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ART AND TECHNOLOGY: IN THE AGE OF INFORMATION
Liverpool, UK - 1-3 July 1998
Conference Announcement and Call for Contributions
1. Conference Idea
We live in a world that depends increasingly on electronic
communication technologies. The global diffusion of these
technologies is creating what has been called the virtual
planet. The new technologies promise to restructure every
aspect of modern life, from science to art, from education to
entertainment, from business to politics. Fundamental changes
are already taking place in the way we experience and think
about the world. Among these changes are: Information and
images take the place of conventional knowledge; the
reconstruction of the world in terms of recombinable "bits" of
information; the substitution of transient parts and fragments
for stable wholes; the emphasis on speed and motion rather than
static structures; the dissolving of traditional divisions in
social and cultural life, e.g., between art and technology.
Art has always reflected major changes in science and
technology. Photography is one example of a technology that
can be said to have redefined art. Photography introduced new
ways of seeing and form-making. Cinema revealed further
possibilities of visual form. The new electronic technologies
- computers, video, virtual reality, artificial intelligence,
cybernetics, robotics, TV, etc., - dramatically extend our
capacity to create new worlds of form and in-formation. Art
can be seen as a running commentary and reflection on these
technological developments. No longer concerned with simple
representation, art draws attention to itself as a form-making
activity and so raises fundamental questions about the ways in
which we construct our world and about our role in the
construction process. It's this revealing of the world as a
source of in-formation that brings art and technology together.
2. Call for Contributions and Participation
This conference is aimed at a wide range of participants. In
addition to academic specialists in areas such as Art Theory
and History, Cultural/Media Studies, Sociology, Philosophy,
Psychology, and Literature, we would like to invite artists,
technologists, art critics, art teachers as well as interested
members of the public to take part in this conference. Indeed,
one of our main aims is to create discussion among these
different groups about art and technology in the age of
information.
Contributions for this conference are therefore invited from
all the different groups mentioned above. The form of such
contributions is negotiable. While we invite the academic paper that
will analyse the art-technology-information relationship in
conceptually imaginative and provocative ways, we also invite
contributions that will express and explore the conference theme
in visual forms e.g., demonstrations, small exhibitions,
performances, computer installations, etc. If you are not sure
about the appropriateness of your intended contribution, please
feel free
to contact one of the organisers informally (see contact
details below).
3. Possible Conference Themes
The conference themes will depend on the contributions
submitted. These might include discussion of questions such as:
- What does the art-technology relationship mean for the
ways we construct and represent our world? What does the
history of art tell us about changes in this process?
- What exactly are the new electronic technologies, e.g.,
hypermedia, hypertext, digitalisation, video, virtual
reality, etc.? How are they used in art?
- What is Art in the Age of Information?
- What does the meeting of art and electronic technology
mean for our experience of space and time, e.g.,
cyberspace, hyperspace?
- What are the implications of the new electronic
technologies for the public showing of art, e.g., the
electronic museum?
- What are wider implications of electronic technology for
the dissemination of art in mass society?
- What do the new sciences of information (e.g., information
theory, cybernetics, chaos theory) have to say about
recent developments in art and electronic technology?
- Art and the Machine.
- The Aesthetics of In-formation.
- Technology and the art of performance.
- Techno-Aesthetics.
- Technology, art and time.
- Hybridity, technology and art.
This is by no means a definitive list and other ideas are more
than welcome, especially if they promise to deepen our
understanding of the art-technology relationship in the terms
we have outlined here.
4. Conference Speakers
Conference speakers will include:
Paul Crowther, Oxford University.
Ron Day, literary theorist/information specialist, San
Francisco, USA.
Dan Fern, Royal College of Art, London.
Martin Kemp, Oxford University.
Celia Lury, Goldsmith's College, London University.
Suhael Malik, Goldsmith's College, London University.
Mike Michael, Goldsmith's College, London University.
J. Hillis Miller, University of California at Irvine, USA.
Nicholas Royle, Stirling University.
Roy Stringer, hypermedia architect, Amaze Ltd.
Mark C. Taylor, Williams College, Massachusetts, USA.
5. Organisation of the Conference
a) Organisers
The conference is organised by:
Toby Jackson (Curator of Education, Tate Gallery
Liverpool)
Fiona Candlin (Tate Gallery Liverpool/Department of Visual
Arts, Keele University)
Robert Cooper (Professor of Social Theory and
Organisation, Centre for Social Theory and Technology,
Keele University)
Olaf Boettger (Centre for Social Theory and Technology,
Keele University).
Questions about contributions to the conference should be
addressed to:
Toby Jackson Robert Cooper
Tate Gallery Liverpool Centre for Social Theory and Technology
Albert Dock Darwin Building, Keele University
Liverpool L3 4BB Staffs ST5 5BG
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel: ++44 (0)151 709 3233 Tel: ++44 (0)1782 583421
Fax: ++44 (0)151 709 3122 Fax: ++44 (0)1782 584272
Email: mna13@keele.ac.uk
Further information and latest updates are available on
the WWW pages of the Centre for Social Theory and
Technology at:
http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/stt/cstt2/tg/
b) Place and Time
The conference will take place at:
Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts
Mount Street
Liverpool L1 9HF
United Kingdom
from 4.00pm on Wednesday 1st July, to 5.30pm on Friday, 3rd
July, 1998.
c) Submission Deadlines
We require five copies of a one-page abstract of your
contribution by Saturday, 31st January, 1998. If you are
unsure about the suitability of your contribution, please
contact one of the organisers well before this date. Five
copies of your abstract should be sent to:
Toby Jackson
Art & Technology Conference 1998
Tate Gallery Liverpool
Albert Dock
Liverpool L3 4BB
United Kingdom
You will be notified by the end of March 1998 if your
submission has been accepted.
d) Costs
(i) 200 pounds sterling full rate for conference attendance,
accommodation and meals
(ii) 130 pounds sterling full rate for conference attendance and meals
(iii)120 pounds sterling concession for conference attendance,
accommodation and meals
(iv) 80 pounds sterling concession for conference attendance and meals
Please note the following important points:
* All payments must be made in cheques in pound sterling,
made payable to "Tate Gallery Liverpool".
* All concessions require evidence of status (e.g.,
photocopy of student card).
* All rates above are valid for payment before 31st May,
1998. For payments after this date, the above rates
will be increased by an administration fee of 30 pounds
sterling.
* Conference fees are non-refundable after 31st May, 1998.
You can, however, send a replacement delegate in case
you cannot attend the conference.
* Resident fees include bed and breakfast and all meals
from registration on Wednesday, 1st July, 1998, at
4.00pm to finish of conference at 5.30pm, on Friday, 3rd
July, 1998.
* Non-resident fees include lunch and dinner for the
period of the conference.
* If you feel unable to pay the full rate, please contact
Toby Jackson or Robert Cooper in confidence.
--
Olaf Boettger
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Centre for Social Theory and Technology - Keele University, UK
email O.Boettger@keele.ac.uk
WWW - http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/stt/home.htm
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