Northern Lights and our partners are sponsoring more than 20 calls for participation in the Northern Spark nuit blanche twin cities. Some are based on specific locations, some on specific media, and others are free form. The deadline for submitting proposals is March 7, 2011. Any artist – or in the case of some of the calls, curator or organization or business – may submit a proposal, but all projects must take place within one of the 6 Festival Zones. More information here.

Northern Spark homepage

For one night only, more than 60 regional and national artists together with the Twin Cities’ arts community will display new art installations at public places and unexpected locations throughout the city. Directed and produced by Northern Lights.mn, Northern Spark takes place this summer from sunset on June 4 (8:55 p.m.) until the morning of June 5, 2011 (sunrise 5:28 a.m.).

The Northern Spark event will include a wide diversity of art forms and projects including multi-story projections, audio environments with vistas, installations traveling down the Mississippi on barges, houseboats and paddleboats, headphone concerts, and the use of everything from bioluminescent algae and sewer pipes for organs to more traditional media such as banjos and puppets.

The event is a collaboration of more than 40 partners, each of which will sponsor one or more projects for the duration of the night. The goal is to showcase the urban splendor of the Twin Cities in a unique way, introducing a broad and diverse audience to innovative local and national talent in an inspiring journey through the night.

Participating artists

Participating artists involved in the nuit blanche include Christopher Baker, Phillip Blackburn, The BodyCartography Project, Bart Buch, Jim Campbell, Barbara Claussen, Wing Young Huie, John Kim, Suzanne Kosmalski, Debora Miller, MAW, Ali Momeni, Janaki Ranpura, Red76, Rigo 23, rolu, Jenny Schmid, Andrea Stanislav, Piotr Szyhalski, Roman Verostko, Diane Willow, Works Progress,  Marcus Young, and others.

Participating organizations

Northern Spark participating organizations include: 1419 Artists in Residence, All My Relations Art, American Composer’s Forum, The Art Institutes International Minnesota, Art Shanty Projects, Beijing Film Academy, Black Dog Cafe + Wine Bar, Burnet Gallery at Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis, College of Visual Arts, The Film Society Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Forecast Public Art, Franklin Art Works, The Friends of Saint Paul Public Library, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Intermedia Arts, Kulture Klub Collaborative, Landmark Center, Macalester College, MAW, McNally Smith College of Music, Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis, Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Museum of American Art, mn original, mnartists.org, Mpls Photo Center, Northern Lights.mn, Northrop Concerts and Lectures, Public Art Saint Paul, Rain Taxi Review of Books, Regis Center for Art, Saint Paul Public Library, Schubert Club, Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory,  Science Museum of Minnesota, Soap Factory, SooVac, W Minneapolis-The Foshay, Walker Art Center

Supported by

Northern Spark is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Connect to Northern Spark

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Thomas Heatherwick, Seed Cathedral, British Pavillion, 2010 World Expo, Shanghai

Time magazine’s annual “50 Best Inventions” of the year list includes Thomas Heatherwick’s Seed Cathedral for the Shanghai Expo. via Archinect

“A house of worship for biodiversity, the British pavilion for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is constructed of 60,000 light-funneling fiber-optic rods, each with one or more seeds implanted at its tip. British designer Thomas Heatherwick worked with the Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank project, whose mission is to collect seeds from 25% of the world’s plant species by 2020. The result was a living structure that embodied the Expo’s theme of “Better City, Better Life” and rooted digital dreams in the soil from which all life springs. That combination helped make the Seed Cathedral one of the most popular national pavilions at the Shanghai Expo, where Chinese visitors nicknamed it pu gong ying, the dandelion.”–Time

At the opposite end of the scale, see Amy Franceschini’s Victory Garden Seed Library,  exhibited as part of Small Wonders (top center) at the 2010 01SJ Biennial.

Small Wonders, San Jose International Airport, 2010 01SJ Biennial. Amy Franceschini (b. 1970) Victory Garden Seed Library, 2007 (top center)

Sorry I couldn't Be there, Project VII, via @Platea

“‘Sorry I Couldn’t Be There‘ is a crowd-created video series. Developed by members of @Platea, the social media art collective directed by An Xiao, the series features artists from around the world explaining briefly why they couldn’t attend #rank and swing by Miami. Ultimately, the video would highlight concerns around geographic access and about who’s left out during large art fairs. For too long, the influential art centers have been located in major metropolitan regions such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, London, Beijing and Seoul. We want to highlight the parts of the world where artists are working.”–William Powhida via Hashtag Class.

“By the mere fact of living an ordinary modern urban life, we produce a huge amount of information about ourselves that we are hardly aware of, nor we usually see or make use of. Through this data we become traceable, accessible, predictable — and clearly enough — ideal clients of information-based capitalism. So if we cannot prevent the production and the corporate or governmental use of this data without changing our lifestyle completely, how can we at least benefit from it ourselves? How can we share this information with the society at large or the community we live in to our common advantage? And how could we even build systems ourselves that collect data for our own purposes?”

The deadline for proposals is Monday 8 November 2010. The application form can be found here.

“Concurrently, the complexity of human actions and interactions increases with the accumulation and growing capacity of the digital tools we are using. We may therefore better understand what’s going on around us if we find ways to visualise and interpret the data which we produce. How can our processes and the correlations of our actions be represented in meaningful and inspiring ways? Are there inventive ways to visualise/represent data that go beyond the pure digital and turn abstract data into concrete entities/objects?”

