Update 3 / Body Sound Update 3 Body Sound Zebrastraat Gent 17 April – 20 June 2010
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update_3 / body sound update 3 body sound Zebrastraat Gent 17 April – 20 June 2010 The exhibition, based on the Centre Pompidou’s New Media Collection, and the scenography by the Bureau des Mésarchitectures, is produced by the Zebrastraat on the initiative of the Fondation Liedts-Meesen Notes on the works 48 Vito Acconci Under-History Lessons 52 Céleste Boursier-Mougenot Schizoframes 56 Manon de Boer Two Times 4’33” 60 Anouk de Clercq New Technological Me + Art Award 62 Didier Faustino Liedts-Meesen 2010 Erase your Head / An Instrument for Blank Architecture 102 Perry Bard Man With a Movie 66 Mike Kelley / Scanner Camera: Esprits de Paris The Global Remake 70 Emmanuel Lagarrigue 104 Félix Luque Sánchez I never Dream otherwise than Awake Contents The Discovery 74 Chris Marker 106 Boris Debackere Appendices Ouvroir 128 / 63 / 39 Probe 7 Introduction 78 Bruce Nauman 125 New Media Collection, Alain Liedts 108 Peter Alwast Get out of my Mind, Get out of this Room Centre Pompidou, Paris Everything 17 Digital Daedalus 80 Noto aka Carsten Nicolai 132 Artists and works Stef Van Bellingen 110 Peter Beyls ∞ [Infinity] of “Update_3: Bodysound” Petri 20 “Body Sound”: and the New 82 Owada A Laboratory 112 Dominika Sobolewska Technological Art Award (Martin Creed, Adam McEwen, Christine Van Assche RGB (Red-Green-Blue) Liedts-Meesen 2010 Keiko Owada) 28 Music Exhibitions from Nothing 114 Go Eun Im 136 Submissions / Music Hall Seats SEE(N) New Technological 86 Ugo Rondinone to Sound Installations Art Award The evening passes like any other... 116 Christoph De Boeck Peter Szendy Liedts-Meesen 2010 Staalhemmel 90 Semiconductor 41 Scenographic Principles 143 Credits Brilliant Noise 118 Arthur Elsenaar The Bureau Face Shift 144 Fringe events program des Mésarchitectures 94 Mika Vainio “Update_3: Body Sound” Didier Faustino Three Compositions for Machines 120 Julien Gachadoat and Cláudia Martinho (Track 01) Gravity 146 Photographic credits Introduction or the Zebrastraat project, the Fondation Liedts-Meesen has elected to pursue a development based on housing, economy and culture. This cultural element consists of readings and per- Fformances held on Thursday nights; of allowing young contem- porary artists to exhibit their work in the Zebrastraat’s meeting area for a month, and of systematically providing 750 m2 of exhibition space to third parties for cultural manifestations that are compatible with the goals of the Fondation Liedts-Meesen. However, we would like to focus our artistic identity around the Fon- dation Liedts-Meesen biennial centred on Technological Art. There is a limited interest for diverse forms of artistic realisations, but it is growing. Contemporary art is just a small part of the spectrum al- though it is gaining importance. Nevertheless, contemporary art bas- ed around modern technological advances remains largely unknown to the general public. From its inception, the Fondation Liedts-Meesen has adopted this uncommon form of artistic expression. This is a conscious decision, which ties in with the Fondation Liedts-Meesen’s transgressive goals, because both the foundation and the Zebrastraat are aimed at the future, and because my professional career based on a scientific 7 / Introduction education pursued the use and development of new technologies in The knowledge of life and ecology are also a source of inspiration: information and telecommunications. Finally, this choice takes into account the fact that the means and the The Telegarden (1995) by Ken Golden (United States) is installed in the infrastructure available at the Zebrastraat do not allow us to best or Ars Electronica Center and allows gardeners from all over the globe to to equal classic, subsidized institutions. We have consciously cho- grow and manipulate living plants over the Internet. In Ecosystem sen a limited fringe of contemporary art, aimed at the future, which (2005) Nella Steil (Romania) delivers a burlesque performance through has seen significant growth in diverse fields of the arts. a combination of telecommunications, random number generators, virtual machine guns and domestic waste. Nomadic Milk Cameroon What is Technological Art? Version (2004) by Esther Polak (The Netherlands) is an investigation into the visual and narrative possibilities of a GPS (Global Positioning What is meant by Technological Art? A daring description, but by System) applied to the nomadic Fulani family in Cameroon. definition limited. It is undoubtedly easier to start from a new philoso- phy, or simply factor in the contemporary, ever-accelerating evolution. Of course, we find applications in the world of data processing, elec- In the past, artists had very few means to express their emotions, tronically managing and manipulating data, images and sound. commitments and values. What words, letters could not express, was supplemented by artistic Electronic Superhighway (1995) by Nam June Paik (Korea): The conti- talent, but durable expression came in the