By Fausto Fernós on December 21, 2007 | Share & Save | Link | Print |
“The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed.” This William Gibson quote reveals quite a lot about the nature of technology in our modern world today. What are our expectations of technology as a tool for democratizing society?
We may like to think of the internet as this great democratic medium, giving everyone an even chance to speak their voice, but this simply isn’t the case.
If you check out a map of the world and plot out IP addresses and Internet access nodes, you’ll see that over 50% of the U.S. alone has most of them. There are parts of the world where it’s still very expensive to go online, and in some places, practically impossible.
My friend, the visual and performance artist Sara Schnadt was inspired by her day job as web-master for CAR, the Chicago Artists Resource to create a visual representation of the internet, it’s links to content, search keywords and geography.
The installation is built from an impressive quantity of vividly colored fiber (string, twine, yarn, wire) found and donated by the general public as a way of representing the collective activity of creating and sharing information online.
The result is her piece titled “Connectivity” part of the UBS 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work Series for the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Chicago. It’s a great place to take someone on a date.
If you go to the museum, you can check out her installation/performance piece titled “Connectivity.” It’s FREE on Tuesdays, thanks to a generous grant from Target! The Rock and Roll art exhibit that’s going on isn’t too bad either.
Click here to see when Sara Schnadt will be there in person working on the piece (although you can see the installation anytime)
Click here to see pictures of the installation.
Listen as we talk with Sara Schnadt about the future of the Internet, what will Web 3.0 be like and why is the search term “Zach Effron” popular in Argentina, but not in Somalia.
Your crib notes to the internet- Feast of Fools.
Helpful Links:
Google Zeigeist | Strange Maps Blog | Sara Schnadt
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Fausto Fernós says:
December 21, 2007 at 17:08Me too Maia! This interview with Sara was just for you. She’s also an SAIC gal like you and me.
Cross your fingers! Voting ends at midnight.
SFPhotoBoy says:
December 21, 2007 at 17:13What a great interview.. I am really interested in seeing this work in person. It actually really reminds me of Adriane Colburn who is a visiting faculty at the San Francisco Art Institute… She did an installation at the de Young in S.F. of the san francisco sewer system with wire and string.
She also did a mapping of the lungs with similar material. Fantastic work Sara.
-Tony
SFPhotoBoy says:
December 21, 2007 at 17:17Sara’s installation reminds me a lot of Adriane Colburn’s who is a visiting faculty member at the San Francisco Art Institute. She did a show of an installation of mapping out the San Francisco sewer systems with wire and twine, she also mapped out the human lungs in a similar way.
Great work Sara, absolutely fantastic.
-Tony
PupDon says:
December 21, 2007 at 17:19Giant Eagle!!! OMG. Talk about a little slice of home. Okay, for you guys who have never been to Pittsburgh, let me paint a tiny little picture for you. The Pittsburgh accent is so thick that when people say “Giant Eagle” it sounds like “Jaant Iggle”. And this has become such an accepted thing that back in the 80’s when Giant Eagle opened their in-store video rental department they named it “Iggle Video”.
And you wonder why I live in LA now.
SFPhotoBoy says:
December 21, 2007 at 17:22Guess so… Let’s try again…
Sara’s installation reminds me a lot of Adriane Colburn’s who is a visiting faculty member at the San Francisco Art Institute. She did a show of an installation of mapping out the San Francisco sewer systems with wire and twine, she also mapped out the human lungs in a similar way.
Great work Sara.
Maia says:
December 21, 2007 at 21:52I’d like to see a map of lungs… maybe it could help me figure out why I’ve been coughing for a week now! Our friend just diagnosed me with “the bronch.” Yechhh. I’m actually online right now to google bronchitis.
Fausto, thank you for the custom podcast, darling! Yes, the book cover’s mine. Putting my MFA to good use. 
That’s what I get to do on a good day. (bad days involve paperwork. blah, paperwork.)
If we don’t get to see Sara’s piece while our friend is visiting, Kate and I will have to go to the MCA just the two of us to check it out. Then eat bao afterwards at Water Tower Place… all of our dates must have a food component. I especially want to put my hands in the pile of metal nuts… looks wonderfully tactile. Wish I were still making installation art. Thanks for sharing Sara’s work with us!
