[splash image]
MTAA-RR:
Oct 11, 2008
The Big Kiss - Annie Abrahams at OTO
posted at 13:49 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Photos from last nights OTO with Annie Abrahams now up at OTO’s Flickr Set permanent link to this post
Oct 07, 2008
3K USD for a chapter on networked art
posted at 15:10 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Check it out!
From turbulence.org:
+++
Networked: a (networked_book) about (networked_art)
A Juried International Competition
Call for Proposals
Deadline: December 15, 2008
http://turbulence.org/networked
Five writers will be commissioned to develop chapters for a networked book about networked art. The chapters will be open for revision, commentary, and translation by online collaborators. Each commissioned writer will receive $3,000 (US).
Networked Committee:
Steve Dietz (Northern Lights, MN) :: Martha CC Gabriel (net artist, Brazil) :: Geert Lovink (Institute for Network Cultures, The Netherlands) :: Nick Montfort (Massachusetts Institute for Technology, MA) :: Anne Bray (LA Freewaves, LA) :: Sean Dockray (Telic Arts Exchange, LA) :: Jo-Anne Green (NRPA, MA) :: Eduardo Navas (newmediaFIX) :: Helen Thorington (NRPA, NY)
More here: http://turbulence.org/networked permanent link to this post
Oct 01, 2008
Annie Abrahams - The Big Kiss at OTO Oct 10
posted at 22:36 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Image from the performance “One the puppet of the other” with NicolasFrespech, May 26th 2007, Centre Pompidou Paris.
On October 10, from 7pm to 10 pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present The Big Kiss, a performance installation by Annie Abrahams.
What’s contact in a machine mediated world? What’s the power of the image? How does it feel to kiss without touching? Does the act change because we see it? What does it mean to construct an image with your tongue? And is there still desire? Does the act provoke it? What’s contact in a machine mediated world?
You are invited to participate in the creation of a communal kiss at OTO
Annie Abrahams is a Dutch artist living in France. Abrahams work is featured on her site “Being Human / Etant Humain”: a big interlinked universe that concentrates on the possibilities and limitations of communication as well as at aabrahams.wordpress.com
permanent link to this post
Sep 29, 2008
A new idea…
posted at 02:05 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Two shapes randomly extracted from an autotrace of a JPEG reproduction of Da Vinci’s Last Supper. M.River randomly selected the top, T.Whid the bottom. It would be better if software did the random selection.
This is a sketch or mockup or whatever you want to call something that really isn’t a finished piece.
M.River adds — Two shapes painted directly on a wall. The heights of the shapes are equal to the height of the Last Supper (15’); may involve a live performance. permanent link to this post
Sep 25, 2008
I had sort of given up on politics…
posted at 13:56 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid/politics
… or at least given up on posting about them on this blog. But this has just got to be said…
McCain is such a fucking tool.
photo © Jill Greenberg permanent link to this post
McCain is such a fucking tool.
photo © Jill Greenberg permanent link to this post
Sep 24, 2008
In the studio (9/23/2008)
posted at 13:59 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
M.River on the mic
update
Thanks to MTAA’s #1 fan you can see just how exciting the action is in our studio — ANIMATED!
permanent link to this post
Sep 20, 2008
koller’s campfire time at oto
posted at 14:16 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Our Political Work
2008, digital video with software
In our age there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics.’ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.
— George Orwell
Continuing a series of computer-driven self-portraits, MTAA’s Our Political Work presents the artists in a never-ending state of screaming, yelling, waiting and sometimes laughing. Using 141 filmed moments, custom software randomly selects and joins video clips into a seemingly endless array of undignified action. Begun in 2007 and completed in 2008, Our Political Work creates an open-ended depiction of political discourse as Beckett-like action.
A 2008 commission of LX 2.0, a project of Lisboa 20 Arte Contemporânea and curated by Luis Silva. link to work | permanent link to this post
Sep 13, 2008
Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event
posted at 22:13 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event - Strand Bookstore, NYC - Lee Walton signs books form the Strand’s outdoor $1 book bins. (that’s Lee in the green hat)
This is the book I got for Lee to sign (not one from the $1 bin)
I had him sign page 148 on a the image of Manzoni signing one of his “Living Sculpture”. I think Tim and I will sign it on the page with Gilbert and George and then put it up for auction on eBay. permanent link to this post
Campfire Time - Mike Koller at OTO - Sept.19
posted at 12:08 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
On September 19, from 7pm to 10pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present Campfire Time, a new installation by Mike Koller. This marks his second exhibition at OTO.
“… either sitting around a campfire drinking beer and telling lies, or telling lies and drinking beer while sitting around a campfire. But I wasn’t there so I can only guess.” - from Bigfoot Has a Long, Lively Local History by Guy Barnes
OTO’s one night format provides an excellent forum to examine social situations and the various activities they surround. Koller’s 2007 instalation, “The Holiday Rejects” looked at the holiday season and the awkward obligations of our interactions during these familial events. In this spirit of experiment, “Campfire Time” examines the intimacy and spirituality of the campfire and our fascination with it. An installation featuring animated projections of the west at sunset, fake logs, terrain, a carefully edited mix of sounds, and of course the campfire itself, “Campfire Time” gives the opportunity for the viewer to develop their own ideas on the nature of our interactions around this timeless and supernatural centerpiece.
Drink beer, tell lies, sing songs, converse intimately, tell ghost stories, or quietly enjoy the recorded crackles and pops of a campfire as you sit beneath the projected sky. Stare pensively into the incandescent glow of the campfire, rest your head on a fake log, and bid a fond farewell to summer.
directions and info on OTO permanent link to this post
Sep 09, 2008
Dante’s Inferno RIP
posted at 14:48 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Astroland is now closed for the summer and forever. The 1970 dark ride Dante’s Inferno is up for sale ($225,000). Here is some video I shot on the ride a few years back. Tim and I took the video and looped it, slowed it, and ran it back and forth to make this 3 min film. For the most part, it’s just black with a person screaming. Go ahead and take one last ride.
USM from mriver on Vimeo. permanent link to this post
Sep 07, 2008
Port Huron Project 6: Let Another World Be Born
posted at 14:16 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Mark Tribe’s Port Huron Project today in NYC!!
Here’s the info:
Public reenactment of a 1967 speech by Stokely Carmichael
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 5:00 PM
East 43rd St. at Tudor City Place, New York, NY
All the way east on 43rd Street
Subways 4, 5, 6, 6, S to Grand Central
Lots more info here. permanent link to this post
Sep 06, 2008
photos of ecoarttech at oto
posted at 17:00 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Sep 05, 2008
BBEdit syntax coloring
posted at 19:02 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid/geek
Meta: haven’t done a good old geek post on the MTAA-RR in a while…
I really want to go back to using BBEdit. Overall, it’s better than TextMate (especially the search). But it’s got this syntax coloring problem when editing JS in the head of an HTML page that DRIVES. ME. NUTS. Is pictured below:
BBEdit 9 is a better than the previous version, but it gets tripped up on parans in the string if you put a forward slash in it as well (if you take the parans out it works correctly). As you can see, if you’re putting HTML tags in the string (which is probably a pretty common thing to do) it breaks the syntax coloring for the rest of the JS in the doc. This happens if the doc is set to ‘html.’ If you set it to ‘JavaScript’ then the JS is OK but the HTML doesn’t get proper syntax coloring.
