#011 Nov 1992

                  THE INTER-SOCIETY FOR THE ELECTRONIC ARTS

                           THE ISEA NEWSLETTER

                          NUMBER 11, NOVEMBER 1992
__________________________________________________________________________

Editors: Wim van der Plas, Dirk Boon (Holland). Correspondents: Yoshiyuki
Abe (Japan), Roger Malina (US), Ivan Pope (UK),Leslie Bishko (US),Rejane
Spitz (Brazil). ISEA, POB 60103, 9703 BC Groningen, The Netherlands.
Tel 31-50-425254, Fax 31-75-701906, Email ISEA@RUG.NL or
A430WYNA@DIAMOND.SARA.NL
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                                  CONTENTS
          ---------------------------------------------------
          EDITORIAL
          EXHIBITION                            Yoshiyuki Abe
          NIGHTMARE AT THE HELMSLEY PALACE    Kaylen Whitmore
          SIGGRAPH93 ART SHOW                Wim van der Plas
          MONTAGE'93
          THE COMPUTER IS NOT SORRY              Reed Altemus
          SURVEY                             Wim van der Plas
          DAY WITHOUT ART                      Susan Kirchman
          HYPERTEXT, HYPERMEDIA                   Judy Malloy
          CALENDAR
          ----------------------------------------------------

EDITORIAL

BOARD
In the October issue of the ISEA Newsletter, we introduced our readers to
the proposed Board of the Inter-Society. Resumes of the board members were
included. However, one of the American-based board members, Simon Penny,
was not able to provide us with a resume in time. He was traveling. After
he came back, he sent us this resume "off the top of his head":

Simon Penny
RESUME: born 1955, educated South Australian School of Art and Sydney
College of the Arts. PS1 international studio 1983-4, New York (1 year).
Since fall 1991, starting a new program Electronic Intermedia, at the
University of Florida. Curator and Chair, Machine Culture, the Siggraph
1993 Artshow. Attended FISEA, spoke at SISEA and TISEA. Just completed
lecture tour of Scandinavia. I build interactive electro-mechanical and
electronic media installations. I write and speak on cultural and theoret-
ical issues in new media. Editing an anthology Critical Issues in
Electronic Media. (looking for a publisher: any ideas?)."

Nobody has objected to any of the proposed ISEA Board members. This means
that the new Board is effective as of now. The first full board meeting is
taking place during the Third International Symposium on Electronic Art,
November 9-13, 1992, in Sydney, Australia.
The ISEA Board consists of:
Theo Hesper (Holland, residing in Indonesia)
Martha Hesper-de Haas (Holland)
Simon Penny (Australia, residing in USA)
Wim van der Plas (Holland)
Roman Verostko (USA)

NEWSLETTER
As the readers of the hard copy of this Newsletter will undoubtedly
notice, the lay-out and design have improved considerably. We thank our
member Rene Pare of Grafico de Poost (Uden, Holland), very much for this
professional job. After Groningen artist Geert-Jan Talens designed the
ISEA logo and the lettering of the name of this Newsletter, graphic
designer Rene Pare will from now on help us with the design and lay-out of
all our publications.

WHO NEEDS EMAIL
One of the most fundamental goals of ISEA is the realization of a fast
communications network, available to both artists and scientists. Of
course, the appropriate medium is electronic mail (Email). So far, Email
is mainly available to the scientific community. Very few artists, at
least in Europe, have access to Email.
ISEA is applying for a grant from the Dutch government to get Email
facilities for those members of the electronic art community that wish to
participate. It is estimated that participation will cost approximately
Hfl.250,- per year. The members need a personal computer (any kind) and a
modem.
Without committing yourself, you are asked to inform us whether you are
interested in this possibility. Once you are connected to Email, you will
find out this world already is a global village. You will save more
telephone and fax costs,  than the investment in Email costs you.
Both Dutch members and members from other countries are asked to react.
Just send us a note.

