[spectre] read_me 1.2: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

[Olga Gorunova]

read_me 1.2
software as a work of art
or artistic software manipulations http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/about-en.html

entry form http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/add-en.html
 
CONCEPT:
A rather problematic question on Artist - High Technologies and Production, and moreover mass production, relations remains unsolved up to this day. What position should an artist and an activist take in face of mass high-tech production intended to serve an artist, an intellectual or a modest toiler of computer industry?
Recent situation: 

- public and personal space being filled with mass production software, commercial and by far not always well-functioning: at times open source programs work better;
- suggestion of specific methods of work as constraining a specific way of thinking;
- a number of programs is regarded as artistic tools finally giving artists an opportunity to "create" in computer medium, while in reality time and again manipulating artists, limiting creative freedom, directing artistic activities into a predefined field.
The space of battles for public, for attention, for influence on culture has almost completely moved into social space of media technologies. Artist aimed exclusively at self expression, even by means of media technologies, has no chance to be heard. In order to be actual, artist must acquire new methods of work in social spaces and react to questions occupying society.
Artist immersing in production and software development sphere, which is allegedly intended to facilitate our lives on the way of progress, has a chance to find his audience and to actually influence culture.
Artist parodying commercial software development company is able to influence perception and way of thinking of people, to whom otherwise he would not have any access.
Artist creating or using software "differently" is able, at least for the time being, to conquer commerce in its omnipresence and to introduce art into such spheres, in which its presence wasn't primordially considered. 

International festival read_me 1.2 is dedicated to the artistic comprehension of software: adjusting, creating and deconstructing software. The impact on the ordinary perception of a program and the on what is commonly understood as media space, the demonstration of profound properties and qualities of programming, the open source ideology support, alternative methods of work and self expression of an artist, - continuing the list of software art ideas is up to the festival participants! 

PROGRAM:
Since the beginning of read_me 1.2 entries submission all projects will be available online on the festival site. You will be able to download programs and vote for the ones you like most. The special Audience Choice prize will be given on the results of vote totals.
Authors of the best works, in the opinion of international jury, will be invited to Moscow, where they will present their works to public. Jury will take active part in the festival. During the festival there will be exhibitions and presentations of works by their authors, lectures of invited artists and theorists, concerts and parties. The Awards ceremony will be held on the last day of the festival.

A CD-rom catalog of the best works will be released based on the results of read_me 1.2.

AWARDS:
Authors of the best works will be awarded special money prizes from "ROSIZO" and "Macros-center": 

1st prize - 500 USD 
2nd prize - 400 USD 
3rd prize - 300 USD

International jury members will be annoounced soon.

IMPORTANT DATES:
call for entries: October 2001 - January 2002 
deadline: January 31, 2002
preliminary judging: February 2002
festival: April 2002, Moscow.

Following works can be referred to as artistic software:
- Instructions (read_me) on adjusting standart (commonly used) software, as well as patches and any kind of impact on software, whose results are not planned by producers and application of which leads to creation of an artistic product.
- Deconstruction of existing software products, including computer games.
- Written from scratch program with purpose differing from usual rational software purposes, i.e. refusal of the idea of a program as a purely pragmatic tool.

Since the curators of the festival do not consider it necessary for the framework of the artistic software categories to be too narrow, contact curators, if you are not sure if your work is suitable for read_me 1.2!! 

more about the conditions on http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/add-en.html

SPONSORED AND SUPPORTED BY:
"ROSIZO" - State Center for Museums and Exhibitions, Moscow

ORGANIZERS:
"Macros-center", Moscow (http://www.macros-center.ru):
Sergey Teterin (teterin@pisem.net) and Olga Gorunova (og@macros-center.ru)

COORDINATOR:
Ekaterina Lazareva (kl@macros-center.ru)

CONSULTANT:
Alexei Shulgin  (alexei@easylife.org)

http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/about-en.html


"Macros-center" was founded in autumn of the year 2001 in Moscow under State Center for Museums and Exhibitions "ROSIZO". It is an initiative intended to react to interesting and nontraditional phenomena in the sphere of media-art, in the area of intersection of arts, culture and new technologies. "Macros-center" is focused on art adequate to information society and new world order, on artistic and theoretic interpretation of the new reality. The activity of Media-art-center is directed toward creating the field of the working ideas on actual media-art, toward stimulating interest in new artistic strategies and projects, toward organizing space capable of supporting and initiating different artistic and critical media-activities.