Complete with philosophers chanting source code and videos of nudist hackers, the "I love you [rev.eng]" exhibit at the Watson Institute for International Studies brings the threat of computer viruses to life.
"I love you [rev.eng]," part of the InfoTechWarPeace Project, seeks to explore the effect computer viruses have on not only the world of technology, but also on politics, history, economics and culture. The exhibit was developed by DigitalCraft.org Kulturbüro. James Der Derian, professor of international studies at the Watson Institute, is the director of the InfoTechWarPeace Project.
According to Der Derian, part of the purpose of "I love you [rev.eng]" is to explore how international relations are affected beyond the traditional realm of land and sea. Computer technology and computer viruses link the world in another realm - that of cyberspace. The exhibit attempts to illuminate the various ways in which different parties interact with each other in cyberspace, both positively and negatively.
"Technology isn't neutral," Der Derian said. The exhibit endeavors to show how cyberspace is replete with struggles over power and access to information. Der Derian said the show is meant to explore who gets access to networks and who controls the flow of information.
The show also tries "to open up some of the boxes of international relations," according to Der Derian. The most important of these "boxes" is the way in which people study the issues in technology. Der Derian said people must break down interdisciplinary boundaries, taking themselves out of traditional modes of thought and looking at international relations from a broader perspective.
"I love you [rev.eng]" is a highly interactive experience, featuring various computer activities, simulations, videos and art pieces in progress. Upon entering the exhibit, one hears Italian media philosopher Franco Berardi ranting from above as he reads a virus source code.
The Berardi reading, entitled "[epidemiC] loveletter reading," was recorded on video. When one looks up, the video of Berardi enthusiastically chants the elements of the code.
After passing from "[epidemiC] loveletter reading" at the entrance, one comes upon "the lovers" directly ahead. This installation, by Sneha Solanki, is a progressive piece. Two computers are linked to each other through a wire. One computer, infected with a virus, feeds the virus to the second computer. Originally, both computers had two romantic English poems on their monitors. Slowly the text on each monitor becomes distorted through the actions of the virus.
The exhibit also features a creative history of computer viruses. Dates and their corresponding events in viral history hang suspended from the ceiling, spanning 1949 to the present. As the years pass, the number of events increases, creating a powerful visual statement about the continual growth of viruses.
The next segment of the exhibit is a group of five televisions, each playing a continuous loop of video ranging from 20 to 50 minutes in length. Each television plays a different piece, but all films focus on the international hacker scene.
On the fourth television, the featured documentary, directed by Ine Poppe, is particularly interesting. The video follows the lives of the group Hippies from Hell, an eclectic gathering of hackers who started the first Dutch Internet provider for the general public. The film includes scenes of them hacking in the nude and throwing wild parties.
The final segment of the show is in the darkened media room. This is where the heart of the exhibit lies. A documentary by Caleb Waldorf entitled "I love you [...but do you know what love really means?]" plays a multitude of interviews, news spots and snippets from movies about hacker culture. Computer terminals allow the viewer to either observe the effect various computer viruses have on operating systems or to actually create different viruses.
There are many other installations in the media room, but one of the most striking is a projection of the virus "biennale.py," the first virus written in the programming language Python. The source code is projected onto a wall in the media room. The pale yellow letters contrast against the reddish-black background, creating an ominous atmosphere. Upon examination of the code, various phrases strike an even deeper chord of threat. Terms like "mysoul," "mybody," and "blacklist" appear within the text. This piece was created by 0100101110101101.ORG and epidemiC.
The presentation of "I love you [rev.eng]" in Providence is the exhibit's third international showing - it was presented in Germany in 2002 and 2003. InfoTechWarPeace touts this exhibit as being shown in "reverse engineered form" - this description is the reason for the "[rev.eng]" in the show's title. Reverse engineering is computer science lingo for taking an existing system or code and modeling a new code on the original.
This exhibit is an enhanced continuation of the previous shows. The [rev.eng] tagline can be interpreted as both an abbreviation for reverse engineered or even "revenge." This duality plays into the show's exploration of the complexity of ideas.
Der Derian said he had two goals for the Watson Institute during the presentation of the exhibit. He wanted to draw people who do not study international relations into the building, and he also wanted to provide international studies students a new optic for their learning.
The show is accessible to everyone, even people not familiar with computers. Captions with a brief summary and history of the featured virus accompany every art piece. The main purpose of the show, however, is to enjoy and contemplate the strange concept of computer viruses and technology as a beautiful visual aesthetic. The exhibit is absorbing and well worth taking the time to explore.
"I love you [rev.eng]" is open today 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m., and Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibit's Web site can by accessed at www.digitalcraft.org/iloveyou/index.htm.
