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Archive: March, 2009

Open Clip Art Library Release 0.19, and OCAL10K Goal Exceeeded

March 31st, 2009 · -- · Open Source, Research Opportunity, Resource, [2]News & Events No comments

March 31, 2009 – Release 0.19 of Open Clip Art Library
(http://www.openclipart.org), containing over 12,000 high quality scalable vector graphics (SVG) files released into the public domain by over a 1000 artists, is now available for download and use. In celebration of this accomplishment, since OCALâ•?s last release happened in 2005, and March being 5th anniversary of the Open Clip Art Library (OCAL), the OCAL community set a goal to achieve 10,000 uploaded pieces of vector graphics. The project achieved this with the 10,000th submission from user Boobaloo who uploaded a graphic of an onion. The project congratulates Boobaloo for uploading the 10,000th upload. Also, project congratulates all artists who have uploaded in this anniversary OCAL10K sprint.

The project congratulates Nicu who personally crossed the 500 clip art upload barrier and now has 696 pieces of clip art uploaded to the system. All efforts towards the OCAL10K goal helped boost the site’s registrations and focus on releasing monthly packages once more to make this project a flowing river of clip art uploads. Since all contributions to the project are released into the public domain via the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication, anyone may use the Open Clip Art Library files for any use including collections, to make money, and to generate compositions. However, the community encourages anyone who uses the clip art to provide attribution back to the original clip art in the form of a link or to announce the use of the clip art in some form.

For the month of April in lead up to the annual Libre Graphics Meeting 2009 in Montreal, May 5-9, 2009, the Open Clip Art Library is setting a goal to achieve 12,000 pieces of uploaded clip art related to spring time, release the 0.20 package of clip art, and to update the siteâ•?s software to ccHost 5. The projects asks all who are software developers comfortable with PHP and MYSQL, to consider joining the project now ti help with three critical tasks of adding rendered thumbnails, update the site software to ccHost 5, and to help roll-out our latest software theme.

Highlight

* An offline HTML gallery to browse through the thumbnails of all clip arts
* Over 4,000 new cliparts as compared to release 0.18.
* 10,000th upload by Boobaloo:
http://openclipart.org/media/files/boobaloo/11895
* Refocused Development around three critical tasks
* Call for Participation toward April goals of 12,000 uploads about spring
* Call for Participation towards Libre Graphics Meeting 2009
** http://libregraphicsmeeting.org/

Downloads

* http://openclipart.org/downloads/0.19/openclipart-0.19.tar.bz2
* http://openclipart.org/downloads/0.19/openclipart-0.19.tar.gz
* http://openclipart.org/downloads/0.19/openclipart-0.19.zip

Press Kit

* Logos: http://openclipart.org/media/view/media/about
* All Clip Art: http://openclipart.org/media/view/media/clip_art

About Open Clip Art Library

Founded in 2004 from Inkscape, the open source drawing tool, the Open Clip Art Library (http://www.openclipart.org/) aims to create an archive of user contributed clip art that may be freely used. All graphics submitted to the project are placed into the Public Domain according to the Creative Commons Public Domain Declaration.

Help by submitting artwork today or join the IRC channel or the mailing list to find out about e.g. web development related contributions:
http://openclipart.org/discussion

For More Information: http://www.openclipart.org.

STRP Festival presents RE: le Poème Electronique: a symposium about a contemporary muse

March 30th, 2009 · -- · Art, Conference, Festival, Music, Remix, Research Opportunity, Resource, Sound, [2]News & Events No comments

STRP Festival presents RE: le Poème Electronique: a symposium about a contemporary muse

The STRP Festival is a multidisciplinary all-out experience of art, music and technology taking place 2 – 13 April in Eindhoven (the Netherlands). During every edition of STRP, special attention is paid to a theme that focuses on Eindhoven and the relationship between creativity and technology under the “RE:” banner. This year, RE: is dedicated to the 1958 work of art Le Poème Électronique.

