[artinfo] VJ-BOOK.COM launched

[Timothy Jaeger]

**********PRESS RELEASE ***********************

**** please forward to all interested parties ******

5/9/05

VJ-BOOK.COM Launched

IT'S OFFICIAL. VJ-BOOK is one of the first books to be published on VJ
culture, and potentially the first to theorize VJing in a way that breaks down
the practice and reception of live visuals in a systematic, structured way.

VJ-BOOK: Jockeying and Post-Cinema (tentative title) begins its inquiry
where Godard and Peter Greenaway leave theirs in proclaiming that "cinema is
dead". The cinematic language is a rich, engrossing one that remains unexplored
in traditional Hollywood-style narratives. Contemporary VJs (video-jockeys)
are the first group in the 21st century to seriously engage and question the
potentials and limitations of the cinematic medium in a wide variety of
formats and contexts.

The central claim in VJ-BOOK is that ëjockeyingí is a behavior, role,
and activity that facilitates a radically new kind of post-cinematic
experience. This experience can only be 
articulated in relation to traditional film
syntax. In doing some, the similarities and 
differences between this new type of
cinema and the older one flesh out new possibilities for producers of the
moving image, the audience, and the spaces in 
which cinema can not only be seen,
but happen as events.

By breaking apart these elements, and exploring them in depth, a new kind
of language can emerge, one that shapes and is equally shaped by the
current discourse around the moving image. For 
instance, the relationship between
the image and screen is often neglected by traditional filmmakers, but VJs
consider it with a heightened awarness when 
preparing for a gig. VJing is one of
the first new art movements to be uniquely democratic in its production, as
well as distribution models, and its influences 
and effects (ranging from motion
graphics, design, Internet, etc.) are hashed out. Further, it is a
global movement, and encompasses a wide variety of scenes. VJing in the era of
globalization becomes a hotly contested them. And the cutting edge /
periphery of VJ culture, festivals and events 
that showcase new ways of producing
and receiving cinema (such as database performance) are highlighted.

A semi "open-source" Image Gallery of everything from screengrabs,
performance shots, as well as glimpses into the 
lifestyle of contemporary VJing will
provide the lush background imagery for the full-color book, which will
be heavily designed and conceptually laid-out in print form. Beta-Readers
will also offer running commentary of VJ-BOOK, illuminating a
threaded-conversationmode of response that will 
appeal naturally to multi-taskers of the
Internet generation. Capsules and directed 
interviews with leading VJs will delve
into both the history and current trends and concerns (such as videoblogs, the
much maligned "wallpaper VJ" label, festivals vs. clubs) that shape the
discourse in our globalized, connected world.

The tentative release date for VJ-BOOK is December 2005/January 2006 in
a limited edition print format.

VJ-BOOK is currently seeking a publisher of glossy art/design books. To
this end, we are sending out manuscripts and maquettes of the finished
product. If you or someone you know is affiliated 
with a publishing house that is
interested in learning more about VJ-BOOK, please direct inquiries to
info at vj at book.com.

VJ-BOOK has already been offered tentative distribution in Finland, and
is also looking for translators to translate the forthcoming book into Spanish,
Chinese, German, etc.


info at vj-book dot com

http://www.vj-book.com