Selected writing by David Topping

M.Phil./Ph.D. Registration support document

Introduction

"Every word, every line, every thought is prompted by the age we live in, with all its circumstances, its ties, its efforts, its past and present." 
Gerhard Richter

If asked to sum up the content of my study in one word, then that word would be information. If asked to sum up the process of that study in one word, again that word would be information. We live in an age where the world's most valuable companies, sell information itself, sell access to it, or tools to store and manage it. This is problematic in our definition of information. Even in the previous statement, a certain accepted definition of information is implicit. I do want to raise some fundamental questions about the age in which we live - what precisely is it that we value in information? How does our understanding of information effect our understanding of ourselves? I am not seeking to challenge accepted notions of what art is but I am hoping to challenge accepted notions of what information is.

Key to this study is historic and contemporary understanding of the terms data, information and knowledge and the relationship they have to each other and to us. 

It is important to me that questions emerge from the artwork rather than the artwork being an experiment to test a pre-determinate hypothesis. So while questions like, is it possible to define information in an artistic or an aesthetic sense provide the means for a general study, specific questions will arise from the creation of worthwhile art. The value in this approach is that unlike a conventional text an artwork has the ability to present a non-linear argument. Art provides us with a qualitative way of approaching or understanding the world. Amongst other things I wish to examine the spiritual aspects of information and the notion of an information device.

Simply put, I believe information is the key defining term for our age. I wish to create artwork that examines the term information and our relationship to it, and then reflect upon this. My hypothesis is that our current understanding and definition of information is unsatisfactory and that through art we can raise questions that may not be asked by other means. As an artist I study information to know what it is to be human in an information age. 

Theoretical Framework

Artists are generally quick to embrace any new technologies that emerge. I think it would be reasonable to venture that artists are currently making full use of Information Technology, both as a creative tool or medium and as a vehicle for subversion. The area's to examine within a study of background theory would be to examine what artists have done with information and what is currently exciting or enraging the leading practitioners. This would also concern identifying who the leading practitioners are. It is important to become familiar with the present state of the art and of course this needs to be to full professional standard.

The other side of the coin is the understanding that the rest of the world has of information. This may be technological, commercial or social. It is important to be aware of the current primary questions that people are asking about information. This may include issues such as privacy, surveillance, artificiality and connectivity. 

There are a number of key sources for a student of information technology, science or theory. These include William J. Martin, Manuel Castells, Nicolas Jequier, Forest Horton, Fritz Machlup, Tom Stonier and Claude Shannon. In the field of culture and technology, specifically information technology major sources include Alvin Toffler, Sherry Turkle, Neil Postman, J.D. Bolter and Lewis Mumford. In the area of artists work and art criticism these includes Frank Popper, Margot Lovejoy, Jack Burnham and Richard Wolhiem. Artists whose work has relevance to the area of interest include Gerhard Richter, Tracy Emin and Maya Lin.

I need to be able to identify and evaluate the contribution of others and identify trends in research activity. I also hope to be able to identify areas where the theory is week. 

Method

This is both a speculation and reflection upon an art of information. It has been said that knowledge of any kind arises out of the enquires of particular human beings, who have particular questions, purposes, expectations, assumptions and hopes. It is important to have a question that is worth asking though the method of asking and formulating an answer is dependent on specifically personal meanings. 

I intend to explore my hypothesis through a series of artworks. I speculate by constant thinking and writing in a reflective manner about both the art and about the subject area in general. This writing will be contextualised by integrating it within the background or theoretical reading and writing. This is likely to qualitative rather than quantitative in nature. I am not using a set of specific rules as I believe it to be important that both the method and the outcome are emergent rather than of pre-ordinate design. This has a relationship to Naturalistic Inquiry; an approach to research defined by Lincoln & Guba (1985)

Douglas and Moustakas (1985) suggest that there are three stages of activity within a naturalistic research model: 

• Immersion: the investigation of the research problem through absorption and interaction with it.
• Acquisition: conscious and subconscious collecting of visual and textual data through reflection in action, use of libraries, Internet, museum collections, exhibitions, and structured data recording. 
• Realisation: through, peer review, exhibition, and structured analysis leading to dissemination.