Does anyone know how to fix this? It’s driving me nuts and back to TextMate. permanent link to this post
I really want to go back to using BBEdit. Overall, it’s better than TextMate (especially the search). But it’s got this syntax coloring problem when editing JS in the head of an HTML page that DRIVES. ME. NUTS. Is pictured below:
BBEdit 9 is a better than the previous version, but it gets tripped up on parans in the string if you put a forward slash in it as well (if you take the parans out it works correctly). As you can see, if you’re putting HTML tags in the string (which is probably a pretty common thing to do) it breaks the syntax coloring for the rest of the JS in the doc. This happens if the doc is set to ‘html.’ If you set it to ‘JavaScript’ then the JS is OK but the HTML doesn’t get proper syntax coloring.
Does anyone know how to fix this? It’s driving me nuts and back to TextMate. permanent link to this post
EcoArtTech TONIGHT @ OTO
posted at 14:17 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
On September 5 from 7pm to 10pm, OTO kicks off their second season with
EcoArtTech’s performance Externalities: Wilderness and its Others.
More info: http://www.tinjail.com/over_the_opening
EcoArtTech (Christine Nadir & Cary Peppermint) continue to rethink relations between humans, technics, technology, and the environment with Externalities: Wilderness and its Others a networked, video-based performance piece. The performance will examine the conditions of possibility for getting back to “nature.”
Friday, September 5, 2008 Starts at 7:00pm
Over The Opening (AKA MTAA’s studio)
60 North 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY (gmap)
Take the L train to Bedford Ave. permanent link to this post
More info: http://www.tinjail.com/over_the_opening
EcoArtTech (Christine Nadir & Cary Peppermint) continue to rethink relations between humans, technics, technology, and the environment with Externalities: Wilderness and its Others a networked, video-based performance piece. The performance will examine the conditions of possibility for getting back to “nature.”
Friday, September 5, 2008 Starts at 7:00pm
Over The Opening (AKA MTAA’s studio)
60 North 6th St.
Brooklyn, NY (gmap)
Take the L train to Bedford Ave. permanent link to this post
Sep 03, 2008
Conflux 08 (September 11 - 14)
posted at 17:34 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Photo of Kate’s big win in MTAA’s Super Slow 5k durring Conflux 07
Conflux is an “art and technology festival for the creative exploration of urban public space.” Last year, MTAA performed the Super Slow 5K as part of the festival. This year, I was asked to be part of the juror committee. Here are a few (of the many ) 08 projects that I’m looking forward to checking out.
Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event - Strand Bookstore, NYC - Lee Walton signs books form the Strand’s outdoor $1 book bins.
Woody’s Ghost - Preston Poe performs the songs Woody wrote in the very locations where he wrote and sang them.
Open House - Finishing School opens the home of Matt Fisher and Todd Cooper.
C-Town Echolocation - Jeff Sisson and Bennett Williamson tour and map NYC’s C-Town supermarkets.
Speculation Station - The Eh-Team builds a faux subway entrance.
permanent link to this post
Aug 25, 2008
EcoArtTech’s “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others” at OTO
posted at 16:27 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
On September 5 from 7pm to 10pm, OTO kicks off our second season with EcoArtTech’s “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others”
EcoArtTech (Christine Nadir & Cary Peppermint) continue to rethink relations between humans, technics, technology, and the environment with “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others” a networked, video-based performance piece. The performance will examine the conditions of possibility for getting back to “nature”
Co-founded in 2005 by Christine Nadir and Cary Peppermint, EcoArtTech works with digital, networked, and sustainable technologies and contemporary environments to create art about the environmentality of modern life. Drawing on a wide range of literary, artistic, and theoretical fields, our aim is to imagine new, healthy, and sustainable relationships between animals, humans, and their environments and technologies.
ecoarttech.net
About OTO - Each month the artist collective MTAA convert their N6th St. Brooklyn studio into a venue for the presentation of time-based art.
map and directions
Next up on Sept. 19 - OTO’s 2nd September show with Mike Koller permanent link to this post
Aug 22, 2008
1ypv — q and a
posted at 12:11 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Back in 2004, MTAA launched the 1 year peformance video (1ypv). A few months ago the finish sequence became buggy (AKA stopped working) due to ‘undiagnosed server configuration issues’ (yeah, yeah MTAA — excuses, excuses). Although this has been a drag (mostly for T.Whid, all I do is ask Zoolander-like questions, “You mean the files are IN the computer?”) it has given me a chance to chat with a recent 1ypv Hall of Famer named Blake. Up until now, I’ve more or less avoided contact with 1ypv viewers. The silence is for no other reason than the fact that automation is an important part of the work. The wall came down when Blake and a few other recent Hall of Famers contacted us about the bug. It seemed like a good time to ask some basic questions of someone who felt the need to watch T.Whid and I sit around for a year. Following is a brief Q and A with an actual 1ypv survivor. Warning: 1ypv spoilers ahead!
M.River - So, how was the work?
Blake - Honestly, I found it amusing on a few levels: me actually looking at it for lengths of time (more on that with the next answer), the fact of timing it so one sees certain “time appropriate” sequences, (dark at night, etc), and the overall idea of someone (you folks) actually putting the “success” of the execution on the viewer.
MR - What made you decide to attempt a year with it?
B - I thought it was a fun idea; that seems so “unartistic” a response, but hey, that’s the truth of it. I liked the idea of committing myself to something like this (even if passively) for a year just to see if I’d remember to do it.
MR - How did you do it? I mean did you just turn on an old laptop, stick it on a shelf and check back in a year? I think that’s how I’d try it.
B - At first I turned it on everyday at work and let it run for the 8 hour day, checking here and there. off and on (probably for the first half of my viewing) I’d forget a day or two and come back to it. Then, when I decided to quit my job I started running it 24 hours a day in the background, and I was excited when the screens would “buffer” for hours because then I could listen to music without the sounds of the piece. The last 20 or so days were run almost nonstop on my laptop, but I’d take breaks for fear of overheating (I obviously wasn’t concerned with the work computer…ha!). When I realized I could time it to Marilyn’s death date, I started getting strict about keeping stuff running. Also, for the latter half, I’d sometimes watch for 15 or so minutes at specific intervals just to see what loops came up (tossing the wallet and toilet paper rolls were probably my favorites, why I don’t know…)
MR - Is your understanding of the work different after a year than what you expected? I mean, was doing the project different than understanding the project?
B - Well, I liked the ideas behind Tehching Hsieh’s year art, and I knew that since I was only seeing recorded loops (and not even “watching” the whole thing for an entire year) I wasn’t expecting some revelation at the end. I have thought more about time / duration and what delineates art from life (I know, gettin’ arty again), but overall, I am down with the idea of having gotten my name on the wall, as it were. Oh yeah, as a side note, I was kinda hoping that the last minute would have been yet another pre-determined / triggered loop so that no matter what time it was it switched to a sequence where you both approached the camera (breaking the 4th wall / 4th computer screen) to say “congratulations” and then blackout, but at the same time it was almost better that the time just kept rolling as if to say “it’s been a year; so what? think about ~that~, pal!” permanent link to this post
Aug 20, 2008
GRL’s James Powderly held in China
posted at 12:06 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Foto di Achille Filipponi
James Powderly was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing early Wednesday, according to a message received by Students for a Free Tibet around 5PM Beijing Standard Time, said an SFT spokesperson. The message, sent through the social networking site Twitter, read “held since 3AM”, said friend and SFT board member Nathan Dorjee. Powderly has not been heard from since-more than 24 hours later-and his whereabouts remain unknown, he said.
