Spectropolis workshops: Zapped! with Beatriz da Costa, Jamie Schulte and Brooke Singer

About Zapped!: You may have heard the term RFID and possibly even brought one home unknowingly. But what exactly is a Radio Frequency Identification tag? Why will Wal-Mart’s suppliers be using them by 2005 and what about this concerns privacy advocates? In the Zapped! workshop, learn about the tags that industry is embracing for product tracking, the government for border control and public libraries for automatic checkout. After a brief overview of the technology and its related issues, participate in a hands-on exercise to build your own RFID keychain detector. It will ring, vibrate or light up when a RFID reader is within range and scanning the airwaves for data. Zapped! is a 2004 THE FUTURE OF THE PRESENT commission by the Franklin Furnace.

Date and Time: Saturday, October 2 at 3:00 pm

About da Costa, Schulte and Singer: Beatriz da Costa, Jamie Schulte and Brooke Singer have been working together since the Fall of 2002. Their project Swipe will be included in "Database Imaginary" at the Banff Center, Canada, in November 2004.

Da Costa, Schulte and Singer each bring a variety of specializations, experiences and interdisciplinary interests to their collaborative practice. Da Costa's interests include robotics, bio-tech initiatives and surveillance projects. Her dedication to participatory practice and interaction with the public represents one of the key components of her work. Da Costa recently joined the University of California at Irvine as an Assistant Professor in the new graduate program of Arts, Computation and Engineering. Schulte is an engineer who designs systems that engage human aesthetics, culture and politics. He has been a key collaborator in projects ranging from contestational robotics to video surveillance and interactive installations. Schulte is currently a robotics researcher at Stanford University. Singer is a digital media artist and arts organizer based in Brooklyn. She is Assistant Professor of New Media at the State University of New York, Purchase College.

 

For more information about Spectropolis, please contact dana@nycwireless.net.

Lower Manhattan Cultural Council   NYCwireless   The Alliance for Downtown New York

Spectropolis thanks these organizations for their help: Bway.net, Wiselephant, Justin T. Molloy and jtmdsgn, B Squared Design, Starworks, and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

© 2004 NYCwireless, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), and The Alliance for Downtown New York (DTA). All rights reserved.