KIT & Robert Saucier | Andrew Burrell / Nonnatus Korhonen | Thomas Couzinier | Battery Operated
September 4 – January 31, 2008
The Ecology of Self-Replicating Systems will open September 4th, 2008 hosted by Soil Digital Media Suite at Neutral Ground art gallery. Events take place at Neutral Ground, The Nouveau Gallery and in the virtual spaces of Second Life. We intend the event to be of interest to artists, technologists and media specialists which combines artist residencies with a workshop, gallery exhibition, panel presentations, new virtual animation project launch in Second Life based on the phenomena of viral culture and self-replicating systems.
The Ecology of Self-Replicating Systems will provide artists, communications specialists and programmers with an opportunity to exchange ideas and practices to connect with contemporary trends in technology, new media and distributed communications. Emphasis for the workshop programs will be placed on developing personalized and sustainable practice by utilizing “viral” replication as a strategy for powerful communication and social change.
The symposium features an exhibition opening and reception for “Virutorium” with artists Robert Saucier and KIT followed by an intensive workshop with artist Nonnatus Korhonen/Dr. Andrew Burrell (Australia), Touching the Ghost in the Machine followed by an intensive Sound Art Workshop and concert with Battery Operated. These workshops focus on developing software authoring skills for creating interactive computer controlled artworks using Max/MSP and multi-user environments including Second Life and sound art installations.
The problem of defining virus is a subjective problem of defining body in a rapidly changing ecological/anthropological context further complicated by the ambiguity of our relationship to technological developments and artificial life. The symposium seeks the opportunity to build connections between an evolving day-to-day experience in contemporary society and new media practices that take advantage of self-replicating strategies. These processes are most easily recognized through popular viral marketing strategies, however are easily displaced and utilized in environmental, educational, technological, and artistic contexts. By exploring inter-disciplinary implications of what has come to be known as a viral culture, Neutral Ground and Soil Digital Media Suite hope to expand the understanding of a loaded term to one that can empower, inform and enlarge one’s presence in an evolving global community.
In conjunction with the New Media Symposium, “The Ecology of Self-Replicating Systems” September 3 – 13, 2008, we are pleased to offer the following intensive workshops.
1)’Touching the Ghost in the Machine’
simple real world / computer interfacing for artists.
September 4 & 5, 12:00 – 6:00 pm
Workshop length: 2 days, structured in short technical / instructional sessions, followed by open discussion and hands on practice.
This hands-on, software-based workshop will introduce some easy ways to access and use ‘real world data’ for interactive computer controlled artworks.
It will also act as an introduction to computer / real world interfacing and to max/msp as a tool for visually scripting interactive art works. The workshop will be taught from the point of view of the artists and will aim at facilitating further and directed learning on behalf of the participants as well as guided instruction during the two days.
It will also introduce scripting in Second Life, and the possibilities for interactive art practices in SL, including ‘mixed-reality’ projects, where the ‘real world’ and SL can interact with each other
Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to develop their own artistic practice, and are welcome to use the workshop as a platform for the development of an existing work.
Central to the ‘philosophy’ of the workshop will be the idea of looking at breaking down complex projects into simple building blocks that become manageable ‘parts’ that can combined to create complex interactive systems for artworks, and finding and using the wealth of resources available to develop works.
2) A 5-day workshop based around the following sound software – ‘Pro Tools’, ‘Logic Audio’ and ‘Recycle’.
Attendees – Will range from intermediate to experienced level users.
Attendees supply – Laptops
Duration – 5 days. 4 hours per day. 20 hours in all. 2 pm – 6 pm each day.
Dates – Monday 8th September, 2008 – Friday 12th September, 2008.
Registration is now open: $245.00 includes membership and lab access for 1 year.
Please refer to the catalogue for more information about the symposium, panel presentation, workshops, and exhibitions:
