Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web

Author(s): Luisa Paraguai Donati and Gilbertto Prado

Source: Leonardo, Vol. 34, No. 5, Ninth New York Digital Salon (2001), pp. 437-442
Published by: The MIT Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1577237
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Leonardo

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 Artistic Environments of
Telepresence on the
World Wide Web
LUISA PARAGUAI DONATI & GILBERTTO PRADO

provides the circulation of social imagination, as well as sci

information. This utilization of the Web as a social space of
mation exchange-managing the processes, procedures,
actions involved in the formal composition of communic
involves the users in a concept of widespread and abstract spa
The recent use of streaming video on the World
Wide Web for the distribution of live images hasFor a long time, images have been "transported" by diff
enabled an interface that supports a new means and have produced different forms of aesthetics, wi
phenomenon of virtual, defered, remote presence,
intent to "contain" physical space and transfer it to other sup
extending perception and expanding the possibili-
ing media such as a screen, paper, and film. With modern
ties of remote interaction. The purpose of this
munication technologies, the image gains another characte
essay is to provide a brief survey of the use of
real time. The live image enables and links people in remot
these live images in artistic spaces specifically
tions in a temporal phenomenon and proposes transformati
conceived for this medium. These environments
the relationships between and knowledge of people, thro
will be presented in three different categories,
"distance" and "dimension" that suggests forms of "movem
which propose transformations in possibilities of
throughout the world. The use of Web cameras to generat
participation, interference, and the participants'
self-expression. images introduces its own specificity and transform
"vision"of the viewer, as it incorporates telepresence in
metaphors of these images, generating a situation where a
er/participant is capable of proposing a modification to a r
he World Wide Web, with its intrinsic capacities for inter- and receiving an immediate answer from i
environment
connectivity and synchronicity has generated new possibili-
result, new possibilities for users' performances are ope
ties for the relationship between participants, information,
through an aesthetics resulting from the synergy of non-f
and technological support and provides an interactive communi- as the coexistence in virtual and real spac
elements-such
cation space where infinite paths allow for participation in events, of actions, remote control in real time, teler
synchronicity
real-time experiences, and remote actions exploringaction and remote observation in a collaborative form.
the sensation
of ubiquity and simultaneity. Using webcams, one encounters a real-time, constantly up
We already live in a society that has continuously been
exposed to and incorporated the ubiquity of telecommunications.
Luisa Paraguai Donati, Student at the Department of Multim
The Internet has recently increased this tele-connectivity by
Institute of Arts, Unicamp, Brazil. FAPESP.
allowing text, images, sound, and video exchanges with any per-
E-mail: luisa@iar.unicamp.br
son one wishes to connect with professionally or socially, in a
practically instantaneous manner. The creation of the WWW-as
Gilbertto Prado, Multimedia Artist, Professor at the Departm
a net of human relations that transcends geographic limits and
of Visual Arts, School of Communication and Arts, Universit
incorporates real-time participation and the occurrence of events
Sao Paulo, Brazil. E-mail: gttoprado@uol.com.br
in a continuous (synchronal) or partial (non-synchronal) flow-

? 2001 Luisa Paraguai Donati and Gilbertto Prado LEONARDO, Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 437-442, 2001 4

