DAI-bulletin 2009-2010 number five January 2010

This is the fifth issue of the monthly DAI-bulletin in the academic year 2009-2010, informing you about our program and about important dates and events.

Please note that:

- biographical information on our guests can be found on our website under ‘Faculty’ and ‘Guests
- all parts of the curriculum have to be attended by all students unless it is mentioned otherwise.

DAI-week January 11 – January 15

Instead of asking its master students to be present at the institute on a daily base the DAI offers an alternative educational environment: during one week per month (11 times per year) everyone who is involved in DAI stays in Enschede day and night and takes part in an intense program (consisting of lecture presentations, seminars, face to face conversations, projects, master classes, workshops etcetera ) that lasts from early morning until late at night. During the DAI week, guest cooks prepare the afternoon and evening meals that staff, students and guests enjoy together. During the week students spend the night at one of the two DAI houses in the centre of Enschede. In between these so called DAI-weeks all return to their daily practices - scattered over the Netherlands, or abroad.

TOOLKIT-WORKSHOP BY PRAYAS ABHINAV

Bangalore-based artist Prayas Abhinav from n.e.w.s.(http://northeastwestsouth.net) will be joining us all week at DAI. On Monday night he will give a workshop/lecture introducing some concepts that are in vogue: physical computing, rapid prototyping, generative systems etc. He will also introduce some tools for organizing and cataloguing personal research online, sharing work, open licenses, syndication feeds, etc. Prayas will show examples culled from the Internet to about how we can come up with ways to question and critique projects and seek out the personal and relevant from them.

During the week he will have individual conversations with the students about representing themselves on the Internet. What are the parameters of understanding the tools and the context of being visible in the virtual world?
For the lecture on Thursday evening he will conclude the week with introducing some of his own recent projects and opening them up for discussion.

LINKS: 
-- http://processing.org/
-- http://infosthetics.com/
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_computing
-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Processing_(programming_language)

DAI-CANTINA: this weeks’ guest cook is Barbara Paternotte.

‘Although I have studied fine arts and communications, my true passion has always been cooking. After working in several restaurant kitchens, I started working as a free-lance chef and caterer in January 2008. Since then, I have cooked for private dinners, public events and started several collaborations with other entrepreneurs - ranging from cooking Indian food on stage in a Bollywood setting - to - dressing up as a cowboy shooting out condiments from a plastic pistol.

My aim is to look beyond the shelves of the giant supermarket chains and work with the ingredients that inspire me: seasonal organic ingredients and local produce.

Lunch will be served Monday from 12:00-13:00, other days from 13:00-14:00, dinner daily from 18:30-19:30.

Monday January 11

THEORY PROGRAMME:

11:00 SHARP! AT MEDIA LIBRARY of ARTEZ, ONDERLANGS 9, 6812CE ARNHEM FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS

First year students will get an introduction to the media library at 11, followed by the first part of our monthly theory programme with thesis coordinator John Heijmans in lecture room K403. This month the group will discuss W.J.T. Mitchell’s text ‘What is an image? The students Chiara Fumai & Emilio Moreno will introduce the text. If there is enough time this will be followed by a screening of The Inner Life of Martin Frost (2008), a movie by Paul Auster on what is real and what is not.

At about 13:30 all will travel to Enschede, where we will continue the session at the DAI.

11:00 SHARP! AT MEDIA LIBRARY of ARTEZ, ONDERLANGS 9, 6812CE ARNHEM FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS

Second year students will start their monthly theory programme with thesis mentor Alena Alexandrova in lecture room K403, followed by an introduction to the media library at 12.00 AM. At about 13:30 we will all go to Enschede, where we will continue the session at the DAI.

The focus of the monthly session will be on writing skills. As a continuation of our discussion of media theory last time, during the final hour of the session the group will discuss a chapter by William J. Mitchell's The Reconfigured Ey. Visual Truth in the Post-Photographic Era, "Intention and Artifice", pp. 23-59. This text will be introduced by the students Izabela Oldak and Alin Naidin.

19:30 (project room)
FOR ALL STUDENTS

Lecture by Prayas Abhinav (please see introduction)

Tuesday January 12

Starting 9:30
Face to face

meetings with Alena Alexandrova and Prayas Abhinav.

