Obsolescence/Invention conference @ NSCAD

Michelle Gay, "Error Code", hand stiched computer crash

"Obsolescence and the Culture of Human Invention" was a conference / related group exhibition(".txt"), which I attended last week in Halifax, Canada. The participants included artists Robert Bean, David Clark, Michelle Gay, Jillian McDonald, Michael Maranda, Luke Murphy, Marcin Ramocki, Ilan Sandler and the keynote speaker N. Katherine Hayles. Katherine gave an excellent and slightly scary talk on transhumanism: a political/philosophical movement interested in replacing humans with technological beings.

works by researchers Robert Bean and Ilan Sandler


Obsolescence and the Culture of Human Invention will cover a three-year investigation into language, technology and artistic production in the context of digital media. It involves researchers, artists and Cultural Studies scholars.

some Nasty Nets posts

I have put together a paper/presentation about the art practice of net surfing clubs, specifically discussing Nasty Nets, Loshadka, Spirit Surfers and Double Happiness. I guess I was trying to make sense out of it for myself for a while... and this piece is an outcome. During my talk I discussed the topic in much greater detail, but this text is a good outline and an introduction to the subject (I hope).

"Surfing Clubs: organized notes and comments"

this is a 4.5 Mb pdf file.
if you prefer a smaller, crappy and ugly looking html without links I have it here.

Paul Slocum on Spirit Surfers