Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Sexualité Technologique par Jean-Guillaume Robert


L'apparition des nouveaux modes et supports de communication s'est accompagnée d'un bouleversement radical de nos habitudes et de nos mœurs, au point que même notre rapport à l'autre, puis au sexe, a fini par évoluer.


Autrefois, quelque soit l'importance de l'imaginaire, le réel n'était pas virtuel. Dans un passé proche, déjà, l'amour à distance existait, sauf que le téléphone rose a été depuis jeté aux oubliettes. L'industrie du porno ne connaît pas la crise, et avec l'essor d'internet les e-sex-shops se sont multipliés. Plus besoin d'affronter la réalité. Ceux qui devaient transgresser moult interdits, ceux-là mêmes qui déambulaient tête baissée entre les dédales de VHS Marc Dorcel ne sont plus, à présent, que des anonymes parmi les anonymes, noyés dans la toile.

La société, on s'en doute, aime à créer de nouveaux besoins, des fantasmes inédits aussi, afin de satisfaire d'hypothétiques et futurs besoins. Les sites de rencontres, par exemple, se développent, et les rapports entre les individus se métamorphosent.


A présent, c'est à une toute autre révolution que nous assistons. Où le virtuel tend à se confondre avec le réel. " Vous aspirez à une nouvelle vie, à épouser un canon de beauté " : c'est possible avec Second Life. " Vivez la vie dont vous avez toujours rêvé " pourrait-on résumer : on est loin des " amours imaginaires " de Xavier Dolan.


Cyberespace et cybersexe sont des thèmes chers au cyberpunk. Et nous d'imaginer que, dans un futur proche, l'amour, et de fait l’acte sexuel, pourront exister à distance. A la manière d'un Case dans Neuromancien de William Gibson, ou d'une Jennifer Jason Leigh dans ExitenZ, une machine se substituera au corps de l'autre. Relation intime au corps, paradoxale en fait, ambiguë à n'en pas douter, et où l'imaginaire sera nôtre réel.


Inconcevable diront certains. Pas tant à en croire les études menées par les chercheurs Robert W. Lindeman, Robert Page, Yasuyuki Yanagida et John L. Sibert, tous quatre planchant actuellement à la conception de ce qu’ils nomment un " Full-body haptic feedback suits " – comprenez, en gros, une combinaison équipée de capteurs sensoriels dont l'interface " haptique " permet de stimuler le toucher en interagissant physiquement avec le monde virtuel.

Egalement tout droit sorti de l’imaginaire de l’écrivain et artiste multimédia Yann Mihn, le Nooscaphe-X1 (cybersexe immersion machine), sorte d’exosquelette équipé de bras articulés reliés à un servomoteur, à deux doigts d'être réalisé même si encore au stade embryonnaire.


Dans les années 1980, la société Mystique concevait des jeux vidéos à caractère pornographique dont le graphisme, grossier, et le manque de jouabilité en firent de cuisants échecs (on retiendra toutefois Custer’s Revenge, assez convaincant). Quant à la poupée virtuelle de Mike Senz, Valérie, elle fait aujourd’hui figure d’ancien combattant, bien qu’à l’époque l’idée que l’utilisateur dût revêtir un exosquelette pour se déplacer dans un univers en trois dimensions qui fit en son temps sensation.

Dernièrement le site Mowijo proposait aux détenteurs de consoles Wii désireux de découvrir de nouveaux horizons de greffer à leurs wiimote un sex-toy pour Madame, et un autre pour Monsieur.

Toutefois les réelles innovations sont à chercher ailleurs, et se présentent plus fidèles aux fantasmes de certains écrivains visionnaires de science-fiction.

Récemment des ingénieurs de la NASA travaillant pour le compte de la société RealTouch ont mis au point un sex-toy révolutionnaire. En forme de cacahuète géante, ce dernier se connecte directement au port USB de l’ordinateur. Ne reste plus à l’utilisateur qu’à télécharger la vidéo de son choix (il y en a pour tous les goûts) sur le site du constructeur et se laisser guider. Les sensations seraient identiques à celles éprouvées par vos acteurs fétiches. On est loin des laboratoires de recherche des Universités de Berkeley ou de Washington. Le produit a été commercialisé courant 2009. Substitution du corps de l’autre par la machine où l’imaginaire deviendrait notre réel ? « Et nous vivrons loin de la Terre, seuls au milieu de nos appareils communicants, occupant des domaines immenses en aristocrates ». Isaac Asimov


Nota bene :


A chaque partie du dossier correspond un paragraphe, l’article web dressant lui-même les contours du sujet, la définition de ce dernier et le résumé de l’article font donc corps. Les différents points évoqués étant étroitement liés il était plus judicieux pour ma part de répondre au sujet sous cette forme là.

