Ars Electronica Archive
Prix
Prix Map
Pictures
Videos
Publications
Special Projects
Women in Media Art
Prix
The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
Access
Marie Sester
Original: FE_2003_okaegish_001_o.jpg | 1535 * 2126px | 2.4 MB
Original: FE_2003_OKAccess80_018_o.jpg | 2126 * 1535px | 2.9 MB
Original: PR_2003_access_001_o.jpg | 4481 * 3361px | 7.6 MB
Access is a public art installation that applies web and surveillance technologies, allowing web users to track individuals in public spaces with a unique robotic spotlight and acoustic beam system, without people wearing any gear, exploring the ambiguities among surveillance, control, visibility and celebrity.
The robotic spotlight automatically follows the tracked individuals while the acoustic beam projects audio that only they can hear. The tracked individuals do not know who is tracking them or why they are being tracked, nor are they aware of being the only persons among the public hearing the sound. The web users do not know that their actions trigger sound towards the target. In effect, both the tracker and the tracked are in a paradoxical communication loop.
Access addresses and explores the impact of detection and surveillance within contemporary society. It presents control tools that combine surveillance technology with the advertising and Hollywood industries, creating an intentionally ambiguous situation, revealing the obsession-fascination for control, vigilance, visibility and celebrity: scary or fun.
Access was primarily influenced by the beauty of the surveillance representations (x-rayed bodies, luggage or vehicles, 3D laser scans, satellite reconnaissance imagery, etc.), the invisibility of the collected data, the power generated by means of surveillance practices, and the fascination certain people have for being "in the spotlight" (the TV shows such as Big Brother, websites such as JenniCam, etc.).
Beware. Some individuals may not like the ideal of being under surveillance. Beware. Some individuals may love the attention.
The robotic spotlight automatically follows the tracked individuals while the acoustic beam projects audio that only they can hear. The tracked individuals do not know who is tracking them or why they are being tracked, nor are they aware of being the only persons among the public hearing the sound. The web users do not know that their actions trigger sound towards the target. In effect, both the tracker and the tracked are in a paradoxical communication loop.
Access addresses and explores the impact of detection and surveillance within contemporary society. It presents control tools that combine surveillance technology with the advertising and Hollywood industries, creating an intentionally ambiguous situation, revealing the obsession-fascination for control, vigilance, visibility and celebrity: scary or fun.
Access was primarily influenced by the beauty of the surveillance representations (x-rayed bodies, luggage or vehicles, 3D laser scans, satellite reconnaissance imagery, etc.), the invisibility of the collected data, the power generated by means of surveillance practices, and the fascination certain people have for being "in the spotlight" (the TV shows such as Big Brother, websites such as JenniCam, etc.).
Beware. Some individuals may not like the ideal of being under surveillance. Beware. Some individuals may love the attention.
Marie Sester (F) is living and working in New York City. She began her career as an architect, having earned her master degree in architecture from the École d’Architecture in Strasbourg, France in 1980. Sester has since worked as a media artist exploring the ways that societies implement forms, focusing primarily on the ideas of transparency, visibility, and access. Her interactive installations typically create an immersive experience for the viewer/participant. Marie Sester has exhibited internationally and has taught in France and the United States.