[spectre] (fwd) Ars Electronica 2005 - Hybrid: Living in Paradox

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Hybrid: Living in Paradox¬Ý

Digitization and globalization are bringing about worldwide processes 
of restructuring and intermingling of cultures, identities, 
disciplines and previously discrete fields, specialties and domains. 
The rapid ongoing abrogation of boundaries and fusions in art, 
technology and society will occupy the focal point of the 2005 Ars 
Electronica Festival.

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Information about today`s Press conference with Gerfried Stocker (Ars 
Electronica Center) and Christine Schoepf (Austrian Broadcasting 
Company - Upper Austrian Regional Studio on¬Ý 
<http://www.aec.at/presskit> www.aec.at/presskit
>>>>>

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>>>>  2005 Ars Electronica Festival: The Theme

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Nike products in Lagos, manga comix in Grieskirchen, Muslim 
headscarf-rappers in Berlin, ethnic look as accessorized lifestyle, 
media moguls as prime ministers-these are just a few examples of how 
borders are disintegrating and new identities are emerging in a 
globalized, technologized world.

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Science, research, media, politics, art, cultural identity and the 
definition of physicality-boundaries are vanishing clear across all 
spheres and aspects of society. Traditionally separate domains are 
blending together to engender new products, alliances and forms of 
expression. The consequences of this trend that is increasingly 
encompassing and pervading all facets of human creativity are 
"mixed," hybrid solutions like nanotechnology, bionic prostheses, 
culture jams, hybrid motors, podcasting and blogging-to name just a 
few. Via modern media and international networking, individuals have 
long since come to define themselves in terms of a cultural mix 
composed of highlydiverse influences. This development is the source 
of insecurity among many different segments of the human community 
and triggers defensive reactions ranging as far as racism and 
fundamentalism.

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"Hybrid - no other term provides such a consummately appropriate and 
comprehensive description of the highly paradoxical current state of 
our world, one that is characterized by interrelationships that, 
among other things, are extraordinarily contradictory," is how Ars 
Electronica Artistic Director Gerfried Stocker sums this up."Cultures 
are being superimposed upon one another and fused together, barriers 
are being broken down-national ones as well as those of a material, 
technological, psychological and ethical nature."

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An internationally unique series of presentations and events 
including symposia, addresses by artists, exhibitions and 
installations, concerts, performances, workshops, seminars and 
interventions in public spaces will be dedicated to elaborating on 
this theme.

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>>>>  Hybrid Theory / Symposium

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The essential driving forces behind the incredibly rapid and 
widespread development of hybrid phenomena recently have been new 
technologies. A select group of top-name international theoreticians, 
philosophers and scientists will undertake an analysis of the causes 
and consequences of and the deep-seated interconnections among these 
manifestations. Derrick de Kerckhove, head of the Marshall McLuhan 
Program in Culture & Technology at the University of Toronto and one 
of the world's leading media experts, is curating the "Hybrid" theme 
symposium at the Brucknerhaus in Linz. Defining the fundamental 
issues he plans to address, De Kerckhove stated:"Hybrid, the 
symposium, wants to explore the receding or vanishing boundaries of 
identity, the strategies and patterns of how things mix, match and 
marry in design, architecture or recombinant engineering. [...]

A good question is: does the rising consciousness of the hybrid 
condition spell a permanent feature of a globalized culture, or 
merely a transition phase between the era of hardware and the era of 
software?" During four sessions scheduled for September 2-3, 
internationally renowned experts will convene in Linz to confront the 
basic principles and effects of the increasing amalgamation of all 
aspects of human existence and the waning of the limits that had 
formerly separated distinct realms.

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>>>>  Hybrid Art / Performances and Exhibitions

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The artistic efforts being undertaken at the Srishti School of Art 
and Technology in Bangalore, India comprise a mixture of old artforms 
with modern media and, in doing so, become hybrid forms of expression 
between yesterday and today. The City of Bangalore itself is an 
example of a radically hybrid combination of different tendencies in 
a single region, one in which 700 slums are no less characteristic of 
the cityscape than a flourishing IT industry that has earned it the 
nickname "Silicon Valley of the East."

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On Linz's Main Square, the Srishti School will be organizing a very 
special kind of music, video and light performance. Artists in Linz 
and in Malwa in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh will be linked up 
live to present a fascinating mixture of traditional artistic recital 
and international performance featuring a video and light show.

