[spectre] CALL FOR PAPERS: WAVES (Acoustic Space. Issue #6)

[Rasa Smite]

CALL FOR PAPERS: 

WAVES - electromagnetic waves as material and medium of art 
(Acoustic Space. Issue #6)


We are seeking manuscripts for the upcoming Acoustic Space journal, to be
published for the 8th international Art+Communication festival that will
celebrate its 10th anniversary in Riga Latvia, from August 24-27, 2006.
For the first time the festival will be conceived as a large scale
exhibition event that focuses on the phenomenon of "electromagnetic waves". 

The print journal, Acoustic Space is a forum for net.radio, sound art and
creative explorations in the networked electro-acoustic environments. Now
in its 6th edition, Acoustic Space WAVES Issue will deal with properties of
waves in imaginative ways, exploring, making visible or making us feel
waves on a host of different bands of the spectrum. 

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The main thesis behind the WAVES idea is that when artists take waves
seriously as the medium of their artwork, they start questioning the
boundaries of what can be done with this medium. Electronic information is
a tightly controlled sphere. Yet artists with their electronic DIY kits
have found numerous ways of thinking outside the box, making their own
waves, creating alternative networks and facilities or creatively abusing
existing technology. 

The publication seeks to offer a space of exchange for artists, scientists,
media theorists, radio activists and new media practitioners who are
exploring ideas and notions in relation to electromagnetic waves, spectrum
space, and also waves as a universal principle.  

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* Themes and subthemes:

> scientific/artistic: - radio astronomy - radio cryptography - spectrum
mapping - radio oceanography - climate change research - visualisation and
sonification - ... 

> alternative communication systems: - ad-hoc networking - wireless - ... 

> wave philosophy: - wave-particle duality - wave sculpture -
signal-to-noise ratio - determinism vs indeterminism - quantum spacetime
bubbles - ... 

> social movements: - social cycles - Kondratiev - ... 

> psycho-esoteric-utopian: - ESP, Raudive, Jirgenson - psycho climate
research - Tesla - Schauberger - ...

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We encourage you to submit abstracts first. Proposals and inquiries
regarding submissions should be made to Rasa Smite <rasa at rixc.lv>

Deadline for submissions: February 1, 2006 (for abstracts) 

(+ for finished texts: April 15, 2006)

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* Conceptual background:

By Armin Medosch

Pantha Rei - everything flows

Radio waves occur naturally. Society puts the biggest emphasis on the
ability of waves to carry signals. Radio, television and mobile telephony
are some of the most widely used applications. The worlds fixation on
content and its socio-political implications makes us forget the waves
themselves. The proposed exhibition takes a look at the physical properties
of waves. Waves are considered to be 'immaterial' from the point of view of
visual art. However, light is just a specific band in the spectrum of
electromagnetic waves. Some of the properties of waves change according to
their frequency and wavelength. It is worthwhile looking at those
properties and exploring their implications for art. Wave-like phenomena
play an important role in various aspects of reality, from the physical
consistency of the world (audio-, air-, water-waves) to Kondratiev-cycles
and the carbon-cycle (the storage and release of CO2 by oceans and forests).

A materialistic analysis of waves reveals that there is a direct relation
between the wavelength and the length of an antenna - the device necessary
to receive and send waves. [lambda] = the wavelength of an electromagnetic
wave is the result of the speed of light divided by the frequency. For
instance, the frequency on which wireless lan operates, is 2.4 Gigahertz.
300 000 / 2400 000 = 0.125 km or 12.5 cm. The length of the antenna needs
to be [lambda]/2 = 6.25 cm or multiples of it. Through this formula
expresses itself a link between immaterial wave and physical object. The
antenna as an object combines sculptural and functional aspects. 

We cannot speak about waves without mentioning wave/particle duality. Light
and electromagnetic radiation are actually not only waves but also exhibit
properties of particles. Wave-particle duality also applies to matter.
Thus, the 'building bricks' of matter need to be understood also as waves.
The relationships between wavelength, mass, energy and speed offer exciting
possibilities for an artistic exploration of the ontological status of
affairs. Since 100 years we cannot take the physical status of the world
for granted and must live with an understanding of spacetime which is
counter-intuitive and hard to visualize. For art, this is an interesting
opening, a chance to ask the big questions about fundamentals such as time,
space, energy and substances.

It is a basic property of waves to create connections. Through the antenna
we get access to Hertzian space. Artists using electromagnetic waves as
their medium are creating wave-sculptures, real-time connections in time
and space, which allow us to enter another space. Those connections can go
both ways from formlessness to form and structure and back -- the
materialisation of the inconcrete and its opposite. 

Around planet earth a tight information sphere has been formed. Whereas
some artists explore this thicket of global communication networks with
various probing techniques, it becomes increasingly clear that it does not
make much sense to add just another communication channel to this already
babilonic mess. Increasingly artists focus on experimenting with their own
signals and systems instead of relying on the commodified information
infrastructures of the global media sphere. By creating mobile ad-hoc
networks or by pointing antennas towards outer space or the depth of oceans
artists literally open up the horizons towards the possibilities of a new
way of seeing and interacting with the world. 


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* Editorial team: 

Concept: Armin Medosch <armin at easynet.co.uk>
Editors: Rasa Smite <rasa at rixc.lv>, Armin Medosch, Raitis Smits 

* Contact: rixc at rixc.lv

Address:
The RIXC, The Center for New Media Culture
11. Novembra Krastmala 35 - 201, Riga, LV 1050, Latvia. 
Tel. +371-7228478, +371-6546776 (mob.),
Fax: +371-7228477
URL: http://rixc.lv

http://rixc.lv/waves

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