Der Speigel
March 1998

MEDIA ART ( translated very badly from german with the altavista babelfish)

Internet cameras have some dozen of " Camgirls " and to send every few minutes a current picture of itself around the world in their dwellings. The at present most interesting under the ambitionierten Homecams belongs to the US artist Ana Voog. Ana sleeps. Ana almost always sleeps - anyhow one has the impression here in Germany. That is because of the fact that the sun in Minnesota later comes up than in this country and to it that Ana still another little later has breakfast than most humans in Minnesota. If Ana would be situated actually all day long on the sofa, it would be hardly explainable why daily more than 200,000 people by-look with it. Ana Voog, 31, installed in its dwelling six cameras, was placed every two minutes a picture in Internet. Whereupon to see is usually the whole banality of the everyday life: Ana eats Pizza, Ana sits at the PC, Ana clears up the dwelling, telephoned, feeds the cat or combs themselves the hair. It rather often sits also only simply there and stares into the area. And sometimes participates the Camera, if Ana bathes. Then one sees also a piece meat.

Since short Ana has a friend, but that is camera shy. One must be probably a little moved, in such a manner observes the day to spend - however some crazy person are quite pleasant. Ana is called in the real life Rachael Olson - however which the real life is, cannot it probably so exactly not say. For August last yearly lives it publicly as Ana before the camera, every two minutes a picture, 24 hours on the day, seven days the week. Only Christmas took it a few days freely - there it was house and with its nut/mother argued.

Those had experienced that Ana had Sex already times before thousands of spectators and that she organized once a small happening under the title " NO Body is perfect ". There it gave to see in large accommodation, what regards Ana as its problem zones, for example the scars of its chest enlargement. Rachael Olsons argument, their life as Ana is an art project and besides an intensive self experience, might nut/mother not have reconstructed. Actually however differs anacam.com clearly from the countless supplies in the Internet, where the spectator buys the right by credit card to watch the respective girl the Posieren and Pornografieren and to require themselves in the Chat still another special position.

People, which achieve the boundary of their able to communicateness with the set of " Show ME your tits ", have few fun at Ana relative. " it goes here not over meat-inspects ", says it, " if I is naked, then not for the camera. " Rather in the name of the art. Ana breaks through the schnoeden everyday life again and again times with small projects: It verfremdet the pictures from their dwelling with color filters or structures err-funny mirror constructions, with which at the end of the viewers themselves see into the camera. Then again it holds a pistol before the sex and dazzles themselves in addition the question a " Wanna lake my for thick? ". Or it drapes itself as Madonna figure and announces: " I will save the world. "

Some of Anas fans have in the meantime own pages with Anarchiven created, there give it with Java operated Diashows, animated photos, their own Chatboard and even the newsgroup alt.fan.ana voog. One archives even each individual picture, which goes from Ana over the network. From these files Anas fans avail themselves, in order to return for their part the pictures to other and as own works of art at Ana.

Those places then the best work in the network. The idea to publish the own life in the Internet is not so again. Already for two years there are Jennicam, where the Urmutter of the Webcams for a paying public before the camera squats. Since then a multiplicity of so-called Homecams was created, most lures with more or less generous Models, fixed time tables and announced laundry or Stripteaseshows. Good cash can obvious be earned with the mixture from amateur model and High Tech.

Also Ana is on the search for pecuniary resources: It sells t-Shirts with its picture, coffee cups, Mousepads and D-ROME with 20,000 pictures each from their Internet life. Besides it already offers the receipt to another Serveur, on which their picture does not change every two minutes for ten dollar in the month, but after 30 seconds. Actually Ana is singer and Songwriterin. With tape named " The a Blue UP? " it published even DS - almost under exclusion of the public. Now it took up again a disk, which will appear in April, probably the first CD of the world, which is called after a Website: anacam.com. Perhaps Anas life is in the Internet also only a gigantic Promotiongag for their music - however is not so convincing.

To Andy Warhols times was called it, everyone once a star could be in the life for ten minutes - with Ana the principle is another: It is every two minutes famous. Under its picture ticks a second counter, which displays the time up to the Reload. Thus develops a Voyeurismus, which is however never satisfied: Each time one wants to again know, what will have to be seen in the next picture. *** TRANSLATION ENDS HERE *** In einer Vielzahl der Fälle ist die Antwort ganz banal: Ana schläft.

Ansbert Kneip