side of the pond, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the SIGGRAPH 2009 conference has drawn to its end, and Lynn is now one of the two first-ever recipients of the Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art. Here, we can prove it:
So, where in the world is Lynn Hershman Leeson? Everywhere, apparently.
