Wafaa Bilal
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NYU professor unsurprisingly removes camera from the back of his head, citing pain and the malaise of lifecasting
Well, this one is not really a surprise. NYU Professor / artist Wafaa Bilal had a removable camera installed into the back of his head via a surgically implanted titanium plate to assist him with his lifecasting. Turns out that the camera caused a decent amount of pain as his body rejected the foreign object -- again, no big surprise there. Bilal, however, seems pretty unfazed, and vows to continue on with the project which he says is a "comment on the inaccessibility of time, and the inability to capture memory." Whatever, we suspect he just wanted to be known as the guy who had a camera implanted in the back of his head, and that's alright by us. [Photo by Brad Farwell]
NYU prof sticks camera on the back of his head, just as promised (video)
Remember when your parents told you they had eyes in the back of their heads, and part of you wanted to believe? Well, NYU professor and artist Wafaa Bilal recently had that done, though it's not as permanent as we'd hoped -- it's a removable dealie, affixed to a titanium plate implanted in the back of his skull. The resulting lifecast gets piped to a satchel at his side, which will be used in his art project The 3rd I at the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art on December 30th... but you should be able to get a sneak peek at the images at his website in just a little over a week. No word on whether he'll also hook up the whole kit to some sweet LCD goggles. Here's hoping. Video after the break.
NYU prof installing camera in the back of his head, JW Parker Middle School teachers insanely jealous
You've wished you had a camera implant, right? We mean, it's pretty common: you've been on the bus or the incline and something went down and you were like, "I wish I was recording this right now." Well, we know of at least two folks looking to replace their prosthetic eyes with webcams, and now an artist living in New York wishes to sport an implant of his own. Wafaa Bilal, an NYU photography professor, plans on having a camera attached to a piercing on the back of his head for one year. Throughout that time, still images will be taken at one minute intervals and displayed at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar. The work, titled "The 3rd I," is billed as "a comment on the inaccessibility of time, and the inability to capture memory and experience," although it really sounds like the dream of every teacher and parent since time immemorial: to have eyes on the back of their head. Of course, the privacy of Bilal's students is being taken into consideration, although the school is not exactly sure how they're handling that one yet -- either the camera will be covered while he teaches or shut off altogether while in NYU buildings.
New York newspaper backs free speech claim for controversial game
The last time we mentioned artist Wafaa Bilal's inflammatory Virtual Jihadi installation, it had been removed from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by administrators. Shortly after that, it was moved to an art gallery in Troy, New York -- which the city's Public Works Commissioner then shut down, citing building code violations.Last week, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against the city official, Robert Mirch, and the city of Troy, seeking not only damages for the gallery, but a court order to block the city from using its building code in such a way in the future.Sunday's edition of the Albany Times Union featured an editorial about the issue, offering support for the lawsuit. "What constitutes free and protected speech in Troy, and what constitutes public safety and unacceptable building code violations, aren't merely matters of fiat," the editorial opens. "They aren't simply up to the whims of Robert Mirch. They shouldn't be, at least." Now we'll know the reason if the Albany paper is shut down tomorrow.[Via GamePolitics]
Virtual Jihadi art exhibit expelled from RPI
A political art exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) utilizing a modded version of Quest for Saddam, which caused a stir last week, has been booted from the campus by administrators. GamePolitics continues to track the story of the exhibit, which went from "little random thing" to pariah in a week. RPI's VP, William Walker, stated in a press release, "As stewards of a private university, we have the right and, indeed, the responsibility to ensure that university resources are used in ways that are in the overall best interests of the institution."The exhibit is currently being housed at the Sanctuary for Independent Media where protesters, led by the county's Republican majority leader, believe the game to be "un-American and destructive" and "beyond the bounds of what is decent or acceptable." A counter-protest is already underway.
Virtual Jihadi mod causing tension at New York school
A political art exhibit at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) utilizing a modded version of Quest for Saddam is causing a stir with RPI's College Republicans. The installation, which opens tomorrow night, called "The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi," takes an al-Qaeda mod of the Saddam game and gives it a more nuanced feel according to the artist. In the mod, created by Iraqi-born artist Wafaa Bilal, players are cast in the role of a suicide bomber recruited by al-Qaeda.Bilal says, "This work is meant to bring attention to the vulnerability of Iraqi civilians to the travesties of the current war." The College Republicans say that the RPI Arts Department is "a terrorist safehaven." If people are interested in checking this out for themselves, the exhibit starts tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 5) at 7PM in RPI's West Hall Auditorium in Troy, NY.[Via GamePolitics]
