http://www.hottentotvenus.com
Each year at the beginning of February, Studio XX in Montreal, Canada presents a weeklong festival of women's Web art. For the 6th edition of the Maid In Cyberspace Festival, Studio XX focused on subversive acts by 'intelligent agents' and cultural hackers. Artist Mara Vern showcased a piece on Sarah Baartman. www.hottentotvenus.com is web art project that reveals different aspects Sarah Baartman's story, using seven voices/speakers, archival documents and links. The use of caricatures of the speakers, done in Paris by portrait artist Khurran (who works at the base of the Eiffel tower adjacent to the Musee de l'homme) was intended to speak about representation, Sarah's in particular.
www.studioxx.org/coprods/hottentotvenus/index2.htm
http://www.appliedautonomy.com
The Institute for Applied Autonomy (IAA) is probably
best explained through their many bizarre projects.
Graffiti Writer, for instance, is a tele-operated
robot that employs a custom built array of spray cans
to write linear text messages on the ground at a rate
of 10 miles per hour. These messages are similar in
form to dot matrix printer output, and are not
intended to imitate human graffiti. Used by ordinary
citizens, the robot can transform public space into
critical sites for free speech and public discourse.
Founded in 1998 as a technological research and
development organization, the IAA is concerned with
individual and collective self-determination. Their
mission: to study the forces and structures which
effect self-determination; to create cultural
artifacts which address these forces; and to develop
technologies which serve social and human needs. Be
sure to visit their Rogue's Gallery.
