Monday, May 2, 2005

Summer Literary Seminar

This year's Summer Literary Seminar in St. Petersburg includes a week-long hypertext seminar led by Noah Wardrip-Fruin.

This is the first time they've offered a hypertext course. More info, including enrollment, at:

http://www.sumlitsem.org

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through April.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Signal or Noise 2k5: Creative Revolution?

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society to host "Signal or Noise 2k5: Creative Revolution?", a conference on how digital technologies are enabling new artistic genres and forms of creativity

CAMBRIDGE - Friday, April 8, The Berkman Center for Internet & Society will host "Signal or Noise 2k5: Creative Revolution?", a conference on how digital technologies enable new artistic genres, creators, and business models, and challenge existing ones. As digital technologies enable audiences to become artists and publishers, often by building off others' work, some are celebrating the popularization of the creative process -- while others are decrying theft and plagiarism.

"New technologies are making digital creativity possible for many more people than ever before. These new contributions to our culture are exciting -- but they are also challenging, because these creative works don't fit the traditional commercial model and often involve the active reuse of existing art," says John Palfrey, Executive Director of the Berkman Center. "Our traditional copyright doctrine is struggling to adapt to the digital age. How can we balance original artists' rights and interests with the interests of expanding popular creativity?"

The conference will explore the legal, ethical, cultural, and business implications of creative reuse through an exciting mix of performances, demonstrations, and panels. Artists' complex reactions to commercial, artist, and audience reuses of their works; the challenges new derivative genres present to traditional copyright doctrine; and the opportunities and complications presented by noncommercial creation and widespread free republication will all be addressed.

An eclectic group of well-known digital artists, writers, entertainment lawyers, copyright experts, and musicians will share their perspectives and experiences. Scheduled panelists and performance artists include New York Times bestselling author Matthew Pearl, copyright scholar Terry Fisher, fanfiction author Naomi Novik, David Dixon of Beatallica, Paul Marino of machinima.org, and Wendy Seltzer and John Perry Barlow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Members of the media are invited to cover this event. To obtain a press pass, please contact Amanda Michel, amichel@cyber.law.harvard.edu or (617) 495-7547.

"Signal or Noise 2k5" will be held in Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall on the Harvard Law School campus. The conference is from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For more information, including panelists' bios, please visit: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sn/

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School was founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development.

Tuesday, April 5, 2005

Digital Arts and Culture 2005

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Digital Arts & Cultures (DAC) Conference 2005: "Digital Experience: Design, Aesthetics, Practice"

December 1st - December 3rd, Copenhagen, Denmark

The 6th DAC conference will be held at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 1st to December 3rd 2005. Researchers and practitioners from all related disciplines are invited to participate in this event and to exchange ideas, theories and experiences regarding the state of the field of digital arts, cultures, aesthetics and design anno 2005.

ON THE THEME: DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

The DAC 2005 conference invites critical examinations of the field of digital arts and culture, which challenge existing paradigms. We call for papers which examine both theoretical and hands-on approaches to digital experiences and experience design. Since the inaugural DAC in 1998 much has happened, and research has matured from early investigations into the problematic nature of new media towards questions of emergent dynamics, user centered design and various forms of interactivity. At the same time, the realization has grown that users of digital media not only are active participants, but also have to be taken into account at all stages of the design and production of digital experiences How do practitioners (programmers, artists, designers etc.) cater for this kind of active and demanding user? What kinds of experiences can we create? How can these experiences inform us? How do we as academics analyse and evaluate digital experiences? DAC has always been interested in exploring the ways in which digital media do things that traditional media cannot. We believe that the focus on 'experience' in DAC 2005 will illuminate the possibilities of digital media beyond the functional possibilities of 'usability'. What are the aesthetic and cultural implications of digital design as experience?

For suggestions of more specific topics of the papers, see the website.

SUBMISSIONS

We call for submission of full papers only. It is possible to submit either a full-length paper (max. 10 pages) or a short paper (max. 4 pages). We also invite invitations for self-organised preconference workshops.

All papers will be reviewed by an independant review committee, which will provide written feedback on each paper. Submission of full paper (long & short) & workshop proposals: August 8th Submission of camera-ready papers: October 28th

CONTACT

Conference organiser, academic officer: Tasha Buch, IT University of Copenhagen (tabu@itu.dk)

Conference chair: Lisbeth Klastrup, IT University of Copenhagen (klastrup@itu.dk)

Conference chair: Susana Tosca, IT University (tosca@itu.dk, currently on maternity leave)

- we look forward to meeting you at DAC 2005!