Photo - GRL in Rome (Enzimi 07)
Students For a Free Tibet (SFT)
Graffiti Research Lab (GRL)
Update According to BoingBoing it looks like Powderly and a few others are going to do 10 days in jail…
permanent link to this post
Aug 19, 2008
The Reason Campaign
posted at 16:25 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
I know that I promised to lay low for the rest of August, but this needs to be blogged!
My friend and über-talented film director Sorrel Ahlfeld has launched a great new video series promoting Barak Obama’s candidacy. Via video interviews, normal American’s give their reasons for voting Obama this year.
It’s called The Reason Campaign.
From the site:
The Reason Campaign aims to encourage substantive and productive dialogue between Americans - red state or blue - concerned about the issues facing our country today.
Currently there’s QuickTime video on the site, but they’re planning on expanding to different formats and streams soon.
Check it out… permanent link to this post
Aug 17, 2008
OTOs coming up
posted at 16:09 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
We’ve got two (count ‘em 2) Over The Opening exhibitions happening in September! The first is the 5th with EcoArtTech (aka Christine Nadir and Cary Peppermint) and then on the 19th we’ll be showing Mike Koller (his 2nd show at OTO).
Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
Otherwise, MTAA is going to be laying low until after Labor Day. We encourage everyone to be as lazy as possible for the rest of August. permanent link to this post
Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
Otherwise, MTAA is going to be laying low until after Labor Day. We encourage everyone to be as lazy as possible for the rest of August. permanent link to this post
Aug 15, 2008
I should del.icio.us more stuff
posted at 18:51 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Aug 13, 2008
Bouncing, bouncing not fun, fun, fun
posted at 17:49 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Dear anybody that cares,
My email was bouncing. It isn’t anymore. If you sent me email and it bounced. Send it again why don’t ya?
This annoying message was brought to you by T.Whid. permanent link to this post
My email was bouncing. It isn’t anymore. If you sent me email and it bounced. Send it again why don’t ya?
This annoying message was brought to you by T.Whid. permanent link to this post
Aug 06, 2008
Born to Run - Cory’s Glockenspiel Addendum at Light Industry
posted at 15:35 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Photo via T.Whid’s new iPhone
Photo via my old 3.2 Mega Pixel Pentax
…Blog post about the show by Diane Hatz
…background on Cory’s Glockenspiel Addendum
permanent link to this post
Rocketboom sells out!
posted at 13:28 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
LOL. Just kidding. But they did sell worldwide distro rights to Sony for what NewTeeVee is reporting as 7 figures. And I’ll bet those figures are numbers with some commas.
Get the lowdown from the horse’s mouth.
Congrats to everyone there. Especially our old Eyebeam buddy Kenyatta! permanent link to this post
Get the lowdown from the horse’s mouth.
Congrats to everyone there. Especially our old Eyebeam buddy Kenyatta! permanent link to this post
Aug 04, 2008
Plan 9 (scenes 1-3)
posted at 14:17 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scenes 1-3) at Light Industry, Brooklyn, NY
Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here.
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 1)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 2)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 3)
Staring
Ed Halter as CRISWELL
T.Whid as DANNY
Thomas Beard as JEFF
Cory Arcangel as OPERATOR
Hanne Mugaas as EDITH
Christopher Fahey as GRAVEDIGGER #1
T.Whid as GRAVEDIGGER #2
and Margaret (tinydiva) Jameson as VAMPIRA
permanent link to this post
Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here.
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 1)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 2)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 3)
Staring
Ed Halter as CRISWELL
T.Whid as DANNY
Thomas Beard as JEFF
Cory Arcangel as OPERATOR
Hanne Mugaas as EDITH
Christopher Fahey as GRAVEDIGGER #1
T.Whid as GRAVEDIGGER #2
and Margaret (tinydiva) Jameson as VAMPIRA
permanent link to this post
Aug 02, 2008
GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT
posted at 12:30 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT
67 artist-made animated GIFs
Curated by Laurel Ptak iheartphotograph.com
Part of the exhibition Young Curators, New Ideas
Bond Street Gallery
297 Bond Street, Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, August 13 – Saturday, September 6, 2008
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Curator’s Statement:
GIFs are a modest 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format introduced to the world by CompuServe in 1987. They have the distinction of being the very first color compression format widely used for images online (predating the JPEG by 7 years). One of the beauties of the GIF is that a single file can contain multiple images shown in a timed sequence, giving the effect of motion, known fondly as an animated GIF. In the ’90s these proliferated onscreen in the form of dancing babies and rotating globes, maladroitly articulating a kind of humanist optimism about the internet. Looking back at them now, animated GIFs seem at once gleefully lo-fi and ineffably poignant, almost desperate to communicate something beyond what the bounds of their humble technology could allow.
Curious how this lo-fi form might fare in a contemporary context, I commissioned 26 photographers, designers, and new media artists to embrace this more than 20-year-old technology. They were given only 3 days to work on their projects and were encouraged, though not required, to incorporate photographic materials. Some had never made an animated GIF before and some were notorious for it. The approaches, aesthetics, and meanings to be found in their GIFs really impressed me. Some use the form epically like a novelist or a film director; others are self-reflective about the limits of technology and representation; many challenge photography’s usual atemporal disposition; and then some just make me giggle.
Their full results are on view at Bond Street Gallery from August 13–September 6, 2008, shown on 44-inch flat screen in an infinite loop. Each GIF is sold in an unlimited edition for $20, accompanied by a personalized note from the artist.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Featuring work by Victor Boullet, Tyler Coburn, Petra Cortright, C.Coy, Daniel Everett, Thobias Fäldt & Per Englund, Martin Fengel, Jason Fulford, Nicholas Grider, Pierre Hourquet, Konst & Teknik, Eke Kriek, Emily Larned, Matt MacFarland, Katja Mater, Kelci McIntosh, Ilia Ovechkin, Robert Overweg, M. River, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Asha Schechter, Trevor Shimizu, Jo-ey Tang, Anne De Vries, Karly Wildenhaus and Damon Zucconi.
I’ll be showing my vacation 08 gifs - vacationoitacav
permanent link to this post
67 artist-made animated GIFs
Curated by Laurel Ptak iheartphotograph.com
Part of the exhibition Young Curators, New Ideas
Bond Street Gallery
297 Bond Street, Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, August 13 – Saturday, September 6, 2008
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Curator’s Statement:
GIFs are a modest 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format introduced to the world by CompuServe in 1987. They have the distinction of being the very first color compression format widely used for images online (predating the JPEG by 7 years). One of the beauties of the GIF is that a single file can contain multiple images shown in a timed sequence, giving the effect of motion, known fondly as an animated GIF. In the ’90s these proliferated onscreen in the form of dancing babies and rotating globes, maladroitly articulating a kind of humanist optimism about the internet. Looking back at them now, animated GIFs seem at once gleefully lo-fi and ineffably poignant, almost desperate to communicate something beyond what the bounds of their humble technology could allow.
