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Abstract
Today the computer is the universal machine that is driving the Information Age. This technology, currently being propelled by an increasing range of interactive global networks, has had a profound impact on the social, political, and cultural landscape. But in the rush to digitize and encode all aspects of our lives, we are pushing forward without fully analyzing the consequences. At the heart of the matter is the fact that in the digital environment, information becomes a commodity. Those who reap the benefits of this environment are those who control this commodity. What will the social, political, and cultural legacy of the Internet be? What will become of its potential to expand and accelerate global communication in a new, more democratic interactive environment, when one considers that today two out of three people have never used a telephone? Will the utopian promise of cyberspace be realized, or will the Internet be the consolidating factor for global capitalism's new virtual mall? This summer French protesters at a World Trade Organization meeting wore T-shirts claiming, “The world is not merchandise and neither am I!” Circulation, a public art project with a dedicated interactive website at www.repohistory.org, created by the artist collective REPOhistory, addresses these issues.
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Notes on contributors
Jim Costanzo
Jim Costanzo teaches studio and theory courses in computer graphics at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and the International Center of Photography in New York. He is a founding member of REPOhistory and the creative director of their website. His personal artwork deals with mundane forms of surveillance, as well as the databases gathered from credit and bank cards, cell phones, and Global Positioning Systems.