Solid States Liquid Objects. Discourses of Mediation. A 1day symposium.

A one-day international symposium exploring diverse ideas of ‘mediation’ from virtual to physical agents. The symposium will bring together artists, scientists and media theorists providing insight into how information is deployed, mediated and embodied within various disciplines and fields of enquiry.

Wednesday 19 August 2009, 10 am – 4.15pm

Keynote speakers

• Stelarc – Artist (Brunel University, UK: University of Western Sydney, Aus)
• Dr Joanna Zylinska – Media Theorist/Artist (Goldsmiths, UK)
• Professor Gary Hall – Cultural and Media Theorist (Coventry University, UK)

Other confirmed speakers

• Kit Wise – Artist/Art Writer (Monash University)
• Dr Matthew Sellars – Quantum Physicist (Australian National University)
• Assoc. Professor Darren Tofts – Cultural Theorist (Swinburne University)
• Dr Melissa Miles – Art Theorist (Monash University)
• Nina Sellars – Artist (Monash University)

Venue:
Lecture Theatre G1.04, Art and Design Building, Monash University, 900 Dandenong Rd Caulfield East, Melbourne, VIC

www.ninasellars.com/symposium

Editor’s pick:
Beyond Technological Smartness: the Rise of the p-Zombie – Darren Tofts

What happens when mediated agents obtain agency and operate beyond our control? From the myth of Prometheus to the “mind children” of Hans Moravec, the idea of artificial agents has both beleaguered and fascinated the human imagination. This paper will explore a micro-history of this fascination and its potential realization in the contemporary philosophical concept of the p-zombie, the “philosophical zombie” of cognitive science, developed as an acid test for distinguishing between a human and its artificial replicant. The paper will ground this idea of agency beyond human control in terms of the most recent series of generative computer animations by the media artist Murray McKeich. The title of this series is called, appropriately, p-zombie.
Other abstracts.

Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto the legacy of Gundam

The legacy of ‘Gundam,’ a 30-year-old science-fiction automaton
by Euan McKirdy for The Wall Street Journal

Like something out of a science-fiction movie, the robot stands 18 meters tall and towers above the tree line. But to the thousands of visitors who have come by Odaiba’s Shiokaze Park just outside Tokyo, it is a familiar sight. It’s Gundam.

Excerpt:
The statue, a “life-size” replica of the television anime (Japanese slang for animated series) character created in 1979, was erected this month and will stand in the park through August. It was built by Bandai, the parent company of Sunrise, the animation studio that created the original series, “Mobile Suit Gundam,” to celebrate the iconic cartoon’s 30th anniversary and acknowledge the $528 million franchise of spin-offs, toys and books it has spawned in that time. Some fans even say the fictional robot has played a part in Japan’s rise in the world of robotics engineering and technology.

Set 100 years in the future on extraterrestrial mining colonies (colonies established on other planets or moons for the purpose of extracting minerals) as well as on Earth, “Mobile Suit Gundam” imagines a radical future, where robots are commonplace. A renegade faction, the principality of Zeon (an extraterrestrial colony), has declared war on Earth Federation (a global government of the future) in a bid to become independent. The weapon of choice (created by Zeon but quickly replicated by Earth) is a “mobile suit,” a robot driven by a human pilot who sits inside. The RX-78 Gundam — named for the fictional alloy, Gundanium, from which it is made — is used by a young pilot in defense of Earth. more…

The Happiness Realization Party of Japan Introduces Its New President

Ryuho Okawa, Leader of the Religious Organization Happy Science, Becomes President of the Party

TOKYO–(Marketwire – July 30, 2009) – The Happiness Realization Party of Japan, formed May 27th this year, announced that it held an executive committee meeting on July 22nd and appointed Ryuho Okawa, the founder of both Happy Science and the Happiness Realization Party (HRP), as their new president. Okawa will run in the next general election as the party’s first ranking candidate of the Tokyo Proportional Representation bloc.

In May this year, Okawa decided to launch the HRP in his aim to bring forth substantial change in Japan’s political scene. At his public seminar held in Tokyo on July 22nd, Okawa himself announced that he has decided to run in the election as the president of the HRP in order to strengthen the party’s unification and the ability to hold the reins of government. He stated, “The HRP is building its policies based on where we would like the country to stand 20 to 30 years from now. The people of the nation may not understand us immediately but I plan to say what needs to be said.”

Since the late 1980s, Okawa had voiced countless suggestions directly and indirectly to politicians in Japan from his intention to nurture Japan to become an independent and more reliable country. His decision to establish HRP and run as president was made to enable this effort to yield a more direct and concrete result through the party’s involvement in politics.

The HRP has 345 candidates in all constituencies and Proportional Representation Blocs in Japan and is currently the largest political party within the country. The party says it aims to be the primary party of Japan through the next general election.