“map me if you will” is a programme devised by guest curator Susanne Jaschko. Susanne is a Berlin based independent curator of contemporary art with a focus on public and experimental art and digital culture. Her most recent project was the Process as Paradigm exhibition in Laboral Centro del Arte in Gijon, curated in collaboration with Lucas Evers. In addition to her independent work, she has previously worked at the Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam and as a curator/deputy director of transmediale festival for art and digital culture in Berlin.

Today, the SPARK Festival of Electronic Music and Arts, directed by Ali Momeni, announced the line up for its 2010, 8th annual edition.

“Minneapolis, MN (09/02/2010) — The University of Minnesota’s West Bank Arts Quarter will present the eighth annual SPARK Festival of Electronic Music & Arts, Wednesday, September 29 through Saturday, October 2, 2010. SPARK will present a significant portion of its programming in the historic and iconic “Love Power Church” building at 1407 Washington Avenue, in addition to numerous venues within the University’s West Bank Arts Quarter. A complete schedule can be found at www.sparkfestival.org.”

In addition to the extensive music programming, SPARK 2010 will present new commissioned works by grantees of the Art(ists) on the Verge 2 program by Northern Lights.mn: Arlene Birt, Kyle Phillips, Tyler Stefanich, and tectonic industries will premiere their new media installation works at the University of Minnesota’s Regis Center for Art.

SPARK will also host the URBAN CARAVAN Bicycle Tour; a mobile media project by Minneapolis Art on Wheels artists, Andrea Steudel – an AOV 1 grantee – and Luke Anderson. This work is distinguished as a Forecast Public Art’s Public Project.

“The SPARK Festival is a week-long celebration of the latest electronic music and arts, featuring fresh works created by artists from around the globe— The United States, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. SPARK brings internationally recognized scholars and performers of electronic music and arts to the West Bank Arts Quarter for lectures, performances, and master classes. Other festival highlights include presentations by artists on their works and ideas, video and sound installations, guerrilla-style events throughout the University’s West Bank Arts Quarter and expanding to other venues including the Love Power Church and the 1419 Artist Collective.

“This year’s featured composers/performers include multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser FRED FRITH, London-based electronic duo FURT, Montreal-based composer/ performer group KLAXON GUEULE and Chicago-based trio FRICTION BROTHERS. This year’s Night Life programming includes DroidBehaivior, techno-master MOE ESPINOZA (DRUMCELL), Los Angeles-based electro-duo Vangelis and Vidal Vargas, Danish electronics recycler Mikkel Meyer and dub-step warrior Puzzleweasel.

“The opening reception, concert and exhibition event will take place on Thursday September 30 at 5pm in the Regis Center for Art’s Quarter Gallery. For an up-to-date schedule of SPARK events, visit www.sparkfestival.org. Photographs available upon request. E-mail photo requests to mbalhorn@macalester.edu.”

Admittedly, as the current Artistic Director of the 01SJ Biennial I may not be an entirely unbiased voice in this matter, but let me share 10 reasons you should come to San Jose for 01SJ, September 16-19, and see at least some of 100 art installations, 46 commissioned works, 9 exhibitions, 20 workshops, 12 public artworks, 4 urban games, 1 drive-in movie theater, a nighttime street fair, a green prix of eco-locomotion, an epicurean multi-media dinner, a requiem mass for fossil fuels, audio ballerinas and robotic sitars, musical performances, operas, and more.

1. Largest DIY garage in the world

I don’t know if it really is the largest "garage" in the world, but Out of the Garage, Into the World takes place in the 80,000 sqaure feet (7,432 square meters) South Hall of the San Jose Convention Center. Essentially a domed parking lot, for two weeks, beginning September 4, 01sj.org/art/out-of-the-garage/ will publicly build their projects in and around a scaffolding structure designed by Madrid-based architect Angel Borrego Cubero. The projects run the gamut from a book-making workshop by Guggenheim fellow Monica Haller for war veterans the Eyebeam Roadshow to a contemporary hurache workshop by Pilar Aguero-Esparza and Hector Dionicio Mendoza to mobile archipelagos by Nova Jiang to a zipline "xAirport" wearing innovative wing designs over an artificial marsh "ark" for endangered frogs by Natalie Jeremijenko to public orchards, DIY solar sculptures , gift horses, i-weather, pirate radio, and much more . The entire "garage" is serviced by a full tech shop with laser cutters, CNC mills, shop bots, and industrial sewing machines.

Come often to see these works-in-progress September 4-14, admission is free, and only $5 for multiple visits September 16-19.

2. “Drive in” trip out

As part of Out of the Garage, Into the World, artists Todd Chandler and Jeff Stark and cohorts will be constructing Empire Drive-In, a full-scale drive in theater using salvaged materials, including the cars for seating. There will be a daily film program and nightly live cinema performances such as Chandler and Dark Dark Dark’s Flood Tide Remixed, Graham Weinbren’s 50 Letters, Stephanie Rothenberg’s Second Life talk show Best Practices in Banana Time, Zoe Keating’s remarkable cello in collaboration with Robert Hodgin’s visuals on Into the Trees, the California premiere of Rick Prelinger’s latest archive mash up The Lives of Energy, Sheepwoman by SUE-C & Laetitia Sonami, and a series of telematic performances, Domain, curated by Rhizome’s John Michael Boling, by Jeremy Bailey, Petra Cortright, Constant Dullaart, and JODI.

