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1stfans Twitter Art Feed Artist for January 2009: An Xiao
In the same spirit that we asked Swoon to launch 1stfans in person (that is to say, with the Museum’s existing community in mind), we are delighted to announce that An Xiao is going to be the first artist on the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. We’ve known An for a while and were ecstatic when she decided to submit a proposal for the 1stfans Twitter. Many of our community may already know An because her work was in the top 25% of Click! and perhaps you’ve seen her blog or her Twitter feed (both of which Shelley and I follow). I would be remiss if I didn’t mention her work is part of the Micro-Macro exhibition in NYC running through the end of this year, so hurry, go quick. But none of these reasons are why she was selected (lest you think that we are granting anyone favors). An’s proposal for using the Twitter Art Feed simply blew us away and when we forwarded it to curators Eugenie Tsai, Patrick Amsellem, and Lauren Ross, they were equally enamored. Since I’m not a curator, I’ll spare you my analysis and simply share with you how An will be using the Twitter Art Feed in her own words:
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In January 2006, Western Union put to rest the telegram, the groundbreaking new technology that allowed nearly-instant intercontinental communication and enjoyed almost two centuries of communications usage. Two months later, a new medium emerged, similar in many ways: Twitter. In a world of email, AIM and cell phones, it made barely a blip, but its importance is quickly becoming clear.
I propose using the 1stfans feed to tweet in Morse code. As writer Nicholas Carr noted, the parallels are apparent–speed, brevity, and a need for acronyms–, but the purposes are almost entirely separate. Whereas telegrams were used for business and important personal communication, tweets generally act as wide broadcasts and rarely contain substantive information per se, which emails and blogs are better suited for. In other words, telegrams conveyed news of deaths, deals and diplomacy; tweets convey breakfast habits.
Through tweeting Morse code, I aim to explore instant communication’s new direction by recalling its history. Rather than important issues, I will communicate daily minutiae, such as “Brushing my teeth” and “Tired. Need coffee.” Such usage of telegraph technology would have been inconceivable in its heyday. In so doing, I want to encourage 1stfans viewers to examine the evolution of instant communication and what purpose, exactly, is served by sharing such minor details of one’s life.
Samuel Morse, in his first telegraph, asked, “What hath God wrought?” His invention changed the world, especially with its influence on politics and business. What have Twitter, and other microblogging media, wrought upon the way we connect with others? What doors have they opened in the realm of personal and business relationships, and how have they expanded our sense of identity?
RSS 
Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
.– .. .-.. .-.. / … …. . / .. -. -.-. .-.. ..- -.. . / .- / - .-. .- -. … .-.. .- - — .-. ..–..
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:29 pm
- …. .- - .—-. … / ..- .–. / - — / - …. . / .- .-. - .. … - -.-.– / / -.– — ..- .—-. .-.. .-.. / …. .- …- . / - — / .— — .. -. / - — / … . . -.-.–
December 24th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
-… .-. .. .-.. .-.. .. .- -. - / -.-. — -. -.-. . .–. - or Brilliant Concept to all you non-Morse code speakers out there
December 26th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
… — ..- -. -.. … / .-.. .. -.- . / .- / .–. .-. . - - -.– / .- — .- –.. .. -. –. / -.-. — -. -.-. . .–. - .-.-.- / –. — — -.. / .-.. ..- -.-. -.- .-.-.- or sounds like a pretty amazing concept. good luck.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:31 am
It should probably be mentioned there are few Samuel Morse paintings in the Brooklyn Museum collection. Also, he’s buried in Green-Wood Cemetery. Just two Brooklyn connections.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Wow, thanks for letting us know Erin! My New Year’s resolution is to get to know our collection better, so thanks for getting the ball rolling….
-Will
December 29th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Very welcome. In fact, this is link to painting of his in Open Collection featuring some chat from an installation on the 4th floor. Morse was, in general, a very curious character.
December 31st, 2008 at 12:47 am
Wow, I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw these comments. So glad I don’t have to fix this tomorrow morning!
Intriguing concept — love the coincidences of time and place.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
It should probably be mentioned there are few Samuel Morse paintings in the Brooklyn Museum collection.
January 7th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
[…] with the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. It can be viewed below or here. Her full concept can be found on the Brooklyn Museum’s blog and on her web […]
January 15th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
[…] Xiao’s concept for the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed employs the language of Morse code—one of many instances in […]
January 25th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
[…] explored by An Xiao an artist based in New York, in a new piece that has just gone on show at the Brooklyn Museum (her video explanation). She’s taking a Twitter feed and turning it into audible Morse code. […]
February 18th, 2009 at 9:52 am
[…] it makes sense to try to engage artists that can use the feed to directly display their art (like An Xiao did in January). Lastly, and as I alluded to earlier, we like the idea of Twitter as an experimental space and one […]
March 19th, 2009 at 6:54 am
[…] first twitterview with the techno-savvy An Xiao, who was the first artist to grace the feed of the Brooklyn Museum’s 1stfans Twitter […]
May 28th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
[…] is the second artist selected via the open call for the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. Similar to An Xiao’s work with Morse Code, Nick’s proposal for the feed explores the delivery of news and […]
December 31st, 2009 at 10:32 am
[…] to start the new year of the 1stfans Twitter Art Feed with one of our own. Last January 1stfan An Xiao generated lots of responses when she tweeted in Morse code for a month. This month’s artist, […]