Week 5

To be written…

My research has been going all over the place, touching on disparate
subjects but I guess as with everything there are similarities and binding
agents among the subjects.

My initial thoughts on the group project was directed towards several
different topics, interactivity, control, creativity among others. Even
though the project it self might take completely different turns, my
personal research has been along those lines, extended in multiple
directions.

One article I stumbled upon while browsing Leonardo during class
preparations that caught my interest was $$Interactivity as Divination as
Venting Machine$$ by Ken Feingold published in 1995. I found the title
intriguing (since I have an interest in both interactive art, divination,
technology and politcs) and the author presented some interesting
thoughts, even if I perhaps took some pretty random parts of it with me.

One of the ideas I appreciated was the comparison between the feeling of
encountering a chaotic reality (especially the unknowable future and the
seemingly irrational relation between the past/present and what is to
come) and the reaction of an audience that encounters an
“incomprehensible” interactive artwork. Feingold describes a situation in
which humanity is struggling to navigate different narratives which tries
to make existence and the effects of our actions predictable. While
outlining three dominant narratives (ways to survive in nature, ways to
survive within particular economical systems and how to understand life
after death), these are not only in conflict with each other but with
different constantly clashing meta-narratives (morality, history,
economics, science, philosophy, religion etc.). Divination then plays
the role of not only trying to discern and find a course in between these
contradictory narratives, but also to learn what rationally seems
impossible to know, the future and the incoherent forces that influence
the outcome of events in our lives. —-ADD MORE CONTEXT—

…. I find the thought of using “irrational technologies” (technologies
in the broadest sense) to try figuring out, understand or navigate
a seemingly incomprehensible and complex reality useful —EXPAND—

“When you cut through reality, the future leaks out”