I thought that the Remote forum was an excellent event (despite the cold). Particularly for me it was interesting to hear the opinions of both of the Theorists, being as i am somewhat of a budding theorist myself, in contrast to the opinions and work of the artists.
My working practice as an artist has been on hold while i have been doing research but more recently i have embarked on works motivated by theories related to those discussed at remote. So for me it was god to see how other people were working with concepts of new media. I thought the discussions delivered by the artist were perhaps more interseting than the works that they had made, but perhaps this is just my preference for understanding the motivations of artists rather than cogitating on the work itself. As a new media event in itself i think the remote forum worked well, it seemed to me to be a well balanced blend of theory and practice, although my one point would be that i felt there was a lack of audience discussion and no really clear outcomes were concluded towards the end of the event. For instance distinctions were not really made about different types or qualities of remoteness, e.g. geographical remoteness vs the remote nature imposed on technology users by technology itself. I think this was touched upon by the artists when they talked about speaking to strangers in remote places rather than speaking to strangers in urban places. It struck me that in such cases, a context of limited technology actually improves communication, where as in an urban environment where communication technology is profuse in many channels, communication is perhaps hampered by choice where a sort of diffusion of intention occurs? Shaleph O'Neill The HCI Group School of Computing Napier University Edinburgh, EH10 5DT +44 0131 455 2699 s.o'[EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Chris Byrne [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 20 November 2002 15:15 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: <ambit> Topic of the month: Remote Fellow ambiteers, Without wishing to self-aggrandise New Media Scotland projects on the list, could I nevertheless suggest for November a discussion around the ideas and issues arising from the Remote project? http://www.mediascot.org/remote I am aware that a number of <ambit> folk were present at Monday's Remote Forum at the Fruitmarket Gallery. Some of you may even have seen the Remote exhibition at Iona Gallery, Kingussie. Also most of the artists involved are on the list. It might be interesting to share impressions of the project. Despite the interior of the Fruitmarket' lower gallery feeling like a fridge for much of the day, the Forum event was, for me at least, both stimulating and enjoyable. I'm wondering if others share this view or not? Likewise the artists' works and ideas explored during the project as a whole - what did you make of them? As an aide memoire, I include below the original questions which the artists and the Forum event attempted to address. ------- - To what extent is 'rural' a romantic idyll constructed to fulfil the needs of the urban? - What historical and contemporary evidence is there that the 'rural' is 'remote'? Is there a deep-seated belief that rural arts should be expressed through traditional forms and not new technologies? - What role has popular culture played in the creation of an image of the future which appears to be almost wholly urban? - Is there the perception that digital culture expresses 'urban reality' better than 'rural fantasy' and where does this stem from? - Can new technologies render the idea of remoteness obsolete? - Is it possible to work too far from the urban infrastructure? - Are new technologies 'neutral' or do they bring with them preconceptions of content and if so, are these location specific? - Where are the future technologies located? -- -------------------------------------------------------- Chris Byrne [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------- New Media Scotland tel: +44 131 477 3774 P.O. Box 23434, Edinburgh EH7 5SZ fax: +44 131 477 3775 Scotland, UK http://www.mediascot.org -------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
