January 19, 2006
*HTTL:// Hacking the Timeline/EZTV:
Digilantism and the LA Digital Arts Movement
18th STREET CENTER Presents: *HTTL:// Hacking the Timeline / EZTV, Digilantism and the LA Digital Arts Movement--Exhibition of Digital Art in Print, Video and Installation *Victor Acevedo, Rebecca Allen, Denis Brun, Dave Curlender, Michael Dare, Loren Denker David Em, Kit Galloway, Kate Johnson, Tony Longson, Robert Lowden, Michael Masucci, Sherrie Rabinowitz, Nina Rota, Carolyn Stockbridge, Anneliese Varaldiev,* *Michael Wright; February 4 - April 8, 2006: OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, February 4, 6-8:30pm.
"It has been said that the widespread adoption of personal computers is the most significant single cultural advancement since the invention of the printing press, allowing not only for the personalization of production, but also for the development of distribution channels which cross borders, cultures and time zones. At the present time podcasting, ‘blogs, text messaging, mobile devices and interactive websites introduce audiences to artists whom they would have never been offered through the traditional gallery or museum community.
Based on the accomplishments of the last half-century, the last quarter century has seen more widespread adoption of ideas, methods and possibilities, spearheaded by small clusters of artists around the world from Croatia to Germany to Japan to the U.K. Moreover, numerous major technical, design and production innovations were originated in California. Los Angeles has been a central hub in the history of the desktop digital art movement.
By time the 1980s and 90s came about, artist-run spaces such as EZTV and Electronic Cafe International (ECI) served as the meeting grounds for artists, engineers and intellectuals who dared to see the computer as a primary artmaking tool of the 21st century. These spaces combined experimentation and exhibition of a wide range of media work, from wall art to video projection to live performances utilizing media tools. Today, writers, architects, musicians, painters, photographers, filmmakers and even sculptors have all gravitated to this notion, one not so widely accepted or obvious 25 years ago yet now taken as a given. Today digital art is ubiquitous, but its roots are still, all too often, invisible.
This exhibition focuses on some of these key individuals involved in the creation, advocacy and exhibition of seminal digital art exhibitions over the last 25 years in Los Angeles. Many of these shows included artists who were among the very first to publicly articulate a unique digital and desktop aesthetic. They have served as activists who have spearheaded a dialogue between mainstream and experimental artmakers and who brought journalists and scholars alike into an awareness of the emergence of an international digital culture. From David Em's pioneering experimental artworks created at historical places such as Xerox PARC and JPL to EZTV's development of a desktop video and microcinema tradition to ECI's experiments in telecommunication arts to the work of the Digilantes, a term coined by artist/educator Michael Wright, who along with Victor Acevedo staged many guerilla style exhibitions and became a local force for Los Angeles digital art. Their concept of Digilantism, which they not only apply to themselves but also to the efforts of places such as EZTV and other artists/activists worldwide, best describes an art movement as genuine as Futurism, the Arts & Crafts Movement or Hip-Hop." Michael Masucci, 2006
*_Schedule of Events_:
*ArtNight Opening Event, Saturday, February 4th, 4-6pm--Artist Presentation with Denis Brun and Michael Masucci 6-8:30pm; Opening Reception 7:30pm Performance by Collage Ensemble Inc.
Panel Discussion: Thursday, February 9th, 7pm--Hacking the Timeline: The Digilante Movement; Michael Wright and Victor Acevedo
Panel Discussion: Saturday, February 11th, 2pm--Hacking the Timeline: The Untold Story of Digital Art; Moderated by David Plettner with David Em, Peter Frank, Sandra Tsing Loh, and Michael Masucci
Panel Discussion: Saturday, April 8th, 2pm-- John Dorr and the Legacy of EZTV; Moderated by Strawn Bovee with Nina Rota and S.A. Griffin
For extended artist bios, more images and full artists' and curator's statement see: Web sites, <_http://www.eztvmedia.com/httl.html_> or <_http://www.18thstreet.org_>
Hacking the Timeline is funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.
18th Street Arts Center*
*1639 18th St., Santa Monica, CA 90404 Phone 310.453.3711 Email, <_mailto:office[at]18thstreet.org_> Web sites, <_http://www.eztvmedia.com/httl.html_>;
<_http://www.18thstreet.org_>
Hours: Monday -Friday, 10am - 5pm
Posted by jo at January 19, 2006 09:08 AM
