Want to See Some Really Sick Art?

• From:
• Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 13:56:55 +0200

Question : cette info est-elle hors sujet sur cette liste?
IMHO non, sinon je ne me permettrais pas de la faire suivre.

lag.


>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                    Copyright (C) 2001 Wired Digital Inc
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>           http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,44728,00.html
>
>   2:00 a.m. June 27, 2001 PDT
>
> Want to See Some Really Sick Art?
>
> By Reena Jana
>
>  Nothing sucks more than a computer virus.
>
>  Yet the contemporary art world, always hungry for the new, the trendy and
>  the controversial, is starting to recognize the virus as an art form --
>  perhaps because computer viruses embody all of the above.
>
>  This year's Venice Bienale -- one of the international art world's most
>  prestigious events -- served as the launching pad for "bienale.py." It's
>  the art world's interpretation of the destructive "Melissa" and "Love
>  Bug" viruses that grabbed headlines in recent years.
>
>  At the Bienale, which opened on June 10, a computer infected with
>  "bienale.py" remains on display until the exhibition closes in November.
>  Viewers can witness someone else's system crashing and files being
>  corrupted, in real time, as if it were a creepy performance.
>
>  The artsy-fartsy virus was created by the European Net Art Collective
>  0100101110101101.ORG, in collaboration with epidemiC, another group known
>  for its programming skills. The virus only affects programs written in
>  the Python computer language and is spread if someone downloads infected
>  software or utilizes a corrupted floppy disk.
>
>  Because Python is a relatively esoteric language, the artists hope that
>  the source code, which they've printed on 2,000 T-shirts and published on
>  a limited edition of 10 CD-ROMs, will be the most contagious form of
>  distribution.
>
>  "The source code is a product of the human mind, as are music, poems and
>  paintings," explained the epidemiC team, which prefers to speak
>  collectively -- and somewhat pretentiously. "The virus is a useless but
>  critical handcraft, similar to classical art."
>
>  Adds a member of 0100101110101101.ORG, which also prefers to speak
>  collectively (and anonymously), "The only goal of a virus is to
>  reproduce. Our goal is to familiarize people with what a computer virus
>  is so they're not so paranoid or hysterical when the next one strikes."
>
>  The artists have created a mini-hysteria over their piece.
>
>  More than 1,400 of the shirts have been sold at $15 apiece. And they've
>  sold three CD-ROMs, at $1,500 each (the collectors chose to remain
>  unnamed for legal reasons). Yet the potentially damaging code is
>  available for free on the artists' homepages.
>
>  "In theory, we should get sued," said 0100101110101101.ORG's
>  spokesperson. "But we've gotten almost no complaints. Well, we've gotten
>  a few e-mails from security experts who want to know who these asshole
>  artists are."
>
>  Laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act state it's illegal to send
>  damaging code in interstate or foreign communications. But the artists
>  don't feel liable for any damage caused by "bienale.py" because they sent
>  a warning to major software and antivirus companies including Microsoft
>  and McAfee.
>
>  "We've explained how to disable our virus, so people should know how to
>  fix it," said the 0100101110101101.ORG spokesperson.
>
>  Not everyone's buying this excuse.
>
>  "If a thief leaves a note saying he's sorry, do we feel better? No," said
>  Jason Catlett, the president of an anti-spam group called Junkbusters,
>  who has testified before Congress on Internet privacy issues. "Doing
>  things that are socially undesirable in the name of art does not redeem
>  the act."
>
>  This isn't the first time artists have adopted annoying practices to gain
>  attention. Spam, for instance, is emerging as an "art form" as well; the
>  Webby-winning Net art collective Jodi.org sent 1,039 spam messages
>  through the e-mail list Rhizome Raw this January.
>
>  Some media art theorists think that an artistic statement about computer
>  viruses can only be expressed effectively by spreading a virus itself.
>
>  "To talk about contemporary culture, you have to be able to use all kinds
>  of expressions of contemporary culture," said Lisa Jevbratt, who teaches
>  media art at San Jose State University. "So a virus can be considered a
>  legitimate art form. Of course, there will be artists and pranksters
>  doing interesting new things with such forms. But there will be artists
>  and pranksters whose actions are merely rehashing critiques."
>
>           http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,44728,00.html
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>                    Copyright (C) 2001 Wired Digital Inc
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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