I've just discovered the writings of Roy Ascott, Brian Eno's teacher at art school. Static cinema, ambient cinema, the loop. "Is it useful to discuss the thermodynamics of an artwork? An artwork is hot when it is densely stacked with information bits, highly organized, and rigidly determined. Hot artwork admits of very little feedback in the system artifact/observer, it's really a one-way channel; pushing a message from the artist, out through the artwork into the spectator. Call it cool when the information bits are loosely stacked, of uncertain order, not clearly connected, ambiguous, entropic. Then the system allows the observer to participate, projecting his own sense of order or significance into the work, or setting up resonances by quite unpredicted interaction with it. We must also consider the cut-out mechanism that operates when an artwork overheats; when it is too hot; too densely stacked, with an overburdened accumulation of bits, a sort of infinitely inclusive field. Then the system switches to avery cool state and feedback of a high oder is possible." - Roy Ascott, from "Behaviourables and Futuribles" in Telematic Embrace: Visionary Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness

A time quilt.

Something a little different. Rhythm track from The Boredoms.

One more loop completes the cycle of this month's game. I must admit, I'm getting tired of the ten second rule. Eager to go in new directions. This one for example is limited by the ten seconds. If the panels extended the flow of information - just enough - then it might be more interesting. I want multiple asynchronous loops going out of phase, suggesting ever wider narrative landscapes. This can be done on a webpage with several quicktime movies playing and looping independently (bandwidth is always a concern, however). A five second loop, next to a twenty second loop, next to a minute loop. In some of the loops I have created this month, I replicate this independent play by capturing a minute of this asynchronous behavior. But really a minute is plenty to suggest eternity, especially when there are so many other things to see. A static painting or photograph is the ultimate loop, of course. Some paintings you give several seconds, others several minutes and beyond. It depends entirely on whether the inputs trigger other pictures, colors, sounds, abstractions, movies, memories, fantasies. Selection of inputs is key to making the difference between generative boredom and just plain boredom.

Congratulations to participants of National Videoblog Posting Month. Enjoyed making and watching, though I still have catching up to do on the watching. Thanks for stopping by.

I can't get away from them. I will be posting one more loop to complete a loop series using movie iconography.