SEPTEMBER, 1969 Publisher Chases Contes Editor Pip Leder ‘Asoiie ior WA)"~" john "Coplans CContibuting Elton” "Jane Cone ea sae viet BE - Soni Sees i ae ee ADVERTISING [EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICES ool Ya at Rew Sue NYC The compete contents of ARTFORUM ace Indeed The Sot nde pated gurtaly nd ava in ui eae Incidents of Miror-Trvel in the Yucatan by Robert Smithson Slow Infermation: Richard Sera by Rober Pincus-Witten (On “Manets Sources” by Theodore Reff Real Time Systems by Jack Burnham New York Canada Los Angeles Chicago San Francisco Film by Maney Farber Letters 40 oo 9 @ « nJACK BURNHAM, Presently it will be accepted Dhasize this eyberetic analogy, programming the art system Involves some of the same features found inhuman brains and in large computer systems. lis command structure is typically. hie Achical”” At the basic level artis ae similar to 4 subroutines. They prepare new alyze data in making works of programs pea el These activities are supervised by metaprograms which consist of instructions, descriptions, and the grams Include art movements, significant stylistic trends, and the business, promotional, and archi val structures of the art wold, At the highes level long-term basis, reorganizes the gouls of the a impulse, The seltmetaprogram operates os an ur detected overseer, establishing strategies on all lower levels in teims of societal needs. Because wwe have no comprehensive picture of human if these needs remain rather obscure (Zeitgeist Is not suffcienly teleologic to express the anticipatory ‘monitoring function of the selt-metaprogram) thetic values emanate from # Selfsmetapro evidenced by 2 number of symptomatic conditions: loss of in alley scene by the informed publi sam. These are now changing,trong support for “street art” by several impor- tant erties, the “newstees” of the underground cinema, anviety marked by dsing prices in blue: chip an, the fact that museums of modern art 3 closing the circuit om modeensm, andthe re sponse 0 so politically inept a group as the ‘Art Workers Coalition, Values, though, are simply the result of long term information processing structures. This isthe business of museums and art historians. The more aggresive commercial galleries have long consi fered controling and creating ar information vital to selling, while not forgetting that sales are at Information. The survival srsegy of all socal organizations, including the an system, is that of transforming pretevred iniormation into values In business this 15 taken for granted. At the ‘management level, information “i data that has been culled, analyzed, interpreted, and presented fon a selective bass in a manner useful for under standing. and. decision making. Its function Is to decrease uncertainty.” AS inclcated, every artist produces data by making af Cries, magazines, falleries, museums, collectors, and historians exst to create information out of unprocessed at data History is uncertainty about art minimized 'A-major illusion of the art system is that art resides in specific objects. Such artifacts are the Imateral base for the concept of the "wark of 10” But in essence, all institutions which process ‘ar data, thus making information, are components Of the work of at. Withoot the support system, the abject ceases to have definition; but without the object, the support systom can still sustains the notion of ar. So we can see why the art expe: rience attaches iself less and less 10 canonical for given forms but embraces every conceivable experiential mode, including living in everyday en- Viconments, Thus art, according to John McHale, becomes “temporal immersion in a continuous contextual How of communicated experiences” amine the funetion of information in. art: ‘communication theory states that information is fobiained when a signal reduces uncertainty with in a sistem. Information is need requited” hence information for a system has high entropy-reduc- ing potential (negentropy). Negentropy isthe abil. iy OF tnformation to increase the structure and ‘orential energy within a system. Sueh information 's only obiained by expending the energy of sys tems outside the one receiving information, Thus the art system has maintained is vitally by con: stanly reaching outvide of iteelf for data, In the Dist this has taken the form of new subject mat. ter, materials, and techniques. But are now chal- lenges the entire art information processing stuc- ture, not merely its content Encoding. information always involves. some physical process. In high-speed processing this takes the’ form of digital computer “hardware.” ‘The procedures or programs for processing data are called “Softwar.” For all previous ar, dstine- tions between software end hardware were not recognized, so that encoding took the form of ‘other art mecia and materials, where some infor ‘mation was lost, and perhaps some. gained. Graphic reproductions of original works of art were a form of advertising, We now look upon them as works of atin their own right, Electron- Ics have Taught us that we often confuse sof ware with is physical transducer, In other words, if we extend the meaning of software