TELECOPYING IN THE ELECTRONIC NETLAND

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//THE WORLD IS A FAX-VILLAGE// //AFTER A. THE AEROGRAM, TELEGRAM AND MAIL-GRAM, B. THE TELEPHONE AND TELEX; THERE IS C. THE FACSIMILE OR TELEFAX// //ARTEFAX IS MORE RELATED TO TELEPHONE(-ART) THAN TO MAIL(-ART)// //NETWORKING OR (TELE-) COMMUNICATION ART IS THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR//

//2//
//THE MYTHS OF FACSIMILE// //THE FATHER OF THE FAX IS THE SCOTTISCH PHYSICIST & CLOCKMAKER ALEXANDER BAIN (1818-1903)// //HIS INVENTION OF 1843 HAS BEEN IMPROVED BY FREDERICK COLLIER// //BLAKEWELL (1847), GIOVANNI CASELLI (1865), G. LITTLE (1867), SENLECQ DE ARDRES (1877), SHELFORD BIDWELL (1881), N.S. AMSTUTZ (1892), BUSS (1902), AR-THUR KORN (1904), EDOUARD BELIN (1907), DIEKMANN (1917), AMERICAN TELEPHONE & TELE-GRAPH COMPANY (1924/1925), WESTERN UNION (1924), NEC (1927), WISE (1938), XEROX CORPO-RATION (& RCA) (1950/1961), THE FIRM OF RUDOLF HELL (1965), MAGNAFAX-XEROX (1966), RI-COH (1970), ETC.// //CIRCA 1970 APPEARS THE FIRST PROTOTYPE OF A LASERFAX// //DURING THE EIGHTIES THE FACSIMILE APPARATUS SPREADS WORLDWIDE// //IN 1990 THE FIRMS OF SHARP AND STARSIGNAL PRESENT THE FIRST PROTOTYPES OF COLORTELEFAX// //MEANWHI-LE FAX HAS BECOME AN ART MEDIUM//

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//FACSIMILE// //N. ( //4//
//COPY// //( //5//
//FAX-ART (ALSO CALLED "ART(E)FAX" OR TELECOPY-ART) IS A LOGICAL CONSEQUENCE OF THE ECONOMICAL EVOLUTION OF THE TELEFAX MACHINE// //THERE ARE NO FAX TRANS-MISSIONS IF NOBODY CAN BUY A FAX APPARATUS// //TELECOPY ART DOESN'T RESPECT THE SAME STANDARDS AS XEROGRAPHY OR COPY-ART// //THE LATTER IS AN EVENT// //IT IS THE ARTIST WHO INDICATES AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT WHICH PHOTOCOPIES ARE ARTISTIC WORKS AND WHICH ARE NOT// //FAX-ART NEEDS AN ELECTRONIC PROCESS// //IT IS TELE-COMMUNICATION ART// //THE ARTIST CAN TRANSMIT HIS OR HER IMAGE OR WORK, BUT HE OR SHE HAS NOT THE FULL CONTROL OVER THE FACSIMILE EQUIPMENT OF THE RECEIVER// //SO THE AESTHETIC ASPECTS OF THE FAXWORK BECOME OF SECONDARY IMPORTACE IN COMPARISON WITH THE COMMUNICATIVE ASPECTS// //IN OTHER WORDS A WORK CAN ONLY BECOME FAX ART IF IT IS TRANSMITTED//

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//THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL FAX ART PROJECTS GO BACK TO THE EARLY EIGHTIES WITH IMPORTANT PROJECTS AS "THE WORLD IN 24 HOURS" (SEPTEMBER 27 & 28, 1982) AS A PART OF THE "ARS ELECTRONICA 1982" ORGANIZED BY ROBERT (BOB) ADRIAN// //OR "pARTiciFAX" (ELECTRONIC MAIL) (JUNE, 1984) CO-ORDINATED BY PEETER SEPP, LISA SEL-LYEH, MARY MISNER, MICHAEL BIDNER, A.O. WITH PARTICIPANTS FROM AFRICA, AMERICA, ASIA, AUSTRALIA, AND EUROPE// //IN THE LATE EIGHTIES FAX BECOMES AN INTEGRATED PART OF THE MAIL-ART NETWORK// //IN THIS RESPECT WE CAN PERCEIVE MORE AND MORE MAIL-ART PROJECTS ALSO MENTIONING A TELEFAX NUMBER, SO THE ARTISTS CAN CHOOSE THEMSELVES IF THEY WANT TO SEND THEIR WORK VIA POST OR FAX// //MANY NETWORKERS HAVE ALREADY CURATED OR ORGANIZED SPECIFIC TELEFAX OR ARTEFAX PROJECTS, E.G. ARTPOOL/GALANTAI, GUY BLEUS, PETER BRANDT, PAOLO BRUSCKY, PIERMARIO CIANI, NA-TALE CUCINIELLO, KO DE JONGE, CHARLES FRANÄOIS, MAURICIO GUERRERO, JOHN HELD JR., GIUSEPPE IANNICELLI, LORA JOST, CHRISTIAN PFAFF, ETC.// //A GOOD ADVICE FOR FAX PER-FORMANCES OR FAX PROJECTS IS TO HAVE PERMANENTLY MORE THAN ONE FAX LINE OPEN// //"WAITING" TO HAVE CONTACT SEEMS TO BE AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF TELEFAX COMMUNICATION// //BECAUSE THE LINES ARE ALWAYS BUSY//