3. Art in the streets

Art is not just in the garage and theaters and galleries at 01SJ, it is also in the streets, everywhere. Luke Jerram’s acclaimed Play Me I’m Yours has 20 pianos throughout San Jose, which anyone can play – and decorate. Rigo 23 is producing a newly commissioned video projection, Oglala Oyate: Sister City for a Better Future. Chris Baker’s interactive projection, 01sj.org/2010/artworks/offscript/, will play nightly at Santana Row . Yung-ta Chang’s Signal Flow, in a nod to San Jose’s radio history, will greet visitors to South Hall along with Sabrina Raaf’s Meandering RIver. A half dozen works have been commissioned by the San Jose Public Art Program for 01SJ, and Chico MacMurtrie’s Inflatable Architectural Growth will expand on 1st Street during AbsoluteZER0 and the Green Prix.

4. City Hall reacts

Each Biennial San Jose’s Richard Meier-designed City Hall has been the canvas for a major public art commission. On Thursdsay, September 16, duirng the 01SJ Opening Ceremonies, the Rockwell Group LAB will power up Plug-in-Play, an interactive projection, which suggests a new type of environment where social interactions, citizenship, and personal activities are more dynamically reflected. Inside the City Hall Rotunda, Ken Gregory will present his sound sculpture, wind coil sound flow . During opening ceremonies, Benoit Maubrey and Ballet San Jose will perform Audio Ballerinas.

5. AbsoluteZER0

Now an annual event, AbsoluteZER0 is a vibrant street festival where the public can engage with art, music, science, and technology in new and compelling ways outside on city streets. From an Art Ark to CITY/SPACE/SHARE, a pilot project out of CCA intended to revitalize vacant storefronts and transform urban activity in the City Center of San Jose to Marcus Young’s solo dance program Can’t You Feel It Too? to Steven White’s two-person Ferris Wheel, Over the Top, AbsoluteZER0 is an event not to be missed.

6. Play in the streets

"Go play in the streets" is not just something your mean uncle said. At 01SJ it is a new strand of programming where artists use the city itself as a playground for "serious play." The world premiere of Blast Theory’s A Machine to See With is co-commissioned with the The Banff Centre, and Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Initiative. It mixes documentary material, stolen thriller cliches, and the films of Jean-Luc Godard and invites you to become someone else. Step inside a film as you walk through the city, receiving phone calls. Are you the protagonist or a bit part player? Start making decisions and you will find out. Participation slots are limited, and you can buy tickets ($12) here. You can also become a Zoropathian or participate in an EST-like seminar, LevelFive in commissioned projecs by Ken Eklund and Annette Mees and Brody Condon. And don’t forget to transform your favorite hoodie for an interactive game of zombie tag during AbsoluteZER0.

7. Artful eco-motion – the Green Prix

The Green Prix is a parade and all day festival of sustainable, ecological friendly, and fun modes of transportation—artful “eco-motion.” It will include and Aeolian Bike Ride, Art Bikes, a burlap 1964 Ford, a Gift Horse, Maria del Camino, a video game concept car , a mechanical elephant on wheels , solar cars and much more. And It is open for EVERYONE: artists, designers, families, schools, and anyone else who has or wants to create a new mode of sustainable transportation. It is your opportunity to create, participate in, and cheer on innovative projects related to eco-themed transportation. So break out your banana-bikes, self-propelled jet packs, soapboxes, and solar cars to come out and strut your stuff in front of a cheering audience. The Green Prix Parade will begin at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 18th. It’s not too late to register here . The Green Prix culminates in a special mass by O+A at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Requiem for fossil fuels.

8. After midnight

During 01SJ, San Jose will be a 24/7 city. Three midnight concerts by contemporary sound artists curatd by artist and musician Stephen Vitiello will take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night at midnight inside one of San Jose’s historic venues, Trinity Cathedral. untitled composition for piano, field recordings, sine waves by Olivia Block, Possible Landscape (for Donald Judd) by Steve Roden, and Untitled by Stephen Vitiello and Molly Berg . For other nighttime events check out the live cinema at Empire Drive-In, Randall Packer’s multimedia opera A Season in Hell , and KarmetIK’s symbiotic Robotic/Human Ensemble in collaboration with Abhinaya Dance Company.

9. Workshops and artist talks

At the heart of 01SJ is the artists, of course, and many of them will be participating in an artist talk series beginning Tuesday, September7, through Sunday, September 19. The full schedule is here. And you can do more than listen to many of the artists, as enlightening as that can be. Many are offering hands-on workshops open to the public from a barn raising to a biodiesel bus tour of San Jose’s urban orchards and farms to DIY solar sculptures to a youth workshop on future sounds to Imaginary Airforce Flight Attendant Training and much more. The complete listing of workshops is here.

10. Help 01SJ to continue

The 01SJ Biennial is one of very few similar events in North America. ZER01 receives very little support from government sources, unlike similar events in Europe, South America, and Asia. Help this important event to continue by chipping in whatever you can. Every $5 helps. Donate here.

Above all, come and visit. Tickets are online here.

See you in San Jose @01SJ.

The deadline for Conflux is now past, but I will be part of the Skillsharing & Conversation Series at Conflux HQ and hope to see you there. I’m really looking forward to finally being able to participate in this stellar event Oct. 8-10.

