From the Rhizome newsletter:

The purpose of the competition is to award prizes to electronic works of art created with artificial life technologies.
Projects will be accepted from 15 June to 6 October 2008
For this edition of VIDA 11.0, the prize money has doubled to 80,000 Euros
The competition rules and all the information on previous editions can be view on the Vida Internet website.

ELEKTRAMUSIC:
Call for Music and Music+Video Works

For upcoming projects (radio, concerts, CD) and for the new season of our “TV Show for experimental music”, Elektramusic is still looking for electroacoustic musics, and music+video works (experimental video, recorded performances, music+dance works,…). You can submit both music compositions (Audio CD or audio files on Data-CD) and/or video+music works (video DVD or high quality video files on Data-DVD). Please include bio, note, and the Submission Form available at :
http://www.elektramusic.com/images/submission.pdf

A new version of Elektramusic web site, with a dedicated video-music “call for works” page will be online soon.
For more information go to www.elektramusic.com

Here’s a creepy photo of our half-constructed DIY projector from last week’s workshop.
Operation: Big Screen has a great list of overhead units that are appropriate for converting to video projectors.

And here’s a guide for making your own cheapo projector.

Calling all Monitors!
InterAccess needs 13″ or 15″ CRT monitors for our fall exhibition. If you can spare your tv from the middle of September until November 22, email Alex Snukal at alex.snukal@interaccess.org. We’re not looking for anything fancy, If they have A/V outputs, all the better, but if not, we’ll still take em! Your good deed will not go unnoticed. You won’t be sorry. We can give you some free drinks at the opening. Or maybe you’d like us to post something for you on our blog?

Thanks.

Montreal-based Defasten (aka Patrick Doan) has a new film project called OPENLAND in the works. There isn’t that much info on the project available yet but the trailer for the film was launched this week. Keep an eye on the project website for updates.

Originally from Vague Terrain by Greg J. Smith
reBlogged by InterAccess to Cultural Artifacts

Diapason, a Brooklyn-based gallery for sound art, is initiating an open call for the following:

1. Residencies
Composers, sound artists, and other qualified individuals are invited to submit proposals for working residencies utilizing Diapason’s multi-channel sound environment. Diapason has two state-of-the-art multi channel sound systems (described below). Interested persons are invited to submit proposals for the use of the space to create work. Dates and times are flexible. Residents will receive a brief technical orientation but no technical assistance, unless supplementary funding is provided.

2. Curatorial
Emerging curators are invited to submit proposals for sound art presentations at Diapason. Any format is acceptable, from single artist retrospectives to group shows. Diapason is uniquely well-suited for presentation of computer based multi-channel sound work.

Curators are responsible for all aspects of the presentation, including finding personnel to assist with setting up and tearing down the show. They are also required to fundraise for their projects, though Diapason will provide advice and support and its status as a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation.

3. Programming
Interested persons are invited to submit proposals for single performances, screenings, installations, etc. Diapason offers its space and sound systems, plus technical assistance. It is the responsibility of the organizer to collect any funding, door fees, etc., and to maintain the space.

Description of the space
Diapason consists of two rooms: the ³gallery² contains a powerful 8 channel sound system with a subwoofer and is designed for focused listening. The floor is carpeted and there are pillows available as well as some seating (cushioned benches, folding chairs).

The ³lounge² contains a 12 channel sound system (without subwoofer), as well as a 4 channel PA system and a Steinway Model ³O² grand piano. It is set up in an informal way, with benches, chairs, carpets, etc. ranged around the space.

The multi-channel sound systems are connected to MOTU 896 (gallery) and 828 (lounge) audio interfaces. Resident artists are expected to bring a laptop with the necessary drivers.

There are two Shure SM-57 microphones, Mackie 1604 and 1202 mixers, a couple of small Behringer mixers and a stereo direct box. There are plenty of XLR cables.

There are 2 sets of track lights in each room. The number and position of the individual lights can be adjusted.

It is possible to use the walls for displaying objects, but this must be approved by the gallery.

There are Mac and PC computers available with Max/MSP, Pro Tools, DP and other software.

Diapason owns one video projector.

Please submit initial inquiries to…

Michael J. Schumacher, director
mschumacher@sprintmail.com

Diapason gallery for sound and intermedia is a non-profit performance and exhibition space that invites the public, artists and composers to engage with contemporary music and sound practices. Established in 2001 by composer Michael J. Schumacher and choreographer Liz Gerring, Diapason has built on his efforts at Studio Five Beekman, a sound gallery he founded in1996. With two high-quality multi-channel sound systems Diapason¹s listening environment draws a regular audience, and Diapason continues to be the sole venue in New York City (and one of few internationally) that is dedicated to both presenting multichannel sound installations and providing space for composers and sound artists to experiment, exhibit and perform. Diapason is supported by NYSCA, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Phaedrus Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, The Trust for Mutual Understanding, Kirk Radke, and other generous individuals. Diapason is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information:
www.diapasongallery.org

Originally from Vague Terrain by Neil Wiernik
reBlogged by InterAccess to Calls & Deadlines

I just read the latest Errol Morris “Zoom” blog about the Iranian Missile fakes on the New York Times website. Also, it turns out Big Foot was a hoax.

