Piotr Szyhalski

Well, the link about Piotr Szyhalski's appearance at Carleton College is working again. One incorrect link on that page is the one to 'Final Analysis' - it goes to 'Ding an Sich'. 'Final Anaysis' is one of the 'Inward Vessels', or you can click here. [Link updated Jan. 9, 2011)

I'd advise reading Steve Dietz' explanation of this work, or you might think that the piece no longer works, as I did the first time or two I tried to go through it. Tip: If the screen looks blank, move your mouse around until you see the hand, and then click. As Dietz demonstrates, you can easily click into the wrong screen but if you persevere, as I did, you get through the piece in it's entirety and see the complete picture. Another tip: The links in Dietz' article are for illustration only, and may bounce you out of the 'Final Analysis' prematurely, or may place you in the middle of the work [or send you to a bad link, but it has been at least seven years since the piece was published, after all].

Piotr Szyhalski

I've admired Piotr Szyhalski's work ever since I first saw "Ding an Sich (The Canon Series)" shortly after it was first displayed in 1997. "Ding an Sich'" still remains one of my favourite pieces. Each piece demands user input in order for it to display completely. Some pieces are more complicated than others, but each one is open to interpretation and will behave differently according to the action, or inaction, of the viewer. Each time I see it, I find something different because, as the artist explains on the first page "all works are designed to be "performed" by the viewer, so that with each visit the viewer performs each piece differently.

Szyhalski sometimes works in Macromedia Director, but also employs a very skilled use of HTML in order to create a home page that is not at all ordinary. While I may find his use of dark text on a black background really annoying, a voyage around The Spleen [link updated Jan. 9, 2011] will uncover many thought-provoking pieces. Do they fall into the category of online performance, installation, or public art, I wonder? Or are they part of a whole new art movement which is redefining itself with each passing minute?

The "Inward Vessels of the Spleen" [link updated Jan. 9, 2011] dates from around 1995 or 1996 and is, in my view, the most intricate of the Szyhalski's works. Or maybe it is a really convoluted catalogue of his works. If you venture into the Outer Vessels, you will find that many of the links no longer lead to the originally intended destination. The site is eight years old, after all. [Jan. 9, 2011 - it is now 15 years old and has been relocated, so it's surprising that any of the links are working at all.]

A search on Szyhalski's name on Google will find over 600 pages. [1350 or more on Jan. 9, 2011, including YouTube videos]. Most have to do with his earlier works [now there are many more later works] and I would suggest that you grab a cup of coffee or tea and explore some of those pages.

One site well worth visiting is the one covering his appearance at Carleton College's Digital Art Festival 2003. Along with information on his work and a 'blue' poem, there are video clips of 10 or so other artists. At least they were there a few weeks ago. The page has a "Sorry, but the page was not found" message today. [Dec. 21/06 - The link to the Festival pages is here.]

Here is the 'blue' poem.

The other artist at the festival whose name I recognized was DJ Spooky. He has some interesting things to say. [Jan. 9, 2011 - His website is here.]

Fun Fiction and Improbable Truth

For Doctor Who fans, the BBC has a very detailed website, including The Scream of the Shalka, a six-episode online "animated adventure". The episodes are in Flash using vector art so that they can be viewed full-screen without lose of image quality. [Dec. 13/06 - Site is updated and there are now games, scenes from the earliest episodes, video, and much more.]

Margot Lovejoy's new book - Digital Currents: Art in the Electronic Age has just been published and has an [almost] excellent web page. The artists' page has links to work by 180 artists, which you find by revealing one of the names, clicking on it, and then on the URL. The search feature works only if you know which artists are included - there are lists of artists under 'contexts'.

On a much more serious note, I've been following the reports of the arrest of Steve Kurtz, a member of Critical Art Ensemble. When I first read about it, I discussed the story with a colleague who thought it must be an urban myth, since it sounded so improbable. Not so, unfortunately. Read more at CAE Defense Fund and in the Washington Post (registration needed).

I found this information in the June 4, 2004 Digest from Rhizome.org. Although access to (some/all?) Rhizome features is free on Fridays, a yearly donation provides access to all their web pages, daily and/or weekly emailed news if you request it, and many other features. You will find detailed information about donating if you try to access Art + Text messages.