Kia ora all Just letting the wider network know about an exhibition that ADA has played a number of roles in, opening in Shanghai next week. Below is a more general press release, this group might find the more in-depth website for the exhibition interesting: <http:// geomatics.dannybutt.net>.
Cheers and thanks, Danny ---------- New Zealand Media Art Travels to Shanghai MEDIA RELEASE 21 MAY 2007 An exhibition of three New Zealand artists will travel to Shanghai in May at the invitation of the Third Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition. The exhibition, entitled "Geomatics and Ecomatics: Three Stories," features digital media artworks that offer new ways of visualising the New Zealand environment. Curator Danny Butt says that the relationships between science and art are a growing area of exploration in the international arena, and the exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase the depth of research talent in New Zealand's new media art community. "People often think about art and science as different worlds, but there is an increasing recognition that both fields are about innovation and pursuing new knowledge and experience. They're not professional scientists, but the artists in the show definitely have a rigorous methodology to their investigations, and leave us with new ways of understanding the world around us." The environmental theme for the New Zealand contribution is no accident, Butt said. "New Zealand is known internationally for its physical beauty, and also its bicultural relationships between settlers and Maori. New Zealanders know that there are a lot of different ways you can think about land and the environment." Janine Randerson's installation "Remote senses; storms nearby" combines images from New Zealand and Chinese satellite databases with television footage of extreme weather, suggesting connections between local weather events and global climate change. Douglas Bagnall's "Cloud Shape Classifier" is a computer program which receives data on the audience's favourite cloud images and learns to find more that they will like. Bagnall's commentary on the project website sardonically suggests that, "many people would like to see interesting clouds, but lack the spare time in which to look upwards." Natalie Robertson's "Uncle Tasman - The Trembling Current that Scars the Earth" is a retelling of a traditional story of the epic love triangle between the three mountains, Putauaki, Tarawera, and Whakaari; near the artist's birthplace in Kawerau. The story is given additional pathos through the inclusion of a recent arrival into the landscape, the Kawerau paper processing mill, whose toxic waste has had a devastating effect on the environment and local Maori. The latter two works were previously exhibited at the 2006 International Symposium for Electronic Arts / ZeroOne Festival in San Jose, where Butt was on the advisory board. A key theme of that event was the opportunity to further develop artistic networks in the Asia Pacific region. Randerson and Bagnall will accompany Butt to the exposition and public forum, which opens at Shanghai's Pudong Expo on May 10th. "Developing the personal relationships with artists and curators in Shanghai is an important part of the process. We're looking to bring Chinese artists to New Zealand in the future as well, there are tremendous opportunities in both directions." The 3rd Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition is one of the most important events of the annual Shanghai Science and Technology Festival. In 2006 the Exposition attracted 60 organizational and individual participants from 14 countries and regions of China, U.S.A, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Norway, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan. On the first day of the 2006 event the Exposition welcomed nearly 40,000 visitors. An essay for the exhibition and images of the works are available at http://geomatics.dannybutt.net The website for the Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition is at: http://www.science-art.com.cn Contact: Danny Butt, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: +64 21 456 379 Janine Randerson gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Unitec and the University of Waikato. Danny Butt acknowledges the generous support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation. ENDS _______________________________________________ Ada_list mailing list [email protected] http://aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz/
