Connectivity is expanded through technological deve lopments converting the world
into a global and interactive connectivity field. Each individual finds him- or herself
to be a link in this network of connectivity. Using certain visual projects as an
example, this particular project argues that man has, on the one hand, become
entrapped in this network through technological developments, and is liberated by
them, on the other, through the global mobility they facilitate.
The applicability of âconnectivity,â the mathematical loanword, to the visual arts is
explored and depicted through art projects. In this project, representations of
illustrations, paintings, photographs, installations and video art are employed as a
form of artistic visualization of the experience of connectivity in post- modern society.
Technological phenomena as extensions of the human body and central nervous
system, and the implications of this for visual culture and the society of connectivity
are explored. The spatial expansiveness of the network is visualized in the texture of
Jackson Pollockâs paintings, which in this project are referred to as a metaphor for
connectivity. The series of photographs by Danwen Xing, âdisCONNEXION,â are
described as the antithesis of connectivity, where computer parts are arranged
separately from one another, eliciting the notion of a living organism.
In representations of connectivity the symbiotic relationship between man and
machine is brought to the fore. The mutual dependency of man and machine are
symbolized in Eduardo Kacâs Teleporting an unknown state. Herein an attempt is
made to foster a critical consciousness which sufficiently takes into consideration the
man- made nature of the new media. Man builds technological information systems
which creep across the earth, enfolding it in a web. In the photographic and
installation-type depictions of Frank Thiel, Dan Graham and Peter Weibel, the
omnipresence of the surveillance camera is fore grounded. It surrounds, captures and
reads man into databases, forming a categorized, typified data image of the individual. In a more positive light, the media of connectivity creates an immediate though virtual
presence through mobilization, where man is an absent presence who is
simultaneously here and at the site of communication. Connectivity enables the
immediate connections between individuals who are physically separated from one
another, and is visualized in Draadwerk, where the implied communicator is
overwhelmed and drawn in by the scale and mass of tin can telephone wires. Man is
simultaneously here, physically, and, in thought, in the conversational space (i.e.
cyberspace), where communication takes place through technological communication
media.
The greatest liberation of technological means is facilitated by the virtuality it creates.
James Turrellâs light installations visualize illusory virtual spaces where the viewer
enters a light-drenched space and the actual boundaries of the space are faded. In my
own installation, Immersie, a virtual space is entered which becomes a connective
plane between top/bottom and inside/outside. Ties which limit and entrap man are left
behind as the virtual space is entered, and man creates, through technological media,
new spaces in which freedom or liberation may be experienced.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-09142006-090019 |
| Date | 14 September 2006 |
| Creators | Mellet-Pretorius, Louisa J |
| Contributors | Prof DJ van den Berg, Ms J Allen-Spies |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-09142006-090019/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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