david byrne, powerpoint
Watching David Byrne's lecture I Heart Powerpoint via live webcast . . . (there were only 300 seats available the auditorium they decided to hold the presentation in, so I assumed I wouldn't be able to get in unless I was early, which I wouldn't have been).
He just brought up an interesting point - because powerpoint is a) so ubiquitous and b) can easily incorporate images, audio, etc., from a wide variety of popular formats (not just miscrosoft office products) it can function as a kind digital media scrapbook for non-computer savvy artists, individuals, etc . . .
Given that powerpoint is best suited for sales pitches, I think, though, that Byrne is primarily amused by/interested in what would happen if we all started using it to become salespeople in our day-to-day interactions . . .
On another note, watching via webcast was (the lecture's over now) a suprisingly satisfying experience. Somehow it felt much more "live" and "real" than it would have via, say, TV. Not sure what to make of this fact . . . maybe it's just conditioning (e.g., the interactivity of the web in general makes even 1-way broadcasts seem more immediate). Maybe we should webcast poetry readings . . .
2 Comments:
I agree, Jay, the immediacy of a webcast is different than TV. Even technical glitches are part of the experience. Alain Badiou (in his marvelous book: Infinite Thought - truth and the return to philosophy) expresses his distress “that mass communication presents the world to us as a spectacle devoid of memory, a spectacle in which new images and new remarks cover, erase and consign to oblivion the very images and remarks that have been shown and said. The logic which is specifically undone…is the logic of time”. The immediacy of TV, for example, has become distorted; even live TV isn’t really live anymore. And what a wonderful idea: Webcast Poetry!
I didn't know you were a Badiou fan, Edison! I read Hallward's introduction to him about six months ago and was very intrigued and impressed. Would love to read more.
His comments make me think of these tabletop interactive screens in a Vegas bar -- basically, you'd drag your hand across the screen and the onscreen pattern would somehow change in accordance with your movements . . .
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