In 1956 Philips commissioned the renowned architect Le Corbusier to build a pavilion for the World’s Fair in Brussels. Le Corbusier wished to avoid designing yet another industrial exhibit and told Philips that he would create an “electronic poem” about the technological development of mankind. Together with composer Edgar Varèse, architect Iannis Xenakis and cinematographer Philippe Agostini, Le Corbusier developed a spectacular work of art in which light, sound, film and architecture merge to form a revolutionary multimedia spectacle. STRP will host a symposium on this remarkable cultural legacy, which was created in Eindhoven’s NatLab.

Five hundred visitors gather inside the futuristic pavilion at the World’s Fair. The excitement is palpable. While an introductory text is projected on the wall, oscillating sounds issue from the left and right from hidden speakers. A nude female mannequin at the top of the ceiling lights up as ultraviolet lights flashed across the diagonal side walls. The audience is startled by the weird electronic sounds cascading over them from somewhere far off in the distance in the pavilion. A series of abstract light patterns and graphic images and photographs of monkeys, birds, skeletons, explosions and babies alternate as the soundscape seems to continue moving along the walls of the tent-like structure. After eight minutes, the lights go out and everything is quiet. The dazzled spectators stumble out through the exit doors, making way for the next group of curious World’s Fair visitors.

Le Poème Électronique tells the story of mankind and the quest for harmony in an ever-increasingly technological society. In the mid-1950s, technology is a source of hope, inspiration and optimism. At home, families gather around the radio or the black and white TV set. In the streets, the first affordable cars cruise around. In space, the Russians launch Sputnik, the first satellite. At Philips’ Natuurkundig Laboratorium (Natlab) in Eindhoven, in addition to developing new electronic appliances, which include an honest to goodness colour TV, the future of music is taking shape, too. Using huge tape recorders, reels, mixing boards and homemade electronic instruments, pioneers such as Dick Raaijmakers, Tom Dissevelt and Henk Badings create new electronic music. This technical playground in Strip-S is where the composer Varèse spent several months working with the Natlab technicians on Le Poème Électronique presented in the mathematically constructed pavilion at the World’s Fair.

Today, Le Poème Électronique is more popular than ever. Books and documentaries are being made, reenactments are being discussed, and the experience is being reproduced with new, virtual technologies. The questions arise what le Poème Électronique means today. What story does the Gesammtkunstwerk tell us? What are the underlying ideals about mankind and technology? How is Le Poème Électronique being used today as source of inspiration? What kind of story should a contemporary Le Poème Électronique tell us about mankind and it’s increasing technological environment? These questions (and more) are being discussed during a diverse programme on Thursday April 9th.

The symposium RE: Le Poème Électronique takes place in the Klokgebouw at Strijp-S, not even a mile away from the spot where Le Poème Électronique originated. In addition to lectures, discussions, and performances, the documentary ‘Kamer 306’ is shown. Kamer 306 is a documentary about the experimental musical practices in the NatLab during 1956 – 1960. The symposium is part of the regular STRP Expo+, and is meant for students, researchers, artists, technologists, and everyone else interested in this unique work of art.

From 2 – 13 April Eindhoven (the Netherlands) will once again embrace electronic music, interactive installations, film, art performances, live cinema and robotics. The STRP Festival is an all-out experience of music, art and technology. On Thursday, 9 April, STRP is hosting a symposium with lectures, discussions, presentations and works of art about Le Poème Électronique and its significance today. For more information about STRP Festival, Le Poème Électronique and the programme, please visit: www.strp.nl (http://www.strp.nl/strp/page/19).

Link to Le Poème Électronique @ Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1AT8rI_A8M

HORS PISTES 2009 – Pompidou Center – 27 mars au 12 avril

March 30th, 2009 · -- · Festival, Film, Resource, Video, [2]News & Events No comments

For the fourth consecutive year, the Pompidou Centre presents Hors Pistes, un autre mouvement des images.

