Machine and human have begun to fold onto each other. In turn this has created what I refer to as, a ‘second skin’. It is through this new skin that we have begun to access memory and identity.

A possible end game to all this may be less dramatic than we had originally thought. For it is not the machine which will rise up to embrace and simulate the complex nuances which defines humanity, but the exact reverse. We will in turn succumb to the machine’s own limitations, adapting to its own vision and language of what it means to be human.

My work addresses such issues, that is, the proliferation and intervention of technology; mediated for the most part, by special interests groups which feed and entice us through slick packaging, marketing and our insatiable appetite to consume technologies. And it is with these seemingly innocent and benign technologies such as mp3 players, cell phones, game boys, social networking, and a whole sleuth of other web-based technologies that there now exists the possibility, to inadvertently delete our memory core, and initiate a corrosive viral entity which could deconstruct our social identity.

My practice in exploring these issues integrates aspects of these technologies within a non-hieratical, immersive and interactive installation environment. Formalistically, my work references a variety of artistic practices and techniques in order to simulate these issues. My work also looks at the overt and covert attributes of ‘form’, which act as catalysts in the dissemination of information through technology. Furthermore, critical to my practice is the understanding of the relational interplay between what is abstracted and represented and how this comes to define ‘form’ – which in turn defines the ‘real’ – or what we believe to be true through our experiencing.

I also see ‘form’ as performative and as such, it reveals itself in my work as a playful, yet sometimes exacting and trans-figurative element. Within this ‘form’ there are no definitive points of entry and/or hierarchical framework to anchor to, therefore allowing for a participatory, interpretive and interactive play with the viewer/participant.

Installation. 2009. University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada.

Installation. 2009. University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada.

Installation. 2009. University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Canada.

video documentation by Andrea Lawrence Playford-Beaudet

Artist Statement: John Naccarato

ON/OFF is in fact two shows: one with the lights on, the other with the lights off.

Exhibition #1: ON
Featuring works by: Catherine Barrette, Edwin Janzen, Irina Lyubchenko, John Naccarato and Geneviève Pratt
Monday, March 23 to Friday, March 27
Opening: Monday, March 23, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Exhibition #2: OFF
Featuring works by: Kate Barry, Marion Bordier, Dipna Horra, Andrew Morrow and Amy Schissel
Monday, March 30 to Friday, April 3
Opening: Monday, March 30, 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The x-Series by Naccarato

The visible about us seems to rest in itself. It is as though our vision were formed in the heart of the visible, or as
though there were between it and us an intimacy as close between the sea and the strand. And yet it is not
possible that we blend into it, nor that it passes into us, for then the vision would vanish at the moment of its
formation, by disappearance of the seer or of the visible. Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Concept and Definition

“String theory is a model of fundamental physics, whose building blocks are one-dimensional extended objects called strings, rather than the zero-dimensional point particles that form the basis for the standard model of particle physics. The phrase is often used as shorthand for superstring theory, as well as related theories such as M-theory. By replacing the point-like particles with strings, an apparently consistent quantum theory of gravity emerges. Moreover, it may be possible to “unify” the known natural forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak nuclear and strong nuclear) by describing them with the same set of equations, as described in the theory of everything.

The Realization

The String Theory Series was constructed in three parts:

1. The images were printed as a deck of cards, each card measuring two and a half by five inches with a total of 27 cards; contained within a white envelop , wrapped with a string.

2. Each Image was encoded with text not seen by the naked eye. The text had been scrambled within the unused pixels of the image. This was achieved untilizing a Steganography software program called Digital Invisable Ink Toolkit, developed by New Zealand Masters student, Kathryn Hempstalk.

3. The same exact images printed on the cards were also uploaded onto a site on the internet. At this site, participants may download any or all of the images along with a simple decoder program by Kathryn Hempstalk and decode the text message hidden within the image. For example, the definition below about the String Theory was encoded in the image above. Therefore when the image is downloaded and decoded, not only will the participant see the message, they will also have the ability to click on the links and be brought elsewhere – deeper into the complexity of the original meaning of the image.

First Contact: a relational Investigation: Art, Science and Beyond

at a Distance (2008) A blog investigating how web based medias such as Video, Web 2.0, Blogs, Podcasts, On-line news agencies (mainstream and alternative) affect and influence our understanding of socio-political issues and identity. Its intent is not to define any one perspective, but to capture a broad ranging perspective into this phenomenon.

in search of the Looking Glass (2008) This site was created to document and share ideas and influences for present and on going projects.

Intimacy in Public Space Site Specific installations and interventionist works exploring the notions of Intimacy in Public Space through the disciplines of Performance, Dance, Mixed Media, Theater, Visual Arts and New Media.

Bourriaud observed something different in the art practices of today. Artists across all disciplines were collapsing the distance between their art form and the average citizen. No longer were actors up on stages telling stories at people. Now, the stage was gone and the actor was merging into the general public and the “story” was theirs to tell. The artist no longer clung to making objects that were set before an adoring gallery visitor, instead the artist merged into a cyber world prompting an anonymous, global public to interact through telepresence. Now, musicians are innovators, designing and creating new musical instruments, software and compositions that prompt the random passerby to interact, conduct and perform a musical piece that is uniquely their own. While artists have long since challenged the constrictions of museums, stages, and performance halls, Bourriaud observed a significant turn in context and meaning.

excerpt : http://place.unm.edu/relational_art.html

The work aims to engage the audience in an experiential time-based interaction focused on the ethereal boundaries situating the physical, electronic and virtual interplay of space and time.

The work integrates performance-based and technological elements. The gesture-based performative element, performed by the artist, integrates a light sensor and circuit board attached to his wrist and finger. A web cam and microphone are also used in conjunction with the light sensor to trigger visual and auditory elements of the work.

