NEWSgrist: *Venice Biennale: Katie Holten's Laboratorio della Vigna* Vol

NEWSgrist: *Venice Biennale: Katie Holten's Laboratorio della Vigna* Vol.4, no.11 (June 2, 2003)

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NEWSgrist

where spin is art

http://newsgrist.net

{bi-weekly news digest}

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Vol.4, no.11 (June 2, 2003)

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CONTENTS:

- *Splash* Venice Biennale: Katie Holten's Laboratorio della Vigna

- *NEWSgrist’s Underbelly* post your own

- *Quote/s* Ruff sex? Mall of the Avant Garde

- *Url/s* The Museum You Want; Alladeen

- *See Change* …at Artforum

- *Party Webby* The Webby Awards 2003

- *Deepest Cut* What arts cuts really mean

- *Unpacking Greenaway's Suitcases* Mirapaul on PG's new fling

- *The Walker's Boot, Part II* Walker cuts + expands

- *Book Grist* Crandall's Drive; Persepolis: 'Maus' Iranian style

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*Splash* http://newsgrist.net

Ireland in Venice

Katie Holten : Laboratorio della Vigna

Biennale di Venezia 2003

The exhibition will be open to the public from 15 June – 2 Nov 2003

http://www.irelandatthevenicebiennale.ie/

http://www.irelandatthevenicebiennale.ie/veniceMap.html

http://www.irelandatthevenicebiennale.ie/scroll.html

http://www.irelandatthevenicebiennale.ie/NetscapeScroll.html#where

"This year, Katie Holten represents Ireland at the Biennale. She uses

low key technologies and high-street services to make her work on

site, whether for gallery or non-gallery spaces. She uses organic and

manufactured materials that are locally available. She has included

drawing, sound, textiles, crochet and small assemble objects in her

previous projects. She has worked collaboratively with other artists

and many correspondents who have joined Holten in events and

publications produced by her." --Valerie Connor, curator

Laboratorio

http://www.irelandatthevenicebiennale.ie/laboratorioDrawing.html

Katie Holten will spend 50 days resident in Venice prior to the opening

of La Biennale di Venezia. During this time she will develop a new

work for the Scuola di San Pasquale.

PAPERS, a publishing project by Katie Holten. The first issues will be

compiled during her residency. Production will continue throughout the

Biennale and PAPERS will be distributed free of charge in Venice from

June 12th 2003.

Material for the publications is currently being gathered and will

include texts by international specialists and enthusiasts in fields as

diverse as synchronous speech research, plants, aerospace

engineering, rocket science, poetry and architecture.

Opening Party

On June 13th from 3pm there will be a lunch party in the Scuola to

celebrate the official opening of Katie Holten’s installation.

Events: There might be some music, readings and other events

in the Scuola. These will be advertised locally in Venice on illegal

posters and flyers distributed in bars and cafes. There might be

some other things happening as well.

For further info on any events please email

info@IrelandattheVeniceBiennale.ie

Biennale di Venezia: 15 June - 2 November 2003

Press days: 12 - 14 June 2003

http://www.labiennale.org Official Site of the Venice Biennale

http://www.comune.venezia.it Local events; info about Venice

http://www.recirca.com/artnews/140.shtml article on Katie Holten

splash archived at: http://www.newsgrist.net/Splash_Holten.html

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*NEWSgrist’s Underbelly*

Check for new posts, or post your own news, press releases,

urls, opinions, rants, in the Underbelly : http://pub11.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=870870569

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*Quote/s*

"I suppose the main fantasy Ruff's photographs arouse in me is that

I'll get in trouble for publishing them," said Eric Himmel, Abrams's

editor in chief. […]

Rather than condemning the proliferation of pornographic images, Mr.

Ruff's photographs remind us that the Internet is only the latest--and

probably not the last--visual technology to serve the age-old alliance

between sex and commerce.

"Big Hot Blurry Painterly Nudes!" MIA FINEMAN, NYTimes, 5/18/03

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/arts/design/18FINE.html?pagewanted=all&position=

"I believe that if the Mall of America is about the consumption of

things, a cultural institution like the Walker -- if it is properly designed

and programmed and inviting enough -- can be about the consumption

of ideas. That's what we're really driving for."