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digital image, which transports informa- the simulacra than the perception of the
tact. Based on the various possibilities for
tion from a remote physical space where a users'
boundaries between fiction and actions and interventions, one could
reality,
user-despite the lack of a physical space making the limits between what
propose
is built
a classification of experiences in
of contact-starts to direct the potential and observed extremely imprecise,
three uncer-
different categories [6]: direct obser-
development of events through alternative tain, and ambiguous [3]. Telepresence
vation of remote physical spaces, syn-
possibilities of "presence" and "encoun- thus produces a phenomenon where
chronous the
exchange of information, and
ters." The feeling of ubiquity that makes logic of the transmission/reception
remoteisaction
sub- in distinct physical spaces [7].
"being/acting" possible has its origins in stituted by the corporeal division of an
the live images that implement a "tele-exis- DIRECT OBSERVATION
individual who appears simultaneously in OF
tence" in different physical spaces of con- REMOTE PHYSICAL SPACES
several places. This feeling of potentially
tact, a feeling and sensation that can be being physically present in a remote envi-
Sites that use webcams are monitoring the
converted into real and remote action. The ronment can be experienced as an individ-
world with different objectives, for exam-
images captured in real time unfold like ual point of view or as control over the
ple, by transmitting images of traffic and
"temporal windows," rendering virtual the image and/or the manipulation of a device
the weather or panoramic views and
interventions of users who can observe, in the remote space itself. The user's con-
"scenes" from people's private lives. This
interact, move and share other distinct trol over "what" and "how" to see over the
attitude of explicit voyeurism suggests
"realities," regardless of the physical dis- Web becomes more important than the
exhibitionism, a reversibility of the gaze, as
tances or geographic location but subject- image that mediates a glimpse and/or an
well as "self-expression games" of personal
ed to the speed of the connections for data action. This low resolution image becomes
imagination, and is reinforced by
transmission. According to Paul Virilio, secondary compared to the definition of or
anonymity, a specific characteristic of
reality became ubiquitous by simultane- access to other realities. As Paul Virilio
communication over the Web.
ously decomposing the time of the presence puts it, it is "a virtual reality that domi- This form of direct observation can also
here and now and the telepresence beyond nates the reality while disturbing its own
be considered surveillance of people's
the "horizon of sensible appearances" [1]. idea of'reality"' [4].
whereabouts and personal lives. Our tech-
The live image becomes "the horizon of Several artists have developed streaming
nological society is already permeated by
sensible appearances" when it comes to media projects on the Web and appropri-
surveillance systems, and we frequently
enabling not only the synchronal, interac- ated the technology to propose new forms
come across surveillance cameras at air-
tive communication over a distance (a sit- of aesthetics, utilizing materials that are
ports, in subway stations, supermarkets,
uation already made possible by the ' less physical than symbolic, created by
shopping malls and banks where we are
telephone) but also the emergence of a software and code. In a constant process of
submitted to the technological and imper-
tenuous dividing line between the several reverting formal interventions, the artist
sonal gaze of monitors. With the miniatur-
forms of "virtual/real communication" transforms the conditions of production
ization of technology, surveillance has
that allows users to coexist/operate in sev- and circulation and enables various forms
become imperceptible, on the one hand,
eral "worlds," to be "at home" and at the of performance and action on the user's
and abusive in the blurring of "seeing" and
same time itinerant and "distributed." The end. The artistic environments supported
"being seen" on the other.
virtual realm allows the image to represent by new technologies can be considered, as
a space or an object, while the image's Marshall McLuhan puts it, "anti-environ- Depois do Turismo vem o Colunismo
transmission enables both observation and
ments or counter-environments, since they (After Tourism comes Colunismo) [8]
the possibility to trigger actions, to manip- supply us with the means of perceiving the Gilbertto Prado's Web installation took
ulate and/or remotely displace material environment itself, as a form of training place between September 3 and October
objects, thereby provoking and generating our perception and judgement" [5]. 31, 1998, as part of the exhibition "City
movement. In terms of the use of webcams, there Canibal" at the Paso das Artes in Sao
For Eduardo Kac, "The Art of Telep-
are quite a few sites that are transmitting Paulo and was also included in the Web
resence creates a unique context as a way
information from remote spaces through art selection of the 24th Biennial in Sao
to produce an open and engaging experi- providing a shared expe- Paulo (1998). Documentation of the event
live connections,
ence that manifests the cultural changes
rience through constantly updated images. [9] can be accessed through the wAwRwT
brought about by remote control, remote
Several of these spaces are artistic proposals Project [10]. The installation consisted of
that
vision, 'telekinesis' and real time use this technological interface in a "portal," two webcams that were trig-
exchange
of audio-visual information" [2].
order to Ken
validate new behaviors by offering gered by sensors detecting visitors' move-
Goldberg observes that "while thealternative
virtualpossibilities for remote action ments in the physical space of the
experiences.
reality admits to its illusory nature, telep-This "new behavior" includes installation. The local images grabbed in
changes in concepts such as closeness,
resence can be defined as the presentation real time were mixed with ones from an

of perceptual information thatmanifestation

claims to of distance, personal image database and made available over
involvement
correspond to a remote physical reality." and interaction among the Web (Fig. 1). The visuals stored in the
What is being experimented with
groupsiswithout
less any direct physical con- database included images of anthropopha-

