Seth Thompson
Since the beginning
Works in United States of America

BIO
Seth Thompson is an educator and arts journalist whose work has been exhibited internationally and shown on PBS. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Design at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he has written on the arts for such magazines as Afterimage, Art Calendar, Bidoun and Dialogue. Thompson's documentaries, Evolving Traditions: Artists Working in New Media and Outside the Box: New Cinematic Experiences have aired on such television stations as PBS 45 & 49, Northeast, Ohio; KDOL Channel 18, Oakland, California; DUTV, Philadelphia, PA; and Triangle Television, Auckland, New Zealand.

Thompson began his career at Harvestworks Digital Media Arts in New York City where he was the Business Manager and Education Director. In addition to teaching at The University of Akron and Cuyahoga Community College, he was a Contractual Artist/Lecturer with The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Associate Educator at the Akron Art Museum.

Thompson holds a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Colorado, an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and an MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College.

For more information, please visit his site, http://www.seththompson.info .

Wheeler Winston Dixon - Serial Metaphysics


Serial Metaphysics
Serial Metaphysics #1 (1984-86, clip, 6.4MB, 1:08 min)

Serial Metaphysics
Serial Metaphysics #2 (1984-86, clip, 5.9MB, 1:08 min)

Wheeler Winston Dixon is now a professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Before he did that he made a lot of (on the evidence of these clips & others) really great short movies. In particular these two clips from Serial Metaphysics, apparently almost entirely constructed from TV ads, whet the appetite for a viewing of the whole twenty minutes. Dixon conjures fever dream magic from commercial banality.
Check in particular the end sequence of clip one:
David Lynch eat your heart out.

READ ON »


Residency



Cat’Art, international centre for research and creation
Visual arts, writing, performing arts, music…

Cat’Art is a place where the diversity of the art expressions is encouraged and where the exchanges between cultures from all over the world can be developed, so that the art expression remains a universal language.

There are still opportunities of residency in spring 2007 at Cat’Art.
Application open to professional artists only, for temporary stays from 2 weeks to 1 year.
Average residency fee: 600 € (lodging, studio and energy costs included). Detailed estimation of costs on request.

Every resident has his/her own independent bedroom with common cooking facilities.

Space for the creation:
9 independent studios from 30 to 200 m²;
3 individual rooms for writers;
a 140 m² room with excellent natural light and good show conditions to visualize the works;
a specialized library with permanent Internet connection.

The environment is exceptional (unspoilt nature, mountains, lake, in the south of France). The region has a rich historical background (Cathar castles, old city of Carcassonne and above all the cave of Niaux with its original paintings). Close by cultural centres, like Toulouse, Montpellier, Barcelona.

More details and application to residency on our website www.catart.org

READ ON »


Interview with Alejandro Tamayo


0alejandroooo.jpg

Alejandro Tamayo is an artist-engineer and a teacher working in the intersections of design, art and new technologies in a country that is often seen as the land of wild cartels, coffee, futbol, the terribly boring Fernando Botero (i'm quoting you here, Alejandro!): Colombia. I discovered his work by chance. He had emailed me to say that he wished i'd cover more of the Latin American art scene. That's something i'd love to do but i wouldn't know where to look for information about what's going on up there (although i read Spanish). Then i realized that the best way to start was to ask a few questions to Alejandro about the lab he's currently directing in Bogota.

The v*i*d*a lab, part of the Aesthetics Department at the Javeriana University, is focusing on the development of new design products and ideas. Guided by a reflexion on life itself, the course proposes to engage with organic (biological) and "post-organic" (electronic, digital) visions, trying to identify new relationships and interrogations that could be translated into the realization of concrete projects.

Read more...

READ ON »


Mix & Mash


neme.org:

Creative Commons’ UK film competition “Mix & Mash” in association with Google UK invites short video submissions mixing and mashing digital content. Submissions can be made from the 8th of February to the 10th of March. The winners will be notified by the 12th of March and screened on the 16th of March at the Optronica National Film Theatre in London.

Deadline: 10 March 2007

More on http://neme.org/main/584/mix-and-mash

READ ON »


Call for entries: Slowtime 2007


Wilfried Agricola de Cologne:

Call for entries
-->
Deadline 31 March 2007
-->
Theme:
Slowtime 2007 -
Quicktime as an artistic medium
-->
Cinematheque -
http://cinema.nmartproject.net
http://mac.le-musee-divisioniste.org
is the centre for streaming media in the framework of [NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne - www.nmartproject.net, and will open in 2007 - Cinema_C by launching the new show, entitled:
"Slowtime 2007 - Quicktime as an artistic medium".
Already in 2003, Cinematheque was exploring the artistic potential of the popular streaming videoformat
Quicktime as it can be visited in Cinema_B (access via the Cinematheque site). As Quicktime was undergoing a rapid technological development during the past years, it is time again for exploring the current state of Quicktime and its use as a medium for artistic expressions.
-->
Cinematheque is inviting artists, video and film makers to submit up to three videos in Quicktime format - originating from 2004 or later, preferably sized 480x360 px, but not smaller than 320x240 px, a maximum duration of 6 minutes and make them available online on a separate webpage for review and download.
-->
Please find the call, the regulations and entry form on
http://netex.nmartproject.net/index.php?blog=8
-->
------------------------------------------
Cinematheque at MediaCentre
http://cinema.nmartproject.net
http://mac.le-musee-divisioniste.org
------------------------------------------
powered by
[NewMediaArtProjectNetwork]:||cologne
www.nmartproject.net -
the experimental platform for art and New Media operating from Cologne/Germany.
.
info & contact
info (at) nmartproject.net
.

