Will Chatroulette have an impact on our culture? Since its creation three months ago by a 17-year old boy in Moscow, the simple video chat program has become a source of fascination for millions. The program is basic and spare: upon logging onto the Chatroulette website, a visitor is greeted by two boxes, one labeled "Stranger," the other labeled "You." By clicking the "New Game" button, you are immediately connected via webcam to a random stranger anywhere in the world. Though some predict the technology is well on its way to becoming a mere graveyard for pornographic behavior, I would like to believe that perhaps it may play a part in the growing collaborative spirit of contemporary artists.When viewed in light of Nicolas Bourriaud's "altermodernism," Chatroulette displays the potential for new kinds of art making and global creative communication. Clearly visible is "the new modernity that (is) based on translation: What matters today is to translate the cultural values of cultural groups and to connect them to the world network." (Bourriaud) Though I firmly hold belief in Chatroulette's potential, I haven't seen it lead to any new work so far-- that is, until I saw the composite images of French photographer Pierre- Arnaud Gillet. His series "Next" explores the interiors of the random strangers who briefly let him into their homes via the internet. He writes:
"Next" is my latest project, based on the amazing world of Chatroulette. Chatroulette is a very diverse world where the worst alongside the best. A microcosm of our society through the small window of our webcams, there are all due to its random mode. Unlike the practices of social networks today, you never know who or what you're gonna fall. We manage all our image. Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Skype, our virtual image is everywhere, and multiple and we try to control it better. Because these people "gave" their self image to strangers at the other end of the world, I wondered how they would react to a goal when they are already at a goal. One of their own webcam. Camera at the screen, I press "Next", click, I take a picture. Fingers, threats and smiles. Some hide in shame, others enjoy the game and play, laugh in his lungs had been caught in the trap. By comparing these responses, creating meetings by associations of images, I create a link between partners who have not met. I tell new stories, probable or improbable. Visually, the frame of each camera, its texture, the choice of framing the "partner" brings an incredible set of images of our world in 2010. Sex, fame, love, talent. Tout est sur Chatroulette. Everything is on Chatroulette.
Via Muuuz. Read more about Pierre-Arnaud Gillet at his website.