Investigation, Action and Transmission

“Conflux participants will transform New York’s East Village into a laboratory for creative experimentation and civic action. Through public interventions, artist-facilitated walks and tours, interactive performances and installations, bike and subway expeditions, and more, Conflux artists will confront and rewrite the rules of urban public space.”

Manchester England
12-15 May

http://futureeverything.org

The Lever Prize winning FutureEverything 2010 global festival of art, music and ideas features world premieres of astonishing artworks, an explosive citywide music programme, visionary thinkers from around the world, and awards for outstanding global innovators.

From a Roman feast in a luxury hotel lobby to a revolutionary new way of connecting globally, FutureEverything 2010 brings together some of the world’s most visionary thinkers and artists to celebrate outstanding creativity and innovation in the digital age. The internationally acclaimed FutureEverything Conference features astonishing talks and visionary people in a global conversation on bringing the future into the present.

Download festival brochure here http://futureeverything.org/assets/files/FE10_Brochure.pdf

Highlights include

GloNet
Witness the launch of GloNet, a new way to interact globally, extends the festival via live events in five cities in different time zones, and was developed to respond to needs for festivals to find new ways to be globally connected

Conference
Exploring the interface between technology, society and culture, the internationally acclaimed FutureEverything Conference is the crucible that allows artists, technologists and future-thinkers to share, innovate and interact

Serendipity City
Our main art exhibition, Serendipity City, features architecture-inspired art by leading figures in visual culture, a curated selection of city-drifting mobile apps, jaw-dropping data visualisations and a selection of Award nominees

Agents of Change
Agents of Change transform a secret urban location using spray-cans and perception altering art, streamed live across the city as clues gradually reveal their location, culminating in a public opening on the last day of the festival

Ryoji Ikeda & Konono No.1
One of the world’s leading sound artists, Ryoji Ikeda shows us the pure beauty of data in his stunning audio-visual performance, plus legendary Konono No.1′s distinctive, raw sounds taken from traditional Bazombo trance.

FutureEverything Award
Winner of the debut £10,000 FutureEverything Award is The Eyewriter, a pair of low-cost eye-tracking glasses that allow artists and graffiti writers with paralysis to draw using only their eyes.

Booking Information

The Full Festival Pass is the gateway to the FutureEverything Festival & Conference. With the Festival Pass you have access to all festival events including art, music, conference, opening and gala events.*

Pre-booking Rate — Available till 11 May — ¬£135
Walk Up Rate — Available 12-15 May — ¬£150
Day Pass — No deadline — ¬£100

* Some music and gala events have restricted capacity and will be open to a limited number of Festival Pass holders. An event ticket may be required

www.futureeverything.org/tickets

Spark invites submissions of art, dance, theater, and music works incorporating new media, including electroacoustic concert music, experimental electronica, theatrical and dance works, installations, kinetic sculpture, artbots, video, and other non-traditional genres.

All submissions must be received by May 1, 2010 at 11:59PM Minneapolis Time (CST).

Make a wish from your heart, have fun flying a kite, honor Earth Day, and celebrate the arrival of spring. Wishes for the Sky is a free public art event that celebrates inner harmony and community peace. Be a part of this annual day of collective wishing!

11 am to 5 pm, Sunday, April 25, Harriet Island, St. Paul. Directions.

Wishes for the Sky, 2008

Via Kathleen’s album

We make wishes when we blow out our birthday candles. We make wishes in houses of worship. On Earth Day what wish will you make?

Marie-Jeanne Gauthé - Fabrice Chouiller, Let’s Play with Time and the Weather. Production : Light Motif. An allegory of passing time and changing weather, this fantasy-filled scenography plays along the façades of Place des Terreaux using combined audiovisual effects. One after another, the buildings are covered with ice, submerged in water, twist out of shape and melt under the heat… In the courtyards of City Hall, a metronome beats to the rhythm of time by weaving a canvas above the heads of the audience.

December 5-8, 2009

4 million visitors • 80 light projects •  8 million small candles sold in Greater Lyon • 3.5 million public transport users • 400 000 programmes broadcast on 14 television stations •  more than 250 newspaper articles • 11 radio stations • the city hotels full for the 4 days of the Festival • 3 times the turnover for the city bars and restaurants compared to normal periods • 47 public and private partners – Lyons Fête des Lumières

Conception and production : TILT. My Public Garden.

“Place Louis-Pradel becomes a botanical garden with surprising plants made of light and metal.  New species appear, like Echinodermus luminis, Carbonium or Ombrellum, and invade the area to build a futuristic décor.  This poetic promenade is composed of 21 groups of plant creations, including some that reach eleven meters.” link

Gilbert Moity. The Garden of Flowering Lights.

“The slope of Grande-Côte is home to an extraordinary garden, inviting visitors to daydream and meditate. A fairy-tale promenade that starts at the bottom of the stairs with a green carpet of soft, suspended lights and continues all the way to the esplanade through a field of 44 giant, twinkling flowers in vivid colors, creating a warm, playful atmosphere like the one in a story for children. From the esplanade, you will have a magnificent view of this luminous garden and the entire festive city.” link

Robert Nortik. Sound design: Robert Clerc. La Dolce Vita.

