Without addresses (variant 4): Difference between revisions

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Without addresses (variant 4) (view source)

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=== Overview ===
== Overview ==
In 2024 Zentrum für Netzkunst has applied for their first full scale reconstruction project. Even though in the past the initative has aquired project budget to pay artists to reconstruct their work, this was the first time a conceptual approach and a methodology was developed for a reconstruction project. The reconstruction project was founded by [https://www.digis-berlin.de/foerderprogramm/ Digis "Förderprogramm zur Digitalisierung von Kulturgut des Landes Berlin"] as the very first project on digital-born artwork.  
In 2024 Zentrum für Netzkunst has applied for their first full scale reconstruction project. Even though in the past the initative has aquired project budget to pay artists to reconstruct their work, this was the first time a conceptual approach and a methodology was developed for a reconstruction project. The reconstruction project was founded by [https://www.digis-berlin.de/foerderprogramm/ Digis "Förderprogramm zur Digitalisierung von Kulturgut des Landes Berlin"] as the very first project on digital-born artwork.  


 
== Data inventory assessment==
=== Data inventory assessment===
The artist Karl Heinz Jeron posessed a copy of the original files on an external hard drive. A clone copy of the data has been made and stored on additional storages as well as on the cloud by Zentrum für Netzkunst. However, as the team later found out, the f.hmtl (index page) of variant 1 was no longer available. The full archive of user entries was secured on the external hard drive.
The artist Karl Heinz Jeron posessed a copy of the original files on an external hard drive. A clone copy of the data has been made and stored on additional storages as well as on the cloud by Zentrum für Netzkunst. However, as the team later found out, the f.hmtl (index page) of variant 1 was no longer available. The full archive of user entries was secured on the external hard drive.


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In general it was often difficult to prove the age or the version of the archived files.
In general it was often difficult to prove the age or the version of the archived files.


=== Reconstruction Aproach ===
== Reconstruction Aproach ==
''Without addresses'', as many other net art pieces, is bound to the specific, historical conditions of the Internet and the computer - the so-called hardware and software context at the time of its creation. Since the historical Internet environment in which the work was created no longer exists, it cannot be fully reconstructed.
''Without addresses'', as many other net art pieces, is bound to the specific, historical conditions of the Internet and the computer - the so-called hardware and software context at the time of its creation. Since the historical Internet environment in which the work was created no longer exists, it cannot be fully reconstructed.


'''Alta Vista and live search'''
=====Alta Vista and live search=====
In ''without addresses'' variant 1 the work used Alta Vista search engine to search online and generate new html pages from the results. The Alta Vista search engine was shut down in 2013 and can no longer be used for the reconstruction.  
In ''without addresses'' variant 1 the work used Alta Vista search engine to search online and generate new html pages from the results. The Alta Vista search engine was shut down in 2013 and can no longer be used for the reconstruction.  
It would be possible to programme a new script using contemporary search engine and recreate the generative function.There vere several reasons why the reconstruction team decided not to do so.
It would be possible to programme a new script using contemporary search engine and recreate the generative function.There vere several reasons why the reconstruction team decided not to do so.
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The artists Karl Heinz Jeron and Joachim Blank always understood the work ''without addresses'' to be done after the documenta x. For them the performative, executive function of the work was intented only for limited time.<ref>Check out the video interview with Karl Heinz Jaron and Joachim Blank on without addresses: https://quellen.netzkunst.berlin/without_addresses/variant/4/documentation/videos/Interviewwithoutaddresses.mp4</ref> To fullfill this fundamental artistic intention the reconstruction team had to come up with reconstruction strategy that would preserve a static version of the work but that would nevertheless mediate the fuctionality and interactivity of the variant 1.
The artists Karl Heinz Jeron and Joachim Blank always understood the work ''without addresses'' to be done after the documenta x. For them the performative, executive function of the work was intented only for limited time.<ref>Check out the video interview with Karl Heinz Jaron and Joachim Blank on without addresses: https://quellen.netzkunst.berlin/without_addresses/variant/4/documentation/videos/Interviewwithoutaddresses.mp4</ref> To fullfill this fundamental artistic intention the reconstruction team had to come up with reconstruction strategy that would preserve a static version of the work but that would nevertheless mediate the fuctionality and interactivity of the variant 1.