Résumé de l’article web : L’avenir de la sexualité par Hubert Guillaud (internetactu)


Sources :


Les Inrocks spécial sexe, internetactu, RealTouch, Yann Minh official, jeux vidéo.fluctuat.net, cinéma d’anticipation, littérature SF, Sexarati, Accelerating Future, Papers Lindenman…


J.G Robert

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Le Voyage de Noces à Venise- Annette Messager et Christian Boltanski




If Christian Boltanski is considered as one of the most contemporary artists of contemporary expression the artist claim to be recognise as a traditional painter.His ability to mix his personal past, real or fictional, dramatic or comic, an object's past or the entire humanity's one commute us into a meditation space and provoke our collective memory.

I take the opportunity of being in Venice to talk about a forgotten project Boltanski and Annette Messager shared in 1975. Boltanski was invited to present his 'individual mythologies' and Messager packed and follow him. During two months they decided to behave as if they were on honey moon.
Through this project they questioned cultural codes and common places realizing 21 sketches and photographs. It is Boltanski's first use of color photography.

I knew this work before coming here and I did'nt find it neither interesting nor relevant but I have to say that I realized by living here its strength. Observing people bulimic of images they will keep for the rest of their life on the console table of the living room, acting as if they were playing the best scene of their lives. I have stopped counting how many times a couple asked me for a picture, or how many bridges are painted in watercolors by lovers; this are standard sketches. Boltanski & Messager analysed from the inside the behavior a couple is supposed to take as soon as they appear in the Venitian decor.

"Venice is a fake city, a tourist city with no spirit" that's exactly what I was prepared to and I will leave it with the feeling of having experienced four months in a true place, with true feelings, a true picture of what the outside world want to sample. I only have 4 weeks left and a lot of work, I will definitely miss Venice. My princess life, my street' small shopkeepers , the owner of the restaurant under my appartement who always offer me the desert and the prosecco glass, the waiter on Campo Santa Margherita who market me his 'pasta-gnocchi-pizza' at 10 a.m on my walk to school and the vegetables merchant on his boat shop that follow the water's flux.

Quand on sature le symbole, il perd de son sens.

21 fois le fameux petit restaurant de poisson,

21 fois l'extase du matin,

il y a comme une lassitude,

une industrie du tourisme de rêve nuptial

qui ferait comme un rejet,

une subite envie de vomir,

le Venise des cartes postales

des jeunes couples en recherche de sens,

vous avez beau creuser,

vous ne trouvez que non-sense,

mais au détour, vous repérez

que la beauté nue sur le lit

vous fait vaguement penser à un peintre fameux,

le pastel du restaurant de poisson

met en oeuvre un outil

d'ordinaire davantage dédié au paysage,

et puis qui dresse le cadre de la tendre promesse,

tout est mise en scène,

les même photos mille fois prises,

tout est faux, tout est faussé,

cherchez l'erreur dans l'accumulation et dans le procédé.


Boltanski will represent France at the 54th Biennale.
Aliénor.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Acqua Alta Birds Waltz




Acqua Alta is a phenomenon that appears in the winter season thanks to the peaks that occur periodically in the northern Adriatic Sea.

Scirocco winds blows northbound waters towards Venice gates that clear through customs and turn them into Bora winds which profused into every corners of the Venitian landscape.
The Moon is also said to play a significant role in the waters level.

Last week we've got two full days of Acqua Alta and I could'nt resist to soak my feet into plastic boots and go straight to Piazza San marco (the lowest point of Venice).
I arrived in a no man's land -which is quite interesting for one of the world's most visited place- where I was hunted by birds as if they wanted to tell me I've crossed the border of their lands.
How beautiful is the Piazza San Marco when the natural world have chased the tourists for a moment giving back its virginity and beauty, the reflect of unflowing waters project the reverse side as if a black hole was attracting the landscape deep into another dimension.
Contemplative and avoiding any sudden movement, I let myself go off on the water waltz gulls were sharing all around.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

La Fenice

«La Fenice » , a word that is engraved in the collective memory . Unfortunately not in mine. Fuck my parents of never have taken me to the opera. I went there three times since I'm in Venice: the first was a single visit, the second was an invitation my class received for Lodoïska di Cherubini and the last one was l'Elisir d'amore.

