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SWITCH

Articles 31 - 39 of 39

Full-Text Articles in Digital Humanities

Conjuring Post-Worthlessness: Contemporary Web Art And The Postmodern Context: Part 1, Brett Stalbaum Jan 1997

Conjuring Post-Worthlessness: Contemporary Web Art And The Postmodern Context: Part 1, Brett Stalbaum

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This article is part one of two of an analysis of the Jean Baudrillard's essay, "A Conjuration of Imbeciles". This essay compares the idea of art as a metaphor for French politics and the “uselessness” of contemporary art. A sense of postmodernism is drawn from that comparison and relates to contemporary art shared on the World Wide Web. Inevitable messages and meaning found in art will change, but economics and distribution continues to ground the economy on a global scale. Therefore, contemporary art represented on the web actively dates the practice of art, and the value of the practice is …


The Emergence Of Alife, P.D. Quick May 1996

The Emergence Of Alife, P.D. Quick

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Interview with Kenneth E. Rinaldo, an artist who is on the Board of Directors of YLEM. Within this interview, many topics are covered, including artificial life, simulations, the meaning of art, spirituality, and television. The interview also goes into the personal work and life of Rinaldo, whose focus includes many of these subjects. Some of the more specific subjects include intelligence without consciousness, the combination of science and art, and Ken Rinaldo’s The Flock, an interactive A-Life sculpture.


The Quest For The Gnarl, Rudy Rucker May 1996

The Quest For The Gnarl, Rudy Rucker

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The article describes some of the author’s own image-generating computer programs that he describes as “gnarly”. He began writing a simple spirograph program based off simple sine wave function called Spiro. Later transitioned into writing with C and better programs using more nonlinear feedback. Where Spiro is based on a simple sine wave function, Vine uses a nested sine function: the sine of the sine. The need for a more complicated computational approach lead to iteration and parallelism. Julgnarl uses Iteration and Calife uses parallelism. Calife shows one-dimensional cellular automata: spaces in which virtual computers are lined up like beads …


Editor's Spot, Switch Staffs May 1996

Editor's Spot, Switch Staffs

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In this article the Switch staff goes in to detail on the redesign of the journal's website for an issue on on artificial life . The new design xperiments with the way Switch looks and how a user can navigate throughout the articles. Lorretta Lange is introduced as the new editor. The authors answer questions about the differences between artificial life and artificial intelligence, highlighting how artificial life can consist of small modulating algorithms. For more on this topic, the article links to Rudy Rucker's related article.


12 Monkeys, Collette Sweeney May 1996

12 Monkeys, Collette Sweeney

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The article depicts the visual and conceptual significance of the film “12 Monkeys”, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. In this film, movie genres and tropes are called into question. Terry Gilliam presents a visions of the future, but relies on the conventions of the American Western Formula. Gilliam tales a distinct approach to typical characters, allowing his proragonists to become onlookers to the foreboding issue at play. What Gilliam achieves in his 12 Monkeys is making the viewers “entertain” that the future depicted in the movie may be seen as a warning.


How I Got Gnarly, Rudy Rucker May 1996

How I Got Gnarly, Rudy Rucker

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The article describes how Rudy Rucker’s curious interest in celluar automata led to his career in mathematical computer science at San José State University. After conducting interviews on the theory of cellular automata as a freelance writer, he felt compelled to be involved in this great intellectual revolution in computer-aided experimental mathematics. Committed to reinventing himself, Rucker's interactions with mathematicians inspired him to write “Mind Tools”, a book that surveys mathematics from the standpoint that is information. After publishing his book, in 1987, he was eventually offered a position at SJSU in the Mathematics and Computer Science department. With assistance …


Gnarled Defined, Rudy Rucker May 1996

Gnarled Defined, Rudy Rucker

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The article is a reflection of the author’s conception of the term ‘gnarly’, extending the term’s meaning from its origins in California surfer slang. 'Gnarly' is often used in a colloquial context, however, the author believes that the term is able to be used in an academic field as it pertains to outcomes and results of equations. Discussions towards the application of the term 'gnarly' showcase how it can be used in a scientific, mathematical, and artistic context through seemingly random patterns. In order to be gnarly, things must lie and exist between the realm of orderly and chaotic often …


Vr Projects, P.D. Quick Sep 1995

Vr Projects, P.D. Quick

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A description of three three projects having to do with virtual reality. The first is the Nanomanipulator, developed at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Department of Computer Science in conjunction with the UCLA Department of Chemistry in 1991. It is a machine that allows the user to interact with microscopic particles previously only visible in 2D from an electron microscope. The second project, The Augmented Reality Project, also developed at the Chapel Hill Department of Computer Science. This device used ultrasound images to be placed over a body allowing the user to see inside of it. The final …


Interview: Joel Slayton, Christine Laffer Feb 1995

Interview: Joel Slayton, Christine Laffer

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Interview with Joel Slayton, Professor of Computers in Fine Art at San José State University, and Director of the CADRE Institute. Slayton discusses the history of the Cadre Institute and details his views on the relationship between art and new technology. Slayton describes the role of artists in exploring the possibilities and ethical implications of emerging technologies such as genetic engineering, nano-techology, robotics, and artificial life. He describes installations and in-progress work focused on ubiquitous video surveillance. The interview concludes with a discussion of Slayton’s use of the DoWhatDo model for artistic collaboration and of his piece "Conduits," presented in …