[ISN] Want to See Some Really Sick Art?

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Thu Jun 28 2001 - 01:15:53 PDT

  • Next message: InfoSec News: "[ISN] Retool delays hackers' free-speech app"

    http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,44728,00.html
    
    By Reena Jana 
    2:00 a.m. June 27, 2001 PDT
    
    Nothing sucks more than a computer virus. 
    
    Yet the contemporary art world, always hungry for the new, the trendy
    and the controversial, is starting to recognize the virus as an art
    form -- perhaps because computer viruses embody all of the above.
    
    This year's Venice Bienale -- one of the international art world's
    most prestigious events -- served as the launching pad for
    "bienale.py." It's the art world's interpretation of the destructive
    "Melissa" and "Love Bug" viruses that grabbed headlines in recent
    years.
    
    At the Bienale, which opened on June 10, a computer infected with
    "bienale.py" remains on display until the exhibition closes in
    November. Viewers can witness someone else's system crashing and files
    being corrupted, in real time, as if it were a creepy performance.
    
    The artsy-fartsy virus was created by the European Net Art Collective
    0100101110101101.ORG, in collaboration with epidemiC, another group
    known for its programming skills. The virus only affects programs
    written in the Python computer language and is spread if someone
    downloads infected software or utilizes a corrupted floppy disk.
    
    Because Python is a relatively esoteric language, the artists hope
    that the source code, which they've printed on 2,000 T-shirts and
    published on a limited edition of 10 CD-ROMs, will be the most
    contagious form of distribution.
    
    "The source code is a product of the human mind, as are music, poems
    and paintings," explained the epidemiC team, which prefers to speak
    collectively -- and somewhat pretentiously. "The virus is a useless
    but critical handcraft, similar to classical art."
    
    Adds a member of 0100101110101101.ORG, which also prefers to speak
    collectively (and anonymously), "The only goal of a virus is to
    reproduce. Our goal is to familiarize people with what a computer
    virus is so they're not so paranoid or hysterical when the next one
    strikes."
    
    The artists have created a mini-hysteria over their piece.
    
    More than 1,400 of the shirts have been sold at $15 apiece. And
    they've sold three CD-ROMs, at $1,500 each (the collectors chose to
    remain unnamed for legal reasons). Yet the potentially damaging code
    is available for free on the artists' homepages.
    
    "In theory, we should get sued," said 0100101110101101.ORG's
    spokesperson. "But we've gotten almost no complaints. Well, we've
    gotten a few e-mails from security experts who want to know who these
    asshole artists are."
    
    Laws like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act state it's illegal to send
    damaging code in interstate or foreign communications. But the artists
    don't feel liable for any damage caused by "bienale.py" because they
    sent a warning to major software and antivirus companies including
    Microsoft and McAfee.
    
    "We've explained how to disable our virus, so people should know how
    to fix it," said the 0100101110101101.ORG spokesperson.
    
    Not everyone's buying this excuse.
    
    "If a thief leaves a note saying he's sorry, do we feel better? No,"
    said Jason Catlett, the president of an anti-spam group called
    Junkbusters, who has testified before Congress on Internet privacy
    issues. "Doing things that are socially undesirable in the name of art
    does not redeem the act."
    
    This isn't the first time artists have adopted annoying practices to
    gain attention. Spam, for instance, is emerging as an "art form" as
    well; the Webby-winning Net art collective Jodi.org sent 1,039 spam
    messages through the e-mail list Rhizome Raw this January.
    
    Some media art theorists think that an artistic statement about
    computer viruses can only be expressed effectively by spreading a
    virus itself.
    
    "To talk about contemporary culture, you have to be able to use all
    kinds of expressions of contemporary culture," said Lisa Jevbratt, who
    teaches media art at San Jose State University. "So a virus can be
    considered a legitimate art form. Of course, there will be artists and
    pranksters doing interesting new things with such forms. But there
    will be artists and pranksters whose actions are merely rehashing
    critiques."
    
    
    
    ISN is hosted by SecurityFocus.com
    ---
    To unsubscribe email isn-unsubscribeat_private
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Jun 28 2001 - 03:07:04 PDT