ISEA PANEL AT MONTAGE 93
An ISEA proposal has been accepted for a panel on the future of computer
graphics during Montage 93 (see this newsletter for more info on Montage
93). The panel consists of Yoshiyuki Abe (Japan), dr. Herbert Franke
(Germany), dr. Michael Girard (USA) and drs. Wim van der Plas (Holland).
Montage 93 will cover all costs.
A quote from the Montage 93 press release: "The Future of Computer
Graphics will address aesthetic, social, and cultural issues of
computer-generated imagery, a major vehicle of communication in the 21st
century. Panelists from Europe, Japan, and the United States will examine
the current and future collaboration between artists and scientists, as
well as the expressive and commercial uses of still, moving, and interac-
tive computer imagery".

Last Minute News
THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ELECTRONIC ART
During the Third International Symposium on Electronic Art in Sydney,
Australia, the ISEA Board has choosen the location of the Fifth Inter-
national Symposium on Electronic Art in 1994. The candidates were The
State Musical Academy of Sofia, Bulgary and the Helsinki University of
Industrial Arts, Finland. The location will be Helsinki, Finland.
The Board hopes Sofia will be able to organize another version of the ISEA
symposium in the near future. The Board wishes to congratulate Helsinki
with ISEA 94.

TISEA IN SYDNEY MAJOR SUCCESS
Sydney, November 11 Approximately 400 people from all over the world
turned up in Sydney, Australia, for the Third International Symposium on
Electronic Arts, from November 9-13. The program consists of a three day
symposium, two days of workshops, exhibitions at 5 different galleries and
two museums, performances and other events. Some of the best venues of
Sydney are used for TISEA, like the world famous Sydney Opera House, the
Art Gallery of New South Wales (a major museum of modern art) and the
Museum of Contemporary Art. On Friday November 13th, during the closing
session, ISEA will present the plans for the future symposia.The next ISEA
Newsletter will contain an extended report of TISEA.

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2nd INTERNATIONAL INFOGRAPHIC ART GATHERING
Yoshiyuki Abe

"Computers have opened up a new universe of artistic possibilities,
pushing back the boundries traditional artistic technics placed on the
artist's imagination.
Exhibition of 2D and 3D artistic pictures, still and animated, of 80
artists from all over the world."
November 12 - December 7, 1992
Open: 09.45 - 17.00 hours except Tuesday
Palais de Tokyo,
13, Avenue du President Wilson, Paris 16eme, France

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NIGHTMARE AT THE HELMSLEY PALACE
Kaylen Whitmore

December 8th, 1992 - January 31, 1993
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, USA

Multi-Media installation by Judith Yourman. Yourman explores the
relationships between static and moving images and between traditional
media and modern, computer-based technologies. In this installation she
combines documentary footage on Super 8 film with video, sound, computer
and film animation.

'Nightmare' examines the American Fascination with celebrity and scandal
and the role of media in transforming news into entertainment. It is
inspired by the trial of Leona Helmsley. Helmsley figures as an icon of
power and success/excess in a series of paintings executed by Yourman when
her interest in Leona Helmsley began in the mid-1980s, a few years before
the self-styled hotel queen's fall from grace. Yourman watched the
downward slide of celibrity from the slick pages of ads for luxury
accommodations to the grainy pages of tabloids.

In February, 1993, the installation will be on exhibit at the Halsey
Gallery, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

More info:
Kaylen Whitmore
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404, USA
Tel 1-612-8703072
Fax 1-612-8703004

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SIGGRAPH 93 ART SHOW: MACHINE CULTURE, THE VIRTUAL FRONTIER
Wim van der Plas

August 1-6, 1993
Anaheim, California, USA

This new exhibition opens at Siggraph 93  and will present artworks which
explore contemporary cultural issues. Machine Culture will feature only
interactive and virtual media pieces. It is intended that following the
Siggraph conference, all or part of the show will be exhibited in three
art museums in the United States.
How to submit:
-Fill in the Siggraph permission to use form and a Machine Culture entry
form (see address below)
-Send (preferably) VHS-NTSC video tape. Maximum 10 minutes. First part
should, as nearly as possible, demonstrate the experience of the user
within the work. The second part of the tape should demonstrate the
physical lay-out, space, and hardware requirements. A voice-over should
supply a conceptual overview of the work and its goals.
-Include a discussion of the conceptual and esthetic aspects of the work
and a floorplan which includes hardware specifics.
-Include a resume of relevant artistic and technical achievements.