438 Luisa Paraguai Donati and Gilbertto Prado, Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web

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rig. i. uIDermo rraao-s Aler ounsm comes colunismo: tne weD instaliation.

gi and pictures from the 16th and 17th always transforms itself through a new
invitation to personal imagination and
century portraying the first visitors and navigating the space turned into a con-
reading. Various cultural references can be
"tourists" of the Terra Brasilis, as well as frontation with one's own fears and
mixed with a remote, observable physical
references to art both contemporary and "ghosts." In a very poetic manner, the
space, qualified by the remote presence of
from other periods. Web visitors could the person who is locally discovering and artist exposes and shares her world and sto-
observe the space through the webcam. ries with the Web visitors.
visiting the installation. The possibility of
The work humorously addressed issues juxtaposing two worlds (imaginary and In many of the images it was possible
surrounding presence and the "foreign" to spot the other cameras, which created
real), each one involving the other, raises
perspective, as well as cultural cannibalism questions concerning intimacy and the
the feeling that one might be observed. In
and contamination. sharing of the viewers'/visitors' inner and
other images, gaps, openings, and details
The presence of visitors in the "otherouter realities. of the compositional elements created an
land" results in integration as well as the emphasis on aesthetics. The semantic
The Ghost Watcher
shock of a clash of values and cultural pre- information conveyed by these objects and
cepts embedded in "reality" and the cul-This installation, created by artist June spaces was less important than the aesthet-
ture itself. The imagery from theHouston, was accessible on the Web from ics that may create its own meanings for
post-discovery period evokes the con- 1995 on and the site has now evolved into each of the participants.
frontation with the "difference" of the visi-version 2.0 [11]. The original work was a
formal invitation to the site's visitors to Wireless Wearable Webcam
tors, which manifests itself in their
discover the cause of strange sounds that The recent proliferation of video surveil-
fantasies, longings, and projections onto
emanated from hidden nooks under the
the unknown place. On the Web, the live lance cameras prompted Steve Mann,
artist's "bed."
images present a navigable "space" on the based at the University of Toronto, Cana-
screen, which visitors can observe and spy The physical installation consisted of
da, to propose "reflectionism" as a new
on, transiting and composing the remote wooden structures that supported June's
philosophical framework for questioning
bed and created corners and nooks, folds
space in real time. As the stored and real- social values [12]. His WearCam was built
out of two micro video cameras and com-
and textures and an atmosphere of reclu-
time images are juxtaposed on the screen,
they become composites of different his- puter screens embedded in glasses. The
sion that suggested that there was a lot to
be unmasked. Five video cameras were sur- video cameras could wirelessly record and
torical situations and perspectives. The
composition of the web page-an imageveying the space, with a spot light attached
transmit images of what Mann saw as well as
to them, and no attempt was made toreceive images and other information (Fig. 2).
being juxtaposed to and complemented by
deny the constant observation. The light The work was shown at MIT's Media
an other, as well as constantly updated in
real time-formalizes the dynamic move- Lab in 1994 and was accessible on-line
moved around the camera, creating a play
of shadows that insinuated forms and con-until September, 1996. The Web visitor
ment of "strangeness" that is created
through local and cultural references and
tours. Each corner of this space became an
could accompany Steve Mann and observe

Luisa Paraguai Donati and Gilbertto Prado, Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web 439

