Santa Fe New Media Festival: Huxley, Orwell & Artée's Ivory Towers

currents 2012, the Santa Fe International New Media Festival will be held from June 22. to July 8. under the participation of 4 Second Life artists: Bryn Oh, Haveit Neox, Tyrehl Byk and Artistide Després. Artée has her contribution already finished:

 

Artée (Artistide Després) has primarily worked for the last 2 years on the creation of musical instruments with brilliant optical and acoustic effects, which have been frequently awarded. Parallel to the furthering of perfection of instruments, many important incidents occurred across the globe which are still changing the world: The bank crashes with the result of the worldwide Street Occupy Movement and the atomic accident at Fukushima. Both themes are already heavily influenced the previous works of Artée, but that did not prevent her from believing more and more in the ivory tower of the protected environment of her artistic world. The result is the current work "Huxley, Orwell & Ivory Towers ".  We see around the centered instruments in the ivory tower several fields of worldwide misevaluation: Urbanisation, Totalitarianism, war and violence, misuse of financial power and pollution. Artée shows that our society loses freedom via new media and switches from Huxley’s social vision in “Brave new World” of dictatorship via entertainment to Orwell’s vision in “1984” of a society under total control. 

Here an Interview with Artée about the current work:

QL: Let’s first talk about Huxley and Orwell. When I saw their names together here I realised that both have written with a vision of totalitarianism for the future:  In fact it is easier. It is just the money that creates the power. Is it that what you wanted to show?

Artée: Yes, visions are quite different... if I may simplify a lot: Orwell  (Big Brother) uses a dictatorship of the control. Huxley in ‘Brave New World’ aim to the same result but through entertainment.

Q L: Yes, but still totalitarianism.  “Panem et Circenses”; already the old Romans knew that principle. But we live in apparently democracy.

Artée : Well, what I want to show here, or rather what I would like the people to become aware of is: Aren't we living in the beginning of a dictatorship that slides slowly from a Huxleyan model to an Orwellian one. TV as control form in the 60's to 90's.  Drone, Facebook, Identity chip in the 2010 2020

Q L: Yes, and less and less money for the average people, that is less freedom too.

Artée : Yes. So what I eventually show here is a metaphor: My bubble in the middle, my protected little world, being 'attacked' by these 2 models of world. And...all of that is only a pretext to make a scenery for my music instruments :)

QL: sure, but good that I caught you. I saw the whole picture slightly different.

Artée : yes, tell me. I am very interested:

Quan Lavender: It made me think that as this time in the 30ties (when the books has been written) they fear has been totalitarianism. But nowadays we know that money creates loss of freedom much more effective. Democratic elected people give our money to the rich and our price is loss of freedom.

Artée : Yes, and we know only very little of the dirty tricks they are playing. You know, the complexity is enormous, even the leaders don't know all the 'cards of the play'.
 

QL: And is the echo canyon connected to that story?

Artée:  Well, i made it for the contrast, an area of peace, like some monastery or retreat.

QL: My last question: Who is the guy behind me?

Artée: This guy doesn't exist. He is made of a composite of different faces, like the archetype of a cold blooded brute.

Q L: Thank you for your time

Artée : You are welcome Quan

For the best visit experience take the free HUD at the landing point which leads you to all parts of the installation.

All photos in the blog post are taken by Firlefanz Roxley.

Taxi: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA22/187/116/21