Visionary Landscapes ELO Conference (5/29-6/1/08)
Mark Marino
"Visionary Landscapes: The Electronic Literature Organization 2008
Conference," sponsored by Washington State University Vancouver and
the Electronic Literature Organization, will be held May 29 –June 1,
2008, in Vancouver, Washington, USA. Over 120 digital media artists
and critics from around the world will participant in the event. The
keynote speaker is internationally renowned artist Mark Amerika (US),
named one of Time Magazine "100 Innovators." His artwork has been
exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, the ICA in London, the Walker Art
Center, and the Denver Art Museum and has been the topic of four
retrospectives. Amerika is also the author of many books, including
his recently published collection META/DATA: A Digital Poetics (The
MIT Press), and is founder of the Alt-X Network and publisher of the
electronic book review. Featured speakers also include hypertext
author John Cayley (UK) and Sue Thomas (UK), founder of trAce Online
Writing Centre and author of Correspondence and Hello World!.
The conference kicks off on Thursday, May 29 with workshops open to
public. The cost is $40 per event. From 9:30-11:30 a.m. Mark Amerika
will teach "Remix Writing and Postproduction Art;" from 12-2 p.m.
multimedia artists Steve Gibson (CA) and Stefan Muller Arisona (CH),
"Live Audio and Visuals;" from 12-4 p.m., electronic literature author
Deena Larsen will teach a workshop entitled, "See Spot Link. Link,
Spot, Link: How To Read and Appreciate Electronic Literature." All
workshops take place on the WSUV campus and are taught in multimedia
labs.
Conference presentations during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday feature
papers that explore forms of digital media that utilize images, sound,
movement, and user interaction as well as—or in lieu of—words and that
explore how we read, curate, and critique such works. Topics include:
* New, non-screen, environments for presenting multimedia writing
and /or electronic literature
* Research labs and new media projects
* Strategies for reading electronic literary works
* Curating and archiving digital art
* Innovative approaches to critiquing electronic literature
* Emerging technologies for the production of multimedia writing
and /or electronic literature
* Building audience for new media literary works and writing
* Digital, literary performances
* Publishing for print or electronic media connecting literature
and the arts through common archiving and metatag strategies
* Artistic methods of composition used in intermedia storytelling
(improvisation, collaboration, sample and remix, postproduction art,
codework, hactivism, etc).
In conjunction with the three-day conference, a Media Arts Show takes
place at Northbank Artists Gallery, Clark College, and Washington
State University Vancouver.
The Opening Reception for the Media Arts Show takes place on Thursday
evening, beginning 6 p.m. at Northbank Artists Gallery, 1005 Main,
Vancouver, WA. The show features electronic literary art by 25
international artists, such as Mez Breeze (AU), Kate Pullinger (UK),
Jan Hakon Erichsen (NO), Marjorie Luesebrink (US), Judy Malloy (US),
Judd Morrissey (US), Talan Memmott (SE), Stephanie Strickland (US),
and Joel Weishaus (US). Artists will be on hand to talk about their
work.
On Friday evening, beginning 7:30 p.m. the Media Art Show moves to
Clark College. Over 20 net artists, including Jonathan Alexander
(US), J. R. Carpenter (US), Donna Leishman (UK), Erik Loyer (US), and
Martha Cruz Gabriel (BR) will be on hand to talk about their art and
screen their work. Saturday evening returns to Northbank Artists
Gallery for a late night multimedia performance by Steve Gibson (CA)
and Stefan Müller Arisona (CH).
The exhibit at Washington State University Vancouver, entitled "Two
Decades of Electronic Literature: From Hypercard to YouTube," features
early pioneering electronic literary works from the personal
collection of noted new media theorist N. Katherine Hayles. Hayles'
collection constitutes the most extensive personal collection of
electronic literature. No other collection of early literary works
produced for HyperCard, Storyspace, and Voyager CD-ROMS exists in one
place. The exhibit at Washington State University Vancouver
constitutes the first time any retrospective of this genre of media
art has ever been exhibited and the first time the Hayles' collection
will have ever been seen by the general public. The event will take
place at the Firstenburg Student Commons and is curated and created by
students from the Digital Technology and Culture Program at WSUV: Greg
Zschomler, Ryan Hicks, and Bryce Van Hoosen. Vintage Macintosh
computers exhibiting the work have been made available from the
personal collection of former DTC student Jeff Grisso. The event runs
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free.
Those interested in attending the conference can register online at
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/dtc/elo08/registration.html.
The cost of the full conference is $180 if registered by May 1; $200
on site. One day registration costs $50 by May 1 and $75 on site.
The general public is also invited to evening events at Northbank
Artists Gallery and Clark College. The cost for each evening is $10.
For more information, visit the conference website at
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/dtc/elo08/index.html, or contact
Dr. Dene Grigar, Digital Technology and Culture Program, Washington
State University Vancouver, 360-546-9487, gri...@vancouver.wsu.edu, or
Dr. John Barber, Digital Technology and Culture Program, Washington
State University Vancouver, 360-546-9645, jfba...@vancouver.wsu.edu.
Mark Marino
ELO
Communications
[Contact: Drs. Dene Grigar and John Barber, Digital Technology and
Culture Program, Washington State University Vancouver,
gri...@vancouver.wsu.edu, or jfba...@vancouver.wsu.edu ]