These should always be regarded as integrated activities that are not necessarily sequential. Reflection is ongoing throughout the process. In her thesis Bunnell (1998) sets out the characteristics of Naturalistic Inquiry in relation to her project:

• Human Instrument: the researcher-practitioner is the primary data gathering instrument and plays a vital role as the respondent to: their own intention, their chosen materials and processes; the field of practice; the cultural context; and to the world of information; and is instrumental in the changing shape of that world. 
• Emergent methodology: possible strategies for problem solving emerge through immersion in the research problem and become more focussed through action. Reflection in action and structured improvisation play an important role in this: selected variables, eg. intention, techniques, context, material can be used as elements with which to improvise. 
• Natural setting: research outcomes are seen as context specific both in terms of the facilities and resources available to the researcher and in relation to the validity of the study. 
• Tacit Knowledge: is acknowledged as a fundamental form of knowledge that forms the basis of explicit information. The researcher acknowledges that a large amount of tacit knowledge remains within the individual and cannot be communicated through written text. 
• Idiographic interpretation: data is interpreted in terms of the specifics of the case and only tentative suggestions for further applications are made. 
• Negotiated outcomes: meanings and interpretations of outcomes are negotiated through peer review which includes exhibiting, publishing articles, and workshops.
• Special criteria for trustworthiness: a transparent analytical framework is developed as a method of interpreting research outcomes from the particular in order that the research processes can be critically reviewed by peers.

It would be presumptuous to imagine we have discovered everything there is to know about information, that we have succeeded in defining it to such a degree that all that is knowable is known. A scientific study of information may well throw up some interesting areas for discussion, though there is a long and well-documented history of this area. What is relatively new and untried is in an artistic response to the nature of information. Artists have engaged with the technology of information, its distribution and the interface between the real and virtual worlds, but I believe there is a need to study the definition of information to look for something beyond the visible, to discover some other kind of information.

The unknown element of this research is in the outcome of the art that examines the nature of information and in its role and relationship to humanity in an information age. 

Practice

The first practical work that I will undertake will be in the form of a number of small-scale studies. These will explore some of the issues mentioned in the introduction including, the spiritual aspects of information, the notion of an information device, and other issues that related in a broader sense such as identity theft, reputation, personal dis- or misinformation, reciprocity and proclivities profiling.

This will lead to larger scale or major works as specific areas of interest develop. Three terms interest me currently as they may apply to information. They are, architecture, archaeology and anthropology. This may expand to include a fourth, anthroposophy, though as this is related to the work of a specific person I am unsure how this will develop. 

One way of looking at the success of the practical work is to define by exception: i.e. look at a 'traditional' scientific definition of the concept or issues examined and then reflect on differences. The success comes from the quality and rigor of the interpretation or reflection of the outcome, not from having achieved a particular result. 

One could also use peer group evaluation and feedback. In this case success may be achieved in having a piece of work accepted for exhibition or inclusion in a peer moderated forum.

Plan of Work

Stage 1 - enrolment to registration (6 months approx.)

Practical work

This has taken the form of one exhibition, held in Vienna in November 1998, consisting of work mostly following on from work done at Masters level. In addition a number of small tests have been created mostly as WWW sites, inc. 'This site will change your life' and 'grievous angel'. This was complemented by a written piece that examined the idea of application forms vs. questionnaires. I started one 'data' profile that continues to run but have not yet evaluated or expanded on this.

Reflective writing

This has taken the form of notes and two short papers for the director of studies. In addition I have taken part in one seminar presentation to my peer group at Exeter and presented my work-in-progress in the post-graduate forum at the CADE 99 conference. I have begun a Ph.D. journal that includes details of activities and reflection upon them.

Theoretical reading/writing

I have started my background reading and a bibliography is available at the end of this document. This has resulted in one completed paper 'The definition of sound' examining the definition of the terms data, information and knowledge. This has been submitted to AI and Society Journal as a single refereed paper.

Stage 2 - registration to transfer (2 years approx.)

Practical work

I intend to continue with a number of small-scale studies though out this period. I plan to complete at least one major piece of work towards the end of this period. I would like to have this accepted for exhibition at a suitable international event providing opportunities for peer group evaluation and feedback. 

Reflective writing

This will continue to take the form of notes and a Ph.D. journal. I intend to complete at least two full papers for discussion with my supervisor and amongst my peer group. I intend to apply for as many suitable opportunities as possible to talk about my work and to submit completed papers to peer reviewed journals.

Theoretical reading/writing

I intend to have completed at least half my background theory study and have started on the writing up of this aspect of my study. As above I intend to apply for as many suitable opportunities as possible to talk about my work and to submit completed papers to peer reviewed journals.


Stage 3 - transfer to completion (2.5 years approx.)

Practical work

I intend to continue with a number of small-scale studies though out this period. I plan to complete a major piece of work towards the end of this period and use this as the basis for my Ph.D. submission. I would like to have this accepted for exhibition at a suitable international event providing opportunities for peer group evaluation and feedback. 

Reflective writing

This will continue to take the form of notes and a Ph.D. journal. I intend to complete at least two full papers for discussion with my supervisor and amongst my peer group. I intend to apply for as many suitable opportunities as possible to talk about my work and to submit completed papers to peer reviewed journals.

