Ebon Fisher
Encyclopedia
Ebon Fisher is a transmedia artist hard working at the intersection of art
, biology
and digital media
. Informed by his exposure to cybernetics
and feedback systems at the MIT Media Lab
in the mid-1980s, Fisher has approached his work as an evolving collaboration
with the world, culminating recently in a nervelike system of ethics
conveyed through a transmedia world called The Nervepool.
, Fisher's work has followed a trajectory from neuron graffiti to his weblike media creation, The Nervepool.
In 1985, Fisher was one of the first instructors at the MIT Media Lab
where he began his research into culture as "intercoding networks" of humans, machines and ecosystems. In 1986, sensing rock music's potential for popular intercoding, Fisher launched the multimedia rock band, Nerve Circle, in Boston, MA. In 1988 Nerve Circle's aggressively interactive production, "Evolution of the Grid," was shut down by the police leading to his eviction from his loft. This precipitated a move to Brooklyn in 1988. Fisher's experimental media rituals in the 1990s helped to build vital channels of communication in Williamsburg
, Brooklyn
, which has grown into a landmark arts district. These included the Media Compressions, (718) SUBWIRE, The Weird Thing Zone and the collectively defined philosophy, Wigglism. According to Domus Magazine, Fisher’s bionic ritual
, the Web Jam of 1993, became a "symbolic climax" to the emerging Williamsburg art scene. Newsweek
dubbed the Web Jam a "sequel to the rave." Stemming from his media rituals Fisher developed a network-based system of ethics
called Bionic Codes. These evolved into Zoacodes and have spawned an entire transmedia world with an evolving, web-like architecture, The Nervepool.
Fisher received an M.S in Visual Studies from MIT in 1986 following a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1982. In 1998 he was invited by the University of Iowa
to create a new digital art
program, “Digital Worlds,” which he directed for three years. He has lectured at numerous colleges and universities, including New York University
, Sarah Lawrence College
, Bennington College
, the University of Washington
and Columbia University
. He has written on media
and the arts for Art Byte, the Utne Reader
, Digital Creativity, the Walker Arts Center and the New York Council for the Arts. His media works have been exhibited in museums and festivals around the world. His codes have been presented on the Guggenheim Museum
's online CyberAtlas since 1997. His Zoacodes website has been presented by the Encyclopædia Britannica
as one of the "Best of the Web" and his cybernetic terms have appeared in numerous dictionaries and glossaries.
, and an increasingly collaborative internet culture, Ebon Fisher posted the first draft of his Wigglism Manifesto on the internet in 1996. He formally invited the public to contribute to its evolution, establishing Wigglism as one of the first intentionally open source
systems of philosophy
. From its inception Wigglism has promoted the notion that the truth, or that which seems true, is interactively constructed with the world as a whole, not just with other humans or in the limited text space known as discourse
. As dialogues surrounding the evolving manifesto have suggested, the most significant property of an interactively determined truth is not its veracity but the vitality in the collaboration in which it emerges. Wigglism also points to a post-art, post-science, post-human world in which both objective reality and subjective aesthetics
give way to a living, subjective ecosystem
. This supports an emerging green culture underscored by an ethic of nurturing vital systems.
He taught media arts as an Affiliate Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology
in Hoboken
, New Jersey
, until he was dismissed on June 4, 2009, after sending a letter to the Stevens administration concerning the low wages of affiliate professors.
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
. Informed by his exposure to cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
and feedback systems at the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
in the mid-1980s, Fisher has approached his work as an evolving collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
with the world, culminating recently in a nervelike system of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
conveyed through a transmedia world called The Nervepool.
Life and work
Cultivating what he terms "media organisms" in the plasma of mass communications, Ebon Fisher is one of the early, pre-web explorers of network culture and viral media. Wired Magazine dubbed him "Mr. Meme" in 1995 for his memetic approach to art and he has been lauded as one of the "Visionaries of the New Millennium." Drawn to both the formal and functional properties of nerves and networksNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
, Fisher's work has followed a trajectory from neuron graffiti to his weblike media creation, The Nervepool.
- Neuron graffiti: Pittsburgh, PA (1980-82).
- Nerve Circle: Interactive, multimedia, rock theatre group, Boston, MA (1986-88).
- Network rituals: Information-sharing rituals in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (1989-98).
- Network ethics: Bionic ethics system, the Bionic Codes, which evolved into Zoacodes (1992-present).
- The Nervepool: Transmedia world with a "nervecenter" at Nervepool.net (1992-present).
In 1985, Fisher was one of the first instructors at the MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
where he began his research into culture as "intercoding networks" of humans, machines and ecosystems. In 1986, sensing rock music's potential for popular intercoding, Fisher launched the multimedia rock band, Nerve Circle, in Boston, MA. In 1988 Nerve Circle's aggressively interactive production, "Evolution of the Grid," was shut down by the police leading to his eviction from his loft. This precipitated a move to Brooklyn in 1988. Fisher's experimental media rituals in the 1990s helped to build vital channels of communication in Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, which has grown into a landmark arts district. These included the Media Compressions, (718) SUBWIRE, The Weird Thing Zone and the collectively defined philosophy, Wigglism. According to Domus Magazine, Fisher’s bionic ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
, the Web Jam of 1993, became a "symbolic climax" to the emerging Williamsburg art scene. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
dubbed the Web Jam a "sequel to the rave." Stemming from his media rituals Fisher developed a network-based system of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
called Bionic Codes. These evolved into Zoacodes and have spawned an entire transmedia world with an evolving, web-like architecture, The Nervepool.
