No subject

Tue Sep 18 10:10:38 UTC 2007

headed for a lack of supporting technostructire in 10 years, but that
artist also has to understand that their work is going to evaporate
before the historians get there.  This is also why I have an atomic
archive of my outgoing emails as well.

For me, I believe that the desire for a media artwork to be considered
in the historical record requires one to be intentional about the form
of their work, and the durability of that work is the artist's
responsibility.  If a work will be on delicate/ephemeral platforms, then
it needs to be well documented, or if it is Agrippa, it needs no such
treatment.

However, when I hear the hue and cry of another obsolete medium/OS or
another digital archivist proposing multiple-century archives, I have to
be circumspect, as my information tells me that digital media should
have a maximum lifespan at this time of about 20-30 years - but tends
toward a maximum of half that.

Digital practitioners need to be honest with themselves, I think, and
plan their archival strategies at multiple levels of durability if such
things concern them.  If not then they are part of oral history, and not
the atomic one.  This is fine, if it is intentional.

Patrick Lichty
- Interactive Arts & Media
  Columbia College, Chicago
- Editor-In-Chief
  Intelligent Agent Magazine
http://www.intelligentagent.com
225 288 5813
FAX 312 344-8021

voyd at voyd.com

"It is better to die on your feet 
than to live on your knees." 

-----Original Message-----
From: idc-bounces at mailman.thing.net
[mailto:idc-bounces at mailman.thing.net] On Behalf Of Adrianne Wortzel
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 3:56 PM
To: idc at mailman.thing.net
Subject: [iDC] shelf life

What about Euripides?
Written on papyrus in an extinct language 25 centuries ago, the plays
have been preserved as texts and continue in performances  without
Euripides lifting a finger.  They are also reiterated, repurposed,
reinterpreted and even re-made   (see "The (Re)making Project - Charles
Mee at http://www.charlesmee.org/html/about.html.

Are our technologies harder to decipher/decode than an archaic language?
Are we imprisoning our works when we make them in technologies -- even
code?

An aspect of mischief in my own work as an artist in is to embrace the
physical obsolescence of works by embedding their content in the context
of archaeological digs and lost civilizations. A case in point are "The
Electronic Chronicles."-- stories of a future archaeological dig which
excavates our own culture as if it was the past . Created in 1994, with
overzealous use of newly available html magicJ ( alignment and tables)
and written on a yellow pad on the subway, it is now inaccessible on a
CD of "pioneer web works" accompanying The New Media Reader which
demands System 9.  Update it?  No. It is, in itself now an
archaeological artifact. (Its also still visible on line).

I know these things are painful for archivists and artists to
contemplate , but isn't it also emphatically charming and Sisyphean to
have our work "frozen" in time?. We tend to experience both the newness
and obsolesce of technologies as ascendant through time, and indicating
revoluiton, but what is really changing?
Speaking of shelf life as one of stasis; this is signage from the
American Museum of Natural History, which, aside from terrifying kids,
lauds the process of decay as life enabling. 

"A square foot of dirt in a forest holds four times as many dead insects
and animals as how many humans there are on all of the earth. If the
pile just grew and grew the forest wouldn't get any light and air and
everything would die. This is called the Cycle of Nutrition and Decay."
When work is buried by its form in new technologies, its wonderful that
there are those who would put their ear to the ground to hear its heart
beating there and resurrect it, but considering the span of our
lifetimes and those of our literal or philosophical heirs,  what kind of
time are we talking about?  Years, Decades, Millennia?

-- 
Adrianne Wortzel
Professor, Communication Design
New York City College of Technology
City University of New York
300 Jay Street, N1113
Brooklyn, New York 11201
Phone:  718 260-5512
Fax:  718 254-5888
Email:  awortzel at citytech.cuny.edu

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<body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple =
style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'>

<div class=3DSection1>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Hi, everyone &#8211; =
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><span class=3DGramE><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Great that this =
comes up
again.</span></font></span><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>&nbsp; </span>It&#8217;s a bit of a cross for =
us, I
think.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Sorry for not being more Chatty (I =
want to
reply to Scott Kildall after this dies down), but being in <span =
class=3DSpellE>academis</span>
now rather than my old <span class=3DSpellE>indie</span> practice slows =
me.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I hope not to talk too =
aphoristically, but
this is a topic I got into a huge row with a student in my Media Theory =
class
this week about this very subject.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

