No subject
Thu Jan 17 09:40:16 EST 2013
rojects with an incredible range of integrated components. The cello proje=
ct (like all of Shani=92s signature work) required her to learn and master =
NEW knowledge/skills: the machining of custom aluminum components, the desi=
gn of mechanical parts and custom electronics, and the programming of micro=
controllers, to name a few. (This constant drive to challenge herself to r=
esearch and learn new bodies of knowledge at a professional level became a =
signature characteristic of her working process).
The cello piece would not work without all of the elements working in synch=
ronicity and she could design and plan multiple levels of a project simulta=
neously=97on paper and in her head. She made it look effortless: detailed =
planning, ordering of electronic and mechanical parts, learning programming=
, and finally, coordinating all of the parts into a poetic artwork. As we =
were both in pursuit of knowledge about electronics, robotics, and mechanic=
al design, we spent a lot of time together finding people who could teach u=
s those things, teaching ourselves, and sharing ideas. Nothing stopped her=
, or us. It should be noted that while Shani was strong willed and driven =
to do her projects, she was also incredibly gifted in her ability to bring =
people together socially and for projects. She thrived in the company of ot=
her intellectuals.
In 2000, we were booted from the studio we had been sharing on campus (=93s=
quatting=94 might be the more accurate term for what we were doing), and ma=
naged to convince someone to let us use a dirty, vacant (and undesirable) s=
pace in the engineering building. We managed to neaten it up for a half a =
year and during that time we began thinking about creating our own artists=
=92 collective. We wanted a women only, technology focused art group. In t=
he spirit of Carnegie Mellon=92s cross disciplinary practice, we formed =93=
TnA,=94 (Technology and Art, purposely punned, bad, I know=85) which consis=
ted of artists and scientific researchers in the School of Art, Computer Sc=
ience, Robotics Institute, and Human-Computer Interaction and included: Son=
ya Allin (Human Computer Interaction) Alison Bruce(Robotics), Beatriz da Co=
sta (Art), Heidi Kumao (Art), Anat Pollack (Art), and Brooke Singer (Art).
This group developed our first (and only) collaborative project and exhibit=
ed it as part of the 2001 Sculpture Conference in Pittsburgh. =93Nomadika:=
No Strings Attached?=94 was a multi-part (again) project and live storefro=
nt installation that explored Wireless technology and Surveillance. We pose=
d as employees of Nomadika, a fictional marketing firm. We collected data o=
n our users and displayed it publicly in real time, as well as tried to inf=
orm the public about the costs of giving away personal data. It seems date=
d now, but at the time, it was an exciting topic and I had a lot of fun mak=
ing the piece collaborating with 5 incredibly smart women. We performed, w=
e educated, we critiqued. And in perfect Shani fashion, the project concept=
was addressed from multiple angles. From my perspective, a lot of what she=
carried through to other projects such as =93Swipe=94 and =93Zapped!=94 in=
corporated a similar approach. It was critical that her projects include in=
teracting with and educating the public about a research topic, and critiqu=
ing socially accepted beliefs about science and technology. She did this un=
til the very end.
I will stop for now and let others have their say=85
Heidi Kumao
--
Heidi Kumao
Associate Professor
Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design
University of Michigan
2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
hkumao at umich.edu<mailto:hkumao at umich.edu>
Office: 734.763-0183
www.heidikumao.net<http://www.heidikumao.net>
_______________________________________________
empyre forum
empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au<mailto:empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au>
http://www.subtle.net/empyre
--
Renate Ferro
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art
Cornell University
Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office #420
Ithaca, NY 14853
Email: <rtf9 at cornell.edu<mailto:rtf9 at cornell.edu>>
URL: http://www.renateferro.net
http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net
Lab: http://www.tinkerfactory.net
Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space
http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyre
_______________________________________________
empyre forum
empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
http://www.subtle.net/empyre
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I have been reading the posts here for the last few weeks and have been ver=
y grateful and moved by the response of this community to Beatriz's life an=
d work.