READ ON »



Discussions (63) Opportunities (2) Events (0) Jobs (0)
DISCUSSION

Re: Re: Not for the Squeamish


Too bad we never heard from Joy Garnett. It would have been
interesting to read her viewpoint on "moralizing judgements" within
the context of a favorable "review" about her.

>i was replying to seth thompson's pointing out perceived inconstancy
>on joy's part. my apologies, i didn't read the NAN item as
>aggressive towards joy.
>
>in the meantime, seth's made clearer the point of this original post.
>
>and where is the mysterious joy today? hiding out somewhere? let's
>hear from her ;-)
>
>
>
>At 10:55 -0400 9/6/02, Rachel Greene wrote:
>>i am involved here. i didn't see joy's declaration of intent about her
>>work... but i edited helen's NAN and rewrote the closing sentence.
>>
>>please feel free to disagree with what i wrote -- i did write that last
>>sentence -- helen was much more struck by aspects of the project she found
>>"beautiful" -- she had a different register of interpretaion, a more
>>aesthetic one. but my reaction differed -- i didn't see how one can avoid
>>the extremity of the project, of its contents and despite its casual format
>>-- that is why i talked about it as a 'reality check.' which to me isn't
>>super moralizing... tell me why you think i took an aggressive stance?
>>
>>or am i confused... is all this directed at another post? or at rhizome NAN?
>>between web and list, i am not sure what/who all these subjects refer to...
>>thanks, rachel
>>
>>
>>
>>> not following the logic here..
>>>
>>> JOY writes the first quote, JAMIESON writes the blurb on the "Bomb
>>> Project" which is moralizing in tone. i don't remember joy
>>> specifically endorsing this review as correct therefor she's not
>>> being inconstant. *unless* one reads her silence on the review as
>>> endorsement; an unreasonable conclusion imo. *or* there is moralizing
>>> happening on the bomb project site (which i didn't notice after a
>>> quick look-see). *or* one concludes that the bomb project ITSELF is
>>> somehow placing "moralizing" judgements on non-politically engaged
>>> artists (tho it makes no explicit judgements) which is also an
>>> unreasonable conclusion.
>>>
>>> since joy has said nothing regarding the review, it's unreasonable
>>> for you to assume she thinks it's "moralizing judgements" are OK. if
>>> you simply wanted to ask joy her response to the blurb you could have
>>> done so without the accusatory and (imo) aggressive stance.
>>> (aggressive in that you presuppose she is in agreement with the blurb
>>> and *foist* that upon her for no good reason)
>>>
>>> On July 12, 2002 Joy Garnett wrote on a Rhizome Post:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It's important to deal with the full spectrum of responses here, and to
>>> refrain from moralizing judgements-- they only serve to inhibit, and to
>>> produce more shame.
>>>
>>> JG
>>>
>>>
>>> A review on Joy Garnett's "Bomb Project" on September 6, 2002:
>>>
>>>
>>> The data, debris and aesthetics of the nuclear arms race considered
>>> in an art context points at issues of information decentralization,
>>> and certainly serves as a reality check to any overly idyllic or
>>> politically disengaged artists. - Helen Varley Jamieson
>>>
>>> <http://www.thebombproject.org>http://www.thebombproject.org
>>>
>>>
>>> The review seems contrary to an earlier statement made by Joy Garnett
>>> on the Rhizome list. Please explain why its OK to make a "moralizing
>>> judgement" in one case and not another. Thanks.
>>>
>
>--
><twhid>
>http://www.mteww.com
></twhid>
>+ If the reader will keep me company I shall be glad.
>-> post: list@rhizome.org
>-> questions: info@rhizome.org
>-> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
>-> give: http://rhizome.org/support
>+
>Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
>Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

DISCUSSION

Re: Re: Not for the Squeamish


Nicely stated.