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//THE TRANSMITTED OR RECEIVED TELECOPY IS ALWAYS AN ORIGINAL// //THE CONTEXT OR INTENSION OF THE TRANSMISSION CAN BE FALSE// //BUT A FAX DOES NEVER LIE// //IT IS THE INTERACTION AND RESULT OF A SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PROCESS//

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//SINCE FAX ART IS ELECTRONIC MAIL-ART ONE CAN ALSO TRANSMIT "INDIRECT" FAX WORKS// //X SENDS A FACSIMILE TO Y WITH THE REQUEST TO TRANSMIT IT TO Z (NOW Y CAN ADD OR ERASE SOME ASPECTS OF THE FAX BEFORE SENDING IT TO Z)// //THIS IS A GOOD AND FAST METHOD TO REALIZE CO-ARTWORKS IN NO TIME//

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//FAXING CAN TRANSFORM THE NOTION OF TIME// //BY OBSTRUCTING THE "ORIGINAL" (NOT TRANSMITTED) TEXT OR IMAGE ONE CAN INFLUENCE THE DURATION OF THE FAX TRANSMISSION// //FOR INSTANCE, ONE CAN MANIPULATE THE TELEFAX MACHINE BY WITH-DRAWING, STRETCHING, PULLING UP, PULLING FURTHER OUT (A PART OF) THE TRANSMIT-TING PAGES// //BESIDES THESE VERTICAL MANOEUVRES ALSO HORIZONTAL (ZIG-ZAG, SHA-KING OR WAVING) ACTIONS ARE POSSIBLE// //MOREOVER THE MISUSE OF THE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS CAN BE REPEATED// //ALL THESE OPERATIONS WILL AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF THE FAXTRANSMISSION AND THE TRANSMITTED IMAGE OR WORK// //THE LATTER CAN ALSO BE INFLUENCED BY INTERVENTIONS ON THE FAXPAPER: HEATING, CRUMPLING UP, THE USE OF CORROSIVE LIQUIDS, ETC.// //THESE OPERATIONS CAN GIVE WONDERFUL AND UNEX-PECTED RESULTS AND CHANGE THE FAX PROCESS// //BUT OF COURSE ALL THESE ARTISTIC INTERVENTIONS ARE NOT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THE WELL-BEING OF YOUR TELEFAX MACHINE//

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//OPPONENTS OF TELEFAX AS AN ARTISTIC MEDIUM CORRECTLY EMPHASIZE ITS SHORTCOMINGS// //FAX "IS" MORE EXPENSIVE THAN POSTAL NETWORKING// //ONE CAN'T TRANSMIT SCENTS OR 3-D OBJECTS// //FACSIMILE MEANS "SELECTION"// //ONE CAN NOT RE-CEIVE SEVERAL FAXES AT THE SAME TIME (WITH ONLY ONE TELEFAX LINE)// //ETC.// //ALL THESE REMARKS AIN'T WITHOUT THRUTH// //BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT "EVERY" ARTISTIC MEDIUM HAS ITS OWN LIMITATIONS// //FOR INSTANCE, MAIL-ART IS NOT THE PROPER OR ADEQUATE MEDIUM FOR A SCULPTOR// //SO, SCULPTURE IS HIGHLY SELECTIVE BECAUSE A BLOCK OF MARBLE OR BLUE-STONE IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN A FAX TRANSMISSION// //BUT THESE ARTFORMS ARE BEYOND COMPARISON AND DOING SO MEANS CONFUSING CONCEPTS// //SCULPTURE, FILM, MAIL-ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, COMPUTER ART, FAX ART, ETC. ARE DIFFE-RENT WAYS OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION// //POSSIBILITY, FEASIBILITY, MONEY, IDIOSYNCRACY AND PREFERENCE ARE SOME OF THE APPLICABLE NOTIONS IN THIS TASTY RHUBARB//

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//FROM AN IDEOLOGICAL OR ETHICAL POINT OF VIEW ALL ART MEDIA MEAN "SELEC-TION", EVEN THE DEMOCRATIC MAIL-ART NETWORKING// //HOW MANY MAIL ARTISTS ARE THERE IN NORTH KOREA, CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, TIBET, LIBANON, IRAN, SUDAN OR SOMA-LIA?// //ART IS FREEDOM AND LUXURY// //FAX IS FUN// //IT HAS NO "ETHICAL" OR "IDEOLO-GICAL" IMPLICATIONS// //EXCEPT THIS ONE: THE (ELECTRONIC) (MAIL-ART) WORLD HAS BE-COME A GLOBAL VILLAGE WITH MANY "BLIND SPOTS"//

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//TO FAX OR NOT TO FAX IS NOT THE QUESTION// //FAXING OR TELECOPYING JUST ADDS NEW ELECTRONIC PERSPECTIVES TO THE EXISTING MAIL-ART ACTIVITIES// //THE CONSE-QUENCES WON'T CAUSE AN INFLATION OF THE NETWORKING COMMUNICATION OR REPLACE THE PREVIOUS MAIL-ART RITUALS// //BUT EXPLORING ALL THE ADDITIONAL ELECTRONIC POSSIBILITIES MEANS A NEW STIMULUS FOR THE ETERNAL NETLAND//