“Inspired by the famous scene from Fellini’s film at the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Dolce Vita plunges the Place des Jacobins and its fountain into the atmosphere of Italian cinema in the sixties. All-around lighting of the site, projections of moving images and original décors will pull you into a whirlpool of joyous, delightful comedy, full of emotion and surprises.” link

4 Horizons - Damien Fontaine. Saint-Jean Cathedral.

“A tribute to the builders who, starting in the 12^th century, would take over three hundred years to build the Saint-Jean Cathedral. Two gigantic hands, the leitmotif of this audiovisual scenography, mold the cathedral façade. From the original outline to the final sketch, spectacular effects and breathtaking realism will present the wealth of this cultural heritage.” link

Jacques Rival. 24- 365 Stars.

“365 anchor buoys floating on the Rhône. 365 intensely lighted navigation signals that bob with the continuous movement of the water. The surface of the river is constellated with sparkling white light, like a carpet of stars.” link

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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

13th Annual Sublte Technologies Festival

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

13th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival -  Call for Submissions
Deadline January 9 2010
Festival Dates: June 3 – 6  2010
Submission via website by January 9 2010

For this year’s Subtle Technologies Festival, we wish to explore sustainability through a critical multidisciplinary lens. We invite investigations of the role that decentralization, diversity and societal power dynamics plays in our attempts at maintaining a sustainable future. Where does the death of languages, cultures and peoples fit into the sustainability discussion? We look forward to critical discussions that explore multiple meanings of sustainability in this state of ecological and global health. We will be discussing the science and technology behind sustainable practices and design as well as the science behind some of the events and circumstances that have driven us to seek sustainable solutions. What role does the artist play in bringing forth new layers of understandings in this discussion?

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Sabrina Raaf, "Translator II: Grower, 2004-06" curated by Eduardo Navas for Transitio_MX. "It consists of an interactive robot that responds to the level of carbon dioxide in the room. Quite a popular piece in the exhibit; some visitors, upon learning about the work, exhale in front of the sensor to make the lines as long as possible."

via Remix Theory

Check out more work from the 3rd biennial Transitio_MX.

I will be curating a show of Sabrina Raaf’s work, Experiments in Sustainability, at the Gallery @ CALIT2, including Translator II: Grower as well as some new work she produced this fall during a residency in Denmark working with

industrial robot manufacturer Gibotech A/S, based in Odense to create an installation, where one of Gibotech’s robots is reprogrammed to cut corrugated plastic in large patterns. Over time, the patterns will transform into a sculptural installation spilling out on the floor or the exhibition space, evolving through the exhibition period.

via e-flux

Industrial robot by Danish manufacturer Gibotech A/S cutting patterns for "Meandering River" by Sabrina Raaf.

Sabrina Raaf, Meandering River, 2009.

Camera Rosetum, an animated projection by Sean Capone. Photo Juozas Cernius, Caslon Photography, via Art Fag City

Nice photo round up of Dumbo Arts Center, Art Under The Bridge Festival.

Including a performer for Andrea Stanislav’s Reflect, a wandering, multi-part, interactive performance.

Photo Juozas Cernius, Caslon Photography, via Art Fag City

via Art Fag City

3 Sept 2009

For me, events at Ars Electronica 2009 began last night with a presentation at the Lentos Kunstmuseum by multi-disciplinary American artist Tony Conrad. Best known for his 1966 film The Flicker (which I saw in its mind-bending 16mm entirety, back in grad school), Conrad appeared in conversation with Chris Salter and talked about his interest in the margins between picture and sound.

Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria. Photo: Bruce Charlesworth

Conrad performed his Bowed Film, an instrument made from a length of film spliced into a kind of lasso. This he looped over his head, the long end tethered to the floor, and played with a violin bow. Normally this would be a private experience executed by one person and heard on headphones. Last night Conrad attached pickups to the instrument so that we could hear, too.

Ronnieism, performed by DJ Colette. Photo: Bruce Charlesworth

Later in the evening I went to the Grand Cafe zum Rothen Krebsen in Linz to see Ronnieism, performed by Ronnie Deelen. The small crowd was treated to a funhouse fusion of live-controlled music and video, composed on Gameboys and played on an instrument made of fifteen small stuffed toy animals.

Openings today in Linz include the new Ars Electronica Center, the CyberArts Exhibition at OK Offenes Kulturhaus and Human Nature at Brucknerhaus. More about these events tomorrow.

[updated 09.06.09]

Cimatics – Brussels International Festival for Live Audiovisual Art & VJing – invites all artists, creatives and producers to send their submissions for the next Cimatics festival.

Cimatics festival takes place from 20th – 29th November 2009 at various locations in the centre of Brussels.

The 7th festival edition will again bring an extensive overview of what’s currently taking place at the crossroads of media, art, music and technology.

To submit your project fill in the online submission form. For further information, contact us at info@cimaticsfestival.com

via Cimatics

Later in the evening, Andrea Steudel and some students from the Ali Momeni’s class at the U of M projected on the outside of the building. Pramila and a colleague did a preview in the projection of Aniccha Art’s preview of Cloud Turn today.

Friday, May 15, 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday, May 16, noon – 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 17, noon – 5:00 pm

Join Northern Lights and Forecast Public Art for the annual Art-a-Whirl event. We will be presenting previews of the Art(ists) on the Verge commissions and umbrella artwork for Forecast’s 2009 auction, along with other special events and programs.

Visit us at the Thorp

Northern Lights and Forecast will be exhibiting in the historic Thorp building and Central Business Center at 1618-1620 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis MN. Map to the Thorp Building. Download a map of the dozens of studios and artist installations at the Thorp [pdf].

