[artinfo] Fwd: read_me 1.2: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

[Andrea Szekeres]

>From: Olga Gorunova <og@avia.formoza.ru>
>Reply-To: Olga Gorunova <og@avia.formoza.ru>
>
>Subject: [spectre] read_me 1.2: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
>
>read_me 1.2
>software as a work of art
>or artistic software manipulations 
>http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/about-en.html
>
>entry form http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/add-en.html
>
>CONCEPT:
>A rather problematic question on Artist - High Technologies and 
>Production, and moreover mass production, relations remains unsolved up to 
>this day. What position should an artist and an activist take in face of 
>mass high-tech production intended to serve an artist, an intellectual or 
>a modest toiler of computer industry?
>Recent situation:
>
>- public and personal space being filled with mass production software, 
>commercial and by far not always well-functioning: at times open source 
>programs work better;
>- suggestion of specific methods of work as constraining a specific way of 
>thinking;
>- a number of programs is regarded as artistic tools finally giving 
>artists an opportunity to "create" in computer medium, while in reality 
>time and again manipulating artists, limiting creative freedom, directing 
>artistic activities into a predefined field.
>The space of battles for public, for attention, for influence on culture 
>has almost completely moved into social space of media technologies. 
>Artist aimed exclusively at self expression, even by means of media 
>technologies, has no chance to be heard. In order to be actual, artist 
>must acquire new methods of work in social spaces and react to questions 
>occupying society.
>Artist immersing in production and software development sphere, which is 
>allegedly intended to facilitate our lives on the way of progress, has a 
>chance to find his audience and to actually influence culture.
>Artist parodying commercial software development company is able to 
>influence perception and way of thinking of people, to whom otherwise he 
>would not have any access.
>Artist creating or using software "differently" is able, at least for the 
>time being, to conquer commerce in its omnipresence and to introduce art 
>into such spheres, in which its presence wasn't primordially considered.
>
>International festival read_me 1.2 is dedicated to the artistic 
>comprehension of software: adjusting, creating and deconstructing 
>software. The impact on the ordinary perception of a program and the on 
>what is commonly understood as media space, the demonstration of profound 
>properties and qualities of programming, the open source ideology support, 
>alternative methods of work and self expression of an artist, - continuing 
>the list of software art ideas is up to the festival participants!
>
>PROGRAM:
>Since the beginning of read_me 1.2 entries submission all projects will be 
>available online on the festival site. You will be able to download 
>programs and vote for the ones you like most. The special Audience Choice 
>prize will be given on the results of vote totals.
>Authors of the best works, in the opinion of international jury, will be 
>invited to Moscow, where they will present their works to public. Jury 
>will take active part in the festival. During the festival there will be 
>exhibitions and presentations of works by their authors, lectures of 
>invited artists and theorists, concerts and parties. The Awards ceremony 
>will be held on the last day of the festival.
>
>A CD-rom catalog of the best works will be released based on the results 
>of read_me 1.2.
>
>AWARDS:
>Authors of the best works will be awarded special money prizes from 
>"ROSIZO" and "Macros-center":
>
>1st prize - 500 USD
>2nd prize - 400 USD
>3rd prize - 300 USD
>
>International jury members will be annoounced soon.
>
>IMPORTANT DATES:
>call for entries: October 2001 - January 2002
>deadline: January 31, 2002
>preliminary judging: February 2002
>festival: April 2002, Moscow.
>
>Following works can be referred to as artistic software:
>- Instructions (read_me) on adjusting standart (commonly used) software, 
>as well as patches and any kind of impact on software, whose results are 
>not planned by producers and application of which leads to creation of an 
>artistic product.
>- Deconstruction of existing software products, including computer games.
>- Written from scratch program with purpose differing from usual rational 
>software purposes, i.e. refusal of the idea of a program as a purely 
>pragmatic tool.
>
>Since the curators of the festival do not consider it necessary for the 
>framework of the artistic software categories to be too narrow, contact 
>curators, if you are not sure if your work is suitable for read_me 1.2!!
>
>more about the conditions on http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/add-en.html
>
>SPONSORED AND SUPPORTED BY:
>"ROSIZO" - State Center for Museums and Exhibitions, Moscow
>
>ORGANIZERS:
>"Macros-center", Moscow (http://www.macros-center.ru):
>Sergey Teterin (teterin@pisem.net) and Olga Gorunova (og@macros-center.ru)
>
>COORDINATOR:
>Ekaterina Lazareva (kl@macros-center.ru)
>
>CONSULTANT:
>Alexei Shulgin  (alexei@easylife.org)
>
>http://www.macros-center.ru/read_me/about-en.html
>
>
>"Macros-center" was founded in autumn of the year 2001 in Moscow under 
>State Center for Museums and Exhibitions "ROSIZO". It is an initiative 
>intended to react to interesting and nontraditional phenomena in the 
>sphere of media-art, in the area of intersection of arts, culture and new 
>technologies. "Macros-center" is focused on art adequate to information 
>society and new world order, on artistic and theoretic interpretation of 
>the new reality. The activity of Media-art-center is directed toward 
>creating the field of the working ideas on actual media-art, toward 
>stimulating interest in new artistic strategies and projects, toward 
>organizing space capable of supporting and initiating different artistic 
>and critical media-activities.