>Hi all,
>
>oops, I didn't mean to 'hide out' (where? in my
>titanium-alloy-slick, rad-proof and computer-free bunker??)
>
>;)
>
>I was really happy with the NAN review -- the author (authors!)
>clearly understands and has no problem conveying the point/intent of
>the project; however, it also appears that the author (that would be
>Ms. Varley Jamieson) was disturbed and moved specifically by the
>aesthetic impact of this material, as in many ways I was initially,
>as a painter; a fact I find gratifying. (There is a seeming
>innappropriateness to being wowed by images of mass destruction. But
>there again is another point -- as a culture, we tend to do just
>that.)
>
>The project is indeed organized in a 'casual' manner as Rachel
>observes -- the best journalistic efforts are; therein lies the
>challenge. There is no need to make a special emphasis when the
>extreme nature of the information speaks for itself. By removing the
>figure of 'author' as much as possible and laying out the "facts" in
>a fair and balanced way, one may leave questions of ethics and
>morality to the intelligent reader / artist / researcher. That would
>include the intelligent reviewer, to whom I do not begrudge their
>opinion. A variety of interpretations and opinions, conflicting or
>not, are inevitable -- and welcome.
>
>Which leads us to that last sentence, re-edited by Rachel:
>
>"The data, debris and aesthetics of the nuclear arms race considered
>in an art context points at issues of information
>decentralization,..."
>
>-- that's a really important point, simple as it sounds. There are
>many activist anti-nuke sites, and neutral-seeming NGO sites, but
>none of them put the issue in an art context; why the art context is
>so important may be / should be expanded upon. It is under-valued.
>Its function and importance is not well-understood, (least of all
>among activists -- another topic for another time perhaps...). And
>information decentralization is the name of the day. But hey,
>really: finding 'data, debris and aesthetics' all together in one
>sentence was a real turn-on -- yes!
>
>-- and the last bit which may have seemed to be moralizing (not to me):
>
>"...and certainly serves as a reality check to any overly idyllic or
>politically disengaged artists."
>
>Certainly there are politically disengaged artists among us -- and
>those with agendas, and those who are in between. This serves as a
>provocation at best, a prod, but I wouldn't call it moralizing in
>view of the nature of the material at hand; it's really rather
>restrained.
>
>Of course, we all know that everyone will bring a different set of
>values, agendas and emotions to bare on these issues. The point is
>really to provide access to as many approaches and viewpoints as one
>can, and to encourage people to think -- and argue -- for themselves.
>
>Thanks for the discussion -- and the great review.
>
>Best,
>Joy
>
>"t.whid" <twhid@mteww.com> wrote:
>
>> i was replying to seth thompson's pointing out perceived
>> inconstancy on joy's part. my apologies, i didn't read
>> the NAN item as aggressive towards joy.
>
>> in the meantime, seth's made clearer the point of this
>> original post.
>
>> and where is the mysterious joy today? hiding out
>> somewhere? let's
>> hear from her ;-)
>
>
>+ If the reader will keep me company I shall be glad.
>-> post: list@rhizome.org
>-> questions: info@rhizome.org
>-> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
>-> give: http://rhizome.org/support
>+
>Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
>Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php

DISCUSSION

Wigged.net: Fresh and Fancy


WIGGED.NET JUNE 2002 E-NEWSLETTER--VOL. 2 ISSUE 14

Wigged.net (http://www.wigged.net) is an evolving digital magazine
focused on bringing innovative short videos, animations and
interactive works over the Internet. Our mission is to be a
showcase, distribution and promotion center for pioneering artists
via the World Wide Web.

For information on advertising in Wigged.net's E- Newsletter or on
Wigged.net, please contact seththompson@wigged.net.

******************************************

INDEX

+Call for Works
+Performance
+On-Line Exhibitions
+ Book News
+ Web Projects
+Now Showing on Wigged.net
+Call for Works
+Publicity Opportunity

*******************************************************************

PERFORMANCE

S H A R E . E V E N T . I N . N E W . Y O R K . C I T Y
Every Sunday 5:00-9:30 p.m.
at
PENAIR, 121 St. Marks Pl. (near Avenue A) NYC
or
Watch it live on-line at: http://share.ffem.org

Share is a weekly assemblage of portable computing, founded in 2001 by
Barry Manalog, geoffGDAM and Newclueless that provide a "real life"
open forum for data exchange and media performance.

Share begins every Sunday at 5pm (EST) with the open jam. An
open-mixer systemfor video and audio lets participants patch their
equipment into the multi-channel, multi-room sound system and
multi-screen video system. Artists are encouraged to bring any
portable audio and video gear and take a turn sharing, join in an
open jam, or form impromptu collaborations. We accommodate both solo
performers and those looking to jam, as time and space allow. Arrive
early for best results.

Share has collaborated with other electronic festivals and events,
including Electroluxe in NYC and the PhonoTaktik festival in Vienna.
Collaboration with 2002 PhonoTaktik festival took two forms: live
performances and collaborations when the festival was in NYC, and a
streaming NET.JAM when the festival continued in Vienna.

Weekly Share Stream: http://share.ffem.org [ SUNDAYS 17:00 to 21:30 EST ]

***************************************************

ADVERTISEMENT

Evolving Traditions: Artists Working in New Media
Video Documentary. 2002. (Color, 56:35)
Directed and produced by Seth Thompson.

Profiles four internationally recognized artists who have
incorporated current computer technology into their work to enhance
their artistic visions. Artists addressed are: Mark Amerika,
Tennessee Rice Dixon, Toni Dove, and Troika Ranch.

The documentary is currently distributed by Wigged Productions and is
available for $29.95 (includes S/H) at
http://www.wigged.net/evolvingtraditions/ .