9:30–17:30 (project room)
For all students

Lecture-presentations

by DAI-students (in no particular order) Jeroen Marttin, Frederik Gruyaert, Viki Semou, Anna Hoetjes, Isabele Oldak, Lado Darakhvelidze, Doris Denekamp and Yunjoo Kwak.

Their 20 – minute presentations will be reviewed on the spot by guest advisors Alex de Vries and Ine Gevers.
The discussion will be moderated by Gabriëlle Schleijpen.

19:30 (project room)
For all students

Studio: Spaces of Production
A lecture by Fay Nicolson

In ‘Studio: Spaces of Production’ artist Fay Nicolson discusses contemporary definitions and uses of the 'studio' and other possible sites of making in relation her own practice and the works of other artists and writers. Taking both a critical and narrative approach, Fay will discuss the workings of her own past and present studios and explore the convention of maintaining a studio practice in educational, institutional, professional and personal contexts.
Through this presentation Fay also wishes to ask:
What is the link between space and production in terms of thinking, making and meaning?
What is an art studio’s potential as a performative, discursive or collaborative space?
What other spaces (both public and private) can be used as, or in place of, a studio?
What is the studio’s role in light of technological shifts dematerializing notions of space?

As an artist, what would be your ideal space to work in?

Wednesday January 13

Today the DAI’s student body is spread over several parallel projects.

9:00-10:30
For all students

Plenary meeting with course director Gabriëlle Schleijpen.

Starting 9:30
Face to face

meetings with Prayas Abhinav.

10:30-17:30 (space to be announced)

GOODTRIPBADTRIP.reloaded
Curated by Mark Kremer with contributions by John Heymans

The start of the day is handled by the students who present works by Joseph Beuys and Marcel Broodthaers (assignment). Their presentation serves to look back at the subject matter of December: the rise of Individual Mythologies in/as art. The cases of Beuys and Broodthaers reflect two different answers to a major challenge of the era: the creation of an audience, the formation of a public body, the possibility of a collective as a liberating force. But the 1960s were also…the era of the individual...

Is a trip an event that by nature can only be an individual experience, or can it be shared, can it be a collective event? The history of performance art is characterized by movements where you see artists alternating between individual approaches and collective address. From the fluxus inspired events and happenings of the 1960s, to performance art… Through a slideshow, examples of performances from the 1970s will be shown and discussed. Furthermore a start of an exploration of the 1960s in the Netherlands, where art and Provo joined in happenings with a carnival sphere.

John Heymans will present his column with reflections on how ideas take shape in art, music and literature.

10:30-17:30 (space to be announced)

AFFECTIONATELY YOURS
Curated by If I Can't Dance, I Don't Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution, tutored by Phil Collins and Hito Steyerl and co-ordinated by Tanja Baudoin.

This DAI week both tutors, Phil Collins and Hito Steyerl, are present. Hito Steyerl will be introducing her artistic practice. She will then lecture about several theories of affect of Henri Bergson, Baruch de Spinoza, Gilles Deleuze and Brian Massumi. 

For this session we have read 'Navigating Movements! ' (2002), y Zournazi with Brian Massumi. Philosopher Massumi has published seminal texts on the concept of affect in relation to the experiences that engage us in everyday life and political reality. We will screen the film 'Vivre Sa Vie' (1962), directed by Jean Luc Godard. As a preparation to our project in Gdansk in May, Tanja will be showing snapshots that she took there during her visit last month.

10:30-17:30 (project room)

PLATFORM FOR (UN)SOLICITED RESEARCH AND ADVICE
Organised by Manifesta
Today with Fay Nicolson and Alfredo Cramerotti
Also present: Florian Göttke

• Why use and explore media platforms as an artist or curator?
• What is the relationship between (mass) media and art in the past and present, and what are the possible future scenarios?
• Can media platforms renegotiate a relationship between art and the locality in a Biennial model?

“Through operating as a roving Biennial Manifesta must each time address and negotiate a different context with specific geographical, historical and political structures.  In this way, Manifesta offers its curators the opportunity, and the challenge, to engage with local, global and networked communities using a variety of platforms and approaches.  

CPS’s approach to curation encompasses (mass) media platforms such as television, radio and newspapers, alongside more traditional exhibition formats. In the context of Manifesta 8 we ask what is the media’s relationship to the construction of a local reality, how does it relate to ideas of truth, fact and history, and what are its possibilities for engaging with new audiences and existing local/global structures?

