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I was moving fast on the electronic highway. Travelling light with a lap top. The Cyberian landscape was passing by my window. I had a feeling of being in charge, in touch and in the centre of things.Thanks to the fast vehicle the Internet.
Gathering information seemed like an easy thing, just turn the power on and soon you'll have it, safely tucked away in the back seat. And spreading information was even easier - just put it in words and let it out through the exhaust pipe. This was the fast, safe and ultimate cool way of communication - until one day in May. In a matter of seconds the crash was a fact. There was not even time to reach for the brake. Being in a hurry I picked up my lap top bag a bit too quickly. Bang on the floor. Months of work, tons of e-mail addresses, the whole network of communication - all of it wiped away. Gone. Lost. While the computer was being repaired I felt completely lost. I was no longer in charge, I was disconnected from the Cyberian community, I was unable to communicate. I could not think of how to spend my time while I now was wandering slowly beside the highway, the owner of a wreck. Well, now my computer is fixed again and I am back on track. I try to catch up with work and the regathering of e-mail addresses and information. I do apologise for every conversation that was abruptly cut, every piece of information that I could not receive or respond to and for the delay of Art Orbit #2. Anyway, WELCOME TO ART ORBIT #2! Art Orbit - the experiment - goes on. This issue is the result of what we learned from the first Art Orbit. Thank you everybody for your comments and kind words of encouragement! As in the first issue, the "paper" magazines contribute with interesting articles - check out the queen of mud, auto-eroticism and media pragmatism! And again there are contributions from our own writers, such as Ulla Rønberg, who talks to the highly productive Danish artist Martin Bigum. I would especially like to thank Hans Ulrich Obrist for the two sections of video clips: do it TV and Arkipelag TV. Enjoy! Check out the new section Snapshots - artist Magnus Bärtås is the first relay runner with a digital camera in his hand. In a couple of articles from St Petersburg we introduce you to an art scene that definitely differs from the one in Western Europe. During a short visit there I had the rare opportunity to make acquaintances with some artists and curators in this fascinating environment. And there is a lot more in this issue of Art Orbit! Find out for yourself!
ANNIKA HANSSON,
chief editor, hansson@artnode.se
PS. While we're on the subject of moving fast - don't miss Bo Madestrand's article "I Love You With My Ford"! DS. |