Manifest-O-Matic
Artist Details
Curt Cloninger
Asheville, North Carolina, US.
lab404.com | playdamage.org | deepyoung.org
curt@lab404.com
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Project Description
The Manifest-O-Matic is a meta-manifesto machine for a post-manifesto era. Visitors to a web site create their own original art manifestos by choosing from a series of pre-fabricated drop-down menu options and entering various adjectives and nouns as prompted. Visitors then select one of several style templates (constructivist, dadaist, minimalist, surrealist, etc.) which controls the visual design of their actual HTML manifesto. Each visitor's manifesto is generated and displayed. The visitor may then save her manifesto on the site for others to view and sign, thus "joining" her particular art movement. The most popular manifestos are displayed at the top of an archived list.
Each manifesto has its own unique URL, so supporters of that manifesto may link to it directly from their own site. Tactically, the project is designed to spread virally via blog links throughout the network. After having visited someone else's manifesto, visitors will want to create their own manifesto and link to it.
The templates for the manifestos are derived from actual historical art manifestos (futurist, realist, Gutai, Lewitt's "Sentences On Conceptual Art," avant-pop, hacker, cyborg, stuckist, etc.). There is a link from the project to each of these source manifestos.
No single, static manifesto can accurately represent the network's multiform, rhizomatic, Do-It-Yourself art praxis. The best way to represent such a praxis is with a customizable, networked, meta-manifesto engine. Medium as manifesto; manifesto as medium. It's Manifest-O-Licious!
Technically, the front end of the project will be accomplished with HTML forms and JavaScript. The back end will be accomplished with MySQL, PERL, PHP, ASP, or whichever technology best suits the requirements of the project.
Work Samples
1a. the market-o-matic 1.0 [fine arts version] (2001)
Media: DHTML, text
A precursor to the Manifest-O-Matic. An interactive piece that automatically generates contemporary artist statements.
1b. market-o-matic [Paris remix] (2003). Site-specific installation for L'artiste portatif exhibit at L'Instituto de México à Paris. Visitors to the exhibit were able to auto-generate and print reviews of the pieces in the exhibit, and then post their reviews in the exhibition space for others to read.
2. a digital quilt project (2000 - present)
Media: animated Gif, Internet
Open international collaborative quilt project. Each quilt is based on a theme, and each square is created by various individuals across the web. The squares are animated, and each square links to the web site of its creator. We are on our fifteenth quilt. Ongoing.
3. traffic_report (2002)
Media: Internet, HTML
A curated collaborative project. 32 artists and theorists share their daily browser history (what they are watching) and their daily visitor logs (who is watching them). A collaborative experiment in online data voyeurism / exhibitionism.
4. playdamage (2000 - present)
Media: HTML, JavaScript, Flash, Director, animated Gif, digital imagery, audio
Multimedia journal. Linear navigation (each piece links to the next piece). 60+ screens. All screens have audio and most are animated loops. Ongoing.