[spectre] International Design Conference in Aspen, ambient : interface

Wed Jul 14 23:17:04 CEST 2004

From: Benjamin H. Bratton <benjamin at cultureindustry.com>

54th International Design Conference in Aspen
ambient:interface
Co-chairs: Christian Moeller and Benjamin H. Bratton
August 25-28, 2004

http://www.idca.org

IDCA:54 ambient: interface brings into focus the design complexities of
connection, contact and interaction. ambient: interface explores how
computation changes design’s imagination of these complexities and their
translation into the making of the material world. We propose for
consideration an image of the world as an interface, and of all design
as interface design. 

Not only does computation change how design works, more importantly it
changes how design thinks. Computation transforms one practice into
another: cinema into architecture, product design into philosophy, urban
planning into advertising. 

Design is an expertise in points of contact, in the interfaces between
people, systems and effects. In our network culture, contact is
condensed into buttons and icons, menus and dashboards, and into
familiar pathways and fast surfaces, diagrams and directions.
Interfaces are nodes along lines of urban flow:  terminals, spectacles,
ports and stations. Interfaces link and partition society itself, as
belief systems, ballots and borders.

Such points of contact, everywhere and nowhere at once, connect each of
us to the operating systems of interdependency, power, and opportunity.
They are not just our interfaces to the world, but also the world's
channels to us. 

To the 54th Annual meeting of the International Design Conference in
Aspen, we have invited designers and artists who work with many kinds of
interfaces-- virtual and tangible, portable and environmental-- in ways
that move us emotionally and physically. We have asked them to
demonstrate their expertise in conceiving and critiquing the interface
as a moment of exchange.

Confirmed speakers include: Caroline Bos, Urban Designer, UN Studio,
Rotterdam; Benjamin H. Bratton, The Culture Industry, SCI_Arc and UCLA;
Joel Budick, Robotics, CalTech; Hernan Diaz-Alonso, Digital Architect,
Xefirotarch and SCI_Arc; Jan Edler, Media Architect, realities-united,
Berlin; Natalie Jeremijenko, Artist/ Technologist, Yale and U.C. San
Diego; Norman M. Klein, Media Historian, CalArts; Thomas Y. Levin,
Princeton, Media Theorist, New York; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Media
Artist/Architect Montreal and Madrid; Greg Lynn, Digital Architect,
FORM, Los Angeles; John Maeda, Software and Interaction Designer, MIT
Media Lab, Cambridge, MA; Christian Moeller, Media Artist/ Architect,
UCLA; Wolfram Putz, Environmental Design, GRAFT, Los Angeles; Fiona
Raby, Interaction Design, Dunne+Raby and Royal College of Art, London;
Joachim Sauter, Media Artist/ Architect  Art+Com, Berlin; Mikon Van
Gastel, Environmental Communication, Imaginary Forces, New York.

For extensive biographies of the IDCA 2004 participants go to
www.idca.org/2004speakers

Special events:

- Vladislav and Liudmila Kirpichev, London and Moscow

- Children who will be attending IDCA this year are invited to
participate in a three day workshop with the Kirpochev's, which will
culminate with an exhibition at the end of the conference.

- “War of the Worlds,” Peter Cho

- “Infinite Pianos,” Drew Schnurr

For more information on the Special Events see go to
http://www.idca.org/2004/display.php?show=special_events

Registration:

To register online, or by fax, mail or wire transfer, or for
registration information and reservations go to
http://www.idca.org/idca/registration.php
Special student discounts apply. 

Contact: Helene Fried at hfried at idca.org or call 1 (800) 815-0059

Mail:

IDCA
PO Box 664 
Aspen, CO 81612 
USA

________________________________________________________________________
Satellite Events:

In addition to gathering in Aspen in August, the IDCA community will
convene twice over the summer for two satellite conferences in Los
Angeles and New York. 

New York
at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation on
July 19 at 4:00 PM, Wood Auditorium

http://www.arch.columbia.edu
400 Avery Hall
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212-854-3510

Directions: http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/tour/no_js/avery.html

IDCA:54 New York was co-organzed by Ed Keller, with Benjamin H. Bratton,
William MacDonald, and Jeffrey Inaba.

