on 5/1/02 4:03 AM, Sarah Cook at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> ...director Eddie Berg
> and I were talking about New York and the new media scene there. He had just
> come back from NYC, from a meeting organised by Creative Time and the
> Rockerfeller Foundation where new media practitioners met to discuss their
> practice.

The first one with arts administrators I went to for The Thing and left
feeling hopeless for the future except for the smart British woman who
directs Artists Space (I forget her name).

> Perhaps unlike the BALTIC seminar there was a strong contigent of
> "come-from-aways" (as they'd be called in Nova Scotia) - in this case European
> and British curators and producers.

Everyone seemed to be in New York last week (Vuk Cosic and James Stevens
made appearances at The Thing). Unfortunately, I've been exiled to an island
in the Gulf of Mexico for bad behavior so couldn't attend. Glad to hear
Creative Time is involved. They are on the side of the angels.

For some reason I tend to be adopted by Europeans in New York, especially
Germans and Eastern Europeans. Why this happened is the subject of another
thread.

> Anyway, all this to say that Eddie and I
> talked about PORT and the need to remember/know more about that show, and
> remembered the days when the Whitney Biennial used to (still does?) tour its
> video programme, and wondered if there was a way to similarly flesh out, for
> an international or at least british/european audience the particularities of
> the New York media art scene, perhaps

I really liked Eddie and would gladly buy a used car from him. The New York
nonprofit art world lacks people like him because anybody with his abilities
goes into PR work (like Yvonne Force, who has "packaged" Miltos Manetas
among others and recently did a project with Eyebeam) and makes real money.


> 2) there is a report on new media art practice that was the result of a series
> of workshops and conferences sponsored by The Kitchen that has a good deal of
> NY and American content. It's a pdf and it is at:
> www.thekitchen.org/FordExec.pdf

Since I wasn't invited to participate and so didn't attend any of these
sessions this will be the first time I've read them.

> 3) There is also a report called New Media Art | New Funding Models prepared
> for The Rockefeller Foundation  Creativity & Culture Division by Pamela
> Jennings   December 2000 which is at:
> http://digital-bauhaus.com/html/mediaArtReport/reportabstract.html

Pamela Jennings posted once a while back and I wanted to delve into her
report. In fact I have it sitting on my desk with lots of notes scribbled in
the margins. The Rockefeller Foundation gave it to me at that meeting with
Eddie Berg.

> 5) and then there is the current Whitney Biennial and its attendant press:
> www.whitney.org/artport.

Oy.

Particular themes from the BALTIC seminar that seem increasingly relevant to
me a year later:

Good points to start with. I'll leave it to you to direct.


> Rob, if the book was designed and ready to print - can you not put the proofs
> online?

The powerbook was stolen, another tale of woe. All the information was
online (http://artnetweb.com/port) until recently when many of the files
were lost when it was switched to a new server. I think I have all the data
on zip but am not in a position to put it back together again at this point.
There is an extensive listserv that documents the planning of PORT as well
as a roundtable after and all the different design strategies, screen shots
and other ephemera. Perhaps it will end up the project of an enterprising
grad student someday.

Rob

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