Curious how this lo-fi form might fare in a contemporary context, I commissioned 26 photographers, designers, and new media artists to embrace this more than 20-year-old technology. They were given only 3 days to work on their projects and were encouraged, though not required, to incorporate photographic materials. Some had never made an animated GIF before and some were notorious for it. The approaches, aesthetics, and meanings to be found in their GIFs really impressed me. Some use the form epically like a novelist or a film director; others are self-reflective about the limits of technology and representation; many challenge photography’s usual atemporal disposition; and then some just make me giggle.
Their full results are on view at Bond Street Gallery from August 13–September 6, 2008, shown on 44-inch flat screen in an infinite loop. Each GIF is sold in an unlimited edition for $20, accompanied by a personalized note from the artist.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Featuring work by Victor Boullet, Tyler Coburn, Petra Cortright, C.Coy, Daniel Everett, Thobias Fäldt & Per Englund, Martin Fengel, Jason Fulford, Nicholas Grider, Pierre Hourquet, Konst & Teknik, Eke Kriek, Emily Larned, Matt MacFarland, Katja Mater, Kelci McIntosh, Ilia Ovechkin, Robert Overweg, M. River, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Asha Schechter, Trevor Shimizu, Jo-ey Tang, Anne De Vries, Karly Wildenhaus and Damon Zucconi.
I’ll be showing my vacation 08 gifs - vacationoitacav
permanent link to this post
Jul 30, 2008
Jenny Holzer’s PROJECTIONS at MASS MOCA
posted at 12:22 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Jul 28, 2008
Desert Bus
posted at 17:58 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
As part of my 5 min presentation of Want at the CC art camp this year, I showed the 1ypv. I mentioned my amazement that 24 people have spent a year watching us hanging out in a cell. The next day I was talking with George Fifiel about durational performance / media art and he told about this strange lost game by Penn & Teller from 1995. Part of the game was a driving simulator called “Desert Bus”. In this game you have to drive a beat-up bus through the Nevada desert for eight hours in real-time to reach Las Vegas. Once you get to Vegas, you are told to turn around and drive home. In the game the bus veers to the right so you have to keep your hands on the joystick the entire 16 hour trip.
Love it.
More background on Desert Bus
permanent link to this post
Jul 21, 2008
Art world reality redux — this time it’s for real
posted at 14:35 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Sarah Jessica Parker’s “American Artist” reality show has been picked up by (who else?) Bravo. From The Hollywood Reporter:
Sarah Jessica Parker’s art competition reality show has found a home at Bravo.permanent link to this post
The network has picked up “American Artist,” from Parker’s Pretty Matches production company and wunderkin producers Magical Elves, as part of its development slate. Bravo is expected to announce the deal Sunday at the Television Critics Assn. press tour.
The hourlong show has been described by the Elves team of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz as a “Project Runway”-style competition series that takes on the art world. Aspiring artists compete to produce various styles of artwork (painting, sculpting, etc.), which is then judged by a panel of experts. The network declined to comment.
Photos from Playscape at OTO
posted at 13:50 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Photos from Dana Strasser and Isabella Bruno’s OTO event “Playscape”, are now up on the OTO Flickr set. permanent link to this post
Jul 20, 2008
MTAA and The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now
posted at 12:28 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
We’re very happy to announce that we’ll be taking part in SFMOMA’s “The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now” November 8 - February 8, 2009.
From the press release:
We’ll be dropping lots more info about this as the exhibition draws nearer. permanent link to this post
From the press release:
Organized by SFMOMA Curator of Media Arts Rudolf Frieling, this large thematic presentation gathers more than 70 works by some 50 individual artists and collectives, and will feature projects both on-site and online, as well as several new pieces commissioned specifically for the exhibition. From early performance-based and conceptual art to online works rooted in the multiuser dynamics of Web 2.0 platforms, The Art of Participation reflects on the confluence of audience interaction, utopian politics, and mass media, and reclaims the museum as a space for two-way exchange between artists and viewers.
The exhibition proposes that participatory art is generally based on a notion of indeterminacy—an openness to chance or change, as introduced by John Cage in the early 1950s—and refers to projects that, while initiated by individual artists, can be realized only through the contribution of others. This artistic approach entices the public to join in; questions the conventional divide between artists and their audience; and challenges assumptions about the symbolic value of art, as well as the traditional role of the museum as a container for objects rather than a site for social engagement or art production. Participatory art typically synthesizes a variety of artistic media, emphasizes process over object, and champions the idea of collective authorship.
We’ll be dropping lots more info about this as the exhibition draws nearer. permanent link to this post
Jul 18, 2008
Rhizome Ghost - 24-Hour DOA
posted at 14:20 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
You enter a small candlelit library. A crowd of mourners mill about an open coffin in the center of the room. In the coffin rests a body wrapped in a white sheet. The sheet has two black spots painted on for eyes.
T.Whid approaches you dressed in black, two whiskeys in hand. As he offers you a drink, he begins…
T. Whid — Hell. Glad you could make it out tonight, didn’t think you’d make it. Here, have a drink, find a place to stand. M.River is going to start soon. Lauren, Patrick and Luis are already here. I think they’re over at the buffet table. Please, help yourself. Thanks again for coming out.
As you make your way through the crowd to the buffet table, M. River, dressed in a white suit with black armband, climbs onto a chair near the coffin. He raises his arms into the air and begins.
M. River — Dearly Beloved, a few months ago Luis Silva asked T.Whid and I to participate in an email-based exhibition hosted on Rhizome. We had recently been thinking about how Rhizome has, in the past, been used not only as a place to announce and talk about art, but also as a platform to create art. We were also thinking about some MTAA projects like vieweratstar67@yahoo.com, Endnode AKA Printer Tree and Karaoke DeathMatch 100 all of which incorporated open, group interactions.
We were thinking about a key on the floor, a group identity, and an empty room. We were also thinking about, as we often do when we think about the Internet, ghosts.
We worked with Rhizome to set-up an open account using the ghost@rhizome.org email address. We then submitted this text as our work for the FW: Re: Re: exhibition:
+++
a one-month email haunting of rhizome.org (aka ghost@rhizome.org) user name: ghost@rhizome.org (rhizomeghost@gmail.com)
password: boobooboo 11-07-2008 to 11-08-2008
+++
Less than 24 hours after the ghost was released, it was locked down. The ghost’s password was changed barring the public from interacting with the piece. The ghost’s controller next bombed Rhizome with spam, racist rants and sexist screeds for a few hours then stopped.
Two options presented themselves: 1) continue the project with a smaller group of people or 2) kill the project. Of the two choices, killing the project after 24 hours seemed like the only honest thing to do.
So, here we are one week later to bid farewell to ghost@rhizome.org.
Now, If you would all please raise you glasses with me. A toast! To the belief that utter and complete failure is still a viable option in art. The ghost is dead. Long live the ghost!
As you file out with the sobbing crowd, you notice T.Whid preparing to pound a stake into the ghost’s heart as M.River douses the sheet with gasoline while waving a dead chicken over it.
===
P.S. You can find an archive and comment on all the ghost’s posts over at Rhizome on the BOO thread. permanent link to this post
Jul 17, 2008
m.river in the studio
posted at 22:27 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Hey all. M.River here of MTAA. I’ve been in the studio this summer working on some new paintings. Can’t wait to show them. Wish me luck. permanent link to this post
Jul 15, 2008
Playscape at OTO Friday July 18
posted at 19:28 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
"Play is the exultation of the possible." - Martin Buber
On July 18th, from 7 to 10pm, OTO is pleased to present a new installation by Dana Strasser and Isabella Bruno.
