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Outline

Title
Abstract
Figures
Introduction
Internet & Society the Open Future/Free Culture
Design & Architecture
Tuneable Materiality
Design & Architecture the Open Future/Free Culture
The Open Future
All Topics
Art
Film and Media Studies

The Open Future

Profile image of Marco MancusoMarco Mancuso

2012, MCD - Musiques & Cultures Digitales, #68

Abstract

Recent years are witnessing radical transformations in the relationships among art, science, design and society. The progressive de-institutionalization of the forms of production, management and consumption of material and immaterial goods brought by new technologies (desktop manufacturing, DIYscience, 2.0 communities) is reshaping the way we conceive culture, giving more importance to bottom-up taxonomies of reality (i.e. the folksonomies) and questioning traditional paths of change (Open Innovation) and power (p2p communities). Analytically we can say that this phenomena are acting both horizontally and vertically. Horizontally, they are blurring the borders between different fields and disciplines, merging methodologies, languages, tacit and explicit know-hows. Vertically, they are affecting the distinction between “high”, academic approaches and “low”, ingenue ones. This cross-pollination creates enthusiasms and skepticisms at the same time. On one side it's perceived as an unforeseen expansion that will led to continuous innovation. On the other side it's seen a a menace for stability, quality and fairness. This monographic issue explores this panorama according to six curators specialized in five different fields. Firstly, Bertram Niessen investigates the social ambiguity of digital creativity, the chances given by bottom-up co-production and the challenges offered by web-based practices of creative sharing. Secondly, Claudia D’Alonzo and Marco Mancuso focus on the changes taking place in relation to creation practice, dissemination and fruition of audio-visual artistic contents. Thirdly, Elena Biserna provides an overview on musical artistic practices and, at the same time, showing its significance in the sphere of cultural and everyday practices. As fourth, Sabina Barcucci investigates reasons, state of the art and developments of the relationships among design, education and complexity, looking at the new cognitive forms as the output of such phenomenon. Finally, Alessandro Delfanti examines the problem of the transformation of science expert epistemology, focusing on the political, artistic and cultural dimensions of biohacking and DIYbio. Invited curator: Marco Mancuso. Authors involved: Bertram Niessen, Claudia D'Alonzo, Sabina Barcucci, Alessandro Delfanti. Invitied guests: Lev Manovich, Michel Bauwens, Steve Kurtz (CAE), Kenneth Goldsmith

