Garnet Hertz - Experiments in Galvanism: Frog with Implanted Webserver
[Project Documentation]


Overview

Experiments in Galvanism is the culmination of studio and gallery experiments in which a miniature computer is implanted into the dead body of a frog specimen. Akin to Damien Hirst's bodies in formaldehyde, the frog is suspended in clear liquid contained in a glass cube, with a blue ethernet cable leading into its splayed abdomen. The computer stores a website that enables users to trigger physical movement in the corpse: the resulting movement can be seen in gallery, and through a live streaming webcamera.

- Risa Horowitz

Garnet Hertz has implanted a miniature webserver in the body of a frog specimen, which is suspended in a clear glass container of mineral oil, an inert liquid that does not conduct electricity. The frog is viewable on the Internet, and on the computer monitor across the room, through a webcam placed on the wall of the gallery. Through an Ethernet cable connected to the embedded webserver, remote viewers can trigger movement in either the right or left leg of the frog, thereby updating Luigi Galvani's original 1786 experiment causing the legs of a dead frog to twitch simply by touching muscles and nerves with metal.

Experiments in Galvanism is both a reference to the origins of electricity, one of the earliest new media, and, through Galvani's discovery that bioelectric forces exist within living tissue, a nod to what many theorists and practitioners consider to be the new new media: bio(tech) art.

- Sarah Cook and Steve Dietz



Video Documentation


Twitch, Ace Art Inc. (Winnipeg, Canada, 2003) - Frog: Experiments in Galvanism from Garnet Hertz on Vimeo.


Beall Center for Art & Technology (Irvine, 2004) - Frog: Experiments in Galvanism from Garnet Hertz on Vimeo.


Air Artlog (Japan) - Experiments in Galvanism, Garnet Hertz from Garnet Hertz on Vimeo.


Twitch - Webcam View (Winnipeg, 2003) - Garnet Hertz from Garnet Hertz on Vimeo.
View fourteen stills from webcam, as installed in the exhibition "Twitch" at Ace Art Inc., Winnipeg (2003).


Experiments in Galvanism Video Documentation - Courtesy of Risa Horowitz / Ace Art Inc.
Project Video Documentation: 737K QuickTime Video File (Provided courtesy of Risa Horowitz / Ace Art Inc.)


Photo Documentation

Experiments in Galvanism - Garnet Hertz - Photo by Bill Eakin

"Experiments in Galvanism" High Resolution Photograph (Photo by Bill Eakin, as installed in Ace Art Inc, Winnipeg, Canada 2003.)

Garnet Hertz - Experiments in Galvanism: Frog with Implanted Webserver
Frog: High resolution color TIFF (2.4M TIFF - LZW/PC)
Frog: High resolution B/W TIFF (844K TIFF - LZW/PC)


Project Exhibition History


Tutorial

When this project is installed and activated, a special website at http://conceptlab.com/frog/ allows users in the gallery and on the internet to interact with the project, a frog specimen suspended in a tank of liquid with a miniature computer inside of its body cavity:

The screen is split in two parts: the left of the screen shows a live gallery "webcam" image, and the right of the screen displays controls for users to interact with the project.


The right part of the screen displays the text "BODY INTERIOR", an image of a frog body with electronics, and two links: "LEFT LEG" and "RIGHT LEG".

The right "body interior" website is physically stored and retrieved from a miniature computer - or web server - inside of the frog body. In essence, the right portion of the screen is a view inside of the frog's body, or at least data stored on electronics implanted inside of it.


Clicking on "LEFT LEG" or "RIGHT LEG" activates motors inside of the frog's body. These motors make the frog's legs physically move in the gallery space. After clicking the leg activation links, a "LEFT LEG ACTIVATED" or "RIGHT LEG ACTIVATED" screen is displayed for about two seconds while the specimen's legs are in motion.


The left side of the screen displays a view from a live webcam, positioned about 125 cm (4 feet) directly above the frog and its surrounding tank.


When the "LEFT LEG" or "RIGHT LEG" links are activated, the movement of the frog's legs can be seen on the live camera. In addition, people in the gallery space can also be seen.

The exhibition space at San Luis Obispo has a computer about 3 meters (10 ft) away from the frog/tank, with http://conceptlab.com/frog/ loaded on it. This enables gallery visitors to activate the piece and simultaneously view it in the exhibition space. Viewers off-site can also activate the project and view in-gallery viewers huddled around the glass tank and frog.

Project Exhibition Essay: Ace Art (Winnipeg, Canada) as part of "Twitch" in October 2003.

"Token of Such Things", Steve Dietz, from "Twitch" exhibition at Ace Art Inc. (Winnipeg, Canada 2004).

Token of Such Things by Steve Dietz



Project Press




Project Installation and Exhibition Documentation: Walter Phillips Gallery (Banff, Canada) in "The Art Formerly Known As New Media" curated by Sarah Cook and Steve Dietz from September 17 - October 23, 2005.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
"The Art Formerly Known As New Media" introductory wall text in the Walter Phillips Gallery. Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Garnet Hertz configuring and installing Experiments in Galvanism at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Garnet Hertz dropping frog into mineral oil tank with Sarah Cook at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Closeup of Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Garnet Hertz introduces Experiments in Galvanism during exhibition opening of "The Art Formerly Known As New Media". Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Garnet Hertz introduces Experiments in Galvanism during exhibition opening of "The Art Formerly Known As New Media". Photo by Steve Dietz.


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at the Walter Phillips Gallery in Banff in 2005. Photo by Steve Dietz.
Garnet Hertz gives lecture on September 17th 2005 at the Banff New Media Institute in conjunction with the opening of "The Art Formerly Known As New Media". Photo by Steve Dietz.



Project Exhibition Documentation: DEAF07 (Rotterdam, NL)


Experiments in Galvanism as installed at DEAF07. Photo by Neural It.
Experiments in Galvanism as installed at DEAF07. Photo by neural.it.





Garnet Hertz, http://www.conceptlab.com