\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ artifacts workshop //////////////////////
\\\\\ douglas goodwin, akademie der bildenden künste wien ////
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ 12/2010 ///////////////////////////
All media is marked by artifacts. Representation technologies pollute their subjects with noise, scratches, flares, hum, and other unwanted alterations to the source. Generally we are supposed to ignore the artifacts and see (or hear) the subject beyond. Yet it is precisely these artifacts which put these subjects in time, and the artifacts themselves become strong referents.
Technology boosters would have us believe that they become more faithful as they move forward, yet their pace is better aligned with fashion than with increases in fidelity. Changes in representation follow fashion trends. And like fashion, artifacts place their subjects in time and even space to some degree.
We identify with artifacts, they can trigger nostalgia and emotional responses. There are fleets of plugins designed to reproduce these artifacts. They proceed by adding layers of “grime” or mangling the media in some way. This is exactly the wrong approach to creating artifacts, especially those that were produced in a sincere desire to reproduce the subject with the greatest available fidelity. Plugin artifacts produce shotgun blasts of noise. They are blunt, insecure tools that mock their referents.
In this workshop we will look carefully at the artifacts, find language to talk about them, and articulate strategies for reproducing them.