Unbroken – at the Gate. Dir Natalie Abrahami

Managed to get tickets for the sold out penultimate performance of Unbroken – and how glad I am that I did!

I love Max Ophuls and one of my all time favourite films is La Ronde due to its elegant circular construction and witty observations. Originally written as a radical play  in 1897 by  Scnitzler it is a searing comment on sexual relationships and how they are played out within the construct of society. It is a circular narrative and fits very well with the idea of sexual promiscuity, sexual disease – how things go ’round and round’. Ophul’s film has a meta narrative  that I love and joyously plays with  and reveals to the audience the mechanisms of film within the construction of  the film it self. A work of genius to my mind.

So wasnt too sure about dance  as a medium and use of  a poss meta narrative- although the metaphor of dance and sexuality seemed obvious. And I hate theatre as a rule!

However what a delight, I’m a Luddite when it comes to dance I know little about it  since the  80’s when I got a GCSE in modern dance !! So I was expecting some ‘contemporary entanglings” and high jumps  a la Pineapple – oh how wrong I was. It was subtle, the movement was languid, intense, clumsy, rhythmic, constructed, easy, entwined, -in short it was sexual! It was like a language that spoke sex.

I was interested in the construction and representation of  ‘movement’ after visiting the futurist exhibition the week before and what a difference between mechanical movement and human sexual movement. At first I thought the male dancer was odd and clumsy, not as gifted as his beautiful female counterpart, but as in sex, there is always clumsiness and clump foottedness mingled in with effortless grace – it was sheer genius to reveal the human positioning component. Lest we should forget and imagine otherwise the human being is not yet a fine tuned machine and it is in sexual relations that even the most sure footed rock star shows his vulnerability (even if he does not see it him self.)

The dialogue?  here I have to confess Im not a regular!!! I have a hatred for white middle class theatre and Notting Hill Theatres  and galleries are normally avoided by  me  at all costs. However I was in improvisation theatres for quite a few years and have been in experimantal theatre groups and taken some leading parts `i may add!! But not for many years.

so my hellish imagined scenes  : one  of  endless convoluted and clever dramatic chat or moody silences and ticking clocks concerning anguished trials and tribulations  about their jobs as artist and musicians, deceit, property, affairs and inherritance. I cant stand the monotoned theatrical speak ( I accept, it may  all in my head and the threatre may well have changed). But hell truth is the white middle class take on life just bores me – I read it in the papers every day!!. I am informed by it but I cant relate nor do I want to…..but i can relate to sex – whoevers having it….so  may be this may be Ok

WOW!! – you cant knock  fabulousness where ever it comes  – that would be wrong!!! And those self imposed barriers melted away as I became embroiled in the cleverly crafted dialogue. It was like peeping in on other peoples misery whilst at the same time thinking mmm…Ive had a manipulative converstaion just like that! No class barriers in sexual politics then??

The audience seemed very Notting Hill  which made me a little smug –  but when  the audience spilled out on to the foyer there were lots of young people  from all walks of life – all sorts actually. Maybe time to brush that big chip off my shoulder?

What a great night!

Damn it was good! I might be a convert – or am I just getting old?

Resolutely Analogue – Museums Technology & Culture / Culture & Virtual Ecologies

A Conversation with Kelli Dipple (TATE INTERMEDIA),

David Garcia CHELSEA SCHOOL OF ART) ,

Charlie Gere (UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTER)

Co chairs – Peter Ride/Andrew Dewdney

Audience is a construction ( a cultural construct)

Issues on table

Role of organisation within arena of internet

Role of institutions vs role of networks

Q Can organisations harness the tension that exists between these?

The initial role of websites was discrete but this is being taken over by networks – what is the implication of this?

We must have a clear idea of the role of the community

There are issues of the need for authority of knowledge to those communities

How does technology relate to the mediums it has created?

What is a culture that has become embedded in technology?

The medium previously used as an artist tool

The role of art to be provocative!

