Electronic Eyes Never Sleep
Raphael Bottazzini, Anna Bürkli, Raffael Dörig, Doris Gassert, Esther Hunziker, Mathias Kaspar, Kasia Klimpel, Marc Lee, Shintaro Miyazaki, Swann Thommen (ex collectif_fact), Laurent Schmid, Reinhard Storz, Yvonne Volkart
Curatorial research project from 2012 till 2015
Curated by Damian Jurt
Introduction: In the context of the research project Electronic Eyes Never Sleep the real-time image produced by webcam technology will be investigated in terms of its aesthetic and social quality. A visual medium such as the webcam inevitably leads to the emergence of new image types. These image types are linked to the particular technology of the medium, the authorship and context- and time-specific conditions. With the development of new forms of communication and representation media – such as webcam technology – images and forms of work develop which influence our perception of what is reality, since we increasingly view it from a distance. The invited artists participating in the test arrangement of www.collective-view.ch no longer develop their work and image decisions for a physical, three-dimensional space but for the webcam, which represents the gateway to the space of the Internet. The resulting interconnection between the location of the webcam, the real-time images and the still images, whose creation is made possible within the arrangement of www.collective-view.ch through the participation of the Internet users, provides insights into an altered perception of the external. In addition, the research should show how a multiple authorship emerges which has the public as its prerequisite.
www.collective-view.ch: For a certain period, artists are provided with webcams. Each person is invited to place their webcam in a context of their choice. The images taken by the cameras are transmitted in real-time to the internet site www.collective-view.ch. The user interface of the website shows the real-time image of the webcam, information about the real-time image, navigation tools for the webcam, and a link to a press release. Web users can access the webcam via the webpage www.collective-view.ch, which offers the opportunity to control the webcam and choose among several possible views of a specific situation. The web users can also take pictures via the webcam. These images can be saved onto the user’s computer but will also be used to archive the exhibitions on www.collective-view.ch. The archive is thus generated by the web users.
Partners: Migros culture percentage, Swiss Arts Council, Expert committee for Audiovision / Multimedia Basel, Canton Schwyz, Ernst Göhner Foundation, Migros culture percentage (Werkbeitrag), Christoph Merian Foundation
Research Partners: Institut Kunst Academy of Art and Design Basel, Institute for Contemporary Art Research Zurich University of the Arts