This is the personal statement that will be part of my course application to do an MA in Art, Design and Media by Project at Portsmouth University from September 2005, over 2 years part time.

I did my degree in Interactive Arts, graduating in 1997. As the course

title suggests, the course ethos was derived from a fine art degree,

but using technology (in whatever form that might take) as our media

rather than paint, print or traditional sculpture. We were exploring

technology and interaction, using electronics, video, in addition to

the fledgling internet / web and early versions of Macromedia Director.

My main interest was robotics, although this probably makes it sound

grander than it was; more accurately the systems I created were in the

camp of responsive devices; little pieces of sculpture that responded

using sensors to external stimuli. Easier to just say robotics! I spent

some time over a summer with a animatronics and special effects company

which gave me some insight into both the technology and the industry.

At that time, the predominant critical discussions focussed on

“Interactive Arts”, a term which has since rather fallen by the

wayside. But in those theories were certainly the precursors to many of

the modern computer interaction buzzwords.

After my foundation and 3 years at University, I had finally come

(albeit a little late for my degree) to a realisation of one of my key

fields of interest : the interaction between the real and the virtual.

More specifically, bringing the computer beyond the KVM (keyboard video

mouse) interface. Within a few years of my graduation, this field,

which I had previously only known as a part of interactive art, had

it's own moniker - Physical Computing. Since then, it seems to have

garnered all sorts of sub-categories, such as calm computing / media,

ubiquitous computing and locative computing.

Also as the web has evolved, so too has the relationship between the

platform and the media. Increasingly terminology such as ubiquitous

computing is referring as much to the ‘media’ as to the physical device

it is running on. On the other side, advances such as WIFI, GPS and 3G

are creating possibilities, such as locative computing, where the

‘media’ is informed by geographical location.

However, in amongst all of the technological and theoretical

advancements in this field, I began my journey from a Fine Art

background. As much as there are enormous possibilities in the design

and implementation of physical computing devices and media, and the

associated theoretical discourse, there are many practitioners in this

field to engage in those activities. I myself am more interested in

using these technologies purely as another medium to express myself as

an artist.

So, what does this mean for an MA in Art, Design and Media by Project?

Well, it means that my project will undoubted encompass the use of some

form of interface that is beyond the KVM model. It will probably use

RSS and WiFi, being a couple of the most dominant transformational

technologies in computing today. And, it will be informed both by the

technology, and the environment the final piece will be situated in, as

it will almost certainly be a site-specific installation.

As a minor addendum, this site represents the beginnings of my research for this course