While Ryuho Okawa will be responsible for the policy makings of the party, Kyoko Okawa, his wife and former party leader has taken the position of Chief Advertising Officer of the party and will run as the first ranking candidate of the Tohoku (North-Eastern) Proportional Representation bloc.

For more information see www.hr-party.info

Editor’s note: Ok this definitely caught my eye. Snappy title, don’t you think? GG

Social Tsunami presents Tijuana Tumbleweed

Mexican musical mayhem featuring from Phoenix Arizona , an electronic musician originally from Mexico coming out of the Nortec stable. ‘Lxuk’ hails from the border of Texas and Mexico and is musically influenced by Cumbia, Tejano, and Norteno sounds. Musically trained by Bostich EL Padrino de Nortec, (The Godfather of Nortec Collective), Lxuk has been performing his post-Latin fusion creations around the world… Japan, Romania, USA, Mexico and now oz.

His current creative projects include an LP to be released by Bostich (Nortec), and a documentary film about Chicano Lowrider culture in Japan, scheduled to be released soon.

Playin alongside is Uber Lingua mover and shaker bP, promising to play a barrage of Mextronica, and Lava room regulars Vapor (Chile) and Mashy P, who are also central to the Uber Lingua movement.

Mexican culture has been a central part of Uber Lingua’s makeup. In 2005 & 2006 Uber Lingua hosted the ‘Nortec Collective’ at events in Sydney (Candy’s) and Melbourne (St Jeromes RIP). These collaborations led to a strong bond that continues to this day between the east coast of Australia and Tijuana.

This connection led to the 2007 Mexican tour of Uber Lingua DJs bP, Mashy P, Saka la Mois and DJ Sheerien (now based in the UK ). As invited guests of the ‘Melbourne en Tijuana’ festival they performed at three events in the border city alongside the Makila Collective and members of Nortec, making multiple media appearances.

From there, they also went on a DJ adventure performing at events in Guadalajara (with another UL compadre DJ Alejandro Davilla), Mexico City (with Mex MC Boca Floja), San Cristobal Chiapas & Xalapa Veracruz.

The 5-city Hola Mexico Film Festival ‘Opening night fiestas’ presented by Uber Lingua in 2008 were another extension of the tangent.

Also on the bill is Lisa Marmur, she is a singer/songwriter, originally from Melbourne, Australia. She has spent ten years in the desert of Phoenix, Arizona where she learned most of what she knows today from some very special and talented people, having worked in various bands, including electro-pop outfit ‘Runaway Diamonds’.

Check out this Mexican musical fiesta in a deep Pacific tiki territory!

Lava rooms is truly a sight to behold, a totally transformed space featuring the most amazing collection of Pacific art including massive Easter island heads, a variety of bamboo structures, cane furniture, Polynesian carvings and paintings collected avidly over the years by Sydney artist Brian Paisley.

Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8:00pm
Lava rooms
Corner of Wattle and Broadway, near Central, entrance on Wattle st
Sydney, Australia

Revolution on paper Mexican prints 1910–1960

Diego Rivera, Emiliano Zapata and his horse 1932

The exhibition is the first in Europe to focus on the great age of Mexican printmaking in the first half of the 20th century. It features 130 works by over 40 artists including prints by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Highlight objects on display in the exhibition

Between 1910 and 1920, Mexico was convulsed by a socialist revolution that aimed to topple the elite ruling class and improve conditions for society at large. The left-wing government which emerged laid great emphasis on art as a vehicle to promote the values of the revolution. Walls of public buildings were covered with vast murals, and workshops made prints for mass distribution.

Some of the finest prints from the period were produced by the ‘three greats’ of Mexican art: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

The exhibition includes Rivera’s famous Emiliano Zapata and his horse which has achieved iconic status in 20th-century art. It also features works by artists that rose to prominence after the founding of the Taller del Gráfica Popular (the national print workshop) in 1937, and earlier works by José Guadalupe Posada, who was posthumously recognised by the revolutionaries as the father of printmaking in Mexico.

More from the British Museum

Japan CREAM Festival Competition

International Festival For Arts and Media Yokohama 2009, a pioneer project of ‘Creative City Yokohama’, could not be categorized as either an ordinary film festival or a contemporary art exhibition.

CREAM competition craves a new visual expression, or works that cross the borderlines between different genres of art such as contemporary art, film, performing art, music and etc., and therefore inspire and influence the future generations.

