Hello,
My name is Scott Chacon, and I am new to this list, but very interested, and
have read through much of the archive to try to get a flavor, it is very exciting. I
am an ICAM (Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts) Major at the University of
California at San Diego. I came to this list by someone (Im sorry, I lost the email)
on this list seeing the beginnings of a project I started a few years ago, but never
completed, on free copylefted collaborative computer art. In a Major full of
self-proclaimed "Macromedia whores", I am fascinated by the work and art of the
members of this list, and would very much like to contribute.
I am responding to this post in particular, because it addresses something I
sorely wanted to see on the site, a studio full of interesting and free tools and art.
I am equally interested in visual and musical artwork, and am especially interested
in any art pertaining to or working with complex and/or interesting data sets. I was
thinking, as a newcomer with expectations of this great group, of things that would
severely enhance the attraction of the group - and that is collaboration. If the
studio on the site offered a fraction of the wealth of tools and work and ideas and
writings that the members of the list have, and have talked about - it would be a
great reference indeed.
Perhaps if the studio were split up into sections, such as:
1) Visual Arts
2) Music
3) Writings
4) Data ( data sets to work from for inspiration of any of the above,
and tools used to extract it )
( ie - "Computer network traffic for an hour", or "Nonlinear
Equation su
ch and such"... )
and offered underneath them subgroupings such as
1) Tools (grouped into the various languages, links to HOWTOs and
tutorials on how to get started with them)
2) Samples (small building blocks [gimp brushes, sound textures,
bumpmaps, interesting wordlists, etc...])
3) Work (actual art made with these tools or samples or otherwise
pertaining to the section as a whole)
and list members could add to and use from these resources at will (or perhaps
uploads are moderated)
I would also personally be interested in collaborative works, such as a
painting that many people have contributed to, each adding thier little touch. Or
perhaps a sound that has been reworked and remastered by several musicians on the
list. Like the art goes through revisions, or versions.
These things are something that I could add to and take inspiration from very
readily, and a very interesting resource to point people to who still cling to thier
intellectual property and windows ways. Of course it should also be clear that art you
create with these resources is copylefted, and should generally be fed back into the
site.
Anyhow, that is something I would find very cool, I hope it is within the
scope (if rather lengthly) of the question I am responding to. Again, thank you all
for all your great ideas.
Scott Chacon
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