***************************************************

ON-LINE EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT #1

"Actual Positions of Italian NetArt"
Curated and developed by Agricola de Cologne

JavaMuseum
Forum for Internet Technologies in Contemporary Art
www.javamuseum.org

For many, Italy represents the craddle of European culture and art.
It is geographically where some of the most active and influential
online New Media publications and net art can be found. This
on-line exhibition features twenty Italian artists at various career
stages from the up-and-coming to the well known. Each represents a
unique aspect of approaching "NetArt." The featured artists are:
Caterina Davinio, Carla Della Beffa, Mauro Ceolin, Bugs, ego,
Isabella Bordoni, Domiziana Giordano, dlsan, Sergio Maltagliati,
Speranza Casillo, Domenico Olivero, Coniglioviola, Giocomo Verde,
Luigia Cardarelli, Avatar project, 80/81, Francesca di Gregorio
Gruppo A12, Carlo Zanni, 0100101110101101.ORG

*****************************************************************

ON-LINE EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT #2

FAf (http://www.fineartforum.org) is pleased to present the first
installment of a new work by Molly Hankwitz. Peripheral Property is
an autobiographical piece emerging out of a personal interest in the
latent, myriad poetries of the commercial website eBay
(http://www.ebay.com) and similar 'architectures' of things.

Describing Peripheral Property as a culture-jam, Hankwitz says on
eBay, one finds and identifies with images of toys and gadgets as one
would the contents of a "real" fleamarket, a messy room, or
collection of other found things.

In this process, memories are attributed to the objects from deep
within the recesses of one's mind, past and present. In new media as
in all art, we often find ourselves restructuring and reordering
information to form a continuity of idea, she says of the work.
"Memory-retrieval, performed subjectively is both psychoanalytic and
highly personal, a way of reconstituting desired events selectively
to organize a new whole. Peripheral Property is a conceptual document
then, which deals with these arenas of process and value."

Molly Hankwitz is a U.S born writer, filmmaker and media artist based
in Brisbane, Australia. Her work encompasses a number of disciplines,
including architecture, digital culture, art history and media
activism. Characterised by a concern with memory, identity and self,
Hankwitz's work constitutes an interdisciplinary examination of the
contemporary cultural landscape.

***************************************************

BOOK NEWS

THE LANGUAGE FOR NEW MEDIA is now On-line
by Lev Manovich [MIT Press, 2001]

http://www.manovich.net/LNM_SITE_NEW/lnm_main.html

Lev Manovich offers the first systematic and rigorous theory of new
media. He places new media within the histories of visual and media
cultures of the last few centuries. He discusses new media's reliance
on conventions of old media, such as the rectangular frame and mobile
camera, and shows how new media works create the illusion of reality,
address the viewer, and represent space. He also analyzes categories
and forms unique to new media, such as interface and database.

Manovich uses concepts from film theory, art history, literary
theory, and computer science and also develops new theoretical
constructs, such as cultural interface, spatial montage, and
cinegratography. The theory and history of cinema play a particularly
important role in the book. Among other topics, Manovich discusses
parallels between the histories of cinema and of new media, digital
cinema, screen and montage in cinema and in new media, and historical
ties between avant-garde film and new media.

***************************************************

WEB PROJECTS

_ _ _ _ _H_F _ _ _ _ _

_C_R_I_T_I_C_A_L_

_ _ _ M_A _S _S _ _

v1.0 SOFTWARE

http://www.wildernesspuppets.net/hfcm/

HF CRITICAL MASS is freely available software, which is based on a
1971 film by Hollis Frampton titled "Critical Mass".

HF CRITICAL MASS adopts the structure of the earlier film as an
interface for improvising playback of digital video (quicktime
movies).

Mac and Windows versions for download at:

http://www.wildernesspuppets.net/hfcm/

=_ =_ =_ =_ =_ =_ =_=

The films of the late Hollis Frampton spanned the late 1960s through
the early 1980s. His work, Critical Mass, is one of a series of films
collectively titled "Hapax Legomena" that investigate "the specific
conditions of cinematic representation and the limitations and
paradoxes of visual description and narrative." (description by
Steve Polta - San Francisco Cinemateque, 2002)

***************************************************

CALL FOR WORKS

Seeking innovative and experimental video, animation and net art.
Please visit http://www.wigged.net and go to the "submit media" page
to fill out our on-line registration form and send requested
materials.

DEADLINE: Nov 15, 2002 for Wigged's January-March, 2003 issue.

********************************************************************

NOW SHOWING ON WIGGED.NET
through August 31, 2002

Humberto Ramirez's HATE.
Ramirez writes, "This is a video in which the cultural dynamics of
hatred are explored through a series of talking heads and monologues.
The video seeks to denaturalize a condition in which the potential
solidarity amongst different people is subverted by notions of
nationalism, race, gender, class etc.
By problematizing what seems to remain hidden or at least unspoken
this work seeks to provoke a conversation." United States. 2002.

Agricola de Cologne's Never Wake Up.
Based on the artist's poem of the same name. The poem/movie uses
some fundamental images: The "soldier" is metaphor for the human
individual. "War" is a metaphor for life, respectively the fights of
everyday day life; and the "veteran of war" is the human being who
cannot rid himself of the shadows of the past. Never Wake Up
addresses the loss of identity where the soldiers become distorted
and veterans have difficulty with reintegration into post-war
society. Germany. 2001.

Jimpunk's www.nowar.nogame.org.
Jimpunk ironically states that in his piece www.nowar.nogame.org,
"everything is under control." However get ready for a nerve-racking
event. At first you may think that your computer has been infected
with a virus. But don't worry, it's not. Fasten your seatbelt as
you embark on a mind-blowing journey that is a masterful mixture of
image and sound. Kudos to jimpunk! France. 2001.