Charlie Gere

Non relational aesthetics!!  Drew attention to the 1950’s piece called Assualt Course at Tate where audiences were alowed to climb, were falling off and braking fingers – not allowed these days! Our relations are controlled.

Robert Morris made films about how to interact with his interactive sculptures.

Discussed the shapes of the words ANALOGUE and DIGITAL , analogue being a continuous wave and Digital being up and down 1 and 0’s, analogue being discrete.

Also digital and its relationship to touch and the fingers – the digits – we need to touch our technology its – crucial, touch screens, Iphones pebble shape, telephones, we like to “reach out and touch” We poke each other on line. Sharing touching poking. We say to get in touch with art work, we want to touch to overcome the otherness of the object.

However museums have traditionally been  DO NOT TOUCH, Ropes, signs, touching can harm the art. Untouchables in India – the mystique of that we can not touch, the fear and awe of it.The sacred and the abject.

art is a kind of sacred wastefulness like cathedrals beautiful but wasteful and rather pointless.

So about new media ? Dont forget its wastefulness – the piles of redundant technology The digital landfill. All buildings are waste in process.

Kelli Dipple

The practice of the artist today – cross over between film, performance etc

Technology as MEDIUM not the TOOL

ie work involves technology but engages with a philosophical notion – a time based notion of art.

News Content and Media

Blogs are Posts not pages

There is a commitment to the process of dialogue – who has the right to speak and what do they want to discuss?

The critical gestures of art – ULTRA-RED -ie politics

Neoliberal artisans -What are the sounds of anti racism?

Discussions with communities!

Collective achievements – Its a dialogue process!

David Gere

The notion of an UNSTABLE MEDIA – see Rotterdam Institute for Unstable Media

Intangible Media and Disembodied Media

What does stabilism offer?

Looking for a still point in a turned world.

When we look at art and then re look some years later the work seems to have changed but the work cannot change, you have changed. This change gives a way of measuring your self.

These are the still points in a turned world. Moments and monuments have radical meaning.

Perpetual change is not the only option

All that is old is disolving into air. We re repudating the object

Radical museums and institutions are not repudiating the artifact.

A conversation between the tangible and the intangible – the foul rag and bone slop of the heart!!

Converstaion

Network practices that can be scaled up WITH OUT a hierarchy.

What are the ghettos of ‘new’ media and new media practitioners – they lock them selves into  a fomalism but seek to be futurist whilst locked into the past!

A Polemic Critique of art and design

There has never ever been a better time for research and practise to go hand in hand

ie a Professor of Painting and media

Use theory / theorists

The Collegial Dimension -allowing someone to come in and read something completely differently.

An invitation to discourse NOT assertions.

Art & Politics

The abject (object?) as form of ressitance

The dialogic – who is speaking

—

Time rythms are excellerated  via technology, the art object now has a different scale, slow media is being exoplored and reexamined in art, there is a pleading for stable mediums -we see th euse of the concept of engaing with tiome in technology.

Do we say the slower the object themore its meaning is embodied? We see constant breaking and rupturing. Accelleration.

We are on the brink of unthinkable change. Quote.

Questions

Does the museum reflect back to society or interact with it

The primamry rols of the museum is reflection BUT it does have an effect  in theway things are done. IT DOES have power,Its emblematic of power.

It is performative -IT MAKES THE CULTURE!

It doesnt pretend to be reflective – look at the superstar curator!

So if we are ina speed-ed up world that has moment as Marx said of acceleration – we must ask – to what extent are we now simply caught in a moment?

Relationships and dialogues are dynamic and changing – museums are attempting to describe new forms in and old fashioned way?

Concept of art as a sense of human freedom – a self articulation – freedom at last  BUT  the internet offers freedom from your self  within networks.

Creation of the self is a modern and western notion -post medieval

Other cultures behold the above order.

Participation has to have meaning it cannot be manufactured.

