ISEA2013 is proud to present this series of artist panel talks at the MCA as part of our collaboration with Vivid Ideas. We have selected artists from the ISEA2013 and Vivid exhibition programs to come together on a range key thematic topics to discuss the role artists play in creatively investigating the possibilities and pushing the limits of new (and old) technologies. Join us to see how artworks help us to imaginatively experience and critically reflect on the role technologies are set to play in life, art, culture and communication in the 21st century.
Being in the City
Session 1: 10-11 am
This panel session shows how the work of artists can transform our experience of being in the city. The Deviator project by pvi collective invites participants to take over the streets of Darlinghurst and transform them into an anarchic playground. In a more contemplative mode, Jason Sweeney co-opts members of the public to help build a collaborative crowdsourced sound map of quiet spaces in the city. And in case you’re feeling peckish, the roving fleet of gerobaks (traditional Indonesian foodcarts) of Grobak Padi enliven Sydney streets, serving up food and multimedia art with a live link to Yogyakarta, Central Java.
Christopher Williams & Steve Berrick – Deviator (pvi collective)
Jason Sweeney - Stereopublic (crowdsourcing the quiet)
Michael Hornblow - Grobak Padi
Image: Grobak Padi, 2012
Mediating Nature, Technology & Culture
Session 2: 11am-12 noon
Join our panel of artists to explore novel interactions with natural and urban artifacts and environments. Artist-guided walks take participants on a tour through the city activating hidden memories, histories and connections. Installation works create immersive environments, bringing audiences into contact with natural elements and technological artifacts. A city laneway is transformed by a virtual projection that responds to audience interaction.
Nandita Kumar – eLEmeNT: EaRTh
Yandell Walton – Human Effect
Trudy Lane – A Walk Through Deep Time
Image: Yandell Walton, Human Effect, 2012
Nostalgia of the New
Session 3: 12-1 pm
This panel session looks at the retrieval, revival and remediation of old technologies and media. In a world of pervasive digital technologies and media, there is a growing nostalgia and fascination with old technologies and media artifacts such as old photographs and analogue sound technologies. Everything old is new again as it is recuperated and given new meaning.
Lucas Abela – Temple of Din (Audio Arcade Project)
Kate Richards, Ross Gibson & Aaron Seymour – Unhomely – Reynold’s Cottage
Tom Ellard – Catching Light
Image: Catching Light
Distributed Enablers in the New Grid
Session 4: 1-2 pm
What are the potentials of high-speed broadband networks for new forms of local/global communication, community engagement, and art practice? Join our panel of artists to hear about some thought-provoking new projects that explore creative ways in which broadband networks can be used to produce distributed artworks and enable novel ways for remote audiences to engage with each other.
Chair: Ricardo Peach – Creative Producer, The Portals
Andrew Burrell - Networked Selves: Imagined and Otherwise
Thea Baumann – Metaverse Makeovers
Keith Armstrong – Long Time, No See?
Image: The Portals
Click, Touch, Connect
Session 5: 2-3 pm
Touch is the most intimate form of human interaction. The artists in this panel explore the intimacy of human touch as well as other interactive triggers for communication with robots, the generation of biofeedback systems, and interaction between a human performer and members of the public.
Mari Velonaki – Diamandini and The Woman and the Snowman
Eric Siu – Touchy
George Khut & James Brown – Theta Lab
Image: Keith Tsuji. Eric Siu, Touchy
Spaces and Architectures
Session 6: 3-4 pm
Join this panel session to hear how artists are working with architecture and technology to create novel spaces and experiences for audiences. Buildings come alive with digital projections that transform their facades. A futuristic home is embedded with surveillant technologies that invade everyday domestic routines and interactions. A gallery space becomes home to a giant model freeway project, each modular piece created by a prototype 3D printer and placed by audience members on the directions of the artist.
M. Hank Hauser & Martin Tomitsch - Media Facade Exhibition 2013
Lian Loke – disSentience: Design Lab ISEA2013 Satellite Program
Matthew Sleeth – The Generative Freeway Project
Image by Matthew Sleeth (courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery, New York)