to cover the fentie art information processing cycle, then art books, catalogs, interviews, reviews, adverise- rents, sales, and contracts are allsoftware exten- sions of at and as such legitimately embody the work of art The art object i, ia eifect, an infor imation “rigger” for mobilizing the information cycle. Making. promoting, and buying art aro fal time activities. That is 10 say, they happen within the day-to-day flow of normal experience, Only ‘Att Appreciation happens in ideal, nonexitential Ideal time and “experimental idealism are both outgrowths of the classical fame of refer fence, They stom irom the intuition that lacston and proportion twanscend the illusion of time Classleal scientific methodology, at Spengler pointed out, is s0 premised. n both classieal ar Istc and scientific experimentation the strictest contol is exacted over isolated formal rlaton- ships. Only under such conditions may vanables ‘be compared. Reduction, isolation, and manipula- tion are the foundations of the Classic inventive Structure—in art oF technology. The problem of form and antform represents polaties of ths siucture, not an altematve. Parallling experi- iments in Clase science, works of art are sim- plified models of complex, unmanageable situa tions. To insist upon the “vealty” or “anteili- sionism” of such art, no matter how informal or difse its limits, i 10 dea in tautologes. All mod els also exist in real time. To sum it up, “syle” Is the artist's choice of invaviants—used t6 excess. Experimental idealism rests upon the intellectual and physical oation ofthe esthetic experience. is tools are picture ames, bases, spotlights, guards, galeries, hypostatic objects, and the con- opt of “high art” Hel. It suggests that censualy the world is impossible ar experience and must be broken down into palatable sanctuaries. Her bert Marcuse Indicates. that esthetics. orginally Derianed 10 the study of the senses. By the end of the 18th century, esthetics had 2 different ‘meaning: it referred to the study of beauty and Specifically beauty related to art? All of which ie Feminiscent of the words of one young. lady “1 don't mind New York City, 1 ust shut off my senses and vst the Met on weekends” To interpret pragmatism either as a relection of illsionism and lis attendant idealies, or a8 an appreciation of contextual diference, or 38 2 kind'of tough-minded precisonism rooted in lit eral description, is to underestimate the inten tions of one of its founders. As a paychologst ‘William James realized the scientific value of or dlinary, unprepared events; he also understood that such events represent infinite amounis of raw Gata which dely scientific scrutiny. His altema- tive was to fetur to freer and more existential investigation, fully recognizing the limitations of scene "law." "Concretenes,” “adequacy,” “fac,” “action.” and “power” are words used by James to. describe the methods of pragmatism: however the essence of pragmatic conduct Is an ability 10 remain open and flexible despite con Ticting experiences. As 3 result, correlating expe tience imo a coherent picture of realty is the pragmatist’s only objective. Since the beginning of archeological research Io ar, theories of art have sought a lateral and vewical synthesis of cultural values, promoting the idea that these theories all represent dis: parate aspects of the “art Impulse.” But | agree With Alan Watts that, “What our museums now fexhibit at the ‘ar? of other cultures and ancient times are celigious, magical, and household uten- silt exquisitely and’ lovingy made." In other words we have imposed upon earlier cultures a Conception of high art that jostiies our valve system—not the’. The problem gets knotier as ‘we see discrepancies between contemporary con: ceptions of high ant. Judging diferent kinds of art by different criteria is one solution. Mulsple “alue systems, however, were not what James had in mind, Ar long a there are conflicting exper- fences, James would insist upon a moratorium. Pragmatism is the recognition that science and technology have fragmented the tational value stucture beyond repat. Thus enclaves of pro- tected values, including at are fast disappearing, In societies where existing values adequately, eal with the envionment, there are no compara tive values—only the existing way of life. Values are nonexistent in metabolically sable socites, Hopefully such a metabolic reorganization under way and will lead to a convergence of slo: bal information stectures with paralll rather than linear processing. Such is the implication of Me- Lunar’ assertion that the world is on the verge ‘of tribaism, at this stage taking the form of sim- ilae pattems of global unrest. In this sense, the image of transcontinental tbalism through elec trom technology is far from fancial hyperbole: ‘At the global level ab 2 man’s atu snbioe rettions wth plats and animals, his telatonship to eybemetic systems has been subty changing toward a mote csely woven rgane interdepene Adncy resembling hi other eealgial oe. “The post veached recently when such stems ‘were combined with the remote sesing, monitor Ing and contol eapactis of the vn stlito