From the Morris blog (which includes interviews with Chalmers Johnson and Hany Farid, an expert on digital fraud):

People often trust low-res images because they look more real. But of course they are not more real, just easier to fake. We look at picture of Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster). It’s grainy, fuzzy. It’s hard to make anything out. You never see a 10-megapixel photograph of Big Foot or the Abominable Snowman or the Loch Ness Monster. One explanation is: these monsters don’t exist. But if they did exist — so the thinking goes — they are probably unwilling to sit still for portraiture. The grainy images are proof of how elusive Nessie can be. This belief extends to documentary filmmaking, as well. If it’s badly shot, it’s more authentic. – E.M.

The recent image of big foot is a strange exception to Morris’ analysis. It’s quite a crisp image. Even still, I find it incredible (and totally obvious) that having a dead Big Foot trapped in a freezer, these guys would still take a terrible picture of it. Why are the waist and exposed entrails the only things not in shadow? If it’s dead and not going anywhere, they could have shot it however they wanted. But a deflated-looking gorilla suit in a freezer requires only the most subtle kind of photographic subterfuge. It’s not even about digital manipulation (like Morris’ article) it’s just a simple case of covering up the seams of the suit by obscuring them in shadow. In terms of quality, this image is a hairbreadths away from the grainy motion shots we’re used to but it’s taken Big Foot hoaxing to a whole other level.

From Akimbo:

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
FIRST INTERNATIONAL MASTER OF MEDIA.ART.HISTORIES
(Low residency; English language, open for applications now)

The postgraduate program MediaArtHistories at the Department for Image Science offers a two-year low residency leading to an M.A. degree. It conveys the most important developments of contemporary art through a network of renowned international theorists, artists, curators and many others.

Artists and programmers give new insights into the latest and most controversial software, interface developments and their interdisciplinary and intercultural praxis. Keywords are: Strategies of Interaction & Interface Design, Social Software, Immersion & Emotion and Artistic Invention. Using online databases and other aids, knowledge of computer animation, net art, interactive, telematic and genetic art as well as the most recent reflections on nano art, CAVE installations, augmented reality and wearables are introduced. Historical derivations that go far back into art and media history are tied in intriguing ways to digital art. Important approaches and methods from Image Science, Media Archaeology and the History of Science & Technology will be discussed.

MediaArtHistories MA is based on the international praxis and expertise in Curation, Collecting, Preserving and Archiving and Researching in the Media Arts. What are the conditions necessary for a wider consideration of media art works and of new media in these collections of the international contemporary art scene? And in which way can new Databases and other scientific tools of structuring and visualizing data provide new contexts and enhance our understanding of semantics?

Further Information:
www.donau-uni.ac.at/dis
www.donau-uni.ac.at/mediaarthistories
www.virtualart.at
www.mediaarthistory.org/pub/mediaarthistories.html
www.donau-uni.ac.at/telelectures
http://www.donau-uni.ac.at/en/studium/medienkunstgeschichte/06318/index.php

Dutch artist Tjerk Stoop created a fabulous, site-specific air pollution visualizer in March of 2008 for the Eco-Aesthetics exhibition. He’s just posted new photos on his website and the work was also blogged today by the good people at infosthetics.

Stoop’s installation consists of a series of glass tanks that show the daily average of carbon dioxide present in the air outside the gallery. The tubes are configured to look like a minimalist bar graph sculpture. The milky hues visible in the tubes is produced from a chemical reaction that occurs between chalk and carbon dioxide. The more white that is visible in the tube, the more pollution was present that day. Interestingly, the TAG gallery, the site of the Eco-Aesthetics exhibition, is located on one of the most busy streets in the Hague. So, it was an ideal place to test the installation, and raise awareness in the very eco-conscious Dutch population about smog in their city.

When I met Tjerk in March, I was awed to discover he had created this gorgeous sculpture in the midst of having a little girl. What a feat! The piece is definitely one of the most interesting sculptural efforts to represent a time-based vision of air pollution that I’ve seen to date.

Originally from ecoviz.org by Tiffany Holmes
reBlogged by InterAccess to Web News

photo credit - aguno - nobody-is-there

After a brief hiatus, Vague Terrain is back with a new website and the newest issue of our digital arts publication. Vague Terrain 10: Digital Dub features a variety of multimedia projects that explore the intersection of digital culture and the legacy of dub music.

This diverse body of work contains contributions from Aguno, DubRocket, Eduardo Navas, Jonah K, NAW, Ohrwert, Segue, The Straggler and interviews with Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky) and Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) conducted by Eduardo Navas and Corina MacDonald.

To view the issue please visit http://vagueterrain.net/journal10

Vague Terrain have rejigged http://vagueterrain.net into a related group blog. Swing by for a visit soon or subscribe to our feed via http://feeds.feedburner.com/vagueterrain