Does the digital have the potential to change our perception of art?
Preston is soon to host a major digital arts event, Digital Aesthetic 2, bringing together some of the most significant artists, theorists, curators and academics working in the field of new media and digital art from around the world.
Digital Aesthetic 2 is a multi-venue exhibition, conference and website organised by the Harris Museum and Art Gallery and Dr. Chris Meigh-Andrews at the Electronic and Digital Art Unit at the University of Central Lancashire, both in Preston.
The conference and exhibition will highlight, explore and debate the issues and implications of new media and digital work within the field of international contemporary fine art. It follows the successful Digital Aesthetic conference, exhibition and website organised by Uclan and the Harris in 2001.
CONFERENCE:
The aim of the conference is to facilitate good practice in the emerging area of Fine Art practice within the digital domain, to foster and communicate the dissemination of new and theoretical ideas and to provide a forum and to facilitate networking between artists, academics and writers. The conference will be chaired by Dr. Jane Prophet (UK) and the impressive line-up includes high profile international speakers such as Prof. Sean Cubitt (Australia), Prof. Bill Seaman (USA), Lori Zippay (USA) and Prof. David Garcia (Netherlands).
The conference will be chaired by artist Dr Jane Prophet, confirmed presentations include:
Peter Appleton (UK): The Hope St project
Blast Theory (Matt Adams) (UK):
Robert Cahen (France): Screenings of recent digital works
Prof Sean Cubitt (Australia): Light and colour in the digital domain
eBoy (Germany): Parts
Prof David Garcia (Netherlands): Knowledge, Networks, Freedom
Dr Charlie Gere (UK): Hoc est enim corpus meum: Stelarc’s mystical body
Clive Gilman (UK): Gallery as a digital hub
Gary Hill (USA)
Taylor Nuttall (UK): Virtual relationships, individual identity and cultural growth
Avi Rosen (Israel): The ultimate cathedral
Prof Bill Seaman (USA): The thoughtbody environment. Toward the science of
Neo-sentient
Prof Paul Sermon (UK): Puppeteers, performance or avatars a perceptual
difference in telematic space
David Surman (UK): Pagentry and play in digital art
Thomson and Craighead (UK): Sculpting real time
The Vasulkas (USA/Czech Republic/Iceland): Screening of recent digital work
Dr Andrea Zapp (UK): The real and the imaginary: interactive narratives in online
media art installations
Lori Zippay (USA)
EXHIBITION:
The exhibition will consist of work from artists of regional, national and international significance including Simon Blackmore (UK), Thomson and Craighead (UK), eBoy ( Germany ) (image attached) and Gary Hill (USA). Work will be on display at the Harris Museum and Art Gallery and a number of other Preston venues including PAD, PR1 Gallery and St. John’s Minster. The exhibition explores the possibilities of art in a world that offers ever increasing opportunities through digital technology. This is a rare opportunity to see and experience some of the foremost digital art being produced today. The website will accompany the exhibition and will include web based artwork as well as the opportunity to participate in the event.
Exhibiting artists: Cory Arcangel (tbc)/Simon Blackmore/Boredom Reasearch/Robert Cahen/Susan Collins/eBoy/Stefan Gec/Gary Hill/Jane Prophet/Avi Rosen/Bill Seaman/Paul Sermon (tbc)/Thomson & Craighead/The Vasulkas