I recently received word that my session “Exhibiting Software” has been selected for the 2008 Ubuntu Live Conference. I am so excited to be involved and look forward to learning from everyone there. Ubuntu is a relatively new flavor of the Linux operating system that is aiming to be the Apple Inc. of the Linux world. Linux as a whole is only used on 2% of the world’s computers, but by contrast runs 70% of the world’s websites. Ubuntu is an even smaller pie, occupying conservatively 30% of the total Linux market.

There are very few artists that I meet who would delve into the nerdiness that is spending any length of time discussing Linux, but then again, there are few SXSW Interactive visitors that would care to dissect the finer points of Jeff Koons’ Inflatable Hulk installation at the Lever House (pictured right). So where in the social Venn Diagram do these disparate groups meet? For some, it will no doubt be the philosophy of the GNU/Linux project. For others, it will be the price (free) and the ability to recycle old computers into digital art projects. And for still others, the meeting point at which the Art world meets the Linux world will be when Linux can provide the platform through which exhibitions can have supplementary material more easily presented about more traditional forms of art.

Regardless of those potential incentives, I believe Linux will become integral to the exhibition of software in contemporary galleries as we move forward, if for no other reason than the fact that Linux can emulate almost all the operating systems that have come before it. For archival purposes alone, Linux is an attractive endeavor for the future digital curators among us who seek to present exhibitions that include older digital works that no longer function correctly on current machines. Many early net.art pieces relied on early web technology that simply won’t run on the latest crop of high-powered machines.

Is it just a Kiosk, then?

My talk will be very brief, as I do not have the experience of artists such as Zach Booth Simpson, Joshua Davis or Jared Tarbell. The focus of the talk will center primarily on my experience working with Ubuntu Linux to create a kiosk designed for the traditional art gallery environment to adequately convey the digital experience of the High Five project proposal (pictured at right). Namely, I will cover:

Technical Concerns

• Art is always difficult economically, Ubuntu allows for computer re-use, dedicated computer that is not the artist’s primary computer
• Free Software, so entire project is therefore available for redistribution, re-deployment, no license fees to sell it, exhibit it
• Show proper setup of wireless router / computer combo to insure access to web
• Show the proper configuration for a boot immediately into Firefox
• Firefox plugin that locks onto a single webpage, kiosk-like operation
• Firefox resets every 10 minutes, insures experience begins at correct place, removes possibility of excessive shenanigans
• Proper screensaver settings
• Uninterruptible power supply, automate the turning on of the work
• Linux has a strong track record of sustained uptime - used on many webservers for his reason

Gallery Ritual Concerns

• Art is predominantly Mac market - it will not replace this currently
• Wireless access is key, negotiations with gallery
• Proper concealment, locking down of computer
• Have slanted screen, or projector - more comfortable than flat-on-the-wall screen
• Have a mouse but no keyboard

If I have left something out or you would like to share your experience with software in the gallery and its failure or success, please add a comment, or send me an email. I am most interested in how the presentation/orientation/interface of the work effected its experience, and how to improve the presentation of digital works in traditional gallery spaces.

Exhibiting Software
July 22 2008 : 4:20 - 5:10p
Ubuntu Live - Oregon Convention Ctr - Rm 2
Portland, Oregon

tags: portland, oregon, ubuntu, linux, contemporary-art, software, kiosk, ubuntu-live

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Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

topic: art, tech