[spectre] Exhibition, UFS (User Friendly Society), September 23 - October 30 2011

[galerija galzenica]

" UFS (User Friendly Society) "

Paolo Cirio, Sally Grizzell Larson, Kristijan Kožul, Société Réaliste

Septemeber 23 - October 30, 2011 in Galženica Gallery (Velika 
Gorica/Zagreb) at 8 p.m.


It doesn't take a scientist to notice the powerful effect of modern 
technology on our daily lives. Whether Google has a degrading or 
enriching effect on us, cataloguing us into some kind of Borgesian 
library that comprises the total of human knowledge, is no longer a 
question reserved only for media theorists. Neither is the question of 
whether technology liberates us, strengthening our cognition abilities 
or, on the contrary, limiting us by allowing easier control over 
individual and social life, bound to a particular discipline 
(philosophy, medicine, sociology, etc.), but is questioned on a daily 
basis. Since technology is not God-given, the questions we pose must 
relate to the causes and conditions of technological inventions, rather 
than to their consequences alone.

Therefore, it seems interesting that the traditional field of applied 
arts (design) - mostly due to the proliferation of new technologies – is 
increasingly focusing on shaping social practices, rather than on 
designing usable items. As our power and control over nature increase, 
as it becomes somehow more condensed/concentrated, being literally 
shaped through different protocols, so does the importance of those who 
govern these processes. It seems as if the traditional task of design is 
changing: instead of beautifying and improving everyday life, it appears 
that design is more and more involved in defining it.

---

Paolo Cirio (1979)has worked as media artist in various fields: net-art, 
street-art, video-art,public-art, marketing-art, software-art and 
experimental storytelling. He investigates into perception and creation 
of cultural, political and economic realities manipulated by new modes 
of control over information's power.
http://www.paolocirio.net/

Sally Grizzell Larson is an American independent visual artist working 
mainly in the field of video art and photography. Screenings of her 
video works include 11° FILE(Electronic Language International 
Festival), São Paulo; Berlin International Directors Lounge; Rencontres 
Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid; Alternative Film/Video Festival, 
Belgrade; Big Screen Project, New York; Image Forum Festival of 
Experimental Film and Video, Tokyo; NewFilmmakers NY, Anthology Film 
Archives; and the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ Festival of Film 
and Media Arts.
http://rhizome.org/profiles/sallygrizzelllarson/

Kristijan Kožul (1975) studied art at the Academy of Fine Arts in 
Zagreb, Croatia, and continued his studies at the Kunstakademie in 
Duesseldorf, Germany, graduating in 2002. His art was shown at the 
Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, Croatia; ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany; 
Haifa Museum of Art, Israel; and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New 
York, USA. He had solo shows at TZR Galerie, Duesseldorf, Germany; 
Galerie Anhava, Helsinki, Finland; and Goff and Rosenthal, New York, 
USA, among others.
http://kristiankozul.com/home.html

Société Réaliste is a Parisian cooperative created by Ferenc Gróf and 
Jean-Baptiste Naudy in June 2004. It works with political design, 
experimental economy, territorial ergonomy and social engineering 
consulting. Polytechnic, it develops its production schemes through 
exhibitions, publications and conferences.
http://www.societerealiste.net/


Curators: Klaudio Štefančić, Sanja Horvatinčić and Nina Pisk



-- 
Pučko otvoreno učilište Velika Gorica
GALERIJA GALŽENICA
Trg Stjepana Radića 5
HR - 10410 Velika Gorica
tel:+385 1 6221 122 /  fax: 6226 740
www.galerijagalzenica.info