Hors Pistes [Off Tracks] aims to federate certain territories of today’s cinema, particularly at its margins and its borders.

Hors Pistes selects films that summon the spirit of fiction in an off-beat manner and confront the realities of the present.

HORS PISTES on the Net here:
http://entrisme.free.fr/horspistes/

HORS PISTES

EVENTS

Samedi 28 mars (cinéma 2, 17h30)

Stop Making Sense (USA / 1984 / 88’) by Jonathan Demme.

Exclusive screening, chosen by the singer Camille

Samedi 4 avril (grande salle, 20h30)

SCREENING-CONCERT by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Thee Majesty, preceded by the film La Balade de Genesis and Lady Jaye by Marie Losier.

Organised in collaboration with the service des Spectacles vivants of the Pompidou Centre.

Samedi 11 avril (cinéma 2, 20h30) :

LA CLASSE AMERICAINE, de M.Hazanavicius et D. Mézerette

For the occasion, Jacky Goldberg, journalist from Les Inrockuptibles, proposes a selection of the best reappropriations by Net-artist Mozinor and deciphers the phenomenon.

10th Edition of the ELEKTRA Festival

March 30th, 2009 · -- · Festival, Music, Research Opportunity, Resource, VJ Culture, Video, [2]News & Events No comments

Arnaud Rebotini // Black Strobe // Ryoji Ikeda // ANTIVJ+Principles of Geometry // Kurt Hentschläger

Ryoichi Kurokawa // Defasten // Otolab

In Montreal, for the 10th Edition of the ELEKTRA Festival

May 1-10

Tickets now on sale!

Montreal, Wednesday, March 11, 2009 — From May 1st to 10, 2009, the 10th Edition of the Elektra international digital arts festival will be held in Montreal. Tickets for this anniversary edition are available on the Admission network (www.admission.com) and at the Usine C ticket office (514-521-4493). The Festival’s team is proud to provide a taste of things to come for this 2009 Edition — which promises to delight both adepts of the digital culture as well as anyone on the lookout for new experiences.

10 years — a milestone worth celebrating. Right? There’s no doubt that’s exactly what the ELEKTRA think tank had in mind when they invited Frenchman Arnaud Rebotini to present the live Canadian premiere of his brand new album, Music Components. Indeed, the Black Strobe producer and singer will be back in Montreal for a live performance he’ll captain with his analog machines. But what can the audience expect? More organic techno that happily leverages dancing pop/rock accents. Set aside your inhibitions, and let Rebotini drive. And on that same special 10th anniversary night, Black Strobe will join in at Elektra to enthral rock lovers and hard core electronic music fans alike.

Saturday, May 9, Usine C – Canadian premiere

Japan’s own Ryoji Ikeda is one of the world’s greatest electronic music artists and composers. Actively present on the Japanese and international scenes since 1995, Ikeda sets the stage with A/V performances that have earned him recognition well beyond the musical realm. And he’ll be in Montreal, ready to thrill eye and ear!

Friday, May 8, Usine C

The ANTIVJ label, alongside Principles of Geometry — a square fave of the popular Tigersushi label — will thread Canadian soil for the first time to introduce Stereoscopic show. Equipped with 3D glasses, the audience will attend a singular performance where live musicians and seasoned VJs will unite to breathe an entirely new dimension into A/V performance.

Saturday, May 9, Usine C – Canadian premiere

Kurt Hentschläger is coming to Montreal for the ultimate presentation of Feed . . . For the sheer joy of those who already know him. But above it all for those who can’t even yet fathom what they’ve missed out on.

Wednesday, May 6, Thursday, May 7, and Friday, May 8, Usine C – Last Montreal show

Ryoichi Kurokawa is the archetype of the A/V artist who knows just how to push the envelope of new technologies to enhance his work. His latest performance coaxes the audience into a journey where minimalism and complexity cohabit flawlessly with A/V sculptures at times exciting and exuberant, at others mind-blowing. Indefinable and an absolute must.