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what he was seeing since the images the mirror ends up being observed. As Brazilian artist Eduardo Kac in August,
grabbed by his device were sent to the Net Steve Mann says, "an example of the 1996, and presented at the Nexus Con-
in real time. His visual journey "grabbed" authoritarianism of such watching cameras temporary Art Center in Atlanta as part of
environments that were dominated by is found in those department stores where an exhibition titled "Out of the Bounds:
surveillance cameras. These cameras were people are watched and treated not as New Work by Eight Southeast Artists." It
often hidden and registering people with-members of a community but prisoners in was also shown at Casa de Cultura Mario
out their previous consent. The procedurea 'panoptic' society" [13]. His work Quintana during the 1st Biennial of Visual
generated three works, Maybe Camera,intends to confront society with itself and Arts of Mercosul in Porto Alegre, from
Probably Camera, and No Camera, whereits own mechanisms, forcing it to perceive October to November, 1997.
._ ..i_ ts own absurdity The installation consisted of a large
"---*-~ ': [14]. According to aviary occupying part of the gallery and a
Steve Mann, "the Web component, which allowed for
'?~'F most
........... ............. .............. fundamental
.. m o st fu n d am en tal remote experience and intervention. Inside

WearComp.org, WearCam.org, UTWC , and

I~ and Steve matter of this device the aviary were small gray zebra finches
Steve
Mann's Personal Web Page/research is, without any and a large colorful and immobile
Evkir onf &seMsm 'nwae sbite wm doubt, to empower macaw-a robot with miniature video
the individual with cameras in the place of the eyes (Fig. 3).
a 'particular space of Visitors to the gallery could put on a head-
dak
information,' cus- set that would "transport" them into the
tomized, personal- aviary, viewing their surroundings (includ-
ized, operated and ing themselves outside the cage) from the
Mathematical theory ofWearComp and Mediated Ri eality: controlled by him- point of view of the macaw.
ComDarametric Equations
j self' [15]. Another Web visitors could also "share" the

............
body of the macaw, not only as observers
A" ~:*:A,/ tacked important aspect
Fig. but
,n nf thp Wirplpc;C. Wp r- tackled in this also through triggering the vocal appa-
rela-
Ji Ul LIM VVl1 C;l ~.Cv e VVlC;(1-

able Webcam device. tion and interface is ratus of the bird, thus making themselves

the photographicheard within the gallery. People from dif-

memory that allows "everything" toferent
users can follow the live images on the Web be locations could co-inhabit the same
as observers of Steve Mann's journey, shar- physical body and remotely intervene in a
visually registered and stored in a database.
This memory can then be shared, in a physical
ing his view on events, encounters, people, col- space, subtly influencing the
lective sense; in a collaborative way, indi-
and objects. Another work by Mann, titled behavior of the birds inside the aviary and
the people in the gallery. Kac created a
viduals can participate in the construction
My Manager and inspired by Stelarc's works
of their consciousness and connect in a col-
in "Performance Art," allowed the partici- new, potentially omnipresent environment
pants to become "managers" and con-
lective humanistic intelligence. with telerobots, animals, remote and local
tribute, via Radio TeleTYpe (RTTY), to the human interaction, providing different
SYNCHRONOUS EXCHANGE OF
creation of a video documentary in an envi- options for perception in places through-
ronment that was under surveillance. INFORMATION out the world. The visitors' immediate
Another work was the meta-documen- perceptions of their surroundings were
Video conference systems and CUSeeMe
coupled with an awareness of what affect-
tary Shooting Back. In addition to record- on the Web enable synchronous commu-
ing with the Wireless Wearable device nication between users, which can be ed them remotely, while the use of
itself, Mann began to carry another camera established with exchanges of images via CUSeeMe was extended/expanded both
and interviewed the people responsible for camera, texts via chat, audio and/or simple technically and aesthetically.
the surveilled environment, asking them to file transfer. It is possible to connect to
Alice Sat Here
explain the reasons for the "presence" ofpeople, expand professional relationships
surveillance as an instrument of power. and social circles, and establish communi- In 1995, the artists Nina Sobell and Emily
The recorded images were transmitted to aties of interest. Without being subjected to Hartzell-in collaboration with engineers
base station and remotely assembled geographical limits or the need for physical and system analysts of the Center for
through a pencigraphic image compositing displacement, people can more efficiently Advanced Technology at New York Uni-
algorithm. The resulting images presentedmanage time with the possibility of shar- versity-developed a device that consisted
distortions of the space, constituting an ing and transforming data, information of a wheelchair equipped with a telerobot-
aesthetic manipulation. and experiences in real time. ic camera that captured images, which
In all of his works, Steve Mann ques- were transmitted live over the Web. Alice
tions the use of surveillance cameras and Rara Avis
sat here constituted a passage between the
suggests the construction of a mirror. In a Rara Avis, a networked interactive telepres-physical space and cyberspace. According
process of turning its own power against it, ence installation [16], was created by theto the artists, the work "intended to elimi-