One of the theoretical bases that informs CPS’s approach to art and the media is the notion of 'aesthetic journalism': http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/books/view-Book,id=4651/. This is a huge body of research undertaken between 2004 and 2009. We (Alfredo as writer/curator and Fay as artist) have recently collaborated to 'unpack' this concept using a practical approach; Fay developed an ‘ABC of aesthetic journalism' which is published as a blog: http://fayinc.wordpress.com. We would like to involve DAI students in this process of progression from a (theoretical) notion of aesthetic journalism to a practical implementation of this concept (as could manifest itself in Biennial models such as M8).”

19:30 (project room)
For all students

“Mole’s Milk”
Ben Schot

At the invitation by Mark Kremer, artist Ben Schot will present an evening of performances in art, music and film. When asked about the trip in relation to art, Ben Schot holds the view that the trip is a phenomenon that, although it can be analysed and theorised, first and foremost is an experience. Trips, whether they are based on drugs or on artistic material, have to do with immersion, immersion of the self in a journey that may take you to subconscious regions of the mind and psyche.
Various artistic experiences will be offered, amongst which a live concert of Dutch musicians Frans de Waard and Roel Meelkop of the electro-acoustic ensemble "Kapotte Muziek" (translation: 'Broken Music'), and a screening of the movie 'El Topo' (= The Mole, 1970) by Alejandro Jodorowsky, the Paris based, Chilean artist/filmmaker/magician/psychotherapist.

Thursday January 14

Starting 9:30
Face to Face

meetings between individual DAI-students and individual guest advisors Phil Collins, Hito Steyerl, Ben Schot, Prayas Abhinav, Fay Nicolson, Alfredo Cramerotti, Graziela Kunsch, Florian Göttke, Mark Kremer andRenée Ridgway.

Delphine Bedel will arrange on-line meetings with the second year students during the day. A schedule for this will be announced during the week.

Gabrielle Schleijpenwill meet with small groups of second year students in her office. The schedule for these meetings wil be announced during the week.

16:30-17:30
For all students

Studio Palaver

Studio Palaver is essentially a student led initiative that aims to create further communication and dialogue between the practicing artists of the institute. Through using the Studio-visit as a model, Studio Palaver initiates a series of Palaveresque meetings to take place during the DAI weeks. Together with one-on-one visits between the artists, the week includes a Studio Palaver Hour where five artists individually play host to a group of six artists. The idea is for the artist to treat this hour however he or she sees fit, encouraging creative responses and ways for using this hour in an investigative and “questionable” manner.

Word Origin & History

palaver
1733 (implied in palavering), "talk, conference, discussion," sailors' slang, from Port. palavra "word, speech, talk," traders' term for "negotiating with the natives" in W.Africa, metathesis of L.L. parabola "speech, discourse," from L. parabola "comparison." Meaning "idle talk" first recorded 1748.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

This month hosts are Omar Koubaa, Jort van der Laan, Jeroen Marttin and Emilio Moreno.

19:30 (project room)
For all students

Prayas Abhinav (please see introduction) will conclude his workshop with introducing some of his own recent projects and opening them up for discussion.

Friday January 15

11:00, Casco, Nieuwe Kade 213-215, Utrecht

‘User’s Manual: The Grand Domestic Revolution’
Curated by Binna Choi/coordinator Yolande van der Heide

The Grand Domestic Revolution Seminar #3
Guest lecturers: Artists Graziela Kunsch, Martha Rosler, Anton Vidokle, architect Andreas Muller

This DAI week seminar takes place along with the opening of If You Lived Here Still, an archive project by Martha Rosler at Casco, organized as part of the year-long programme ‘User’s Manual: The Grand Domestic Revolution’. In 1989/90, artist Martha Rosler organized her project ‘If You Lived Here…’ at the Dia Art Foundation in New York City. ‘If You Lived Here…’ was a seminal group project on housing, homelessness and the systems and conditions underlying them such as gentrification, bureaucratic complicity or non-compliance and increasing privatisation of the public sector. It took a radical approach toward art and institutions of that time, in a mode that might be called cross-disciplinary and “participatory”. The archive project by Martha Rosler at Casco, initiated by Anton Vidokle and first presented at e-flux’s New York space last autumn, provides an opportunity to revisit Rosler's undertaking and interrogate its legacy. Besides the archival materials that expose the organisational and research processes behind the project, more research documents that Rosler has assembled or solicited others to contribute over the last 20 years are installed for close reading at Casco. These also include new materials gathered in Utrecht.