Art(ists) On the Verge

Prior to their exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum, July 5 – August 24, Aniccha Arts, Avye Alexandres, Christopher Baker, Kevin Obsatz, Andrea Steudel, and Krista Kelley Walsh will be previewing their work. Come for a sneak peak. Tell them what you think.

Special Events

Friday, May 15 at 9:00 pm on

Andrea Steudel will present her Mobile Shadow Projection Theater, and members of the internationally-acclaimed Minneapolis Art on Wheels will present a special set of projection performances on the side of the Thorp Building. This will be one of the premier events of opening night.

Saturday, May 16, between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm

Members of Aniccha Arts will perform around Mark Fox’s interactive sound sculpture excerpts of their dance Cloud Turn prior to their ticketed performance at the Pillsbury House Theater, June 5-7.

Sunday, May 17, 1:00 pm

Krista Kelley Walsh and friends will be performing webcam action on Northrop Mall at the University of Minnesota, part of her Public Eye Action, which will be streamed live to the Thorp Building.

Be a beta tester

Friday, May 15, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday, May 16, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 17, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Northern Lights and mnartists.org recently commmissioned Michael and Abigail Mouw to create a public art iPhone app to be launched by the summer of 2010. Come by and find out more about it, including how you can sign up to be a beta tester.

Art-a-Whirl

Art-A-Whirl is one of the largest open studio and gallery tours in the Midwest, with more than 400 participating artists drawing in more than 35,000 visitors to Northeast Minneapolis each year. The Thorp Building and the Central Business Center are in the heart of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, and with over 65 artists and several group shows, it is a must for your Art-A-Whirl tour.

Art-A-Whirl is organized by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) and each year it publishes an artist directory which is distributed through out the metro area in the weeks leading up to Art-A-Whirl.

Support

“On the rare occasions I venture into Roppongi it always confirms what I think about the place: it’s full of rich people shopping and ayashii foreigners with girl(s) in tow. It’s a place of cold, pristine department stores, contrasted with glaring, depressing ‘gentlemen’s clubs’. Somewhere in this mess you get the Blue Man Group, the Mori building, a large spider sculpture…and Super Deluxe.

“So, I was a little cynical about Roppongi Art Night. Would it just be a cheesy corporate occasion? Would it just be ignored by folks heading to night clubs? Indeed, the critics would be quick to point out that the art works haphazardly on display were meaningless, that more thought had gone into how best to achieve a light effect than in creating an interesting art work. The whole thing was simply a series of keitai snap-shot opportunities for youngsters on dates.

“Well, perhaps they would be right. But for me it did not detract from the enormous, positive energy I felt navigating the Mori complex and stumbling upon weird goodies. All the works were exciting, visually arresting (and yes, achieved for the most part by light effects). The overall idea seemed to be to make as strange a playground as possible and to put things in unlikely spots, to do things you didn’t think possible.”

William Andrews via Tokyo Art Beat

Fujiko Nakaya’s “Fog Garden #47662″ was just that: the Mori garden was shrouded in a beguiling mist. Photo: WA

There was a matsuri-like atmosphere, with a plethora of stalls and eateries. Photo: WA

More.

Ai Weiwei, Web of Light, Liverpool Biennial, 2008

The International Curator will work with the Director to design and deliver the International exhibition, directly and through our partners. This involves the research, commissioning, production and delivery of the non-venue based commissions. The curator must have the vision to commission works from the best international artists, build real collaboration with our various partners, and manage project teams to deliver our mission.

Closing date for applications
http://www.biennial.com/content/Footer/Opportunities.aspx

“If you head out to Castleberry Hill the evening of Oct. 24, beware: You may get mobbed. A nomadic band of paparazzi photographers may accost you, detonate flashbulbs in your face, stick microphones at you and then turn suddenly to swarm the next unsuspecting noncelebrity.

“If you’re fortunate enough to be caught in the melee, then you’ve stumbled into “Paparazzi Flash Mob,” a work of guerilla street theater by artist Trey Burns. The piece is one of more than 40 art projects that comprise Le Flash, an evening of light-based public and performance art that aims to engulf Castleberry Hill all Friday night and leave its impression on the neighborhood for days, and perhaps years, to come.”

via Cinque Hicks

Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art 2009
Doug Geers & Ali Momeni, Artistic Directors
J. Anthony Allen, Producer
James P Hunglemann, Nightlife Curator

Call for Works

University of Minnesota West Bank Arts Quarter
In partnership with the American Composers Forum
Announces

2009 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art
West Bank Arts Quarter, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus

Minneapolis, MN February 17 – February 22

Call for Artists, Composers, and Presenters

Submission Deadline: 11:59pm PST, October 31, 2008 (postmarked)

The University of Minnesota West Bank Arts Quarter and Collaborative Arts Program (COLA) are proud to present the 2009 Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts, February 17-22. The festival will be held on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota (USA) and neighboring Minneapolis performing arts venues, and will feature numerous guest artists to be announced.

Now in its seventh year, the Spark Festival showcases the groundbreaking works of music, art, theater, and dance that feature use of new technologies. Last year’s festival included innovative works by over one hundred international composers and artists, including featured guest artists Paul Demarinis, Graffiti Research Lab, Iancu Dumitrescu, and Richard Devine. Leading scholars and technology specialists also presented lectures and panels relating to new technology and creativity. Audiences for the concerts, installations, and lectures last year totaled approximately 4,000 people and garnered multiple articles and reviews in local and national media.