Kathy Halbreich, "Walker Art Center director Halbreich envisions

future," by Mary Abbe, Star Tribune, May 18, 2003

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1375/3880562.html

(see *The Walker's Boot, Part II* below)

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*Url/s*

1) The Museum You Want: http://ica.20q.net/intro2.html

JUDITH BARRY LAUNCHES ICA BOSTON'S WEB ART PROJECT

Artnet News, 5/27/03

http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/artnetnews2/artnetnews5-23-03.asp?C=1

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston has commissioned New

York media artist Judith Barry to design the museum's first web-based

art project. Dubbed The Museum You Want, the work is a colorful

"polling game" designed to build a database of questions and answers

that "functions as a neural net" and also as "a museum that operates

with the speed of your thoughts." Barry collaborated with

programmers Max Black, Robin Burgener, designer Michael McLoughlin

and the digital media design studio C404: http://www.c404.com/root/index.html

on the project.

2) The Builders Association/motiroti's

Alladeen : Bangalore-London-New York

http://www.alladeen.com

Alladeen draws on the lives of people living in the global cities of New

York, London, and Bangalore—each a city where many cultures collide,

both in virtual and material reality. Aladdin's story is a perfect vehicle

for this "collision" since it is one that has been revised and re-told

many times. This archetypal rags-to-riches story has traveled from

Asia, to India, to England, to America, and each culture has borrowed,

stolen, and reinterpreted it from the last. Similarly, the interaction of

ethnicity and cultures within these sprawling metropolises blurs the

line between identities, and reflects how cultures reinterpret each

other's signs and stories. Finally, the collaboration between motiroti

and The Builders Association http://www.thebuildersassociation.org

on this project represents our own modest experiment in cultural

collision.

Focusing on the corporate call centres in Bangalore, where Indian

operators are trained to "pass" as Americans, Alladeen explores the

paradoxes of identity in an age of multiple realities. The story of

Aladdin is also particularly resonant for our consumerist culture in that

the tale focuses on class, wealth, social status, and the fantasy of

transformation: transformation of the self through acquisition and

consumerism, and transformation of ordinary objects (a lamp and a

ring, for instance) into manifestations of the sublime. The story can

equally function as a fable about a young person's ability to land on

his feet throughout a process of continual social and personal

displacement.

The Alladeen project has three forms, all sourcing from the same

material: the website, a music video, and a cross media stage

performance. […]

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*See Change*

ARTFORUM TAPS TIM GRIFFIN AS NEW EDITOR

Artnet News, 5/27/03

http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/artnetnews2/artnetnews5-23-03.asp?C=1

When you're on a strict monthly publication schedule, there's no time

to mess around when it comes to filling the top job. One week after

announcing the retirement of editor Jack Bankowsky, Artforum has

named the new holder of one of the art-world's power posts. The job

goes to the magazine's own senior editor, Tim Griffin, a handsome

man in the Bankowsky tradition, who attended Andover and Columbia

University and served as art editor at Time Out in New York before

moving to Artforum. In his more recent writing, Griffin has shown

himself to be a fan of the 2002 Whitney Museum Biennial Exhibition

and of Matthew Barney (he wrote an admiring piece on the artist that

ran as pendant to Roberta Smith's critical one) […] see below: http://www.artforum.com/static.php?pn=inprint&section=issues/200305/new&sid=79de1fadb6a0d8e892fb5f2e75169a6b

INSIDE ART: At Artforum

By CAROL VOGEL

NYTimes, May 23, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/23/arts/design/23INSI.html

This week, Artforum, the most progressive of the contemporary-art

magazines, named Tim Griffin editor as of the October issue. Mr.

Griffin, a senior editor at the magazine, replaces Jack Bankowsky,

who is stepping down to become the magazine's editor at large.

Scott Rothkopf, an art critic, will replace Mr. Griffin and become a

senior editor.

INSIDE ART: Artforum Change

By CAROL VOGEL

NYTimes, May 16, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/arts/design/16INSI.html

After nearly 11 years as editor in chief of Artforum, the most

progressive of the contemporary art magazines, Jack Bankowsky said

he needed a break and announced his resignation. But the magazine's

publishers and its owner, Anthony Korner, didn't want to lose him

altogether. So they compromised. After the September issue Mr.

Bankowsky plans to be the magazine's editor at large in charge of

special projects.

"This new job came out of a wish list," Mr. Bankowsky said. "I will be

putting together one or two special issues a year, organizing ancillary

events like symposia and panel discussions, and exploring book

publishing." He also said he planned to expand the magazine's

coverage abroad. "I'm hoping to push Artforum to another level," he

said, adding that he expected a replacement to be named within a

month.

He has just produced a two-part 40th-anniversary issue, the biggest

in the magazine's history both in size and advertising revenue.

