I went to Liverpool today
Welcome to the jungle? A krazyhouse?
There was a reason
A very good one. Nesta, FACT (video here), a whole host of fabulous digital artists and technologists - and at the end, like a cherry on the sundae, The Space too (video here) - came together in congenially disruptive practice, wisdoms, observations, uncertainties - as well as many unanswered questions.
Arriving early, as I do ...
Making digital work ...
Firstly, first impressions
The day's event was aimed at showing how digital can work, but was in itself not hard work at all.
Like a page-turning bestseller of a book, the time flew past. The people weren't pushy as is sometimes the case on these occasions - but, even so, they were admirably focussed on spreading their practice and conclusions; only ever partial, incomplete and productively open-ended as the best practice and conclusions always must be.
There was a clear sense of shared values about the importance and relevance of technological innovation at the service and expression of art - even as I doubted a little, myself, whether innovation was being best defined to everyone's advantage.
In truth, it's probably all too easy to fall into the trap of positioning and defining innovation in terms of the "originality" of the tools the artists create or co-produce.
In the persistent glory of advancing gadgetry, most of us tend to forget that digital art doesn't have to be a question of energetically pursuing global firsts in terms of innovative advances but, rather, more engagingly perhaps, seeing what may be new and impactful for a particular and concrete community, at that or this time in their shared memories and histories.
In such a way, we can refocus on specific human reactions and utilities perceived.
In such a way, we don't just measure artistic achievement in terms of techno-scientific "wow" factors. Of Silicon Valley's rush to "be first" ...
Some of the highlights of the day
Here's some more of what people recorded during the day's proceedings
Towards the end, the lucky ones refused to drift away
Finally, in a little less than an hour, The Space quickly set about rewarding those of us who stayed behind with a fascinating presentation on how to apply for their funding.