Simon Penny, the chairperson of Machine Culture, adds this for the ISEA
Newsletter:
"I'm very interested in inventive or idiosyncratic interactive interfaces
and systems. I am not a tech-chauvinist, low tech or high tech are OK. I'm
pursuing the idea that installation and performance art of the last 30
years has much to offer the designers of interactive systems. I'm
interested in people who are trying to make art in the interactive realm.
Any proposals for works, or essays for the catalog are welcome.
Electronically assisted installations are welcome.
Email me at Machine Culture.siggraph93@siggraph.org. If you don't have a
copy of the Siggraph93 Call for participation, give your fax# and we'll
fax you a Machine Culture application form".

Info and Application Forms:
Simon Penny, SIGGRAPH 93 Machine Culture Chair
University of Florida
Electronic Intermedia Program, Dept. of Art FAC 302
Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
Tel 1-904-3759025
Fax 1-904-3928453
Email MC.S93@SIGGRAPH.ORG

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MONTAGE 93
International Festival of the Image
July 11 - August 7, 1993
Rochester, N.Y., USA

Goal: To celebrate the fusion of arts and technology in contemporary image
making and to explore the future of visual communications.
Anticipated attendance: 500.000 (over 4 week period)
Budget: Approximately US$ 2.000.000

Montage 93 International Call for Work
PERSPECTIVES, PROXIMITIES, PERCEPTIONS: Expressions in 3-Dimensional
Graphic and Electronic Media (exhibition)

Media include traditional and alternative stereoscopic photography, laser
and computer holography, barrier-strip auto-stereograms, computer
generated 3-D realities, 3-D animation, virtual reality systems,
lenticular screen images, electrostatic copier applications, 3-D film and
video, projected multi-image presentations, retinal-rivalry imaging
systems, and any other experimental stereoscopic media.
The exhibition will travel internationally for two years after Montage 93.
To submit:
-Complete application form (see address below)
-Enclose 3 mm slides, VHS-NTSC video tape, or CD-ROM examples of up to
three works. Do not send actual work yet.
-Enclose resume(s) or short carreer summary(ies)
-Outline equipment needs (transport, power supplies, lighting, square
footage, ventilation, wall space, projection equipment, video terminals,
etc)
-Submissions should be sent to arrive by January 15, 1993
Info and application forms:
Perspectives, c/o Lance Speer
60 Shepard Street
Rochester, NY 14620, USA
Tel: 1-716-4429843

Montage 93 International Call for Work
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL
Pre-K through Graduate Student

-Time-based media, including video, film, computer imagery, and animation
-Umatic, VHS, S-VHS, Beta, 8mm, Hi-8, all NTSC
-Work must be completed after January 1990
-Maximum length 30 minutes

To submit:
-Complete entry and release form (see address below)
-Enclose brief artist's statement
-Tapes must be received by February 1, 1993

Info and entry forms:
Montage 93: ISMAF
31 Prince Street
Rochester, NY 14607-1499, USA
Tel: 1-716-4428897
Fax: 1-716-4421499

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THE COMPUTER IS NOT SORRY
Reed Altemus

A group show of computer installation art
Januari 1993 at the Space, opening Saturday 9, 1993

A show of installation art utilizing digital technology will be presented
in Januari at the Space. As computers move from tool to medium, a group of
artists today are exploring the computer as artistic object, attempting to
define its place in our culture. This is not an exhibit of art made on the
computer, but an exhibit exploring the computer as a component of artistic
expression.

Increasingly these days people communicate digitally and as computers
become smaller and more integrated into other equipment this dependency
will increase. The computer has entered the fabric of our lives as
completely as have the television or the light bulb. "The Computer Is Not
Sorry" will present the work of artists who are investigating the
computer, in the context of larger installations, music and hypertext, as
it infuses our lives. They are trying to understand it as object within
the context of selfexpression. These installations cross and combine
media and break down the structure which cause us to see the computer as
an isolated  monolithic device.

One feature that has been designed into computers is interactivity. From
simulated warfare to "user friendly" interfaces they have an ability to
mimic a human response. Interactivity is a lie. The computer is not really
sorry when it apologizes, but this mimicry of manners fulfills a need in
us to complete a cycle of communication. This interactive side of machines
in its sheeps clothing, will be explored by many of the artists in the
show. Like the grand masters dwarf in the chess playing machine of old,
the computers's place in these artworks may be hidden or obscured. Our
interactivity with these works will be through structures other than our
daily ATM genuflection.