Strasser and Bruno create a playspace for the adult set using specifically selected, everyday objects in transformative ways. Immerse yourself in a sea of balloons, and let the play happen.
OTO goes on vacation in August and will return in the fall with a new works by Mike Koller, Mike Sarff, Cary Peppermint, Curt Cloninger, Annie Abrahams, and more.
For details and directions check Over The Opening. permanent link to this post
Jul 11, 2008
rhizome_ghost
posted at 20:26 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Jul 10, 2008
Hirst: screw galleries
posted at 18:58 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
From The Art Newspaper:
via NEWSgrist permanent link to this post
The final frontier protecting contemporary art galleries from the relentless encroachment of the auction houses has been emphatically breached with the announcement that Damien Hirst is creating an exhibition of new works for display and sale at the London headquarters of Sotheby’s.
via NEWSgrist permanent link to this post
Jul 08, 2008
Touch My Bright Green Body (Green Screen Version)
posted at 22:05 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Caspar Stracke responds (.mov 52MB) to Oliver Laric’s “Touch My Body (Green Screen Version)”.
I’ve mashed-up the two together. Here’s some of stills of the video:
permanent link to this post
I’ve mashed-up the two together. Here’s some of stills of the video:
permanent link to this post
Jul 02, 2008
Suckers to tha side I know you hate my 98
posted at 02:33 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Jun 27, 2008
Epic net art
posted at 22:11 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Another question raised at Rhizome’s Net Ae panel of a few weeks back was the idea of an ‘epic’ net art. Where is it? Is it possible? Who would want to do it?
Is pseudo.com an example of epic net art? Did we not know that we were in the midst of the most epic work of net art ever as it went on?
The first piece of net art that MTAA ever did, BUYING TIME: The Nostalgia-Free History Sale was done in conjunction with G. H. Hovagimyan’s ArtDirt streaming video show on Pseudo.com. (We didn’t know what the hell we were doing at the time.) There was a lot of art happening at pseudo’s offices (as well as really great parties). Jeff Gompertz (of Fakeshop) was heavily involved as well.
I’m bringing all this up as a way to help bolster Harris’ claim that pseudo.com was a ‘fake’ company and an elaborate piece of ‘performance art.’ Perhaps it was. Did he out-etoy etoy but not tell anybody until now? Can something be an art work if no one knows it’s an art work? Is he simply a revisionist fraud?
+++
Also on Rhizome; comment there if you like. permanent link to this post
Jun 26, 2008
Crazy art links!
posted at 16:14 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Olafur Eliasson’s “Waterfalls” are ON! It’s rainy today so I didn’t bike and will miss out on checking out the perfect view of one of the falls from the Manhattan Bridge. It will suck to bike it if/when the tourists figure out you can get a great view from there.
UPDATE
Roberta Smith’s review of the Waterfalls…
+++
Josh Harris: still nuts; calls Pseudo.com “an elaborate piece of performance art.” Not so sure about that…
+++
Is it a Warhol? Who knows? Who cares? (Except for the chump that paid millions for it, his insurers, The Warhol Foundation, etc.) Me? I think it’s a damn good Warhol whether he did it, knew about it, or whatever. permanent link to this post
UPDATE
Roberta Smith’s review of the Waterfalls…
+++
Josh Harris: still nuts; calls Pseudo.com “an elaborate piece of performance art.” Not so sure about that…
+++
Is it a Warhol? Who knows? Who cares? (Except for the chump that paid millions for it, his insurers, The Warhol Foundation, etc.) Me? I think it’s a damn good Warhol whether he did it, knew about it, or whatever. permanent link to this post
Jun 24, 2008
(I promise that) HARDCORE (conceptual art will make a comeback sometime very, very soon.)
posted at 17:20 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Inspired by Nayland Blake’s merch (check out AFC’s interview), we’ve decided to notify our 10s of readers that we have a t-shirt for sale.
Buy it now! permanent link to this post
Is Beck following Cory Arcangel around?
posted at 17:13 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
It sort of feels that way to me…
Listen to a full track from Beck’s new album here (login required). permanent link to this post
Listen to a full track from Beck’s new album here (login required). permanent link to this post
More Loshadka @ OTO
posted at 02:58 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Petra Cortright has posted a big batch-o-pix @ flickr showing some behind-the-scenes footage of Loshadka’s show at Over The Opening.
Check it out…
m.river updates - also some shots from Kai permanent link to this post
Jun 22, 2008
xandxx
posted at 17:22 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
xandxx
10 netartworks I was interested in around 10 years ago and 10 from the last few years.
Note - This is not a “best of” list. It is just some works that I think about for time to time. I’ve added a MTAA work in the netart_x section only because it was done with Eryk Salvaggio and his webiste from that time (one38.org), like so many works from that time, is gone. Seeing as I’ve left off a good many netartworks that I like, I may (or may not) change the list from time to time. I think of xandxx as an netartwork. I hope to live long enough to add a netart_xxx section in 2018 on the longest day of the year. permanent link to this post
10 netartworks I was interested in around 10 years ago and 10 from the last few years.
Note - This is not a “best of” list. It is just some works that I think about for time to time. I’ve added a MTAA work in the netart_x section only because it was done with Eryk Salvaggio and his webiste from that time (one38.org), like so many works from that time, is gone. Seeing as I’ve left off a good many netartworks that I like, I may (or may not) change the list from time to time. I think of xandxx as an netartwork. I hope to live long enough to add a netart_xxx section in 2018 on the longest day of the year. permanent link to this post
Jun 20, 2008
Don’t go chasing…
posted at 19:38 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
…Olafur Eliasson’s New York City Waterfalls! (warning: dumb flash site)
The NYC real estate blog Curbed has been doing a good job of following the construction and tests (with some anti-art snark tossed in, but whatev) of Eliasson’s public sculptures. Check out the Curbed waterfall archives.
And don’t miss the Gothamist post on the Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall. permanent link to this post
The NYC real estate blog Curbed has been doing a good job of following the construction and tests (with some anti-art snark tossed in, but whatev) of Eliasson’s public sculptures. Check out the Curbed waterfall archives.
And don’t miss the Gothamist post on the Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall. permanent link to this post
Jun 17, 2008
post-net art…
posted at 21:42 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
…is a better label than net art 2.0.
not post-net.art…
not anti-post-net art…
…post-net art permanent link to this post
not post-net.art…
not anti-post-net art…
…post-net art permanent link to this post
Jun 14, 2008
LOSHADKA at OTO (Photos)
posted at 19:41 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Jun 12, 2008
1 hit
posted at 02:23 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
Jun 11, 2008
Kurtz wins
posted at 11:56 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
If you know the facts of this case there’s no way you can’t be angry about it. The witch hunt finally ends.
PR follows…
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2008
ARTIST CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES IN PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE
Department of Justice Fails to Appeal Dismissal
Kurtz Speaks about Four-Year Ordeal
Buffalo, NY — Dr. Steven Kurtz, a Professor of Visual Studies at SUNY at Buffalo and cofounder of the award-winning art and theater group Critical Art Ensemble, has been cleared of all charges of mail and wire fraud. On April 21, Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara dismissed the government’s entire indictment against Dr. Kurtz as “insufficient on its face.” This means that even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept as “fact”) were true, they would not constitute a crime. The US Department of Justice had thirty days from the date of the ruling to appeal. No action has been taken in this time period, thus stopping any appeal of the dismissal. According to Margaret McFarland, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Terrance P. Flynn, the DoJ will not appeal Arcara’s ruling and will not seek any new charges against Kurtz.
