»Automatic Rain« 
Light Box
Light Box
© http://archive.rhizome.org/anthology/automatic-rain.html
Keywords
Information
JODI >
»Automatic Rain«, 1995
http://anthology.rhizome.org/automatic-rain
(part of 'Net Art Anthology' project of Rhizome)
Technology
Software
It relied heavily on its technological context in the 90s, thus Automatic Rain quickly ceased to function properly, and became one among the lesser-known works from the artists’ significant ouevre. Thanks to the preservation project, now you can visit the work on Rhizome’s ‘Net Art Anthology’ platform.
Descriptions & Essays
Hua Chun Fan 06-04-2017
Automatic Rain, one of JODI’s first works for the web browser, drew inspiration from the timed sprinklers that kept Silicon Valley’s lawns in perfect order. The piece begins with a red logo bearing the title of the work. These were drawn from small branded flags that announced the presence of timed sprinklers on the lawns around San Jose State University in Silicon Valley.
Playing out across three web pages, it made use of a found image, a photograph, Netscape’s blink feature, and the slow loading times of the mid-90s web to create a simple and lyrical composition.
In 1995, on a dial-up connection, blue text would fill the screen slowly; and the tag makes the text flashed on and off. Clicking on this brings the user to a black screen. The slowness of the apparatus gave the rain a decidedly uneven, cinematic effect.
(summarised from ‘Net Art Anthology’ project of Rhizome)
Hua Chun Fan: Automatic Rain, 06-04-2017, in: Archive of Digital Art Automatic Rain, one of JODI’s first works for the web browser, drew inspiration from the timed sprinklers that kept Silicon Valley’s lawns in perfect order. The piece begins with a red logo bearing the title of the work. These were drawn from small branded flags that announced the presence of timed sprinklers on the lawns around San Jose State University in Silicon Valley.
Playing out across three web pages, it made use of a found image, a photograph, Netscape’s blink feature, and the slow loading times of the mid-90s web to create a simple and lyrical composition.
In 1995, on a dial-up connection, blue text would fill the screen slowly; and the tag makes the text flashed on and off. Clicking on this brings the user to a black screen. The slowness of the apparatus gave the rain a decidedly uneven, cinematic effect.
(summarised from ‘Net Art Anthology’ project of Rhizome)
Literature
JOSEPHINE BOSMA. »Automatic Rain.« http://rhizome.org/editorial/2017/mar/24/automatic-rain/ [27.March.2017].
Exhibitions & Events