Fisher received an M.S in Visual Studies from MIT in 1986 following a BFA from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1982. In 1998 he was invited by the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
to create a new digital art
Digital art
Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process...
program, “Digital Worlds,” which he directed for three years. He has lectured at numerous colleges and universities, including New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
, the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He has written on media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and the arts for Art Byte, the Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
, Digital Creativity, the Walker Arts Center and the New York Council for the Arts. His media works have been exhibited in museums and festivals around the world. His codes have been presented on the Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
's online CyberAtlas since 1997. His Zoacodes website has been presented by the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
as one of the "Best of the Web" and his cybernetic terms have appeared in numerous dictionaries and glossaries.
Wigglism
Inspired by both the living community networks in Williamsburg, BrooklynWilliamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, and an increasingly collaborative internet culture, Ebon Fisher posted the first draft of his Wigglism Manifesto on the internet in 1996. He formally invited the public to contribute to its evolution, establishing Wigglism as one of the first intentionally open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
systems of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. From its inception Wigglism has promoted the notion that the truth, or that which seems true, is interactively constructed with the world as a whole, not just with other humans or in the limited text space known as discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
. As dialogues surrounding the evolving manifesto have suggested, the most significant property of an interactively determined truth is not its veracity but the vitality in the collaboration in which it emerges. Wigglism also points to a post-art, post-science, post-human world in which both objective reality and subjective aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
give way to a living, subjective ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
. This supports an emerging green culture underscored by an ethic of nurturing vital systems.
The Wigglism Manifesto
Loop into strange coilings, this coiling. Well up in the fibrillations of this hysterical continuum, this bionic boiling. Rise up and nurture the wiggling – of sinew and circuit, riot and union, mud and imagination. Nurture with the loaded logic of the living, with ceaseless reflection and a moving center.
Ovulate your tender eggs, your shivering codes, into the blood of interconnection. Soak tendrils of thought and gesture in an ethical jelly of feedback. Infuse phantoms and facts with equal measures of visceral significance. Creep along the rivulets and curls of writhing truth, this feral fetus squinting in a boundless womb of cultivations.
Breed turbulent creatures in a mongrel jungle of plasma, machines and minds. Embrace these creatures, these hives, these worlds. Keep that which is lively, and that which sustains life, in succulent focus. May the lonely pools of science, art and heaven congeal into a sea of quivering being.
At this twist in the orgy of Mystery we are drunk with the sweat of the stars, with that which seems alive, with lunges, lickings and startled presences. We fuse with the creatures of our devotion, becoming everything we encounter, becoming devotion itself. We transmute mind and matter into a zoology of spirit.
Dare to suckle this wild vapor. Convulse and clutch in waves of milky wonder. Siphon every atom, and theory of atom, into the folds of our collective screen, our flesh. Melt into the monstrous, grooving spasm of the infinite wiggling.
Nurture the wiggling, for that which wiggles is amazing.
– Ebon Fisher, with input from the public, 1996-2007
Current work
Ebon Fisher is continuing to cultivate The Nervepool and its system of network ethics, the Zoacodes, concentrating on pre-production for a video series. He has recently collaborated with NPR commentator, Andrei Codrescu, on the creation of a new Zoacode, "Signal Strangely" (2006), and has inducted students into his Nervepool world from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia (2006–07).He taught media arts as an Affiliate Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
in Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, until he was dismissed on June 4, 2009, after sending a letter to the Stevens administration concerning the low wages of affiliate professors.
See also
- Jonathan Fineberg, Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being, Abrams/Prentice Hall, 1995/2000
- Claudia Steinberg, “Vis-a-vis Manhattan,” Die Zeit, 1997
- Frank PopperFrank PopperFrank Popper is a historian of art and technology and Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the Science of Art at the University of Paris VIII. He has been decorated with the medal of the Légion d'honneur by the French Government...
, From Technological to Virtual Art, MIT Press - Frank Popper, "Ebon Fisher," Contemporary Artists, ed. by Tom and Sarah Pendergast, St. James Press, 2002
- Ebon Fisher, Music, "Circulate All Sensation," in CD Anthology, State of the Union, compiled by Elliott Sharp, 1996
- Sylvie Myerson & Vidyut Jain, "Interview with Ebon Fisher," Sandbox Magazine, 1996
- David Alm, “Soft Machines: Ebon Fisher Coils into Gentle Linkage,” RES Magazine, vol. 4 no. 4, 2001
- Ebon Fisher Wigglism Leonardo Journal Vol. 40, Number I
- Flash Art, Interview with Annie Herron, director of Test-Site Gallery, Brooklyn, Feb. 1993
- Charles Runette, “The New York Cyber 60,” New York Magazine, Nov. 13, 1995