[spectre] Electromagnetic Bodies Exhibition - Rotterdam opening Thursday May 4

[stephen kovats]

Electromagnetic Bodies:  Aether, Desire and Resonance in Art and 
Technology
Opening Thursday May 4th, 2006
20.30 at TENT.CBK and 22.30 at V2_Rotterdam
www.v2.nl

V2_Institute for the Unstable Media in collaboration with TENT. Center 
for Contemporary Art Rotterdam present Electromagnetic Bodies: Aether, 
Desire and Resonance in Art and Technology. Referring to the pioneering 
work of Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), the exhibition explores the notions 
of being and desire in a society determined by our bodily immersion 
within an ubiquitous and omnipresent electromagnetic realm. This is the 
zone where the physical boundaries between what may be called 
"organic", or bodily sensors, and technological constructs intermingle. 
Considering the now lengthy history of the cyborg, the electron beam 
and the warp engine as a cultural concepts, one may wonder whether the 
distinctions between the natural world and globalised technologies are 
still valid. These issues were topics of Tesla's investigations a 
century ago as he sought to create a new utopian ‘World Society’ fueled 
by free energy created by the earth’s own natural electromagnetic 
sphere. The contemporary implications of these observations and 
predictions in today’s world of wireless detachment and unlimited 
mobility still present enigmatic research material to both scientists 
and artists alike.

Electromagnetic Bodies features electronic, interactive and acoustic 
artworks by Ælab, Jean-Pierre Aubé, Craig Baldwin, Matheusz Herczka, 
Simone Jones, Marie-Jeanne Musiol, Carsten Nicolai, Paulette Phillips, 
Catherine Richards, Jocelyn Robert, Daan Roosegaarde David Tomas, Edwin 
van der Heideand Norman T. White, with commissioned works premiering by 
Michiel van Bakel with Bill Spinhoven,and Marnix de Nijs.

Exhibition runs daily except Mondays May 4th - June 4th 11.00 - 18.00 
at TENT.CBK and V2_Institute for the Unstable Media
Guided tours are available through <vera at v2.nl> by advance reservation.

The Electromagnetic Bride conference, accompanying the exhibition, 
hosted by the Goethe-Institut Rotterdam, will take place on Saturday 
May 6th from 10.00 to 17.00.

The project is supported financially by the Mondriaan Foundation, the 
Stichting CBK Rotterdam, The Canada Council for the Arts, The Conseil 
des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, TheFilmfonds Amsterdam, and the 
Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affaires. Electromagnetic Bodies: Aether, 
Desire and Resonance in Art and Technologyis based on the Resonance: 
Electromagnetic Bodies international touring exhibition initiated and 
curated by Nina Czegledy and Louise Provencher in Canada, and 
co-curated by Stephen Kovats and Willie Stehouwen in Rotterdam.

Venues:

TENT. Centrum Beeldende Kunst
Witte de Withstraat 50
3012 BR Rotterdam
tel **31 (0)10 413 5498
www.tentplaza.nl

V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media
Eendrachtsstraat 10
3012 XL Rotterdam
**31 (0)10 206 7272
www.v2.nl

Goethe-Institut Rotterdam
Westersingel 9
3014 GM Rotterdam
**31 (0)10 209 2090
http://www.goethe.de/ins/nl/rot/deindex.htm