NP Fwd: Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality

[Doug Millison]

>Delivered-To: millison at dnai.com
>X-Sender: rpacker%zakros.com at pop.zakros.com@pop.zakros.com
>Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:52:37 -0400
>To: Randall Packer <rpacker at zakros.com>
>From: Randall Packer <rpacker at zakros.com>
>Subject: Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality
>Cc: Ken Jordan <ken1 at ibm.net>
>Status:  U
>
>MULTIMEDIA: FROM WAGNER TO VIRTUAL REALITY (On-line)
>Presented by Artmuseum.net
>Created by Randall Packer and Co-edited by Ken Jordan
>On-line at http://www.artmuseum.net
>
>OCTOBER 3, 2000
>
>Phase 2 of "Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality" has just 
>been launched on Artmuseum.net. The updated site includes the 
>following new features:
>
>"In Depth" profiles on five featured multimedia pioneers including: 
>Billy Klüver, Douglas Engelbart, Alan Kay, Scott Fisher, and Lynn 
>Hershman. These profiles include extensive documentation of artwork, 
>engineering, and scientific research critical to the evolution of 
>multimedia. Also included are essays that were seminal to the 
>advancement of the medium.
>
>The "Concepts" section, which maps the conceptual framework of the 
>site, interactively guides the viewer through five core concepts 
>(integration, interactivity, hypermedia, immersion, and narrativity) 
>that are critical to our interpretation of the history of multimedia.
>
>Later this fall, Phase 3 will include extensive audio/video 
>documentation of artistic and technological work by artists and 
>scientists, to be included in the Pioneers timeline and the In Depth 
>profiles.
>
>***************
>
>Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality" is a unique project 
>presented by ArtMuseum.net to reveal an untold history of 
>multimedia. The evolution of the medium, encompassing a broad 
>trajectory of artistic and technological innovation, is here told 
>through the aspirations of artists, scientists, writers, musicians, 
>and cultural renegades. "Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual 
>Reality," with its focus on underlying concepts emerging from 
>seminal investigations in the arts and sciences, provides 
>stimulating context for a better understanding of multimedia's 
>impact on art, technology and
>culture.
>
>The project links 19th century opera composer Richard Wagner's 
>concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk or Total Artwork - a grand synthesis 
>of all the arts - to the digital environments currently being staged
>in virtual space. Along the way, it illustrates the medium's rich 
>evolution and interplay between the arts and sciences: from 
>avant-garde experiments in theater, film, video, and performance art 
>to technological advancements in human-machine interaction, personal 
>computing, and virtual reality.
>
>Comments from the Press:
>
>"In the computer age, 'multimedia' usually means the audio and video 
>on a Web page. But for Randall Packer, the word has a certain 'Ring' 
>to it. In 'Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality,' Mr. Packer 
>argues that the Internet's multimedia capabilities have descended 
>from the fusion of the arts envisioned by Richard Wagner, the 
>19th-century composer of opera's 'Ring' cycle." - Matt Mirapaul, NY
>Times
>
>"The multimedia displays that thrill us both on the silver screen 
>and the computer screen are the result of an evolution of art and 
>science that spans more than 150 years. This special Artmuseum.net 
>exhibit
>takes us on an historical tour. - USA Today "Hot Site"
>
>"While multimedia has become a common daily experience for many of 
>us, it's rare to consider its past. Multimedia: From Wagner to 
>Virtual Reality does a great deal toward correcting this oversight." 
>- Britannica.com "Site of the Day"
>
>"This is a must see site for anyone who wants to keep up with more 
>than the hardware and software of the tech world. It's full of grist 
>from the hyperlinkable realm of ideas." - Canada Computes.com
>
>"The computer mouse, word processor, and email are mainstays of 
>everyday life, but who's heard of their inventor, Douglas Engelbart? 
>And did you know that William S. Burroughs and Richard Wagner are 
>pioneers of ... multimedia? A new educational project funded by 
>Intel's ArtMuseum.net wants to set the record straight." - Jason 
>Spingarn-Koff, Wired News
>
>"'Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality' is a unique project 
>from Artmuseum.net whose ambitious goal is to reveal the hidden 
>history of multimedia. This site illustrates the rich evolution of 
>the medium and the interaction between the arts and sciences: from 
>the experiences of the avant-garde to the futurist cinema which 
>advanced technologically the relationship between man and machine." 
>- Beaux Arts Magazine
>
>***************
>
>Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality is a production of Zakros InterArts
>http://www.zakros.com
>
>The print edition of "Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality" is 
>a collection of seminal essays by artists and scientists, edited and 
>with commentary by Randall Packer and Ken Jordan, published by W.W. 
>Norton & Co and due out in April of 2001.

-- 
d  o  u  g    m  i  l  l  i  s  o  n  <http://www.online-journalist.com>