[-empyre-] cultural interfacing

[ryan griffis <grifray@yahoo.com>]

Christina McPhee wrote:

> So that you force into a tight juxtaposition the fact based 
> documentary, the Q and A, with a really direct GUI design that 
> probably runs well on 56k.  I've always loved the apparent artlessness 
> of your online work, its really flat out, no frills, no bullshit 
> interface.  Certainly this interface itself is an expression of the 
> Tijuana Calling theme, because your minimal style is super accessible 
> both artistically and in terms of bandwith...

i'm not sure about the characterization of Ricardo's interface design 
as being "no frills"... there is certainly a minimalist quality that 
kind of resembles graphic novels and the like, but i think there's a 
baroqueness to them that is well beyond the minimum requirements for a 
usable interface. maybe i'm reading christina's remarks the wrong way, 
but the "flat out, no bullshit interface" qualification seems 
misleading maybe. not that the interface is "bullshit" ;) but i 
certainly wouldn't call it "no bullshit" either, as that seems to 
suggest a lack of artifice, which i think is really present in 
Ricardo's work. and by artifice, i don't mean "surface" or "falsity" 
but certainly aesthetic and narrative.
but, perhaps this is really beside the point, the questions initiating 
the discussion are the ones that seem more important to focus on...
considering how the net re-enacts geography is an interesting point of 
departure, especially for projects like inSite and how those projects 
will be discussed and framed through a channel like empyre.
i attended some of the pre-interventions events for inSite05 last year, 
and made a small report based on my thoughts on some of these ideas:
http://www.yougenics.net/griffis/index.php?page=inSite
just yesterday, i was reading various blogs and on-the-ground accounts 
from the US gulf coast, and came across a discussion about the alleged 
killing of 5 contract workers by NOLA police as they crossed a bridge, 
supposedly carrying weapons for protection. Someone posted this story 
to an anarchist discussion board, linked to an Australian newspaper 
site. then someone immediately commented that it was ridiculous to 
consider a report from an Australian newspaper as accurate, due to its 
geographic distance from the site in question. Of course, it turns out 
that the story was from the AP. but the brief exchange pointed out some 
interesting things in terms of the geographical underpinnings of the 
network. A friend of mine thinks that we should expect a psychological 
moving of the border north. i don't know about that, but i'm sure the 
psychogeography of the US will be impacted by this.
best,
ryan