Figures (20)
The last text reflects on the connections between cyber-rights, copyright and creativ- ity. The Web is capable to collectively produce amazing amounts of cognitive wealth, as demonstrated by the case of Wikipedia and, more generally, by the whole Creative Com- mons ecology. But such abundance has to be protected through the organization of spe- cialist networks capable of facing the menace of increasingly repressive legislations: treaties like ACTA, SOPA and HADOPI - fostered by companies that are not able to remodel their
The last text reflects on the connections between cyber-rights, copyright and creativ- ity. The Web is capable to collectively produce amazing amounts of cognitive wealth, as demonstrated by the case of Wikipedia and, more generally, by the whole Creative Com- mons ecology. But such abundance has to be protected through the organization of spe- cialist networks capable of facing the menace of increasingly repressive legislations: treaties like ACTA, SOPA and HADOPI - fostered by companies that are not able to remodel their
tion if we can freely leave it. I often think that we should not teach our students to become socially aware artists. What they should learn is how to break through conventions and develop their own style. Good education is not raising armies of hardcore activists, willing to sacrifice for the Cause. My ideal student is someone who has learned to question (also the political agenda of his or her master). What counts is independent thinking and poetry. Social engagement as a politically correct gesture is something that I despise. Interesting activism happens like an accident. You stum- ble upon injustice—and act. It is much more interesting to see cultural and political themes indirectly popping up and taking over the meaning of a work. High aesthetics at its best is political by default, not because some slo- gans are written all over it.
tion if we can freely leave it. I often think that we should not teach our students to become socially aware artists. What they should learn is how to break through conventions and develop their own style. Good education is not raising armies of hardcore activists, willing to sacrifice for the Cause. My ideal student is someone who has learned to question (also the political agenda of his or her master). What counts is independent thinking and poetry. Social engagement as a politically correct gesture is something that I despise. Interesting activism happens like an accident. You stum- ble upon injustice—and act. It is much more interesting to see cultural and political themes indirectly popping up and taking over the meaning of a work. High aesthetics at its best is political by default, not because some slo- gans are written all over it.
what is left of the Occupy movement both in terms of a concept and a practice. Whether a small block of land was occupied proved not all that important in the end. The ques- tion is: can people brought together cause controversy? Occupy as a meme proved a powerful mobilization vehicle to bring peo- ple together in search for alternatives to neo- liberal policies in education, finance, hous- ing etc. It might be hard over time to speak of success or failure in this context.
what is left of the Occupy movement both in terms of a concept and a practice. Whether a small block of land was occupied proved not all that important in the end. The ques- tion is: can people brought together cause controversy? Occupy as a meme proved a powerful mobilization vehicle to bring peo- ple together in search for alternatives to neo- liberal policies in education, finance, hous- ing etc. It might be hard over time to speak of success or failure in this context.
ations. If we try to divide this space into dis- crete stylistic categories, any such attempt will be arbitrary. Visualization also shows which graphical choices are more common- ly used by manga artists (the central part of the “cloud” of pages) and which appear much more rarely (bottom and left parts). typical MMoTMauvon visualizatlon MIVOIVES first translating the world into numbers and then visualizing relations between these num- bers. In contrast, media visualization trans- lates a set of images into a new visual repre- sentation, which can reveal patterns in the images. In short, pictures are translated into pictures. The following two visualizations of the same data set illustrate the differences between infovis (information visualization) and mediavis (media visualization). Both visualizations use familiar scatter plot tech- nique; however the second adds images on top of the points. The first visualization shows the distribution of the data; the second allows us to understand what is behind the points. The data for these visualizations are 1,074,790 manga (Japanese comics) pages. The first visualization represents each page as a point [Fig.1]. The second visualization uses the scaled copies of the pages instead of the points [Fig.2]. To produce these visual- izations, we have measured a number of visu- al characteristics of each page: contrast, num- ber of lines, texture properties, etc. We then use one of the measurements to position the data on the X-axis, while another measure- ment is used to position data on the Y-axis. This method allows us to organize images according to their visual characteristics along two dimensions. In this visualization, the pages in the bottom part of the visualization are the most graph- ic and have the leact amoaint of detail and
ations. If we try to divide this space into dis- crete stylistic categories, any such attempt will be arbitrary. Visualization also shows which graphical choices are more common- ly used by manga artists (the central part of the “cloud” of pages) and which appear much more rarely (bottom and left parts). typical MMoTMauvon visualizatlon MIVOIVES first translating the world into numbers and then visualizing relations between these num- bers. In contrast, media visualization trans- lates a set of images into a new visual repre- sentation, which can reveal patterns in the images. In short, pictures are translated into pictures. The following two visualizations of the same data set illustrate the differences between infovis (information visualization) and mediavis (media visualization). Both visualizations use familiar scatter plot tech- nique; however the second adds images on top of the points. The first visualization shows the distribution of the data; the second allows us to understand what is behind the points. The data for these visualizations are 1,074,790 manga (Japanese comics) pages. The first visualization represents each page as a point [Fig.1]. The second visualization uses the scaled copies of the pages instead of the points [Fig.2]. To produce these visual- izations, we have measured a number of visu- al characteristics of each page: contrast, num- ber of lines, texture properties, etc. We then use one of the measurements to position the data on the X-axis, while another measure- ment is used to position data on the Y-axis. This method allows us to organize images according to their visual characteristics along two dimensions. In this visualization, the pages in the bottom part of the visualization are the most graph- ic and have the leact amoaint of detail and