Boston is the place where the future is beta tested. The artists will
be Massachusetts residents or having strong Boston ties. Boston
residents include Jennifer Hall of DoWhile Studios, Tim Anderson from
M.I.T.. The show will include examples of recent hypertext literature
by Judy Malloy and others, published by Eastgate Systems, Inc of Water-
town. Other artists with Boston ties include Chris Burnett and Greg
Garvey. In conjuction with the exhibition we are planning a series of jazz
performances by Neil Leonard (Massachusetts College of Art) which play
with and combine the interactivity of the computer and performer.

The show will be documented in a number of ways. A catalog will be
produced with essays by Simon Penny (professor at University of Florida
Gainsville and curator of theee 1993 SIGGRAPH art show) and Chris Burnett
(professor at the Kansas City Art Institute). A video catalog of the show
is in production and a hypertext catalog is being planned.

The Space is one of Boston's principal alternative art centers. A non-
profit gallery. It provides a forum for innovative projects in the visual
and performing arts. The Space has a tradition, in its eight years, of
presenting new voices from diverse backgrounds. We show visual, instal-
lation and performance art as well as presenting poetry and video.

Brian Wallace is the art exhibit organizer and historical collections
manager at the Computer Museum. This summer he co-chaired a SIGGRAPH panel
on the future of art and the museum, entitled Walls Without Museum.

George Fifield is video curator of the space. For the past three seasons
he has organized the Video at the Space exhibition series. He is
currently curating the new experimental film and video collection for
Videosmith.

For more information contact:

the Space
107 South Street
Boston, MA 02111, USA
Tel. (1) 617.451.0602  Fax: (1) 617.451.0621 Email: gwf@world.std.com

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SURVEY
Wim van der Plas

During the ISEA-panel on the Future of Computer Graphics at Montage 93
(see this Newsletter), I like to go into the relationship between
artists/designers on the one hand and scientists/technologists on the
other.
I would like to draw on the experience with this subject of our readers.
Anyone having any experience with or (grounded) opinion on this
relationship, is asked to reflect.
You are invited to write to me (by letter or Email) and tell me whatever
is on your mind concerning the cooperation between the two disciplines.
Please try to give me the following information:

-What is your education/occupation/background?
-Do you think cooperation between the two disciplines is necessary for the
development of electronic art? Why (not)?
-Have you got any relevant experience with this cooperation and can you
elaborate on it, either in a possitive or a negative sense?
-Please, give examples. Illustrations by way of video tape or other AV
materials is welcomed very much. They can illustrate both succesful
cooperation, failures, or illustrate the point of view that cooperation is
not necessary.
-Does education anticipate on the needs for cooperation or is there
anything you have to say concerning the relationship between the
disciplines in the light of education?

Thank you very much for your cooperation. I will keep you informed via
this Newsletter.

Wim van der Plas
POB 60103, 9703 BC Groningen, Holland
Email ISEA@RUG.NL

__________________________________________________________________________

Selected items from Fineart Forum, Volume 6 #11 and Leonardo Electronic
News,  November 15, 1992
The Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts contributes to Fineart Forum
and republishes the items on electronic art on behalf of its members.
FAF and LEN are published by the International Society for Art, Science
and Technology on behalf of The Art, Science and Technology Network.
__________________________________________________________________________

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DAY WITHOUT ART
Susan Kirchman

I will be editing the December 1 issue of FineArt Forum and will continue
the theme of  D A Y  W I T H O U T  A R T ,  December 1 - the day of
mourning for artists who have died of AID's, that I established in the
December 1 `91 issue. I am currently soliciting articles for that issue.
If any of you have material you would like to have considered for this
special issue (or know someone who does) please send it to me ASAP
but at least by November 17.

I hope to hear from you.
Thank you.
Susan Kirchman
< smk@archone.tamu.edu >.

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HYPERTEXT, HYPERMEDIA: DEFINING A FICTIONAL FORM
Judy Malloy

Terence Harpold
420 Williams Hall, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA

Email: tharpold@mail.sas.upenn.edu

Until recently, critical discussion of hypertext has tended to focus on
issues of implementation, psychology and epistemology--the problems raised
by hypertext as a kind of writing independent of its generic applications.
Little attention has been paid to issues specific to the writing and
reading of hypertext _fiction_. This session will be devoted to a discus-
sion of hypertext fiction (and, more generally, electronic fiction) as an
emerging mode of discourse in the late age of print.