Thursday, May 7, Usine C

Lauded during the 8th Edition of Elektra, Montrealer Defasten will be back for the Canadian premiere of his first feature film, Openland. Focusing on digital animation, Defasten draws parallels inside a bubble of information, space and urban landscapes. In this cinematographic hybrid, Montreal artist Patrick Doan weaves interviews, meta-story, documentary sequences and metaphorical digital landscapes to drive an aesthetic exploration of micro-states.

Thursday, May 7, Usine C – Canadian premiere

Finally, we’d be remiss not to mention the first ever Canadian foray of Italian collective Otolab, with an A/V performance characterized by aesthetic flair, largely inspired from the graphical and architectural universe. Through op7, Otolab develops multiple perspective and trompe-l’œil shifts to prompt the audience to derive new sound and image perceptions. A not-to-be-missed performance for a glimpse of the new digital arts scene emerging in Europe.

Friday, May 8, Usine C

And while you’re waiting to celebrate this 10th anniversary with us, check out the latest news at:

www.elektramontreal.ca

http://blog.elektramontreal.ca

FURTHERFIELD: In Support of Ada Lovelace Day

March 27th, 2009 · -- · Resource, [2]News & Events, online Project No comments

In support of Ada Lovelace Day we are inviting all women who work in media arts and net art to join the NetBehaviour email list for a week between 23rd and 30th March.

http://www.furtherfield.org/display_user.php?ID=14

INSPIRED BY:

Ele Carpenter – http://www.elecarpenter.org.uk/ for tech inspired and facilitated participation with Open Source Embroidery, her curatorial project exploring artists practice that explores the relationship between programming for embroidery and computing.

Auriea Harvey – for her part with Entropy8Zuper in early intimate networked performances http://entropy8zuper.org/wirefire and for Endless Forest, Tale of Tales’s bucolic social screensaver http://tale-of-tales.com/TheEndlessForest

Mary Flanagan – for her energetic explorations as academic, educator, artist and programmer at the intersection of games, art and feminism and exploring collaborative approaches to thinking about values in http://www.valuesatplay.org/

==============================

At the end of the week we will collate all of the posts in the thread and feature them on Furtherfield.org.

See you on Netbehaviour : ))

With all best wishes from

Ruth and the Furtherfield team
http://www.furtherfield.org
==========================

Ada Lovelace Day -bringing women in technology to the fore http://findingada.com/blog/2009/01/05/ada-lovelace-day/
sign a pledge to blog about inspirational women in tech on 24th March.

CFP: Ludic Cartography. Mapping GameSpaces

March 27th, 2009 · -- · Call for Papers, Competition opportunity, [2]News & Events No comments

CFP categories:
Video Games, Cartography, Virtual Worlds, Game Studies, Sociology

http://www.mattscape.com/
2009/03/cfp-ludic-cartography-mapping-
gamespaces.html

Description
The How They Got Game Project at Stanford University is currently seeking papers that explore the connections between mapping, cartographic practices, and electronic gaming for an illustrated book that will be published in 2010. Specifically, we are interested in representations of spaces in video games through the aid of maps and mapping tools. Video games establish new topographies and new geographies that – while making obvious references to pre-existing models – create a new understanding of the world and its spaces. Our goal is to show and explain how digital spaces [i.e. video games and virtual worlds] are being mapped by a new generation of cartographers.

Topics might include:

– History and evolution of mapping in games
– Origins and evolution of strategy guides
– Uses of modern cartographic tools (e.g. Google Earth) for video games
– Uses of innovative displays for mapping/visualizing games
– Case studies of key games that use innovative cartographic solutions
– Legal issues related to cartography in gaming
– Visual display of game related information on-screen and off-screen
– The relationship between traditional (analog) and digital ludic cartography
– Travelogues in virtual/game spaces, Psychogeography 2.0

Please send a one to two page proposal by April 25th to Matteo Bittanti at bittanti at Stanford dot edu and/or Henry Lowood at lowood at Stanford dot edu and/or bonnie de varco at devarco at cruzio. dot com. Languages: English and Italian.