First, the place is majestic, the ceiling light which dominates the room look like a tree branch that has been invaded by a firefly swarm, the box seats are disposed on four floors and organized along the imperial box Napoleon used to cherish.

Elisir d'amore tells the story of Nemorino, a poor peasant in love of Adina. Ready to do everything that is possible to make her love him and push back the rich soldier who wants Adina as his wife,Nemorino hears about l'elisir d'amore and wants some. Here, a doctor or magician enters; he looks like he's some kind of cirucs performer with redhair raised above his head and a golden jacket (that I particularly like). His two assistants are dressed like the daughter Dita Von Teese and Paris Hilton could have together (Pink boa feathers + fishnet stockings). The magician proposed to the lover a bottle of elisir (called the Queen Iseult's love potion just like in the video I did 2 years ago) that is in fact, a bottle of red wine while precising to Nemorino that it will work in only 24hours. Nemorino drinks instantaneously the bottle and go to Adina. Upset by Nemorino enthusiasm she accepts the soldier's proposal.

« Adina, credimi, te ne scongiuro »

Nemorino, in his deepest grief goes back to the magician to get some more elisir but he has no money left. He decides to become a soldier of Adina's futur husband for 20 «scudi»

The girls of the Village learn in the same time the death of Nemorino's wealthy uncle that makes him turn into a good match that all the girls want to marry. Adina hears about the Elisir and attributes Nemorino's love for her to it. Desappointed of not being able to be loved for what she is she lets escape a single tear that Nemorino's perceived and realized that she loves him back.

She admits him her love «Prendi, per me sei libero» and the magician meets the success with the sale of Elisir d'amore bottles.

Aliénor.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Work -

I put some of my works on Saatchi and Youtube
These are just old works as I haven't completed any project since- tears-




And 2 of the blogs I run when I was younger:


(where I displayed my jewellery collection)

Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson is danish but lived most of his life in Iceland (#3 on my to-do-list section trip). Since my first encounter with his work in 2003 I've been fascinated by his world. How he balanced the natural world through the filter of new technologies and how he manages to deep us into science fiction dimensions. He makes our five senses play with the natural elements and use them as real ingredients. Smoke, light, wind and other intangible elements are used as material features of his sculptures and installations.
Lava floor - 2002
In 2002, The Musee d'art moderne de la ville de Paris featured an exhibtion entitled "Chaque matin je me sens différent. Chaque soir je me sens le même" (Each morning I feel different. Each evening I feel the same) Eliasson's work inside the exhibition was an installation on the floor of lavaro rock. Visitors were invited to walk across the uneven surface to reach the galleries as it was disposed on the lobby.” Bringing nature in museums and physically engage visitors are key points in his work,

The weather project - 2003
It was my first visit at the Tate modern in London. I arrived in a big hall where a mirror was disposed on the ceiling. My first impression was that I was in Totall Recall(the movie)on Mars waiting for Doug Quaid to free oxygene in the galleries. Maybe because I've always been considered as an alien, I've really enjoyed walking around this installation like I was in my element. The haze created by a fair smoke (Smoke = a poetic ingredient see there)gives an kind of irreality or superreality ( I use these concepts thanks to a text I red in my actual course The Experience Economy: the experience of the experience). I remembered I make my (reluctant) dad lying on the floor ,like number of visitors, and forced him to take the time to travel between the slices of sun the mirror was displaying all around. Walking into space (so usual for me I do it every night), in weightlessness in another dimension.

Sonne statt Regen - 2003
In this piece, Eliasson chose to display spectrum colors along a curved room where visitors could walk along. I've never seen this work but I like the fact that he did a reference in the title to Joseph Beus performance lyrics.

Music Wall - 2006

Beauty - 1993
Beauty was presented first in 1993, and consisted in garden hoses punctured by holes from where water run off. Theses garden hoses are enlighted with flashing rhythmical lights
He reproduced this work for La Biennale di architectura this year and I had the chance to know it. It is totally amazing. You are deepen into a big dark and silent room where people are struggling to take a picture of the work. The hoses seem like weird snakes possessed by some king of spirit. The water that run off divide itself into mountain of diamonds disappearing almost instantly in the darkness of the hall.

Your split second house - 2010