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The Srishti School will also assume responsibility for this year's 
Campus Exhibition at Linz's University of Art and Industrial Design. 
The centerpiece of this installation will be the concept of freedom 
at the nexus of commercial interests and individual creativity. In 
the view of Geetha Naranayan, director of the Shrishti School and 
curator of the exhibition, the success or the ongoing development of 
a society ought to be measured to a lesser extent in accordance with 
the standards of economic progress. Much greater importance should be 
attributed to the ongoing development of personal freedom in the 
sense of the personal capacity for expression and improvement in the 
quality of life for all societies on a global level.

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Theo Jansen is already "breeding" the seventh generation of his 
multi-legged walking critters designed to roam the Dutch coastline. 
His multifarious constructions-or perhaps "life forms"would be a more 
appropriate characterization-range from tiny creatures to immense yet 
surprisingly nimble behemoths that blend high-tech engineering and 
biological principles. They all have one thing in common:They move 
about on multiple sets of legs, and all of their movements are fed by 
gusts of wind, whereby Theo Jansen's creations can also be said to 
represent a vision for futuristic, alternative forms of locomotion. 
In any case, one of his newest creatures already comes equipped with 
a saddle.

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The Dutch artist has been constructing his hybrid forms at the 
interface of nature and technology for about 14 years. Jansen has 
constantly enhanced and upgraded his creatures in a process that he 
refers to as "evolution."

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>>>>  Prix Ars Electronica

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As the world's most important competition in the cyberarts, the Prix 
Ars Electronica has been a trend barometer in the expanding world of 
media art since 1987. The centerpiece of the 2005 Ars Electronica 
Festival lineup is the Prix Ars Electronica awards ceremony staged 
jointly by the ORF - Austrian Broadcasting Company's Upper Austria 
Regional Studio and the Ars Electronica Center in conjunction with 
the Ars Electronica Gala in the Brucknerhaus. The CyberArts 2005 
exhibition at the O.K Center for Contemporary Art will showcase the 
projects singled out for recognition by the 2005 Prix Ars 
Electronica. The winners - outstanding proponents of media art from 
all over the world - will present and discuss their work within the 
framework of the Prix Forums. The conference being sponsored by the 
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Culture and Media Science will 
launch a new aspect of the Festival program.

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>>>>  Hybrid - Living in Paradox: Thursday, September 1 to Tuesday, 
>>>>September 6, 2005

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The Ars Electronica Festival's new format has proved its merit. 
Running from Thursday to Tuesday makes possible a more intensive use 
of the entire weekend, which is now positioned right in the middle of 
the lineup of events."Hybrid - Living in Paradox" will manifest 
itself in a broad spectrum of forms and a wide variety of venues - 
via symposia, discussions with artists and workshops, exhibitions, 
installations and interventions in public spaces, as well as 
performances and concerts. The logo of this year's Festival is based 
on a graphic by internationally renowned artist Daniel Lee, who 
utilizes software to create hybrid forms that blend human and animal 
expressions. Daniel Lee's visual art has been on public display in a 
number of settings recently, in particular the exhibition entitled 
"Andererseits: Die Phantastik" (The Other Side: The Fantastic) in the 
Landesgalerie and the Schlossmuseum Linz.

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For updates, log on to www.aec.at/hybrid

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During the months leading up to the festival, our website 
www.aec.at/hybrid will provide you with regular updates about the 
festival theme, program details and news. During the festival,¬Ý 
<http://www.aec.at/hybrid> www.aec.at/hybrid¬Ý will become Ars 
Electronica's online showcase, delivering live streams from the 
symposia and online reportage about what's been going on at the 
festival.

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Press information in the form of press releases, photo material in 
print-ready format and background information is available at Ars 
Electronica's press portal at www.aec.at/press. Beginning on June 
14,¬Ý 2005 at this address,we'll be starting online festival 
accreditation for representatives of media outlets.

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The Ars Electronica Festival is produced by the Ars Electronica 
Center, ORF - Austrian Broadcasting Company's Upper Austria Regional 
Studio, Brucknerhaus Linz and the O.K Center for Contemporary Art. 
Associate producers are the Linz University of Art, the Lentos Museum 
of Art, Architekturforum Oberˆsterreich and Posthof. The Prix Ars 
Electronica is produced by the Ars Electronica Center and the ORF - 
Austrian Broadcasting Company's Upper Austria Regional Studio. Ars 
Electronica and the Prix Ars Electronica are supported by the City of 
Linz, the Province of Upper Austria, the Office of the Chancellor of 
the Republic of Austria/Art Department, Telekom Austria and 
voestalpine.Additional Support: KulturKontakt Austria, Casino Linz, 
Pˆstlingbergschlˆˆül, Sony DADC und Spring

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Ars Electronica
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Press Team: Partner of the Media

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Pressesprecher / Press Officer¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý ¬Ý

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