For over a decade, cultural institutions worldwide have hosted Kurtz and Critical Art Ensemble’s educational art projects, which use common science materials to examine issues surrounding the new biotechnologies. In 2004 the Department of Justice alleged that Dr. Kurtz had schemed with colleague Dr. Robert Ferrell of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to illegally acquire two harmless bacteria cultures for use in one of those projects. The Justice Department further alleged that the transfer of the material from Ferrell to Kurtz broke a material transfer agreement, thus constituting mail fraud.
Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the maximum sentence for these charges was increased from five years to twenty years in prison.
Dr. Kurtz has been fighting the charges ever since. In October 2007, Dr. Ferrell pleaded to a lesser misdemeanor charge after recurring bouts of cancer and three strokes suffered since his indictment prevented him from continuing the struggle.
KURTZ SUMS UP END OF FOUR-YEAR NIGHTMARE
Finally vindicated after four years of struggle, Kurtz, asked for a statement, responded stoically: “I don’t have a statement, but I do have questions. As an innocent man, where do I go to get back the four years the Department of Justice stole from me? As a taxpayer, where do I go to get back the millions of dollars the FBI and Justice Department wasted persecuting me? And as a citizen, what must I do to have a Justice Department free of partisan corruption so profound it has turned on those it is sworn to protect?”
Said Kurtz’s attorney, Paul Cambria, “I am glad an innocent man has been vindicated. Steve Kurtz stared in the face of the federal government and a twenty-year prison term and never flinched, because he believes in his work and his actions were those of a completely innocent man. Clients like him are a blessing, and although I have had many important victories, this one stands at the top of the list.”
As coordinator of the CAE Defense Fund, a group organized to support Kurtz from the beginning of the case, Lucia Sommer sees the end of the prosecution as bittersweet, and like Kurtz, is thoughtful about the broader significance of the case: “This ruling is the best possible ending to a horrible ordeal—but we are mindful of numerous cases still pending, and the grave injustices perpetrated by the Bush administration following 9/11. This case was part of a larger picture, in which law enforcement was given expanded powers. In this instance, the Bush administration was unsuccessful in its attempt to erode Americans’ constitutional rights.”
Referring to the international outcry the case provoked, involving fundraisers and protests held on four continents, Sommer said, “The government has unlimited resources to bring and prosecute these kinds of charges, but the accused often don’t have any resources to defend themselves. This victory could never have happened without the activism of thousands of people. Supporters protested, vocally opposed the prosecution, and refused to let it go on in silence. And without their efforts at fundraising, Kurtz and Ferrell would not have been able to defend themselves from these false accusations.”
Sommer added that the next step for the defense will be to get back all of the materials taken by the FBI during its 2004 raid on the Kurtz home, including several completed art projects, as well as Dr. Kurtz’s lab equipment, computers, books, manuscripts, notes, research materials, and personal belongings. The four confiscated art projects are the subject of an exhibition entitled SEIZED on view at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, through July 18: http://www.hallwalls.org/visual_shows/2008/show_seized.html.
BACKGROUND TO THE CASE
The case originated in May 2004, when Kurtz’s wife Hope died of heart failure as the couple was preparing a project about genetically modified agriculture for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Police who responded to Steve Kurtz’s 911 call deemed the Kurtzes’ art materials suspicious and alerted the FBI. Kurtz explained that the materials (legally and easily obtained basic life science equipment and two harmless bacteria samples) had already been displayed at museums throughout Europe and North America with absolutely no risk to the public. However, the following day, Kurtz was illegally detained for 22 hours on suspicion of bioterrorism, as dozens of agents from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, ATF, and numerous other law enforcement agencies raided his home, seizing his personal and professional belongings. After a federal grand jury refused to charge Kurtz with bioterrorism, Kurtz and Ferrell were indicted on two counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud concerning the acquisition of of harmless bacteria for one of Critical Art Ensemble’s educational art projects. (Critical Art Ensemble is the recipient of numerous awards for its projects, including the prestigious 2007 Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression Grant, in recognition of twenty years of distinguished work: http://www.creative-capital.org/index2.html.)
The Department of Justice brought the charges in spite of the fact that the alleged “victims of fraud”—American Type Culture Collection and the University of Pittsburgh—never filed any charges or complained of any wrongdoing, and the fact that in bringing the charges the Department of Justice was acting completely outside its own Prosecution Policy Relating to Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/
foia_reading_room/usam/title9/43mcrm.htm).
For more information and extensive documentation, including the Judge’s dismissal, please visit: http://caedefensefund.org permanent link to this post
PR follows…
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2008
ARTIST CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES IN PRECEDENT-SETTING CASE
Department of Justice Fails to Appeal Dismissal
Kurtz Speaks about Four-Year Ordeal
Buffalo, NY — Dr. Steven Kurtz, a Professor of Visual Studies at SUNY at Buffalo and cofounder of the award-winning art and theater group Critical Art Ensemble, has been cleared of all charges of mail and wire fraud. On April 21, Federal Judge Richard J. Arcara dismissed the government’s entire indictment against Dr. Kurtz as “insufficient on its face.” This means that even if the actions alleged in the indictment (which the judge must accept as “fact”) were true, they would not constitute a crime. The US Department of Justice had thirty days from the date of the ruling to appeal. No action has been taken in this time period, thus stopping any appeal of the dismissal. According to Margaret McFarland, a spokeswoman for US Attorney Terrance P. Flynn, the DoJ will not appeal Arcara’s ruling and will not seek any new charges against Kurtz.
For over a decade, cultural institutions worldwide have hosted Kurtz and Critical Art Ensemble’s educational art projects, which use common science materials to examine issues surrounding the new biotechnologies. In 2004 the Department of Justice alleged that Dr. Kurtz had schemed with colleague Dr. Robert Ferrell of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to illegally acquire two harmless bacteria cultures for use in one of those projects. The Justice Department further alleged that the transfer of the material from Ferrell to Kurtz broke a material transfer agreement, thus constituting mail fraud.
Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the maximum sentence for these charges was increased from five years to twenty years in prison.
Dr. Kurtz has been fighting the charges ever since. In October 2007, Dr. Ferrell pleaded to a lesser misdemeanor charge after recurring bouts of cancer and three strokes suffered since his indictment prevented him from continuing the struggle.
KURTZ SUMS UP END OF FOUR-YEAR NIGHTMARE
Finally vindicated after four years of struggle, Kurtz, asked for a statement, responded stoically: “I don’t have a statement, but I do have questions. As an innocent man, where do I go to get back the four years the Department of Justice stole from me? As a taxpayer, where do I go to get back the millions of dollars the FBI and Justice Department wasted persecuting me? And as a citizen, what must I do to have a Justice Department free of partisan corruption so profound it has turned on those it is sworn to protect?”
Said Kurtz’s attorney, Paul Cambria, “I am glad an innocent man has been vindicated. Steve Kurtz stared in the face of the federal government and a twenty-year prison term and never flinched, because he believes in his work and his actions were those of a completely innocent man. Clients like him are a blessing, and although I have had many important victories, this one stands at the top of the list.”