We talked about the impact of =
durable
media of any kind on culture. &nbsp;The
interesting thing we touched on is that of the lifespan of a video tape =
and
that of a CD in terms of technological support, hardware availability, =
media
durability. &nbsp;His argument =
is that
since all media degrade, it makes no difference how long it degrades =
&#8211; to
him one year is the same as a hundred (e.g. silent&nbsp; film). =
<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

However, I thought about how much =
poorer
we would be if the works of Deren were to =
have
degraded in ten years. &nbsp;Not =
all
media will be migrated &#8211; yes, this is a truism.&nbsp; But on the other hand, I =
<st1:PersonName>fee</st1:PersonName>l that
it is useful to engineer media that is durable enough to remain intact =
long
enough for the historians to get to,<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

I sit with concern when parts of =
the <st1:PersonName>Leonardo</st1:PersonName> archive
shut down, Mac Classic goes away, and so on. =
&nbsp;It&#8217;s so much like =
Gibson&#8217;s
Agrippa, which erases itself as you read it.&nbsp; The Internet is truly an oral =
culture.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

I also consider that the current =
batch of
media history being done is roughly that of the Stewart Brand era =
&#8211; 60&#8217;s,
maybe early 70&#8217;s.&nbsp; =
That seems
to presuppose a 30-35 year event horizon, and this will not survive =
except for
book entries, and perhaps some video. &nbsp;I remember reading books like =
&#8220;the End
of the Book&#8221;, how my father&#8217;s office in 1983 was going to go
paperless, and so on.&nbsp; None =
of this
seems to really unfold as we thought.&nbsp;
To expand on George Crlin, I think =
that the
amount of surety we have about any future prognostication slips away
proportionally to the distance we look ahead in =
time.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

It seems to me that much of history =
will
be defined by the atomic record, by my estimation.&nbsp; Adrienne makes a good point =
about Greek
Theatre, but I counter that events throughout time happen that we are =
not
accountable for which destroy our records. &nbsp;We can be responsible for what =
is within
our power, and this is also out intent or =
responsibility.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>From this, I have no problem if a =
media
artist makes a piece that is headed for a lack of supporting <span
class=3DSpellE>technostructire</span> in 10 years, but that artist also =
has to
understand that their work is going to evaporate before the historians =
get
there.<span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>&nbsp; </span>This is also why I =
have an atomic
archive of my outgoing emails as well.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>For me, I believe that the desire =
for a
media artwork to be considered in the historical record requires one to =
be
intentional about the form of their work, and the durability of that =
work is
the artist&#8217;s responsibility.<span =
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>&nbsp;
</span>If a work will be on delicate/ephemeral platforms, then it needs =
to be
well documented, or if it is Agrippa, it needs no such =
treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>However, when I hear the hue and =
cry of
another obsolete medium/OS or another digital archivist proposing
multiple-century archives, I have to be circumspect, as my information =
tells me
that digital media should have a maximum lifespan at this time of about =
20-30
years &#8211; but tends toward a maximum of half =
that.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

Digital practitioners need to be =
honest
with themselves, I think, and plan their =
archival
strategies at multiple levels of durability if such things concern them. =
&nbsp;If not then they are part of =
oral
history, and not the atomic one.&nbsp;
This is fine, if it is intentional.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>Patrick =
Lichty</span></font><font
color=3Dnavy><span =
style=3D'color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>- Interactive Arts =
&amp;
Media<br>
&nbsp; Columbia College, Chicago<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>- =
Editor-In-Chief<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>&nbsp; Intelligent =
Agent
Magazine<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>http://www.intellig=
entagent.com<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-no-proof:yes'>225 288 =
5813<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-no-proof:yes'>FAX =
</span></font><font
size=3D1 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black;mso-no-proof:yes'>312 344-8021</span></font><font =
color=3Dblack
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></spa=
n></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></=
span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dblack face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href=3D"mailto:voyd at voyd.com">voyd at voyd.com</a></span></font><font =
color=3Dnavy
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span=
></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></=
span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><strong><b><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>&quot;It is =
better to die
on your </span></font></b></strong><st1:PersonName><strong><b><font =
color=3Dnavy
 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>fee</span></font></b></strong></st1=
:PersonName><strong><b><font
color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>t =
</span></font></b></strong><b><font
color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-weight:
bold;mso-no-proof:yes'><br>
</span></font><strong><b><font color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'color:navy;mso-no-proof:yes'>than to live on your knees.&quot; =
</span></font></b></strong></b><font
color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-no-proof:
yes'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

