Concurrently
is a live streaming news wall.
Considering the central, tourist location of YBCA, Concurrently
was a wall of 7 monitors that streamed live news from
each continent via the internet. Programmed in Director,
7 networked monitors with custom designed browsers and
3d graphics streamed texts from news sites with frequently
updated news. News stripped from The London Times, Le
Monde, and BBC online sites streamed into the Europe
browser. News from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times
and many other American online new sites was streamed
into the browser designed for America. Each browser
was accompanied by a graphic, 3d newscaster/bot. These
3d personalities presented news in animated sequences
that were interrupted not by advertisements, but two
random animations; a sea of swimming fish and an animated
city locator map. The seven monitors and two G3 computers
were housed in a curved wall resembling the side of
a passenger airplane.
Collective
Consciousness & Interactivity
Concurrently was stationed across the room from six
I-Mac's. Visitors to the cafe could check their e-mail
and surf the web freely, or contribute to Concurrently
by typing into the default homage on the I-Mac's. Users
world-wide contributed remotely to Concurrently through
www. nutrishnia.org. Messages typed into the Nutrishnia
website streamed into a graphic blimp which animated
across the wall through the seven screens. A family
of 3d animals also animated through and around the screens
while wireframe flowers blossomed and emitted pollen
which flew from one continent browser to another expressing
the lack of national boundaries that the internet offers.
Some
history:
Concurrently
was part of a large commission by Yerba Buena Center
for the Arts. Futurefarmers was commissioned to realize
the environment for their internet cafe. The only stipulation
was that six I-Mac's donated by Apple must reside in
the same space. Futurefarmers proposed a live news wall
and a Zine Rack on an adjacent wall. Futurefarmers worked
together with Sascha Merg, James Harbison and the YBCA
installation crew to realize this new space.
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