091597 What follows are ruminations on the exhibition "Among Ourselves," a series of web site scenarios created in collaboration between seven young artists. Conceived over a year ago, the sites represent collaborative possibilities realized using HTML. Each scenario was generated to act as a series of guidelines to create situations in which each artist created a persona. These personas were then asked to interact within these scenarios. The text below identifies several of the concepts the artists were addressing in this project. 010897 Astor Turret, Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA, Earth In writing this I am struck by a particular irony: I'm writing this on paper. The irony lies in the fact that this was supposed to be an analytical essay answering and asking questions about this web site. I normally would write something like this in the comfort of my own home, nestled against the cathode rays emitted by my computer. Yesterday, however, the machine crashed. So I'm here, overlooking the New York skyline, listening to the taped chirps of prehistoric birds, sounds funded by none other than Bill Gates. In the new dinosaur exhibit, there's a computer every ten feet. It is a true multimedia experience. It makes me wish my machine was up and running. If you've gotten this far, far enough to be reading this, you might be wanting some answers. There are seven of us, but only half of that even have computers. Even less know how to operate them. This is all new to us, but the web seems loaded with possibilities. We wanted to see what would happen if we put our heads together. One of the things that we were initially fascinated with was the possibility to make new selves. Sue and I had both been reading "Wired" and there was a lot of hype about "avatars", sort of virtual stand-ins for ourselves. Stand-ins for ourselves? Our conception of avatars raised complex questions that rested on a singular assumption - we know ourselves, "cogito ergo sum". Its funny to think that in order to project an aspect of yourself you assume you know yourself. Is there a self? All this technology is arguing against it. Anonymity on the BBS's allows us to be whoever we want to be. I can be somebody other than myself. By participating in the seven narratives, we all (in most cases very humorously) have taken on another identity. But what are these new identities based on? Psychology would suggest that either we base our projected identities on aspects of ourselves, or on perceived identities of others. Here, the notion of the stereotype seems pivotal. The pathological criminal, the criminally insane, most of our conceptions of this stereotype during the evolution of the piece seemed very similar, almost archetypal: are these conceptions media based or do they really have some root in reality? on collaboration Collaborations almost always end in failure. The notion of the artist is almost antithetical to the idea of collaboration, both ideologically and economically. America, at least, is holding on tightly to the idea of the "romantic imagination", that genius is a solitary affair. Nevertheless, collaboration is not unheard of between artists and is sometimes extreme in its results. Joseph Bueys often spoke of a "synergistic reaction" that would occur with the completion of his social sculpture, that is, the transformation of life into art. People working together well can produce startling results. Synergy is what, I think, enables this piece to be a success. Avatars have the promise of erasing identity. A recent computer ad states that the internet is "raceless", "genderless", baisless", as internet travelers we are "pure mind". The Platonic ideal? Perhaps. Perhaps the internet will make us realize that our differences are only superficial. But I doubt it. New distinctions are quickly arising on the internet to replace the old, but perhaps there is something here in that these differences are self made. Again, the assumed self arises. How can we believe in autonomy when our internet transmissions require an entire industry to support them? What motivates us to choose our new selves? Instead of asking the questions that will shape how the internet will affect us, we are simple dreaming about "the future". - we keep referring to the speed with which we are approaching the future. Each site begins in a state of artist autonomy as the reader recognises the narrative and/or context of the group site, the collaboration becomes more evident: for the hypertext to function meaningfully, there must be real connections between the fictional characters; not just narrative, but contextual as well. These connections very often carry back into reality. Similarities in character or symbolism that justified a narrative connection can also be seen in a comparison of the artist displays, the only point in the site where any semblance of artist autonomy exists. The point of collaboration into autonomy is the point where the hyperlink connects the two aspects, the narrative site and the artist display. In a flash of connectivity, group and individual display a latent connection.