Interdisciplinarity will be a key feature of this project. Authors are encouraged to include high-resolution images in their essays and to use pictorial material in a creative, rather than complementary, way in their essay.

Authors of papers accepted be notified by June 1, 2009. In addition to the book, we are currently evaluating various spin-offs (e.g. an exhibition, an online archive etc).

“Bay Area Toxic Tour” Photojournalism Fundraiser

March 27th, 2009 · -- · Offline Project, Research Opportunity, Resource, [2]News & Events No comments

Our latest project is the first chapter in a new “Toxic Tour of the San Francisco Bay.” This is a photojournalism series focusing on the communities living in proximity to pollution zones, industrial sites, dumps and suchlike. We’re having a house party on Saturday to kick off the fundraising, and would love to see you there!

The Bay Area Toxic Tour Photojournalism House Party
Saturday March 28, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm
1510 Everett St., Alameda, CA

* DIRECTIONS + RSVP: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2167877/

* PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL AS APPROPRIATE

THE TEAM
Newsdesk.org (www.newsdesk.org/) and SPOT.US (www.spot.us/) are reprising their successful collaboration on last fall’s “SF Election Truthiness Report” (www.newsdesk.org/truthiness/), this time working with an accomplished photojournalism team from the Fotovision community (www.fotovision.org/). Fotovision is a Berkeley-based profesisonal collaborative dedicated to storytelling through pictures.

Representing Fotovision is director Melanie Light, and photojournalist Victor Blue. Representing Newsdesk.org is editor Josh Wilson.

THE PROJECT
For our first chapter in the Toxic Tour of the San Francisco Bay, we’re focusing on the communities in proximity to the Port of Oakland, which is a convergence point for a wide variety of industrial pollutants, and adjacent to diverse shoreside Oakland communities

See below for details — and please do RSVP if you’re interested. Also, please do let your community know about this party, especially if they’re in Oakland/Alameda and the East Bay.

THE INVITATION
The Bay Area Toxic Tour Photojournalism House Party
Saturday March 28, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm
1510 Everett St., Alameda, CA

DIRECTIONS + RSVP: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2167877/

The Spot.us community is hosting an informal dinner party to raise awareness about environmental hazards that are having a negative impact on the communities who live close to industrial runoff.

We will learn more about it, discuss it and what we can do together to stop it! It will be a fun, informal dinner with a purpose on March 28 from 5 to 8 PM.

We hope we can get 30 Bay Area residents to attend this event, so feel free to invite your friends!

If you’re unable to come but would still be interested in donating $25 or $5 or $1 to the community-funded journalism piece, check out the link below. Your tax-deductible donation can be made directly on the Spot.Us pitch page: http://spot.us/pitches/156

Also, if you would like to host a house party please do not hesitate to contact kara@spot.us.

EXHIBITION: Radiant Copenhagen

March 27th, 2009 · -- · Offline Exhibition, [2]News & Events, software art No comments

March 27 at 5.30 pm Radiant Copenhagen will be unleashed in the streets of Copenhagen at Gallery Overgaden – Institute of Contemporary Art. The opening offers an apocalyptic show as well as a general presentation of the project. March 28, at 12 noon and 3:00 pm, a guided bus tour sets off into the radiant future of Copenhagen.

The artists Anders Bojen, Kristoffer Ørum, Kaspar Bonnén and PhD (Comp.Lit.) Rune Graulund have worked with a team of architects, artists, designers, engineers and musicians to create an alternate vision of Copenhagen, an imaginary future as a reaction to present day. All contributors share an interest in alternative realities and how these, through the internet and other media, play an increasing important role in our common understanding of the world.