The panel HYPERTEXT, HYPERMEDIA: DEFINING A FICTIONAL FORM (1992 Modern
Languages Association Convention; Special Session #119 Tuesday, December
29, 1992, 12:00 noon) will include individuals from both academia and the
growing community of authors working in electronic text and multimedia:
Terence Harpold, University of Pennsylvania (chair); Michael Joyce,
Jackson Community College; Vassar College; Carolyn Guyer, Manistee, MI;
Judy Malloy, LEONARDO; Stuart Moulthrop, Georgia Institute of Technology.
In addition to the sizable body of theory and criticism they represent,
each of the panelists is well-known for his or her electronic fiction.

Michael Joyce's paper, "Hypertextual Rhythms (The Momentary Advantage of
Our Awkwardness)," addresses the historical moment of recent hypertext
fiction. He will suggest that the common perception of hypertext as an
awkward and opaque mode of discourse may actually make it easier to grasp
its historical significance. Before the novelty of the electronic medium
fades, and electronic text assumes the transparency that printed text now
has, we may better understand it as a distinct representational form.

Judy Malloy's paper, "Between the Narrator and the Narrative (The Disorder
of Memory)," will draw on several of her "narrabases" ("narrative
databases") to discuss problems of narrative "truth" in radically non-
sequential electronic texts. The randomness and interactivity of hypertext
fiction make it possible to vary the reader's experience with each
reading; the disorder of the fictional worlds that thus emerge mimics, she
contends, the disordered yet linked structure of human memory.

Carolyn Guyer's paper, "Buzz-Daze Jazz and the Quotidian Stream (Attempts
to Filet a Paradox)," explores the structure of narrative temporality in
hypertext fiction. She will argue that hypertextual narratives are
"complex mixtures" (Deleuze and Guattari), in which figure and ground are
shifted arhythmically, in a chaotic or fractal way. The result is an
oscillating transformation of the linear temporality of traditional
fictional forms.

Stuart Moulthrop's paper, "Hypertext as War Machine," situates hypertext
fiction as an inherently politicized byproduct of the late capitalist
event-state of spectacle, simulation, and multinational aggression.
Focusing on John McDaid's "Uncle Buddy's Phantom Funhouse" and his own
"Victory Garden," he asks whether the deformations of print narrative in
these fictions provide an alternative to the semiotics of the spectacle,
or represent (in Hakim Bey's term) merely "festal" digressions from the
discourse of disembodied power.

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                            CALENDAR
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The DESERT MUSIC: A Live Show
13 November - 6 December 1992
George Coates Performance Works, San Francisco, CA  USA
Contact: George Coates Performance Works, 110 McAllister Street, San
Francisco, CA  USA   tel: 415-863-4130

4th Annual DAY WITHOUT ART, an International Day of Action and Mourning
in Response to the AIDS Crisis
1 December 1992
Scheduled events include Night Without Lights, Electric Blanket, Moment
Without Television, The Celebrity Ribbon Cavalcade
Contact: Visual Aids, 131 West 24th Street, New York, NY  10011 USA
tel: 212-206-6758  fax: 212-206-8159

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                            CONFERENCES
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ECHT 92
Fourth ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia
November 30 - December 4, 1992, Milano, Italy
Info:
Enza Caputo, Politecnico di Milano
Dipartimento di Elettronica
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
Tel 39-2-23993520  Fax 39-2-23993411 Email CAPUTO@IPMELL.POLIMI.IT

SPONSORSHIP 92
International Conference on the Application of Sponsorship and
its Impact on Marketing Strategies
2-4 December, 1992, Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Info:
Ms. C. Bayens, Expoconsult
POB 200, 3600 AE Maarssen, Holland
Tel 31-3465-73777, Fax 31-346-73811

WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM
5 December 1992
The Beverly Hilton, 876 Wilshire Blvd. ,Beverly Hills, CA  90210
*Topics Include: professional directions, communications and media,
architectures of gender, the technologized body and empowerment and change
*Speakers Include: Anna Couey, Anne Falli

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