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hi crumbs

as a complete aside from the interesting discussion re Second Life, I  
just got this notice in my inbox about a series of commissions to  
happen in Manchester curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Philippe  
Parreno (http://www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com). It reads:

 >The question becomes... what if having an exhibition is not a way  
to occupy space, but a way to occupy time...?
 >With up to 15 minutes of ‘exhibition time’, each artist is creating  
their own distinctive work - inviting guest performing artists,  
specially commissioned music - but none using film or video - to  
create this new form of group show.
 >By focusing on time-based work, this group show aims to redefine  
how visual arts can be experienced. Set in a theatre, it transforms  
the established gallery model into an exhilarating, shared audience  
experience.
 >“The title of the piece relates to my notion of ‘postman time’, and  
the idea that this exhibition is delivered to the audience rather  
than the audience walking through it in their own time,” comments  
Philippe Parreno.
 >Hans Ulrich Obrist adds, “One of the things that Philippe and I  
have been discussing since we met each other is what would happen if  
you have a group show exhibition where each artist would not get  
space, but each artist would get time? And so that is the point of  
departure. And through a dialogue with Manchester International  
Festival – where everything is new – there was a possibility for the  
first time to actually realise this.”

Gosh, is the gap between the Media arts world and the contemporary  
art world so big??
(the list of artists includes the likes of Matthew Barney, Douglas  
Gordon, Rirkrit Tiravanija)
First, none using film and video?
Second, the first time this has been possible? What about artists-TV  
projects? Streaming web projects? make-tv.net?
Third, is there no sense here of a history of performance art? or  
artists interventions in theatre spaces (such as Janet Cardiff and  
George Bures Miller's videowalks)?
It seems as though they've asked artists to become commissioners (or  
impressarios?). Is it all to be 'live'?
Hmmm. If anyone is going, please report back.
Sarah