Friday 30 April 2010

Rational Rec presents its second Open Dialogue

Matt Roberts Arts OpenFORUM

MRA Project Space, 25 Vyner Street, London E2 9DG
Friday 14 May 2010, from 6.30-9pm

At this second Rational Rec Open Dialogue event, artists Paul B Davis, Charlie Fox and Emma Hart, working together on the first Rational Rec collaborative commission, will discuss their plans for the project and its final presentation.


The artists propose that the outcome of the commission will be to create a publication setting out ideal rules and philosophies for collaboration, with concrete tasks that can be followed by anyone.


The artists will test around 20 rules and tasks live during the event. The rules will be presented to the audience, who will judge their efficacy, and initiate the process of editorial change that will continue throughout the project.


You are invited to this event to get involved with this process, to challenge the artists’ ideas and make your mark on their evolving rule book.


Background


What can artists do together that they can’t do on their own, and how does the idea of help and exchange inherent in collaboration feed into working processes and outcomes? How could these facets become visible, exposing the hidden costs of collaboration: compromise, plagiarism, antagonism, frustration, misunderstanding and mistranslation?


Paul B Davis, Charlie Fox and Emma Hart have each worked on so-called ‘organic’ collaborations in the past – where artists find each other and fuse their practices based on mutual interests, personal or professional. The current Rational Rec commission provides a more structured space for them to reflect on the methodologies they have used in the past, a pause to reconsider how they have collaborated in the past and how they intend to collaborate in the future. Inspired by commercial music and fine art collaborations – such as Snoop Dogg ‘featuring’ on the tracks of rival rappers, or Damien Hirst’s work with Louis Vuitton – and bringing these lessons into a non-commercial project, as well as being influenced by art movements such as the OuLiPo literary group; religious laws from the Methodist Book of Discipline; the ancient Greek Axiomatic system and their own experiences, the artists will consider what happens when artists work together and why is this often deemed “better” (is it more creative? more exciting?).


Attending the event


To take part in the event please email bookings@rationalrec.org.uk by Wednesday 12 May 2010 with ‘MRA’ as the subject header. This event has limited capacity.


Online presence


For those who cannot make it to East London, this discussion event will be streamed live on Ustream. To view, simply click on the link on 14 May 2010, 6.30pm-9pm and you will be able to view the discussion for up to 7 days after the event. We will send a reminder on the day of the discussion event.


Rational Rec’s Louisa Martin (our Digital Marketing and Development Assistant) will also be tweeting from the event and we would welcome your questions and comments. Follow Rational Rec on Twitter, or get more updates on ourFacebook profile.


This Open Dialogue event is part of Matt Roberts Arts OpenFORUM - An Art Festival Supporting Artists' Professional Development.

Link to Rational Rec

We Feel Fine

by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar

At the core of We Feel Fine is a data collection engine that automatically scours the Internet every ten minutes, harvesting human feelings from a large number of blogs. Blog data comes from a variety of online sources, including LiveJournal, MSN Spaces, MySpace, Blogger, Flickr, Technorati, Feedster, Ice Rocket, and Google.

We Feel Fine scans blog posts for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling". This is an approach that was inspired by techniques used in Listening Post, a wonderful project by Ben Rubin and Mark Hansen.

Once a sentence containing "I feel" or "I am feeling" is found, the system looks backward to the beginning of the sentence, and forward to the end of the sentence, and then saves the full sentence in a database.

Once saved, the sentence is scanned to see if it includes one of about 5,000 pre-identified "feelings". This list of valid feelings was constructed by hand, but basically consists of adjectives and some adverbs. The full list of valid feelings, along with the total count of each feeling, and the color assigned to each feeling, is here.

If a valid feeling is found, the sentence is said to represent one person who feels that way.

If an image is found in the post, the image is saved along with the sentence, and the image is said to represent one person who feels the feeling expressed in the sentence.

Because a high percentage of all blogs are hosted by one of several large blogging companies (Blogger, MySpace, MSN Spaces, LiveJournal, etc), the URL format of many blog posts can be used to extract the username of the post's author. Given the author's username, we can automatically traverse the given blogging site to find that user's profile page. From the profile page, we can often extract the age, gender, country, state, and city of the blog's owner. Given the country, state, and city, we can then retrieve the local weather conditions for that city at the time the post was written. We extract and save as much of this information as we can, along with the post.

This process is repeated automatically every ten minutes, generally identifying and saving between 15,000 and 20,000 feelings per day.

