Being on medical leave (for knee surgery) subjected me to RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate – Thanks, BFF and Google), reading and playing Words with Friends (via my iPhone). Since I love being outdoors, taking walks (anywhere and, sometimes, aimlessly), it’s safe to assume the recuperation period has been challenging and makes me rather talkative when my girlfriend comes over to have dinner after a hard day’s work. Good ole cabin fever starts to make me wonder all sorts of things and was quickly reminded of how I have a connection to people outside of these walls. Whether it’s through social networking, texting, chatting on gChat, posting some random thought, picture, or video on my tumblr, or writing about art; people are bound to know some aspect of my personality even if they don’t know me. Ten years ago, it was a bit taboo engaging in some online rendezvous and perhaps, a bit on the desperate side for those who consider themselves introverts. Nowadays, it’s strange if you’re not connected to the rest of the world. My goodness, if you don’t have a phone, people look at you as if you’ve been in some cave.
I love art because it takes you out of yourself. The displacement that occurs when you go to a museum, gallery, or an art opening is the very reason artists are extremely important in this touch screen interface laden culture. Cristin Norine and Joshua Jay Elliott have created a project examining the effects of technology and the degradation of face to face interaction. Norine will be living in a studio space exposed to the world (well, physically, anyone in Portland, Oregon), for 30 days, communicating ONLY through technology (i.e., Skype, social networking, Face Time, e-mail, texting – you get the point). Consider me intrigued…
Is it art? If you’re talking about it and asking the question, it probably is.
You can read Norine’s blog here.
Dorothy R. Santos 
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