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1998 JAN 8
File Not Found 404
CANADA
From File Not Found 404,
a conceptual work by Canadian artist T.S. Thomas:
You are looking at the Web/the site as medium, idea, work.
Here it is difficult to distinguish where one and the other start
and end. And that is (part of) the idea.
Theory -- the artist asks us to consider current issues
of new media theory:
"What... constitutes originality or the notion of 'one of
a kind' in the simulacrum of the digital world?"
Poetry -- a change from conceptual/theoretical:
"It is December 21, 1997. Northern Hemisphere winter
solstice. The sun barely clears the trees for a couple of
hours flooding a few patches of ground behind the house. I
stand basking my face for several minutes, squinting hard.
Pastel coloured refractions forming concentric circles and
waves dance wildly through my eyelashes. I begin
anew."
Ideas -- drift in and out of the medium/the work:
"You're at the end of the Internet. The last stop in
Cyberspace. What do you see?"
"Blah Blah Blah is like 404. An empty phrase having
infiltrated our vernacular. How empty? Not a day goes by
without overhearing it in conversation. An expression at
once dismissive of and pregnant with meaning. A verbal
shortcut, a filler, a value-added embellishment, an
alias, a substitute, a generality of a specific order. Of
course, its meaning depends entirely on context."
In the end -- File Not Found 404 is:
"...a shadow of its former self. An empty shell. A blank
screen. A sign-post, a reference pointing to a source
without a name. An index to an archive of experience waiting
to be reborn. An old space open to new possibilities. A dense,
opaque seed scattered throughout the Web. It is empty yet
full."
File Not Found 404
www.islandnet.com/404
This work is conceptual,
no doubt, and pregnant with meaning on multiple levels. Your
own perception and interpretation is key to your appreciation of the
work, so I will refrain from saying too much more, except --
when you visit, take note of the presentation... this is new media
art at the end of the Internet, the last stop in cyberspace.
Finally, A&T visitors might like to know T.S. Thomas is active in
public art projects since 1991. He is best known for new poetry venue
text installations utilizing large letters outdoors, which works entail
a dynamic interplay of mixed media -- literary, visual, and
theatrical -- incorporating spontaneous encounters with the
public as an integral part of the art. Visit this site. Enjoy.
Email this week,
and with reference to Whole Brain Atlas
A&T 12/11/97,
this reminder of a real need for brain donations:
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 02:48:08
From: PURDYzKAT <PURDYzKAT@aol.com>
Subject: Brain Bank?
When I tried to search for the Brain Bank, nothing was found. I
think McLean Hospital is your affiliate, but should you not let
people know that "brains" are needed for research
especially for Mental Illness?
Mine is going to be donated. I know you don't get many. This is
a good place to put it in big letters.
PURDYzKAT@aol.com
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 12:31:59
From: PURDYzKAT <PURDYzKAT@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Brain Bank?
You might also stress that they need healthy brains as well as
"sick" brains. Without this research, we are doomed.
It is not like an "organ" donor. You can't just put
it on your drivers license. Contact: Harvard Psychiatry Brain
Collection @ 1-800-BRAINBANK
"From knowledge will come a cure."
Thanks,
KAT
A&T visitors interested to learn more about the Harvard Brain
Tissue Resource Center at McLean Hospital can call the 800
number or visit:
Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
www.mcleanhospital.org/brainbank.html
Thank you, KAT.
Image clips and quoted texts from the Web site File Not
Found 404. Used by permission. Brain Bank email posted
by permission.
Would you like to see your work in Zn?
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