[spectre] irational.org in Novi Sad

[Inke Arns]

Dear Spectres,

the exhibition "The Wonderful World of 
irational.org" which was shown at HMKV in the 
PHOENIX Halle Dortmund in 2006 and which toured 
to the CCA: Center for Contemporary Art in 
Glasgow in early 2007, will be on view from 28 
Oct - 27 Nov 2008 in the Museum of Contemporary 
Art Vojvodina in Novi Sad (Serbia).

The catalogue received the European Design Award 2008.

Hope to se you there,
many greetings,
Inke


* * * *

PREDIVNI SVET IRATIONAL.ORG-a. TEHNIKE, ALATI I DE·AVANJA 1996-2006
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF IRATIONAL.ORG: Tools, Techniques and Events 1996-2006

Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, Novi Sad

Mezdunarodna izlozba cuvenih pionira net.arta
Kustosi izlozbe / Curators: Inke Arns (Dortmund) 
and Jacob Lillemose (Kopenhagen)

Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine, Novi Sad
Dunavska 37, Novi Sad

Izlozba je otvorena / Dates:
28. oktobar - 27. novembar 2008.

Otvaranje izlozbe / Exhibition opening:
Utorak 28. oktobar, u 20:00 ãasova

Diskusija / Discussion:
Utorak 28. oktobar u 18:00 casova
With Inke Arns, Kayle Brandon, Heath Bunting and Jacob Lillemose
Moderator: Kristian Lukic, kuda

Producenti izlozbe / Production:
Centar za nove medije_kuda.org, Novi Sad, http://www.kuda.org
Hartware MedienKunstVerein, Dortmund, http://www.hmkv.de

Koproducenti izlozbe / Co-producers of the show:
Muzej savremene umetnosti Vojvodine, Novi Sad, http://www.msuv.org
Institut za fleksibilne kulture i tehnologije - 
Napon, Novi Sad, http://www.napon.org

Podrska / Generously supported by:
Pokrajinski sekretariat za kulturu i obrazovanje
Ministarstvo kulture Republika Srbije
Cultural Office of the City of Dortmund in the 
framework of the twin cities program 
Dortmund-Novi Sad

Go to the irational exhibition 2006 in the PHOENIX Halle Dortmund
http://www.hmkv.de/dyn/e_program_exhibitions/detail.php?nr=1757&rubric=exhibitions&

Irational is a loose grouping of six 
international net and media artists who came 
together around the server irational.org, founded 
by the British net artist Heath Bunting in 1996, 
going on to make decisive contribution to early 
net art from the mid-1990s onward. They include 
Daniel Garcia Andújar / Technologies to the 
People (E), Rachel Baker (GB), Kayle Brandon 
(GB), Heath Bunting (GB), Minerva Cuevas / Mejor 
Vida Corporation (MEX) and Marcus Valentine (GB).

With dry humor and minimal aesthetics, irational 
commented the Internet hype of the mid-to-late 
1990s, competing with the 
commercialization-euphoria of the new market by 
developing its own pseudo-ventures. Net art was 
immediate during this period, neither needing nor 
enjoying the safety of a mediating space or 
instance. This is why irational often hit upon 
humorless trademark attorneys, who wanted to keep 
irational from using brand names such as 7-11, 
American Express, Sainsburys and Tesco. These 
encounters, which the exhibition documents 
extensively, were little more than a prelude to 
more recent developments on the field of 
copyright, intellectual property, and brand 
protection. Heath Bunting was the first net 
artist to retire in 1997, putting an end to his 
exclusive work in the net and turning back to 
more intensive work in public space, which the 
Internet has become such an important part of 
today. If the activities of irational during its 
"net phase" were dedicated to calling virtual 
boundaries into question, its members now 
experiment with interrogating and overcoming 
economic, political, and social boundaries in 
real space, producing a great deal of comic 
relief, among other things.

The exhibition in Novi Sad is coming after shows 
in Glasgow and Dortmund. Never before have so 
many complex and relevant artworks from around 
irational.org been shown in such a comprehensive 
exhibition. Its goal is to use the media of a 
large-scale presentation, workshops, and a 
comprehensive documentation to make these 
artistic-activist pieces more accessible to a 
general public.



-- 

Dr. Inke Arns
Künstlerische Leiterin / Artistic Director
Hartware MedienKunstVerein
Güntherstrasse 65
D-44143 Dortmund
T +49 - 231 - 823 106
F +49 - 231 - 882 02 40
M +49 - 176 - 430 62 793
www.inkearns.de
www.hmkv.de