2003 Rockefeller New Media Foundation Proposal

Abstract

The People's Data Exchange Network (PDEN) is an electronic intervention into the current uncritical acceptance of the Stock Exchange and its Dow Jones, NASDAQ components as a useful indicator of quality of life. As a culture, we are incessantly bombarded by the electronic imagery of the ticker tape and its cryptic pixelated parade of symbols, signs, and numbers. The PSEN will be an electronic jujitsu, using the symbolism of the venerable exchange, with indicators of a perhaps more realistic indication of popular well-being or despair. The PDEN project will consist of a central installation, satellite websites, and a distributed network of moving electronic signage. It will be a project that will involve not only the artist, but a network of public watchdogs, political economists and non-profit organizations.