About 24 hours ago, I woke up and realized that the typhoon I'd been hearing snippets about during the DUMBO Festival was worst than the usual. I've been through typhoons, both in Manila and here (though here they're called hurricanes of course!), but as I clicked through various news sources, scanned Twitter and listened to stories from my aunt, I realized it was the worst to hit the city in some 40 years, as hundreds of thousands of people, already struggling, were displaced, with most of their possessions washed away. There are predictions of two more storms on the way that will complicate relief efforts.
As aid was needed this past weekend, I posted a call for help, and within 5 hours, we surpassed the goal of $500 I had set, and by the next day, $760 has been pledged via Kickstarter, and a couple hundred more is being given directly to me in cash today. And we still have another 24 hours to go before the Kickstarter push officially ends. I know $760 doesn't seem like a lot to us here in the U.S. (that's less than my latest lens cost me), but that's already more than the average annual income of half the country (at least according to Wikipedia).
This whole experience, right off the heels of my DUMBO Festival work, has me thinking about fundraising in the social media/mobile phone landscape in general. In what other world would it be possible to raise so much in so little time from such a broad community? Money has literallly come in from three continents, all done with a few retweets, reposts and Amazon.com logins. And my efforts are tiny compared to what others are doing online. Just look at this stunning Google map, which is both innovative and heartbreaking. How is it powered? Google spreadsheets. And how are those in the Philippines giving money? Text messaging, which remained operational despite roads and power going down.
We saw it in Mumbai, in Iran, and now in the Philippines--the world is getting just a little bit smaller and a little bit closer thanks to social media and mobile phone technologies, and this is undeniably a Good Thing. It's particularly pertinent with the latter, as so many social media users in the Philippines speak fluent English and use Twitter and Facebook, so there are fewer linguistic and technological hurdles to connecting individuals with individuals. No translation necessary.
When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, I had to rely on television, frantic, unreliable phone calls, and a letter that would arrive weeks later with assurances; and worse, given our limited resources at the time and limited ways to send money, we weren't able to send much more than good will. Now, I can text, tweet, Facebook and YouTube my way to news and, importantly, galvanize aid for a country that is almost literally on the other side of the world.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support. People like you never cease to amaze me.
Frustrated by the lack of good ways for those abroad to give money to the Philippine National Red Cross (fax in your credit card number? seriously?), I'm setting up this Kickstarter page to make it easy for anyone with an Amazon account to send a donation. I'll then wire the money directly to the Red Cross.
The money was needed yesterday, so I'm being a little ambitious here, but I have faith. I'm trying to raise $500 in less than two days (yes, by the morning of the 30th) for victims of the typhoon. Please give what you can - even just five American dollars go a long long way over there. And spread the word. Fast. Thank you!
A great first evening at the DUMBO Festival. Here's a video that captures the view, so you can send in your text message and more or less replicate the effect.
You know, at first, I was impressed because all these tourists were taking pictures with my sign in it. They must really like the art! I thought.
...then I realized it was so official-looking that they didn't even realize it was art.
Looking for some art this weekend? Be sure to stop by the 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival, which premiers tonight in DUMBO, Brooklyn, right on the waterfront. My sign, Phone-Tastic View, will be viewable tonight until this Sunday, and you'll be able to send in a text message to get more information about the view.
Marc Lafia of Art+Culture interviewed me about the piece, and my thoughts on social media and Japanese poetry. Longtime readers of this blog will start to see the connection between my earlier posts steeped in haibun and tanka and my more current posts which are more focused on social media and public space. The fun part was that we did the interview first in person and then again more formally on his Facebook wall.
I also did a two-part review of Kickstarter on Art21 Blog. You may remember that I used Kickstarter to raise funds for the festival installation, interspersed with an interview with co-founded Yancey Strickler. Be sure to check it out: Part 1 and Part 2.
And here's a video view of the sign from slightly across the bank:
In 2001, I lost access to a number of video resources when I left for New York, and I'm proud to say I am now playing with video again. Below are my contributions to the amazing Ranjit Bhatnagar's Thumping Guide to NYC, part of the fun and fabulous Conflux Festival 2009.
Tomorrow morning, I'll be leading a workshop during the Conflux Festival with the fabulous Julia Kaganskiy. It will be on psychogeography on the Internet, and we'll be debuting the amazing talents of programmer and designer Kevin Sweeney.
Coffee, donut holes and other yummy breakfast treats will be provided!
Informed by the psychogeographic strategy of “derive,” we will be creating data visualization maps, or “portraits,” of a sample group’s virtual meanderings. These portraits will then be displayed in an online gallery.
Please note: Wifi-ready laptops are required to participate in this workshop.
In Detroit airport, soothing lights. In Penn Station, I regularly hear classical music.
In the high tension world of commuting, how do you create natural order? One solution is to offer a calming environment. But already, Penn Station's classical music is quickly becoming obsolete, as we all occupy our own worlds with our own headphones and iPods. I can see a day when even soothing lights will be obsolete, when the world we see is filtered according to what we want and need.
If you think that's crazy, just watch a little augmented reality:
I love it when different languages and writing systems intermix. What's more interesting is the variation between the scripts, and how those variations reflect the presumed needs of the language-speaking group.
In multiethnic Jackson Heights, here's a sign sharing information about what you'll find in this street booth, in both Hindi and English. What's striking is the solitary "Tarjeta Telefono" (phone card) in Spanish. Why just one product aimed at Spanish speakers? Imagine you've moved to a foreign country and come across a booth like this, with three languages, two of which you don't understand. What single product would you absolutely want listed in English? Would other English-language speakers agree with you?
Waiting for the plane back to JFK, after a lovely weekend in the Detroit area, I started thinking about public sleeping norms. When is it acceptable and unacceptable to sleep in public? What are the connotations of stretching out on chaise lounges provided by an international airport, vs. stretching out on a sidewalk provided by city government? Also thinking about assumptions of cleanliness, class, privileged entrance.
In my undergraduate years, I'd often find myself in our 24-hour library at 4, 5 a.m. The library didn't provide comfy couches, but that didn't keep students from crunching chairs together, packing a sleeping bag, resting their heads on the table. And yet, a few blocks away at Barnes & Noble, such behavior would not just be frowned upon, it would be grounds for expulsion from the store.
Also got me thinking about nap rooms, and the siesta culture I grew up with in the Philippines. I still have trouble with coffee culture but can never find a place to sleep during the weekday. What's a tired artist to do?
Hi there. I'm An Xiao. I'm an artist, designer and writer An Xiao looking at the intersection of the digital and analog in the 21st century. I photograph, install, perform and tweet and have shown my work in publications and galleries internationally, including the Brooklyn Museum, Yale/Haskins Laboratories, The New York Times and Art in America. I founded and direct @Platea, a global online public art collective, and serve as a contributing columnist for PBS-affiliate Art21 and a contributing writer for the New York Foundation of the Arts and Hyperallergic.
That Was Zen, This Is Tao is my journey in haiblog -- brief, crisp prose about everything and anything that crosses my mind (which is a lot!), as I try to make some sense of the 21st century and bring a little Zen into it. In no particular order, I enjoy writing about the contemporary art world, Web 2.0 and the Internet, Zen and poetry, modern marketing, fashion and style, GTD (Getting Things Done), American politics and anything else of interest. I lead a hectic life, and I often use my iPhone to make updates in subways and parking lots. I also regularly post my most recent photography. I do hope you enjoy your stay! Below are some news updates from my web site.