</div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 =
face=3DTahoma><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original =
Message-----<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> =
idc-bounces at mailman.thing.net
[mailto:idc-bounces at mailman.thing.net] <b><span =
style=3D'font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Adrianne Wortzel<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, November =
16, 2007
3:56 PM<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> =
idc at mailman.thing.net<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [iDC] shelf =
life</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'><br>
</span></font><font color=3Dblack face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-family:Arial;
color:black'>What about Euripides?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>

</div>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Written
on papyrus in an extinct language 25 centuries ago, the plays have been
preserved as texts and continue in performances&nbsp; without Euripides =
lifting
a finger.&nbsp; They are also reiterated, repurposed, reinterpreted and =
even
re-made&nbsp;&nbsp; (see &quot;The (Re)making Project - Charles Mee =
at<u>
http://www.charlesmee.org/html/about.html</u>.</span></font><o:p></o:p></=
p>

</div>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

</div>

<div>

Are our
technologies harder to decipher/decode than an archaic language? Are we
imprisoning our works when we make them in technologies -- even =
code?<o:p></o:p>

</div>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

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<div>

An
aspect of mischief in my own work as an artist in is to embrace the =
physical
obsolescence of works by embedding their content in the context of
archaeological digs and lost civilizations. A case in point are =
&quot;The
Electronic Chronicles.&quot;-- stories of a future archaeological dig =
which
excavates our own culture as if it was the past . Created in 1994, with
overzealous use of newly available html magicJ ( alignment and tables) =
and
written on a yellow pad on the subway, it is now inaccessible on a CD of
&quot;pioneer web works&quot; accompanying The New Media Reader which =
demands
System 9.&nbsp; Update it?&nbsp; No. It is, in itself now an =
archaeological
artifact. (Its also still visible on line).<o:p></o:p>

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I know these things are painful for archivists and artists to =
contemplate , but
isn't it also emphatically charming and Sisyphean to have our work
&quot;frozen&quot; in time?. We tend to experience both the newness and
obsolesce of technologies as ascendant through time, and indicating =
revoluiton,
but what is really changing?<o:p></o:p>

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<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Speaking
of shelf life as one of stasis; this is signage from the American Museum =
of
Natural History, which, aside from terrifying kids,&nbsp; lauds the =
process of
decay as life enabling.&nbsp;</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>

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&quot;A square foot of dirt in a forest holds four times as many dead =
insects
and animals as how many humans there are on all of the earth. If the =
pile just
grew and grew the forest wouldn't get any light and air and everything =
would
die. This is called the Cycle of Nutrition and =
Decay.&quot;<o:p></o:p>

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<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>When
work is buried by its form in new technologies, its wonderful that there =
are
those who would put their ear to the ground to hear its heart beating =
there and
resurrect it, but considering the span of our lifetimes and those of our
literal or philosophical heirs,&nbsp; what kind of time are we talking
about?&nbsp; Years, Decades, Millennia?</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>

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<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

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<pre style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier =
New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'><x-sigsep>-- <o:p></o:p></span></font></pre>

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<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'></x-sigsep>Adrianne Wortzel<br>
Professor, Communication Design<br>
New York City College of Technology<br>
City University of New York<br>
300 Jay Street, N1113<br>
Brooklyn, New York 11201<br>
Phone:&nbsp; 718 260-5512<br>
Fax:&nbsp; 718 254-5888<br>
Email:&nbsp; awortzel at citytech.cuny.edu<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

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