The following message was posted to: dance-tech Many thanks to Scott deLaunta and Sher Doruff for speaking up and putting their experience of the presentations at "Virtual Events" in London in a critical context, and a political and ethical context, where they undoubtedly belong.. <<what was only months ago a playful approach to location and position tracking, wireless networking, distributed communities, etc is infected with literal seriousness. a heightened ethical sensitivity is one response, there are undoubtedly others....>> I hope that our community/network will respond to the issues, and perhaps debate immersive VR's and interactivity's playfulness. (Maida, is our list a ''hot,'' or sharp, medium -- ''one that extends one single sense in 'high definition' '' -- or a ''cool,'' or fuzzy, medium, as McLuhan would have it? Cool media, I take it, leave a lot of room for debate. Incidentally, I was able to get hold of Rustom Bharucha (back in Calcutta), who spoke on "Reclaiming Rights" and "Civility" -- as he mentioned, appropriately framed within the larger context of war where 'civility' cannot be taken for granted. For those who might be interested to attend, Wayne Ashley, Curator of New Media / Thundergulch, Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, is organizing a symposium at the New School, May 2-3. It appears highly pertinent: "The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies" <His announcement:> What do the Department of Defense and the computer gaming industry have in common? What kinds of strategic alliances is the Pentagon making with Hollywood? How is the American Institute of Architects connecting with the military's designs for a "new security environment"? Are artists collaborating with, exposing, or resisting the military by deploying technologies of simulation, data surveillance, tracking, and computer vision in their work? A group of internationally renowned panelists explore these and other questions in The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies, a two-day conference that examines the increasingly complex exchanges between the military, the entertainment industry, the computer industry, the media and artists. What impact do these exchanges have on war, technology and related visual cultures in the American public sphere? The conference looks at war not simply as a utilitarian means to an end but as a cultural process involving particular ways of seeing, narrating, and imagining. The conference will focus on the architectural spaces of war, the cinematic language of Hollywood combat films, online gaming and military simulations, and the computer and installation work of artists. http://www.lmcc.net/futureofwar/main.html with regards Johannes Birringer http://www.aliennationcompany.com ---------------------------------------- The Dance-Tech mailing list has recently moved to a new address. To post a message, send email to dance-tech@dancetechnology.org. To unsubscribe, send email to lists@dancetechnology.org, with the words "unsubscribe dance-tech" in the message body. ----------------------------------------
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