SO if technology is questioning the concept of art  via social forums – Do we need artists or arts schools?

Is it possible for a website to be both accessible and relevant?

The reemergence of video art – the technology and delivery becomes dated in its commercial form and now artists are re commissioning it in new and exciting ways, same as radio. Video is becoming  a black box object.

Technology has influenced culture and questions the art museum.

Media enters the authority of high culture – we can forget the cultural meanings, the public   perception of these things.

But look – every body can have these things, they can be reproduced authentically.

Lets keep in mind the aura of the art work what does  this mean for digital artists?

We are one node in a nodal network.

Resolutely Analogue – New Media & Museums – Channels For The Future

Tate Encounters : 3RD March 2009

A Converstaion with Will Gopertz (TATE), Damien Whitmore (V&A), chaired by Peter Ride.
Here follow my personal notes from the session and do not necessarily reflect exactly what was said but my interpretation and so may hold some inanncauracies. Apologies for any errors.

We ask who doesnt come to museums and why?

How have social attitudes changed – ie “techno-determiinism and techno-euphoric”

What is the role of the audience? Content producers and transmistters?

Technology is collapsing the space between us and the audience.

Is there a need for the museum website to take on a unified structure OR do people relate in different ways so that we nee different roles?

Lets look at the quality of the engagement?

Damien Whitmore – V& A – launched Tate Modern

Initial remit has been to build a strong brand – we are holding something in the public interest – and that s vital – we have historically sat back and watched how this game played out. After building the brand, launching Tate Modern I left for V&A. Look at the audience for TM, who comes and why – but they are the same type of people. Some exhibitions such as Street Art will bring in a differettype of audience but the majority is tourist and a similar white middle class person. At V&A and Im sure at Tate we have a major role with students and researchers, particularly at V&A as design led we have always inspired designers. But these are the same audience, we are not regularly reaching out to new ones – thats not to say we dont at times.

Lets look at the issue of the Long Tail- a business model that is successful not because of a few big popular contracts paying for the less popular items on the shelf, but like amazon offering complete diversity for every one and selling a little of a lot. Thats how we could look at the wway audiences interact with what we have to offer.

Will  Gompetz – Tate Modern/ Britain

Our remit is a public funded one and that is to increase knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art.

What is Tate? Not just a collection of buildings – but a CONTENT business

We need to manage the media that we own, to be aware of the websites function for also  the accademics and the curators

For example when we ran the Waeather Project we needed to record the exhibitions, the build, the context of the work etc, it was all lost, we soon realised that we should record this important stuff , it was our duty to be archiving ths stuff. It context to the work is crucial.

Also being missed was the rich  context around this stuff, the research, the additional stuff – the stuff that helps bring the work alive.

So? We pretty soon realised we needed our own independent production company producing high quality content that we owned the rights to.

To build this team we neede people with a unique set of skills;

– A deep understanding of the medium, subject, audience and strong editorial skills. Very difficult to find.

Now we are making programmes for C4/ Bloomberg. Its US going to the audience, making our own content to communicate with to our audience.

We work with other networks on their terms not ours – ie YouTube and Flikrr.

We work with micro communities to work with other micro communities

ie look at Bourriand’s point about hierachhical structures – we no longer have this we are within NODAL NETWORKS

We empower the audience to navigate their own experiences- A NODAL NETWORKED WORLD.

What is said is that if the whole world has been mapped then the only thing left to explore is history – not from a linear POV but within whole context. this is how we can begin to look at art within context, which we can offer by way of researching around a subject.

ITS about Experience

The work of art is not a beginning or an end but a journey. Artists role is changing they are making movies, art is changing it can be an idea, anything  we need to change.

Shared Discussion

Isues of powers and ownership are key, collaboration being a key word

Museums and media broadcast is key. Webcasting was pushed forward by the remit of education, we had a strategy for change.

We ask then what IS a visit to the museum?

