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<eyebeam><blast> the virtual identity





 Just at the beginning of the eyebeam forum (it might be even the first
text sent there) I have sent the following text about the virtual
identity.

Jordan have found it too acadenical and out of context. It was meant to
be followed by other texts about the identity on the web to end with the
ťCall for papersŤ to a no-art festival. I think, it wasn't a very good
idea to make a ťserialŤ of texts, so I will unite it there:

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The virtual identity:

The identity of the subject is manifested on three parallel platforms;
one is manifested as a natural fact that is given to the subject by the
Second. The next platform is defined by the third party that treats the
subject through the diopter of its perception as an object (the third
party is on the surface of the time scale presented in plural as
"surroundings"). The last platform is "reality" when the subject
experiences itself together with a fiction of how it would like to be
manifested to the third party (so called Wished appearance towards the
surroundings).

While the first identity form is present in the field of unconscious and
can be neglected in the play of external manifestation, the other two
are identity forms or identity appearances dependent upon physical
predisposition of the subject (that in this context plays the role of
the subject to a very limited extent). It is the attachment of the third
party's perception on the physical reality that represents the fatal
obstacle to the manifestation of the desired subject's identity towards
the third party. Exactly at this point the technology of the virtual
reality makes a fatal cut which marks the birth of a new, primary, in
the very sense of the word, identity that is completely independent of
the physical reality, and transits from the existence only in the
subject's wish to the area or "reality" although that "reality" - in the
physical sense - is only "fictional".

The identification of the subject together with his physical appearance
is in the eyes of the third party directly connected with the subject's
first and family names or pseudonym. The cluster name-object (t.i.
subject from the third party's point of view) is a necessary term of
identification of the subject's identity by the third party. When the
desired identity (which was created by the subject in the reality of the
cyber space) wants to be presented to the third party we have to
establish the above mentioned cluster name-object (t.i. its virtual
identity). The missing link is therefore the name of the new, virtual
(pure, desired) identity. In the binary world of ones and zeros that
represents the foundation of the contemporary information society it is
evident that the name of the desired virtual reality has to be easily
connected with the - in the vulgar physical sense - presentation of the
virtual identity itself. That is why the cluster name - object can be
transformed into another one called intent-set-up page. The logical
conclusion is that the subject that has created its virtual identity
presented to the third party with its intended name instead of its
physical name or its pseudonym.

www.teo-spiller.org

The new body is baptised!

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the text about the virtual identity is talking about how do I (any
person)  look to other people, how do I think, that the other people see
me and how  would I wish them to see me.

It was isued in the catalogue to the festival of interactive arts in
Maribor '97. It was meant as an explanation to my decision, to use my
URL domain as an pseudonimous instead of my personal name. I also had a
lecture about it:

 I think, we are all wearing a kind of masks through our lifes,
pretending to be something else than we really are (what am I
actually?). The web is  an ideal tool to present ourselves like we would
wish other people to see  us, it is the perfect "mask", we can wear. 

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The way how an individual would wish, that other people see him, was the
starting-point for thinking about the ťfestivalŤ or however we may call
the event, I would wish to organise in the nearest future on the web:

 I think, ART is an invisible institution, made of artists by
themselves,  critics, curators, art-sellers, profesors in art scholls
etc. It is  probably the only way it can be. But there about, there are
two things,
 concerning to the identity:  1) how many visitors do really have
oppinion about an art work, without
 knowing the name and the personal history of the artist? Can an art
work  exist without knowing anything about the author? And what , if we
know only  about authors virtual identity? If we know only his mask?
that's what I am  trying to discover with the  www.teo-spiller.org  2)
what about the honest personal expression in an art work? Where is the 
limit between the personal and the institutionalised (the
indoctrination  from the schools, trends, critics, other artists works,
etc.) in the art  work?

 As the conclusion to this reflections there would be the invitation to
a  kind of an on-line festival, a contest or a forum, where individual
authors  would be invited to present their very personal expressions,
they put on the web. It would try not  to look for art pieces, but for
virtual identities. The condition would of  course be, that it may not
be a home page, presenting the authors physical  identity (like the most
home pages) but his virtual identity. And the  second, it may not be a
fan-club page or any commercial presentation or  anything like that. It
would be something like a web-masquerade, the  festival of virtual
identities, the festival of personal expressions of  authors, who knows
nothing about contemporary art, net.art and those kind  of things. It is
an idea of web-pages, where an individual puts his  thoughts, his words,
his drawings and all kind of stuff. But the intention  of that page is
not to be artistic, commercial or any other kind of  purpose, but just a
chance to show the world something, that before the era  of Internet an
individual could show only to few closest friends or even to  nobody. A
kind of non-art  festival (I don't like saying anti-art, because "anti"
means "against" and  I have nothing against the art, I am only trying to
find something outside  the ART-as-an-institution). I thing, an event
like that would uncover some  relations between the art work and the
personal expression in the artistic  act. I would also like to show on a
too often overloked fact that Internet  gives everybody an opportunity
to "be somebody", to "do something"  (also without shooting people like
in the movie "the taxi driver") to show  his texts, drawings, thoughts
etc. to other people, without needing to  publish a book, make an
exhibition in a gallery etc. A chance for "common  people" to be
"stars"...

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In waiting for an official invitation to ťcall for papersŤ for the
no-art festival, you are kindly invited to visit my virtual worlds on
http://www.teo-spiller.org/ . 

Because of too many sites to surf, I would wish to drawl your attention
on some of my ťnet.artŤ projects, presented on the international
festivals:

ESMERALDA (on Ostranenie, Dessau) http://www.teo-spiller.org/esmerlda/
CAPRICCESS FOR NETSCAPE (on Film+Arc Graz, Austria)
http://www.teo-spiller.org/netart/
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD (on Rosas net.art contest, Rio de Janeiro)
http://www.teo-spiller.org/tibet/

And on the virtual gallery with over 100 computer-generated pictures
http://www.teo-spiller.org/galerija.htm

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You may find this message too "self-promotional", but that is what I am
trying to say: self-promotion (in any possible form) is the subject's
basic motive for the activity.

And now, as Mel Strawn yesterday said, ť Well, back to workŤ

Best regards

www.teo-spiller.org
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