Radiant Copenhagen is a future version of Copenhagen. Using Google maps and Wiki technologies, the group has created a Copenhagen dressed in dystopian scenery and amusing attire. You will find stories and images about peoples and places, atypical architecture, fictional art projects, suspended gravity, environmental peculiarities and the wonders of future transport, literary permutations and poetic vignettes. Radiant Copenhagen takes the internet project as its base, but spreads into the real city, with enactments of staged reality appearing without warning.

The internet project as well as the physical interactions with the city are intended as devices to challenge conventional thinking, an assault on the collective imagination of Copenhagen by which new possibilities for change are established. Be there for the opening March 27, check out radiantcopenhagen.net and remember to keep an eye out for a new Copenhagen.

Contributors to Radiant Copenhagen includes Kristoffer Ørum, Anders Bojen, Rune Graulund, Maja Zander, Kaspar Bonnén, Stig W. Jørgensen, Palle R Jensen, Ida Marie Hede Bertelsen, Peter Rasmussen, Kasper Hesselbjerg, Ulrik Nørgaard, Daphne Bidstrup, Andreas Pallisgaard and Kristian Haarløv.

Radiantcopenhagen.net will be accessible from March 21.

Radiant Copenhagen is supported by projektpuljen – City og Copenhagen.
For more info please contact press@radiantcopenhagen.net
Book a seat for the bus tour on March 28 at 12 noon or 3:00 pm on
booking@radiantcopenhagen.net. Departure is in front of
Christiansborg – duration 1 hour. Opening is at 5.30 pm at Gallery Overgaden – Institute of Contemporary Art. Overgaden Neden Vandet 17, DK-1414 Copenhagen K.

SYMPOSIUM: Positions in Flux: On the Changing Role of the Artist and Institution in the Networked Society

March 27th, 2009 · -- · Conference, Research Opportunity, Resource, [2]News & Events No comments

The Netherlands Media Art Institute presents

Positions in flux: On the changing role of the artist and institution in the networked society

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Organised by Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk), Amsterdam

Symposium venue: Trouw Amsterdam Wibautstraat 131, Amsterdam http://www.trouwamsterdam.nl

The symposium ‘Positions in flux: On the changing role of the artist and institution in the networked society’ will center on some of the major parameters for the current and future development of contemporary art. In particular it will reflect on the aspect of cultural sustainability of art projects, art and technology initiatives and art curating.

‘Positions in flux’ will give floor to international artists, theoreticians, critics, cultural producers and aims to initiate a truly critical debate. The symposium is designed for a broad audience working in the field of contemporary culture and art, with a desire to understand what comes ahead and how to respond to these changes on an artistic or institutional level. ‘Positions in flux’ will provide a platform and “thinkspace” for artists, cultural workers, theoreticians and a broader public to envision the future in our field and to provide us with the necessary information to make choices for a meaningful and sustainable development of society and culture.

The three panel discussions follow a clear thematic scheme and try to bring in as much expertise and viewpoints as possible. The panels are interlinked and designed to initiate an ongoing discussion among the participants.

The symposium will be streamed from the symposium venue, Trouw Amsterdam. Online audiences will have the opportunity to participate in the debate in the live discussion forum. The results of the debate and its main contributions are reviewed and published online on the new Media Art Platform. http://www.mediaartplatform.org

The symposium is part of the ‘Here we are – There we go’ programme at the Netherlands Media Art Institute, May 8th – 10th, 2009 which takes place on the occasion of the Institute’s 30th anniversary. ‘Here we are – There we go’ celebrates the Institute’s achievements in these thirty years and plans for the future with an inspiring open house weekend of artist talks, performances, installations, tours and a party.

‘Positions in flux’ is made possible with the kind support of the Mondriaan Foundation.
The conference language is English.

Please contact: info@nimk.nl for inquiries

ENTRANCE:
15 euro (Students 10 euro). You can buy your ticket in advance at the reception of the NIMk (sale starts May 1th) or you can pay at the venue location until a half hour before the symposium starts.
Including tea, coffee, reception at the NIMk at the end of the day

RESERVATIONS:
Please make reservations by sending you name and contact information to info@nimk.nl

Speakers and panels
Please note that speakers and times are subject to change.

