[spectre] AND Festival net art programme - NOW ONLINE

[Heather Corcoran]

 From Now On This Blog Is Going To Be...

Abandon Normal Devices Net Art Programme
NOW ONLINE! at http://www.andfestival.org.uk
20-27 September 2009

Newly commissioned artworks by Guthrie Lonergan, Oliver Laric, John 
Michael Boling and Hanne Mugaas


Taking its title from a piece by Michael Bell Smith - a simple Google 
search for the phrase - From Now On This Blog Is Going To Be… is a 
curated selection of artist commissioned blogs to be realised online 
throughout the festival dates.

The novice blogger often sets out with huge expectations – from the 
number of readers to the frequency of posts to the quality of content. 
But the unedited, open nature of the medium means the blog often fails 
to find a cohesive voice, instead left abandoned in lost hopes and 
unrealised potential. As Bell-Smith’s piece suggests, the blog creator 
is burdened with a nagging guilt that leaves its traces in posts that 
attempt to revamp and revive the failed blog.

Freed from obligation of an indefinite commitment, the artists create 
time-limited ‘fantasy’ blogs that are realized exclusively for the 
festival dates. The blogs will become a forum for the alternate personas 
and quirky ideas of the artists. In turn, the commissioned artists act 
as official festival bloggers in an Abandon Normal Devices style; not 
conforming to the documentarian image and not even covering the festival 
itself.

The selected artists maintain ongoing blog presences that contrast with 
their fantasy blogs, in addition to creative practices that revolve 
around the internet. They are: Oliver Laric (b. 1981, Austria), 
co-founder of www.vvork.com; John Michael Boling (b. 1983, USA), 
contributor to http://www.rhizome.org; Hanne Mugaas (b. 1980, Norway) 
maintainer of the independent art and eBay blog 
http://www.hanne-mugaas.com/; and Guthrie Lonergan (b. 1983, USA), 
co-founder and contributor at http://www.nastynets.com.

 From now on this blog is going to be… is 2009’s AND net art programme. 
Alongside talks by Lonergan and Laric in the Salons programme, and a 
special screening of viral video curated by Michael Connor, this 
programme highlights new creative practices on the net.

Abandon Normal Devices, Festival of New Cinema and Digital Culture 
debuts in Liverpool, UK, 23-27 September 2009.