Imaiks the extension of this symbiosis 19 Include the ene planetary ecoloy “The most porate srpert on eath Kat Been the tutomation ef production, sence, informa tion flow inthe aduanced economics, Man's social ‘ole apd poston in society becomes as and less Aetermined bythe part he plays m cle produce ‘ion of material wealth goods, the rganzng ofQuite evidently, where advanced technology takes over, our values are chosen for ur—if sun vival remains high on ou list of priorities. More- ‘over, such a reversal demolishes the Classica Teal, Both in the sciences and in the human: ities something is rapidly happening: we are be- inning to see scentiic “objectivity” as an ll Sion, 3s are the notions of independent scien tite “disciplines” of isolating subjects of scien tiie inquiry from their settings, and of the pos- ibility of making Unoblrsive measurement Such symptoms. point to a convergence of knowledge and activities; in a primitive fasion Wwe ate beginning to accept the ath and its guest” (lo borrow from Buckminster Fuller) 36 a total organism with its own metabolism, Objec tively we know very litle about the rules of this metabolism. But we know that organic sablty is predicated upon extensive communication net- works, including memory, feedback and auto- matic decision-making capacities, The rudiments Bt such networks already exist, in the form of large-scale digital computer control systems SAGE, the fist computer-based alr defense sys fem; Project Mercury, the fst real time digital support system for space flight; Telefile, the fist ‘online banking system; and SABRE, the fst com- perized airline reservation system ate a few o any operating realtime systems which gather and process daa ftom environments, in time to effect future events within those environments, Emotionally most humanists share an Instinctive antipathy for these immensely complex computer fystems. Their Orwellian overtones far overshad yw their conceivable" use as artist tole. But practically, i is imperative that artists do. under Stnd.them—both technically and. philosoph. cally. These computer systems deal wih real time vents, events which are uncontrived and happen tinder normal circumstances, All of the dala proc essing systems I have refered to are Built into and become a part of the events they monitor. Already 2 Targe part of the metabolic information used to fun the miliary and commercial interests of the United states fs eal time-oiented, Is not pro posed that arsts have the choice between tad Hional media or using the computer. What ! am saying thatthe realtime information processing mode is rapidly becoming the routine style of handling information, To date, mont aists have been archivists doing the bulk of the art historians task The Tage i plication of this fs that since the Renaissance the lhmelaprogram of art has been predicated upon nostalgia, Recapturing 2 real or imagined classical past has been its goal. Moder art i the trauma ff moxing further and further away from that ideal. The public has been taught to buy and hold fon to historical records inthe guise of at. What a few arts are beginning to give the public i eal time information, information with no, hardware abs 8value, but with software significance for effecting awareness of events In the present. As long 3¢ museums refuse to acknowledge this transforma tion, they will remain in-a peripheral and poten tally obsolete role in relation to the most ad ‘anced aspects of contemporary at Defines isthe merk of the more sense art lists using) teal me-—the. wy, In which they acknowledge systems, Here T think the work of Hans. Haacke has consistenty: developed. since 1963, His first works with water, emulsions, steam, and air had elements of strong. geometric con tainment. These were plainly gallery objects. This cannot be said of the estly sail pieces and out door balloon lines. Here the decision to allow tural entities to “organize” themelves began, We see ths in the artist’ plans for the 1966 art festival at Scheveningen, Holland 2150" plastic hose, tihuy inflated with helium, will fy high above’the beach or sea... And aso, 1 would lke to lure 1000 sea gulls to 2 certain spot {in the ain by some delicous food s0 a8 to con- struct an air scupture from their combined mass I much the same sense. Haacke’s Spray of Ithaca Falls: Freezing and Melting on a Rope de pended upon environmental conditions. A nylon rope was wrapped in screening and suspended across the falls Flowing water and freezing cyeles {quickly bull a snow and iee configuration over a four day period, A desire to work in neural, non- art circumstances was evident in Hancke’s Wind Room (summer, 1968) at the Mexico City Univer sity Museum. it consisted of an open, monc- Chrome space bordered on two sides by heavy Imesh screens, masking the air dstibution system Some recent tendencies in Haacke’s work in trgue me, One is 2 willingness to use all forms of organic life—from the most elementary t0 the ‘most complicated, This seems a logcal extension (of his philosophy of natural systems. A work of last winter Involved the incubation of chicks as an ongoing process, Already Hsacke. is planning ‘more complete animal “ecologies” where infor ation ik derived from the normal activities of an- imals in their environments. For a museum, he's planning a steady output of statin formation out vistors involving. 