Wigged.net's Mid-June E-Newsletter
Seth Thompson
seththompson at wigged.net
Fri Jun 21 12:46:00 CEST 2002
WIGGED.NET JUNE 2002 E-NEWSLETTER--VOL. 2 ISSUE 12
Wigged.net (http://www.wigged.net) is an evolving Webzine 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 at wigged.net.
******************************************
INDEX
+Call for Works
+Shows & Performances
+ Kudos
+Reflections on Utopia: Sarawut Chutiwongpeti's Work in Perspective.
+Publicity Opportunity
******************************************
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: July 15, 2002 for Wigged's September-December, 2002 issue.
***************************************************
SHOWS & PERFORMANCES
NIGHT VISION
Curated by Joy Garnett
June 14 - July 20, 2002
White Columns
320 West 13th Street (entrance on Horatio Street)
NYC 10014, USA
Night Vision presents artists who are influenced by technologies developed
by the military, government intelligence agencies, and NASA for use in
research, surveillance and combat. The title of the exhibition is taken
from the high-tech optical apparatus used in nocturnal military
operations, whose green glow has become familiar to television viewers.
Some of the artists in this exhibition co-opt these technological
advancements while others examine public perception of them as revealed by
film, television and news media in order to explore the various murky
implications surrounding their uses.
Participating artists:
Jordan Crandall | Christoph Draeger | Joy Garnett | Adam Hurwitz | Bill
Jones + Ben Neill | John Klima |Joseph Nechvatal | Jonathan Podwil |
Radical Software Group
Thursday June 27th, 2002, 7-10pm
BEN NEILL + BILL JONES LIVE PERFORMANCE
Ben Neill and his mutantrumpet will play music from his forthcoming album
"Automotive" along with midi-video performance by collaborator Bill Jones.
Wednesday July 17th, 2002 7-9pm
ARTIST PANEL + OPEN DISCUSSION
Night Vision artists and writer Tim Griffin will present their work and
ideas touched upon in the exhibition.
*****************
GenTerra,
A project by Critical Art Ensemble and Beatriz da Costa
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, 583 Broadway, NYC
Thursday, June 20, 2002, 6.30-8.00.pm
GenTerra is a performance by Critical Art Ensemble and Carnegie Mellon
University Robotic Art Researcher Beatriz da Costa. Posing as a company
dealing with transgenics - the isolation of one or more genes from one or
more organisms to create another, new organism - GenTerra highlights the
complex relationship between for-profit ventures and the ethical
considerations involved in transgenics research and product development.
GenTerra is a participatory 'theater' made up of a lab tent, four computer
station displaying the company's CD-Rom, and a "bacteria release machine."
This event will take place on the first floor gallery and is free with
Museum admission. ($3 on Thursdays from 6-8pm)
GenTerra is planned in conjunction with Open_Source_Art_Hack on view
through
June 30, 2002 in the New Museum's Zenith Media Lounge. For more
information
about the exhibition, please visit http://www.newmuseum.org .
*****************
Prints + Chips
bitforms
529 west 20th
New York, NY 10011
212 366 6939
June 20 - July 27 2002
Opening reception Saturday, June 22, 2002 6-8
Guest Curator: Michele Thursz
"Prints + Chips" is realized as a unit of styles being presented by
artists using gaming systems, communication platforms. Each work reveals
the relationship between production and object specificity. As a dialogue
Prints + Chips looks at the temporality of mediums and the fluidity of the
concepts as objects being realized by artist using computer or electronic
mediums.
***************************************************
KUDOS
GRANT APPROVED TO RESEARCH COMPUTER ARTS IN BRITAIN FROM 1950S TO 1980
A team of outstanding researchers, including fAf's Executive Editor Paul
Brown, Dr Charlie Gere from the School of History of Art, Film and Visual
Media at Birkbeck, University of London, and George Mallen, the co-founder
of the Computer Arts Society, has been awarded over half million US dollar
by UK's Arts and Humanities Research Board, to research, document,
contextualise and archive the history of the computer arts in Britain from
the 1950s to 1980. This piece of exciting news features in the June issue
of fAf (http://www.fineartforum.org).
***************************************************
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/ .
***************************************************
WIGGED NEWS ARTICLE
Reflections on Utopia: Sarawut Chutiwongpeti's Work in Perspective.
By Seth Thompson
Two years have passed, since Sarawut Chutiwongpeti's Utopia 1997 came to
my attention. At first, I was intrigued by the aesthetics of the piece
and did not realize the implicit foresight that the work would have in the
upcoming years. Due to a chain of events two years ago, I had placed the
article on the backburner.
Recently, Chutiwongpeti contacted me in regard to the status of the
article. This exchange began a dialogue with him that spurred me to look
once again at his work and to reexamine his ideas in a June 2002
timeframe. With such events as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
the United States' financial and political capitols; inflated conflicts
between Palestine and Israel; and now threats of suicide bombers and
anthrax have crept into the United States landscape, I realize how
Chutiwongpeti's work foreshadowed these events.
The installation presents the viewer with ideas of more than just gorgeous
lights and lines within an environment. Pieces of broken glass lay on the
floor; dates of long ago events accompanied by different geographical
locales such as Iran and other texts are scattered throughout the room;
video monitors lay on the floor presenting "man's" great accomplishments;
and missile crater relics are encapsulated in this environmental
sculpture. Utopia 1997 is not a depiction of Eden, but rather envelopes
remnants of chaos and danger of a society past. It is a cautionary sign to
be wary amidst superficial peace and beauty.
The piece reminds me of Thomas Cole's 1836 painting The Course of Empire:
Desolation which can be found at the New York Historical Society. The
final piece in a series of five, the painting illustrates the aftermath of
a society once great--destroyed by warfare, overindulgence and greed.
Nature is now overtaking the architectural artifacts of the once great
society--slowly returning the urban landscape to its natural beauty. In
Chutiwongpeti's installation Utopia 1997, sounds of nature are all that
remain except for audio artifacts from the media that reminds the viewer
of what once was.
Chutiwongpeti writes,
"The contradictory side of utopia is full of pessimism. Man's quest to
conquer distant galaxies, endless search for territories and colonies
reflect this inner instinct for power, aggrandizement, and control. The
imbalance of power between those who control and those under control has
contributed to this order and dilemma.
In the era of confusion and distortion values of aesthetics and common
sense have been greatly transformed. At the end of the century we are
facing the crisis of world civilization."
It is my fear that Chutiwongpeti is right--that we live in a world that is
becoming increasingly chaotic and inhumane. I ask myself, "Why are we
killing each other in the name of religion? Isn't spirituality and
religion's mission to provide us with a structure for peaceful living?"
The beautiful façade of Utopia 1997 is evident at first glance but as we
look closer we begin to see some possible disturbing artifacts of our
future's past.
Born in Thailand, Sarawut Chutiwongpeti is a young artist who has already
received international acclaim. He can be reached
atutopia1998 at hotmail.com . His website
is:http://artists.banff.org/sarawut/
******************************************
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 at 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.net
seththompson at wigged.net
http://www.wigged.net
More information about the Syndicate
mailing list