As coordinator of the CAE Defense Fund, a group organized to support Kurtz from the beginning of the case, Lucia Sommer sees the end of the prosecution as bittersweet, and like Kurtz, is thoughtful about the broader significance of the case: “This ruling is the best possible ending to a horrible ordeal—but we are mindful of numerous cases still pending, and the grave injustices perpetrated by the Bush administration following 9/11. This case was part of a larger picture, in which law enforcement was given expanded powers. In this instance, the Bush administration was unsuccessful in its attempt to erode Americans’ constitutional rights.”
Referring to the international outcry the case provoked, involving fundraisers and protests held on four continents, Sommer said, “The government has unlimited resources to bring and prosecute these kinds of charges, but the accused often don’t have any resources to defend themselves. This victory could never have happened without the activism of thousands of people. Supporters protested, vocally opposed the prosecution, and refused to let it go on in silence. And without their efforts at fundraising, Kurtz and Ferrell would not have been able to defend themselves from these false accusations.”
Sommer added that the next step for the defense will be to get back all of the materials taken by the FBI during its 2004 raid on the Kurtz home, including several completed art projects, as well as Dr. Kurtz’s lab equipment, computers, books, manuscripts, notes, research materials, and personal belongings. The four confiscated art projects are the subject of an exhibition entitled SEIZED on view at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, through July 18: http://www.hallwalls.org/visual_shows/2008/show_seized.html.
BACKGROUND TO THE CASE
The case originated in May 2004, when Kurtz’s wife Hope died of heart failure as the couple was preparing a project about genetically modified agriculture for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Police who responded to Steve Kurtz’s 911 call deemed the Kurtzes’ art materials suspicious and alerted the FBI. Kurtz explained that the materials (legally and easily obtained basic life science equipment and two harmless bacteria samples) had already been displayed at museums throughout Europe and North America with absolutely no risk to the public. However, the following day, Kurtz was illegally detained for 22 hours on suspicion of bioterrorism, as dozens of agents from the FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, ATF, and numerous other law enforcement agencies raided his home, seizing his personal and professional belongings. After a federal grand jury refused to charge Kurtz with bioterrorism, Kurtz and Ferrell were indicted on two counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud concerning the acquisition of of harmless bacteria for one of Critical Art Ensemble’s educational art projects. (Critical Art Ensemble is the recipient of numerous awards for its projects, including the prestigious 2007 Andy Warhol Foundation Wynn Kramarsky Freedom of Artistic Expression Grant, in recognition of twenty years of distinguished work: http://www.creative-capital.org/index2.html.)
The Department of Justice brought the charges in spite of the fact that the alleged “victims of fraud”—American Type Culture Collection and the University of Pittsburgh—never filed any charges or complained of any wrongdoing, and the fact that in bringing the charges the Department of Justice was acting completely outside its own Prosecution Policy Relating to Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/
foia_reading_room/usam/title9/43mcrm.htm).
For more information and extensive documentation, including the Judge’s dismissal, please visit: http://caedefensefund.org permanent link to this post
Jun 10, 2008
LOSHADKA at OTO on Friday June 13
posted at 14:32 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
OTO is pleased to present on Friday June 13th from 7 to 10pm, an new installation by LOSHADKA (http://www.loshadka.org/)
ILIA OVECHKIN
PETRA CORTRIGHT
DAN WICKERHAM
WILL SIMPSON
TRAVESS SMALLEY
JAY PEYTON
BILLY RENNEKAMP
THOMAS GALLOWAY
HAYLEY SILVERMAN
SPEED LIL-LIZ_GUY69: HELLO pup
PIXL_lixxard: SUOP SUP SUP SUPSUPS
lil-liz_guy69 of sup: hé foutue attacks you with armed hand where you with for this praise with neon I heard it descends U To the bottom
PIXL_lixxard: spout out some wwtf go to the hell go to your tomb which I do not go anywhere with a witch
lil-liz_guy69: U are dry everywhere of the United States in your shorts of spoils eating a meat pie
PIXL_lixxard69: I hold a cat which I make of drugs and im energy with the swimming pool of stuffing of space
lil-liz_guy69: a good number of drugs and drinks and music and hot hot hot babies in an oil factory functioning for dollar$
PIXL_lixxard: each one there will be sexy AM completely foutu I right or amirite
lil-liz_guy69: honey bee which you know that I am ready with the ready git and obtain pumped
PIXL_lixxard: hehehebreaking all the rules on this ground
more at oto…
permanent link to this post
Jun 07, 2008
Net Ae 2.0 postmortem
posted at 22:01 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
I was more obnoxious than I meant to be and I came off old and cranky.
All around a fine evening.
It was a bit of a set-up between artists of the older generation (T.Whid, the McCoys; artists who took part in ‘net art 1.0’) and artists of a younger generation (Petra Cortright, Damon Zucconi) with Tom Moody thrown in to prove that you can be over 30 and also a member of a surfing club.
But seriously, I was fairly bombastic at one point and it went something like this: “It seems like the artists that were involved in earlier stage of net art have given up on it to a certain degree, my question to the younger artists on the panel: why haven’t you figured out that it’s a dead end?”
This little rhetorical bomb was tossed specifically to spice up the discussion a tad. I’m going to try to expand and clear it up.
Before I get into it I need to make clear that when I talk about net art, I’m using the classic definition: “art that uses the internet as its medium and that cannot be experienced in any other way.” To me, this definition shouldn’t be diluted, it just leads to confusion. I use the term web art for art on the web that can exist entirely in one browser session. Note that I think blogs (including photo, video, or other media blogs) fulfill the classic definition of net art.
First, MTAA hasn’t given up on net art entirely. We’re working on a small piece currently that fits the classic definition of net art and our latest large piece, “Want”, has, at the very least, the possibility of fitting the ole skool definition. So my assertion that we’ve ‘given up’ on net art isn’t really true. Jenn McCoy also mentioned after the panel that she and Kevin haven’t given up either, she likened it to trying to get pregnant but it just won’t happen for whatever reason.
What we’re ‘giving up’ is the idea that this ‘pure’ sort of net art will ever enter the gallery in a way that makes any sense. Many net artists have come up with hybrid net art that does make sense in the gallery space. Examples of MTAA’s efforts in that direction are “Endnode (AKA Printer Tree)” and “Want.”
Second, the ‘dead end’ comment is a red herring. The younger generation never entertained these grand and flawed ideas of a ‘pure’ net art. The artists on the panel made it very clear that their work comprises video, looping animations, photography, holography(!), web sites, etc. I believe that Damon’s first comment was that his work is multi-disciplinary. The earlier generation of net artists learned the hard way that transitioning the ‘pure’ form of net art into the gallery is very problematic. The current generation of digital artists seems to have side-stepped this problem entirely.
+++
A few words on surfing clubs (PDF link to Marcin Ramocki’s thorough essay on the genre).
Mail art is to net art as graffiti art is to surf clubs.
The panel discussion bogged down considerably during the surfing club portion in my opinion. I’m guessing that since the clubs are by their nature somewhat insular and ‘insider-y,’ the audience felt it. There were 3 practitioners of the genre discussing it without a real thought to making it very accessible to the audience. During my live-twittering of the panel, I made a couple of comments to this regard (1, 2).
Apologies to anyone that was insulted by my tweets. It was a rather rude way of offering my criticism.
+++
Cross-posted to Rhizome; comment there if you feel the desire. permanent link to this post
All around a fine evening.
