[rohrpost] Media Art 2.0 Manifesto

[Pit Schultz]

forward by alexei shulgin, yesterday who i visited in his gallery aka
museum shop
aka interior design shop aka meta media art gallery. even if the swan
song on media
art is a procedure we go through every year once again, it becomes more and more
attractive and convincing, is media art in its ruins able to finally
create a refreshing
angle of observation?  i am more than exited
to post this here on this german list.. ! (btw, the text is not to be
found in the printed catalogue)

>>

Electroboutique: Media Art 2.0

Today, when any critical artistic statement is drained of its power
within the rigid frameworks of the unilateral capitalist world, a
critical artist can no longer create while contemptuously looking down
at commercial art and design that is governed exclusively by market
laws.

At the same time as it becomes smarter and more refined, capitalism
intrudes into most revolutionary, autonomous, and secluded areas of
human activity.  This is not to suggest that avant-garde art creation
always stood in opposition to capitalism. The modernists, taking part
in the evolution of design, worked in factories developing furniture
and fabrics in order to bring art to the masses. Parallel to the
evolution of Dada, the ready-made, and later, pop art, the theory and
philosophy of art and culture contemplated the balance between the
poles of capitalism and art, unique and mass-produced objects, high
and low culture, professional and amateur, practical and
dysfunctional.  As the newest weapon of capitalism, information
technologies dictate new social and cultural contexts and within
these, uncover new challenges.

Our answer to the dilemma: Media Art 2.0

Media Art 2.0 goes beyond the limits of new media art

New media art today consists overwhelmingly of one-of-a-kind works
presented by the authors themselves at festivals and specialized
exhibitions. As a rule, such pieces are high-maintenance and complex
in configuration -- and thus are destined to remain in a media art
ghetto. We propose all-in-one plug-and-play solutions. Media Art 2.0
presents art objects as technological products that are ready to be
consumed here and now by anyone.

Media Art 2.0 is market-friendly art

We produce a limited number of copies (like Ferrari) and sell them at
affordable prices (like Sony). This is possible because we develop our
own reliable electronic devices and thus do not depend on overly
complex multi-functional digital systems. Each piece has a unique
edition number and the authentic signatures of its authors. We also
offer limited lifetime warranties for our products.

Media Art 2.0 goes beyond the know-how of IT corporations

These corporations are not capable of transcending the pragmatism of
their products. While attempting to enrich their products with
artistic qualities, corporate designers follow the path of banal
adornment -- decoration with gold, Swarowski crystals, and diamonds --
which raises the price and renders the products "exclusive." Such an
approach does not make a mobile phone or an MP3 player a work of art.
Limited lifetime of electronics contradicts the apparently "eternal"
value of the decorative materials.

Media Art 2.0 is the answer to the stagnation of the art market

It proposes a solution when the art market acquiesces to the demands
of traditional art forms and is incapable of digesting truly
contemporary artistic ideas. Our products harmoniously combine actual
art, up-to-date techno-culture, design, and media art.  We return to
the roots of the avant-garde and occupy our own niche in the system of
capitalist production and consumption. We address advanced consumers
who are not satisfied by mass products -- whether cool design gadgets
or the endlessly reproduced traditional art forms.

Media Art 2.0 is the avant-garde of today

We return to art the things that design borrowed from art at the
beginning of the 20th century: the search for new form and content;
the artistic experiment as play; and the joy of everyday life.  We
live in a world of visual interfaces. Televisions, print
advertisements, politics, shop-windows, show-business, internet
services, bank systems are primarily interfaces whose task is to shape
the process of information transfer and the translation of ideas.
Working with visual interfaces, we make them visible and tangible.  We
uncover the structures of today's world. This approach fills our
products with a critical charge. In answering the challenges of today,
we flush clean the media channels and establish new standards. By
infiltrating public spaces and private homes, we bring art and
alternative aesthetics into people's everyday lives.

Aristarkh Chernyshev, Roman Minaev, Alexei Shulgin.
Moscow, June-September 2007