form of a two dimensional nental part of the United States is represented by 313 televisions, Alas- image of paint and canvas, or by sculpting wood or stone into three ka by 24, while Hawaii is represented by one television per island. dimensional objects. The visual arts were complemented only by mu- Joined by 50 CD players, approximately 60 VCR’s, 20 ventilators, a sic and theatre, with that crippling disadvantage that the artistic cre- video camera and scaffolding, the “borders of the States” are marked ations had to be repeated, to varying degrees of success. by steel and neon, and a 200 watt sound system. Paik’s work is strewn New forms developed: architecture, photography, cinematography, with waste products of mass media culture, but they do not stop re- broadcasting, multimedia... all of which broadened the boundaries of vealing images that bring wars and cultural crises to public attention. artistic expression, erasing limitations of the past. It is only natural Hello (1991) by Tony Oursler (United States): Oursler’s video images in that today, new materials such as steel, glass, plastic and fluids are this installation, which are charged with political resonance, but full of being used, along with new techniques. humour, are not shown on a monitor as might be expected, but instead, are projected on the surface of everyday objects or people. Messa di Better suited than a definition, a personal choice of examples is more voce (2003) by Golan Levin (United States), Zachary Lieberman (United appropriate. And so, one finds examples of various origins, based on States), Jaap Blonk (The Netherlands) and Joan La Barbara (United scientific truths from the past: States) is an audiovisual installation where a computer mouse is re- placed by real voices, and where tone, intonation and resonance are Rivelatore Cromolinettico (1965) by Piero Fogliati (Italy): this work translated into computer instructions that created three dimensional consists of a vertically hung, taut elastic and a projection that evoke images on the screen. Je souffle à tout vent (plume, pissenlit) (1996) the illusion of a colour spectrum through vibrations. Le cube électro- by Michel Bret (France) and Edmond Couchot (Algeria): a dandelion or nique A et B (1967) by Piotr Kowalski (France): for the first time, di- a plume is blown away on the video monitor through interaction be- odes from electronics are integrated for decorative purposes, which tween a spectator and a pressure sensor. In this work, the image is results in an evolution in public attitude. Untitled (1 tetrahedron + digitally inscribed. This also means that from now on it can be de- 1 cube + 1 octahedron = 1 icosahedron) (1999) by Attila Csorgo formed using computer programs. The Gate (or Hole In Space) (2007) (Hungary): the kinetic structure is an example of mathematical propo- by Yves Bernard (Belgium) and Yannick Antoine (Belgium) is both an sitions and mechanical ingenuity. The artist constructs a moving installation and a collective performance platform, which functions model in order to come to a visual presentation. as an interactive portal between the real world and the universe of 8 / update_3 9 / Introduction Second Life. An image from the Second Life Gate is projected perma- new media, a classification is almost impossible, yet certain charac- nently in the real-life space; when a user comes to the Gate in Second teristics recur. Life he can actually be seen in the public space and vice versa. The creations have transgressive or universal properties: boundaries of religion, philosophy, economic background and geographical bor- Technological Art transcends boundaries ders are meaningless. This is due to the fact that the chosen media are universally distributed. Artists of this kind belong to a group that In the catalogue for Stippels en Pixels (2005), Stef Van Bellingen wrote: has become cosmopolitan thanks to the Internet. Technological Art “The mathematical orientation of artists during the Renaissance, with transcends boundaries with relative ease and must be open to di- the development of perspective being the single most salient feature, verse sensibilities. A work of Technological Art belongs to the cos- has defined the reorganisation of the different arts in that period. As far mopolitan culture, not to a tradition of minorities. as hierarchy goes, the digital world seems to resemble the Renais- sance, since mathematics bind several kinds of art together (for now). In the past, a painting or a sculpture had the ability to evoke emo- This page Many works of art are made with the help of a computer and its tools. tions, to make an adolescent blush, but the interactivity was not re- Tatsuo Miyajima This does not mean that there are and continue to be no differences, ciprocal or was in any case very limited. In works of Technological C.F Lifestructurisme – but it is striking that these tools connect several disciplines.” Art, the spectator can intervene, directly or indirectly, in that which he no. 5 All this leads to unbridled forms of art, that sometimes turn into games, sees, hears, smells or feels.