Spark invites submissions of art, dance, theater, and music works incorporating new media, including electroacoustic concert music, experimental electronica, theatrical and dance works, installations, kinetic sculpture, artbots, video, and other non-traditional genres. Although Spark does not force submissions to adhere to a annual theme, we are especially interested this year to feature wearable and mobile technologies, and events will include the first Spark Fashion Show.

Spark also invites submission of scholarly lectures and panel proposals on topics of Collaborative Arts, Interactivity, Cognition, Compositional and Artistic Process, Social and Ethical Issues in the Arts, Art, Music, Video, Film, Animation, Theater, Dance, Innovative Use of Technology in Education, Scientific Visualization, Virtual Reality, intermedia composition, performance, human-computer interaction, software/hardware development, aesthetics, and history and all topics related to the creation of new media art and music. For Spark 2009, we are particularly interested in lectures about wearable and mobile technologies, but submissions on any of the above topics are welcome. All accepted papers will be published as part of the Spark proceedings. Please see http://www.spark.cla.umn.edu/media.html for PDF copies of the Spark 2006, 2007, and 2008 proceedings and program.

Dance/Theater Submissions

Dance/Theater works will be accepted in two categories:

1. Staged works: A number of theatrical and dance works incorporating new technologies will be programmed at Spark 2009. Submissions must be short works (up to fifteen minutes; excerpts from longer pieces are acceptable). We especially encourage submission of works that have minimal set and lighting requirements, so that they may be integrated into programs with music and video works. At least one Spark performance will happen in a dance theater with video projection and an Internet 2 connection, but most will happen on “concert” stages. Please include performance venue and technical requirements with submissions.

2. Guerilla-style works: Spark is very interested in alternative performances that take place outside traditional venues, especially work that could engage passers-by on the University of Minnesota campus or outside other performance venues. Among the many possibilities, we are particularly interested in wearable and mobile technologies, as well as live-video works to be projected onto buildings in the West Bank Arts Quarter.

NOTE that if any dance/theater piece has a wearable/mobile technology component that could also be part of the Spark Fashion Show, we encourage applicants to submit it in both categories and mention in their submission that this is being done.

Visual Art Works

Submissions will be accepted in four categories:

1. Wearable Technology/Intelligent Fashion: Spark is very interested this year to showcase computerization of clothing and related wearable and mobile art/instruments. We will hold our first-ever Spark Fashion Show, which will combine a runway-type presentation of works with a session of short talks giving more details on the technologies and designs.

2. Installations and gallery works: A number of installation and gallery exhibitions will be mounted in various spaces on the UMN campus, including the Weisman Art Museum, the Regis Center for Art, and possibly at performance venues. Please include technical and space requirements with submission. Installations may be physical objects, video and/or sound projections, or combinations thereof. Artists will likely be required to provide at least some, and possibly all, of the necessary technology to mount installations.

3. Video: Experimental video works will be screened at multiple Spark events. Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of twelve minutes or less are encouraged. Please submit on DVD (NTSC) or DVD data disk in mpg, mov, or avi file format. Videos featuring digital music compositions (two-channel or Dolby 5.1) are welcome, but should be submitted as music videos and will be judged separately from non-music-centric works.

4. Guerilla-style works: See #2 in Dance/Theater, above.

Music Submissions

Music submissions will be accepted in seven categories:

1. Concert Hall works: Interactive works for acoustic instruments and electroacoustics (performance forces are available, TBA) and electroacoustic works with and without performers. Performance venues will accommodate 2-8 channel works and works with video. Although there is no strict limit of duration, pieces of fifteen minutes or less are strongly encouraged. This year, Spark encourages submissions of works for electronics with one of the following solo instruments: trumpet, tenor (voice), percussion (marimba especially), or violin. Additionally, the Renegade Ensemble, a local ensemble consisting of 2 percussion, 2 piano, clarinet (Bb, bass, etc), mezzo-soprano, cello and flute will perform several works. Other instruments and ensembles are possible. And, as always, bringing one’s own performer(s) is highly encouraged.

Note: Although some “tape music” will be programmed, Spark generally favors works with live performers or other visual component. Some accepted “tape” works may be choreographed. Please indicate if you do not wish to be considered for this.

2. Pub/Club works (aka Spark Nightlife): Experimental electronic performances in a “club-style” venue. Performers of various styles will be considered, including those influenced by IDM, hip-hop, glitch, jazz, etc. Selected performers will be given sets of 15-45 minutes. Performance venue will accommodate stereo sound and video. Please note that this venue is literally a pub–It will be a loud place. If your work requires a quiet atmosphere, please submit under the Concert Hall or Ambient Room category.

3. Ambient Room works (aka Nightlife/Ambient): Experimental electronic performances in a coffeehouse or club lounge venue. Works of any aesthetic approach are welcome, but ought to be “quiet” music. Please note that this venue will be a public establishment, not a concert hall, and thus listeners may converse during performances.

4. Installations: [See "Art Works" above]

5. Music with video [See "Art Works" above for general parameters, but also note that this year we ask submitters to specify whether the work is a video piece or a music video piece and these will be judged by separate juries.] Music with Video may also be submitted in either the Nightlife category or Nightlife/Ambient category.

