Jeff Crouse » Stephanie Rothenberg

Panel: Cybersex: What’s Art got to do with it?

Jeff — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:16:01 +0000

Stephanie and I will be traveling to CAA on Thursday to be on a panel at the New Media Caucus. If you are in Chitown, holler at me.

Chair: Vagner Whitehead
Panelists: Barbara DeGenevieve, Doug Ischar, Stephanie Rothenberg & Jeff Crouse

Saturday 2/13/10 from 2pm – 3:30pm
Columbia College Chicago – 916 S. Wabash Ave, Room 150

Panel Abstract: While it is arguable that looking at pornography online equates actual sexual acts performed with the aid of computer communication technologies, the connection between mediated visual stimulation with desire exists. It is possible that a percentage of the people looking at porn and partaking on cybersex (from the traditional chatroom text, to emailed pictures, cam2cam, MUVEs, etc), consists of artists. Their interaction with these technologies and other beings interested in similar activities could potentially inform/influence their artistic endeavors. This panel aims to examine the varied form in which artists explore and present sexuality and the Internet in their works.

Laborers of Love

Jeff — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:43:29 +0000

Laborers of Love is a project focused on the relationship between online sex and online work, specifically how technology mediates desire and sexuality. We are interested in how online culture has transformed what we mean by labor, sex, gender, sexual preference and collaboration, as well as how we think of pornography in terms of production and consumption.

The project uses Mechanical Turk (mturk.com) to create your sexual fantasy. Mturk is an internet application that hires anonymous online workers to complete a set of tasks that are a few steps beyond automation – still requiring human intelligence. Workers get paid a small amount of money per task. Businesses list jobs and online workers get paid to fulfill the tasks requested.

For this first version of the project we want to find out how this global pool of anonymous workers interpret your sexual fantasy through image and video. You will be directed through a series of questions about your sexual preferences. It takes less than a minute. Your input will guide the workers as to what images and videos they should choose to represent your fantasy.

Once your input is submitted, it will be sent to MTurk. Through a division of labor, anonymous workers will interpret each one of your responses and search the internet for the image or video they feel best matches your response. When the job is complete your fantasy will be revealed. So why waste another minute – get started now!

Invisible Threads at Laboral

Jeff — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:13:23 +0000

The folks at Laboral finally announced the FEEDFORWARD show. Stephanie and I will be presenting our Invisible Threads project there from Fri, October 23 , 2009 – Mon, April 5, 2010, and I am currently accepting applications to work in our wonderful SecondLife factory. Apply now! Keep in mind that it is a sweatshop, so be prepared to work in very uncomfortable situations for inhumane amounts of time for ridiculously low pay! Hope to see you there!

Invisible Threads

Jeff — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 22:48:03 +0000

Invisible Threads is a mixed reality performance installation created by Eyebeam artists Jeff Crouse and Stephanie Rothenberg. The project explores the growing intersection between labor, emerging virtual economies and real life commodities through the creation of a designer jeans sweatshop in the metaverse Second Life. Simulating a real life manufacturing facility that includes hiring Second Life “workers” to produce real world jeans sold for profit, the project provides an insider’s view into current modes of global, telematic production.

Please check out the DoubleHappinessJeans site for more information/updates.