[ISEA2011] Paper: Yueh Hsiu Giffen Cheng – «Super Will>Super Share»

Abstract

The concept of «Super Will>Super Share»is based on an idea of the ancient Chinese folk ritual called Villain Hitting, with a purpose of connecting both elements, the conflict and the opposing, the virtuality and the entity, the digital technology and the traditional cultural phenomenon. The hi-tech age has brought us a digital space where full of imagination and over the rule from the nature; it has enhanced artist’s creativity, especially for artist who uses computer as creative medium or platform. As for Villain Hitting, it is a kind of old ritual or behavior of the mankind since ancient time, and still existing and continuing at the present days in the modern society. Thus, the hi–tech and the tradition have formed a contradictive social phenomenon.

«Super Will>Super Share» does not focus on the result from the traditional prediction, but the phenomenon of the combination of folk couture and digital culture, particularly how people’s behavior have changed throughout the hi-tech era. Hence, when people visit«Super Will>Super Share», they are experiencing a combinational culture between traditional and digital media, a contribution for collaborative creation. «Super Will>Super Share» presents a phenomenon of recombination and decentralization from Post- Deconstruction.

On September 15, 2008, when the Lehman Brothers Holdings declared bankruptcy, the whole global stock market was affected by it and went down in the twinkling of an eye. Predictions from stock experts were malfunctioned, precise formulas for stock analysis had failed to operate. Thus, people started approaching a traditional way to comfort their souls, in an attempt to find a faith from the traditional folk culture which has disappeared in the hi-tech era. The idea of«Super Will>Super Share» is to convert the ritual of Villain hitting into a game-based artistic project, and transform the traditional culture into a digital technology platform. It shows the value of folk culture in the hi-tech age, and the social status between its close but estranged relationship.

«Super Will>Super Share» is a collaborative creation project based on the ritual of Villain hitting, using Taiwan’s stock market index as its data, allowing investors to imitate the ritual of Villain hitting, in order to strengthen people‘s collective wills, and to make their favor shares increase. Therefore, the stock market index in the«Super Will>Super Share»presented a virtual data from its participants’ collective contributions. With more participants doing Villain hitting on the same share, the higher index the share will be. Consequently, when people are participating in the«Super Will>Super Share» project, they are also experiencing the collaborative creation at the same time. Hence, there is a metaphor to draw support from the combination of tradition digital hi-tech in a progressive tense of society.

  • Yueh Hsiu Giffen Cheng is a New Media artist, designer, researcher and writer. She completed a Master of Visual Arts at the Australian National University and a Doctor degree from the University of Technology, Sydney. She has edited a series of books and papers on New Media Arts, interactive design and contributed to various exhibitions. Her teaching subjects are: Design Methodology、CIS Design、Computer Drawing.  Areas of Expertise: are Culture infused arts, Arts infused education, Interactive design, New media arts history, design history, Arts Creation.

Full text (PDF) p. 416-418