2 small procest-contol computer anda dspy device. Two. years ‘ago Haacke would have balked at using this hind Of technology; today, working more closely with events, itbecomesa necessity. As Haacke explains: The ariats business requtes his involvement in practallyeverhing It would be bypasing the ue to say that the arts busines fe how the tings of perceptual pychlogy an tat the fest should be left to other professions. The total tcope of information he receives dy” fer {hay is of concer. Anat not an oad se tem. tn order to ravi he fat f contincushy there are'no lite to hs involvement, * John Goodyear has departed from Haacke’s steam and ice pieces in 2 series of “heat tubes.” Some of these are arays of tubes with constant temperatures; others temporally fluctuate from hat to cold. As Goodyear has progressed, his con structions look less like sculpture and begin to resemble wall fixtures and unspecific uliis. One Of the best is a vemi-butied series of plates and pipes entitled Snowmelter, Measure (1968) which acts symbiotcally with the weather, possessing no iconographic value. | found Dennis Oppenheim’s exhibition last January the most provocative of the season, The models and documents presented moved beyond his previous “ground systems” to a broad use of Interacting ecologies. tt included the farm sys- tems ofthe previous summer, the Conecticut for ext floor “removal” and “transplant” pieces of that fll, the New York Stock Exchange transplant and the “time” and “order” activities of his De ember vist to Maine and Canada. Oppenheim’s Use of tractors, snowplow, airplanes, and. se3- rate are normal uses of avaliable technology. This makes real sense compared to most hardware ‘erotica out of the studio. In July, 1968, Oppenheim directed the harvest ‘of @ 300 by 900 foot oat feld in Hamburg, enn sylvania. Cuting, gathering, baling, and trucking Of bales were stages of the at process dacu ‘mented. At that time the att planned a work for the summer of 1969 in which “slated episodes will be directed towards a core network involv ing every permutation (fom planting to distrbut ing the product." This bagan last Apeil in Fir stewolde, Holland, and is til to be completed The parameters of thie project are more camp cated than the one in Penniyivania, but Oppen- heim does speciy that "a portion of this crop wil be selected by the ants and sold in 25-pound sacks. Alo four carloads of wheat will be pur chased from the Dutch commodity exchange in “Amsterdam, and sold shor inthe United States.” The significance of this project is that Oppen- heim is using the untapped energy and inform: tion network of the day-to-day envionment, Such situations produce abundant information with 2 minimum of reorganization. Sen from the artist's Point of view. Oppenheim explain that cant at ait rom the “primar homesite to the akeraiv of “seconday” homesite: With the fall of the galerie, arte have sensed sar Sersaion ss do organi when cried by turbances of environmental conditions. Ths te 2description. Rock #2 was “found” while D. Burgy was wal ing in the fields and woods of Bradford, Massa- chusetts, on September 4, 1968, It exists as a co lection of about thity documents "fom the ‘The tachniques of recording sre appropriate tthe Lind af information presented and include wsual verbal, and mathematical data.™ The rock is no Capituation to Dada notions about ‘cupture. Burgy maintains that itis “objective information about his experience in the world.” It could be any rock, but it isn't; and it presents in uncom- Dromising terms the nexus of at information, namely focus on experience. Visually this is man ifested at @ numberof resolution levels: the rack appears under an electron microscope at 1250 power, and then from 2 feet, 10 feet and 20 Yards, from 500 feet in an aiplane, fom 500 miles in a space satelite, and from an assortment of offical survey maps. Focus for Robert Barry is revered: it is what we know about an environment without seeing oF experiencing it. Rediation fom 2 val of Bar. 133 buried in Cental Park is simply Central Park Most. “air art” is alrsupported hardware. But Seth Siegeaub’s poster for Bar's "inert Gas Se ries’ is eminently software, a lank white 22% by 35 inch sheet with one smal line of information at the bottom. On another level Joseph Kosuth and Seven Kaltenbach have used printed media with an eye forall posible spin-offs. Kosuth’s present texhibiton of duplicate advertisements in ten dif ferent cit, and their museums, is the essence of data dispersion, For over a year Siegelaub has been “gallery dl rector’ for the best of the conceptuaits. Hi publications of calendars and catalogs are already collector's items. That he has already evolved a rnonsyle was demanstrated by his exhibition of Barry, Husbler, Kosuth, and Weiner last January Held in 9 rented ofice of the McLendon Building ‘on Sand stret, the room contained catalogs on @ coffee table and a few places to sit, Slegeaub Is ‘obviously one