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In truth, not everything at dorkbot is as dorky
as it appears. Schneider’s devices sound rather odd,
but each of them critically investigates human and
technological interdependence, and Schneider is actually
a talented performer with a masters degree in Interactive
Telecommunications from New York University.
on its own, the name ‘dorkbot’ might be enough to And if dorkbotters gather after the sun has set, that’s
raise an eyebrow, but if I add that this organisation’s motto mostly because during the day these artists, engineers,
is ‘People doing strange things with electricity’, and that you researchers and designers are already overloaded with
can find dorkbot events in London, Lima, Tijuana, Oldenburg, work. Yes, the meetings are informal, but that informality has
Milan and Bangalore, not to mention in dozens of other cities spread in a remarkably organised manner all over the world.
around the globe and on Second Life, perhaps then I will get I have to admit that I’ve never seen a dorkbotter engrossed
a bit more of your attention. in a fashion magazine, but in case you haven’t heard the news,
Dorkbot arranges informal meetings of people whom geek is the new chic – not that any of the geeks in question
some might call ‘geeks’. Often accused of holding a morbid would care much anyway.
interest in technology, especially computing and new media, And while the devices they show come with flaws
the geek species is pictured as badly shaven and favouring and glitches, and many of them are unfinished, what matters
the sartorial combination of open-toed sandals and thick is the space these meetings provide for creators to discuss
grey socks. Every month or so they gather in a bar, garage their inventions with likeminded brains. Dorkbot sometimes
or cultural centre and give three short presentations about plays the precious role of antechamber to art exhibitions,
projects they are working on. as none of the works presented to the audience is ready
Dorkbot was founded in 2001 by Douglas Irving for museum or festival primetime. Some dorkbotters have
Repetto, director of research at the Columbia University no such ambition for their works, but others do, so don’t be
Computer Music Center. When I asked him to pick out one surprised if you come across one of them in the next few
of the most memorable moments in a dorkbot meeting, he months at the world’s best-recognised media-art festivals
told me about multidisciplinary artist Andrew Schneider’s and conferences.
recent showcase of Experimental Devices for Performance.
Repetto’s description of Schneider’s devices also gives a For further information, see www.dorkbot.org and
taste of the atmosphere at these monthly evenings: “They’re http://experimentaldevicesforperformance.com
crazy things he straps to his body – light-sensing shoes,
eyelash switches, video helmets, etc – and uses to control his
computer or music playback or other devices worn by other
people. They’re complex, kludgy devices, and they often fail
or perform unpredictably. So a lot of Andrew’s performance
was just a stream of very funny patter about what was going
wrong, what was supposed to be happening, what we should
imagine was so cool about what he was doing – it was like a
standup routine about failed technology. And then suddenly
something would go right, and it would be amazing and we’d
all cheer and everyone was very excited.”
Andrew Schneider
photo: A.J.J. Davis
107 Artreview
Mixed Media_Digital.indd 107 2/1/08 13:28:24
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