Monday, March 28, 2005

Special Issue Call for Papers:

"Minority languages, multimedia and the Web"

For The New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 2005 (2)

Guest Editors:

Daniel Cunliffe, University of Glamorgan, UK (djcunlif@glam.ac.uk), Susan Herring, Indiana University, USA (herring@indiana.edu)

Information and communications technology, and in particular the World Wide Web, can be a double-edged sword as regards the maintenance and revitalisation of minority languages. On the one hand, minority language communities can be active shapers of these technologies, creating their own tools, adapting existing tools to local needs, and creating culturally authentic, indigenous electronic media. On the other hand, these technologies can be seen as a force for globalisation and neo-colonisation, reinforcing the existing dominance of majority languages and breaking down geographical boundaries that in the past may have protected minority language groups.

Researching the effects of multimedia and the Web on minority languages is challenging, and it is not yet clear how best to utilise these technologies to maintain and revitalise minority languages. This special issue invites researchers and practitioners who are actively engaged in addressing these issues from practical or theoretical viewpoints to share their findings and experiences and to contribute to a platform for future research. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

Minority language applications:

• designing, implementing and evaluating applications
• measuring the impact of applications on language use
• promoting indigenous production and participatory design

Influence of ICTs on minority languages:

• adaptation of languages to online environments, e.g., Romanisation
• behaviour of minority language speakers in online environments

Measuring online minority languages:

• quantitative and qualitative measurement of online presence and use
• content related analysis of online presence and use

Strategic issues:

• understanding barriers to online minority language use
• integrating multimedia and the Web into language planning

Article submissions should typically be no longer than 7,000 words (excluding references) and should follow the formatting guidelines in the Instructions to Authors on the NRHM web site (www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13614568.asp). Submissions should be sent by email to the Guest Editors, in Word, rtf or pdf format. If you have any questions concerning the scope of the call or require further information, please contact the Guest Editors. Open topic papers meeting NRHM's scope in general are also welcome (contact the Editor for further information).

Submission deadline: April 30, 2005

Acceptance notification: June 30, 2005

Final manuscripts due: August 31, 2005

NRHM Editor Douglas Tudhope - dstudhope@glam.ac.uk

Associate Editor Daniel Cunliffe - djcunlif@glam.ac.uk

NRHM is published by Taylor & Francis

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Project X Theatre

Project X Theatre + The Planetary Collegium =

digital performances machinima net art artificial life digital music & dance interactive art sound & light show video screening intelligent architecture 3D game environments virtual reality & more

Saturday, April 9, 2005 7 pm-11 pm

Southside on Lamar, 1409 Lamar #003, Dallas, 75215

Tickets, $10 Parking available.

http://www.nouspace.net/dene/media-arts-event.html

http://www.projectxtheatre.com

Monday, March 21, 2005

Boston CyberArts Festival

The centerpiece of Ideas in Motion is a two-day conference on April 23 and 24, the first weekend of the Festival. The conference includes a keynote address by Prof. John Mitchell of Arizona State University and two afternoons of presentations, short performances, and Q&A by an exciting, diverse cast of artists and technologists — April 23, 2-6pm, Simmons Hall at MIT, 229 Vassar Street, Cambridge; and April 24, 1-6pm, Boston University New Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.

Read more at BostonCyberarts.org

Monday, March 21, 2005

Flash for Cash

Deadline is nearing for the Flash for Cash competition!

The Brief:

Using the provided Netkeepers.ca imagery produce a flash based campaign that promotes the Netkeepers.ca brand and product to the community.

The Campaign:

1. The campaign must be built in flash

2. Duration to be no more than 1 minute

3. All content must be original or royalty free

4. No restrictions on file size

5. Dimentions of the campaign to be 419 x 179

How it works?

A panel judges will assess all the entries and then select the top 10. The Finalists will be promoted on the Netkeepers.ca site and open to the public/community to vote on. There will be a first second and third place based on the number of votes for each design.

What you get?

