art and tech

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06 February 2005 by nathaniel

Bonita Alice, lots of art, and what I did for a Sunday

There were so many openings in Johannesburg this weekend, I feel like I might cry. It’s not that it’s not great that we had stuff at Wits, the JAG, Art on Paper, and the premises. It’s just that there’s only one person blogging about it on a regular basis, and me gots to pay the bills!!!

i’d put in a link for donations, but i don’t think anybody’d bite. i wouldn’t.

bonita alice at the premises

Bonita Alice’s show at the premises gallery, down at the civic, is a beautiful exhibition of recent work. It explores the spaces between birth and death, where they are twisted and worn, how they stump and entertain. The work is conceptually fun, poetically executed, and well-rooted in performance and myth. Admittedly, I found the opening speech to be a bore, but the catalogue is beautifully photographed and written, and provided many fantastic entry points that I’d not thought of. Definitely recommended, and try to get a catalogue if you can!

James Sey opened the drift between, my students’ digitarts MA show at Wits. I really liked his take on the work , and will be asking him for some text (and Christo for some decent images) to post here soon. I’m a little biased myself, so will not write too much, but I really suggest you head on over to the Wits substation in the next few days – we’re seeing the beginnings of a thriving new media scene here, and most people agree that you don’t want to miss it.

I’ll write more about the other shows when I see them, and more on WordPress 1.5 after a few days of playing.
In the meanwhile, props to MTAA and twhid for the shout out!

Archives

01 February 2005 by nathaniel

go3

Ok, so MNET (which we do not have in our home) has this weird show, where they get great DJs to come in and do some hot music, while their “TJs” – text jockeys – respond to live SMSs from viewers (dial 34583!) all over South Africa. I was admittedly slightly skeptical at first, and thought it to be a watered down version of Jonah Brucker-Cohen’s awesome collaborative performance, simpletext… but….

go3 on MNET

photo credit: christo doherty

I had a blast. Honestly. The interactions were really funny – I felt like I was on an (localized) IRC, but with a moderator we watched on the telly, and really good, live mixes that we listened to communally, rather than my own MP3s blaring in the background. The show seems to have two audiences – the young teens who sit in front of the TVs with their phones, and the older crew who don’t interact, but tune in for the great live music, glancing at the screen every now and again, to have a giggle at the TJ’s blowing kisses on request.

So, what I’m saying is, this a great mass-media, pop culture adaptation of some relatively simple technology, turned into a complex (but easy to use) relationship. I’d buy that for R2.

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28 January 2005 by nathaniel

links and links

Thanks to PJ and Kieth for their great list of opportunities for those South Africans working in Art, Technology and Communication. Some highlights include:

And also some thanks to Ralph Borland, for this really interesting link, on the work of Char Davies – founder of SoftImage, and artist extraordinaire.

Don’t forget that this weekend, there’s a HUGE Dumile Feni retrospective at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, 18h00 – I caught a glimpse of the amazing show being hung when I had meeting at the Museum yesterday; it’s hot. And next Saturday at 15h00, will be the interactive MA students’ (@ Wits) final exhibition @ the Subsation…. Be there!

Archives

24 January 2005 by nathaniel

re-blog and tidbits

Thanks to MTAA for this interesting link: artfacts.net: top 100 ranking artists. Yes, the list does go beyond 100, and even explains how the ranking works. SA’s own William Kentridge is at 33, I’m proud to say (well above Matthew Barney, which is surprising, yet comforting). Would you believe I’m not even listed? What a sham!

Also from MTAA, an installation version of their extremely compelling turbulence commission, 1 year performance video (aka samHsiehUpdate). Sounds hot.

And thanks to some dandy blogs via my li’l OS X news reader (shrook!), I also found the following interesting tidbits:

Speaking into the Air: A History of the Idea of Communication – an interesting looking book by John Durham Peters, which Marika says is a great read. Her blog is kinda nice ;)

And two great ITP (check out their new website!) courses offered by the amiable Douglas Rushkoff:
Theoretical Perspectives on Interactivity and
Storytelling For Active & Interactive Media

Word.

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