MOUCHETTE, at Postmasters Gallery, NY, Sunday April 20, 3-5 pm

[Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. and Postmasters Gallery are pleased to 
announce their collaboration in support of the latest form of the 
longstanding and highly successful Net Art project, Mouchette.org 
http://www.mouchette.org.  Mouchette is a recipient of a Franklin Furnace 
FUTURE OF THE PRESENT 2003 residency.

Contact:
Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
45 John Street #611
New York, NY 10038
212-766-2606
info at franklinfurnace.org

Location:
Postmasters Gallery
459 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-3323

Date:
April 20, 2003, 3 - 5 PM

"Mouchette" is the Net-based alter-ego of an anonymous artist whose actual 
identity is a closely guarded secret.  Mouchette is a very young girl (not 
yet 13) who created her own website in October of 1996. Since then she has 
constantly expanded her website as she has taken part in numerous 
exhibitions and events in the artworld.  Mouchette holds a very important 
presence within the NetArt community and has lectured and appeared 
extensively, and anonymously, in online and offline events and publications.

The power of the Mouchette persona, and its ability to provoke heated 
debate around contemporary political and sexual issues has once again been 
demonstrated in the last few days by the exchange that has taken place at 
http://rhizome.org.  Contributors have speculated on the identity, and more 
particularly the gender, of the artist responsible for 
http://www.mouchette.org, and argued about what they have called a 
'glorification of sexual abuse and a celebration of pedophilia against 
young girls.'

On Easter Sunday, April 20, the seven-year-old Mouchette project changes 
forever.  The artist who created and maintains the website mouchette.org 
has decided that they are ready to meet their public, reveal their 
identity, and talk about their motives and intentions.  This remarkable 
event will take place in an inflatable live environment especially 
constructed with New York artist Anakin Koenig (whose site can be found at 
http://www.akairways.com) at Postmasters Gallery, 459 West 19th Street (at 
10th Avenue) New York, NY 10011, between 3 - 5 PM.

Even more remarkably, this event at Postmasters Gallery will provide an 
opportunity for Mouchette to give the website away.  Not only will visitors 
meet the present artist behind the persona, they might also get to be the 
next one!  Anyone thinking of taking the site over and becoming the new 
Mouchette should attend, as the current Mouchette wants to meet you in person.

The entire event will be streamed live, online from Postmasters Gallery via 
the NetArt Initiative's jihui salon at 
http://agent.netart-init.org.  Martha Wilson, Founding Director of Franklin 
Furnace, and Robert Ayers, British AHRB research resident at Franklin 
Furnace this spring will interview gallery goers.

jihui is a self-regulated digital salon that invites all interested people 
to send ideas for discussion/performance/etc. jihui is where your voice is 
heard and your vision shared. jihui is sponsored by Digital Design 
Department and Center for New Design @ Parsons School of Design jihui is 
organized by agent.netart http://agent.netart-init.org, a  joint public 
program by NETART INITIATIVE and INTELLIGENT AGENT

THE FUTURE OF THE PRESENT is Franklin Furnace's artist residency program, 
founded in 1998 when Franklin Furnace transformed itself from a physical to 
a virtual entity.  Franklin Furnace offers artists an honorarium and a 
residency to create "live art on the Internet" facilitated by Franklin 
Furnace, for a 2-4 month duration at a physical or online venue: 
http://www.franklinfurnace.org

POSTMASTERS, established in 1984, is a pioneering gallery firmly committed 
to presentation and support of new media art:  http://www.postmastersart.com

THE FUTURE OF THE PRESENT 2003 is made possible by grants from Jerome 
Foundation, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual 
Arts.  Mouchette's participation is further supported by Funds for Visual 
Arts, Netherlands (Fonds BKVB), and the Mondriaan Foundation Netherlands.



Note to editors:  Mouchette will be available for interview.  Please email 
info at franklinfurnace.org for an appointment.


Click http://www.franklinfurnace.org/links03.html
to visit 'This Month's World Wide Events'.
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Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
45 John Street, #611
New York, NY 10038-3706
T212.766.2606
F212.766.2740
http://www.franklinfurnace.org
mail at franklinfurnace.org

Martha Wilson, Founding Director
Michael Katchen, Senior Archivist
Harley Spiller, Administrator
Tiffany Ludwig, Program Coordinator