Daniel Young's NewZoid.
NewZoid is a work of generative art. It plays with the most common
information form of our time - the headline. NewZoid continuously
collects the daily news, tears it apart, chops it up and endlessly
reassembles the pieces into absurd, funny, shocking and
thought-provoking headlines. The Site has been operating on its own
since April 8, 2001. United States. 2001.

Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez & Gustavo Matamoros's L'Anatomie du Desir.
This assemblage of erotic images, found and damaged footage, and
handcrafted 16mm film was originally projected onto the torso of
Butoh artist Helena Thevenot as part of the one-hour collaborative
piece "The Anatomy of Desire." A tribute to biophysical impulses,
the video version synchronizes the film to its original score by
Gustavo Matamoros. United States. 2002.

Thomas Swiss and Seth Thompson's In the Woods.
In the Woods, a collaborative effort between Thom Swiss and Seth
Thompson examines the ideas of memory, aging and loss. The result of
the collaboration suggests the way language (in this case a poem by
Swiss) can be re-represented and changed by images (a film by
Thompson). United States. 2002.

To view these works visit the "Now Showing" page at http://www.wigged.net

******************************************
PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITY

We are looking to promote your upcoming exhibitions and new releases.
If you would like for us to promote your work either through our
newsletter or Wigged.net webzine, please send your press releases to:

Seth Thompson
Wigged Productions
418 Woodland Ave.
Akron, OH 44302

or you may e-mail press releases to seththompson@wigged.net. No file
attachments will be accepted. If you have images that you would like
to include, please send them via snail mail to the above address.

*******************************

Please Note: To remove your e-mail address from my list simply reply
to this message and type the word "unsubscribe" in the Subject field
at the top of your reply. If you have more than one e-mail address
through which you might be receiving this, please be sure to list
them all.
--
Seth Thompson
Wigged Productions
seththompson@wigged.net
http://www.wigged.net

DISCUSSION

Wigged.net: Fresh and Fancy


WIGGED.NET JUNE 2002 E-NEWSLETTER--VOL. 2 ISSUE 14

Wigged.net (http://www.wigged.net) is an evolving digital magazine
focused on bringing innovative short videos, animations and
interactive works over the Internet. Our mission is to be a
showcase, distribution and promotion center for pioneering artists
via the World Wide Web.

For information on advertising in Wigged.net's E- Newsletter or on
Wigged.net, please contact seththompson@wigged.net.

******************************************

INDEX

+Call for Works
+Performance
+On-Line Exhibitions
+ Book News
+ Web Projects
+Now Showing on Wigged.net
+Call for Works
+Publicity Opportunity

*******************************************************************

PERFORMANCE

S H A R E . E V E N T . I N . N E W . Y O R K . C I T Y
Every Sunday 5:00-9:30 p.m.
at
PENAIR, 121 St. Marks Pl. (near Avenue A) NYC
or
Watch it live on-line at: http://share.ffem.org

Share is a weekly assemblage of portable computing, founded in 2001 by
Barry Manalog, geoffGDAM and Newclueless that provide a "real life"
open forum for data exchange and media performance.

Share begins every Sunday at 5pm (EST) with the open jam. An
open-mixer systemfor video and audio lets participants patch their
equipment into the multi-channel, multi-room sound system and
multi-screen video system. Artists are encouraged to bring any
portable audio and video gear and take a turn sharing, join in an
open jam, or form impromptu collaborations. We accommodate both solo
performers and those looking to jam, as time and space allow. Arrive
early for best results.

Share has collaborated with other electronic festivals and events,
including Electroluxe in NYC and the PhonoTaktik festival in Vienna.
Collaboration with 2002 PhonoTaktik festival took two forms: live
performances and collaborations when the festival was in NYC, and a
streaming NET.JAM when the festival continued in Vienna.

Weekly Share Stream: http://share.ffem.org [ SUNDAYS 17:00 to 21:30 EST ]

***************************************************

ADVERTISEMENT

Evolving Traditions: Artists Working in New Media
Video Documentary. 2002. (Color, 56:35)
Directed and produced by Seth Thompson.

Profiles four internationally recognized artists who have
incorporated current computer technology into their work to enhance
their artistic visions. Artists addressed are: Mark Amerika,
Tennessee Rice Dixon, Toni Dove, and Troika Ranch.

The documentary is currently distributed by Wigged Productions and is
available for $29.95 (includes S/H) at
http://www.wigged.net/evolvingtraditions/ .

***************************************************

ON-LINE EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT #1

"Actual Positions of Italian NetArt"
Curated and developed by Agricola de Cologne

JavaMuseum
Forum for Internet Technologies in Contemporary Art
www.javamuseum.org

For many, Italy represents the craddle of European culture and art.
It is geographically where some of the most active and influential
online New Media publications and net art can be found. This
on-line exhibition features twenty Italian artists at various career
stages from the up-and-coming to the well known. Each represents a
unique aspect of approaching "NetArt." The featured artists are:
Caterina Davinio, Carla Della Beffa, Mauro Ceolin, Bugs, ego,
Isabella Bordoni, Domiziana Giordano, dlsan, Sergio Maltagliati,
Speranza Casillo, Domenico Olivero, Coniglioviola, Giocomo Verde,
Luigia Cardarelli, Avatar project, 80/81, Francesca di Gregorio
Gruppo A12, Carlo Zanni, 0100101110101101.ORG

*****************************************************************

ON-LINE EXHIBITION ANNOUNCEMENT #2

FAf (http://www.fineartforum.org) is pleased to present the first
installment of a new work by Molly Hankwitz. Peripheral Property is
an autobiographical piece emerging out of a personal interest in the
latent, myriad poetries of the commercial website eBay
(http://www.ebay.com) and similar 'architectures' of things.