The physicality of the work is defined by it sculptural display incorporating several wood boxes (varying sizes), a mirror and screens, which are meant to play off the dimensionality of space. This allows for the focal point of the work to shift continuously for the audience and further enables the performer to integrate himself transparently within the work, thus enhancing for the discrepancy of identifiable boundaries.

The work, could be understood as a time machine. The performer is situated between two planes, the wall and a large streched sheet of mylar behind him (which does not appear in the above documentation). Projections triggered by the artist through the sensors, Max/MSP Jitter software and a laptop are being projected onto the wall and reference the Present. A mirror attached to this first plane mirrors back to the opposite side onto the large streched sheet of mylar, images which are distorted and abstracted, referencing the future. Furthermore a TV monitor (the electronic plane) is situated just below the first plane, enclosed in a box alluding to the past.

Click here to go to Monologues: Web Based

Click Here to go to Monologues: a meditation in 3 Movements (Video)

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Naccarato

Three-channel video interactive installation, (video and digital software) 2008

What happens to Alice when she jumps through the rabbit hole?

This new work explores the notions of presence, memory and identity, and how these notions intersect and play out within our day to day socio-political consciousness in relationship to technology (a modern day rabbit hole).

Important questions which arise from this new work are; how does technology define the interaction between presence to absence? Can technology alter our understanding of presence, memory and identity? And finally, what are the societal co-relationships and implications between these notions of presence, memory and identity and technology; specifically how this relates to surveillance, telepresence and digitally mediated social interaction?

Roy Ascott points out in Telematic Embrace: Visionary Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness that “the artist, instead of creating, expressing, or transmitting content, is now involved in the designing of context: contexts within which the observer can construct experience and meaning”. (Ascott 279)

Such a paradigm shift profoundly alters the relationship between observer and art. The observer no longer acts as a passive participant, their gaze directed to an event or object. The possibility exists for the merging of technology and art, so that the artist and observer both interact within the event, and/or in the creation of the art object. The artist’s role becomes one of mediating the juxtaposed realities of real and unseen – a sort of a modern day shaman who creates structural nodes or doorways of experience.

As web-based media moves towards a passive, opaque, interactive technology – fuelled by corporate interests such as Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace (social networking) or Google (dissemination of information) – our experiences and interactions become selectively depended on coded software. This in turn predetermines how, where and who, we interact with. If we look further at the field of Bio-Technology, where genetic coding has begun redefining what we eat, and who we are – the need for intervention is urgent.

Therefore, by merging and/or creating relationships between art mediums and technology -: through interactive and immersive based installations/environments – I wish to facilitate and recreate dynamic points of interactivity between the artist and participants. By allowing the work to remain transparent, that is, by allowing the participant to be aware of the technological process, I wish to create an understanding of the role technologically plays in our lives.

Many of the artistic and theoretical issues raised by Ascott, Haraway, Kac, McLuhan, Rokeby, Stelarc Viola and Baudrillard, have come to inform my work and continue to play a pervasive role in my artistic development.

Ascott, Roy. Telematic Embrace: Visionary Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness. Ed. Edward A. Shanken. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003. social and ethical context”. (265)

Art Matters Presents…
Intimacy in Public Space

Site
Specific installations and interventionist works exploring the notions
of Intimacy in Public Space through the disciplines of Performance,
Dance, Mixed Media, Theater, Visual Arts and New Media. Program Dates
and Venues: www.naccarato.org/sitespecific

Curated by John Naccarato & Sarah Nesbitt

Concordia Campuses, Public Spaces & Eastern Bloc 7240 Clark Metro de Castelneau

SHOW DATES: Feb. 29- Mar. 16, 2008

VERNISSAGE: [Mar. 15, 2008] Venue: EASTERN BLOC

My concerns grow each day as to how things are framed and presented, socially, politically, and personally.

With the advent of digital technology – from the instamatic Kodak moment to the youTube constructs – we are in constant flux, recording and viewing the reality around us in the moment – unaware to a great extent of its effects on our views and understanding. This phenomena is unlike any previous form of communication, which once offered time lags to allow for refection and integration.

This may not necessarily be a good or bad thing – just something which seems to have inherent within it; many a implication which we have not yet come to fully understand. How does one move outside the boxed effects of TV, computer screens and digital technology or from the instant social digital networking effects of cell phones, ipods and the internet? How does this all play out in relationship to our physical reality – from a 2D to a 3D illusionary construct? How does it frame our psychological, emotional and spiritual worldviews?

In this series, I began to explore seemingly random areas of pavement during my walks. Within this supposed randomness, I began to notice that a story – an event – was or had taken place – referenced by the imprints and articles left behind. More importantly, the story was still in progress.

These stories seemed to offer up a 3rd, 4th and perhaps even.a 5th reference point outside the box. They seem to capture a moment that is still in transition, allowing for the viewer to contemplate their outcome.

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My concerns grow each day as to how things are framed and presented, socially, politically, and personally.

With the advent of digital technology – from the instamatic Kodak moment to the youTube constructs – we are in constant flux, recording and viewing the reality around us in the moment – unaware to a great extent of its effects on our views and understanding. This phenomena is unlike any previous form of communication – which once offered time lags to allow for refection and integration… continued,

the Story of A

a visual portrait diary of Ariadne… This is a collaborative work in progress. Ariadne came to me with these photos (which were of very poor quality and light and for which she had posed for and produced) and asked that I enhance and reinterpret them into a series. Ariadine in Greek Mythology gives Theseus a ball of thread, that keeps him from getting lost in the Minotaur’s maze allowing him to slay the Minotaur and survive the Labyrinth.

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