Yes, dear readers; my humblest apologies for the inaction on this blog as of late – at some point, I just needed to slow down a bit. I know it sounds lame, but my wife actually took our digital camera with her to an academic conference all this week, and you know how I like to include pix on my blog, in order to support the textual rubbish I spew.
Anyhow, I’ll write some stuff about art in the dark when I get some images (H-O-T), and I’ll certainly post more about the panel discussion tomorrow at the JAG (don’t miss it! mail & guardian pick of the week!). I did see the MTN show over at the Pretoria Art Museum yesterday, as well, tho I was admittedly not that impressed – it seems more of a “showing that we have south african art” than a showcase of our most talented contemporaries (layered pun intended).
Here’s the text, for future reference (the catered event starts at noon, and carries on into the afternoon):
Art pick of the week
Public Walkabout and Digital Media Art Seminar Discussion Johannesburg Art Gallery: December 4
The critical positioning of ’Äúnew media” art, which includes video, digital and net.art, and even installation, within the broader economies of fine and contemporary art, is something that is contended and debated the world over, but more particularly in ’Äúdeveloping” countries, where the digital divide is most fundamentally obvious.
In South Africa in particular, access to technology, illiteracy and the legacy of apartheid education systems, and even access to electricity itself are conditions we live with side by side with wireless communication and other state of the art technologies. There is currently a push for scholars to take an interest in science and technology but how does this figure in terms of technology’s relationship to culture?
As part of an education programme supporting Nathaniel Stern’s current exhibition The Storytellers: Works From the Non-aggressive Narrative, there will a be free, public walkabout of this richly layered and critically informed show at noon on December 4. This is followed by a seminar discussion moderated by writer and editor of Art South Africa Sean O’Toole, and featuring practitioners, curators and artists who work within the field.
The kinds of topics under discussion will include defining the various practices in new media versus digital media, questioning digital media’s role in relation to traditional media like painting, looking at the developmental and educational potential of digital media, and issues concerning the collecting and curating of these ’Äúnew” art forms. Anyone with an informal or professional interest in the digital realm, including artists, designers, writers and composers, should make a point of attending.
’Äî Kathryn Smith