9:00 – 10:00 Registration

9:45 Welcome and Introduction by Heiner Holtappels, director of NIMk

10:00 On the changing role of the artist and institution in the networked society by Susanne Jaschko, curator of Positions in Flux and chief curator NIMk

10.30 – 12.30 Panel 1: Art goes politics
In this session we will discuss the potential of art to contribute to global and local problems such as religious conflicts, environmental or social crisis. Or is art constrained to raising awareness only? Should art become an agency for political and social affairs at all? How to successfully implement and conduct art projects in zones of crisis? What does it take to successfully implement and conduct projects in zones of crisis? How far do these projects benefit from the dubious attention of the mass media?

Hans Bernhard (AT), artist, UBERMORGEN.COM
http://www.ubermorgen.com

Wafaa Bilal, artist (IQ/US)
http://www.wafaabilal.com

Knowbotic Research, artist group (DE/CH), artist in residence at NIMk 2008/2009
http://www.krcf.org

Moderated by Chris Keulemans, writer and journalist (NL) (tbc)
http://roadtrip.submarinechannel.com/content/view.jsp?mapid=5986&itemid=4897&menu=true

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch break

13.30 – 15.30 Panel 2: New territories and cultures of the digital
This panel will look at the geographical shift that media culture currently undergoes and that will shape the future of this field. In the past, Europe, North America and Japan were at the forefront of digital production, design, art and technological research. Now that digital technologies become available at lower prices and spread more widely on the globe, new digital communities flourish. This panel looks specifically at new initiatives and bottom-up organisations in other parts of the world such as East Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America, trying to understand what characterizes these initiatives. In how far do local and national cultures shape digital culture? Do these initiatives share common experiences and challenges, or is there no common ground to be found? Which kind of art arises from these new nodes on the digital map? How can we support the growth and establishment of these organisations?

Bronac Ferran (UK), researcher, consultant and founding member of bricolabs
http://www.boundaryobject.org

Nat Muller, independent curator and critic (NL)

Marcus Neustetter, media artist, curator and co-founder of Trinity Session (ZA)
http://www.onair.co.za/thetrinitysession/index_temp.html

Adam Somlai-Fischer, artist and architect, programme director of Kitchen Budapest (HU)
http://www.kitchenbudapest.hu

Moderated by Rob van Kranenburg, thinker, networker and author (NL/BE)
Van Kranenburg has been teaching at various schools in the Netherlands (UvA, EMMA Interaction Design, Industrial Design). Currently he works as the Head of the Public Domain Program at Waag Society. He is author of ‘The Internet of Things.’

For this session we will ask initiatives and organisations around the world to come up with a short written or a 1 minute video statement about challenges they face in the future.
These contributions will be shown during the panel.

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee Break

16.00 – 18.00 Panel 3: Open Source – A scheme for art production and curating?
This session deals with the concept of open source for art production and its presentation. The open source movement is driven by the idea of collective, process-based, sustainable production and improvement. In software development this strategy has already proven to be valid; however can this model be applied to other products such as artworks or even exhibitions? In how far does the open source model differ from other forms of artistic collaboration? Is there a new role model for both the artist and the curator in the future? Which (economic) value and impact has expertise in open source production? How could institutions and organisations respond to this trend?

Marcos Garcia, director of Interactivos, Medialab Prado (ES)
http://jaromil.dyne.org/journal/

Joasia Krysa, curator, founder of KURATOR (PL/UK)
http://www.kurator.org

Moderated by Josephine Bosma, theoretician and critic (nl)
http://laudanum.net/bosma

19:30 Reception at the Netherlands Media Art Institute,

Netherland Media Art Institute
Keizersgracht 264
1016 EV Amsterdam
http://www.nimk.nl

STRP Festival Presents the Finest in Technological Art and Performances during EXPO

March 25th, 2009 · -- · Conference, Festival, [2]News & Events No comments

‘Forget everything you have seen up until now and switch your body on’

http://www.strp.nl/strp/timetable

BodySuitI&IIbLarge

From 2 – 13 April the Klokgebouw in Eindhoven will once again be the place to find electronic music, interactive installations, film, art performances, live cinema and robotics. The STRP Festival is multidisciplinary all-out experience in which music, art and technology merge.

