© Marc Lee; Photo © Photo: Marc Lee
- Artist/s
- Marc Lee
- Title
- Breaking the News
- Year
- 2007
- Category
- Installation
- Computer-based
- Material / Technique
- computer (PC), operating system (Windows XP), custom software with internet access, 3 or 4 projectors, 3 or 4 speakers (active)
- Dimensions / Duration
- Installation dimensions variable
- Collection
- ZKM | Center for Art and Media
- Description
- “Newscasts are increasingly turning into entertainment programs, less critical and informative than entertaining. They want to keep me sitting in front of the TV as long as possible. But I feel like I’m not learning anything.“[1] (Lee, 2012)
In the web-based installation »Breaking the News – Be a News-Jockey« visitors can create their own news from current images, texts, audio clips, and films that can be found on the Internet.
The installation consists of a projection screen and a computer mouse, with which the installation can be controlled. The main menu enables a choice from three different input options. Either a keyword or an entire sentence can be entered to generate a news story, or visitors can choose from a list of examples. The third option offers the latest headlines from the Internet generated in real time.
Once entered, the NJ (News-Jockey) software, developed specifically for »Breaking The News«, searches for data using keywords via such web services as Google, Flickr, Freesound, Amazon, Wikipedia, Yahoo, and others. The hits are then used in creating a live presentation in the form of a news bulletin. The content is projected onto the screen and complemented by colored symbols and bars. Current news can subsequently be adapted to the individual’s interests. With the help of a slider, visitors can decide whether the news should be critical and informative, or rather more entertaining.
[1] Marc Lee quoted after Katrin Heitlinger, »Vom virtuellen Jonglieren mit Nachrichten,« in Meisterwerke der Kunst – Medienkunst, ed. Landesinstitut für Schulentwicklung Stuttgart, ZKM | Karlsruhe (Villingen-Schwenningen: Neckar Verlag, 2012), 22. Translated from the German.
Author
Hannah-Maria
Images
Marc Lee, »Breaking the News«, 2007, computer-based interactive installation, installation dimensions variable, ZKM | Collection© Marc Lee; Photo © Photo: Marc Lee