'''Emulation software'''
 
=====Emulation software=====
The reconstruction team heavily considered the posibility of using available emulation software, following the reconstruction methodology prefered by Rhizome. Since some of the essential parts of the work such as f.hmtl (the index page) were no longer available, it was necessary to rebuild them. The artist Karl Heinz Jeron was able to reconstruct the index page from the later variants of the work. He documented to code of the reconstruction in [https://quellen.netzkunst.berlin/without_addresses/variant/4/documentation/texts/WA-kommentiertes-Skript-der-Rekonstruktion.pdf a text document].
The reconstruction team heavily considered the posibility of using available emulation software, following the reconstruction methodology prefered by Rhizome. Since some of the essential parts of the work such as f.hmtl (the index page) were no longer available, it was necessary to rebuild them. The artist Karl Heinz Jeron was able to reconstruct the index page from the later variants of the work. He documented to code of the reconstruction in [https://quellen.netzkunst.berlin/without_addresses/variant/4/documentation/texts/WA-kommentiertes-Skript-der-Rekonstruktion.pdf a text document].




'''Simulation and focus on mediation of the work'''
=====Simulation and focus on mediation of the work=====
After a thorough consultation with the two artists, the reconstruciton team decided to design and programme a static simulation of the work as a method of reconstruction.  
After a thorough consultation with the two artists, the reconstruciton team decided to design and programme a static simulation of the work as a method of reconstruction.  


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=== Variants ===
=====User entries=====
Following the data model by [https://artbase.rhizome.org/wiki/Main_Page Rhozime's Artbase] the reconstruction team decided to adopt the concept of variants<ref>https://artbase.rhizome.org/wiki/FAQ#What_is_a_variant.3F_What_is_inception.3F_Why_do_you_use_these_terms.3F</ref> in the netart repository as the Rhizome preservation team understands it.
In variant 1 of ''without addresses'' the users were able to generate new html pages. Those are commonly called 'user entries' in the documentation and the wiki texts. In variant 1 total of 37.843 documents and 684 MB data were generated over the course of documenta x. After the end of documenta no other variant was able to generate new entries.


At the begining of the research there were only two known variants - the original v1 and the CD v3. However, while searching through the screenshots that documented the work there were two additional URLs found out on sero.org and klondike.icf.de. Unfortunatelly, the artists did not remeber the exact nature of these two variants. Nor was there enough evidence based on the secondary documantation to judge the exact form nor the exact inception dates of these variants. Likely, the artists moved everything there was from the original HP-UX server to their own server.
The generated pages were created by an algorithmus which searched online and created a new page. The images found were very difirent in nature - from photographs, logos of companies, parts of webdesign (such as parts of menus, division lines, simple background images which were used as 'tiles',  


The reconstruction team has decided to select only a portion of the original user entries. Devided into 4 groups the team has reviewed the original entries and decided to include 946 entries. There were selected in a way to represent the deversity of the generated pages. The selection should allow the viewer to understand the general nature of the pages. For work on such a big database of data an automatic data analysis might be an interesting tool.


=== Technical Narrative ===
For the variant 4 the reconstruction team faced a new challenge - the protection of copyrights and private data in the user generated pages. After a long discussion and an external legal advice, the reconstruction team decided to anonymize the selected user entries. Even though this was a big interventition into the original files, the anonymization ensures that the reconstruction team and especially artists will remain protected from future legal actions. Since without addresses variant 4 is available under the CC-BY-ND<ref>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/deed.de</ref> licence it was the only option to avoid any potential risks.
In 2009 SFMoMa proposed new method for documentation of software based artworks called "technical narrative", which they [http://faic.wpenginepowered.com/emg-review/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/09/EMG-Vol.-3-Hellar.pdf published in The Electronic Media Review by Electronic Media Group]. Based on this method the reconstruction team has created technical diagrams for each variant of the work without addresses. Those are saved in wikibase as PDF in documentation section under each variant. This way it's possible to see the shift of functionality of the work as well as platform specific characteristics. A functional description of the work as a platform-neutral description is also part of the wiki documentation.