6. Special Submission Category: “Homemade” instruments showcase. We encourage submission of proposals for short (15 minute) talk/performances to explain and demonstrate custom-made instruments. These presentations will happen in lieu of one or more daytime concerts. If the instrument is an item of clothing or otherwise mobile, please consider submitting under the Spark Fashion category (above).

7. Guerilla-style works/performances: See #2 in Dance/Theater, above.

Papers/Talks/Panels

Technical papers, lecture/demonstrations, panels, and workshop submissions that deal with topics relating to creating arts and music with new technology are encouraged, including discussions of ideas and technology related to works submitted for performance at Spark 2009, as well as topics of Collaborative Arts, Interactivity, Aesthetics, History, Cognition, Compositional and Artistic Process, Innovative Use of Technology in Education, Social and Ethical Issues in the Arts, Art, Music, Video, Film, Animation, Theater, Dance, Scientific Visualization, Virtual Reality, Intermedia Composition, Performance, Human- Computer interaction, Software/Hardware Development. For Spark 2009, we are particularly interested in papers discussing custom-made instruments and wearable/mobile creations; but submissions on other topics are welcome. All accepted authors must attend to present their lectures.

Submissions should consist of a 1-2 page abstract with bibliography. Where appropriate, camera-ready papers will be due on December 10, 2008.

Submission Requirements

Applicants are invited to submit one work per category in up to three categories for consideration. All applicants must complete an online submission form on the Spark Festival website and include their submission number(s) with any physical media sent via postal mail. Applicants are strongly encouraged to post submission materials to their own websites or other online media resources (e.g. YouTube, FreeSound…) and submit a URL with the online form, rather than sending via post (Spark does not accept submissions as email attachments). This will greatly help the Spark juries view submissions and make decisions in the most timely fashion. The submissions website is at http://spark.cla.umn.edu/submissions.html. The online submission system will be opened on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Music submissions for multichannel (more than stereo) speaker configuration should be submitted as a stereo mix.

Regarding music and other performance works: Performing resources will be drawn from the University of Minnesota and Twin Cities area musicians. However, Spark has only a small budget for this purpose, and availability of musicians will be taken into consideration when selecting works. Therefore applicants are encouraged to bring their own performers when possible. More information about available performers will be posted on http://www.sparkfestival.org when known.

Composers and artists whose works are selected for inclusion are strongly encouraged to attend the festival. Scholars whose papers, talks, demonstrations, or panels are accepted will be required to attend Spark to deliver their presentation.

Spark is also looking for works that fit into the “Twin Cities Showcase Concerts” that happen as the introduction to the festival. To be considered for these events, please indicate in the comments section of the online application that you are a Twin Cities artist interested in this category.

Please note that Spark requires documentation of work in order for it to be selected. Spark does not program works from proposals or descriptions of works in-progress, without exception. (For a complete music work that has not yet been premiered, a MIDI realization is acceptable.) Also note that, regretfully, Spark does not have financial resources to fund selected artists.

Technical Details

Selected works will be announced by November 30, and travel and accommodations information will be posted on http://www.sparkfestival.org by the same date. If an artist requires notification information sooner (for funding applications, for instance), s/he should email sparkfst@umn.edu to inquire about possible early notification.

Submission deadline is 11:59pm (PST), October 31 2008 (postmarked)
All submissions for Spark 2009 must be initiated via the online submissions procedure on the Spark 2009 website at http://www.sparkfestival.org. More details about Spark 2009 will posted there soon. Questions can be directed to the Spark hosts at sparkfst@umn.edu.

Materials not posted online can be mailed to:
American Composers Forum
c/o Spark Festival
332 Minnesota Street
Suite E-145
St. Paul, MN. 55101

Spark 2009 has been made possible by generous support from the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and the American Composers Forum.

“Along Hollywood Boulevard this weekend, amid the restaurants, theaters, clothing stores and clubs, you can add in one giant, virtual screening room. The upscale Lotería Grill will project on a wall a faux documentary about life in Mexico after a utopian revolution. Kayden’s Creations, a tattoo parlor-gallery, will present a live painting video. More in the mood for sex in the city? Erotic supplier Bizzy B has given over its flat screen to a piece about gender.

“Such experimental works as these make up the 11th biennial Freewaves festival of film, video and new media, opening today. Though the five-day event, dubbed “Hollywould,” involves more than a hundred works from around the world, the loose unifying theme plays off the confusion between Hollywood, the industry, and Hollywood, the ZIP Code.”

Freewaves festival turns Hollywood Boulevard into a giant screening room, Los Angeles Times

According to co-organizer Carline Jones

“‘We found that by putting art in unusual places, the general public were more likely to come and have a look – they weren’t as threatened as they can be by the White Cube Gallery space,’ says Illuminate’s co-founder Caroline Jones. ‘Then we went one step further and thought: Why not take the artwork straight out there to the public?’”

The six artists featured in Drift 08 include Craig Walsh, whose Incursion 37:20:15.71” N – 121: 53:09.51” W I commissioned for the San Jose City Hall as part of the 2nd 01SJ Biennial. His hour-long, 12-channel projection on the interior of the Richard Meier-designed city hall was transfixing, and if the other work at Drift is of a similar quality – and I’m sure it is – it will be well worth the trip.

It’s also interesting to note how the ambitions of the 2012 Olympiics may be at work in the culture scene in the UK:

“Drift 08 has been organised with the Corporation of London and British Waterways and there are plans to double it in scale each year, eventually moving up the Lea Valley towards the Olympics site in time for 2012.”

via metro.co.uk