Theoretical reading/writing 

I intend to have completed my background theory study and integrate this into my main supporting written text. As above I intend to apply for as many suitable opportunities as possible to talk about my work and to submit completed papers to peer reviewed journals.


Submission

I will have completed all the relevant sections on my written text and be ready for my final submission of both practical and written work. 

Bibliography: 

Appadurai, A. (Ed) (1986) The social life of things: commodities in cultural perspective, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Barlow, H., C. Blakemore & M. Weston-Smith (Eds) (1990) Images and Understanding, Thoughts about Images Ideas about Understanding, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 
Berry, M. & G. Linoff (1997) Data Mining techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Support, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Canada 
Brin, D. (1998) The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and freedom, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA
Brook, J. & I. Boal (eds) (1995) Resisting the virtual life: the culture and politics of information, City Lights Books, San Francisco
Burnham, J. (1968) Beyond Modern Sculpture: The effects of science and technology on the sculpture of this century, Allen lane The Penguin Press, London 
Cabena, P. with P. Hadjinian, R. Stadler, J. Verhees, A. Zanasi (1998) Discovering Data Mining: From Concept to Implementation, Prentice Hall PTR, New Jersey
Clark, K. (1983) The Art of Humanism, John Murray (Publishers) Ltd., London
Cobb, J. (1998) Cybergrace: The Search for God in the Digital World, Crown Publishers, New York
Cupitt, D. (1997) After God: The Future of Religion, BasicBooks, New York 
de Bono, E. (1967) The use of Lateral Thinking, Jonathan Cape, London, 
Deacon, R.(1987) The Truth Twisters: Disinformation: The making and spreading of official distortions, half-truths and lies, Macdonald, London Derrida, J. (1981) Positions, The Athlone Press, London
Derry, M. (Ed.) (1994) Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture, Duke University Press, Durham and London
Dyson, E. (1997) Release 2.0: a design for living in the Digital Age, Viking, London
Gershenfeld, N. (1999) When Things Start to Think, Hodder & Stoughton, London.
Hardison Jr., O. B. (1989) Disappearing Through the Skylight: Culture and Technology in the Twentieth Century, Penguin Books, London
Holeton, R. (Ed) (1998) Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age, McGraw-Hill, London
Johnson, C. (1993) Angels, Fount Paperbacks, London
Johnson, S. (1997) Interface Culture: How new technology transforms the way we create and communicate, Harper Edge, New York
Knapp, G. (1995) Angels, Archangels and All the Company of Heaven, Prestel-Verlag, New York
Knight, Margaret (Ed.) (1995) Humanist Anthology: From Confucius to David Attenborough, Rationalist Press Association, London 
Kohanski, D. (1998) The Philosophical Programmer: Reflections on the moth in the machine, St. Martin's Press, New York
Kunstler, J.H. (1994) The Geography of Nowhere: the rise and decline of America's man-made landscape, Touchstone, New York
Laurel, B. (1993) Computers as Theatre, Addison-Wesley, Wokingham
Leeson, L. H. (ed.) (1996) Clicking In: Hot links to a digital culture, Bay Press, Seattle WA
Lovejoy, M. (1997), Postmodern currents: art and artists in the age of electronic media, Prentice Hall, New Jersey
McGraw-Hill (1996) IBM Dictionary of computing on disk, McGraw-Hill, New York 
Machlup, F. (1984), Knowledge: Its Creation, Distribution, and Economic Significance. Volume III The Economics of Information and Human Capital, Princeton University Press, New Jersey
Martin, W.J. (1988), The Information Society, Aslib, London
Mitchell, W.J. (1995) City of Bits: Space, place, and the infobahn, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Murray, J.H. (1997) Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, The Free Press, New York
Phillips, E.M. & D.S. Pugh (1987) How to get a PhD: The peaks and troughs of research, Open University Press, Milton Keynes
Popper, F. (1993) Art of the Electronic Age, Thames and Hudson, London
Read, H. (Ed.) (1924) Speculations: Essays on Humanism and the philosophy of art, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London
Revel, J.F. (1992) The Flight from truth: The Reign of Deceit in the Age of Information, Random House 
Rosenfeld, L. & P. Morville (1998) Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, O'Reilly, Sebastopol CA
Salmon, P. (1992) Achieving a PhD - ten students' experience, Trenthan Books, Stoke-on-Trent
Sereny, G. (1995) Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth, Macmillan, London
Spufford, F. & J. Uglow (eds.) (1996) Cultural Babbage: Technology, time and invention, Faber and Faber, London
Stoll, C. (1995) Silicon Snake Oil: Second thoughts on the information highway, Macmillan, London
Stone, A.R. (1996) The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Townsend, D. (1997) An Introduction to Aesthetics, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
Treadwell, N. Super Humanism: A British Art Movement, Catalogue
Treadwell, N. Superhumanism 2 (S-oohpaahhumanismmm) A survey of a current art movement, Nicholas Treadwell Publications, London
Warner, M. (1996) The Inner Eye: Art Beyond the Visible, National Touring Exhibitions, London
Watson, J. & A. Hill (1993) A Dictionary of Communication and Media Studies, Edward Arnold, London 
Wilkinson, B. (1994) Angels in Art, Studio Editions Ltd., London 
Wilks, Y., B. Slator & L. Guthrie (1996) Electric Words: Disctionaries, Computers and Meanings, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wurman, R. (1998) Information Architects, 

