Dean Winkler, Maureen Nappi, Donald S. Butler
140 Characters

​

Our thesis is that the world we’re living in is not the one we were promised. Why did we get Twitter instead of intelligent media that enhances society? Why are we developing silly apps instead of hardware? All enabled by our so-called “smart phones” which trap us like the prisoners in Plato’s cave – detached from reality and unaware.

​

We used that as a basis for creating abstract imagery, referencing everything from Aboriginal art to 1940s/1950s television to EDM /Rave visuals. Our goal being to take the viewer on a visual trip. Perhaps described as psychedelic, synthenisa, visual music – the point is to allow the viewers to derive their own meaning as they travel through the flow of images.

​

This project was created purely as a non-profit, artistic endeavor with no external funding and no consideration of commercial potential. It is dedicated to Steve Rutt and Bill Etra; the two pioneering designers of scan manipulation analog video synthesizers.

​

Nam June Paik was a friend and mentor. (We collaborated on "Good Morning Mr. Orwell," his 1984 satellite extravaganza amongst other things.) We have tried to make "140 Characters" true to his spirit and believe he would have enjoyed it. For additional video art work from 1976 - 1999 please see here.

​