1st Place:

$1,000 CDN cool hard Cash + 1 year free hosting at Netkeepers.ca

2nd Place:

Ipod Mini + 1 year free hosting at Netkeepers.ca

3rd Place:

Ipod Shuffle + 1 year free hosting at Netkeepers.ca

Timeline:

Entries to be submitted by midnight Friday, April 1st, 2005 (EST)

Voting begins 9am Monday, April 4th, 2005 (EST)

Voting closes midnight Friday, April 8th, 2005 (EST)

The winner will be announced at FITC 05

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Flash video

Flash video/film is becoming quite the thing to do!

There is a Flash Film Festival at the FlashForward 2005 (San Francisco, April 6-8). There are 15 categories (!) - Application, Art, Cartoon, Commerce, Educational, Experimental (exciting!), Game (I wish Madison would get her act together and submit some of her stuff), Motion Graphics, Navigation, Original Sound, Story, Technical Merit, 3D, Typography, and Video.

At first, it might seem excessive to have so many categories. But I think it is the right way to go - this way, people with excellent story telling skills have a chance to get through even if their technical skills aren't the best.

Some of my favorite finalists:

The Interactive Church Music Player, which lets you decide tempo and choose the dynamics for the choral voices while you look at the music score.

The pieces by Abnormal Behavior Child - especially Rooms. She could have toned down the flashing, though! Perhaps it was meant as a cool effect, but it does nothing but aggravate you after a while.

Osman Dinc's portfolio is amazing. I love his illustrations - and the way he lets you browse them!

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

The Electronic Theater

The Electronic Theater is one of the world's most prestigious film and video extravaganzas, showcasing dazzling and innovative imagery in invited and submitted works selected by a distinguished jury of computer graphics experts and specialists. The works selected for this year's Computer Animation Festival take us on a remarkable journey that combines the talent and brilliance of the current and future trends in art and science with the very best imagery depicting comedy, drama, romance, action, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, and science fact.

The Electronic Theater melds art with the latest trends in hardcore computing. It's the place to spot future trends in films and commercials.

Selections Include:

An amazing look behind the scenes at Shrek 2; from the Matrix "Making of The Superpunch"; from Weta how they created the world of "The Return of the King"; and backstage at The Polar Express. From the utter cutting edge of the research labs the absolutely incredible "Output-Sensitive Collision Processing for Reduced-Coordinate Deformable Models" and the sublime "Gratuitous Goop"

Thursday, Febuary 10, 2005, Boston Public Library - Rabb Auditorium, 700 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston MA

Visit Web site at http://www.v-site.net/siggraph-ne/nextmeeting.html

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Closed doors

I picked up a copy of Malcolm Gladwell's Blink yesterday. Suddenly, standing in the store with this book in my hands, I had this thought... what would my daughter's first impression be of me? Would she reject me? Would she accept me as her father?

I wanted to go and hear his talk at the First Unitarian Church in Harvard Square last evening. But when I arrived, the church doors were closed, and a large, disgruntled crowd were standing outside. "What is going on," I asked someone. "They won't let us in," he said, angrily, "they're fully seated and have no room for us... this is a church, for heavens' sake!"

I'm not sure why I feel such disappointment. The Griffin seemed to think I needed to hear this talk and now I feel that I have lost an opportunity. I must read this book carefully.

Monday, February 7, 2005

What is conceptual writing?

- Kansas City Venues Put Forth Answers

Kansas City's leading arts publication, Review, will feature a special section on conceptual writing in its March 2005 issue. Guest edited by Kansas City writer Debra Di Blasi, the pages will include original text, images, interviews, and dialogs by some of the nation's most prominent innovative writers and publishers like Eduardo Kac who writes living, mutating poetry in genetic code, and collaborators Alexandra Grant and Michael Joyce literally move writing from page to canvas.

Two events will parallel the issue's publication: An exhibition of conceptual writing will open at the Van Ackeren Gallery on the Rockhurst University campus March 4, 5-8 PM. Exhibited works will include original texts and images by the Review contributors, and pages from innovative texts of the past. On April 30, 2 PM, Steve Tomasula will read from his highly acclaimed novel, VAS: An Opera in Flatland, also at Van Ackeren Gallery, followed by a discussion on conceptual writing by visiting writers. Additional conceptual works and information about the writers will be available online at www.jaded_ibis_productions.typepad.com.