The seminar #3 is run by San Paulo based artist and film maker Graziela Kunsch to discuss different housing struggles and movements in Brazil including the notion of "self-organized city" (www.video-as.org/videopool/images/graziela_kunsch_slideshow.html). Kunch is going to elaborate on her engagement with such issues by sharing her artistic practice, including her ongoing research projects 'Projeto Mutirao (collective labour)' and Casa Grazi. This will lead to a conversation with Martha Rosler whereby she will take her project 'if You Lived Here' as a focal point to discuss her work in light of critical feminist art practice.

This meeting is also joined by architect, researcher and exhibition designer Andreas Muller with his research subject on the housing struggle in North Kensington in London in the 70s and Anton Vidokle, an artist who has closely collaborated with Martha Rosler and is the initiator of 'If You Lived Here Still...' at e-flux in New York.

Related events at Casco (students attendance strongly recommended)

Opening If You Lived Here Still, an archive project by Martha Rosler
16 Jan 2010, 17.00

Open forum with Martha Rosler, Graziela Kunsch, Binna Choi, Andreas Muller, Anton Vidokle, Lukasz Stanek, Friso Wiersum & Margot Ellenbroek
17 Jan 2010, 14.00-17.00

Starting 10:30, Amsterdam, Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst, Keizersgracht 264

Negotiating Equity
Organised by Renée Ridgway and contributors to n.e.w.s (http://northeastwestsouth.net)

10:30-14:00 Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst

Jaromil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaromil) will be our guest and giving us a tour of the exhibition ‘Version’ and the mediatheek at Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst. We'll have a peek on the fringe side of the free software movement: the Squatter's Linux User Group (SLUG), a collective composed by Pure Data artists, antenna builderz, open source developers, crystal space architects, TCP/IP magicians, geeky designers and crypto punks. The SLUG recently squatted a new empty building in Amsterdam and is currently on the task of building its new hideout: we'll have a chance to peek into the physical development of the space, smell the bubbling social interaction and feel the visionary vibes glueing this virtual and physical community together.
http://www.nimk.nl/nl/

15:30 Buro Jansen & Janssen

City of Discipline is a Buro Jansen & Janssen project that follows the developments within the field of security in NL and Europe. The past 25 years Buro Jansen & Janssen has conducted investigations into police, justice and secret service activities, dealing with all sorts of restrictive, preventive and disappearance measures against those in the margins (fringes) of society. The margins used to consist of the homeless, drug users, refugees, squatters, activists and illegal migrants. During the past 20 years more have been added to the list to now include football fans, concert and dance partygoers, politically engaged Muslims and others. The measures include trespassing, preventive search, personal identification, along with specific fines for homeless and users, but also security controls at parties and competition matches.

City of Discipline uses the antithesis of stopping or moving as guide for policy and action. Not only is the government no longer stagnating with its overflow of measures and laws concerning security. Also the citizen no longer remains still - people take action and discipline themselves. Being inactive leads to not only volatility (escapism) but also to not seeing, or better yet, not being seen. Each practice, each society, each action has a downside and we know that civil rights are being violated but we don’t really know because it’s not in the media or it’s just a news flits so we don’t notice. Buro Jansen
& Janssen works on the interface of not knowing, but actually does know and shows its work through City of Discipline. 
http://www.burojansen.nl/

10:30 at Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem
For 2nd year students

Publications Project
With Delphine Bedel

The Publications Project is a collection of artists publications issued by the DAI and designed in collaboration with the designers from Werkplaats Typografie. The 2009-10 edition is directed by artist/curator Delphine Bedel. The Publications Project is an experimental research and production platform that aims to address the specific process of artist books production, from concept and design to distribution. Designers and artists are invited to team up in couples to develop one project, in close collaboration with an author. The format of this diverse collection can varies from magazine, essays, books, and artist editions to performance artefacts. Through very diverse perspectives the artists and designers reflect on publishing as a versatile medium. The limited editions are distributed through artist's performances, bookshops and artist book fairs.