susana

Very interesting line-up of discourse, taking place in NYC in early May.
Issues and topics involved: simulation, gaming, architecture, war, politics, aesthetics...

Some folks we all know about are participating, plus many others:

Eddo Stern (IM Division faculty)
J.C. Herz, "Joystick Nation"
Matt Adams, artist, Blast Theory
Conference presented by Thundergulch (a great collective/resource in NYC; we met two people involved with Thundergulch last semester, I am fairly sure: the filmmakers of that doc about The Kitchen and MIT's Media Lab collaborating on projects)

All Info Follows:

The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies
http://www.lmcc.net/futureofwar/main.html

Conference presented by Thundergulch, the new media initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in association with:

Vera List Center for Art and Politics
World Policy Institute
Computer Instruction Center
at The New School

May 2-3, 2003

The New School
Swayduck Auditorium
65 Fifth Avenue, Ground Floor (at 13th Street)

What do the Department of Defense and the computer gaming industry have in common? What kinds of strategic alliances is the Pentagon making with Hollywood? How is the American Institute of Architects connecting with the military's designs for a "new security environment?" Are artists collaborating with, exposing, or resisting the military by deploying technologies of simulation, data surveillance, tracking, and computer vision in their work?

A group of internationally renowned panelists explore these and other questions in The Future of War: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies, a two-day conference that examines the increasingly complex exchanges between the military, the entertainment industry, the computer industry, the media and artists. What impact do these exchanges have on war, technology and related visual cultures in the American public sphere?

The conference looks at war not simply as a utilitarian means to an end but as a cultural process involving particular ways of seeing, narrating, and imagining. The conference will focus on the architectural spaces of war, the cinematic language of Hollywood combat films, online gaming and military simulations, and the computer and installation work of artists.

Conference Schedule

Friday May 2, 2003 2:30-9:30 pm
Presentation of New Media Works 2:30-5:30 pm
Reception 5:30-7:00 pm
The Aesthetics and Politics of Technologized Warfare 7:00-9:30 pm

Saturday May 3, 2003 10:00 am-7:00 pm
Architecture, Violence, and Social (In)security 10:00 am-12:00 pm
War and the Cinematic Imaginary 1:00-3:00 pm
The Virtual Battlefield: Computer Gaming, Modeling, Simulations 3:30-5:30 pm

Roundtable Discussion 6:00-7:00 pm

Schedule of Events

Friday May 2, 2003

2:30-5:30 pm
Presentation of New Media Works
Audience members join conference participants and local artists for a preview of works with informal discussion.

Participants include:

Matt Adams, artist
Alex Galloway, artist/scholar
Joy Garnett, artist/curator
Natalie Jeremijenko, techno artist/engineer
John Klima, artist
Laura Kurgan, architect/artist
Carl Skelton, digital artist/teacher
Eddo Stern, artist/game developer
Lebbeus Woods, architect

7:00-9:30 pm
The Aesthetics and Politics of Technologized Warfare
Radar, 3-D computer graphics, tracking devices, covert data-gathering, robots, and computer vision have become ubiquitous technologies of warfare and play an integral role in maintaining "homeland security." These technologies have long been a rich source of interest to artists engaged in the subjects of surveillance, control, and military imaging. Curators, artists, and human rights activists examine ways in which art exposes the depersonalization of violence, and resists the erosion of privacy and civil rights.

Panelists:
Joy Garnett, artist/curator; Natalie Jeremijenko, techno artist/engineer, Yale University and New York University; Tom Keenan, director, Human Rights Project, Bard College; Thomas Y. Levin, curator/media theorist, Princeton University.

Moderator: Helen Nissenbaum, professor, Department of Culture and Communication, New York University

Saturday May 3, 2003

10:00 am-12:00 pm
Architecture, Violence, and Social (In)security
New media artists and architects discuss the impact of violence, political terrorism and social (in)security on architecture and public space. Reflecting on physical and virtual spaces of war, panelists question assumptions about architecture's physical and psychological permanence. They will consider ways in which digital technologies limit and enable public perception of the built environment and spatial innovation.

Panelists:
Benjamin Bratton, cultural theorist/media architect, Southern California Institute of Architecture; Keller Easterling, associate professor, Yale School of Architecture; and Eyal Weizman, architect, Rafi Segal/Eyal Weizman Architects, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Moderator: Kadambari Baxi, architect/media designer, Martin/ Baxi Architects

1:00-3:00 pm
War and the Cinematic Imaginary
Collaborations between Hollywood, network televsion and the Pentagon have become commonplace. The shaping of popular culture through film and television intertwines with political strategies for legitimizing new modes of surveillance and criminalization. Panelists examine the causal relationships between the business of war and show biz.

Panelists:
Matt Adams, artist, Blast Theory performance collective, Great Britain; Allen Feldman, recurring visiting professor, Anthropology of Everyday Life Program, Center for Humanities Studies, Ljubljana; Michael Shapiro, political scientist, University of Hawaii.

Moderator: McKenzie Wark, author/media theorist

3:30-5:30 pm
The Virtual Battlefield: Computer Gaming, Modeling, Simulations
What role does the military-industrial complex play in the increased virtualization and digitalization of war and weaponry? Does this new emphasis on the virtual nature of war decrease its connection to reality, territory and the body? An interdisciplinary panel explores the new technologies of imitation and simulation, and the coordinated efforts of computer programmers, artists, and the gaming industry to advance the state of immersive military training and online recruitment.

Panelists:
James Der Derian, professor, International Relations, Watson Institute; Peter J. Dombrowski, associate professor, Strategic Department of the U.S. Naval War College; and Eddo Stern, artist/game developer, University of Southern California Graduate School of Cinema and Television.

Moderator: J.C. Herz, principal, Joystick Nation

6:00-7:00 pm
Roundtable Discussion
Join conference participants in an informal discussion about the questions, issues, and themes raised during panel sessions.

Moderator: Allen Feldman, recurring visiting professor, Anthropology of Everyday Life Program, Center for Humanities Studies, Ljubljana