Further Reading

Abel, M., (ed) (1997) Jeffrey Shaw - a user's manual. From Expanded Cinema to Virtual Reality, Karlsruhe, ZKM/Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, Heinrich Klotz 
Alexander, C. (1979) The Timeless Way of Building, Oxford University Press, New York
Alexander, C. et al (1977) A Pattern Language: Towns - Buildings - Construction, Oxford University Press, New York
Birkerts, S., (1994) The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age, London, Faber & Faber 
Boisot, M. (1987) Information and Organizations: The manager as anthropologist, Harper Collins, London
Bolter, J.D. (1984) Turing's Man: Western Culture in the Computer Age, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill
Crary, J. (1990) Techniques of the Observer: on vision and modernity in the nineteenth century, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Castells, M. (1997) End of the Millennium, Blackwell Publishers, New York
Castells, M. (1997) The Power of Identity, Blackwell Publishers, New York
Castells, M. (1996) The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell Publishers, New York
Davis, E. (1998) Techgnosis: myth, magic + mysticism in the age of information, Harmony Books, New York
Doheny-Farina, S. (1996) The Wired Neighborhood, Yale University Press, New haven
Druckrey, T., (ed) (1993) Iterations: The New Image, New York, International Center of Photography & The MIT Press 
Godfrey, T (1998) Conceptual Art, Phaidon Press, London
Heidegger, M. (translated by Stambaugh, J.) (1996) Being and Time, State University of New York Press, New York
Holtzman, S. (1998) Digital Mosaics: The Aesthetics of Cyberspace, Touchstone, New York
Jonscher, C. (1999) Wired Life: Who are we in the digital age?, Bantam Press, London
Kurzwell, R. (1999) The Age of Spiritual Machines: when computers exceed human intelligence, Viking, New York
Kustler, J.H. (1996) Home from Nowhere: Remaking our Everyday World for the 21st Century, Touchstone, New York
Lane, C.A. (1997) Naked in Cyberspace: How to find personal information online, Pemberton Press, Wilton CT
Levinson, P. (1997) The Soft Edge: a natural history and future of the information revolution, Routledge, London
Lippard, L. R. (1973) Six Years: The dematerialization of the art object from 1966 to 1972, University of California Press, London
McCullough, M. (1998) Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand, The MIT Press, Massachusetts
Medawar, P. (1982) Pluto's Republic, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Moser, M.A. (ed.) (1996) Immersed in Technology: Art and Virtual Environments, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Mumford, L. (1967) Technics and Human Development: The myth of the machine volume one, Harvest/HBJ, London
Nietzche, Fredrich,(1969) Thus Spake Zarathustra, Penguin, London
Nonaka, I. & H. Takeuchi (1995) The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York
Norman, D. (1998) The Invisible Computer: Why good products can fail, the personal computer is so complex, and information appliances are the solution, The MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Orna, E. & G. Stevens (1995) Managing information for Research, Open University Press, Buckingham
Popper, K.R. (1963 Conjectures and Refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge, Routledge, London
Postman, N. (1993) Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Vintage Books, New York
Richter, G. (Obrist, H. ed.) (1995) The Daily Practice of Painting: Writings and Interviews 1962-1993, Thames and Hudson, London
Roszak, T. (1994) The Cult of Information: A neo-luddite treatise on high-tech, artificial intellegence, and the true art of thinking (2nd edition), University of California Press, Berkley CA
Ruggiero, V. R. (1998) The Art of Thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought, Longman, Harlow
Schön, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action, Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot
Tonfoni, G. (1998) Information Design: the knowledge architects toolkit, Intellect, Exeter
Turkle, S. (1996) Life on the Screen: Identity in the age of the Internet, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London
Wallis, B. (ed.) (1984) Art after Modernism: rethinking representation, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York

Last Updated 08 October 2000