440 Luisa Paraguai Donati, Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web

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nate the limits of both spaces: the real and Some Web sites offer users the possibility tions in robot s
the metaphoric." of manipulating a remote environment, tion technolo
The installation was first shown at Ric- which is made present through live images. approaches to c
co/Maresca gallery in New York City. The intervention is made possible by ingful negotiatio
Local participants could drive the means of physical devices, such as robots
wheelchair while the remote visi- PRoPs (Persona
tors on the Web could control the This mechanic
position of the camera that gener- ; ated by Web
ated a real-time video, which could by Eric Pau
also be seen on a monitor in the i Electrical En
gallery and on a small monitor Canny (Comp
mounted on the throne's handle- University of
bar. The monitor in the gallery in 1996 [19].
was surrounded by several touch- tion of "tele-embodiment" in a

pads, which-when touched by remote physical space, enabling

the gallery visitors-would also human performance in a series of
direct the gaze of the telerobotic tele-activities by providing users
camera. A tiny camera mounted with various opportunities for
above this monitor captured the Fig.Eduardo
3. Kac's Rara Avis: the aviary from the visitor's movement and expression, such as
ective. Photo by Anna Yu.
image of the participant in the act persp< going for a walk, reading, listening,
of controlling Alice. These images and talking. The system uses two
of the gallery visitors were blended The
- Tele arden
-
- - - - - -- - -
,iir forms of presentation, a "blimp"
with the with the
images images by
captured captured
the by the L (space browser) and a surface cruis-
camera on the wheelchair and the I'14u iH' -i 'iirt i' -'"- '--^" i "'"ii |.
^ er, both tele-operated.
The Tele-Garden
resulting image was broadcast over The project isn't aimed at por-
the Web. People in the gallery traying human interactions in a
could thus observe and manipulate t _ :# realistic way but at identifying and
__3

the performance of the other local - refining traces and inclinations of

visitors, while the remote visitors human behavior that are inherent

navigated on the paths defined by

:
in our communication, under-
.......

the local ones. Participants in par- *::~ * ai * -: F

standing, as well as comprehension
R-t: Fl
allel spaces shared perspectives and 5_|~~~~~~~~ % 1 Il W I I& I* of and interaction with a space and
re-designed spaces, their experi- lyeu other people. Through a live video,
ences that were formalized in the
e*m Iustrfa one can usually see
fthMei.- and hear what
iime--.-den
processing of the images sent to the Fig. 4.
The interface e thethe
of remote partner places into the
Telegarden si
Web. Each participant controlled user an
c plant, waterants.
the field offlowers,
vision of the camera; PRoPs
and c

some aspect of the respectively other gives the user a greater flexibility of
environment, engaging in collabora- movements and autonomy when it
tive action in this inter-space [17]. that are comes to making decisions
remotely about what to
manipula
see and hear.
Robots' roles and functionali
REMOTE ACTION IN explored in The participant's image is transmitted
different ways,
DIFFERENT PHYSICAL frequently via a CCD screen to the remote spacewith
hybridized and

