“Internet Firsts You’ve Never Heard Of: Nina Sobell, Emily Hartzell & ParkBench’s Safe Place in Cyberspace” intergenerational exploration of the origins of online art, focusing on the earliest examples of performance and avant-garde art on the Internet. On September 7th, 7:00-8:30pm ET, this panel discussion was designed to enhance understanding of these ground-breaking projects and stimulate thought on their significance now and in the future.
The panel displayed rare early art pieces and promote discussions in which the audience was encouraged to participate. “Internet Firsts” examined the artists’ concepts and projects, comparing past and present, while also initiating conversations on important topics such as the early Internet art’s impact on future initiatives and the emergence of distinctive technological and aesthetic concepts.
Franklin Furnace aims to improve each attendee’s knowledge of art and technology, providing them with insights into avant-garde art techniques and meanings that will have lasting relevance.
ParkBench, conceived by Nina Sobell in 1993, strived to bridge the physical disconnect of the information age by creating a secure digital gathering spot. This venture also led to the development of new technologies, such as a wireless telerobotic video camera for remote video streaming.
Started as a network of kiosks providing videoconferencing, internet access, and a shared drawing space, ParkBench allowed individuals from different communities to communicate creatively and collaboratively. Sobell and her collaborator, Emily Hartzell, were appointed artists in residence at New York University’s Center for Advanced Technology to bring ParkBench to life.
One of ParkBench’s initiatives, ‘Web Seance: Brainwave Drawing’ exemplified their commitment to bridging the physical disconnectedness of the information age through NetWorked Seances. Utilizing neural telepresence and meditation, the project established connections between physical and cyberspace. It will be prominently featured in an article authored by art historian Cristina Albu and showcased at the 10th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science, and Technology, hosted by the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities.
We believe your participation would greatly enrich the discussions and allow us to delve deeper into this fascinating chapter of art history.
*The event will be recorded and archived for public access via our LOFT program.
Video documentation of the September 7th, 2023, 7:00-8:30pm ET event of Internet Firsts You’ve Never Heard Of: Nina Sobell, Emily Hartzell & ParkBench’s Safe Place in Cyberspace. Recorded on Zoom, edited by Xinan Ran.
Co-Presenter Bios
Nina Sobell delves into the subtle aspects of perception and the transcendence of space and time in the Internet age. Sobell aims to portray truth and make invisible phenomena visible. She has been nominated for fellowships by the New York State Council on the Arts and The Rockefeller Foundation. Sobell, a contemporary sculptor, multimedia, and performance artist, is renowned for pioneering the use of EEG technology, closed-circuit television, and internet communication in the art world. Early in her career, she focused on experimental interaction and performance, exploring how technology influences psychological transformations and alters our perception of space and time. Her extensive body of work encompasses live performances, TV, museum installations, sculpture, and interactive video matrices that encourage public participation. Sobell’s journey with digital and installation art began in 1969 at Cornell, where she employed video to observe spectators interacting with her anonymous sculptures placed in public spaces. Her immersion at the intersection of video and sculpture sparked a fascination with using video technology to create psycho-social transformations, employing immersive environments and mobile structures to actively engage viewers.
Emily Hartzell is a multimedia artist, whose work includes photography, artists books, video, multimedia, and drawings. She was curator of the multimedia shows “At the Intersection of Cinema and Books” and “Woman on Earth” at Granary Books Gallery in 1992. In 1994 she began collaborating with Sobell on ParkBench. She works as media-artist-in-residence in a number of New York City schools, initiating projects in web design, multimedia animation, and video with elementary and middle school students. She graduated magna cum laude in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and received her MFA in Computer Art from the School of Visual Arts. Hartzell’s work has been exhibited widely.
Dr. Naoko Tanese, was Associate Dean for Biomedical Sciences, Director of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, and Professor of Microbiology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine until very recently. She is now the Chief Science Officer of the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation, a non-profit foundation that supports basic science research. Naoko has participated in over 30 PB performances.
Jesse Gilbert is an interdisciplinary artist and author working at the intersection of visual art, sound and software design. Building on his work as a composer, sound designer and lifelong technologist, Jesse’s creative output probes the phenomenological nature of listening itself through a practice centering on improvisation and collaborative dialogue. He has created projection works for the stage across five continents, and has built interactive installations for NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Microsoft, Edwards Lifesciences, and Walt Disney Imagineering. His book “The Secret Life of Data,” co-authored with fellow PB collaborator Aram Sinnreich, will be published in 2024 by MIT Press.
Other presenters of the evening included: Daniel Sollinger, Anatole Shaw, Cathy Busby, Fern Gnesin, Adrianne Wortzel, Martha Wilson, Marlena Corcoran, Diane Ludin, Karen Finley, Cynthia Carr.
“Internet Firsts You’ve Never Heard Of” is an online event at the Franklin Furnace LOFT, with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts and the members and friends of Franklin Furnace Archive.
For more information about ParkBench, please visit Nina’s ParkBench website.