Fingers and eyes and bronchi crossed for the BIG WIN! Gooooo, Fausto!
Oh, and let me know if there will be a Chicago celebration — we’ll be there!
Maia says:
December 21, 2007 at 22:16Oh, two other things –
(1) Doesn’t that image on the book cover look like a photograph of a star system? crazy! It’s a map of the internet, color coded by geographical region.
(2) Isn’t sputum a great word? sputum, sputum, sputum… !
Yves says:
December 21, 2007 at 22:20ok so I litteraly made me blushed in the über crowded subway today!!I hope you have more than one French listener otherwise I will have to start a campaign in France!!! I’m actually about to board to go back to Paris for the holidays so I could start as early as tomorrow;)
Thanks Marc for prononcing my name right by the way!! Love you guys I dont know what my life would be like without the FOF. Happy Holidays from the bottom of my heart!
Bisous
Yves
Wesley says:
December 22, 2007 at 02:19¿Dónde está el porno-o?
Well, Merry Christmas Feast of Fools!
2007 has been good, so good. Here’s to your 2008.
~
And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot
Jonathan says:
December 23, 2007 at 02:12So I was listening to this show on my way to the walmart to buy a flat iron. First thing I did when I got home was google Zac Efron for tips on how to get my hair straight.
¡Enrique Más! says:
December 23, 2007 at 06:54Wooowwwwwww what an interesting installation. I would love to see it. I’m with Maia when it comes to maps and charts and diagrams! From the photos, it looks incredibly interesting and also very beautiful.
bowdownza says:
December 24, 2007 at 13:36pupdon- you just explained one of the many mysteries of pittsburgh to me. I see that video store and had no idea how it would be pronounced or why it is spelled that way.
How about how “wild” is pronounced - Wowwwled. A woman said that to me and for a half hour I tried to figure out what she was saying.
This interview was great and it sounds like a great piece.
Now if only we could get artists and advanced degreed peoples to stop talking in question statements?
I say that with love because everything she said was very interesting and intelligent otherwise.
Donnie Dee says:
December 24, 2007 at 14:23OK, you said you wanted feedback. To me, this interview didn’t translate well as an audio podcast. Would have been more captivating as a videocast, I think. Don’t get me wrong, Sara is very talented, but for most of us not in the Chicago area, her work won’t have as much impact.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fausto Fernós created the Feast of Fools in 1998 as wacky artists variety show in Chicago, Illinois.
Along with his partner Marc Felion, he hosts the world's most downloaded talk show for gay people on the internet, Feast of Fools.
Fausto loves pomegranates, waterfalls and 70s retro funk music.
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Let’s face it, creativity, not their forte.
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Matty | May 16, 2008
Maybe the “Vegan” sugar is made by vegan people. Or maybe its even made of vegan people? *gasp!* Homemade sugar scrubs are great! another great show you...
Trannylover | May 16, 2008
Love Matthew Buckley! You guys are so good at interviewing people, it’s really great to get to know these youtubelebrities in a better way. Nice work! If I won...
Trannylover | May 16, 2008
Let’s face it, creativity, not their forte.
Marc Felion | May 16, 2008
Thanks guys. I always thought they should call the drag show “Flowers in the Attic.” After all, the drag show takes place in an attic and drag queens are like flowers.
SAL-E | May 16, 2008
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Maia says:
December 21, 2007 at 14:42I love all kinds of maps, and maps of the internet are so interesting because just when you thought cartography was running out of material — boom! Internet maps can be so beautiful… I managed to use one on a book cover recently, and it looked like a photo of outer space. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512yIRjICAL._SS500_.jpg
Congrats to Sara for being featured at the MCA! That’s huge! Her piece sounds really intriguing — anything with a big wall of words is right up my alley. We’ll try to pay her a visit while our friend is in town for the holidays… I’ll put the MCA on our list of things to do, between ice skating at Millennium Park and checking out the “Christmas Lights Extravaganza” and jazz at Marie’s Pizza and Liquor…
Merry Christmas, FOF! I hope Santa can fit the first place gay bloggies trophy down your chimney…