Canajun, Eh.

Last night as I was enjoying my daily serving of beer and backbacon, I paused while watching a rerun of a local hockey game to ponder the future of Canada. Glancing down at my lumberjack shirt, I felt a simple pride knowing that the Great White North was finally coming into its own. I felt so good I left my igloo for a few moments, jumped on my snowmobile (the horse was in the shed), and rode for a few minutes across the icy cold tundra.

Okay, reality check...

I am suffering in 35 degree Celsius heat. Ice cubes melt before I can get them into the glass. The only thing resembling bacon in my house is a plastic fridge magnet of a BLT. I have not worn a lumberjack shirt since I was sixteen, and what's left of it is now used to wipe the windows. And as for the term, "Great White North," ...well, the only time I hear that phrase any more is when I'm the United States, and it's usually accompanied with questions like, "Y'all don't get much of a summer up thar in Keneda, dew ye?"

Yes, I am thinking of Canada these days. The timing is perfect, of course. We have an impending referendum in Quebec about to confront us. We have a new government here in Ontario that will make Newt Gingrich look like a generous old grandfather. Out in the East, New Brunswick is poised to be the Information Highway capital of North America. And in the West, the last gasp of social democracy is in for a four year exhale.

But there is another reason I'm thinking of Canada. It has to do with a little thing called The Fifth Annual International Symposium of Electronic Arts, a.k.a. ISEA '95. For the first time, ISEA is being held in Canada, Montreal specifically. And I happen to believe that it is no accident that this prestigious conference is in Canada this year. ISEA comes at a time when Canada has begun to make its mark on the international art and technology "scene." One need only mention the names of such places as The Banff Centre, The Centre for Image and Sound Research (CI*SR), SoftImage, The International Digital Media Awards, or Alias Research to see a distinct Canadian tech-art identity forming; or names such as David Rokeby, Robert LePage, Vincent John Vincent, Deanne Taylor, Derrick de Kerckhove or Sylvie Belanger to see a Canadian personality emerging in this new exciting field.

The work of these artists and organizations reflect a Canadian sensibility that is somewhat similar to that of the Canadian comedy export that began in the 1970s and continues to show its lasting impact today. In much of the work being produced, Canadians have shown a child-like curiosity of their environment, a determination not to take themselves too seriously, and a delicate innocence of a culture struggling with its own national identity. These same qualities produced some of our most famous comic actors, and are still producing new-media artists of the same worldly calibre.

And so, in recognition both of the conference and of the high quality of Canadian work in the new-media arts, CyberStage is pleased to present its first all-Canadian showcase issue. (It is especially appropriate that we showcase Canada since this issue also marks our first birthday!) Although we have always covered work occuring on the international stage, we thought we'd indulge ourselves and show some more national pride.

Not all of the artists in this issue will be represented at ISEA '95. We wanted to show the diverse kind of work happening in many different genres of art and technology, both in and out of that environment.

Now, where did I put that beer?...

Mark J. Jones - ed.