01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 9, 2004

BY BRYAN ROURKE
Journal Staff Writer

Terrorism inspires art in two exhibits, a film and a "performance collage" this third anniversary weekend of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

An exhibition and a film are the public components of The Power and Pathology of Networks, a symposium at Brown University this weekend.

The event, presented and organized by the Information Technology, War, and Peace (InfoTechWarPeace) Project at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies, looks at the role of cyberspace in the terrorist era.

Numerous group discussions on the subject, led by dozens of scholars and experts, are coupled with art.

"We fundamentally believe these issues are so profound and complex, and sometimes just so novel, that a multidisciplinary approach is needed, but not sufficient," says James Der Derian, InfoTechWarPeace director, and coordinator of the symposium. "We need to bring in the creativity and innovation that the art world provides."

The multimedia exhibition, which opens tomorrow and runs through Oct. 4, is called "I Love You [rev.eng]".

The [rev.eng] is a reference to reverse engineering, Der Derian says, and also to revenge. The work was created by Franziska Nori, who will attend tomorrow's exhibition opening, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Watson Institute, 111 Thayer St.

The exhibit aims to shows the interrelationship of security, power and computer codes, according to Der Derian. One of the ways it does this is through an examination of a computer virus.

"All too often, computer viruses are something you read about," he says. "Or we see them in a superficial form on our computer, or our computer just shuts down. She opens up the black box and gets inside the programming of the virus."

On Saturday, at 5:30 p.m., the documentary After 9/11 will be shown at the Avon Cinema, 260 Thayer St. Admission is $8.50. The film, created by InfoTechWarPeace, focuses on the interrelation between media, technology and terrorism.

"The multiple forms of media, information technology, act as multipliers," Der Derian says. "They can make an event that's very discreet and minor and transform it into a global event. It can be a computer bug or the beheading of a journalist shown on the Internet."

The InfoTechWarPeace Project was established in 2001, before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

"When that happened, we retooled very quickly and were one of the first Web sites to offer up information and start an archive on the impact of network terrorism," Der Derian says.

"I Love You [rev.eng]" is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m., through Oct. 4 at the Watson Institute, 11 Thayer St.

For more information about the Information Technology, War, Peace Project at Brown University, visit www.infopeace.org.

Performance collage

Meanwhile, the Mathewson Street United Methodist Church and the University of Rhode Island Providence campus, Providence, present Healing After 9-11, a performance collage of music, theater and dance, 7:30 p.m. Saturday in URI's Paff Auditorium, 80 Washington St.

The performance is also presented 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Salve Regina University in Newport, in Megley Theatre, Mercy Hall, at Lawrence and Leroy avenues.

Admission to both performances is free.

URI Providence and the Mathewson Street Church also present a mixed-media exhibit, "9-1-1 How Can I Help You," through Sept. 30.

URI's gallery at 80 Washington St. is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays. For more information, call (401) 277-5206.

The Mathewson Street United Methodist Church Chapel Gallery, 134 Mathewson St., Providence, is open Sundays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call (401) 331-8901.