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Albert-Laszlo Barabasi"The Random Universe" (2002)

I find it particularly interesting the concept that everyone is connected socially in a network. The six degrees of separation shows how closely linked individuals are. Each person in the world has the potential to connect with every other person through networking. People know each other and those people know other people eventually resulting in everyone having a connection to everyone else whether they know it or not.

With this knowledge, I would like to produce a project which displays how closely linked humans are in todays modern technological age. Today more than ever we are constantly in contact with the internet which is the fastest way to communicate with immense numbers of people simultaneously. For example, people may send out a message to everyone they know instantly and at the same time with the help of networking applications such as Facebook or Twitter. It is fascinating the potential of this ability to help or hinder our lives on a daily basis.

Duncan Watts "Six Degrees of Interconnection" (2003)

Within this article, the six degrees of interconnection prove the social nature and ability of humans to progress through the use of personal connections. Knowing the right person can make all the difference in the world. For example, if you are looking for a job chances are the process may be difficult going through the normal chain of events such as applying, waiting for a response, interviewing, and so on. Yet through the power of networking, which with the six degrees of interconnection shows we are all linked together with only six people separating us from everyone else, this procedure may be expedited. If you have a friend who knows the manager, or better yet you know the manager in charge of hiring, well the hiring process should go a lot smoother. If the six degrees of interconnection is true, than you already do know the manager you just have to follow the chain of interconnection.

I would like to incorporate this idea into my project to improve the quality of life individuals experience. By expanding social circles, everyone can benefit. Instead of people being strangers in their own little worlds, they can share interests, information, and ideas to make everyones life more enjoyable.

Artie Vierkant "The Image Object Post-Internet" (2010)

Before the internet, art value was driven by the scarcity and uniqueness of an object. Yet with the digital age, replication of images or other forms of media is easily achieved. This easy duplication takes away the once one-of-a-kind quality of artwork. As Artie Vierkant states, "Even if an image or object is able to be traced back to a source, the substance of the source object can no longer be regarded as inherently greater than any of its copies" This completely destroys the value of images as being one of a kind productions. Another example of this is film, which was once something that was only viewed within the confines of a theater, can now simply be a file on the computer. The uniqueness of the film only viewable in the theater has now become easily transferred, copied, altered, or destroyed.

Pierre Levy "The Art of Cyberspace" (1996)

The role of the artist has changed because of cyberspace and the ability for individuals to assume roles not just as observers or creators but as both. In the past, artist created a work of art and placed their name on it, forever taking ownership of the objects they created. However with the introduction of the internet, information is shared and accessed freely and the ownership of artwork has the potential to be a collective creation. Although collective artwork may be achieved on a physical level as well, the advent of the internet has made this activity much easier to actualize. The sharing of information globally and instantly has allowed this process to become even more easily achieved.