It was a bit of a set-up between artists of the older generation (T.Whid, the McCoys; artists who took part in ‘net art 1.0’) and artists of a younger generation (Petra Cortright, Damon Zucconi) with Tom Moody thrown in to prove that you can be over 30 and also a member of a surfing club.
But seriously, I was fairly bombastic at one point and it went something like this: “It seems like the artists that were involved in earlier stage of net art have given up on it to a certain degree, my question to the younger artists on the panel: why haven’t you figured out that it’s a dead end?”
This little rhetorical bomb was tossed specifically to spice up the discussion a tad. I’m going to try to expand and clear it up.
Before I get into it I need to make clear that when I talk about net art, I’m using the classic definition: “art that uses the internet as its medium and that cannot be experienced in any other way.” To me, this definition shouldn’t be diluted, it just leads to confusion. I use the term web art for art on the web that can exist entirely in one browser session. Note that I think blogs (including photo, video, or other media blogs) fulfill the classic definition of net art.
First, MTAA hasn’t given up on net art entirely. We’re working on a small piece currently that fits the classic definition of net art and our latest large piece, “Want”, has, at the very least, the possibility of fitting the ole skool definition. So my assertion that we’ve ‘given up’ on net art isn’t really true. Jenn McCoy also mentioned after the panel that she and Kevin haven’t given up either, she likened it to trying to get pregnant but it just won’t happen for whatever reason.
What we’re ‘giving up’ is the idea that this ‘pure’ sort of net art will ever enter the gallery in a way that makes any sense. Many net artists have come up with hybrid net art that does make sense in the gallery space. Examples of MTAA’s efforts in that direction are “Endnode (AKA Printer Tree)” and “Want.”
Second, the ‘dead end’ comment is a red herring. The younger generation never entertained these grand and flawed ideas of a ‘pure’ net art. The artists on the panel made it very clear that their work comprises video, looping animations, photography, holography(!), web sites, etc. I believe that Damon’s first comment was that his work is multi-disciplinary. The earlier generation of net artists learned the hard way that transitioning the ‘pure’ form of net art into the gallery is very problematic. The current generation of digital artists seems to have side-stepped this problem entirely.
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A few words on surfing clubs (PDF link to Marcin Ramocki’s thorough essay on the genre).
Mail art is to net art as graffiti art is to surf clubs.
The panel discussion bogged down considerably during the surfing club portion in my opinion. I’m guessing that since the clubs are by their nature somewhat insular and ‘insider-y,’ the audience felt it. There were 3 practitioners of the genre discussing it without a real thought to making it very accessible to the audience. During my live-twittering of the panel, I made a couple of comments to this regard (1, 2).
Apologies to anyone that was insulted by my tweets. It was a rather rude way of offering my criticism.
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Cross-posted to Rhizome; comment there if you feel the desire. permanent link to this post
when push comes to shove…
posted at 13:53 GMT by M.River in /news/mriver
From the epilogue of Defunct in Ohio , a work I wrote for SMAC! in 2003:
Machines and systems come into this world. They thrive and then grow old. Technology gets updated, replaced or just fades off on its own. Sometimes, because we miss them, we dig up graves and let the dead walk the earth. We love seeing undead lurch around, bloody limbs and all. New media is growing old. We are already writing the eulogies. While some prepare for last rights, others will contact voodoo priests and sharpen their spades. Me? I’m ironing my plaid thrift store shirt, excited for the funeral. permanent link to this post
Machines and systems come into this world. They thrive and then grow old. Technology gets updated, replaced or just fades off on its own. Sometimes, because we miss them, we dig up graves and let the dead walk the earth. We love seeing undead lurch around, bloody limbs and all. New media is growing old. We are already writing the eulogies. While some prepare for last rights, others will contact voodoo priests and sharpen their spades. Me? I’m ironing my plaid thrift store shirt, excited for the funeral. permanent link to this post
Jun 04, 2008
Net Art 2.5 private beta
posted at 19:45 GMT by T.Whid in /news/twhid
Apropos of my participation in the Net Aesthetics 2.0 panel with Rhizome this Friday, I typed out some words on why I think it’s a bad idea to version art periods. It’s just a couple paragraphs. Hopefully at the panel I’ll be able to flesh out my thoughts off-the-cuff.
Please don’t version art periods…
Oh, alright. I’ve resigned myself to using the term “Net Art 2.0” to refer to the current state of net art. But before I completely give in, I need to put up a bit of a fight.
The main problem with using a software versioning paradigm to distinguish art periods is the implied progression. When a developer delivers new versions of their software new features are added or enhanced, bugs are fixed, new problems are identified and addressed, formats are upgraded and interfaces are streamlined.
Some will say that the progression, though implied, isn’t what people mean when they use the term “Net Art 2.0.” But, when O’Reilly versioned the web with their Web 2.0 conference in 2004 (would there be a Net Art 2.0 without Web 2.0?) it was done specifically to denote that an improvement was happening in regards to business practices on the web. “The pretenders are given the bum’s rush, the real success stories show their strength, and there begins to be an understanding of what separates one from the other” (What is Web 2.0?). So when we describe the current state of net art as Net Art 2.0, the idea that it’s somehow an improvement to artistic or aesthetic practices on the net follows.
But, is so-called Net Art 2.0 a progressive upgrade? Does it add any new features? Does it solve problems that previous net artists ignored? Are there hidden regressions? Is it correct to even think of art history in terms of progression?
If we really want to give net art a number, just call it Net Art 2 — as in the sequel. Otherwise, M.River and I are going to launch Net Art 2.5 in a private beta, and you’ll need to email us for an invite.
update: AFC linked this up, so if you feel like commenting, you can do it there.
update 2: I posted it to Rhizome, you can also comment there.
(One day we’ll have comments back here I promise!) permanent link to this post
Please don’t version art periods…
Oh, alright. I’ve resigned myself to using the term “Net Art 2.0” to refer to the current state of net art. But before I completely give in, I need to put up a bit of a fight.
The main problem with using a software versioning paradigm to distinguish art periods is the implied progression. When a developer delivers new versions of their software new features are added or enhanced, bugs are fixed, new problems are identified and addressed, formats are upgraded and interfaces are streamlined.
Some will say that the progression, though implied, isn’t what people mean when they use the term “Net Art 2.0.” But, when O’Reilly versioned the web with their Web 2.0 conference in 2004 (would there be a Net Art 2.0 without Web 2.0?) it was done specifically to denote that an improvement was happening in regards to business practices on the web. “The pretenders are given the bum’s rush, the real success stories show their strength, and there begins to be an understanding of what separates one from the other” (What is Web 2.0?). So when we describe the current state of net art as Net Art 2.0, the idea that it’s somehow an improvement to artistic or aesthetic practices on the net follows.
But, is so-called Net Art 2.0 a progressive upgrade? Does it add any new features? Does it solve problems that previous net artists ignored? Are there hidden regressions? Is it correct to even think of art history in terms of progression?
If we really want to give net art a number, just call it Net Art 2 — as in the sequel. Otherwise, M.River and I are going to launch Net Art 2.5 in a private beta, and you’ll need to email us for an invite.
update: AFC linked this up, so if you feel like commenting, you can do it there.
update 2: I posted it to Rhizome, you can also comment there.
(One day we’ll have comments back here I promise!) permanent link to this post