With L.A. at its center

“IÂ’m going to put the phone down now — just hang on.’

Media artist Michael Naimark was at LAX one morning a few weeks ago, on his way to the Banff CentreÂ’s Refresh Conference on histories of new-media art. Another artist, Simon Penny from UCI, was up ahead, also on his way to the conference, and UCLAÂ’s Erkki Huhtamo, a new-media theorist, wasnÂ’t far behind. Not wanting to lose our connection, Naimark put the phone into one of those gray plastic containers and pushed it toward the X-ray machine.

On my end of the call, the sounds of the airport grew muffled, and then everything got quiet. I held my breath as the phone moved along the conveyor belt. In spite of sitting in my sunny office, I looked around, poised for — what? A bright light maybe? But there was nothing, just a soft whooshing noise and the faint hum of distant voices. I hovered through another minute of stillness, suspended somewhere between downtown and the airport, waiting for Naimark to re-appear…” Continue reading Digital Universe: With L.A. at its center by by HOLLY WILLIS, LA Weekly.