Di Blasi, who studied creative writing at University of Missouri-Columbia and San Francisco State University and took a degree in painting from Kansas City Art Institute in the 1980s, feels conceptual writing is likely to find a more sympathetic audience in the visual arts. "There is a sense of risk-taking and fearless exploration in the visual arts that is sadly lacking in literature today. American fiction, for example, is still closely allied with 19th century naturalism and far less interested in the possibilities of the form than the visual arts. It's increasingly difficult to get published these days if your literary investigations occur far from the mainstream center."

For information on where to obtain a copy of Review, go to www.ereview.org, or call 816-471-2343. For exhibition and reading information, contact Anne Austin Pearce at Rockhurst University, (816) 501-4407.

Friday, January 28, 2005

CONFERENCE ON THE BOOK

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is delighted to announce:

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE BOOK

Oxford Brookes University, 11-13 September 2005

The conference will address a range of critically important themes relating to the book - including the past, present and future of publishing, libraries, literacy and learning in the information society. Main speakers will include some of the world's leading thinkers and innovators in the areas of publishing, editing, librarianship, printing, authorship and information technologies, as well as numerous presentations by researchers and practitioners. Publishers, librarians, academics, teachers, authors and associated professionals are all welcome to attend. For further information, please visit the conference website, or reply to the above email address.

For those wishing to submit a proposal to the conference call-for-papers, 30 minute paper, 60 minute workshop and 90 minute colloquium sessions are available. The deadline for the first round call for papers is 17 February 2005. Visit the conference website for the closing dates of subsequent rounds.

Tuesday, January 4, 2005

O'Reilly Emerging Technology

Another conference I'd love to be at... The O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference, March 14-17, 2005, San Diego, CA

The slogan is Remix: your hardware, your software, your media, your world.

Many interesting sessions here. Like Reinventing Radio: Enriching Broadcast with Social Software:

How could you enhance a one-to-many national radio station by building in the many-to-many-style interactions of Flickr or the weblog community? How might lessons from social software further blur the distinction between listeners and broadcasters by pushing interactivity beyond the phone-in or the online poll?

Some of the session doesn't have descriptions yet, but sound fascinating, like this one titled Folksonomy. A quick google search gave me a broad introduction to the term, and I found some weblogs to watch as well:

Thomas Wander Val (who coined the term folksonomy)

Gene Smith (very interesting weblog)

Monday, January 3, 2005

ALIVE@9th Street

ALIVE@9th Street Presents

Storytelling and the Internet Age:

New Media, Nonlinear Expanded Cinema, Flash Animation and Interactivity

What do Java Script, Stock Market Ticker Tape Machines, Web Services and User driven interactive digital experiences have to do with storytelling? Find out the answer to this and more as storytellers and technoids who get your heart thumping and have you hanging onto the edge of your seat come together for the second program in the Ninth Street Independent Film Center's inaugural Forum Series ALIVE@9th Street. Storytelling and the Internet Age takes a look into possibilities for the future of techno-storytelling. Join moderator Peter L. Stein (Executive Director, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival) for a evening with documentary filmmaker, writer and teacher, Carroll Parrott Blue (recipient of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Online Award); Flash technology pioneer Louis Fox (founding partner Free Range Graphics); animation whiz, entrepreneur and activist Brad deGraf (credits include Jetsons: The Movie, Robocop 2); and acclaimed video and digital artist, and pioneer in digital innovation, Lynn Hershman-Leeson (Technolust, Conceiving Ada), Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 7:00pm, 145 Ninth Street, 1st Floor Screening Room, SF (between Mission & Howard). $10 advance, $5 students, call (415) 552-5950.

ALIVE website

Monday, January 3, 2005

DAC 2005

Digital Arts and Cultures is back! This time in Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2005. We'll be there... will you?

Browse previous DAC conferences:

DAC 2003
DAC 2001
DAC 2000
DAC 1999
DAC 1998

Thursday, December 2, 2004

City Symphonies & Urban Memories

Interesting next week:

City Symphonies & Urban Memories: Database Documentaries from the Labyrinth Project

December 7: Presentation, Marsha Kinder and Scott Mahoy

6 p.m. Bill Bordy Theatre, 1st floor, 216 Tremont St., Boston.

Reception/Exhibit:

8 p.m. Huret & Spector Gallery 6th floor, 10 Boylston Place, Boston.

December 7-10: Exhibit

December 7: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

December 8-10: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Huret & Spector Gallery 6th floor, 10 Boylston Place, Boston.

More information on this and other events can be found on the City in Transition website, www.emerson.edu/city