Lev Manovich is one of the most important theo- rists in media studies and digital humanities. He is Professor at the Visual Arts Department, Universi- ty of Califomia - San Diego (UCSD) whee he teach- es courses in digital art, history and theory of digi- tal culture, and digital humanities. He also directs the Software Studies Initiative at the Califomia Insti- tute for Telecommunications and Information Tech- nology (CALIT2).
Lev Manovich is one of the most important theo- rists in media studies and digital humanities. He is Professor at the Visual Arts Department, Universi- ty of Califomia - San Diego (UCSD) whee he teach- es courses in digital art, history and theory of digi- tal culture, and digital humanities. He also directs the Software Studies Initiative at the Califomia Insti- tute for Telecommunications and Information Tech- nology (CALIT2).
says Hugues, but this is only the more imme- diate and easier action of users’ participation. In fact, one part of the platform is open, If things could talk, where users can generate content by uploading pictures and sharing a brief comment describing their relation to the object and its meaning from their own point of view.
says Hugues, but this is only the more imme- diate and easier action of users’ participation. In fact, one part of the platform is open, If things could talk, where users can generate content by uploading pictures and sharing a brief comment describing their relation to the object and its meaning from their own point of view.
without having to physically be in those places. This has led to producing and participating into online musical festivals or remote concerts, as well as to collaborating with different musi- cians where the audience, like the musicians, are no longer in a dedicated space, but are every- where, globally scattered and experiencing these productions simultaneously. Using streaming technologies we can transfer very high quality sound over the Internet.
without having to physically be in those places. This has led to producing and participating into online musical festivals or remote concerts, as well as to collaborating with different musi- cians where the audience, like the musicians, are no longer in a dedicated space, but are every- where, globally scattered and experiencing these productions simultaneously. Using streaming technologies we can transfer very high quality sound over the Internet.
tal Design into the networks, there’s no lack of encouraging examples of an ecological awareness, it often seems that the general attention is dangerously more focused on performance. The concept of responsibility, which is implicit in some approaches to the engineer profession, seems often to be trans- lated into “quality”, that is to say a deonto- logical commitment to customers, to whom it's essential to deliver products realized in the best and optimized way possible. With- in this view the cultural, social and holistic dimensions of responsibility can easily be missing.
tal Design into the networks, there’s no lack of encouraging examples of an ecological awareness, it often seems that the general attention is dangerously more focused on performance. The concept of responsibility, which is implicit in some approaches to the engineer profession, seems often to be trans- lated into “quality”, that is to say a deonto- logical commitment to customers, to whom it's essential to deliver products realized in the best and optimized way possible. With- in this view the cultural, social and holistic dimensions of responsibility can easily be missing.
YUU MOY itc HUW Oo FUL LIIUUNINIY SUUIELY Lol! behave in “The Very Many City"? Our design approach is very bottom up. Name- ly, we slowly build the overall process. We start from a small model and then we gradually jump to a larger model, then to a prototype, subsequently to an installation. From few installations, we produce a more structural one leading to the pavilion scale. What we call pro- totypical architecture is our current position; about the future...we never ask what is our own will. The Very Many are still trying to learn very slowly and carefully through this “test- try-failure-redo” growth. “What is it2” is the quection that we hone-
YUU MOY itc HUW Oo FUL LIIUUNINIY SUUIELY Lol! behave in “The Very Many City"? Our design approach is very bottom up. Name- ly, we slowly build the overall process. We start from a small model and then we gradually jump to a larger model, then to a prototype, subsequently to an installation. From few installations, we produce a more structural one leading to the pavilion scale. What we call pro- totypical architecture is our current position; about the future...we never ask what is our own will. The Very Many are still trying to learn very slowly and carefully through this “test- try-failure-redo” growth. “What is it2” is the quection that we hone-
olutionized the world. Most significantly, it has made possible a final form of capitalism pancapitalism, an economic hegemony that is truly global in scope. Interlocking and inter- dependent global markets are now a reality birthing global transnational institutions that operationally function under no authority but their own. Using the increasing virtual- ization of all dominant forms of human activ- ity, whether we are speaking about econom- ic exchange, warfare, entertainment, or even simple sociability, pancapitalism has man- aged to produce a globally dominant gener- al ideology (neoliberalism) in which the cat- egories of enterprise and profit become the lens through which all value is assessed. Giv- en this spectacular, inescapable, ideological and economic envelopment made possible by ICT, how can it be anything less than the greatest revolution of them all? Critical Art Ensemble believes that as with all spectacular phenomena, this revolution is reducible to the question of quantity. The ICT (digital) revolution ultimately brought us more of the same, but on a vastly larger scale. So while we haven't seen global empire, spectacle, or markets before, we have seen vast empires, spectacles, and markets. On the other hand, Biotechnology is not only vast in its many manifestations, it is also gen- uinely new. Beginning with quantity, biotech touches on everything organic, and thereby is also truly global. For example, its impact is continuous in the food supply chain. In terms of everyday life, the products generat- ed through biotech are everywhere, from our kitchens to our medicine cabinets and our bodies and for a small group of people biotech is the reason they exist at all. But biotech’s real significance has to do with quality. ‘ 4
