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Artist Statement -----------------------
CRUFT: Art from Digital
Leftovers
I make work that spans computational
art, performance, installation, painting and
object-making, using collage, remix, automation,
indeterminacy, and randomness to bear upon the computer
and the Internet as machines that regulate and restrict
just as much as they can be used to disrupt and resist
dominant codes of seeing and being. My art practice
reflects on our relationship to media technologies,
especially surveillance and mind control, and in the
process contemplates what a post-human art may look
like. Organized under the umbrella concept of Cruft, I
take apart, juxtapose, recycle, and interrupt the
relentless flow of media to reveal a relationship in
which we don't simply consume media, but are also
consumed by it. Digital collages are created by scraping
the web using computational algorithms that remix
mainstream media sites like CNN with social networks of
individuals, and reproduce, in mimicry of the 24/7 media
cycle, the narrow choices permitted in public discourse.
In another series of recent work, Machine Vision, I
recombine footage from surveillance cameras with other
media, to explore the relationship between war,
surveillance, and automation within an overall machine
aesthetic.
Blue Colic Cruft
Started in 2014 with daily updates at 10:05 AM EST
Source: Surveillance camera in Southern Illinois &
streaming National Public Radio http://www.robertspahr.com/work/bluecolic/
This computer program downloads an
image from the web of a surveillance camera located in
Southern Illinois. The camera points at a pastoral scene
consisting of a row of trees next to a country road, and
in the distance is a small body of water. I was struck
by the simplicity and beauty of this image, contrasted
with the knowledge that someone for some reason is
watching. What is the purpose of surveillancing such a
peaceful place? When the CRUFT computer program
downloads an image from the camera, as well as a short
sample of news from the National Public Radio, they are
copied and repeatedly manipulated by the algorithm,
creating a short video that mashes together two
different kinds of streaming data in what becomes a
violent stuttering cough. archives: http://www.robertspahr.com/crufts/bluecolic/
(Example on
YouTube: Blue Colic Cruft created 2014/04/15 @
10:07am )
Cliff Dwellers (Drone
Study #4)Cruft
Started in 2014 with daily updates at 9:16AM, 11:16AM,
1:16PM, 3:16PM and 5:16 PM EST
Source: CCTV Cameras in the City of New York http://www.robertspahr.com/work/cliffdwellers/
A series of images captured from a CCTV
camera in New York City are processed to produce a ghost
like animation.
Native American cliff dwellers were at
the peak of their technological development circa the
12th and 13th centuries when they appear to have left
quietly... Some theories include climate change,
prolonged drought, topsoil erosion, de-forestation, and
hostility from new arrivals. archives: http://www.robertspahr.com/crufts/cliffdwellers/
(Example on
YouTube: Cliff Dwellers (Drone Study #4) Cruft
created 2014/05/08 @ 3:16pm )
DATA LOSS CRUFT
(CORRUPTION)
Started in 2013 with daily updates at 9:22 and 3:22 AM
& PM EST
Source: whitehouse.gov & thebureauinvestigates.com http://www.robertspahr.com/work/dataloss/
This cruft algorithm downloads a recent
photo from the Whitehouse.gov website as well as a
report published by The Bureau of Investigative
Journalism listing U.S. covert drone war casualty
estimates. The text file of casualty estimates is
literally inserted into the binary code of The White
House photo. The drone war information becomes hidden
from view, but corrupts the image producing visual
distortion often referred to as a glitch. This work uses
digital leftovers, consisiting of information either
usually forgotten, or in the case of the drone war
information, it is usually hidden, and in the process
this cruft re-generates a new image by altering the
data, which then reminds us of it's origin. archives: http://www.robertspahr.com/crufts/dataloss/
(Example of Data Loss Cruft
created 2014/06/19 @ 9:22 am)
SIFT CRUFT (AFTER
SNOWDON)
Started in 2013 with daily updates at 8:15 AM, &
5:45 PM EST
Source: CCTV Cameras in the City of New York http://www.robertspahr.com/work/sift/
This cruft images is created using a
sequence of images captured from closed-circuit
television (CCTV) cameras watching commuters cross the
Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The algorithm searches
for an area of suspicion, which is then highlighted by a
white circle. These images are collected morning and
evening, at the times most suspicious activity occurs.
archives:www.robertspahr.com/crufts/sift
(Example of
Sift Cruft created 2014/06/19 @ 8:15 am)
This cruft algorithm extracts an image
from the CNN home page once every eight hours. The image
is then processed into a mandala, with the addition of
the original source image and caption. CNN presents a
constant stream of images of violence, potential
terrorism, and the imminent hurricane or earthquake, as
well as the daily dose of political polarization. As an
artist I want to take these powerful source images and
convert them into equally powerful images of peace. I
hope you enjoy them, while also being reminded of the
transformation from which they were created. archives:http://www.robertspahr.com/crufts/mandala/
Example of Mandala Cruft
created 2013/06/08 @ 11:39 pm
This cruft algorithm captures a sample
of the sky over Southern Ohio. This is accomplished by
downloading a still image from a webcam once every hour.
A small section of the sky is selected from the image
and pasted into a grid containing 23 previous samples.
The tiles are arranged from left to right, and top to
bottom with the most recent sample in the upper left
hand corner, while the oldest sample is in the lower
right hand corner. A complete 24 hour period is
presented displaying simultaneous snapshots. archives:http://www.robertspahr.com/crufts/periwinkle/
Example of
Periwinkle Cruft created 2014/06/19 @ 7:51 am
Robert Spahr makes visual art
that spans computational art, performance,
installation, painting and object-making,
using collage, remix, automation,
indeterminacy, and randomness to bear upon the
computer and the Internet as machines that
regulate and restrict just as much as they can
be used to disrupt and resist dominant codes
of seeing and being. Recent exhibits include
the Generative Art International Conference,
Rome, Italy 2013; PRISM Breakup @ Eyebeam, NYC
2013, ReFest / Art+Tech Festival 2013,
organized by CultureHub at La Mama, NYC 2013;
Neuromast: Certain Uncertainty and
Contemporary Art, Franklin Street Works,
Stamford, CT 2013; Interrupt II Festival and
Conference - Brown University, Providence RI
2012. Currently Robert is an Assistant
Professor at Southern Illinois University
Carbondale. An archive of his work can be seen
online at http://www.robertspahr.com
where no other claim is indicated.