Submissions due 31 July

Find out more at http://ifamy.jp/en/competition.php

Mu-Meson July Highlights

Saturday 18th July
Warts & All: The Films of Danny Plotnick Comedic Missives from The American Underground
Danny Plotnick roared into the underground film world in the 1980s.  Fueled by his love of punk and alternative culture and infected with d.i.y. spirit, he started making films that captured a similarly snarly attitude. The films on tonight’s program include Swingers’ Serenade, a titillating tale of suburban sexual malaise; I, Socky, a rogue sock monkey hits the town on a big day out; Steel Belted Romeos, a turbo-charged tale of California road rage; Skate Witches, a glimpse into the world of a 1980s female skateboard gang; Flip About Flip, a tribute to comic genius Flip Wilson. Mu-Meson Archives (Sydney) Doors 7.30 for 8pm start $10

Sunday 19th July
Miss Deaths Knitting Group
Do you want to learn how to knit, crochet or any other craft? Or you just want to come along for a social? For the new ladies who are coming for the first time bring a friend. Boys are welcome as long as they do a craft or something useful.  Mu-Meson Archives (Sydney) 4pm with a plate…

For More extensive and detailed information please visit Mu-Meson Archives web site
http://www.mumeson.org

Mu-Meson Archives at Crn Parramatta Rd & Trafalgar St Annandale, Sydney (Australia) at the end of King Furniture building up the steel staircase. Phone +61 2 9517-2010

Personal Space and Dotspace – Darwin

Personal Space
The idiom of Personal Space has many connotations as a citizen living in amodern world, a world that is definitely more complex to exist in than in previous times. Navigating day to day life is now challenged by new technologies and invasive constructs; spam, Facebook, cctv surveillance and marketing profilers, to name a few. The exhibition Personal Space invites artists from Darwin and Beijing to question notions of personal space, not in the literal sense, but in relation to private space, shared space and public space.

Dotscape: Sutthirat Supaparinya
Annoyed by the interrupted view from the train window caused by advertising posters, Supapaprinya shows a sequence of blurred landscape images traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, unraveling the threat to the natural landscape and daily life by commercial development in Thailand.

runs until ­ 25 July
24HR Art – Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art
Vimy Lane, Parap Shopping Village, Darwin, Australia

Find out more at: www.24hrart.org.au/programs.html#exhib1

etoy calls all flower people

flower people, apple nerds, spiritual travelers, bankers and other wayfaring (wo)men to leave their offices & teepees to check out the show “im anfang war das wort” (“in the beginning was the Word”) in Entlebuch/Switzerland.

After successful return from orbit the 5,32 tons of steel hammered down on the First near Heiligkreuz/LU:
http://www.heiligkreuz09.ch/index.php?id=61 The container is expected to carry key code for etoy’s ANGEL APPLICATION and 4 GB of new data from Tim Leary and Sepp Keiser as well as a ritual object for sepulchre ceremonies at Ars Electronica 2009 in Linz, the world’s leading media arts festival (3. – 8. 9. 2009: Human Nature / the anthropocen

http://www.aec.at/humannature/index_de.html)

Since the clash of art and nature in Motiers (art en plain air 2007), and all the psychedelic experiences up there, etoy.AGENTS are raring to go back into wild and spend the summer of 2009 in the mountains: a public STOWAWAY ENCAPSULATION WORKSHOP (register here: http://www.heiligkreuz09.ch/index.php?id=etoy), agent retreats, meetings, further data gathering sessions with test pilots and an etoy.CHILDREN summer camp are on the list.

Vernissage “im anfang war das wort”: Sunday, 5th of Juli 2009, 13.30 / Schuur Heiligkreuz In Concert: Gruppe Hans Kennel, Alphorn

Attending artists: Wilma Benz, Patricia Bucher, Anton Egloff, Monika Feucht, Edith Fluckiger, Johannes Gees, Rene Gisler, Heini Gut, Alex Hanimann, Thomas Heini, Beat Mazenauer und Anna Luchs / Urs Hofer Robotlab, Matthias Gommel, Martina Haitz, Jan Zappe, Roger Schnyder, Peter Stobbe, Stockwerk 7

Beautiful Losers – Film

Directed by Aaron Rose, Beautiful Losers tells the story of his semi-legendary Alleged Gallery in downtown ’90s NYC. Alleged provided an incubator for a group of taggers, skateboarders and other criminally disposed minds AKA young artists (such as Harmony Korine, Mike Mills, Ed Templeton, Barry McGee etc) who hung/worked and 20 years later became famous and successful beyond your wildest dreams. Tough life huh?

The film covers off their progression from DIY street art twenty-somethings to mainstream success in advertising, film, and graphic design. Even though it somewhat glosses over trickier subject matter about what happens to punk ideals when they meet big bucks – the film does provide nice insights into some of the greater artistic minds of our time. Plus their can-do-art attitude is pretty inspiring.

Where:
ACMI Cinemas, Fed Square, Melbourne
When:
Premiere Thurs July 2, 7pm. Then Fri July 3, 7pm; Sat July 4, 7pm; Sun July 5, 5.30pm.

Website: Beautiful Losers
Source: 3thousand