ofthe bet artists in bis gallery, and in a sense his artists know it. They are subcon- trating to his prime contract ae a data organizer. ’At 3 information processing leaves itl in the way of protection forthe artis. Style used to be the art system's equivalent to patent rights. And leven among the conceptualists one senses a er= tain degree of deference and respect for each ‘other's ideas But the output of artsts continues to be based upon nonsequentil ideas, it may he impossible 10 support the notion of “owner- Ship” Such ownership amounts to who amplifies ‘orginal data fist so that it becomes information For instance, a particular electronic circuit may be discovered 2 dozen times before itis invented. “invention” takes place only when a large fm uses the circuit in a-major production, and then has it entered into an electronic handbook, The design engineers of that particular company then become “inventors” As an information organiza- tion principle, this has been expressed by the ecologist, Ramon Margalef. According. to. Mat~ fale, boundaries between systems in nature are Uiually asymmetrical, More organized. systems always gain information ard energy from lest ‘anized systems. This penainy tothe relations be tween plans and animals, atmosphere and sea, environment and thermostat, enzyme and RNA ‘molecule, biotope and community, prey and pred- ator, agrarian communities and. industrial soci- erties In each case the last named system feeds 1m the energy surplus ofthe fist Ie 2 asi property of nature, from the pont wo systems of diferent information content docs fot raul ia periton or causing of the fonmation, but increas the diference: Te system ‘with move accumulated information becomes si "cher forthe exchange. Bondy speaking the sme principle is valid for persons and human organiza- ‘ons any exchange increases to 2 grester exert the information of the party abeady beter i formed Lite imagination ig needed to relize how this principle operates within the art system, As the fame of a living artist grows, he ceases simply to make data. His subsequent output i information since its already art histor. Plagiarism of exsing information, Le, the work of wellknown artists has minimal energy — unless original information becomes the object of new data in a very con vincing way. On the other hand, famous “avant furde” artists may capitalize upon the work of their lesser known contemporaries, Being better organized systems, established artists have greater access to museums and media. It is important, however, that they use such material while it i stl data, ie, before it becomes at information. (On a personal level Margale's cybernetic prin. Ciple remains a matter of ethics and practicality.58 But its implications for the toal ar information system are fareaching. As information processing becomes move generally understood. institutions land persons — other than artiste = will insist Upon cresting their own at information. Speci cally lam thinking about projects which demand ‘money, planning snd technical suppor far be- yond the individual artist's means. Artistic en ‘eavor is thus brought up (or down) to the level Df cozporate research. We have only to think of that 5252 OF lonely enterprise, the inventorhero- ‘capitalist, Such a social ideal was only possible ina socity with ao scientific grasp of the nature information. The altruism of artst groups has rarely sure vived the “commercial success of one member Pols, of New Haven, may be diferent — i it can hold ‘on economically. With members ranging From mathematicians and computer specialists 10 Dain, their focus is on computer-based pro- frame of light and sound output. But i isin the tealm of group interaction that Pulsa projects, hopetlly, 3 new breed of ass. The group does not produce conglomerates of separate works by individuals, but rather common projects. As much 4 possible, all esthetic and technical decisions are shared equally. Ego frictions between techn fians and artists seem 10 have been brought to 3 rinimu, {ike the hur brain, Pls operates on pine ciples of pall rocening approaching, + point 3t wich specalzaton becomes ele ant (dor tothe fact thatthe operating conto stem Speaks 3 simple environmental language o even porter autonomouy. nth seve thei objec tve ban inteliget system wher In Tse em bodies the optimum site of the provp's and the Sater’ interactive fetaning, whch tl cont Is the imate won ft Having witnessed Pulea's activities over 2 yer, 1am convinced tat there is substance behind these words. Ultimately Pulsa see themsches 35 planners and coordinators, functioning in the n= flustral, urban and natural environments, How. fever, the fll impact of taking a7 out of Its s0- cially acceptable suroundings did not reach me until lst winter. 