Conceptual Passages – Srečo Dragan’s New Media Art Projects

The paper introduces several explorations in new media art by Slovene artist Srečo Dragan. The main aspects of his work are the institutions of techno-modified gaze and of techno-performance. He explored the institution of techno-modified gaze in the 1990s, when several modes of mixed reality were tested by means of invented conceptual platforms for entering virtual reality and connecting it back to the movement in the gallery space. Internet was used as a new bearer of the tele-present places and of computer-generated reconstructions of (non)-existent architectural spaces. Techno-modified gaze is reflected in the techno-image, in its “conceptual plan of entering”. The second institution, techno-performance, involves the user at the point of his/her enunciation or display of a determining personal characteristic. It refers to the early happenings, e.g. a recorded group communication in a “closed-circuit” video installation. It addresses the user as a task for rearranging his/her mental archive in relation to the physical experiences and cultural background

Nova zgradba FRI UL z umetniškim pridihom

Intervju z mag. Miranom Eričem o slikah, ki jih je podaril fakulteti, o vlogi vizualnega jezika v sodobni informacijski družbi ter vlogi slikarja v interdisciplinarnih projektih na področju arheologije

Nova zgradba FRI UL z umetniškim pridihom

Intervju z mag. Miranom Eričem o slikah, ki jih je podaril fakulteti, o vlogi vizualnega jezika v sodobni informacijski družbi ter vlogi slikarja v interdisciplinarnih projektih na področju arheologije

Umetnost v svetu pametnih strojev: Novomedijska umetnost v delih Sreča Dragana, Jake Železnikarja, Marka Peljhana

Umetnost v svetu pametnih strojev predstavi različne teoretske poglede na novomedijsko umetnost (novi mediji, Lev Manovich) v odnosu do sodobne vizualne kulture (vizualne študije, William J. Thomas Mitchell), sodobne umetnosti (re­ lacijska estetika, Nicolas Bourriaud), do zgodovine umetnosti (razširjeni mediji ter postmedijsko stanje, Peter Weibel) in do novih pogojev informacijske družbe (kultura ukazov odreži in prilepi in realnost spleta 2.0, Janez Strehovec). Osrednja točka razprave je medmedijsko primerjanje filma, videa in novih medijev. Razprava se loteva tudi analize novomedijskih umet­niških projektov treh izbranih slovenskih umetnikov: Sreča Dragana, Jake Železnikarja in Marka Peljhana

Designing a graphical user interface for digital scholarly edition of Freising Manuscripts