SPACES systems, made available through

contexts a video or still
and/or lif
All the image,
sites thus creating the existence and
described in th
The development of robotic technology in
make use of identity
a remoteof the remote user through the
project
telecommunication environments has
action transmission
through a of gestures and facial expres-
telerobot, w
enabled transmission and receptiongenerates
of sions. The capacity
other of the user to experi-
dimensions o
movement as audio-visual information. ence their own existence and actions
operation, and control in a p
Telepresence can transport an individualSome artists through PRoP constitutes a form of the
appropriate reflex-
from one physical space to another, allow-order to reflect
ivity [20]; partcipants
on cognitivcan listen to them-
ing for experimentation with remote envi-their interactive
selves or watchinstallation
the actions that result from
ronments in terms of immersion (virtual their commands, which becomes an
by exploring behaviors, re
reality) or intervention (tele-robotics, tele-distance, the domain
important of
element in expanding mo
the range
operation). tems of of expressions in tele-embodiment.
evaluations, and rec

Luisa Paraguai Donati, Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web 441

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 Telegarden
In this tele-robotic installation, a natural
garden survives through the interventions
of a robot that is remotely operated by
Web visitors (Fig. 4). The project enables
participants' interaction over the Web and
expands telepresence into the concept of
on-line communities. The project was
developed by a team including Ken Gold-
berg, Joseph Santarramana, George Bekey,
Steve Gentner, Rosemary Morris, Carl
Sutter, JeffWiegley and E. Berger.
The installation was developed at the
University of Southern California and went
on-line in June 1995. In 1996 it was inst-
alled at the Ars Electronica Center (Linz,
Austria), where it resides until today [21].
While the navigation through the Web
site mostly happens as a solitary, personal
act, the project is aimed at reducing this
feeling of solitude by simultaneously
enabling virtual encounters. Meetings of
communities usually require that the same
physical environment is shared but on the
Internet, the space-time barriers are tran-
scended. Telegarden is an experience of
digital community, where Web visitors can
establish social relationships through the
process of nurturing a physical environ-
ment, engaging in rituals and constructing
hierarchies and social layers.
CONCLUSION
In the space mediated by the live, syn-
10. In the technological context of the Net, the need
chronous image-be it personal, artistic,
or professional-people begin to exist on
the threshold between the real and the vir-
tual, "being dislocated" without leaving
ject is the creation of artistic works on the Internet as
home and re-inventing themselves as they
become an active member of a community
intends to chronicle how the new technologies influ-
ence the construction of these new artistic spaces.
that is technologically established through
the exchange of images, audio, and text.
These encounters make the "other place"
viable through communities of interest
rather than the sharing of the same physi-
13. The concept of the "panopticon" was developed
cal space, thus making cyberspace a place
for human relationships where it becomes
prison where the individual cells would be arranged
possible to formalize experiences of simul-
in a circle around a central surveillance tower, which
allowed the guards to constantly watch their prison-
taneously "being" several people in differ-
ent places and of speed and interactivity project
as
propelling elements of events. without the physical presence of a guard. See A.
Machado, Mdquina e Imaginario: 0 desafio das Poiti-
The possibility of remote intervention
in physical spaces accentuates the possibili-
ty of transforming the participants' percep-
442 Luisa Paraguai Donati, Artistic Environments of Telepresence on the World Wide Web
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New Tactics for Deconstructing the Video Surveil-
tions of their relationship to the medium.
lance Superhighway," Leonardo 31, No. 2, pp. 93-
The use of webcams and tele-robotic devices
102 (1998).
on communication networks allows for