<div>I also appreciate the use of this space for the tender and necessary p=
roject of online-community mourning and celebration.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I wanted to share with you that we are in the last phases of organizin=
g the LA memorial for Beatriz, as well as asking for your guidance.</div>
<div>This will take place at LACE, on Wednesday April 17, I think from 6-9 =
(although the times are not 100% set).</div>
<div>When I began this conversation with Beatriz=97a friend of mine for jus=
t the past few years, I met her through our mutual friend Rachel when Beatr=
iz was already quite sick=97we were planning a screening of her most recent=
project, <a href=3D"http://beatrizdacosta.net/Dying_for_the_Other/">D=
ying
for the Other</a>, after she had sent out a call to friends and colleagues=
(I think in November), asking us to help mobilize a tour of the just-compl=
eted work. At that time, along with Robert Crouch at LACE, Robert Nideffer,=
and Ciara Ennis (who runs our galleries
where I teach, at Pitzer), we began to organize a screening and panel disc=
ussion with Donna Haraway and Catherine Lord, which I would moderate and Be=
atriz might attend. At this time, Beatriz was having some difficulty managi=
ng all the decisions necessary for
such an event, but it was stunning and moving to see her try to keep firm =
control over the shape of the projection, reception, and distribution of he=
r work. Stunning and moving in that she was having difficulties with much o=
f life's most mundane details, but
somehow managed to stay true and committed to managing her own vision of t=
he life her work, and herself, the artist, in the world.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>In the past few weeks, we have been working together, closely, to hono=
r her wishes for this screening, while also attending to the LA community's=
desire for a memorial. At this time, Donna, Catherine and I are beginning =
to conceive of a dance-like evening,
that moves from screening, to panel conversation about her new work, to pe=
rsonal reflections on her life and work in a wholistic rather than programa=
tic way (i.e in chunks). Needless to say, it is an affair we are all a=
ttending to with close care, love, and
sensitivity. I would love feedback on this forum (or off) about other=
ideas or needs her friends and colleagues might have for this evening in L=
A. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks,</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Alex Juhasz</div>
<div>Media Studies</div>
<div>Pitzer College</div>
<div><a href=3D"mailto:alexandra_juhasz at pitzer.edu">alexandra_juhasz at pitzer=
.edu</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>On Feb 22, 2013, at 9:28 AM, Renate Ferro wrote:</div>
<br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type=3D"cite">
<div>----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------<br>
Dear Heidi, My week has been bogged down with admissions<br>
responsibilities so my apologies for not responding. Your post about<=
br>
the culture at Carnegie Mellon at the time I have heard from many<br>
others as well was remarkable but before we close the week I am hoping<br>
you will write to us a bit more about tNa? Is there any documentation=
<br>
of the piece that you created together?<br>
<br>
I hope you will have time to make another post this week. Renate<br>
<br>
On Tue, Feb 19, 2013 at 2:31 PM, Heidi Kumao <<a href=3D"mailto:hkumao at u=
mich.edu">hkumao at umich.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">----------empyre- soft-skinned space-------------=
---------<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Hi all,<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">I=92ve been reading what everyone has written and=
became especially nostalgic when Antoinette was describing the Robotic Cel=
lo piece. Shani (Beatriz) and I started sharing a studio at Carnegie =
Mellon University at that time, and I witnessed
almost every aspect of that project=92s construction and complexities=85oh=
, the golden days!<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">I will start my writing here by sharing some of m=
y impressions and memories of Shani as she was just establishing hers=
elf in the U.S. as an artist.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">I first met Shani in late 1999 at Carnegie Mellon=
where she was an exchange student from Aix-En-Provence finishing her thesi=
s project (the cello) and I was a Research Fellow at the Studio for Creativ=
e Inquiry. I was sitting in on Simon
Penny=92s course on technology, theory, and culture, which had an amazing =
array of artists, engineers, computer scientists, and other interested part=
ies (including Shani) all joining into the lively class discussions. The cu=
lture of Carnegie Mellon=92s art community
at that time was incredibly fluid in terms of the art and technology crowd=
. Potlucks, parties, and meetings at bars would always include a mixt=
ure of art students and faculty, as well as Ph.D. students in robotics, com=
puter science, and AI. It was a magical
time to be at Carnegie Mellon as it was the home base for many great tacti=
cal media practitioners and artist collectives including: Critical Art Ense=
mble, Simon Penny, Institute for Applied Autonomy, SubRosa and other groups=
working out of the Studio for Creative
Inquiry, a think tank for creative research . Working collaboratively was =
commonplace and we all seemed to share similar ideas about the function of =
art and the artist in society. I say all this to frame the environmen=
t that Shani and many of us shared at
that time, and also to contextualize what would become integral aspects of=
her working process.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">From the very beginning, Shani had an amazing cap=
acity to develop complex projects with an incredible range of integrated co=
mponents. The cello project (like all of Shani=92s signature work) re=
