The Digital Art Exchange (DAX Group) Collection , 1979-1991 Scope and Content Note This collection contains the papers of The Digital Art Exchange (The DAX Group). These papers are mainly comprised of laser-, dot-matrix- and color-thermal-printouts of electronic mail messages and digitally-created images, telefax art, and approximately 72 hours of videotape (primarily of slowscan television exchanges and some documentary footage of art events). There are also approximately 15 hours of audiotape (primarily of conversations. There are also approximately 15 hours of audiotape (primarily of conversations), 271 color 35mm slides, approximately 150 color 4 x 5-inch transparencies (primarily of slowscan television images), approximately 100 black and white 4 x 5-inch negatives (primarily of telefaxes), photographs, correspondence and other papers, publications, exhibition posters and catalogs. Most of these documents are related to and artifacts of specific exhibitions, performances and exchanges of art by GEKKO and DAX. A more thorough description of most of the projects can be found in the "Review of DAX group activity 1982-1990." Biography or History The Digital Art Exchange (DAX) was a cross-disciplinary program started in the early 1980s by Bruce Breland, an art professor at Carnegie Mellon University. One of Breland's main goals was to create a publicly accessible network that, using current, accessible technologies, could be used by artists to assist in the creation of art and in the sharing of ideas and images. DAX pioneered work in combining electronic communications with the creation of art and collaboration between artists. The group was initially called GEKKO (Generative Energy, Kinetic Knowledge and Order), until 1985 when the name DAX was put into use. Around the same time, DAX participated in the exchange of images, using their slowscan technology, with NASA's Challenger space shuttle. DAX used a combination of computers and telecommunication devices to transfer information back and forth over large distances. DAX's vision led to the creation, in October, 1987, of the International Artists' Network (IAN), an image transmission network that helped to fill some of the organization's original goals. It was the only educationally-based transmission network at the time meant for use by artists. Several other institutions were also involved in the formation of IAN: Hochschule fur Angewandte Kunst (University for Applied Arts) in Vienna, Austria; School of Fine Art, Gwent College of Higher Education in Caerleon, Wales; Massachusetts College of Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts; and the City Art Institute of Sydney, Australia. IAN was intended not only to connect artists to other artists, but also to connect different cultures to each other as well, and this was achieved in events like the Brazilian project (1988) and the African project (1990), which connected artists from various parts of the world by transmitting information over telephone lines, with the help of computers. DAX participated in many international exhibitions. Some examples of these are the Venice Biennale (1986); The Museum of Image and Sound at Sao Paulo, Brazil (1988); and Ars Electronica at Linz, Austria (1989). People who have been involved with DAX include Matt Wrbican, Jim Kocher, Phil Rostek, Gene Hastings, Gregg Podnar, Bob Dunn, and Frank Correnti.
|