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Subject: MICHAEL SCHRAGE=Why the Baby Bells Should Get to the Art of a New
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 11:48:46 EST
Message-ID: <3.1992Nov14.114846@AmeriCast.com>

MICHAEL SCHRAGE=Why the Baby Bells Should Get to the Art of a New
Technology<By Michael Schrage=

 Great artistic movements need more than genius; they also re-
quire great patrons. The Italian Renaissance had the Church and
the d'Medicis. The French Impressionists had art dealer Paul
Durand-Ruel. But in this emerging era of new media technologies,
what bold patron is uniquely positioned to sponsor the digital
Duchamps? The Picassos of parallel processors? The Fellinis of
fiber optics?

 Does the name Bell Atlantic Corp.  ring a bell?

 Just like canvas and clay, telecommunications networks can and
should be viewed as artistic media. Another regional phone com-
pany, Pacific Telesis Group Inc., already gives roughly $1 mil-
lion a year to support traditional arts and exhibits. But instead
of subsidizing the art of the past, why not sponsor the art of
the future? Don't just commission works of art; commission net-
works of art. Pacific Telesis, Bell Atlantic and the other re-
gional Bell operating companies could easily - and legally - be-
come multimedia d'Medicis and encourage a new generation of digi-
tally interactive art.

 "I can see what you sell (this idea) on" says Robert E.  La-
Blanc, a former vice chairman of Continental Telecom who consults
with the regional telephone  companies. "The use of new technolo-
gy in creative ways - even in an altruistic way ... The more they
encourage people to use telecommunications in imaginative ways,
the better off they'll be. Of course, the shareholders would have
to be convinced."

 "It's a provocative idea," asserts Robert Stein, managing direc-
tor of the Voyager Co. in Santa Monica, one of the most innova-
tive multimedia production houses in California. "The reason why
the Bells would want to do this would be to jump-start some con-
ceptual thinking on what this media is good for. By definition,
artists are ahead of the curve. So this would be good business.
Whether or not it's good art is irrelevant to them."

 Technically, there would be little problem for a local phone
company to assign phone numbers, network capacity and processing
power for such an "ArtNet." Perhaps a company will commission an
ArtNet that lets personal computer users collaborate to create a
giant community novel.  How about a "virtual quilt" that lets
people scan in favorite photographs and images to be digitally
woven together as post-industrial craft?

 Similarly, what kind of a network might an environmental artist
like Christo devise? Or a video artist like Bill Viola? Would the
interaction be Nintendo-like? Would it be like watching cable TV?
Strolling through an art/video gallery? Or would there be new
styles and genres of interaction that the network of art would
uniquely create? What new artists might a well-crafted commission
discover?  These are exactly the kinds of questions the Bell com-
panies should be asking themselves anyway. With just a little im-
agination - and even less money - the Bell companies have a
unique opportunity to stimulate both artistic and technological
innovation. As public utilities, they have an obligation to rea-
sonably pursue that opportunity.

 "Obviously, we want to do anything we can to make people aware
of what the network can do," says Michael Renzler, a Pacific
Telesis spokesman. "The question is, how can you do that through
a piece of artwork? One of the problems is getting your arms
around it."

 On the other hand, Renzler acknowledges, "There's a lot of in-
teresting work going on right now in areas like multimedia. It
would be a challenge to us, and it's certainly a departure from
the types of art we have been funding."

 Which is precisely why the Bell companies should do it. Indeed,
some people might attack such an initiative by the phone com-
panies on the grounds that it smells more like research and
development than philanthropic support of the arts.  "I would be
concerned that they would use this as a stepping stone to move
into commercial markets," said former Federal Communications Com-
mission chairman Richard Wiley, a lawyer who has fought the Baby
Bells' effort to offer information services. "There are other
practical issues like cross-subsidies between the regulated and
unregulated sides of the companies." Nevertheless, why wouldn't
public utility regulators want to encourage philanthropy and in-
novation? To be sure, you can run into the Robert Mapplethorpe
problem of "tasteless" and "inappropriate" network art, but
should that risk outweigh the public benefits?

 "There's really nothing novel in this suggestion," argues Li-
brarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin, author of "The Creators," a
best-seller on the history of the arts.  "Throughout history the
patron has played a crucial role in encouraging ...  the role of
the artist. ... We need to find ways to encourage people to ex-
periment ... with new technologies."

 Michael Schrage is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.<10:57
11-14C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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