                      * Benjamin H. Bratton, SCI_Arc and UCLA, IDCA:54 
                      * Hernan Diaz-Alonso, SCI_Arc and Columbia 
                      * Tina Di Carlo, MOMA 
                      * Keller Easterling, Yale 
                      * Shelley Eshkar, Artist, New York 
                      * Jeffrey Inaba, SCI_Arc and Harvard 
                      * Ed Keller, Columbia/ A.UM Studio 
                      * Tali Krakowsky, Imaginary Forces 
                      * Mark Leiter, Leiterco.com 
                      * William MacDonald, Columbia/ Kolatan MacDonald 
                      * Chris Romero, Oscillation.com 
                      * Vivian Rosenthal, TRONICStudio.com

Los Angeles
at M&A (Materials & Applications, Architecture and Landscape Research)
on July 29 at 7:30 PM

http://www.emanate.org
1619 Silverlake Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Tel: 323-913-0915
Email: jenna at emanate.org

IDCA:54 Los Angeles Co-Sponsors:
SCI_Arc (The Southern California Institute of Architecture), Archinect,
and VICE
http://www.sciarc.edu
http://www.archinect.com
http://www.viceland.com

Benjamin H. Bratton, SCI_Arc and UCLA, IDCA:54
David Erdman, SERVO
Helene Furjan, UCLA and SCI_Arc 
Peter Lunenfeld, Art  Center College of Design 
Richard Metzger, Disinfo.com, Los Angeles
Daniel Sauter, UCLA 
Marcelo Spina, Patterns, SCI_Arc

We extend our appreciation to all of our satellite event co-sponsors for
their generous hosting and support of these events. See below for
instructions on joining our mailing list at
http://www.idca.org/2004/display.php?show=satellites

Join our mailing list to receive information about these events as soon
as it is available at http://www.idca.org/idca/information.php

________________________________________________________________________
About IDCA:

Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke founded the International Design
Conference in Aspen more than fifty years ago. He and his wife Elizabeth
envisioned Aspen as a place where leaders from throughout the world
could gather to share ideas. Their vision was first realized in 1949
when the Goethe Bicentennial celebration attracted more than 2,000
people to Aspen to honor the 200th birthday of Goethe, the great German
humanist. Albert Schweitzer opened the convocation.

In 1951, two years after the Goethe Bicentennial, Paepcke established
the IDCA as an opportunity to bring together designers, artists,
engineers, business and industry leaders. That first June, some 250
attendees and their families assembled for four days of presentations on
the theory and practice of design. The title, "Design as a Function of
Management," was chosen to ensure the participation of the business
community.

The IDCA, along with the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival
and School, grew out of the Paepckes' belief that Aspen provided an
ideal environment for nurturing the whole human being. Isolated from the
distractions of urban life and inspired by the abundant natural beauty
of the Colorado Rockies, people could take advantage of Aspen's
recreational, intellectual and cultural resources. They would return
home renewed in "body, mind and spirit," a concept that has come to be
known as "The Aspen Idea." Today, Aspen is renowned for its wide range
of cultural activities and opportunities for learning.

Mailing List:
Go to http://www.idca.org/idca/information.php

Press:
Press should direct inquiries to 
http://www.idca.org/2004/display.php?show=press_room
hfried at idca.org

Other Questions:
Please address all questions regarding ambient:interface to Helene Fried
at  hfried at idca.org or call 1 (800) 815-0059

Mail: IDCA
PO Box 664 
Aspen, CO 81612 

________________________________________________________________________
ambient : interface grid
IDCA:54 visual identity 
Rebeca Mendez 
http://dma.ucla.edu/people/faculty.php?ID=32

We look forward to your joining us in Aspen at the end of August.

Christian Moeller and Benjamin H. Bratton

---------------------------------
Benjamin H. Bratton
SCI_Arc (The Southern California Institute of Architecture) and
UCLA, Department of Design | Media Arts, Faculty
The Culture Industry, Principal
bratton at cultureindustry.com
(323) 646-8071