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*Party Webby*

CELEBRATE EVERYWHERE

The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences Proudly Invites

You to the 7th Annual Webby Awards Celebration

http://www.webbyawards.com For the first time ever, The Webby

Awards will be announcing winners online exclusively, giving people

around the globe the chance to celebrate the best of the Web in true

Webby style -- both online and off.

7th Annual Webby Awards Celebration

Date: Thursday, June 5, 2003

Place: Worldwide -- Online and Off

Dress: All Over the Map

ATTEND ONLINE

RSVP now to see the winners unveiled through a unique online

experience which connects and highlights celebrants, nominees and

winners throughout the world.

The site will roll out the red carpet for registered revelers only.

Cocktails not available online.

RSVP at: http://www.webbyawards.com/rsvp

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*Deepest Cut*

Cuts in arts crimp the economy;

Jobs and more to take a hit as states withdraw support [excerpts]

BY ROBERT L. LYNCH

Detroit Free Press, May 21, 2003

http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/elynch21_20030521.htm

As state and local governments adjust their spending to reflect the

weakened national economy, arts organizations are, once again,

among the first to feel the cuts and among the hardest hit.

The budget of the Massachusetts Cultural Council was recently cut by

62 percent; the budget of the California Arts Council was reduced by

41 percent. And Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has proposed a cut

of 50 percent in state support for the arts.

It's ironic that these cuts have come just when the economic activity

generated by the arts is needed most. A study conducted by

economists at the Georgia Institute of Technology for Americans for

the Arts last year revealed that the nonprofit arts industry alone

generates $134 billion in economic activity every year. That's more

than the gross domestic product of most nations in the world. And the

nonprofit arts industry (museums, theater companies, performing arts

centers, orchestras, dance companies, arts councils and others)

generates $24.4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues

annually.

By comparison, federal, state and local governments spend less than

$3 billion on support for the arts each year. The federal budget for the

National Endowment for the Arts, which provides most federal funds to

arts organizations around the country, is only $115 million. And

President George W. Bush recently proposed that it remain essentially

flat for fiscal year 2004.

The financial return on government's investment in the nonprofit arts

is more than eight times the investment -- annually. Even in boom

times on Wall Street no one imagines a return that big. And that is

only the financial return -- over and above the fundamental purpose

of the arts: to delight, to inspire, to portray, to provoke. The arts are

not a luxury. They constitute a major engine of the U.S. economy,

and they should be considered such at budget time.

Government support for the arts is not a handout. It is a financially

wise investment in state and local economies.

Most of us who work in the arts believe that support for the arts can

be justified on purely artistic terms -- beauty, creativity, originality

and vitality. But, at budget time, the arts are up against other pressing

needs, and understanding their economic impact becomes crucial.

[…]

When governments reduce their support for the arts, they are not

cutting frills. They are undercutting a nonprofit industry that is a

cornerstone of tourism, economic development and the revitalization

of many downtowns. When governments increase their support for

the arts, they are generating tax revenues, jobs and the creative

energies that underlie much of what makes America so extraordinary.

Every time our governments, at any level, talk about reducing support

for the arts, Americans should demand to know: Who will make up for

the lost economic activity? Who will provide the 8-to-1 return on

investment that the arts provide in the form of federal, state and local

tax revenues? Who will replace the jobs that the arts support?

The expression "the arts mean business" is not just a slogan; it's an

economic reality that can no longer be dismissed.

ROBERT L. LYNCH is president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, a

nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. Write to him

in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI

48226

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*Unpacking Greenaway's Suitcases*

ARTS ONLINE

An Auteur Packs His Bags to Venture Onto the Web

By MATTHEW MIRAPAUL

NYTimes, May 19, 2003

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/19/arts/19MIRA.html?pagewanted=all&position=

Peter Greenaway's suitcase contains a toothbrush and other travel

needs, writing materials, books, chalk dust and other residue from his

most recent films, and a new plaything: an antique lead soldier with

an arm that does not fully rotate. That toy has caused this maverick

director to consider changing, in a future installment of his current film

project, the fate of its hero, Tulse Luper. "Perhaps he will be attacked

by a hyena or a bear and will have to spend the rest of his time with a

prosthetic arm," Mr. Greenaway said.

He has often been away from his Amsterdam home while finishing his

latest film, "The Moab Story." In addition to luggage, he also travels

with creative baggage: a metaphorical steamer trunk stuffed with 100

years of cinematic history from which he cannot break free. For him,

all movies are illustrated texts rather than purely visual experiences.

As his disillusionment with film grew in the 1990's, he said, it occurred

to him "that maybe cinema was not the ideal medium for me to

express my fascinations."