Describing Peripheral Property as a culture-jam, Hankwitz says on
eBay, one finds and identifies with images of toys and gadgets as one
would the contents of a "real" fleamarket, a messy room, or
collection of other found things.

In this process, memories are attributed to the objects from deep
within the recesses of one's mind, past and present. In new media as
in all art, we often find ourselves restructuring and reordering
information to form a continuity of idea, she says of the work.
"Memory-retrieval, performed subjectively is both psychoanalytic and
highly personal, a way of reconstituting desired events selectively
to organize a new whole. Peripheral Property is a conceptual document
then, which deals with these arenas of process and value."

Molly Hankwitz is a U.S born writer, filmmaker and media artist based
in Brisbane, Australia. Her work encompasses a number of disciplines,
including architecture, digital culture, art history and media
activism. Characterised by a concern with memory, identity and self,
Hankwitz's work constitutes an interdisciplinary examination of the
contemporary cultural landscape.

***************************************************

BOOK NEWS

THE LANGUAGE FOR NEW MEDIA is now On-line
by Lev Manovich [MIT Press, 2001]

http://www.manovich.net/LNM_SITE_NEW/lnm_main.html

Lev Manovich offers the first systematic and rigorous theory of new
media. He places new media within the histories of visual and media
cultures of the last few centuries. He discusses new media's reliance
on conventions of old media, such as the rectangular frame and mobile
camera, and shows how new media works create the illusion of reality,
address the viewer, and represent space. He also analyzes categories
and forms unique to new media, such as interface and database.

Manovich uses concepts from film theory, art history, literary
theory, and computer science and also develops new theoretical
constructs, such as cultural interface, spatial montage, and
cinegratography. The theory and history of cinema play a particularly
important role in the book. Among other topics, Manovich discusses
parallels between the histories of cinema and of new media, digital
cinema, screen and montage in cinema and in new media, and historical
ties between avant-garde film and new media.

***************************************************

WEB PROJECTS

_ _ _ _ _H_F _ _ _ _ _

_C_R_I_T_I_C_A_L_

_ _ _ M_A _S _S _ _

v1.0 SOFTWARE

http://www.wildernesspuppets.net/hfcm/

HF CRITICAL MASS is freely available software, which is based on a
1971 film by Hollis Frampton titled "Critical Mass".

HF CRITICAL MASS adopts the structure of the earlier film as an
interface for improvising playback of digital video (quicktime
movies).

Mac and Windows versions for download at:

http://www.wildernesspuppets.net/hfcm/

=_ =_ =_ =_ =_ =_ =_=

The films of the late Hollis Frampton spanned the late 1960s through
the early 1980s. His work, Critical Mass, is one of a series of films
collectively titled "Hapax Legomena" that investigate "the specific
conditions of cinematic representation and the limitations and
paradoxes of visual description and narrative." (description by
Steve Polta - San Francisco Cinemateque, 2002)

***************************************************

CALL FOR WORKS

Seeking innovative and experimental video, animation and net art.
Please visit http://www.wigged.net and go to the "submit media" page
to fill out our on-line registration form and send requested
materials.

DEADLINE: Nov 15, 2002 for Wigged's January-March, 2003 issue.

********************************************************************

NOW SHOWING ON WIGGED.NET
through August 31, 2002

Humberto Ramirez's HATE.
Ramirez writes, "This is a video in which the cultural dynamics of
hatred are explored through a series of talking heads and monologues.
The video seeks to denaturalize a condition in which the potential
solidarity amongst different people is subverted by notions of
nationalism, race, gender, class etc.
By problematizing what seems to remain hidden or at least unspoken
this work seeks to provoke a conversation." United States. 2002.

Agricola de Cologne's Never Wake Up.
Based on the artist's poem of the same name. The poem/movie uses
some fundamental images: The "soldier" is metaphor for the human
individual. "War" is a metaphor for life, respectively the fights of
everyday day life; and the "veteran of war" is the human being who
cannot rid himself of the shadows of the past. Never Wake Up
addresses the loss of identity where the soldiers become distorted
and veterans have difficulty with reintegration into post-war
society. Germany. 2001.

Jimpunk's www.nowar.nogame.org.
Jimpunk ironically states that in his piece www.nowar.nogame.org,
"everything is under control." However get ready for a nerve-racking
event. At first you may think that your computer has been infected
with a virus. But don't worry, it's not. Fasten your seatbelt as
you embark on a mind-blowing journey that is a masterful mixture of
image and sound. Kudos to jimpunk! France. 2001.

Daniel Young's NewZoid.
NewZoid is a work of generative art. It plays with the most common
information form of our time - the headline. NewZoid continuously
collects the daily news, tears it apart, chops it up and endlessly
reassembles the pieces into absurd, funny, shocking and
thought-provoking headlines. The Site has been operating on its own
since April 8, 2001. United States. 2001.

