[spectre] user_mode = emotion + intuition in art + design

honor honor@va.com.au
Wed, 06 Nov 2002 17:26:44 +0000


Dear All,

I thought that this would be interesting to some spectres.  This is the 
first call for papers for an event at Tate Modern called 'user_mode', which 
looks at the subject of emotional engagement within interactive art and 
design.  We would be very interested to receive some expressions of 
interest from members of the list who may have ideas for presentations, 
performances for the event.

I hope this is of interest.

Best wishes


Honor Harger
Webcasting Curator
Interpretation & Education, Tate Modern
Digital Programmes, Tate
honor.harger@tate.org.uk
http://www.tate.org.uk/audiovideo/
PH: (44) 020 7401 5066




FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT: OPEN CALL FOR PAPERS

user_mode
= emotion + intuition in art + design

an international symposium and festival
9 - 11 May 2003
Tate Modern
London, UK

A collaboration between Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design 
<http://www.csm.linst.ac.uk/> and Tate Modern <http://www.tate.org.uk>

user_mode is an international, multidisciplinary symposium looking at 
interactive art and design practices. It will examine one of the key 
concerns for many creative practitioners - engaging the emotions of the 
audience/user.

Artists, designers and critics frequently refer to "emotional engagement". 
What is meant by this? Is it immersion, rapture, agency, reflection? This 
question is crucial to interactive art and design practice where the user's 
response is sensitive to context and can not only influence the form and 
content of the work but also, in some cases, the future direction of 
technological development. user_mode will aim to locate techniques, 
instruments, contexts and terms to provide clearer insight into this theme.

user_mode will provide an opportunity to hear from internationally renowned 
artists, designers and theorists as well as emerging practitioners. It is 
intended that concerts, performances and drop-in studios featuring artists, 
designers, architects, researchers and technicians informally presenting 
works in progress will complement presentations and panel discussions.

Key contributors will include: Sara Diamond (Director, Media and Visual 
Arts Banff, Canada), Stuart Jones (composer/performer/interactive sound 
artist based in the UK), Lev Manovich (New Media theorist), David Ross 
(Director of the Beacon project New York, and formerly Director of San 
Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art) and 
Tobi Schneidler (Architect, Interactive Institute, Stockholm)


___user_mode : thematics

How do you engage and sustain the interest of the user/visitor/player in an 
interactive experience whether it be reflexive architecture, interactive 
film, art installation, responsive environment, computer games, 
performance, product, communication or experience design?

Questions for discussion may include: does interactivity promise a more 
profound experience than more traditional responses to art and design? What 
does it add? How is it measured? Does interactive work offer more than 
conventional cinema, theatre, painting or architecture in emotional terms? 
Is there more sense of participation?

user_mode will seek to identify models of emotional engagement, aiming to 
question, extend and rework the most topical of the categories outlined below:

- Emotion as content or theme of the work
- Emotion as agency and control
- Emotion as subjective experience
- Emotion as a cognitive and physical process
- Emotion as an element of discovery learning in interactive exhibitions
- Emotion and navigation in architecture
- Emotion and narrative in film
- Emotion and gaming
- Emotion in sound composition and audio environments


___user_mode: submissions

We are now calling for papers from artists, designers, theorists, 
technologists, scientists, architects, musicians, philosophers and others 
interested in this field.

The call for papers is aimed at all disciplines that can contribute to this 
discussion. Fresh perspectives will be sought by bringing together 
different disciplines to share their views.

You are invited to submit a short proposal for a 30-minute 
visual/audio/verbal presentation in the conference or a performance or a 
studio demonstration. Your proposal should include the following information:

1. Name
2. Location
3. Contact Details
4. URL (if applicable)
5. 250 word proposal
6. Type of proposal (is it a paper, a studio demonstration or performance?) 
7. 200 word biography

Proposals must be sent via email. Please include: "user_mode proposal" in 
the subject line. The following formats will be accepted:

* plain text format in the body of an email.
* RTF attachments (rich text format)

Support material can be sent via post, if necessary. Please contact us if 
you wish to post support material.

DEADLINE: 1 JANUARY 2003

Email proposals to:

Tricia Austin, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design
Email: p.austin@csm.linst.ac.uk

&

Honor Harger, Tate Modern
Email: honor.harger@tate.org.uk



___user_mode: collaborators


Tate Modern
http://www.tate.org.uk
Tate Modern is Britain's new national museum of modern art. Housed in the 
former Bankside Power Station, Tate Modern displays the Tate collection of 
international modern art from 1900 to the present day. There is also a full 
range of special exhibitions and a broad public programme of events 
throughout the year. Tate Modern is committed to education, and as a new 
national museum is determined to seize the opportunity to pioneer 
innovative approaches to education and interpretation. Tate Modern's 
wide-ranging public programme includes talks, courses, films, conferences 
and symposia involving artists, critics, writers and academics. user_mode 
will be the latest in a strand of events which explore the context of 
culture and technology.


Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
http://www.csm.linst.ac.uk
Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design has a worldwide reputation 
for fostering creativity and innovation. The courses and research 
activities are a key part of the international contemporary art world and 
design industries. From communication design, industrial design to fashion 
design and performance the college aims to develop practitioners with 
agility and intelligence who question convention, anticipate change and 
experiment with new forms and new technologies. Central Saint Martins 
College of Art and Design is part of the London Institute. user_mode is a 
collaboration between Tate Modern and The School of Graphic and Industrial 
Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and represents an 
ideal opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of topical themes 
within a multidisciplinary context.


Intel Corporation
user_mode is supported by Intel Corporation, the world's largest 
manufacturer of microprocessors, also a leading supplier of computer, 
networking and communications products.



___user_mode: contacts

Website to be launched in December.

For more information about this event or any other Tate Modern event, 
please see: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/programmes/events.htm

or contact:
Honor Harger, Webcasting Curator, Interpretation & Education, Tate Modern
Email: honor.harger@tate.org.uk
PH: (44) 020 7401 5066

For more information about Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design:

Email: p.austin@csm.linst.ac.uk
URL: http://www.csm.linst.ac.uk