quired her to learn and master NEW knowledge/skills:
the machining of custom aluminum components, the design of mechanical part=
s and custom electronics, and the programming of microcontrollers, to name =
a few. (This constant drive to challenge herself to research and lear=
n new bodies of knowledge at a professional
level became a signature characteristic of her working process).<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">The cello piece would not work without all of the=
elements working in synchronicity and she could design and plan multiple l=
evels of a project simultaneously=97on paper and in her head. She mad=
e it look effortless: detailed planning,
ordering of electronic and mechanical parts, learning programming, and fin=
ally, coordinating all of the parts into a poetic artwork. As we were=
both in pursuit of knowledge about electronics, robotics, and mechanical d=
esign, we spent a lot of time together
finding people who could teach us those things, teaching ourselves, and sh=
aring ideas. Nothing stopped her, or us. It should be noted tha=
t while Shani was strong willed and driven to do her projects, she was also=
incredibly gifted in her ability to bring
people together socially and for projects. She thrived in the company of o=
ther intellectuals.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">In 2000, we were booted from the studio we had be=
en sharing on campus (=93squatting=94 might be the more accurate term for w=
hat we were doing), and managed to convince someone to let us use a dirty, =
vacant (and undesirable) space in the
engineering building. We managed to neaten it up for a half a year a=
nd during that time we began thinking about creating our own artists=92 col=
lective. We wanted a women only, technology focused art group. In the=
spirit of Carnegie Mellon=92s cross disciplinary
practice, we formed =93TnA,=94 (Technology and Art, purposely punned, bad,=
I know=85) which consisted of artists and scientific researchers in the Sc=
hool of Art, Computer Science, Robotics Institute, and Human-Computer Inter=
action and included: Sonya Allin (Human
Computer Interaction) Alison Bruce(Robotics), Beatriz da Costa (Art), Heid=
i Kumao (Art), Anat Pollack (Art), and Brooke Singer (Art).<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">This group developed our first (and only) collabo=
rative project and exhibited it as part of the 2001 Sculpture Conference in=
Pittsburgh. =93Nomadika: No Strings Attached?=94 was a multi-part (a=
gain) project and live storefront installation
that explored Wireless technology and Surveillance. We posed as employees =
of Nomadika, a fictional marketing firm. We collected data on our users and=
displayed it publicly in real time, as well as tried to inform the public =
about the costs of giving away personal
data. It seems dated now, but at the time, it was an exciting topic =
and I had a lot of fun making the piece collaborating with 5 incredibly sma=
rt women. We performed, we educated, we critiqued. And in perfect Sha=
ni fashion, the project concept was addressed
from multiple angles. From my perspective, a lot of what she carried throu=
gh to other projects such as =93Swipe=94 and =93Zapped!=94 incorporated a s=
imilar approach. It was critical that her projects include interacting with=
and educating the public about a research
topic, and critiquing socially accepted beliefs about science and technolo=
gy. She did this until the very end.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">I will stop for now and let others have their say=
=85<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Heidi Kumao<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">--<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Heidi Kumao<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Associate Professor<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">University of Michigan<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">2000 Bonisteel Blvd.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><a href=3D"mailto:hkumao at umich.edu">hkumao at umich.=
edu</a><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">Office: 734.763-0183<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><a href=3D"http://www.heidikumao.net">www.heidiku=
mao.net</a><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">_______________________________________________<b=
r>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite">empyre forum<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><a href=3D"mailto:empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au">=
empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au</a><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type=3D"cite"><a href=3D"http://www.subtle.net/empyre">http://w=
ww.subtle.net/empyre</a><br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<br>
-- <br>
<br>
Renate Ferro<br>
Visiting Assistant Professor of Art<br>
Cornell University<br>
Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office #420<br>
Ithaca, NY 14853<br>
Email: <<a href=3D"mailto:rtf9 at cornell.edu">rtf9 at cornell.edu=
</a>><br>
URL: <a href=3D"http://www.renateferro.net">http://www.renateferro.ne=
t</a><br>
<a href=3D"http://www.privatesecretspubliclie=
s.net">http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net</a><br>
Lab: <a href=3D"http://www.tinkerfactory.net">http://www.tinkerfactor=
y.net</a><br>
<br>
Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space<br>
<a href=3D"http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/">http://empyre.library.cornel=
l.edu/</a><br>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empyre<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
empyre forum<br>
empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au<br>
http://www.subtle.net/empyre<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
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