=== Secondary documentation material ===
== Used Files ==




== Variants ==
Following the data model by [https://artbase.rhizome.org/wiki/Main_Page Rhozime's Artbase] the reconstruction team decided to adopt the concept of variants<ref>https://artbase.rhizome.org/wiki/FAQ#What_is_a_variant.3F_What_is_inception.3F_Why_do_you_use_these_terms.3F</ref> in the netart repository as the Rhizome preservation team understands it.


===== User entries =====
At the begining of the research there were only two known variants - the original v1 and the CD v3. However, while searching through the screenshots that documented the work there were two additional URLs found out on sero.org and klondike.icf.de. Unfortunatelly, the artists did not remeber the exact nature of these two variants. Nor was there enough evidence based on the secondary documantation to judge the exact form nor the exact inception dates of these variants. Likely, the artists moved everything there was from the original HP-UX server to their own server.  
In variant 1 of ''without addresses'' the users were able to generate new html pages. Those are commonly called 'user entries' in the documentation and the wiki texts. In variant 1 total of 37.843 documents and 684 MB data were generated over the course of documenta x. After the end of documenta no other variant was able to generate new entries.


The generated pages were created by an algorithmus which searched online and created a new page. The images found were very difirent in nature - from photographs, logos of companies, parts of webdesign (such as parts of menus, division lines, simple background images which were used as 'tiles',
== Technical Narrative ==
 
In 2009 SFMoMa proposed new method for documentation of software based artworks called "technical narrative", which they [http://faic.wpenginepowered.com/emg-review/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/09/EMG-Vol.-3-Hellar.pdf published in The Electronic Media Review by Electronic Media Group]. Based on this method the reconstruction team has created technical diagrams for each variant of the work without addresses. Those are saved in wikibase as PDF in documentation section under each variant. This way it's possible to see the shift of functionality of the work as well as platform specific characteristics. A functional description of the work as a platform-neutral description is also part of the wiki documentation.
The reconstruction team has decided to select only a portion of the original user entries. Devided into 4 groups the team has reviewed the original entries and decided to include 946 entries. There were selected in a way to represent the deversity of the generated pages. The selection should allow the viewer to understand the general nature of the pages. For work on such a big database of data an automatic data analysis might be an interesting tool.
 
For the variant 4 the reconstruction team faced a new challenge - the protection of copyrights and private data in the user generated pages. After a long discussion and an external legal advice, the reconstruction team decided to anonymize the selected user entries. Even though this was a big interventition into the original files, the anonymization ensures that the reconstruction team and especially artists will remain protected from future legal actions. Since without addresses variant 4 is available under the CC-BY-ND<ref>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/deed.de</ref> licence it was the only option to avoid any potential risks.


===== Used Files =====
== Secondary documentation material ==


===== Mediation =====




===== Legal Situation =====
== Legal Situation ==
The two artists have to transfer the rights of use of without addresses variant 4 (both the simulation as well as the documentation material) to the Zentrum für Netzkunst e.V. by means of a contract that is unrestricted in terms of time and space. The simulation is published under the licence CC-BC-NY 4.0 and the metadata for the whole reconstruction under CC 0.
The two artists have to transfer the rights of use of without addresses variant 4 (both the simulation as well as the documentation material) to the Zentrum für Netzkunst e.V. by means of a contract that is unrestricted in terms of time and space. The simulation is published under the licence CC-BC-NY 4.0 and the metadata for the whole reconstruction under CC 0.
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