`Strecnology`

The word `Strecnology` is a made up word.
It is made up from the words 'street' and 'technology' and Various Artists made it up all by themselves. We see it as an educated guess at how street artists,ie graffiti artists etc, interact with technology to produce art and integrate it into the cultural psyche, in terms of the production, evolution and progression of Today and the near Future.
For instance; Various Artists have chosen to to take the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima as year zero for their historical chronology of the future.
As we see it, this significant event plunged mankind into the atomic age, an age which preceded the space age, the period of history that we now live in, our present. Technology dominates this period of time and influences the achievements of man in this time.
From walking on the moon to wearing air Nike's in the ghetto, it is Today technology that makes it possible.
Well, thats enough of the arty bulshit. Lets get down to the hard sell !
We have previewed a selection of techniques taken from our book, Strecnology, graffix user manual by Various Artists,

The book deals with pre-multimedia art-technology from the space age.
This technology is, for thre most part,available on the high street of nearly all, if not all, the capital cities of the world.
The book itself is DTP designed using a combination of software packages, including Quark, Freehand and Photoshop. Showing a collection of images generated by pre-multimedia technologies, fibre-tipped pens, spray cans, photocopiers, fax machines and personal computers running desk top publishing sofware.
We classify these technologies as `ISAPT` or Interactive Space Age Paint Technologies. As a user manual it tells the user how to create these images in `Tecnobasic`, a mnemonics language based upon the computer language 'Basic'.
Tecnobasic also uses terms borrowed from the music industry, especially engineering terminologies, such as `'Sample'` and `'Scratch'`. It also takes terms from design production, such as `Logo`, `'Piece'` and `'Campaign'`.
`Techniques`
"Hi, my name is Mark. I'm your user friendly interface to `STRECNOLOGY` today's latest street art concept. STRECNOLOGY is an umbrella term that fuses the words, 'street' and 'technology'. The artistic objective is to create an art/design concept that encapsulates the way young people interact with technology to produce images that are reflective of themselves and the era in which they exist. Using `ISAPT`, Interactive Space Age Paint and Technologies, things like fibre-tipped pens, correction fluid, spray paint, fax machines, photocopiers and basic home computers, users can create STRECNOLOGY. But if we are to express ourselves through technology, we must first create a new language that communicates the process involved. Borrowing words from hip hop, design, advertising and computer programming, we've developed `TECHNOBASIC`, a language that enables the user to become friendly with the process and the tools available to create STRECNOLOGY. We'll use this language to explain how some basic office machines, ISAPT's, can be used to create art. The following are examples of three STRECNOLOGICAL techniques.

Example 1: SCRATCHTECNIK Start with a `SAMPLE``d` image. The image can be SAMPLEd from any source. Next, the user must access a photocopier and `PLAY` the SAMPLEd image to generate the `SCRATCH` technique.

This is a `SELECT``ed`, `SAMPLE``d` and `SCRATCH``ed` image. Reproduced by laser copier operating in spot `COLOUR MODE` to produce a `MIX``ed` `ARTICLE` of `STRECNOLOGY`.

Example 2: `PHOTOACTIVE` `PHOTOACTIVE` is the technical manipulation of a three dimensional object that has been `FORMAT``ed` into a two dimensional frame utilising user/machine interaction. The user must manipulate and exploit the operating system of `ISAPT` peripherals to produce certain textural and tonal values. Bread as art. To generate this `PHOTOACTIVE ARTICLE`, a slice of white bread was scanned and then colorized, two examples of user/machine interaction. It was then printed on a laser printer in colour to fully appreciate it's tonal and textual value. Not only have we turned an ordinary thing into art, but we've also turned white bread into toast without a toaster.

Example 3: `IMPLIED MOTION` is an experiment in the production of movement. This is achieved by utilising user defined `'SCRATCH'` techniques with `MULTI-TRACK``ing` to create example `ARTICLES` of static animation. `MULTI-TRACK``ing` can be achieved by reproducing images onto a clear surface, e.g. acetate, then printing from two or more images to produce one flat image. To make `MULTI-TRACK``ing` simpler, the user must have an understanding of the printing process of a colour photocopier. The colour copier prints in a specific three colour sequence: Yellow, Cyan and Magenta (yellow, blue, red). These three colours are called primary colours and when mixed together they create all other colours except white. White is provided by the paper. This user generated image has been `MULTI-TRACK``ed`. An image was defined by SAMPLing a number of `SELECT``ed` images for generation. This user-defined generation was then MULTI-TRACKed on a colour copier. Utilising the colour print process, the image was turned clockwise 90 degrees as each colour was printed.
Now that you've been `BOOTSTRAPPED` I encourage you to try `STRECNOLOGY` out for YOURSELF.

`Glossary`

ARTICLE: (computer term) A finished piece of artwork. BOOTSTRAPPED: (something your father would say) To have taught yourself how or been shown how and encouraged to try. FORMAT: (computer term) To put an image on a piece of paper. ISAPT: (Strecno-term) Any product or technology that's been developed since the 1950s when man first tackled space. It sounds high-tech, but what we're talking about here is your basic office equipment type-stuff. Copiers, printers, felt pens, scanners, white out, etc. In STRECHNOLOGY almost anything can be used to create the art. MIX: (music term) To combine a bunch of different images and expose them to a bunch of different techniques. MULTI-TRACK: (music term) To put a bunch of images on top of each other and basically create an original image. PLAY: (music term) As in, "to PLAY a SAMPLED image." This simply means to manipulate the image. To do something, anything, to it. SAMPLE: (hip hop term) Just like a rapper does. Sampling is when you take a image from anywhere at all and use it as part of your art. Simple as that. SCRATCH: (hip hop term) To move an image in a rhythmic motion across the lightbar of a copier or scanner. This will result in a style all your own, if of course it's your hand doing the moving. SELECT: (computer term) To choose an image. STRECHNOLOGY : (Mark's term) Derived from the words, street and technology. It's the name of an art form that sounds quite complicated but is pretty simple if you ignore your own techno-phobia. It's really just a means of creating art using methods and tools in ways other than the way they were intended to be used. TECHNOBASIC : (Strechno-term) An original language based on the computer language Basic. Technobasic incorporates technical terms borrowed from other related industries to explain the theories and techniques of STRECHNOLOGY.