Check out your Night Vision Sat May 5

sam smiley here, hailing from the front lines of Night Visions, a four day festival of art, technology and moving image at 1803 Mass Ave, Porter Square in Cambridge in a huge white church. Organized by Karen Frostig and me, it is currently going on and will culminate in a number of really great events this Saturday May 5 and it's free.


I’d like to focus on what is going on Saturday, May 5.

From 1pm-8pm there will be videos and installations going all day. Ongoing screenings include Local Exposure : Wall projections curated by the ICAs Carole Anne Meehan with screenings ofFemlink, With Us or Against Us, and Teleoperator.

Jenn Moller from the Art Institute of Boston has pulled a great selection of innovative works in animation and video. Aziza Braithwaite Bey will create a mixed media installation on the subject of Cherokee Art and Technology, Past and Present. Jonathan Lawrence has a Black Box sculpture..take a look inside the black box!

Here's the evening program:
6-8pm reception and free food!
8:00PM Media Art Screenings by Lumen Eclipse: An assortment of short films, music videos, and animations
9:00PM AstroDime Transit Authority: "Will Pandabears Ride Free on the Handlebars of Bicycles in 2092?" Short experimental videos on future and imagined transportation
10:30PM Perky Pat Layouts- a Space Opera.

For details on events past and current, go to http://www.lumeneclipse.com/nightvisions.

Cyberarts on Drivetime

One of my dreams come true; I was a guest on Ravi Jain's vlog Drivetime. Ravi and his beautiful co-host Sonya invited me on, to talk about the Festival. We drove around and even switched from Studio A to Studio B, which I'm told is a Drivetime first. Check it out.

George Fifield

I.C.A.R.U.S. -Take A Trip On A Homemade Ship! April 21st, 5-10 pm

Mass College of Art's Studio for Interrelated Media graduate students have constructed a rocket ship designed to simulate the experience of space travel. Come take a ride on April 21th at Mass College of Art's Doran Gallery between 5-10 PM.

I.C.A.R.U.S. questions our reliance on the Internet as a primary source of entertainment and information. This crew of space pioneers will explore our changing definition of play and escapism by constructing a rocket ship that offers a simulation of space travel. Using schematics, diagrams, and data gathered from Internet sources as a point of departure, they have built the structure out of accessible information and discarded materials.

The possibilities for escape through the internet are limitless, and while the web often provides positive opportunities for connection and the sharing of knowledge, these virtual distractions can also slowly chip away at our own childish abilities to pretend and imagine. I.C.A.R.U.S. plays between our online virtual imagination and our organic imagination in the physical world. Take a trip on a homemade ship, and join the quest to return to the delight of childhood.

The Puzzle Master at Brandeis Univeristy

The Puzzle Master is an hour long multimedia retelling of the Daedalus and Icarus myth set on an imaginary island. Five singers perform in counterpoint with layers of computer-manipulated sound and video projection.

Music by Eric Chasalow, libretto by F. D. Reeve, video and set design by Denise Marika.

May 5th and 6th at The Laurie Theater at Brandies University.

Admission: $20 general admission; student/senior discounts available.

To listen to music samples from The Puzzle Master click here

Excerpts from the video:

Excerpt 1

Excerpt 2

Excerpt 3

Works selected from ASPECT Magazine at Axiom Gallery

Four years ago ASPECT Magazine published its first DVD volume of contemporary art entitled “Artists of the Boston Cyberarts Festival”. Our goal was to expand understanding and access to new media art by broadly distributing video documentation. ASPECT has become widely regarded as the periodical of record for contemporary new media art. Along the way we have had the privilege of working with some of the world’s leading artists and critics.

Two years ago Axiom Gallery, a small artist run collective curated its first formal show, to coincide with the 2005 Boston Cyberarts Festival. Since then, Axiom Gallery has emerged as a critical Boston venue and resource for artists who push the limits of new media and experimental art. Given such similar missions, it was natural for our two organizations to work together and create a unique exhibition drawing from the archives of ASPECT. The final selection of work spans the canon of new media and illustrates the many directions that new media artists are exploring utilizing these new tools.

Artists included in the exhibition are as follows:

Jim Campbell: Motion and Rest #2 & #5
Tony Cokes: headphones
Jill Magid: L.O.V.E.
Christopher Miner: Making God Happy

Selected works from ASPECT magazine runs from 4-6-07 thru 5-6-07
for more information please visit www.axiomart.org

Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble: Pioneers & Premieres IV

Dinosaur Annex presents veteran ensemble member pianist Donald Berman in a solo recital of contemporary classical works. The evening’s program includes works for piano and electric sounds by composer Eric Chasalow and the World Premiere of a commissioned work for piano and computer processor by composer Mark Wingate. The concert will take place at The First Church Boston. on April 29, 7:30pm. Tickets are $20, and student and senior rates are available.

To listen to an excerpt of Donald Berman playing Due (Cinta)mani for piano and electronic sound, by Eric Chasalow please click here

Smartphone Art: Handheld Histories as Hyper-Monuments

"Handheld Histories as Hyper-Monuments" invites participants to construct hyper-monuments at historic sites. HHHM addresses historic bias and exploits pervasive computing through mobile technologies. The artwork expresses my (Carmin Karasic's) concept, but is realized through collaboration with artists Rolf van Gelder, Rob Coshow, Brett Stalbaum, and Jo Rhodes.

I use computer based and emerging technologies in my art to increase social awareness through art activism. I believe it is a cyberartist's responsibility to provoke a reevaluation of our existing systems through technology. Because future communication technology will enable total wireless connectivity, I am specifically interested in our interaction with this pervasive computing.

My art investigates alternative views, new connections and interaction between edges. My artworks consciously examine the hyperreal, because presentation has become more important than personal opinion, observation, or even reality itself. "Handheld Histories as Hyper-Monuments" was inspired by the gap between official political histories and alternative histories. Digital doubles in this project create spaces for untold stories, forgotten histories, and pure speculation surrounding monuments and events. I am also inspired by Teri Rueb's locative media art projects.

Given a prominent historic monument, shrine, location, etc., HHHM begins by playing a location specific movie clip that regresses the present day image to a pre-urbanized image for the specific location. Images displayed in HHHM will be based on archived history and related images uploaded by participants. When available colloquial anecdotes will be presented. Accompanying multimedia components will include text, video, images, and audio downloads. Participants will be able to contribute text, image, or audio content from the monument location via GPS and Windows Mobile enabled cell phones to the project website.

Ultimately, my ambition is to contribute to the positive social engagement of new technologies through art. Synergy between artists, scientists, and engineers can lead to new cultural insights and potential innovation, rather than reinforce old assumptions. I want my work to contribute to invention and digital enhancements.

"Handheld Histories as Hyper-Monuments" was commissioned for the Boston Cyberarts Festival by Turbulence.org. The work will be presented along with Brian Knep's work at the Judi Rotenburg Gallery, April 21- 28, Tues-Sat 10am-6pm, Artist Talk and Reception with Brian Knep and Carmin Karasic Sat, April 21, 2pm.