In his projects, Alexander Chen (b. 1981) unites experiences as a programmer, designer, violist and indie rock musician. His Baroque.me is a virtual, audiovisual interpretation of canonical Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Like most of Chen’s projects, it is based on the code which he wrote in 2011. The fruit of the code is—in his own words—“a virtual string instrument”, “an interactive plucked instrument” or “an impossible harp” that is out of classification in terms of traditional typology of musical instruments. Grounded in mathematical fundamentals of musical string, it presents them in an attractive manner and unveils hidden geometrical beauty of well-known items. Baroque.me could seem to be too traditional, nostalgic and naive, lacking in deeply critical approach towards postmodern society and deeply attached to premodern understanding of beauty. Its user-friendly interface, appearance typical for contemporary websites and elements of gaming suggest that Chen’s work is made just for entertainment. However, it is exquisitely interesting as an example of contemporary phenomenon, which Paul Elie called “reinventing Bach”. Baroque.me merges various layers of Bach reception: romantic, modern, and finally postmodern, which connects intimacy, entertainment and—characteristic for Bach himself—fascination of science and new technology. Two possible modes of contact with the Chen’s work, that is passive contemplation of the old masterpiece and/or (inter)active disruption of its harmony, can be associated with the ethos of the net artist who uses new technology to entertain people and provide intellectual reflection at the same time.
In his projects, Alexander Chen (b. 1981) unites experiences as a programmer, designer, violist and indie rock musician. His Baroque.me is a virtual, audiovisual interpretation of canonical Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007 by Johann Sebastian Bach. Like most of Chen’s projects, it is based on the code which he wrote in 2011. The fruit of the code is – in his own words – “a virtual string instrument”, “an interactive plucked instrument” or “an impossible harp” that is out of classification in terms of traditional typology of musical instruments. Grounded in mathematical fundamentals of musical string, it presents them in an attractive manner and unveils hidden geometrical beauty of well-known items. Baroque.me could seem to be too traditional, nostalgic and naive, lacking in deeply critical approach towards postmodern society and deeply attached to premodern understanding of beauty. Its user friendly interface, appearance typical for contemporary websites and elements of gaming suggest that Chen’s work is made just for entertainment. However, it is exquisitely interesting as an example of contemporary phenomenon, which Paul Elie called “reinventing Bach”. Baroque.me merges various layers of Bach reception: romantic, modern, and finally postmodern, which connects intimacy, entertainment and – characteristic for Bach himself – fascination of science and new technology. Two possible modes of contact with the Chen’s work, that is passive contemplation of the old masterpiece and/or (inter)active disruption of its harmony, can be associated with the ethos of the net artist who uses new technology to entertain people and provide intellectual reflection at the same time.
The author adopts a broad definition of an artifact as an artificial creation that is created by man. Real and virtual objects, both artistic and utilitarian, are housed in the collection. This article aims to identify some trends, which are often contradictory, in the relationship between people and things that crystallized in the era of postmodern consumerism. These trends do not fall within the mainstream. Generally speaking, they are an expression of social discord on the destruction of items. The author addresses several topics: a) the inclination to save things that can be observed in contemporary literature. Images of trash, abandoned industrial sites and landfills of civilization induce nostalgia for the styles of the past. They are also a part of the identity of the individual; b) recycling and the recovery of specific things, which is visible both in the Internet space (also in the area of net-art) as well as in real life. This is an indication that in a civilization of overproduction, the repeated use of things may be a cultural pattern; c) as a result, the “de-aestheticization of art” and “aestheticization of everyday life” has blurred the line between art and utility and is the cause of the semantic and axiological instability of things. Differences in the perception of artifacts can result in serious conflicts that sometimes arise in the public space.
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