The Telegarden (1995-2004)

Summary

The Telegarden (1995-2004) "Il faut cultiver notre jardin." Voltaire Co-directors: Ken Goldberg and Joseph Santarromana Project team: George Bekey, Steven Gentner, Rosemary Morris Carl Sutter, Jeff Wiegley Ars Electronica team: Erich Berger, Gerold Hofstadler, Thomas Steindl, Gerfried Stocker Archivist: Hannes Mayer The Telegarden: art installation that allows web users to view and interact with a remote garden filled with living plants. Members can plant, water, and monitor the progress of seedlings via the tender movements of an industrial robot arm. New! (Dec 2013): STL model of the Telegarden for 3D printers New artworks and projects. The Telegarden was developed at the University of Southern California and went online in June 1995. In its first year, over 9000 members helped cultivate. In September 1996, the Telegarden was moved to the lobby of the Ars Electronica Center in Austria, where it remained online until it was decommisioned in August 2004. The Alternate Village Square chatroom remains available with archival photos and other information. ``In linking their garden to the World Wide Web and creating an intuitive interface for the control of the arm and camera, the artists transformed what most would consider a fit of over-engineering into a subtle rumination on the nature of the Commons.'' -- Peter Lunenfeld, Flash Art , XXIX, 187, March 1996. ``The Telegarden creates a physical garden as an environment to stage social interaction and community in virtual space. The Telegarden is a metaphor for the care and feeding of the delicate social ecology of the net.'' -- Randall Packer, San Jose Museum of Art, April 1998. The Telegarden went online in June of 1995 and has been online continuously for seven years. It currently is located in the Ars Electonica Museum in Austria. Anyone can view the garden as a guest; the rights to plant and water are granted to those who agree to share their email addresses with other members of the cooperative. Activity is record...