Syndicate: NeXT conference call for papers, performances, installations, "net" works.

[Andreas Broeckmann <abroeck@v2.nl>]

Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 13:59:09 +0200
From: Steve Gibson <steve.gibson@kau.se>

NEXT 1.0 - NEW EXTENSTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY
Karlstad University, Sweden
April 5-7, 2000.

CALL FOR PAPERS, PERFORMANCES, & INSTALLATIONS

Drawing on multiple technical and artistic traditions, many artists and
writers of the late twentieth century are exploring the aesthetic and
discursive possibilities of digital technologies. New collective forms of
cultural production and exchange are evolving from the communication
practices supported by the new media. At the same time, theorists and
critics are investigating the place of new media artifacts in social,
philosophical, and critical contexts.

NEXT 1.0 will bring together an international field of practitioners and
scholars engaged in the work of making these technologies meaningful for
contemporary culture. An academic conference and an artistic exhibition,
NEXT 1.0 will represent a unique forum for celebrating and critiquing the
techniques, forms, and aesthetics of new media.

Scholars and artists working in new media arts, theory, and criticism are
encouraged to submit proposals to present their work at the conference.
Presentations may be in the form of scholarly papers or presentations; or
performance, installations, or sculpture incorporating digital
technologies, interactive or digital video, virtual environments, or
network-based elements. Conference sessions may combine academic
presentations with mediated performances; we encourage proposals which push
the boundaries of the traditional conference paper in form and content.

CONFERENCE THEMES

Creating Content for Interactive New Media
One of our themes is to develop alternative approaches to the design of
narrativity in interactive digital environments. How can the spatial
qualities of the VR units, for example, be employed to create narrative
experiences in new and innovative ways? The development of new approaches
to narrative design will require the use of a wide spectrum of traditions,
genres, styles and disciplines, ranging from theatre to poetry to film.

Virtual Connected Communities
Human identity is increasingly bound up with machines, thus the need to
consider transformations of technology in terms of the changing human
machine interface. Extending McLuhan's sense of the medium as message, we
are now part of the medium. In a real rather than metaphorical sense,
humans are nodes in a connected intelligence and connected  communities.
Part of a network that produces, receives and consumes culture in new ways.
Exploring these virtual connected communities is an important theme for
NEXT.

Storytelling
This theme is based on a number of rather straightforward questions. What
is the relationship between writing technology and individuals who use this
technology to either write or read? More specifically, how is the
experience of a narrative, again for both readers and writers, affected by
the particular features, limits and paradigms of a particular "writing
machine," such as the type-writer or hypertext? And lastly, how is the
notion of reading/writing communities affected by major changes in writing
technology such as the current developments occurring around the phenomenon
of the Internet and the World Wide Web?


CONFIRMED SPEAKERS / ARTISTS

* Monika Fleischmann - Head of computer art activities at GMD - German
National Research Center for Information Technology. Monika will talk about
MIXED REALITY and her project Murmuring Fields.

* Michael Joyce - Author, originator of the genre of hypertext fiction, and
co-inventor of Storyspace, software intended for writing non-linear
fiction. Michael will present the premiere of his new hypertext novel.

* Rafael Lozano - Artistic Director at Telefonica, Spain, Artistic Director
of 5CyberConf - and Will Bauer - Inventor of the Martin Lighting Director
(virtual tracking system). Will and Rafael will be presenting their
telepresent Virtual Reality installation The Trace.

* Steve Jones - Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at
Chicago. His books include Doing Internet Research, CyberSociety 2.0,
Virtual Culture, CyberSociety, and Rock Formations. He is also coeditor of
the journal New Media and Society.


PAPER SUBMISSIONS

Proposals should not exceed 500 words in length. Please indicate which of
the above themes your paper falls under.

If your presentation requires specific media or technical support (computer
or network access, 35 MM slides, videotape, etc.), describe your needs in
detail, including specific OS or hardware requirements (Mac OS or Windows
95/98/NT), if appropriate.

Proposals should be submitted to electronically to:

andreas.kitzmann@kau.se

All proposals *must* be submitted in WWW-ready format (ASCII text, or
simple HTML code), either as attachments to email correspondence or within
the body of the email message.


PERFORMANCES / INSTALLATIONS / "NET"WORK

NEXT is generally interested in artistic work that advances new concepts of
technology, and more particularly in electronic art in which content is
directly informed by an understanding of technological theory. Pieces which
address concerns related to the above-stated themes will have the best
chance of success. NEXT will screen installations, video tapes,
performances, games, and anything in-between.

Please submit a 2-page description of your project, a 1-page biography, a
complete list of technical requirements, plus examples of your work on PAL
VHS tapes, PC or Mac CD-ROM, or Audio CD to:

Steve Gibson, Artistic Coordinator, NEXT Conference, Media and
Communications, Karlstad University, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden.

Please be aware that NEXT has a limited budget for equipment rental. Those
projects in which the artist provides his or her own equipment will have
the greatest chance of being accepted to NEXT.

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: December 1, 1999.

Notification of acceptance of proposals will be sent out by January 1, 2000.


CONTACTS:

Executive Director: 		Robert Burnett <robert.burnett@kau.se>
Artistic Director: 		Steve Gibson <steve.gibson@kau.se>
Paper Editor: 			Andreas Kitzmann <andreas.kitzmann@kau.se>
Promotions:			Jesper Falkheimer <Jesper.Falkheimer@kau.se>
Web Master:			Robert Hamilton <robert.hamilton@kau.se>
Technician:			HÃ¥kan Lindh <hakan.lindh@kau.se>
Bookings/Transportation:	Christer Clerwall <christer.clerwall@telia.com>
Secretary:			Birgitta Andersson <Birgitta.Andersson@kau.se>

Conference address:
NEXT Conference, Media and Communications, Karlstad University, 651 88
Karlstad, Sweden. Phone: 46-54-700-1654. Fax: 46-54-700-1445


WEB-SITE:

http://www.media.kau.se/NEXT.html

Check regularly for updates.




________________________________________________________________
Dr. Steve Gibson
Universitetslektor/Senior Lecturer
Programledare/Program Director
Multimedia Program
Karlstads Universitet
651 88  Karlstad, Sweden

Voice: 46-(0)54-700-2139
Fax: 46-(0)54-700-1445
E mail: steve.gibson@kau.se
Web: http://www.media.kau.se/media/teach/gibson/gibson.html
________________________________________________________________



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