The Freising manuscripts (Brižinski spomeniki) are the first recorded occurrence of the Slovenian language, written closely before the year 1000. The Institute Of Slovenian Literature and Literary Sciences of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) has published, in 2007, a digital scholarly edition following the TEI XML guidelines, which is published on the eZISS (Digital critical editions of Slovenian literature) project website (http://nl.ijs.si/e-zrc). The static HTML presentation serves a basic purpose to showcase the information, different transcriptions, facsimile images, sound recordings, and scholarly commentaries. However, the current website of the Freising manuscripts (and similarly the whole eZISS project) is visually outdated and very difficult to navigate. To address this issue, we have been exploring new, modern ways of interacting with the TEI XML edition. By analyzing existing digital scholarly editions (in the TEI standard) produced by prominent research institutions worldwide we have identified a common problem: the end user has trouble navigating and finding content on the sites that present TEI XML sources. This is especially problematic because the content on these websites is typically structured in a complex, nested way. Another visible flaw is incompatibility of these websites with mobile screen devices, which creates an unappealing user experience. Overall, the websites mediating TEI documents haven’t been upgraded in years, many of the sites appear dated and some links just don’t work. In this paper we will present the problems that we have encountered when designing a friendlier, technologically up-to-date user interface for the Freising manuscripts website. The first major issue that we tackled was the site's navigation. To solve the problem we had to figure out the existing web of links and subpages that the current presentation site holds and then we had to organize the content in new, clearly defined and related groups that are presented to the user in a structured way. We have turned to the original source files (scholarly edition in XML) and built a presentation system that facilitates an easy approach to all the information in the electronic edition. We implemented a solution with menus, because we wanted the user not to become disoriented when choosing to view (only) selected contents. In addition, any scrolling action is indicated with an animation, the pages hold visual and graphic representations of where extra content is located, and the location within the site-map is always shown which tells the user exactly what he or she is currently viewing. We used the principles of graphic design and user interface design to show information on screens of different devices as a visually coherent system. The selection and use of typographies of different sizes, the selection of an adequate colour scheme, the spatial arrangement of content, use of grid systems, formal consistency of all graphical elements, hints about interaction, these are the building blocks of a well-designed, meaningful and intuitive interface. We have developed an interface-system that facilitates the comparison between several representations, transcriptions and translations of Freising manuscripts, since this is the primary use of the elements of this scholarly edition. We have proposed viewing options for predefined user groups, such as a non-scholarly user that would like to see the visual appearance of the documents and listen to the (reconstructed) sound of Slovene language from the 10th century, or the use in curricula that juxtaposes the critical transcription with the transcription in contemporary Slovene. By ticking the checkboxes for different transcriptions and translations the scholarly user can activate as many parallel presentations as necessary for research purposes. We have tested several arrangements of parallel content presentation and argued for the best solutions. With the project we will hopefully be able to present this very important cultural information in a more organized and attractive way, useful for scholarly and general audiences, while also proposing a solution for any similar TEI XML electronic editions. References • Bovcon, Narvika. „Jezik gibljivih slik v računalniških vizualizacijah literarnozgodovinske podatkovne zbirke.“ Primerjalna književnost, 37(2), 119–133, 235–242. Slovensko društvo za primerjalno književnost, 2014. • Burdick, Anne and Drucker, Johanna and Lunenfeld, Peter and Presner, Todd and Schnapp, Jeffrey. Digital_Humanities. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2012. • Digital Humanities Awards. 2012–2015. http://dhawards.org. • Ogrin, Matija (Ed.). Znanstvene izdaje in elektronski medij: razprave. Studia litteraria: Založba ZRC, 2005. • Text Encoding Initiative. http://www.tei-c.org/

Designing a graphical user interface for digital scholarly edition of Freising Manuscripts

The Freising manuscripts (Brižinski spomeniki) are the first recorded occurrence of the Slovenian language, written closely before the year 1000. The Institute Of Slovenian Literature and Literary Sciences of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) has published, in 2007, a digital scholarly edition following the TEI XML guidelines, which is published on the eZISS (Digital critical editions of Slovenian literature) project website (http://nl.ijs.si/e-zrc). The static HTML presentation serves a basic purpose to showcase the information, different transcriptions, facsimile images, sound recordings, and scholarly commentaries. However, the current website of the Freising manuscripts (and similarly the whole eZISS project) is visually outdated and very difficult to navigate. To address this issue, we have been exploring new, modern ways of interacting with the TEI XML edition. By analyzing existing digital scholarly editions (in the TEI standard) produced by prominent research institutions worldwide we have identified a common problem: the end user has trouble navigating and finding content on the sites that present TEI XML sources. This is especially problematic because the content on these websites is typically structured in a complex, nested way. Another visible flaw is incompatibility of these websites with mobile screen devices, which creates an unappealing user experience. Overall, the websites mediating TEI documents haven’t been upgraded in years, many of the sites appear dated and some links just don’t work. In this paper we will present the problems that we have encountered when designing a friendlier, technologically up-to-date user interface for the Freising manuscripts website. The first major issue that we tackled was the site's navigation. To solve the problem we had to figure out the existing web of links and subpages that the current presentation site holds and then we had to organize the content in new, clearly defined and related groups that are presented to the user in a structured way. We have turned to the original source files (scholarly edition in XML) and built a presentation system that facilitates an easy approach to all the information in the electronic edition. We implemented a solution with menus, because we wanted the user not to become disoriented when choosing to view (only) selected contents. In addition, any scrolling action is indicated with an animation, the pages hold visual and graphic representations of where extra content is located, and the location within the site-map is always shown which tells the user exactly what he or she is currently viewing. We used the principles of graphic design and user interface design to show information on screens of different devices as a visually coherent system. The selection and use of typographies of different sizes, the selection of an adequate colour scheme, the spatial arrangement of content, use of grid systems, formal consistency of all graphical elements, hints about interaction, these are the building blocks of a well-designed, meaningful and intuitive interface. We have developed an interface-system that facilitates the comparison between several representations, transcriptions and translations of Freising manuscripts, since this is the primary use of the elements of this scholarly edition. We have proposed viewing options for predefined user groups, such as a non-scholarly user that would like to see the visual appearance of the documents and listen to the (reconstructed) sound of Slovene language from the 10th century, or the use in curricula that juxtaposes the critical transcription with the transcription in contemporary Slovene. By ticking the checkboxes for different transcriptions and translations the scholarly user can activate as many parallel presentations as necessary for research purposes. We have tested several arrangements of parallel content presentation and argued for the best solutions. With the project we will hopefully be able to present this very important cultural information in a more organized and attractive way, useful for scholarly and general audiences, while also proposing a solution for any similar TEI XML electronic editions. References • Bovcon, Narvika. „Jezik gibljivih slik v računalniških vizualizacijah literarnozgodovinske podatkovne zbirke.“ Primerjalna književnost, 37(2), 119–133, 235–242. Slovensko društvo za primerjalno književnost, 2014. • Burdick, Anne and Drucker, Johanna and Lunenfeld, Peter and Presner, Todd and Schnapp, Jeffrey. Digital_Humanities. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2012. • Digital Humanities Awards. 2012–2015. http://dhawards.org. • Ogrin, Matija (Ed.). Znanstvene izdaje in elektronski medij: razprave. Studia litteraria: Založba ZRC, 2005. • Text Encoding Initiative. http://www.tei-c.org/

