Netochka Nezvanova
Encyclopedia
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
used by the author(s) of nato.0+55+3d
NATO.0+55+3d
NATO.0+55+3d was an application software for realtime video and graphics, released by 0f0003 Maschinenkunst in 1999 for the Mac OS operating system....
, a real-time
Real-time computer graphics
Real-time computer graphics is the subfield of computer graphics focused on producing and analyzing images in real time. The term is most often used in reference to interactive 3D computer graphics, typically using a GPU, with video games the most noticeable users...
, modular, video and multi-media processing environment. Alternate aliases include "=cw4t7abs", "punktprotokol", "0f0003", "maschinenkunst" (preferably spelled "m2zk!n3nkunzt"), "integer", and "antiorp". The name itself is adopted from the main character of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's first novel Netochka Nezvanova
Netochka Nezvanova (novel)
Netochka Nezvanova is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's first but unfinished attempt at writing a novel. The first completed section of the book was published in the end of 1849. According to translator Jane Kentish, this first publication was intended as "no more than a prologue to the novel"...
(1849) and translates appropriately as "nameless nobody."
Besides her audio-visual software art
Software art
Software art refers to works of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks. As an artistic discipline software art has attained growing attention since the...
, the fame and notoriety of 'Netochka Nezvanova' stems from the complex and intricate online behavior she displayed through her various identities on countless mailing lists and websites, by which she mesmerized and vexed internet users and the operators of her software products alike.
History
The earliest identity "=cw4t7abs" (antiorp@tezcat.com) surfaced in 1995 on mailing lists and newsgroups relating to electronic music production (for instance, the Kurzweil K2000 music synthesizerSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
) and related Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
groups (rec.music.makers.synth), rendering them speechless with spiralling messages saturated in a dense fogginess of code-poetry
Visual poetry
Visual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it.Visual poetry was heavily...
, abstract ASCII art
ASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
as well as exceptionally focused personal engagement.
Disregarded by some for openly neglecting western morals and netiquette
Netiquette
Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums. These rules were described in IETF RFC 1855. However, like many Internet phenomena, the concept and its application remain in a state of flux, and vary...
, her personas (at that time mostly "integer") gained admiration among the Internet art
Internet art
Internet art is a form of digital artwork distributed via the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work...
scene, particularly after the release of the video processing software nato.0+55+3d
NATO.0+55+3d
NATO.0+55+3d was an application software for realtime video and graphics, released by 0f0003 Maschinenkunst in 1999 for the Mac OS operating system....
that became a respected tool in the emerging genres of real time video, laptop performance, VJs
VJ (video performance artist)
VJing is a broad designation for realtime visual performance. Characteristics of VJing are the creation or manipulation of imagery in realtime through technological mediation and for an audience, in synchronization to music. VJing often takes place at events such as concerts, nightclubs, music...
and live-electronic music. From the original and clever online licensing
mechanism (which has since become an industry standard) and the exquisitely beautiful demonstration programs and help ("humanitarian assistance") patches, Netochka's predictably Balkan world view, subjected those who chanced upon her
work, to consciously experience the full meaning of what she termed "love theory" or empathetic programming.
Besides the numerous software projects, her CD entitled "KROP3ROM||A9FF" was released by Decibel Records in 1997. It was described by Keyboard magazine as something 'unlike anything heard before'. It brings together a cornucopia of influences from electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
art music as well as the industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and cinematic genres.
A second CD entitled sin(x) was released by 0f0003 in 2000.
Identity
A contribution to the enigma of Netochka Nezvanova and her various alter egos is the mystery around the persons behind them.For several years, rumors circulated that ranged from artists claiming to have in fact seen her passport to allegations that certain well-known celebrities were behind the fictitious persona.
On February 26, 1998, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
artist Rebekah Wilson performed an extract of A9FF at the "Electric Insights" concert at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
; this established the rumor that the originator or primary creative force behind Netochka is Rebekah Wilson. In the early 2000s however, Netochka's persona made several appearances at international media art festivals with different performers taking her place.
The author Florian Cramer incorrectly claimed that "It is known today that NN was a collective international project, with the person who wrote NATO differing from the one who wrote the message [by Netochka Nezvanova] quoted above."
Even though the personal identities behind the pseudonym as well as their artistic intentions and strategies remain under dispute even today, Nezvanova's experimental web browser "nebula.m81" co-won the 2001 artistic software award with Adrian Ward at Transmediale
Transmediale
transmediale is an annual festival for media art and digital culture taking place for one week in February in Berlin, Germany. The festival engages in reflective, aesthetic and speculative positions in between art, technology and culture...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and she was awarded the fictitious post "Director of Leaves and Petals" at the Dutch live electronic music centre STEIM
STEIM
STEIM is a center for research and development of new musical instruments in the electronic performing arts, located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Electronic music in STEIM's context is always strongly related to the physical and direct actions of a musician...
in Amsterdam, where Nezvanova worked as a curator from 2002.
Since 2006, Gheorghe Dan, "director of 0f0003 Maschinenkunst", has held several international conferences, illuminating the typically confused western audiences about Netochka Nezvanova.
