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[20:03] <Xavier> This is the eleventh session we have conducted this month using this innovative process/project called the WebStudio.
[20:04] <Xavier> The automatic counter tells us that we had over 500 hits during this time period -- people interested or intrigued by an Internet-based art project that uses two webcams and a live chatroom to create paintings.
[20:05] <Xavier> I've always thought of the Internet as a mirror of society and thought it'd be exciting for web surfers to collaborate in a painting with me, much like I do when I paint community murals in different cities.
[20:06] <Xavier> The mirror of society metaphor rings quite true in this point: usually when I paint collaborative murals in the non-virtual world, the participants have been convened to help create the process, and/or have some formal connection with the activity.
[20:07] <Xavier> For instance, children in a neighborhood, adults in a conference, cancer patients in a clinic, etc.
[20:07] <Xavier> The activity is usually structured and the participants feel some sort of connection.
[20:09] <Xavier> In the virtual world, this project accentuates some of the differences. Not only do the WebStudio participants lack the kinship or fellowship that my real-world participants share, but participants in this process are actually anonymous screen names.
[20:09] <Xavier> Those participating do not know how to begin to wrap their arms around the others online.
[20:10] <Xavier> It is no wonder that as I sit here in this 11th session, I'm the only one online, and during the prior 10 sessions, there have been relatively few active participants compared to the 500+ who rather participate from a distance.
[20:11] <Xavier> The truth is, that in the real world, when participants interact with an artist they do so in a voyeuristic capacity. Whether it's a guy with a spray can in a mall surrounded by a huddling crowd, or a tourist visiting a co-op artist studio.
[20:12] <Xavier> In these cases people find the artist to be the supreme creative being, the arbitor of creativity.
[20:13] <Xavier> If anything, this project has attempted to shatter that archaic image.
[20:13] <Xavier> The role of the artist in society cannot be so simply distilled.
[20:14] <Xavier> This project's attempt to blur the lines between those who create art and those consume it is steadfast. But perhaps the approach maybe difficult since many perceive the placement of paint on canvas as the only truly artistic activity taking place here.
[20:15] <Xavier> Even those who have participated in the WebStudio, at times have tried to defer creative or artistic expressions to me.
[20:16] <Xavier> I tried tackling that by expressing whatever comment might have been suggested, even as a joke (e.g., the ice cream cone on the 2nd Love Painting).
[20:18] <Xavier> But nonetheless, there's a certain apprehension in collaborating, particularly in the creation of art, when individuals do not share a common connection.
[20:19] <Xavier> We will try to tackle these shortcomings during the next WebStudio months by adapting our approach.
[20:20] <Xavier> For one, we will attempt to create screen name profiles, so that at least those who are in the chatroom can volunteer information that might increase the comfort level of others participating.
[20:21] <Xavier> Secondly, we'll continue to simplify access to the WebStudio and its chatroom, balancing simplicity with the need to adequately explain the concept and process behind our activity.
[20:23] <Xavier> Thirdly, we'll try to emulate some of the processes that work in the real world when implementing the WebStudio. For instance, when creating a large mural with hundreds of participants, there's usually a core group that helps frame the discussions and lead the activity.
[20:23] <Xavier> This kind of core group is conspicuously absent here in the WebStudio.
[20:28] <Xavier> I've received feedback saying there needs to be a captive audience that can come in during scheduled times to participate in the Studio.
[20:29] <Xavier> Or that the WebStudio needs to be linked to an actual activity occuring at a real time in the real world, e.g., a conference.
[20:30] <Xavier> This Friday I'll be meeting with teachers from four elementary schools with whom I plan to collaborate in the creation of four school-based murals.
[20:30] <Xavier> We've tossed around the idea of incorporating the WebStudio into that process.
[20:31] <Xavier> In essence, their students would be the core group that would lead in developing the WebStudio. Those more reluctant to participate may do so by finding strength in numbers, or someone who's broken the ice.
[20:32] <Xavier> In such a way, I can envision students from one or several of these schools taking the lead in framing the issues for next month's painting, "The Way We Relate to Others in Society".
[20:33] <Xavier> They would be reinforced by their classmates and teacher in the real world, and provided with any technical assistance should they have difficulties in navigating through the WebStudio, posting articles in discussions forums, accessing the chatrooms, or scanning pictures for the Particpant Galleries.
[20:34] <Xavier> Likewise, we hope to develop a more thorough understanding on how the WebStudio can reach and encourage others to contribute.
[20:35] <Xavier> Pivotal to this is showing future viewers the documentation of the process undertaken by these kids and the adults who followed them
[20:36] <Xavier> Maybe down the line the comfort level will be so increased that participating in a project like the WebStudio would be as commonplace as using email is today.
[20:37] <Xavier> We will look to students starting mid-May and we will also be focusing on some sight-specific activities, like conferences.
[20:39] <Xavier> During this session I have worked on some very final touches on this, the first, painting we've created in the WebStudio, and am comfortable signing it off as a completed art piece.
[20:39] <Xavier> The painting is done.
[20:40] <Xavier> Instead of initiating a third painting, the WebStudio will focus its energies on developing the type of links I mentioned above, reaching out to the real world.
[20:42] <Xavier> As such, the next two sessions of the WebStudio (Thursday the 29th, and Friday the 30th) will be canceled, and we'll resume with the paintings on society during the second week of May.
[20:43] <Xavier> Hopefully, those sessions will not be as empty as this one.
[20:47] <Xavier> This is so because the WebStudio has nothing to do with what I have done with the past hour, documenting me through text and images while I sit and create a painting. Instead the WebStudio is about creating in communion with others.
[20:47] <Xavier> There may be some confusion because webcams are by their very nature voyeuristic instruments, and you use them to pry into someone's life and daily routine.
[20:48] <Xavier> I have no doubt that I will, in time, use webcams just so that others can come and watch me engage in what would otherwise be a completely private and personal activity (creating a painting in my studio).
[20:49] <Xavier> The WebStudio concept encompasses much more than that, and requires the participation of others in order for it to succeed.
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