Preservation of a Computer-Based Art Installation

In contemporary digital art computer technology plays an integral part not only in the creation of art pieces but also in their func- tioning as art works. Such digital art works have usually a performative or interactive character and therefore rely on an underlying working com- puter system. Since computer and information technology advances with such unrelenting pace, hardware and software modules soon become ob- solete. How to preserve such digital art works in these circumstances from a art conservation standpoint is much debated but not clear yet. In this article we present and discuss issues in the conservation of digital art works using a case study of a ten years old interactive art installation

New Media Spaces and New Media Objects

The paper deals with three artistic examples of humanistic transposition of smart technologies that reshape our reality. Computer vision technology redefines the classical notions of space that we enhabit and repostulates Shakespear's verse “All the world is a stage.” New media objects that simultaneously participate in our everyday life and in the “internet of things” pose new networked information on the state of their handling. The Forest of Arden, the metaphor used for the new mixed and smart reality, is neither a totality of paradise nor the Arcadia of easy living but a challenge for the scientists, artists and humanists alike. It is a semiotic forest, where the melancholic philosopher Jaques, confronted with people from all classes and with various problems, faces the given notions and tries to make new sense out of them

The language of archive between digital and material: Mouseion Serapeion and Jaques [DƷeiˈkwiz]

The paper indicates multiple theoretical approaches to the studies of archives in order to construct a methodology for studying new media objects and mixed reality phenomena. The theoretical framework is applied to several experimental projects that combine scholarly research with artistic production. VideoSpace is an archive presented as an interactive virtual reality. Mouseion Serapeion is a smart video archive realized as an interactive DVD-ROM and a website. Jaques is an exhibition, which combines three projects: together they address the problem of materialization of the new media object from multiple points of view

Razstavljanje novomedijskih inštalacij

Posredovanje izkušnje sveta skozi nove informacijske tehnologije ima pomembne posledice tako v sami obliki umetniškega dela kot tudi v načinih njegovega razstavljanja. Bela galerijska kocka, v kateri so površine predmetov ponujene ogledu, ni več ustrezen prostor za razstavljanje interaktivnih sistemov, ki spreminjajo in razširjajo možnosti komunikacije med ljudmi: tako med umetnikom in obiskovalcem galerije, kot med vsemi udeleženci, ki jih novomedijsko umetniško delo zaobjame. Besedilo predstavlja štiri razstave Društva za povezovanje umetnosti in znanosti ArtNetLab v letih 2007—08, od katerih vsaka na specifičen način išče konkretne rešitve za izzive kuriranja novomedijske umetnosti. Razstava Algoritmi vključevanja razčleni družbeni prostor s pomočjo algoritemskih vstopov v komunikacijo z umetniškimi deli. Na razstavi Genij vrtov se preizkuša prehajanje med dinamično, novomedijsko podobo in statično sliko. Razstava Brezpredmetno tematizira razmerje med materialno težo in tehtnostjo. Razstava Enter/tain pa poveže interaktivno vstopanje z zabavno igrivostjo