July 15, 2011
Turbulence Commission: "look art" - a MUD/MUSH* exhibition with works by Thomas
Asmuth, Alejandro Duque, and Christopher Poff
http://turbulence.org/works/lookart
Openings: July 16, 2011 at 10:00 am and 6:00 pm PST
[Needs Software Download. Follow Directions to Connect]
* MUSH is a pun on MUD -- most often expanded as Multi-User Shared
Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also
observed -- a text-based online social medium to which multiple users are
connected simultaneously.
Built on MUSH code, "look art" is a contemporary consideration of the
Multi-User Dungeon (MUD), a pervasive late-twentieth century, text-based,
online environment that was a precursor to today's Massively Multiplayer Online
Role-Playing Games (such as "World of Warcraft" and "Second Life"). MUDs were
influenced by early role-playing games like "Dungeons and Dragons," that relied
on the user's ability to conjure images through text -- unlike today's
dependence on high-resolution graphics (which were not possible then). Because
the connection protocols are simple, the text-only space is accessible via many
clients, including mobile phones.
The inaugural exhibition features the work of three artists: Thomas Asmuth is
creating ASCII portraits, making a wonderful connection between the traditional
atomic gallery and the virtual; Alejo Duque is building a communication
platform on top of a distopian view of the present; and Christopher Poff
invites you to enter his manifesto and engage with it directly.
On July 16, you are encouraged to explore and experience the art and to drop
into the Turbulence Lounge for a conversation with the curator, the artists,
and other participants. Additional events are planned for the coming months.
"look art" is a 2011 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its
Turbulence website. It was made possible with funding from the National
Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided by The CADRE Laboratory for
New Media.
BIOGRAPHIES
Thomas Asmuth's (US) work centers around the culture and aesthetics of science
and technology, social practices, and performance. Other current projects
include autonomous robotics, an exploration of the identity of the 'Space Race'
generation through portraits and imaging, and a project in tactical
media/wearable computing. He is an alumnus of the CADRE Laboratory for New
Media and the San Francisco Art Institute. Asmuth's projects and collaborations
have been exhibited internationally including: 01SJ ('06 and '08), Laguna Art
Museum, the Tang Teaching Museum, and transmediale09. He is a principle in the
development of the digital media curriculum at the University of West Florida
as a Visiting Assistant Professor.
Alejandro Duque (Switzerland-Colombia) is an artist and a current PhD candidate
at the European Graduate School, Switzerland. His research is entitled "Gifted
Malice, Kinship Through the Wires and the Waves". Duque dedicates his
free/libre time to experiencing all possible ways for
collaborative/participatory arts that celebrate cultural agitation across all
possible networks, mostly in a South to East axis. His current interests deal
with HAM radio, streaming media and satellite listening and spotting. He is
also an active member of networks such as Bricolabs, dorkbot, labSurlab and
[k.0_lab] and is easy to spot on the IRC freenode network @ dspstv.
Christopher Poff is a digital artist who specializes in reality / simulation
interfaces. He works with digital interactivity and physical computing
utilizing Arduino, Java, digital video, After Effects, Illustrator and
Photoshop. Poff has an extensive background in programming and scripting, both
from school and from years of MUSH / MUX experience. Prior to studying Arts and
Technology at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, he was a Computer
Science / Physics double major. He presently works in the Exhibits Department
at the Betty Brinn Children's Museum as their Technical Developer.
Ars Virtua is a virtual gallery and new media center (http://arsvirtua.com)
founded by James Morgan in 2006. Past collaborations with Turbulence.org
include: "honesty is our policy" (2006), a net art exhibition in Second Life;
"Ars Virtua Artist-in-Residence" in Second Life (2007); and "Mixed Realities"
(2008), an international competition, exhibition, and symposium that occurred
simultaneously in Boston, Second Life and on http://turbulence.org.
"Like" us on Facebook:
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Please support the Turbulence Commissions Program. See http://turbulence.org
for details.
Jo-Anne Green
Co-Director
New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.
New York: 917.548.7780 Boston: 617.522.3856
http://new-radio.org
http://turbulence.org
http://somewhere.org
http://networkedbook.org
http://turbulence.org/blog
http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review
http://turbulence.org/upgrade_boston
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