Other software created by NN
- 0f0003 propaganda (1998) - this program algorithmically generates animated graphics and synthetic sounds.
- b1257+12 (1998) - a software for sound deconstruction and composition. The intricate operator interface allows for radical manipulation of soundloops in realtime, offering a large amount of control parameters which, every now and then, take a life of their own. The name of the software refers to a rapidly rotating neutron starPSR B1257+12PSR B1257+12, sometimes abbreviated as PSR 1257+12, is a pulsar located roughly 2000 light-years from the Sun. In 2007, it was confirmed that three extrasolar planets orbit the pulsar.- Pulsar :...
.
- @¶31®�≠ Ÿ (1998) - this software extracts random samples from a CD and creates a stochastical remix, accompanied by futuristic-lookingFuturism (art)Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
graphics (according to the reference documents, it is intended for use with the krop3rom||a9ff release).
- m9ndfukc.0+99 and k!berzveta.0+2 (1999) - two programs written in JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
interpreting network data, very likely preliminary versions of nebula.m81.
- kinematek.0+2 (1999) - another Java application that performs "animated image generation from internet www data", incorporating parts of nebula.m81.
- nebula.m81 (1999) - an experimental web browserWeb browserA web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
written in Java, rendering HTML code into abstract sounds and graphics. Awarded at the International Music Software Competition in Bourges 1999 and at TransmedialeTransmedialetransmediale is an annual festival for media art and digital culture taking place for one week in February in Berlin, Germany. The festival engages in reflective, aesthetic and speculative positions in between art, technology and culture...
2001 (first prize in the category "Artistic Software"). Described by jury member Florian Cramer as "an experimental web browser that turned browsing into something resembling measurement data evaluation".
- !=z2c!ja.0+38 (1999) - an application that generates a dense visual texture based on the user's keyboard input. It (ab)uses Mac OS' QuickDrawQuickDrawQuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
capability and can therefore be seen as a preliminary step towards nato.0+55NATO.0+55+3dNATO.0+55+3d was an application software for realtime video and graphics, released by 0f0003 Maschinenkunst in 1999 for the Mac OS operating system....
.
Musical Works
- "krop3ropm||a9ff", audio CD, Decibel Records, 1997 (re-released by 0f0003 in 1998, with additional material by The Hafler Trio).
- "A9FF" (1997), a piece for tape by Rebekah Wilson, performed at Victoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of WellingtonVictoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
in February 1998. - "8'|sin.x(2^n)", hybrid CDHybrid CDA Hybrid disc is a CD-ROM with additional types of data stored on it.It may contain:* Multiple file systems such as for both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh based operating systems.* Additional security measures* Audio CD with added data tracks...
containing audio and mp2MPEG-1 Audio Layer IIMPEG-1 Audio Layer II or MPEG-2 Audio Layer II is a lossy audio compression format defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3 alongside MPEG-1 Audio Layer I and MPEG-1 Audio Layer III...
data tracks (1999, self-produced). - Trilogy of theatre pieces in collaboration with vocalist Ayelet Harpaz, based on haikuHaiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
s by the Japanese poet Masaoka ShikiMasaoka Shiki, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru , was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry...
("Two Autumns", "I Keep Asking How Deep The Snow's Gotten"; "Spring: Still Unfurled"; presented in Utrecht, Amsterdam and Moscow, 2001–2002). - "Poztgenom!knuklearporekomplekz", included on the CD Strewth! An Abstract Electronic Compilation, published in 2002 by the Australian record label Synaesthesia.
- "La lumière, la lumière .. c'est la seule .." (2002), for viola, piano, percussion and electronics. Commissioned by Ensemble Intégrales, performed in Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Germany (2003–2005).
- "A History of Mapmaking" or "Aerial Photography and 31 Variations on a Cartographer's Theme", for amplified cello and light controller, composed and performed by Rebekah Wilson. Performances in Auckland (Transacoustic Festival 2005), Ljubljana (City of Women 2006 Festival), Berlin (Transmediale 2007), Linz (Ars ElectronicaArs ElectronicaArs Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
2007).
External links
- Salon.com Technology: The most feared woman on the Internet, by Katharine MieszkowskiKatharine Mieszkowski-Career:Mieszkowski has been a senior writer for Salon.com and Fast Company magazine. She also writes and blogs regularly for the New York Times....
(March 1, 2002). - m9ndfukc.com, official Netochka Nezvanova web site
- Words Made Flesh by Florian Cramer features a discussion of Netochka Nezvanova
- A portrait of Netochka Nezvanova, artistic software by Adrian Ward. Classic version (2001) / Mac OS X version (2003)
- Messages in Nettime-l Archives
- A conversation between Netochka Nezvanova and Frederic Madre (March 22, 2000) for the Walker's Art Entertainment Network
- Living in Limnos, Betwixt and Between: A Trans-Reality Balkan Odyssey, by Gheorghe Dan
- http://www.ggttctttat.com/data/pikz/isea09/nn%20isea09.txt - "The Strange Adventures of Netochka Nezvanova in the Lands Without"
- http://www.liveart.org/motherboard/articles/02_dramatical.html - "Dramatical NN", seminar/lecture script by Amanda Steggell, June 11, 2002