Could the Internet and other digital technologies be better creative

platforms? Audiences are about to find out. On Saturday "The Moab

Story" will have its premiere at the Cannes International Film Festival.

That day Mr. Greenaway's producer, the Kasander Film Company, is

scheduled to inaugurate a Web site http://www.tulselupernetwork.com

intended to complement the film but also to be its own aesthetic

experience.

"The Moab Story" and the Web site are part of the first phase of what

may become Mr. Greenaway's magnum opus, "The Tulse Luper

Suitcases." The project is as unusual for its scale as for the Internet's

prominent role in it. As now conceived it would eventually include

three to five films, a 16-part television series, a touring theater

production, several books, DVD's and Web sites and an online

computer game. Mr. Greenaway acknowledged that the project's

scale was "megalomaniacal."

The films would follow the fictional Tulse (rhymes with pulse) Luper

from the discovery of uranium in the 1920's to the toppling of the

Berlin wall in 1989. He is a writer and project maker caught up in a

life of prisons around all the world. As Luper travels the world, the

contents of his 92 suitcases would reveal aspects of his life, just as

Mr. Greenaway's suitcase tells a bit about who he is. But each Luper

suitcase holds 92 items, and Mr. Greenaway's prolific imagination has

spawned a story for every one. There also is a modern-day

Scheherazade with 1,001 tales to tell. Each of these stories would get

at best a half-second of screen time even with three 100-minute films.

By putting some material on the Web and DVD's, Mr. Greenaway

wants to let people explore Luper's life more fully and at their own

pace. On the Web a timeline, maps and a story archive will help

visitors delve deep into the character of Luper, whom Mr. Greenaway

described as his alter ego. The site, still under construction, will

evolve, with an online diary for a fictional historian's daily entries

about Luper plus a forum for visitor messages.

The Luper site differs from the typical Hollywood Web site. When the

studios started using the Internet to market releases, they filled their

sites with video clips, cast biographies and violent shooting games. In

recent years a few online projects, like those for the Steven Spielberg

film "A.I." and the Darren Aronofsky film "Requiem for a Dream," have

tried to recreate a movie's tone on the Web. More recently Andy and

Larry Wachowski have used the Internet to offer animated videos

filling in the background for their "Matrix" movies.

But unlike these efforts, the Luper site feels as if it was designed more

to involve than to promote. The Internet is ideal for Mr. Greenaway in

many ways. His films, like "Drowning by Numbers" (1988) and

"Prospero's Books" (1991), are not so much linear stories as archives

of rich visual data that prompt viewers to leap from idea to idea. Just

as one skips from link to link on the Internet, watching a Greenaway

film also feels like surfing, only on a movie screen.

David Pascoe, a modern-culture professor at the University of Glasgow

and the author of "Peter Greenaway: Museums and Moving Images"

(Reaktion Books, London, 1997), said Mr. Greenaway would find the

Internet's nonlinearity appealing. Mr. Pascoe said: "One of his biggest

and chronic gripes is that film has always been too driven by narrative

demands. It may be that the nonlinear nature of the Web allows him

to offer a series of digressions, a sequence of stories, each of which

carries equal weight."

Mr. Greenaway said that as he began to conceive the Luper project in

the 1980's, he realized that he needed a medium with encyclopedic

scope. When the CD-ROM was invented, he said, "I thought they were

doing it exactly for me and nobody else." Since then the CD-ROM

market has nearly been replaced by DVD's and by the Web, which can

be replenished like a bottomless cup of coffee.

Mr. Greenaway said that he appreciated the Internet's immediacy and

interactive quality. Curiously, though, for a director who has famously

resisted the visual language of conventional cinema, he did not seem

ready to embrace the Internet as a radically new medium.

Instead, he said, the Internet had the potential "to take cinema

language into places it's never been before." He added, "I need to be

in there, I want to experiment." He said he ultimately wanted to

create a project like Joyce's "Ulysses" that would "put all the narrative

tropes together so vigorously that, rather like Joyce, you have to

invent a new language."

The Internet's interactive capabilities suit one of the project's main

ideas, that all history is subjective. "There's no such thing as history;

there's only historians," Mr. Greenaway said. "So Ridley Scott making

'Gladiator' in some ways could just be as profound as Gibbon writing

'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' " in how it exposes its

creator's prejudices.

Accordingly, Web site visitors will be encouraged to contribute their

interpretations of artifacts from Luper's life and compare them to the

interpretations of other visitors. Similarly, the online computer game

"Tulse Luper Journey" will require players to share information while

trying to solve its 92 puzzles.

Because players will receive different clues, they must pool their

knowledge to succeed, as if they were historians struggling to under-