Solar beat

A simple ambient musicbox, with sounds generated using the orbital frequencies of our solar system.
by Whithevinyl
link

Friday 19 March 2010

Baptiste Debombourg

an artist to watch...


polybric

"Polybric is an educational and entertaining construction game allowing both boys and girls to assemble and build as they wish, with imagination and creativity. The piece is in a real public toilet and it was functional for couple of days."


aggravure

"The protagonist Icarus, the Mannerism of the Renaissance and the symbol of sublime power Air Force One -the plane of the American President- are the main points in this work.
The combination of pathos, beauty and unnatural movement of Italian Mannerists concealing some aggression.
Is it why this “Superman” flies straight down towards the earth? Here it's used the tacker as a material and media, which plays with the contemporary agression and the profanized utility of the everyday life."



crystal palace

"It's an urban sculpture. It seems that something violent happened to this bus stop, but actually the broken glass shows more something precious.
The situation is turned – the attention is grabbed from the aesthetic, not from the act of destruction. The intention was to provoke some emotion or empathy."



source: rebel:art
artist's website: here

Monday 8 February 2010

Buy Sell Languge Platform at Stoke Newington School


Where:
Stoke Newington School & Sixth Form: Media Arts & Science College

Clissold Road London N16 9EX

When:
Wednesday 10th February ; 4 – 6pm

As part of an exhibition to raise money for the school 6th Form Art and Photography trip to New York I am bringing Buy/Sell Languages platform to the school for one evening.
Come and sell your language or come and buy a new one and help to raise fund. The money will specifically enable less advantaged students, who wouldn’t be able to afford to go otherwise, to accompany their peers on the trip.

We welcome everyone to come and support the event and enjoy the spectacle.
If you wish to sell your language at this event contact me in advance: Ania, 077 3150 9854 or aniabas{at}gmail{dot}com

If you wish to buy language, please come on the day to the school between 4 and 6pm.

more info

Sunday 7 February 2010

Barbican - Swap Meet call for submission

The Barbican hosts Swap Meet as part of the February Lates series taking place on Saturday the 20th between 5:30-12:30 (midnight).

Inspired by the infamous mix-tapes swaps in 1980's L.A., Swap Meet invites artists to bring along their music and share it with other artists and the public. If you are an artist who would like to share your music (via cassette, cd or mp3) with other artists or even share a sample, swap some beats for some vocals or pass on a new freeware then this is the event for you! This event is open to musicians and artists working more strictly in the arena of sonic art.

If you would like to set up a listening post or have a proposition for an installation or interactive performance piece, please contact Julia Dempsey on jdempsey@barbican.org.uk no later than Wednesday 20th of February. If you would like to bring along material to swap with artists directly then just come along on the night!

The first addition of Swap Meet will run in the Barbican on the 20th of February. From there future Swap Meets are planned for cross arts venue Village Underground and also Swap Meet will feature at the Big Chill Festival this year.


Barbican - Swap Meet


Wednesday 3 February 2010

Contribution needed for correspondence project

This project takes the form of letter writing to various companies across the world.
It was initially meant to start up a dialogue with individuals but instead 'junk' mail from companies and businesses were sent. In the unlikely event of them starting up a correspondence I am asking you to reply to the letters sent to them.

INSTRUCTIONS: Go to http://thepleasereplies.blogspot.com/ (1)Click on one of the labels on the left side bar (these are the letters). (2)Then click the comments link under that letter. (3)You will then see all the comments which are the replies to the letters. (4)Look at the last comment and reply to it.

CONTACT: alidiana@gmail.com
www.thepleasereplies.blogspot.com/

Monday 18 January 2010

VeloFest 2010 - a creative bicycle festival -

“VeloFest” is a platform for bicycle promotion as a way of living: transport, recreation, inspiration for works of art or just an adventure and fun.

MORE INFO

Thursday 14 January 2010

7.9 Cubic Metres// A gallery within a gallery // Call for proposal

The curator is now accepting proposals from artists practicing both in the UK and abroad, which respond to any one of the project’s 4 exhibition components, yet to run.

Email the following (Max. total file size 1.5mb) to: e.tan@kingston.ac.uk

1. Exhibition proposal (Single page, A4 PDF)

2. Image or video samples of proposed work and/or the previous works

3. Artist’s CV, including contact details and website, if any.

Proposals for works to be exhibited in all 4 quarters are welcome anytime and will be received on an on-going basis.

Works may be already completed or newly proposed.


MORE INFO

The Future Generation Art Prize

The Future Generation Art Prize established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation is a worldwide contemporary art prize to discover, recognize and provide long-term support to a future generation of artists.

Artists around the world, without restriction of gender, nationality, race or artistic medium may enter the competition through online application.

20 shortlisted artists will be selected to show their work in an exhibition at the PinchukArtCentre (Kiev). These artists will be judged by an international Jury who will award one main prize and up to five special prizes.

The first prize will receive $100,000.

MENTOR ARTISTS:

Andreas Gursky,
Damien Hirst,
Jeff Koons,
Takashi Murakami

MORE INFO

Wednesday 13 January 2010

The Eccentric City Announces The £1 Arts Commission

What can you do with a £1?

Here at The Eccentric City - The world's first dedicated eccentric newspaper - we are proudly offering a monthly rolling programme called the £1 Arts Commission (this is not a joke - we are serious about this!). Yes, we want to encourage the delights of eccentric behaviour, believing that huge amounts of money doesn’t always encourage the powerful force of eccentricity to manifest its full effect! The Eccentric City will give one £1 commission per month to the person or group with an idea it wishes to help make happen!

MORE INFO

Outcasting - Web Based Screening Project Call for submissions

An internet based screening channel for all forms of moving image work. Submissions will be screened on a rolling basis.

All films will be archived online and there will be the possibility of DVD distribution for selected works.

To Apply:
all work should be submitted as full quality data files on DVD / on MiniDV tape / or as Flash Movies.

Outcasting
Michael Cousin
116 Paget Street
Grangetown
Cardiff
CF11 7LA
United Kingdom

WEBSITE

i-cabin bookshop // call for artist's publications

i-cabin bookshop sells text publications published by i-cabin, artist's publications and second hand art books.

i-cabin are currently looking for artist's publications for retail through the shop. Artists who are interested in selling their publications through i-cabin should send one copy to the gallery along with their contact details.

MORE INFO

The Stones of Menace Call for Entries

The austere architecture of Brutalism is often vilified as producing social neglect rather than the vibrant community life envisioned by its architects. Art, on the contrary, is mostly seen as a potent tool to create social cohesion.

In this show we would like to explore polemical perspectives on architecture and art and open up a debate on the role of culture as a source of conflict and criticism.

We are looking for work that reflects on the relationship between art/architecture and its social/physical context or deals with issues of creative expressions of violence and social discontent. Work can include video, performance, 2D and 3D work, presentations/lectures.

Submission:
Please send a DVD/CD with 5 images and/or 1-3 videos, a CV and a brief description of the proposed work to:

Scare in the Community
13 Dunmow Road
E15 1TZ London, UK

Deadline for the submission is 30.01.2010. The event will take place in East London in May 2010.

MORE INFO

Tuesday 12 January 2010

PULSE 10: Live/ Interdisciplinary Artists Proposals

A spring-board for fresh new artistic approaches, as well as a home for risk-taking and cutting edge performance from more established artists, PULSE Festival provides a platform for the development and presentation of work by regional, British and international artists of vision; nurturing artistic ambition and excellence across a range of art forms. Town Hall Galleries will be curating a Live Art strand for the festival (it it’s most expanded sense) looking for interdisciplinary projects, events and interventions that range from durational, site specific installation to live performance.

For the 3rd year Ipswich’s Town Hall Galleries are collaborating with PULSE producers The New Wolsey Theartre to curate a series of presentations and events by Live Art practitioners to run throughout the festival programme. Proposals are invited from interdisciplinary artists working across platforms, contexts and spaces to actively engage audiences through experimental process, intervention and action.

Work will be considered for a range of sites and spaces across Ipswich – formal, informal, unconventional, private and civic through a responsive approach that provides opportunity to build a challenging project with interesting and surprising outcomes.

MORE INFO

FRINGE ARTS BATH CALL FOR INTEREST 2010

FAB is Bath’s only visual arts festival and we are looking for new projects and new people for 2010. Our dates for next year’s festival are confirmed as Friday May 28th to Sunday June 13th. We actively promote and celebrate contemporary art in the Bath area and beyond, showcasing early career artists and curators, and those who find it difficult to break into (or prefer to operate outside of) the gallery based art scene. FAB frequently uses “alternative”, temporary exhibition spaces - anything from street corners, shops and shopping centres to front rooms and cafés. We are a not for profit organisation and receive little funding, relying on enthusiastic volunteers to enable us to put on each year’s programme of shows and events.

MORE INFO

Legendary

Every quarter, The Hospital Club publishes a magazine with a theme. The theme for April 2010 is "Legendary". We have teamed up with jotta.com and are looking to showcase the work of one aspiring artist, based around that theme, in the front window of the club for four weeks. The winner's work will also be featured in the "Legendary" issue of the magazine and across our whole online network. Two runners-up will also be featured and profiled in the same issue.

The front window is a great space, with lots of exposure and visibility looking out on to Endell St in Covent Garden. It measures 227cm high by 187cm wide, with a 60cm depth. Works that tend to occupy the space successfully are often stand alone pices but keep in mind the 360 degree nature of the work as people inside the building will get an up close perspective of the work as well. We feature a lot of three dimensional and sculptural work but printing vinyl versions of 2 dimensional pieces can work equally well for photographers, graphic designers or artists willing to work within that medium. The window is lit at night but generally bright or contrasted colours do stand out well.

To enter this competition, you'll need to upload your work below. Your entry doesn't need to be a new piece of work, it doesn't need to be from a specific discipline and you can enter more than one piece if you wish to. Once submitted, your entry will appear on the website and the general public will be able to vote for their favourite. We will use these votes as a steer but ultimately, the final decision will be made at our own discretion.

If you have any questions, please email us on: competition@thehospitalclub.com

MORE INFO

SALON VIDEO ART PRIZE - 2010

40 - 50 artists working in video and video installation will be selected for a unique video 'Salon' exhibition taking place at our Project Space, Unit 1, 25 Vyner Street, London, E2 9DG, opening on Thursday 4th March, 2010.

There is a selectors' prize of £800(GBP) for a chosen exhibitor.

In order to submit work you must be an associate member of Matt Roberts Arts. Associate Membership allows you to submit work for two open submission arts prizes per year as well as offering a range of professional development support, it costs £8 (GBP) and £10 (GBP) for practitioners based outside of the UK. Payments can be submitted via the form below or a cheque made out to Matt Roberts Arts can be sent to: Unit 1, 25 Vyner Street, London, E2 9DG.
Please read the section marked 'How to apply' before making any payments.

The deadline for DVD submissions and associate membership payments is 5pm, Saturday 23rd January, 2010

MORE INFO

Fictional Geographies, Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art

A film screening curated by the first year MA Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art Thursday 14 January 2010 at 6pm, running time 83 minutes: Lecture Theatre 1, Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2EU

Hollis Frampton, Lemon (for Robert Huot), 1969
Marine Hugonnier, The Secretary of the Invisible, 2007
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, A Letter to Uncle Boonmee, 2009
Filipa César, Allee der Kosmonauten, 2007
Beatrice Gibson, A Necessary Music, 2008

Fictional Geographies brings together five international artists and filmmakers who use film to explore alternative modes of engaging with space and place. The programme‘s starting point is Hollis Frampton's 1969 film Lemon, a meditation on the extraordinary that resides within the everyday. Recent films by Marine Hugonnier, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Filipa César and Beatrice Gibson further investigate the interplay between physical landscapes and their imaginary interpretation.

link

Sunday 17 May 2009

PASSING THROUGH @ James Taylor Gallery


The progression of Interactive art is not a recent phenomenon, originally explored in the 1960's; it's visibility in the art world has often been shrouded, seen as a fad created by artists whose principal concern is in producing works of technically trickery, rather than artworks that pursue an intellectual and referential meaning. However, in society and indeed culture we are forever forging stronger relationships with technology. Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI), GPS, iPhones and the Internet are all examples of the daily influences of digital media. This interaction has and is continuing to shape the way we live, how we perceive our environment, the way we communicate with each other, and importantly how we view our relationship with art.

This exhibition presented by TINT, an emerging arts initiative, providing a platform for open discourse and experimentation, aimed at breaking down preconceptions of interactivity and its relevance in contemporary art.

'Passing Through' explores the movement of the spectator turned interactor on a personal journey, engaging in direct conversation with the artworks in order to realise and complete the work that would not exist without his/her actions.
"By putting the user into the controls interactive technology could be claimed to have a strong liberating potential, as well, making it an effective means to analyze and deconstruct preexisting ideological formations." Erkki Huhtamo

Works such as Ben Faga's ScentScapes experiment with scent association through sound responsive aroma pods, whilst Lottolab Studios Music to our eyes uses the audience's presence to produce orchestral compositions from colour, contrast and brightness. Other artists create responsive installations from light, sound and kinetics, exploring notions of culture, media and memory. Artists include - Bulbcollective (Owen Bowden, Edward Holland & Suzi Tibbetts), captincaptin, Curtis Matthew, Stuart Dunbar, Jamie Elliott, Ben Faga, Peter Forde, Jon Garlick & Lawrence Abu-Hamdan, Richard Kendrick, Lottolab Studios (Ilias Bergstrom, Beau Lotto & Sam Walker), Parag Mital, Agelos Papadakis & Dave Murray-Rust, Artemis Papageorgiou, Tobias Revell, David Strang, Jamie Thompson.

Curated by captincaptin artist Gareth Goodison and Jonathan Hall