Jon Flax

gizaquasar-m3

GIZA QUASAR

Thematic Statement

We find comfort in the notion of consistency. Like pyramids in a sand storm, some things shall remain immortal forever, underwhelmed by any circumstances.

These days, digital systems radiate a sense of calm. Files can be cloned and persist in eternity in infinite reproductions, as part of their DNA. They hardly mind temperature or humidity, and you won't need gloves when you unpack them.

Disruption and Residue

The proposition is to disrupt files existentially, to shake their system, literally. In order to do so, physical rearrangement is necessary. Four H.264 video files have been transferred onto obsolete video cassette systems, and all related digital files have been deleted.

The sequences receive tangible bodies that encode them. By disrupting the direct communication with the recipient, the animated episodes and their plastic shells gain in perceived value and intrinsic suspense. While all digital traces are eradicated, GIZA QUASAR potentially lives on in the residue of decayed systems. As its readability vanishes, questions emerge on dependency and immediacy between art and technology.

Sparks

Animacy

According to most children and some ancient beliefs, objects have an inherent soul. In Japan, the shintai are physcial objects, in which spirits reside. Commonly, they are kept in shrines, stored in box after box, without ever being sighted by anyone. The older the shrine, the more meticulously the shintai is obscured. In many cases, the identity and the appearance of a shintai has been forgotten. Shintai are only temporal repositories for spirits. Some may be empty, others may still be animated.

Infinity

In 1973, NASA launched the Pioneer 11 spacecraft. It was the first robotic space probe to encounter Jupiter and Saturn. The collected data on the environment around the planets was transmitted to Earth and saved on magnetic tapes. While the tapes remain in pristine condition, they are today unaccessable, as the electronic reading devices have ceased to exist.
Pioneer 11 and its twin probe Pioneer 10 are well-known to space enthusiasts for the Pioneer plaques.
Among other engravings, these golden tablets depict nude figures of a human male and female. They are intended for any intelligent extraterrestrial life form that may intercept the space probes.
In 1977, NASA included a golden phonograph record and a record player aboard the Voyager spacecraft. The disc contains sounds and images from Earth and its inhabitants. However, due to criticism following the Pioneer plaque, NASA this time refrained from displaying nude humans (photograph no. 33).
They did however include this.

Outline Setup ■ Notes

Support

GIZA QUASAR was migrated by CLAUDE VANDER CAMMEN (Brussels), REINHARD KÜHN (Schwanewede, Germany), TAK KOHYAMA (Tokyo). The GIZA QUASAR theme was composed and produced by GUY SALDANHA. Cheers to TIM VITALE and RICHARD DIEHL.

GIZA: an Egyptian city; site of pyramids
QUASAR: an extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object

contact: jon"at-symbol-here"jonflax.com