Listening Post

Juicelog Tues 130508: Danny, Martial and I went down to the Dana Centre (in South Kensington) for a private view and Q&A session with Mark Hansen & Ben Rubin (creators of the Listening Post). The Q&A tonight was carried out by video linkup (done by Skype). After a few technical hitches we got a chance to quiz these guys about their installation. Basically, they wrote a programme which randomly takes samples of online chats/conversations which are then converted into multiple electronic and sound projection. I quizzed Mark about this piece of artwork as I’m not too sure whether something like this contains enough artistic merit (even though it might fulfil the Turner Prize criteria). After viewing the installation afterwards, I did not feel like I connected with it because it just did not have enough to engage me emotionally.

One of the things noted tonight was that use of expression "I Am". Apparently it is one of the most commonly used phrases during online discussions. This phrase is incorporated into their artwork. Words and text are extremely difficult objects to work with artistically and this piece really did not do enough to take it beyond today’s IT savvy generation. Technologically, there is no denying that the concept is interesting and would no doubt be one of the new mediums that would spawn a new generation of artists.