Tate as the authoratative voice – we must keep this as adudience relies on our wisdom and absolute authenticity in what we say – if we get this wrong on line we are misinformimng thousands/millions of people. We must not lose this authoratative voice. (WG) We are a learning istitution we should inspire.

Think about object fetishisation vs the mass produced items that we show at V&A, the aura, we must always understand what lends  its self to digital display and what never will.

We do not seek to replace the visit but offer alternative means to interact and visit from across the world.

TV is not dying – its role is changing it just for entertaininment, the web is for researchig facts – hard factual info on line

See  DIGITAL BRITAIN – a document just published

V&A we are planning exhibitions outside of V&A, we are collecting coding and in talks about collecting softtware. ITS about DEsIGN

Resolutely analogue? Art Museums in Digital Culture- Tate Encounters.

These are my notes from the discussion and so interpretations of what was said are mine. Apologies for any errors.

Art Museums in Digital Culture – Tate Encounters

Honor Harger

Radioqualia.net

John Cage   – also seen Variations V11

Dont Mistake the tools for the purpose

Ressonance FM – radio by artists

Connectedness is a key word

Space Annihilation – collapsing of Space, from first radio transmissions

BUT consider Radio as a means of conversation – A TWO way conversation not passive listening or controlled as we experience it today comercially

BRECHT : Let the listener speak!

Radio as a front line movement – ie protest radio, has not been explored, may be a re vist to older technologies once the excitement aboutthem has died down, to reappropriatetheir commercial use – ie for art?

see work of Tetsuo Kogawa an innovator from Japan –  he created a cellualr network for radio when you could transmit legally within a short distance and he joined all these defined areas of short transmissions  up so that the limks became wider and wider. From area to area in a built up city hit a high density population. He encouraged peopel to have parties and to transmit their parties.

POINT : if you have the same number of transmitters as receivers  you would have a different concept of radio all together.

Tetsuo – Home Run

The concept of ” intertwingularity”

A new type of thinking thatis not technologcally based – usues technology as the medium not the point – ie NETWORK THINKING not NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

The Frequency Clock -radioqualia

Polar Radio and Molecular Radio – so linking up scientist ad rsearchers in North Pole using short range radio, they create contentand pass it on.

————

Matt Locke  C 4

Named Six Spaces of Social Media

1Secret Spaces – where we use privacy, dslang, code and reference with our friends. However we should realise that technology i smuch leakier than we imagine

2.Group Spaces Reinforcing self Identity, “stroking behaviours” hierrachical

3.Publishing – create, control, publish, review

4. Performing –  Showing off, games, extravagance

5. Participation spaces – here comes everybody!

6. Watching spaces–  Thrill, joy and spectacle

Fracturing of the public realm

Media experienc is now being taugh as media history

There are no longer issues of PERMISSION within broadcasting that notionis dead. It used to be a permission based public space

We have to ask when users engage on line – where do they think they are intheir own head?

Locke highly reccomends reading a blog report that has just finished this week ; henryjenkins.org

If it doesnt spread its dead – make your cont as spreadable as a person, surrender control. COMMISSION for ATTENTION.

He uses TV + You Tube + BeeBo + audience Shaere + widgets – all three are part of communications package to readch young people.

There is NO passive audience

There is niche performanace that are EXTRAORDINARY because its personal – so personal that it becomes of interets to us.

The way forward is to join a micro communicty and try to engage with the members

People engage with communities generally because there is a threat or an opportunity

—–

Anna Colin :  Gasworks

Curator who gives her research materials away on line – does not hold them from competitors. Opens source research. The university as the most secretive place for the witholding of research

—

Marc Garreth   :Furthefield  / HTTP

Its not about the technology any more its about engaging and controlling any medium that expressess in a way that makes sense for your work – there is no New media. See HTTP on line

On line collaboration and netwroked decison making re curating

see Ele carpenter – Embroidery Craft  and Code

The jeremy Baily Show – a critique against collaboration