*** This email has been sent from the MEDIA ARTS AND DANCE email forum. To respond to all subscribers email [log in to unmask] *** This sounds like an interesting project to me. Will you be placing information in the shops for people to find out what they are looking at? Wall texts and pointers as to how they can find more? Comment books? Will you be at all documenting the public's reaction? It would be fun to be there and have a mini wearable camera capture people glancing or watching or commenting on the films. (And then of course having them sign releases if you want to use this video for something!!). 

I showed Lz Aggiss and Billy Cowie's 3D video installation works here at EMPAC and had a comment book that was rapidly full - and many of the viewers were not your "typical" video installation viewer, so as a curator I was really glad to get a sense of how they were seeing these works.



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Hélène Lesterlin

Curator, EMPAC


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empac.rpi.edu


EMPAC:  Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY

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On Oct 7, 2009, at 12:58 PM, Jacob Hobbs wrote:

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Thanks for the email about my intentions for the festival. I intend to present a
programme of works using high street shops as the venues rather than traditional art
spaces. The shops will be functioning just as normal whilst simultaneously having the
festival run inside. The idea is to quite simply to present some members of the public
with some art that may be new or unfamiliar to them. Hopefully they will have a
response to what they stumble across on an otherwise normal shopping trip; perhaps
they'll stay and watch, it might make them smile, it may not interest them at all, maybe
they will really enjoy it and be compelled to explore it further. I think it will be interesting
for the public as well as the artists involved who may be interested in the reactions of
this audience to their work. I would like to put together a programme of works that is of
high artistic quality whilst simultaneously remaining accessible to a more public audience.

I view the festival in no way as a "cheap way of getting content from people who won't
ask for a screening fee". There are no entry fees for the festival and it is not for profit, I
do not wish to exploit anybody. The festival will be interesting for those artists who seek
a way to place their work in the public domain. I know this will not be of interest to some
artists as they are making great work that is less suitable to be placed in this context, but
I think for the artists making work that they feel is suitable, the festival will be a good
opportunity. Although vimeo/Youtube etc can great places to share work I feel that this
festival will more directly place the works in a place where they can be seen by a public
audience.

I hope this clarifies some of my intentions.

I admit I slipped up in referring to screendance as a genre of dance, however I have
changed the website so that the content is more suitable. When talking about objects I
was referring to work such as that of Mitchel Rose, who often uses these as integral
elements in his work.

Best wishes

Jacob