:: Saturday, July 03, 2004 ::

In our weekly features you probably read Eduardo Navas' suggestion for the Summer: he suggests Internet research on the topic of game theory. I would like to further suggest, should the topic interest you, that you investigate artists who are looking at computer games in innovative ways that defy a "label".

While Rita McBride’s "Machines" can probably be identified with artwork in the area of sculpture, the work by Eddo Sern is more challenging when it comes to find a category...

Mc Bride presents the typical forms of the game consoles one would find at some old arcades in a beautiful, bold and stripped way: pure forms that evoke a certain video game culture of the 80s.

Eddo Stern works with electronic warfare and translates game-based items into real-world objects. He is the co-founder of c-level, "an artists' collective that creates and disseminates digital and game-based art". Some of Stern's game-inspired real-world objects suggest a neo-medieval landscape and are nostalgic of subcultures of hacking and modification of computer parts.

Both McBride and Stern critically address the culture of computer games. In the case of Stern these are games of war.

Eddo Stern: now showing in Toronto, at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Ana Boa-Ventura
:: ana boa-ventura [+] ::
...

Aura's House is not a net art project in the usual sense. In fact, it would be safe to claim that it's not art at all. And it does not have to be, because in the end, it's the website's purpose that really matters.

Aura's House is a project by Kristen Palana, one of our collaborators. The website was developed to raise funds to build a house for little Aura and her family in Guatemala. Kristen is working with Children's international to raise $4,500.00, which will be used to build Aura's new home.

This is a very noble cause that I find necessary to support, hence why I am writing a snippet on NAR to share it with our readers. So, log on and consider the potential of Kristen's project. Often people donate to big-nonprofits while not knowing how their money will be used. Here we have an opportunity to know how what we contribute will affect a specific family, because Kristen updates the website with the latest news about Aura and her family.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
...

When I set out to review work at a website called Balkan Wars I had no idea what a vast array of quality work was in store for me.

This is a content-rich collection of multimedia and web-works contributed by 51 participating artists. The main theme is war, more specifically that of the Balkan Region. One of the site's stated goals is,” to show the sensitivities of artists belonging to different cultural, religious and historical backgrounds, mostly, but not exclusively, from the south eastern region of Europe, who through their experience over time and within history have found the inspiration for their work and the will to communicate their thoughts, in order to understand the existing differences."

Projects range from written commentaries, Quicktime movies, websites, sound pieces, interfaces, photos, and animated works.

In particular, I really enjoyed the work by American artist Andy Deck. A lot of his work deals with the politics of a war-mongering US government and its effect on not only it’s own people, but that of the rest of the world. Specifically the Withdrawal Wizard was most entertaining as it suggests that political change is as easy as a mouse click and as frustrating as an error message.

There’s lots to look at in Balkan Wars. I think its biggest strength is its content and the participation of a talented International community of artists, writers, curators, and art critics.

:: Kristen Palana [+] ::
...

Some news:
Following up the Steve Kurtz incident with the FBI, it is now known that he is no longer accused of bioterrorism, but instead of petty theft, that is "mail fraud." You can find more details in the CAE Defense Fund website. Also make sure to check out Garnett's Newsgrist compilation of some important articles and commentaries on this case.

The ever growing popularity of Orkut now seems to be tainted with a public scandal. Google is currently being accused of having stolen the Orkut code (wired).

Wigged currently features Fine Chocolate and Battery Acid, an online video documentation by Dancer and Choreographer Christopher Allen.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
...

Now... that is a designation I like: Harald Szeemann, art critic and historian, and curator for the exhibitions of the Forum Barcelona 2004 calls himself an “exhibition producer". With a curricuum that includes the direction of Documenta 5 in Kassel, and of the 48th and 49th editions of the Venice Biennale, Szeemann became known in the art world as a symbol of the independent exhibition curator.

There are four thematic exhibitions that present narratives of cultural diversity, sustainable development and the conditions for peace. The four themese/spaces are "Voices" and "Cities – Corners" both at the Barcelona International Convention Center, "Inhabiting the World" at the Viewpoint Port and "Warriors of Xi’an" at the Sant Adrià (Moll del Parc).

There is also an exhibition at The Joan Miró Foundation entitled "The beauty of failure: The failure of beauty". And on this one, a note on its context: the idea behind it is to illustrate how dreams and utopias that once seem so wonderful are predestined to failure when materialised. The show begins with a display of documents related to the forerunners of the anarchy in Barcelona at the time of the Civil War, and continues with utopias such as Richard Wagner’s idea of the total work of art, (as in Bayreuth), and Joseph Beuys' theory of the “third way” (the utopia of understanding capital as the sum of human creativity).

So... If you're in Barcelona for the Summer don't miss these exhibitions.

Ana Boa-Ventura
:: ana boa-ventura [+] ::
...

Here are some links from our New Media Fix that I invite our readers to visit from time to time. First, verybusy.org, a portal that has been running for over a year now; next is Discordia.us, an online resource that is definitely influenced by the blog aesthetic but is quite different thanks to its unique interface; and finally, Random.it, a review journal that has been covering on and off-line art for some time now, and which recently got an interface-lift. Long time net-surfers are aware of these resources, so please take this as a friendly reminder to visit them often.

For more resources make sure to visit our new Media Fix Below.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
...

Tomorrow, Tuesday 29 June at the Sussex Arts Club, 7 Ship Street, Brighton, England at 7.30pm as part blip art-science forum, there will be a live performance entitled "TOPLAP" by Nick Collins and Alex McLean.

TOPLAP explores "the authorship of code during live performance. The audience sees and hears what the TOPLAP programmer types, the same way you would see and hear what a guitarist plays. The process is brought to the fore and laid bare."

Nick and Alex will discuss their creative use of programming as an interface for music making and demonstrate their personal approaches to live coding before the performance.

Entry is free. For more details please see the blip website.

:: Garrett Lynch [+] ::
...

The June issue of Hz Journal is now online. Articles include "Grain, Sequence, System" by Kim Cascone and "Fylkingen: Visions of the Present in Retrospect" by Teddy Hultberg. The Hz Net Gallery offers "Vector Defenders" by On Click, "Inflat-O-Scape" by Jessica Irish, "Invisible Maps" by Paul Catanese, "Turns" by Margot Lovejoy and "Mouchette".
Hz is an on-line magazine published by the non-profit arts organization
Fylkingen in Stockholm. Fylkingen, established in 1933, is the oldest
forum for experimental art forms in Sweden.
:: nicholas economos [+] ::
...

This weekend will go down in history as a time when documentary film was redefined. Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 was released last Friday, and as of this morning it has officially grossed 21 million dollars, to leave it as the top grossing movie of the weekend. For more information on this read the NY Times review. Also, read Lemonde.fr, El Mundo.es, Los Angeles Times, and the BBC.
:: Eduardo Navas [+] ::
...