Dinorah de Jesus Rodriguez & Gustavo Matamoros's L'Anatomie du Desir.
This assemblage of erotic images, found and damaged footage, and
handcrafted 16mm film was originally projected onto the torso of
Butoh artist Helena Thevenot as part of the one-hour collaborative
piece "The Anatomy of Desire." A tribute to biophysical impulses,
the video version synchronizes the film to its original score by
Gustavo Matamoros. United States. 2002.

Thomas Swiss and Seth Thompson's In the Woods.
In the Woods, a collaborative effort between Thom Swiss and Seth
Thompson examines the ideas of memory, aging and loss. The result of
the collaboration suggests the way language (in this case a poem by
Swiss) can be re-represented and changed by images (a film by
Thompson). United States. 2002.

To view these works visit the "Now Showing" page at http://www.wigged.net

******************************************
PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITY

We are looking to promote your upcoming exhibitions and new releases.
If you would like for us to promote your work either through our
newsletter or Wigged.net webzine, please send your press releases to:

Seth Thompson
Wigged Productions
418 Woodland Ave.
Akron, OH 44302

or you may e-mail press releases to seththompson@wigged.net. No file
attachments will be accepted. If you have images that you would like
to include, please send them via snail mail to the above address.

*******************************

Please Note: To remove your e-mail address from my list simply reply
to this message and type the word "unsubscribe" in the Subject field
at the top of your reply. If you have more than one e-mail address
through which you might be receiving this, please be sure to list
them all.
--
Seth Thompson
Wigged Productions
seththompson@wigged.net
http://www.wigged.net

DISCUSSION

Re: re: that day


I am curious by your "moralizing judgements" word choice. You act as
though September 11, 2001 was a unique situation. It was not. In
the United States, we have been encountering terrorism by both
domestic and international factions for the past ten years. For
many countries, terrorism is not a new phenomenon--it's been going on
for quite a long time.

As cultural producers I feel that it is our responsibility to go
beyond our own little community. My comments are not "moralizing
judgements", but rather hopes that one realizes that there is
"tragedy" on a daily basis that is continually overlooked because
it's not a "hip" subject.

There has been talk on this list that NYC is like Disneyland. I
guess I had never worked in these circles because I had seen a
totally different New York when I had lived there for nine years. I
worked with people from various homeless shelters, drug
rehabilitation centers, and psychiatric centers. These people
introduced me to a sensitivity that I would not have experienced if I
had taken another career path.

I understand that you have experienced grief and community--but you
could have experienced it on a daily basis before and after
Septemeber 11th if you had reached out into your community and shared
your talents outside of your group.

It seems as though the events of September 11, 2001 has become an
academic discussion--putting it into a social and political
perspective. I ask you: what have you learned from this event and
how do you wish to use your experiences to make a difference as
opposed to just expressing your emotions. Look around you and you
may find that there have been people suffering all along not just
because of the events you encountered on September 11, 2001.

