Greetings,
The cutbacks in the Walker new media program are a serious blow, but
perhaps I can offer a small gesture of reassurance. Though hardly the
size of the Walker, the Block Museum at Northwestern does have an
ongoing interest in exhibiting New Media. Perhaps just as important,
the university also supports teaching the next generation of new
media artists. I am sure similar situations hold in many institutions
(but let us gracefully avoid the question of whether funding is
adequate ;-|).
As part of its function as a teaching museum, the Block is planning
an exhibition of digital print media, with the support of the journal
Leonardo, curated by Debora Wood at the Block and by me. We want to
take a historical point of view, emphasizing currents in digital art
that are apparent in early digital prints and persist in current
practices--but which are not necessarily well-represented or
understood in mainstream art criticism.
The exhibition will concentrate on European and American artists. We
are currently in the research phase. We are attempting to find out
what works are actually represented in museums and collections. This
is not an easy task.
We are particularly looking for work created before 1980. While our
criteria for the early work is generally broad, we are looking for
work that qualifies as printed, rather than photographically
reproduced. We also tend to be more interested in works of "alienated
science" (one of Herbert Franke's categories) or work that involves
process or algorithmics rather than digital photography or, for that
matter, natural media simulation.
I would welcome any clues as to which museums and collections house
early computer prints. I imagine it is best to communicate with me
directly, rather than posting to the list, but I would be happy to
post a list of resources once I accumulate them.
best regards,
-- Paul
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