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Refresh!

First International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science and Technology

Conference: September 28 - October 1st, 2005
Summit: October 2nd - 3rd

"The technology of the modern media has produced new possibilities of interaction. … What is needed is a wider view encompassing the coming rewards in the context of the treasures left us by the past experiences, possessions, and insights."

---Rudolf Arnheim, Summer 2000

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Banff New Media Institute launches webcast for Refresh! conference on new media art, science, technology

In late September, more than 200 new media practitioners from around the world gathered at the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI) at The Banff Centre for the first Refresh! international conference on the history of media art, science, and technology. BNMI has launched the Refresh! webcast - an educational resource for new media artists, researchers, historians and students across the globe. To access the Refresh! conference webcast, visit:

http://www.banffcentre.ca/bnmi/programs/archives/2005/refresh/

Visit this comprehensive archive to watch and listen to discussion on the relationship between new media and the disciplines of art history, anthropology, computing sciences, media studies, and other intercultural contexts.

The webcast includes the inaugural Rudolf Arnheim lecture, by curator and art historian Sarat Maharaj, honouring the crucial role of Rudolf Arnheim in the history and theory of the interaction of art, science, and new technologies. Catch London-based writer and curator Jasia Reichardt on the evolution of computer-based art, and the development of electronic sculpture, art robots, and environments. Watch Andreas Broeckmann, director of the transmediale festival for art and digital culture in Berlin, present on the effect of the machine on creative thinking, and Edward Shanken, professor of art history and media theory at the Savannah College of Art and Design, address methodologies for analyzing the role of science and technology in the history of art. Find out what Michael Century and Sheila Petty had to say on the transition between analog and digital technologies within the institution, and the issue of race in 'cybertheory'.

The Refresh! conference was hosted by BNMI, Leonardo/ISAST, and the Database for Virtual Art and was generously supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, Goethe-institute, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Villa Vigoni, UNESCO DigiArts, INTEL and ITAU Cultural.

Refresh! is one of the flagship events of the 10th anniversary celebration of BNMI, marking a decade of work by inspired artists, producers and researchers. As BNMI looks to the next 10 years, it will continue to engage in research, development, training and the exploration of broader social, political and cultural issues, informing new media in its many contexts.

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Refresh! conference summary

Conference: September 28 - October 1st, 2005
Summit: October 2nd - 3rd

Recognizing the increasing significance of media art for our culture, the conference on the Histories of Media Art discussed for the first time the history of media art within the interdisciplinary and intercultural contexts of the histories of art. Banff New Media Institute, the Database for Virtual Art, Leonardo/ISAST and UNESCO DigiArts collaborated to produce the first international art history conference covering art and new media, art and technology, art-science interaction, and the history of media as pertinent to contemporary art. The conference also discussed the documentation, collection, archiving and preservation of media art. What kind of international networks must be created to advance appropriate policies for collection and conservation? What kind of new technologies do we need to optimize research efforts and information exchange? Held at The Banff Centre REFRESH! featured lectures by invited speakers as well as others selected by an international jury from more than 400 papers.

SESSIONS:

For further information on the program and the speakers in each session please go to http://www.MediaArtHistory.org.

I. MediaArtHistories: Times and Landscapes I (Chairs: O. GRAU and G. NADARAJAN)
MediaArtHistories: Times and Landscapes II (E. SHANKEN and C. GERE)
II. Methodologies: W.J.T. MITCHELL and tba.
III. Art as Research / Artists as Inventors: D. DANIELS
IV. Image Science and 'Representation': From a Cognitive Point of View: B. STAFFORD
V. Collaborative Practice/ Networking (history): R. KLUSZCZYNSKI and D. DOMINGUES
VI. Pop/Mass/Society: M. KUSAHARA and A. LANGE
VII. Collecting, preserving and archiving the media arts: J. GAGNON
Database/New Scientific Tools: R. FRIELING and O. GRAU
VIII. Cross-Culture - Global Art: S. DIAMOND and M. HSU
IX. What can the History of New Media Learn from History of Science? L. HENDERSON
X. Rejuvenate: Film, sound and music in media arts history: T. GUNNING and D. KAHN
XI. High Art/Low Culture - the future of media art sciences? K. BRUNS
XII. History of Institutions: I. SAKANE and J. REICHARDT
XIII.

EXHIBITION:

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Banff New Media Institute and in conjunction with the conference, Sarah Cook and Steve Dietz curated "The Art Formerly Known As New Media", an exhibition at the Walter Phillips Gallery (Sept. 17 - Oct. 23). Supported by:

BANFF NEW MEDIA INSTITUTE, DATABASE OF VIRTUAL ART, LEONARDO, DEUTSCHE FORSCHUNGSGEMEINSCHAFT, UNESCO DIGIARTS, VILLA VIGONI, INTEL, GOETHE-INSTITUT, SSHRC, CANADA COUNCIL

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The Refresh! conference is part of the Leonardo Art History special project, which comprises a number of activities and projects. Find out more about Leonardo Art History projects and activities.