This week saw the development of my research project, as well as a discussion on the topic of sensing practises.
This week I conducted further research in order to develop my chosen topic. I came across the website and youtube channel for Vector Hack, a festival dedicated to the discussion of vector and video art. It contained an interesting lecture from Derek Holzer, an artist and researcher. The talk discussed his interests in media archaeology and technoscience, talking specifically about the origins of vector graphics and computer animation. Holzer mentioned that the first examples of vector graphics can be traced back to the IBM SAGE Computer, used by the American government during the Cold War:
I find it interesting that the first examples of this technology have its origins in military use. After some further research and a conversation with Mattia, I learned that this is quite common - a significant amount of modern technology originated in the developments of World War 2. I find this thought quite dystopian in a way; this is reinforced through the use of language in the aforementioned video, particularly in the slogan “freeing man’s mind to shape the future”.
The lecture also introduced me to the theme of media archaeology, which refers to the study of new, emerging media through an examination of the past. Part of the field involves the study of what could have happened if technology had been implemented differently - this is discussed by Holzer, using an example of if television sets had been designed to be round instead of square, and the implication this could have had in terms of how we consume media. This also involves the study of how devices such as the oscilloscope and the CRT screen have changed culturally over the years. When they were used by the likes of Nam June Paik to create video art they were new in their conception - Paik used the television as a means to address technology that was directly affecting our lives. This same technology would of course have a very different cultural reaction if it were to be used today. These points have given me a lot to think about in terms of how I can develop my research project.
In terms of the weekly discussions, the text that stood out the most for me was ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ by Ursula K. Le Guin. It discusses how the carrier bag has been intrinsic in the survival of the human race, of equal importance as tools such as the club or spear. With the bag, early humans could carry more than can be held in the hand, gathering more food for later. The intention is to shift the way we look at the foundation of humanity from associations of violence to one of gathering, holding, and sharing - ‘A leaf, a gourd, a shell, a net, a bag, a sling, a sack, a bottle, a pot, a box, a container. A holder. A recipient.’ (Le Guin, 1996) Mammoth hunters might be synonymous with the traditional image of the early human, but in reality it was the gatherers of nuts and berries who provided most of the food consumed in prehistoric times. This is the essence of the carrier bag theory; the intention is to redefine developments in technology through the notion of a carrier bag, rather than through a weapon of domination. An example of this is provided by Le Guin in relation to the book:
A book holds words. Words hold things. They bear meanings. A novel is a medicine bundle, holding things in a particular, powerful relation to one another and to us.
References:
https://ignota.org/products/the-carrier-bag-theory-of-fiction
https://vectorhackfestival.com/2020/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCCL4INQcFo&ab_channel=chiklit
http://macumbista.net/