Synthetic Times exhibition; China & Henrik Menné

National Art Museum of China (NAMOC)
No. 1 Wusi Street Dongcheng District
Beijing 100010 P.R.China
Jun 10, 2008 -July 3, 2008

http://www.mediartchina.org

Henrik Menné, 56L, 2004, Denmark.

The dynamic sculptures by Henrik Menné are basically about process, (im)balance, and organizing matter by means of rigid systems on the one hand and chance on the other.

The majority of Menné’s production consists of machines or arrangements temporarily put to work when exhibited. The visible process is always silent, controlled, and structured by repetitive movements as the machines transform a single material – plastic, wax, metal or stone – into distinct objects. The objects are seldom treated as autonomous works of art. They are destroyed or the material recycled after the exhibition.

Although closed and often self-referring, the system of Menné’s processual sculptures both change the environment and is sensible to changes in the environment. The instability of the exhibition space is what causes the important marginal variations in the almost identical objects produced by a particular machine.

The process of 56L seems self-evident, and, like other works by Henrik Menné, 56L displays an immense effort and obsessive trait by putting forces such as gravity and the well-known qualities of a material into play.

56L (2004) consists of solid glue, a fan, iron, a heating element, and an engine. The dimensions of the work are variable (machine 180×150x150 cm).

56L produces a white web of glue. The machine heats up solid glue, which then flows down in thin threads in front of a fan that blows the strings in different directions. As a temporary result in which the history of the white structure is contained, the web takes the shape of the object or surface on which it settles.

The intriguing low-tech and analogue character of Henrik Menné’s works illustrates the principle behind the organization of the particular sculpture. Despite this rational transparency, works by Menné almost always appear logically impossible and tremendously beautiful.

Biography
Henrik Menné (born 1973) lives and works in Copenhagen (Denmark). He graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 2002 and is represented by Galleri Tom Christoffersen (Cph).

Website
http://www.tomchristoffersen.dk/artists/henrik_menne/henrik_menne.html

80-year-old Gakutensoku robot revived

New life has been breathed into Asia’s oldest “modern” robot, an 80-year-old golden-skinned humanoid from Osaka. Gakutensoku, a 3.2 meter (10 ft 6 in) tall automaton powered by compressed air, can tilt its head, move its eyes, smile, and puff up its cheeks and chest as instructed — just as it did 80 years ago — thanks to a 20-million-yen ($200,000) computer-controlled pneumatic servo system that replaces its original system of inflatable rubber tubes.

Built in 1928 by biologist Makoto Nishimura, Gakutensoku was first exhibited in Kyoto as part of the formal celebration of the Showa Emperor’s ascension to the throne. The robot traveled to a number of expos and wowed onlookers with its mad calligraphy skills before going missing in Germany. After a long disappearance, Gakutensoku was located and later repatriated to Osaka.

The reanimated Gakutensoku will star as the main attraction at the newly renovated Osaka Science Museum beginning July 18.

http://www.pinktentacle.com

Lynn Hershman Leeson; Bitforms Gallery

Lynn Hershman, “Olympia: Fictive Projections and the Myth of the Real Woman,”

Lynn Hershman Leeson returns to bitforms gallery in NY with the first showing of a new series, Found Objects, April 26 - May 31.

Including the premiere of the sex doll installation, “Olympia: Fictive Projections and the Myth of the Real Woman,” a provocative and updated version of Edouard Manet’s notorious painting, “Olympia”.

http://www.bitforms.com

ArtBots deadline May 1

ArtBots is pleased to announce that the fifth international ArtBots exhibition for robotic art and art-making robots will take place at the Trinity College Science Gallery in Dublin, Ireland on September 19-21, 2008. Creators of talented robots are invited to submit their work for possible inclusion in the show.

We have no fixed idea of what qualifies as robotic art; if you think it’s a robot and you think it’s art, we encourage you to submit your work. Regardless of whether it’s hi-tech, low-tech, or neg-tech, we’re interested in the ideas you’re working with, not just the gear. Proposals for workshops, performances, and other kinds of participation are also welcome.

Each ArtBots is a bit different; the location changes and we invite new humans to co-curate the show with us. We hope that by changing the specifics of the show each year we can keep it accessible to a diverse range of people, works, and ideas.

http://artbots.org/2008/

Vida

VIDA 10.0 AWARDS

The hybrid forms of the artistic proposals submitted to VIDA and the transformation of the discipline of A-Life itself have prompted the jury to consider new issues, such as the rising importance of simulation in both social life (for example, in the concept of virtual personality) and organic life (evident in the concept of “neo-organisms”). These phenomena are increasingly present and have therefore received special attention in our current approach to art and artificial life.

A great resource for art and artificial life.

http://www.telefonica.es/vida/

Gregory’s Sun Suckers Nominated for award

Ken Gregory’s Sunsuckers, have been nominated for the 01SJ Prix Green for Environmental Art, which will be awarded at the 2nd Biennial 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge (San Jose, CA, June 4 – 8, 2008). The $ 10,000 award is sponsored by Salas O’Brien Engineers and will be given to an outstanding work of art that creatively uses technology to support or reflect on environmentalism or sustainability.

more here; http://cheapmeat.net/SunSucker.html

Robots exhibition at 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge

Robots
Evolution of a Cultural Icon
San Jose Museum of Art
April 12, 2008 - October 19, 2008

Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon examines the development of robot iconography in fine arts over the past 50 years. In 1920, the term robot was coined from a Czech word robota, which means tedious labor. Since then, the image and the idea of a robot have evolved remarkably from an awkward, mechanical creature to a sophisticated android with artificial intelligence and the potential for human-like consciousness.

more here; http://01sj.org/?p=383

Jason Van Anden, Neil and Iona – Mixed Feelings, 2003. Image courtesy of the artist

DORKBOT-SYD FEB. 2008

DORKBOT-SYD FEB. 2008

“people doing strange things with electricity”

This month we are proud to have guest curator Wade Marynowsky who will also be presenting. Details are as follows:

Monday February 25th, 19:00 for a 19:30 start at Sydney (302 Cleveland St)
Featuring: Kate Richards with Mr Snow, Mari Velonaki and Wade Marynowsky.
http://dorkbotsyd.boztek.net/

Tim Hawkinson at the MCA, Sydney

A Tim Hawkinson exhibition is at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney! It is a fun show with a strong sound component to the work. My favorite piece is “Ranting Mop Head” (1995).

The sound is often very basic but the contraptions that drive the experimental instruments are fascinating. No uber organs but worth the $10/$7 - although quite small for a solo show. It needed more machines and the sound machines needed more space in between them.

Tinguely museum

http://www.tinguely.ch/en/index.html

I visted the Tinguely museum in Basel last week and was blown away by the scale and inventivness of the works. Tinguely is one of the most significant machine artists and a father of robotic art. My favorite pieces were ‘Méta Harmonie’ and ‘Alter’.1970, “Méta Harmonie IV - Fatamorgana”