Hi Crumbs
Thought I would start discussion about the question of time-based art with a few general thoughts, in anticipation of the conference
It is obvious that the incursion of time-based art into the gallery or museum space involves considerably more than simply the inclusion of other forms of media. It offers rather a profound challenge to a number of assumptions about the 'art work' as a phenomenon, to do with its supposed autonomy, stability, endurability. So far so obvious. What is perhaps interesting is to think about the context in which this took place and how it reflects other questions. The emergence of time-based art is correlative and coeval with deconstructions of the autonomous grounded self that had been a dominant feature of Western thinking since Descartes. It is perhaps not surprising that many of the pioneers of process, performance and time-based arts were extremely interested in Eastern thinking, including Cage, Paik, many of those involved with performance and happenings and so on, or in the implications of the work of Heidegger and existentialism or in Freud and psychoanalysis, all of which involved a critique of the grounded cartesian self.
In his book Lack and Transcendence David Loy looks at the role the desire for fame plays in attempts to master the fear that we are nothing. I wonder if the continued fetish of and investment in the object somehow relates to this need to assert an autonomous self. In the gallery it presents a kind of ontological mirror reflecting back and stabilising our own sense of self in its apparent stability and autonomy. (Here one might look at Tony Bennett's work on the museum and gallery as disciplinary institutions, imposing an exemplary discipline of spectatorship). By contrast time-based art, interactive art, and all art involving some form of interaction over time tend to do the opposite. Perhaps this may be a partial explanation of the continued resistance to such work in mainstream institutions
-----Original Message-----
From: Curating digital art - www.crumbweb.org on behalf of Sarah Cook
Sent: Thu 03/09/2009 12:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [NEW-MEDIA-CURATING] September 2009: update and "Real-Time: Showing Art in the Age of New Media"
Dear CRUMB list readers
I trust you've all had a good summer (as the rain lashes the windows
here in the Northeast!)
The entire CRUMB contingent has just returned from Belfast where we
ran workshops as part of ISEA 2009. We are compiling the
documentation of those workshops and will post it on the site
shortly. We were very pleased with the turnout and the chance to meet
new colleagues and plan new initiatives. A special thank you to our
hosts for our tea-time discussions: Interface Research Center at the
University of Ulster, The Linen Hall Library, and the Golden Thread
Gallery.
We would welcome you to post your reports of highlights from both
ISEA and ARS for those of you there now.
We've also just been signing off the typeset proofs of the book
"Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media" which we have co-authored
and is being published by MIT Press. With any luck it will be out in
time for you to wrap up a copy for your loved one by Valentine's
Day. ;-)
And now to the latest order of business, this September we are
scheduled to have a discussion on the CRUMB list about Real-Time:
Showing Art in the Age of New Media, in the run up to the conference
that CRUMB will be hosting as part of the AND Festival in Liverpool,
on September 24th. http://andfestival.org.uk/siteNorm/programme/
selectedEvent.php?qsSelectedEventId=28
The full line up of speakers and respondents will follow, but for
now, please do register to come to the conference, and feel free to
compile and post your thoughts here on how showing time-based art is
different to showing art objects. We are particularly interested in
gathering first hand curatorial knowledge about how art which uses
the Internet, interactivity, social systems, or real-time computing,
is different from video, live art, or performance.
Cheers from us all,
Sarah
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