1 lew in a plane over the Pulsa installation on the outskirts of New Haver, cir- cling into ther light configurations for about ten ‘minutos before heading east for Boston, Five min= tes sway | overheaed 4 radio conversation be- tween 4 smal plane and air contol at New Haven rpor. The plane reported 2 “disturbing” light Phenomenon on the ground. Air conte told the Pilot wo file a complaint with the CA, There are two kinds of atst: those who work Within the art system, and those few who work With the art sytem. Ler Levine epitomizes the second type. Few people grasp this fact, or is implications, and to dismiss Levine's work 3s Dada for itch i missing the point. Where industalss think of ar as a good tax dodge or as 2 kind of pastoral retea, Levine considers business and in dustry to be aft in its most essential form. Every ats of any substance sells his art through shewdl advertising and press agentry. For Levine these are legitimate art forms. Artists are begin- ring to use signed releases, contracts, and sales Conditions 2s. supplementary art information; Levine has done so for years. The fact that he uses them s0 blatanly, with no deference to the profesional gentility of the art system, is the equivalent of style. The worst mistake would be to read taste OF syle into objects which he has fabricated. Despite the fact that all succesful commodity at has to be uncommon. “pest” tnd have & convincing pedigree, Levine's plastic Shapes are nether. They are divect, raw, neutral fesulte of quantity production. Nether should his ‘Objects be considered multiples or merely smal- ‘zed quality art work, Levine, | feel, has set out to vingicate the art system, namely that anything ‘an be sold with enough public relations energy bbehind i. His integrity les In the fact hat he has Fefused to feed collector’ neuroses with illusions ‘of permanence and quality. Levine states Al process ented works ry om the viewor and the atte forthe al definten as works ‘fan. if i nether photomaphed nor wate Shout, i dppeats Back Int the environment and eves to exit, Many serious ass af Os ime, Se ov the mos pat invaved in making a Po: ‘cing stems The works themeeler ae not 10 be conaderd as at shor sates for the poe diction of ar (On March 27, 1968, Levine bough five hu dred. common shares of stock in the Caste Cartridge Corporation; when resold the profit or Tous became the work of art His coin and aitine projects have been conducted similarly, using ex Inlent societal systems. Inflation wise, prestigious ‘commodity artis better than money. AS | see it Levine is simply cecumventing the roundabout process of producing paintings and sculptures for Sse and, instead, making the message — money become the medium. Some artsts involved in “process” announce thei projets in archaic art formats; Levine's typically #8 press release. In an age when technolagical procesies define fe. Bye, “Choice and taste can only be considered neurotic" He goes on to write ee mover seen a work af tI cid’ he, Coed ‘or bad are devant in terme of process On 2 process level being toil excited of no more “ue than boing totaly Bored you run around in your bactyard ard make a good pang. its fst the sme ab raning round in Your backyard Ind making 2. bad pmting, Running around Is runnin Tevine’s Restaurant at 19 Steet and Park Ave se South is a Levine; which isto say, its refrac tory, plastic, and the ultimate realtime art work devised to date, The restaurant is process in all Its icsitades, For my taste, his closed-creuit tele- vision anid calor scheme leave much t0 be de ‘ited, but the food s very reasonable. Levine wor ties and tinkers with the software, and appears to bhe move concerned with write-ups in Resturant ‘News than in Art News, Levine's lacks that much= admized Howard Johnson sterility, but he Keeps trying. On the art level, thas to be accepted for what i is: a selforganizing, data generating ys tem, What other arst hos ¢ gallery showing his ‘work fourteen hours-a day seven days a week, sways changing, charging. no commission, and Slowing him to eat fee? [At present the art communication and educa- tion structure is havdly prepared to handle such 1 broad conception of art as Levine's. For that Tater, it breaks down frequently with current Sefintions, Any fundamental shit will probably involve the complete abrorption of at into. the media. But the realty of art continues to reside in te unveaty. Any progress ithe development of eal time art recognizes that conceptual focus must keep the two apart. In this respect, the hoax Of treating artists as social beaufiers should be fexpored once and forall As MeLuhan insists the Sarfati fundamentally antisocial. To use another “hbemetic analogy, atts are “deviation-amplty. ing” systems, ar individuals who, because of Ps} thological makeup, are compelled to reveal ps}= ‘hic tuts atthe expense ofthe easing societal homeostasis. With incressing aggressiveness, one of the aris’s functions, | believe, is 10 specify how technology uses us ‘Artis becoming 4 matter of ecological insight ‘The Berkeley People's Pak i areal ime work of ant Even a5 a decimated cyclone-fenced lo, ‘challenges societal norms inthe most fundamen ‘vay. As thinly thousand people marched trom the People’s Park Annex for the Memorial Day Pro test last May, dozens of grass plots appeared on concrete and asphalt. A loudspeaker played "Why Don't We Da It in the Road?” In 2 country of 100,000,000 vehicles, what better gallery could you find? © lt tl htop” teat ne Wate ante nt anh 25 ay 11 th snment by heat he aor Oy, 8 ig femal