Secret Agent
'00

Interviewer

• Live stream of the brilliant and talented actress Karen Black, the "secret agent," simultaneously interviewing a conference attendee, and video-conferencing live with UC DARNet project collaborators
• Digital Secrets Conference at Arizona State University, November '00
• Karen was solicited to "play the part" by Lynn Hershman, who'd worked with Karen in her Conceiving Ada ('97) film projects

Tech Fitting

• Karen being fitted with a customized video-conferencing and wireless networking system designed by Shawn Brixey, Fabian Wagmister, and yours truly for "secret" transmissions

Transmission

• Covert video stream sent from Karen, during a conference session
• What the image doesn't capture, was the surprising hostility expressed toward Karen, who was largely percieved by other participants as an "outsider" who had no business being there, or voicing an opinion

DARNet

• Some of the UC DARNet project collaborators speaking from a remote location "through" Karen Black

Live Performance

• Karen performing live the multiple voices of UC DARNet members, that I covertly transcribed and edited from email exchanges during development of the secret agent project
• The overall goal was to have a highly reflexive piece, that actually put into practice what the themes of the conference were about - agency, secrets, and collaborative practice