olutionized the world. Most significantly, it has made possible a final form of capitalism pancapitalism, an economic hegemony that is truly global in scope. Interlocking and inter- dependent global markets are now a reality birthing global transnational institutions that operationally function under no authority but their own. Using the increasing virtual- ization of all dominant forms of human activ- ity, whether we are speaking about econom- ic exchange, warfare, entertainment, or even simple sociability, pancapitalism has man- aged to produce a globally dominant gener- al ideology (neoliberalism) in which the cat- egories of enterprise and profit become the lens through which all value is assessed. Giv- en this spectacular, inescapable, ideological and economic envelopment made possible by ICT, how can it be anything less than the greatest revolution of them all? Critical Art Ensemble believes that as with all spectacular phenomena, this revolution is reducible to the question of quantity. The ICT (digital) revolution ultimately brought us more of the same, but on a vastly larger scale. So while we haven't seen global empire, spectacle, or markets before, we have seen vast empires, spectacles, and markets. On the other hand, Biotechnology is not only vast in its many manifestations, it is also gen- uinely new. Beginning with quantity, biotech touches on everything organic, and thereby is also truly global. For example, its impact is continuous in the food supply chain. In terms of everyday life, the products generat- ed through biotech are everywhere, from our kitchens to our medicine cabinets and our bodies and for a small group of people biotech is the reason they exist at all. But biotech’s real significance has to do with quality. ‘ 4
the life science. I would like to see a type of democratization of science, which involves citizens directly rather than leaving the whole discussion to some NGO, media or profes- sional science communicators who will rep- resent and mediate their voices. My hope is that by enabling more people to do science in their garages, kitchens and bathrooms, and by enabling more artist, designers and simply enthusiasts to work on various sci- entific projects, we will create a scientifical- ly literate public, which can democratize deci- sions on stem cells, embryos, GMOs, nanotechnologies etc. the scientists. The relation between Hack- teria and DIYbio creates this nice synergy and opportunity to support unique collab- orations.
the life science. I would like to see a type of democratization of science, which involves citizens directly rather than leaving the whole discussion to some NGO, media or profes- sional science communicators who will rep- resent and mediate their voices. My hope is that by enabling more people to do science in their garages, kitchens and bathrooms, and by enabling more artist, designers and simply enthusiasts to work on various sci- entific projects, we will create a scientifical- ly literate public, which can democratize deci- sions on stem cells, embryos, GMOs, nanotechnologies etc. the scientists. The relation between Hack- teria and DIYbio creates this nice synergy and opportunity to support unique collab- orations.
Let's begin with some of the many thoughts going around at the Thursday evening meet- ings of La Paillasse. Of course everyone is welcome to join in with the diverse group of individuals who are passionate about devel- opments in the life sciences. It is not neces- sary to distinguish who exactly might be identified as a life scientist, as a programmer or as a student, citizens or artists interested in social aspects of science. It is likely that those in attendance will end up identifying with at least a few of these figures in the course of the evening, regardless of their lev- el of experience. This is also what “doing- biology-yourself” means. The barriers to becoming active in biology are extremely high; the knowledge required is about keep- ing track of the rapid pace of technical devel- opments and mastering the skills and knowl- edge that are necessary to work with instruments, taking them apart and using them in experiments. In other words, DIY- bio focuses on the construction of a labora- tory with basic tools for anyone with a basic attitude towards experimentation. This lab- oratory is actively being rendered as a social space that is as inclusive as possible. c
Let's begin with some of the many thoughts going around at the Thursday evening meet- ings of La Paillasse. Of course everyone is welcome to join in with the diverse group of individuals who are passionate about devel- opments in the life sciences. It is not neces- sary to distinguish who exactly might be identified as a life scientist, as a programmer or as a student, citizens or artists interested in social aspects of science. It is likely that those in attendance will end up identifying with at least a few of these figures in the course of the evening, regardless of their lev- el of experience. This is also what “doing- biology-yourself” means. The barriers to becoming active in biology are extremely high; the knowledge required is about keep- ing track of the rapid pace of technical devel- opments and mastering the skills and knowl- edge that are necessary to work with instruments, taking them apart and using them in experiments. In other words, DIY- bio focuses on the construction of a labora- tory with basic tools for anyone with a basic attitude towards experimentation. This lab- oratory is actively being rendered as a social space that is as inclusive as possible. c
aspects of mental activity. This is the so-called neuro-hack project. Similarly, many other meanings can be directly connected to the enormous amounts of information about genes, proteins, cells and so on produced by scientific research. To visualize the behav- iour of complicated interactions of biologi- cal entities typically involves the eyes, like reading text or seeing a simulation; there are also ways of listening to sounds, and even music, in relation to its changes in form, shape and position.
aspects of mental activity. This is the so-called neuro-hack project. Similarly, many other meanings can be directly connected to the enormous amounts of information about genes, proteins, cells and so on produced by scientific research. To visualize the behav- iour of complicated interactions of biologi- cal entities typically involves the eyes, like reading text or seeing a simulation; there are also ways of listening to sounds, and even music, in relation to its changes in form, shape and position.

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