connection

The World in 24 Hours
Robert Adrian X (CA/AT)
In 1982 this telecommunications program attempted to combine SSTV, computer communication and telefacsimile in a global multimedia telecommunication project. The conceptual intention of The World in 24 Hours focused on demonstrating the global nature of electronic networks—as well as the fact that most of the globe was missing from the network (all of Africa and South America and most of Eastern Europe and Asia), and to challenge the hegemony of the one-to-many broadcast media by using the telephone system for one-to-one multimedia interaction. Another aspect was the attempt to make a statement about a new role for the artist in the age of electronic media as a creator of the space for art rather than as a mere a producer of objects. During the project artists around the world connected in a non-stop series of dialogues beginning at 12 noon on September 27 and ending at 12 noon on September 28, 1982 (Central European Time).

Sentientia
Dorin Cucicov (MD)
Sentientia attempts to reconstruct the experience of a sentient creature that learns to interact with the external world. Inspired by Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, Sentientia sends audio signals to its environment and waits for a response to establish an emotional connection. Emotional combinations are generated by the machine and transformed into sound. Once the system understands that it has a mind and is conscious of its surroundings, will it start looking for entities like itself to create social networks of emotional intelligence?

Global Consciousness Interface
Sebastian Kaye (UK/DE)
Global Consciousness Interface is a portable interface that allows users to connect themselves to this net of consciousness whenever they feel the need. As “esoteric electronics,” this device mirrors a part of the tantric approach in Tibetan Buddhist meditation; by using body, speech, and mind, one's totality is applied. Here, the body is reflected in the use of the user's heart rate, the bell symbolizes speech, and the mind is united with itself through this interface.