Italian version
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19.02.03 Translocations, local globalities.
Translocations is an exhibition of works of network art held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (USA), which tries to discover how the 'local' can survive in a naturally global system such as the Net. Supervised by Steve Dietz, the overseer of the museum's new media department, this exhibition features nine works, all of them capable of stimulating thoughts and discussions. 'Big [b]Other', for instance, is a blog created by the mexican artist Fran Ilich which gathers ten artists who discuss about subjects such as the reappropriation of world space as an art form, in contrast with the concept of museum or art gallery, and which reach daring conclusions, like stating that 'the museum is the world'. 'Opus, Architecture for Temporary Autonomous Sarai', by the Raqs Media Collective, too, uses the blog, but stressing the collaborative aspect of it, since every entry, be it text, a picture or a video, can be modified freely by the other participants. In 'Translation Map', by Warren Sack and Sawad Brooks, it's possible to write and send emails to 250 different countries, facing the linguistic communication problems which still isolate the lesser known cultures. To obtain the translation (to a language chosen among the six thousand available), the message is first posted to the right newsgroup for that kind of bilingualism. 'Translocal Mixer', by the brazilian group Re:combo, is an interactive control panel for mixing sounds from Recife with sounds from Bucarest and other cities, suggesting the idea that the more the Internet becomes global, the more the local communities emphasize and try to preserve their local characteristics. Andreja Kuluncic, from Zagreb, with 'Distributive Justice: America', adds an important contribution to the discussion with an online game which simulates communities exchanging goods for free. The work by Julie Mehretu + entropy8zuper!, too, is controversial. The japanese Takuji Kogo, on the other hand, with 'Fox 9 News: Non Broadcasting Time @ Twin Cities', plays with the paradox of the place where news are produced (a Fox studio) and his empty and widely explorable vision. Speaking about control, the work by alpha 3.8, named tsunamii.net, is also interesting. These two artists, last year in Kassel, had already activated, for Documenta 11, this project, which influences the user's browser according to the route covered on foot by the two artists, who report their location using GPS receivers.