15. Steve Mann, "Wearable Computing as means for
previously unexplored work processes and
Personal Empowerment," ICWC (1998).
new forms of relationships with these
16. Rara Avis, http://www.ekac.org/raravis.html
devices and interfaces. This new synergy bet
17. The work is documented at http://
ween humans, machines, and networks
www.cat.nyu.edu/parkbench/alice/ and http://
proposes new logical and poetic horizons,
galt.cs.nyu.edu/-bacon/parkcode.html.
calling for a renewal of contents [22] and alt-18. Eduardo Kac, "Origem e Desenvolvimento da
ering processes of perception, conception, andArte Rob6tica," Cadernos da Pds-Graduafao 2, No. 2,
pp. 18-28 (1998).
creation as well as learning and intervention.
19. PRoPs, http://www.prop.org/
REFERENCES 20. Eric Paulos, John Canny, "PRoP: Personal Rov-
ing Presence," ACM SIGCHI Conference on
1. Paul Virilio, O Espaco Critico e as Perspectivas do
Human Factors in Computing Systems (1998).
Tempo Real (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Editora 34, 1993).
21. Telegarden, http://telegarden.aec.at
2. Eduardo Kac, "Telepresence Art," Teleskulptur 3,
pp. 48-72 (1993). 22. Gilbertto Prado, "As Redes Artisticas
Telematicas," Imagens 3, pp. 41-43 (1994).
3. Ken Goldberg, "Virtual Reality in the Age of
Telepresence," Convergence: The Journal of Research
into New Media Technologies 4, No.1 (1998).
Luisa Paraguai Donati is a Ph.D. student
4. Paul Virilio, "A Imagem Virtual Mental e Instru-
at the Department of Multimedia, Institute
mental," Imagem Mdquina: A Era das Tecnologias do
of Arts, Unicamp, and studied engineering
Virtual (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Editora 34, 1993),
pp.127-132. at the University of Sao Paulo. As reseacher
5. Marshall McLuhan, Os meios de comunicacao como of the wAwRwTProject, she has investigated
extensoes do homem (Sao Paulo, Brazil: Cultrix, the construction of new artistic spaces of
1995). creation and intervention on the Web. She
6. Luisa Paraguai Donati, Gilbertto Prado, "Experi- has presented several papers at national and
menta6ces artisticas com Webcam," Cadernos da Pos- international conferences in art and tech-
Graduadao 2, No.2, pp. 35-43 (1998).
nology. Her work titled Incorpos
7. Luisa Donati, "O uso e as implicacoes de cameras (http://wawrwt.iar.unicamp.br/INcorpos/i
de video na rede Internet," Master Degree Disserta-
ndex.htm) was recently included in the fol-
tion (Campinas, Brazil: Unicamp, 1999).
lowing exhibitions: II Bienal do Mercosul,
8. Play on the Portuguese words: colunista (colum-
Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, 2000; and Elec-
nist), coluna (spine) and colunavel (celebrity).
tronic Art Exhibition - SIBGRAPI2000,
9. After Tourism comes Colunismo, http:// Gramado, RS, Brazil, 2000.
wawrwt.iar.unicamp.br/colunismo/colunismo.html
Multimedia artist Gilbertto Prado studied
for discussion and critical reading of these artistic
spaces manifests itself in a profusion of different engineering and visual arts at the State
manifestations. The objective of the wAwRwT pro- University of Campinas, Brazil. In 1994,
he obtained his doctoral degree in arts at
well as reflection on the technological poetics privi-
the University of Paris I - Sorbonne. His
leging the telematic artistic dimension. In addition, it
work has been included in several art exhi-
bitions in Brazil and abroad. Currently, he
Web site: http://wawrwt.iar.unicamp.br.
is a professor at the Department of Visual
11. Ghost Watcher, http://www.ghostwatcher.com/ Arts at the ECA/USP Communication and
cgi-bin/gw/home.pl
Arts School at the University of Sao Paulo
12. Wireless Wearable Webcam, http://www.wearcam.org (http://wawrwt.iar.unicamp.br/gilbertto/gil
bertto.htm).
by Jeremy Bentham. It originally was a concept for a
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the
third Creativity and Cognition Conference, Lough-
ers. The most important effect of this architectural borough University, U.K., 10 -13 October 1999,
was that the prisoners felt observed even and published in the Proceedings (ACM Press,
New York, ISBN: 1-58113-078-3).
cas Tecnologicas (Sao Paulo, Brazil: USP,1993).
This research was supported by FAPESP, Fundadao de
14. Steve Mann, "Reflectionism and Diffusionism:
Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sdo Paulo, Brazil.
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms