Looking for aurora borealis

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Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Northern Lights has commissioned renowned sound artist Stephen Vitiello to create a new multimedia work based on Very Low Frequency (VLF) recordings and filming of the aurora borealis. Last week, Stephen traveled with cinematographer Matt Flowers to Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada.

From: Stephen Vitiello
Subject:     report so far
Date:     October 12, 2009 12:33:32 PM CDT
To:     Steve Dietz

Stephen Vitiello. Photo: Matt Flowers

Stephen Vitiello. Photo: Matt Flowers

Hi Steve, just thought I’d give you a report. So far, so good. No Aurora but lights from rainbows, oil refineries and cars approaching on a quiet road at night. As we left Calgary, a wolf was running along the side of the runway, just before the plane took off. It’s cold – generally about 20-30 degrees F. Yesterday it snowed some. We feel like we’re just getting a feel of the place. Today is Thanksgiving here so it’s very quiet. Fort McMurray is a strange town. When I told the customs agent where I was going, he sort of laughed. Maybe it’s like telling someone you’re going on vacation to New Jersey. The sky is supposed to clear up by tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll see something great.

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Photo: Stephen Vitiello

Photo: Matt Flowers

Art(ists) On the Verge info session

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Are you an emerging artist? Do you work experimentally at the intersection of art, technology, and digital culture with a focus on network-based practices that are interactive and/or participatory Do you live in Minnesota? Would you like $5,000? I can help answer at least some of these questions. Come find out more about the new round of Art(ists) On the Verge grants.
http://tylerstefanich.com/clients/northernlights/programs/aov2/

Information session – Influx, Regis Center, Univeristy of MN at 12 30 pm this Friday, October 9. Everyone welcome.

Thank you Jerome!

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“During their September 24, 2009, meeting, the Directors of Jerome Foundation awarded a one-year grant … to Northern Lights in support of the Art(ists) on the Verge Fellowship/Commissioning Program for emerging Minnesota artists working at the intersection of art, media, technology and social practice.”

Thank you Jerome Foundation. A full call will be sent out in the next few days. A sneak peak is here. Past AOV grantees here.

jerome_logo

Call for projects 01SJ Biennial

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CITY OF SAN JOSE – SAN FERNANDO CORRIDOR PROJECT

Last Sunday, ON SAN FERNANDO, Arcangel Constantini activated Brendan Rawson of 1stACT, DJ Tommy Aguilar, and artist Pilar Aguero-Esparza with his electro-shock art, which ZER01 presented at the Mariachi Festival.

Last Sunday, ON SAN FERNANDO, Arcangel Constantini "activated" Brendan Rawson of 1stACT, DJ Tommy Aguilar, and artist Pilar Aguero-Esparza with his electro-shock art "icpiticayotl", which ZER01 presented at the Mariachi Festival. Propose your own activation project on San Fernando.

GENERAL INFORMATION

San Jose Public Art and ZER01 invite artists to submit qualifications and letters of interest to install temporary artworks on the San Fernando Street corridor in Downtown San Jose. These artworks will be installed in June 2010, be a feature of the 3rd 01SJ Biennial (September 15-19, 2010) and will continue their display through October 2010.

PROJECT BUDGET: Varies depending on site. See complete RFQ for details at http://www.sanjoseculture.org/?pid=4500

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY: U.S. residents are invited to apply, or those who have a US Social Security or Tax Identification Number by the application deadline.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Submissions (described below) must be received as a complete application in CaFÉ™ by no later than 12 midnight Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on Thursday, October 8, 2009.

APPLICATION PROCESS: All materials will be submitted online, via CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of San Jose – San Fernando Corridor Project”.

Ghost Siege

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Andréa Stanislav, Ghost Siege, 2009, Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, NY. Photo courtesy the artist.

Andréa Stanislav, Ghost Siege, 2009, 70 ft L x 70 ft W x 22 ft H, steel, nylon, sound. Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, NY. Photo courtesy the artist.

Andréa Stanislav’s Ghost Siege opened Sunday, September, 13th at Socrates Sculpture Park, NYC, NY as part of the Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition.

A site specific installation/formation of ghost flags comprised of 50 strategically located flag sculptures, made from reflective silver fabric, and steel flag poles. The flags have no markings or signifiers of conquest or elements of communication.  Instead, the flags serve notice that the location has been conquered by time.

Opening Day Performance

Set within Ghost Siege, dancer/choreographer Leah Schrager will dance to music composed by Kenny Aronoff, preeminent drummer and percussionist.

Ghost Siege from Leah S on Vimeo.

Each year, EAF artists are awarded a grant and a residency in the Park’s outdoor studio and are also provided with technical support and access to tools, materials and equipment to facilitate the production of new sculptures and installations for exhibition in the Park.  The artists develop their projects throughout the summer in the open studio and on site in the landscape, offering visitors the opportunity to experience both the creation and presentation of their works.  Representing a broad range of materials, working methods and subject matter, the diverse sculptural works in this exhibition are presented against the Park’s spectacular waterfront view of the Manhattan skyline.

Public art commissions 01SJ Biennial

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Adriene Jenik, SPECFLIC 2.0, part of the 1st 01SJ Biennial, 2006, San Jose Public Library, San Fernando and 4th St.

Adriene Jenik, SPECFLIC 2.0, part of the 1st 01SJ Biennial, 2006, San Jose Public Library, San Fernando and 4th St.

For Artists

San Fernando Corridor Project – Request for Qualifications
San Jose Public Art and ZER01 invite artists to submit qualifications and letters of interest to install temporary artworks on the San Fernando Street corridor in Downtown San Jose. These artworks will be installed in June 2010, be a feature of the 3rd 01SJ Biennial (September 15-19, 2010) and will be continue their display through October 2010.

Background: San Fernando Street
San Fernando Street is a significant east/west corridor through downtown San Jose that connects Diridon Station, the major train, light rail and bus center on the west side of downtown; continues through the sports, retail and cultural district; and defines the north side of San Jose State University at downtown’s east edge. The street passes from the station, beneath State Highway 87 and over the Guadalupe River before entering the downtown core. As such, the street offers a variety of opportunities for the creation of artworks in different media ranging from static to electronic, sound, projection, light-based, interactive and mobile or networked. The artworks will be accessible to anyone who works, lives or visits downtown San Jose.

Background: 2010 3rd 01SJ Biennial
The 3rd 01SJ Biennial will take place September 15-19, 2010, throughout San Jose and Silicon Valley. Its theme, “Build Your Own World,” is about how powerful ideas and innovative individuals from around the world can make a difference and come together to build a unique, city-wide platform for creative solutions and public engagement. It is about the inspiration needed to build a world we want to live in and are able to live with. The 2010 01SJ Biennial is predicated on the notion that as artists, designers, engineers, architects, marketers, corporations and citizens we have the tools to (re)build the world, conceptually and actually, virtually and physically, poorly and better, aesthetically and pragmatically, in both large and small ways.

PROJECT BUDGETS: Vary depending on site

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY: U.S. residents are invited to apply, or those who have a US Social Security or Tax Identification Number by the application deadline.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Submissions (described below) must be received as a complete application in CaFÉ™ by no later than 12 midnight Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on Thursday, October 8, 2009.

APPLICATION PROCESS: All materials will be submitted online, via CaFÉ™ website (www.callforentry.org). There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org, register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of San Jose – San Fernando Corridor Project”.

For full details and application process read the Request for Qualifications.

DOCUMENTS FOR REFERENCE IN APPLYING FOR PROJECTS WITH THE CITY OF SAN JOSE PUBLIC ART PROGRAM

Design Contract – Boilerplate (PDF)

Fabrication Contract – Boilerplate (PDF)

City of San Jose Standard Specifications (External)

The Banff New Media Institute, ZER01, and Sundance Institute Announce Locative Cinema Commission

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Joint Venture to Stimulate and Showcase New Media Technologies

http://zero1.org/press/releases/banff-zero1-sundance

The timeframe for applications is short – due August 3 – but the opportunity for a residency and technical support to produce a new work to be shown at the 2010 01SJ Biennial, the 2011 Sundance Festival, and the 2011 Banff Summer Arts Festvial is enormous. Please distribute widely.

For more information on the Locative Cinema Commission: http://zero1.org/01sj/lccall

San Jose, Calif. – July 8, 2009 ―The Banff New Media Institute at The Banff Centre, ZER01: The Art and Technology Network, and Sundance Institute’s New Frontier initiative today announced the formation of The Locative Cinema Commission, a joint venture to stimulate and showcase the creation of a locative cinema project. The Commission is presently soliciting proposals. The chosen artist or artists will realize their proposed project during a residency at The Banff Centre, to be completed by July 2010. They will also receive a $4,500 (four-thousand five hundred dollar) commissioning fee, related production funds, and will present their work at the 2010 01SJ Biennial from September 15 – 19, the 2011 edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival from January 20-30, and the 2011 Banff Summer Arts Festival.

“ZER01, Sundance Institute and the Banff New Media Institute all have proven commitment to supporting emerging forms of creative practice,” said Susan Kennard, Director and Executive Producer at The Banff New Media Institute. “It is our hope that this collaboration will inspire the creation of a dynamic new work that can be exhibited to wide and diverse audiences in San Jose, Park City, and Banff and excite the public about changing ways to experience art.”

The purpose of this commission is to use “locative cinema” as an apparatus through which artists can share their vision using place in ways that are both specific and generic, or at least transferable. The Commission understands the notion of “locative cinema” as a platform-agnostic apparatus through which artists share their vision of place. Any variation on how to present an artist’s work will be considered, from cell phones to the black box of the cinema, from mixed reality to street theatre, from GPS to handhelds, from distributed to ambient. Proposals will be evaluated on their ability to engage people using place as a key element of the experience. The chosen project will receive a $4,500 commissioning fee a residency in Banff with up to $5,000 in related costs, and technical support from the Banff New Media Institute. Reasonable presentation costs, including necessary travel, will also be covered. The final project will be presented in San Jose, California, Banff, Canada, and Park City, Utah, and therefore must be realizable in those locations.

Proposals will be accepted until August 3, 2009, and must include a conceptual proposal describing the relationship of the project to the place, a technical proposal outlining the basic parameters of the project, and strategies for problem solving during the residency. Other requirements include a budget, list of collaborators, links to examples of related past work, and resumes of key personnel.

More information and specific application details are available at http://zero1.org/01sj/LCcall.

iPhone app demoed at Art-A-Whirl

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[Recently Northern Lights and mnartists.org commissioned Abigail and Michael Mouw to produce an iPhone/iPod Touch application, which will allow anyone to present their views – visual and verbal – on art in the public sphere. We will blog more about this in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, Mike and Abby will be posting regular updates about their project.–mediachef]

Abigail + Michael Mouw (left) at Art-a-Whirl

Abigail + Michael Mouw (left) at Art-a-Whirl

We demonstrated ideas for our artists’ iPhone/iPod Touch app at Art-A-Whirl in Minneapolis, during the weekend of May 15-17. Approximately 35,000 artists and supporters attend this open studio event in the northeast warehouse district.

Artists iPhone app Goal

We are artists-in-virtual-residence at Northern Lights and mnartists.org, as both organizations are providing the virtual studio space that will allow us to create an iPhone/iPod Touch app. Our goal for the app is to connect artists and arts supporters in Minneapolis-St. Paul to public art in our area. We hope the app will allow users to identify their favorite public art, locate it on a map, and share thoughts and feelings with each other about the work. We hope to launch a free app through Apple’s iTunes store in spring 2010.

Feedback from Art-A-Whirl attendees

Art-A-Whirl was an excellent venue to discuss ideas around our app-in-progress. Our target audience of local artists and supporters were in attendance. They responded positively to the concept, and understood the wide appeal of an app that runs on the iPod Touch, which works on any wireless network, and doesn’t need a phone contract. The positive potential of the app for the local arts community was communicated through the informal front-end testing of our concept.

Public Art 2.0?

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This call for what might be termed “Public Art 2.0,” with its emphasis on art as a “means of exchange and shared dialog” is worth quoting in full.

The new art project on the Berlin Underground, U10 – from here to the imaginary and back again, sets a focus on the social and collaborative dimension of public art.

Artists or collaborative groups of artists and non-artists are invited to take part in this call for submissions. Preference will be given to artists who see their work as a means of exchange and shared dialogue and who are interested in reaching new audiences. This may include a readiness to collaborate with, for example, groups of BVG staff or passengers who have little experience of contemporary art. The organisers cannot take part in the call themselves. The U10 project will run for a maximum of 3 years.

The organisers are looking for situation specific and/or participatory projects which focus on the Berlin Underground and its staff and/or users. They can range from being short, interventionistic artistic reactions to specific occurrences on the Underground to being long term collaborations. The competition sees members of staff, passengers, kiosk and snack bar owners, buskers and ticket traders not only as a potential audience but also as potential collaborators on a joint research of the Berlin Underground.

Run by Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NBGK) Berlin, in collaboration with the Berlin Underground Train Network (BVG), financed by Berlin Council’s Department of Culture and supported by Wall AG.

via actuphoto

A Manifesto for Public Art

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Mind map for a Manifesto of Possibilities by Sophie Hope
Cameron Cartiere and Sophie Hope, researchers on public art from Birbeck College, University of London, have developed a Building Cultures wiki, including A Manifesto of Possibilities: Commissioning Public Art in the Urban Environment, for which they are requsting input, writing:

“Increasingly, people working in diverse aspects of contemporary urban society, from developers to park wardens, are turning to the arts for new ideas, regeneration, problem solving and community bridge building. The employment of artists in these (traditionally non-cultural) fields, where there are other non-art issues and agendas at stake, is becoming the norm. This manifesto is a chance for you to address the uncertainties of commissioning art in areas of urban change, discuss crucial concerns, and devise tangible solutions, knowing they will be presented to key decision makers.”

The manifesto includes thoughtfully pragmatic advice for all parties in the process of commissioning, creating, producing, and presenting art in and for the public sphere and is divided into six sections:

  • The Commissioning Process
  • The Artist
  • The Curator
  • The Community
  • The Art
  • The Evaluation

The wiki also incluses a list of resources and links to other manifestos, such as Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ 1969 “Maintenance Art—Proposal for an Exhibition. [pdf]

The introduction to the project and manifesto is here. Add your experiences and opinions to the wiki here (registration required).

via Marking Place

Folly Digital Residencies

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Call for applications: Digital Residencies 2009

Deadline for applications: Monday 2nd March 2009

Folly, a leading digital arts organisation, and Lanternhouse International are pleased to be seeking new applications for the Digital Artist Residency Scheme 2009.

The scheme will be of particular interest to established digital artists seeking time and space to develop new works, research innovative ideas, make new connections and explore technique or production.

Based at The National Creation Centre on the edge of the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria, UK, successful artists will be offered accommodation and a flexible and open-ended opportunity to push their work forward and creatively engage with the two partner organisations.

We are seeking innovative and experimental artists who are naturally collaborative and interested in leaving a local legacy through participatory activity.

See http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.folly.co.uk%2Fclick%2F1355%2F2

Rhizome commissions

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Rhizome is pleased to announce that the 2010 Commissions cycle is now
open. Founded in 2001, the Rhizome Commissions Program is designed to
support emerging artists with financial and institutional resources.
In the seventh year of funding for the Program, Rhizome will award
grants, with amounts ranging from $1000 to $5000, for the creation of
significant works of new media art. Artists who receive a commission
will also be invited to speak at Rhizome’s affiliate, the New Museum
of Contemporary Art, and to archive their work in the ArtBase, a
comprehensive online art collection.

Applications for will be accepted until midnight April 2, 2009.
To apply and for more information: http://www.rhizome.org/commissions

In the 2010 cycle, Rhizome will award nine grants total. Seven of
these will be selected by a jury and  two will be determined by
Rhizome’s membership through an open vote. Reflective of Rhizome’s
commitment to openness and community, this unique process encourages
dialogue among artists and participants and provides members with the
opportunity to survey the current field of practice.

Member voting will begin on April 6th.
Information on Rhizome membership is here:
http://rhizome.org/support/individual.php

The Rhizome Commissions program is supported, in part, by funds from
the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Jerome Foundation,
the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State
Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s
NYC Cultural Innovation Fund. Additional support is provided by
generous individuals and Rhizome Members.