October 24, 2006
Turbulence Artist’s Studio:
"Headlines" by Michael Takeo Magruder
Turbulence Artists' Studios: Headlines by Michael Takeo Magruder [Needs Flash Player 7] :: Headlines examines the mediated histories generated by today’s news corporations and reflects upon our collective preoccupation with real-time information generation, distribution and access. Given the developed world’s countless network structures and our current state of data saturation, has news media evolved beyond mere information source and become a new form of cultural stimulant?
Headlines was created for OOG, a commentary and opinion platform for the online edition of De Volkskrant a major Dutch daily national newspaper. "OOG" began in September 2005 as a platform in which every week a different artist working in sound and image is asked to respond to news and current affairs. The selection of artists participating has grown into a varied group of national and international artists working with very different forms of expertise and approaches. In this way, artists are using their skills to become commentators on events in a news environment. After each week, the work is placed in the archive.
The artists participating in "OOG" are a diverse and renowned group of applied and autonomous artists both from inside and outside The Netherlands. "OOG" is one of the most visited pages within the Volkskrant website with weekly visits of 3,000-5,000.
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Takeo Magruder is an American artist based in the UK deploying New and Technological Media within Fine Art contexts. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1996 receiving a BA (Hons) in Biological Science. He is a long-standing member of King's Visualization Lab in the Centre for Computing in Humanities, King's College London. Through this organization he undertakes research, development and implementation of emerging technologies; including motion capture, immersive space and virtual environments, for use in contemporary creative and academic practice.
Takeo’s artworks have been showcased in over 150 exhibitions and 25 countries, including venues such as the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, EAST International 2005, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and Trans-Media-Akademie Hellerau. His works are regular inclusions in international New Media festivals, such as Cybersonica, CYNETart, FILE, Filmwinter, SeNef, Siggraph and Split. His artistic practice has been funded directly by Arts Council England, The National Endowment for the Arts, USA and numerous public galleries both within the UK and abroad. He is also recognized for his on-line arts practice and has been commissioned by leading portals for Internet Art such as Turbulence.org and Soundtoys.net. As artist/curator, he has been responsible for the internationally-renowned touring exhibitions, Net:Reality, the Cyber-Kitchen and Spectrum.
Artistically, his current interests concern the simultaneous utilization and dissection of new technology as a means to explore the formal structures and conceptual paradigms of the digital realm. He seeks to create artworks in which there are no divisions between technologies, aesthetics, and concepts.
Posted by jo at October 24, 2006 11:16 AM