Seth Thompson

>tim raised a point with me recently off-list, which I think is important
>to repeat: some of our reactions seem "shameful" and people are either
>loathe to acknowledge them or to discuss them. However, some of us may
>agree that it's important to get beyond received moral judgements about
>what people should or shouldn't feel when faced with such a situation--
>instead it's important--essential--to examine how we actually *do* feel
>and to analyse the situation, our behaviours, etc. how else to approach a
>critical way of thinking/dealing with this? how else to allow empathy to
>flow into action?
>
>It's important to deal with the full spectrum of responses here, and to
>refrain from moralizing judgements-- they only serve to inhibit, and to
>produce more shame.
>
>JG
>
>
>
>On Thu, 11 Jul 2002, Seth Thompson wrote:
>
>> I find this whole conversation troubling. Maybe some people on this
>> list need to get off their computer every once in a while and
>> volunteer at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or psychiatric center
>> to name just a few. NYC offers diverse experiences. If you think
>> that New York is full of "cotton-fluff" you need to go to the places
>> in the city where "you're not supposed to go," "middle class" New
>> Yorkers. Volunteering in some of the places I listed above can show
>> you that life's "difficulties" do not necessarily come in one blast
>> but rather can last over a lifetime.
>>
>> It seems as though sensitivity is only a result of what has happened
>> to oneself rather than being empathetic to others. I hope that this
>> can change. I think its awful that people have felt that they have
>> found a sense of community due to disaster. I hope one day that some
>> people will realize that there was community all the time--all one
>> had to do was reach out.
>>
>> Seth Thompson
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >>hey joy,
>> >>
>> >>seems like ivan was saying something else. didn't read like he
>> >>actually thought YOU had glossed over the real horrors of being
>> >>bombed. rather that in the US (esp in such a big US city), the
>> >>average person still has the "luxury" of intellectually separating
>> >>the traumatic from an appreciation for the experience itself. What
> > >>PERCENTAGE of the population here was tangibly more effected than
>> >>folks in paris?
>> >
>> >i would say a very large percent. we're just speculating, but there
>> >are lots of lots of kids in nyc exhibiting symptoms of
>> >post-traumatic stress disorder and i would speculate that your
>> >average parisian youngster isn't having that problem as a result of
>> >9/11.
>> >
>> >anyway,
>> >
>> >i would also speculate that joy is grateful for the trauma. even in
>> >the rawness of nyc, the 'cotton-fluff' of average middle-class
>> >american existence provides it's own special flavor of grinding
> > >ennui (i've heard that boredom is the sensation that humans hate the
> > >most, we can take pain longer than boredom). 9/11 brutally punctured
>> >this fluff, and to those who weren't personally traumatized through
>> >injury or death it has given us something we've never had before
>> >(however briefly) both good and bad; a sensualist can appreciate
>> >both: a true sense of connectedness and community and REAL emotions
>> >of horror and outrage.
>> >
>> >>
>> >>If Kabul gets bombed, a larger majority of the people there
>> >>wouldn't care how much "realer" their experience was than the news
>> >>coverage. To many in the world, this distinction is a triviality,
>> >>though maybe you find it fascinating. (esp. if we aren't
>> >>completely absorbed in the task of plain surviving the aftermath)
>> >
>> >our cultures our totally different. i don't see the distinction as
>> >trivial at all. the mediation of western culture is one of it's
>> >defining characteristics.
>> >
>> >>
>> >>Obviously, the Picasso/Guernica thing is just an illustration that
>> >>this first-hand witnessing is hardly a necessity. there is no
> > >>benefit to it besides very PERSONAL interest.
>> >
>> >of course an artist could imagine human suffering.. but if one had
>> >NEVER witnessed it, i don't know how powerful that artist's
>> >depiction of it would be.
>> >
>> >>But for most of us NYers, we may have seen something meaningless
>> >>out of a window or from a roof-top but
>> >>don't be fooled. We are ALL getting the story from "CNN" in some form.
>> >
>> >that's joy's point: the mediated culture. and she shared her
>> >feelings, however horrible it may sound, of gratitude for this
>> >particular event not being mediated for her. we can all understand
>> >that i think, i know i've had similar feelings. if you stood on a
>> >rooftop and watched what happened and it was 'something meaningless'
>> >than i'll never know where you find meaning. personally, as a i
>> >watched the first tower collapse my little brain was busy making
>> >synaptic connections that it never knew it could (we call them
>> >horror). i've never felt anything like it. it may sound sick, but
>> >i'm glad i had a chance to experience those emotions.
>> >
>> ><snip>
>> >>
>> >>judson
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>>You distort my meaning in order to state a truism. Obviously "greatful"
>> >>>was not applied to the experience of being bombed; it should be a given,
>> >>>especially in this tech savvy community that we in the 1st world foster
>> >>>and live through a super-mediated culture in which "reality" and fantasy
>> >>>are frequently blurred. that is the reference point for my remarks, it
>> >>>should be pretty obvious.
>> >>>
>> >>>nuff said.
>> >>>
>> >>>JG
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>On Wed, 10 Jul 2002, Ivan Pope wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> >
>> >>> > > more on the distance/mediation thing:
>> >>> > >
>> >>> > > To be fair, I think it was *easier* in some ways for
>>those of us who
>> >>> > > actually experienced it to deal with it. it was unreal
>> >>>enough as it was --
>> >>> > > my friends who happened to be out of town at the time needed
>> >>>to get back
>> >>> > > in, to see to feel to hear what was going on without the
>> >>>mediation. those
>> >>> > > of us who were right downtown watching had more to deal with
>> >>>sooner, more
>> >>> > > horror if you will, but we had the gift of our own senses, our
>> >>> > > insufficient physical and psychological "mediation" or
>> >>>self-protective
>> >>> > > devices. we didn't have to make that leap from mediated
>> >>>horror to register
> > >>> > > the reality -- it sounds crazy, but i've felt grateful that
>> >>>I had my own
>> >>> > > experience of it
>> >>> > >
>> >>> >
>> >>> > I guess its a western luxury to be able to be grateful for the
>> >>>experience of
>> >>> > being in a city when it is bombed. This is, of course, an
>>experience had
>> >>> > counteless times around the world by other individuals. Seldom
>> >>>do we hear
>> >>> > that they are grateful for the experience. The warring
>> >>>factions around Kabul
>> >>> > killed 50,000 by raining missiles randomly down on the city. I
>> >>>guess most
>> >>> > inhabitants weren't grateful and would rather have watched in
>> >>>on CNN etc.
>> >>> > Only it wasn't on CNN because the world had no interest at all.
>> >>> > Picasso made a work about Guernica, the genesis of bombing
>> >>>civilians, though
>> >>> > he wasn't there to experience it. Maybe he was the CNN of his day :)
>> >>> > Sow the wind ...
>> >>> > Ivan
> > >
--
Seth Thompson
Wigged Productions
seththompson@wigged.net
http://www.wigged.net

*************************************************************
Evolving Traditions: Artists Working in New Media
Video Documentary. 2002. (Color, 56:35)
Directed and produced by Seth Thompson.

Profiles four internationally recognized artists who have
incorporated current computer technology into their work to enhance
their artistic visions. Artists addressed are: Mark Amerika,
Tennessee Rice Dixon, Toni Dove, and Troika Ranch.

http://www.wigged.net/evolvingtraditions/
*************************************************************