In addition to the previously announced and highly anticipated music programme on the main stages during the opening weekend (3 and 4 April), STRP has plenty more to offer from 8 – 13 April with a wide array of unique performances and art projects on tap. Some are freaky and totally out there, while others are extremely sophisticated and innovative. But as a whole the best way to describe the programme is new and different. STRP has invited artists from around the world who share a penchant and talent for blending art and technology in exciting original ways.

Art is not weird and technology is not sterile: this is the message that STRP aims to convey. Art can be a physical experience and technology makes for a wonderful toy. It causes you to look at reality from a different perspective.

What can you expect? First and foremost, a major exhibition of technological art installations: the STRP Expo, which features works including Infinite Cubed by the Brazilian duo Crescenti & Cantoni. This 3×3x3 metre cube made of moving mirrors creates the ultimate “Droste Effect” named after the optically enchanting Dutch cocoa ads. Next, try looking deep into the eyes of the Hexapod spawned by Matt Denton. This six-legged spider robot tracks you like a predator going after its prey, and instantly posts your picture on its website.

STRP Expo features dozens of amazing and largely interactive works of art that appeal to your entire body.

While there is a strong international flavour to the STRP Festival, the Netherlands is likewise well-represented. Featured Dutch artists include Daan Roosegaarde, whose work has been displayed around the world; robotics artist Freerk Wieringa; and video artist Jérôme Siegelaer. Plus, a number of recent graduates will also be participating, including Jeroen Holthuis, Evelien Lohbeck and Paul Verhoeven.

STRP also features lots of performances in which artists incorporate technology in their act, and in some cases even expand their bodies to cyborg-like proportions. Japanese musician Suguru Goto will present a performance with two dancers in black robot suits outfitted with sensors that register their movements, translating them into visuals projected on a giant screen. Swiss performance artist Yann Marussich has a bizarre act in which he spends an hour trapped naked inside a glass cage, sweating blue liquid. Eindhoven’s own Stefan Robbers (aka Terrace) will provide the live soundtrack, which incorporates Marussich’s bodily sounds. The Cyborg Arena programme hosted by Regine Debatty from the popular weblog We-Make-Money-Not-Art.com includes a variety of these cyborg-type artists.

There will also be live cinema acts to see, including 10,000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming acid by the celebrated Russian duo Domnitch and Gelfand. Using lasers they turn soap bubbles into spectacular visuals in a chemical and technological tour de force.

STRP Expo + almost has too many great acts to mention here. Other participants include Robot Cowboy, who has a monitor instead of a head; Eboman, who samples his audience live; a WORM evening including a unique live performance by Jan Jelinek and Karl Kliem involving a controllable neon wand; an experimental label night presented by Enfant Terrible, with artists including Belgium’s crazy pigtailed and white knee sock-clad Kania Tieffer.

STRP and Frits Philips Music Hall present (in collaboration with Effenaar) a performance of Laurie Anderson on Saturday April 11th. The quintessential performance artist, known primarily for her multimedia presentations, uses digital techniques to blend music, theatre, and poetry into alienating yet emotional performances.

Would you like to experience all of this and more during this year’s STRP Festival? Then be sure not to miss STRP Expo+ from 8 – 13 April (Easter Weekend). Day tickets are only 10, and children under 12 are admitted free. Your day ticket is valid for the entire day, in other words including the evening part of the programme (which in some cases will last well into the night!). Visit http://www.strp.nl/strp/timetable for a complete listing.