Hello Spectre!
If you are visiting Riga this week, you are very welcome to visit
net.art.lv exhibition curated by Raitis Smits and myself, and which
takes place in kim? / RIXC gallery at Spikeri quartier. At the close
of exhibition we have also published a catalog, which will be
presented on Thursday, December 16, at 17.00.
with best regards,
Rasa
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WE ARE ON THE NET
net.art.lv exhibition
Works from RIXC.LV server archive
November 5 - December 19, 2010, Riga, Latvia
Pictures from exhibition: http://rixc.lv/projects/netart/photo.html
Exhibition info: http://rixc.lv/projects/netart/
The net.art.lv exhibition WE ARE ON THE NET _ net.art.lv for the
first time has gathered and exhibited the early Internet art works
created by nowadays well known Latvian artists. The exhibited art
works are a part of Latvian Electronic Arts Archive developed by RIXC
with the support of Latvian Ministry of Culture. The Archive is
developed on a base of the content of RIXC.LV (former re-lab.net)
server that has hosted and maintained these early net.art projects
since 1997.
Exhibition WE ARE ON THE NET _ net.art.lv displays a part of the
collected and reconstructed art works created between the mid 1990s
until the beginning of the 21st century. 'Reconstruction' in this
exhibition also means adjusting earlier artworks to contemporary
technological standards, while maintaining their visual appearance
and restoring their functionality.
WE ARE ON THE NET _ net.art.lv exhibition features works by Latvian
artists Rasa Smite, Raitis Smits, Martins Ratniks, Janis Garancs,
Kristine Kursisa, Miks Mitrevics, Girts Korps, Arvids Alksnis, Reinis
Petersons, Janis Avotins, Oskars Poikans, Peteris Kimelis and others.
* Conceptual background:
NINETIES. WE ARE ON THE NET - WE ARE THE NET.
By curators Raitis Smits and Rasa Smite.
The Internet developed rapidly in the mid 1990s providing not only
new technical possibilities for creating artworks but also
facilitating new forms of self-expression and established
preconditions for creation of conceptually new space. Virtuality and
immateriality of the electronic world first and foremost inspired and
united artists for whom it was not so important to produce things but
to make connections.
With an idea of free flowing concepts, collaboratively created
content, free floating locations, the electronic arts laboratory
E-Lab (now RIXC) and its server re-lab.net (rixc.lv), were
established in Riga, Latvia, in 1996. The most active artists, DJs
and musicians, poets and other creative minded people from younger
generation at that time gathered around E-Lab interested to explore
the new medium - the Internet. Along projects produced by E-Lab,
since 1997 re-lab.net/rixc.lv server also hosts net.art works and
creative net projects produced by other Latvian artists.
In a way new media works have realised the old avant-gardist vision
of immateriality. Nevertheless the Internet has most probably made it
even harder to store these works, if compared with contemporary art
installations or video art. One of the main challenges is the rapid
development of digital technologies and thus accordingly - ageing of
previous technologies which endanger existence and maintenance of
electronic art works in longer periods of time.
Furthermore net.art is often created in collective experiments
considering the process of creation as the most important part and
giving the result little attention. Therefore this exhibition poses
challenges on how to display the process of creation or happening as
well as the social context of archived art works and how to transform
online art works into exhibition format.
* Exhibition info:
Exibition open November 5 - December 19, 2010.
kim? / RIXC gallery, Spikeri (Maskavas Street 12/1), Riga, Latvia.
Entrance free.
Opening hours: Mon., Tue: closed, Wed.: 14:00 - 19:00, Thu.: 14:00 -
20:00, Fri.: 14:00 - 19:00, Sat., Sun.: 12:00 - 17:00
Curators: Raitis Smits, Rasa Smite
Scenography: Rudolf Bekic, Raitis Smits
Design: Martins Ratniks
Technical solutions: Davis Bojars, Raitis Smits
Producers' team: RIXC - Rasa Smite, Raitis Smits, Daina Silina,
Agnese Baranova, Linda Vebere
Exhibition is produced by RIXC, the Centre for New Media Culture in
cooperation with Contemporary Arts Project kim?
The exhibition takes place in the framework of RIXC's project
'Latvian electronic art archive and public accessibility' supported
by Ministry of Culture in Latvia. The research on Latvian net.art
works and networked projects that forms the bases of exhibition, is a
part of scientific research project "Electronic arts archiving" in
Art Research Lab (MPLab.lv) of Liepaja University. The research is
also a part of PhD thesis by Raitis Smits 'Maintenance and
representation problematic of new media art' (at the Latvian Academy
of Arts) and PhD thesis by Rasa Smite 'Creative Network Commnities'
(at Riga Stradins University).
* Catalog info:
WE ARE ON THE NET / net.art.lv
Editors: Raitis Smits, Rasa Smite
Design: Martins Ratniks
Publisher: RIXC, the Centre for New Media Culture in Riga, 2010
Languages: Latvian and English, 72 pages
ISBN 9984-9538-9-0
* Support:
Ministry of Culture in Latvia, State Cultural Capital Foundation in
Latvia, EEA Financial Mechanism, Norwegian Financial Mechanism,
Department of Visual Communication in Art Academy of Latvia
Media support:
ir, ? Satori, Easyget.lv, Kultura.lv, Another Travel Guide, Maksla
Plus, Live Riga
* Acknowledgments:
Inke Arns (for the inspiration while curating the irational.org
exhibition in Dortmund); to all who have participated in E-LAB, Ozone
and RIXC projects; and who have helped with producing exhibition:
Laila Baumane, Aldis Bondars, Juris Smirnovs, Ojars Petersons,
Mikelis Putrams.
* Contacts:
RIXC, the Centre for New Media Culture
11. Novembra krastmala 35-201, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia
E-mail: <2010 (at) rixc.lv>
Ph: +371 67228478 (office)
Raitis Smits <raitis (at) rixc.lv>, +371 29401004
Rasa Smite <rasa (at) rixc.lv>, +371 26546776
http://rixc.lv
http://twitter.com/rixcriga
http://kim.lv
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