Ars Electronica 2000
This year's Ars Electronica once again gives free rein to visions
and utopias, and promises to sate festivalgoers' cravings for
a look into the future. Last year, LifeScience began to address
modern biotech and genetic engineering as the key technologies
of the new millennium. NEXT SEX - Sex in the Age of its Procreative
Superfluousness will carry on and intensify this thematic
focus. But this concentration on a specific field of modern biotech
is not the only essential feature of Ars Electronica 2000. The
task at hand is to consider this technology's social policy background
factors and the framework within which it is developing, being
fostered or thwarted. And the point is to recognize the consequences
and the changes that are coming in its wake.
Ars Electronica, as a festival for art, technology and society,
is programmatically committed to exploring the ways in which artists
deal with technology-induced social and cultural change, and,
as a festival of contemporary art, has been striving since its
very inception to make this visible as a form of political work
as well. The artistic as well as theoretical contributions to
this year's festival will take up again the process of dealing
with current political issues on which international attention
has been focused as the result of events taking place in Austria.
NEXT SEX
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Ars Electronica 2000 shifts the cultural and social
perspectives of current and future reproductive technologies
into the centerpoint of artistic and theoretical consideration.
Leitmotif is the highly controversial set of issues surrounding
the social and biological stipulation of fixed gender differences,
trends and lifestyles, and moral and ethical values that are being
raised and impacted by the discussion of possible future scenarios
of artificial, technological reproduction of human beings.
In the future, who'll be having sex how with whom-and why?
Genetic engineering is the key to the planned redesign and custom
tailoring of the material basis of life. Outfitted with this tool
for the manipulation of life itself, the human will to design
our surroundings has at last arrived at the human species itself.
Modern reproductive medicine and technology are going about removing
the process of human procreation from its naturally haphazard
state. Simultaneously, technological intervention into reproduction
is radically and finally decoupling sex from its indispensability
to begetting children. From birth control and artificial insemination
(IVF: In-vitro fertilization), to sperm data banks, egg donation
and surrogate motherhood, all the way to technologies of the distant
future like asexual procreation by means of cloning and the artificial
womb.
Symposium
NEXT SEX - Sex in the Age of its Procreative Superfluousness
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September 3 - 4, 2000
Brucknerhaus, 10:00 - 13:00 and 14:30 - 18:00
NEXT SEX directs our view to the new potential for conflict in
the zone of interplay and tension at the nexus of modern reproductive
technology, culture, ethics and society. With critical alertness
and the courage to transgress taboos, Ars Electronica will enable
the social and political confrontation with the possibilities
and limitations of reproduction by means of genetic technology
to reach a level of intensity befitting its explosiveness. In
speeches and discussions, a series of eminent experts will set
forth their highly controversial views on these hot issues.
Nobuya Unno/J - The medical researcher working at the University
of Tokyo's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology created a
furor with his development of an artificial womb.
Jens Reich/D - The molecular biologist and scholar at the
Max-Delbrück-Centrum for Molecular Medicine is well known as a
candidate for president of Germany in the last election, and is
a member of the scientific commission of the German Human Genome
Project.
Bruce Bagemihl/USA - The biologist and author of "Biological
Exuberance. Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" served
at the University of British Columbia.
Carl Djerassi/USA - Djerassi, who achieved fame as "Father
of the Pill," is an author and professor of Chemistry at Stanford
University. He is one of the few American scientists who have
been awarded both the National Medal of Science as well as the
National Medal of Technology.
Randy Thornhill/USA - The author (together with C.T. Palmer)
of the controversial publication "A Natural History of Rape: Biological
Basis of Sexual Coercion" is professor of biology at the University
of New Mexico.
Kurt Behrends/D - Psychiatrist and neurologist affiliated
with the psychiatric department of the Board of Health of the
City of Düsseldorf, Germany. Fields of specialization: forensic
psychiatry and issues of sexual medicine.
Artistic positions will be represented at the symposium by:
Joe Davis, Katie Egan/USA - Davis is an artist and scientist
specializing in molecular biology, bioinformatics, genetic data
bases and new biological art forms. Davis teaches and conducts
research at MIT.
Marta de Menezes/P - Artist with a degree in Fine Arts
from the University of Lisbon; working in the interface between
art and biology, also known as "bio-art".
Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr/AUS, Guy Ben-Ary/Israel - "Tissue
Culture and Art (TC&A)" by Catts, Zurr and Ben-Ary is an ongoing
research and development project into the use of tissue culture
and tissue engineering as a medium for artistic expression.
Natacha Merritt/USA - The artist was born in 1977 and grew
up in San Francisco. She recently published "Digital Shots," her
intimate sexual diaries photographed with a digital camera.
Sergio Messina/I - The artist's work, often controversial,
is always inspired by political and social issues. In his latest
work he explores the various forms of sex and pornography in the
internet.
Cultural and specifically gender-related aspects of these issues
will be treated by:
Monika Treut/D/USA - Treut is a director and the author
of "The Cruel Woman: the Portrayal of Women in de Sade and Sacher-Masoch."
She directed the films "Die Jungfrauenmaschine," "My Father is
coming," and "Gendernauts."
Marie Luise Angerer/A - Professor of media and gender studies
at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, her publications include
"Body options. Körper.Spuren.Medien.Bilder" and "The Body of Gender."
Joanne Finkelstein/AUS - The social anthropologist has
taught sociology and cultural studies at several universities
in America and Australia. She is the well-known author of "Slaves
of Chic," "Dining Out" and "The Fashioned Self."
Allucquère Rosanne Stone/USA - The artist, Associate Professor
and Director of the Advanced Communication Technologies Laboratory
(ACTLab) and Convergent Media Program at UT Austin is author of
"The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto" and "The
War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age".
Representing non-Western points of view are:
Xin Mao/PRCH/UK - The cancer cytogeneticist, scientist
from West China University of Medical Sciences in Chengdu, conducted
the important 1998 study "Chinese Geneticist's View of Ethical
Issues in Genetic Testing and Screening: Evidence for Eugenics
in China."
Veena Gowda/Indien - Lawyer, working on gender issues at
the Legal Centre of Majlis.
Focal Point Issues at the NEXT SEX-Symposium:
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Humans in the Age of their Biotechnological Reproducibility?
Wider-ranging implementation and enhanced differentiation of technologies in the fields of in-vitro fertilization and prenatal diagnostics are contributing to reproductive technology becoming part of everyday routine in medicine. Artificial insemination through the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) methods-the microinjection of pre-selected sperm into an egg cell-is a treatment of male infertility that is being used with increasing frequency. And researchers have long been pushing forward with the development of new reproductive technologies like cloning.
Pre-implantation diagnostics (PID) could be the technological key to the development of so-called designer babies. The PID process makes it possible to test the genetic make-up of in-vitro fertilized egg cells-indeed, on the second or third day of their development into an embryo capable of being implanted.
The development of an artificial womb-a project that is already underway-seems to be the last step mankind has to take in order to achieve the totally industrial production of life.
Ars Electronica will elaborate on the current state of research in the field of reproductive technology, and will present leading scientists discussing not only what is available today but also-and above all-what the future has in store for us.
Excursion into the Future
To augment and enhance the scientific material presented,
Ars Electronica 2000 will also focus attention on the specific
qualities of speculative designs of the future. What happens
when the possibilities of genetically engineered human reproduction
become realities? What consequences are already attributable
to these research projects-the actual implementation of which
is still far off in the future-as a result of the intense coverage
of them right now by the mass media? What changes in our worldviews
and in our conceptions of ourselves as human beings are being
triggered by the very discussion of these issues? The visions
and blueprints of scientists and researchers encounter the fears
and hopes of mankind; scientific utopias collide with social
utopias.
Gender Boundaries and Power Relationships
The technological-medical possibilities of human reproduction will doubtlessly change the familiar pattern of sex, love, relationships and family with which we have lived up to now. In light of these developments in reproductive technology, the definition of the genders and the allocation of roles and power between them will have to be revised.
Can reproductive technology be a way out of the male coding of the female body, or is the exact opposite the case? Will the female body be integrated into new contexts of definition, function and exploitation which in turn serve to strengthen patriarchic patterns, or is this the dawn of a new epoch of female self-determination? Scientific research is now contesting the female monopoly on reproductive capability. Is this to be interpreted as women's liberation or as a loss of power?
Will the male be relegated to the role of Sperminator, a mere semen donor, as in the pregnancies staged by pop icons like Madonna or Jodie Foster with such tremendous media effect? Will the male-since he is no longer absolutely necessary for procreation-be robbed of the very justification for his existence?
Do the reproductive technologies of the future mean the end
of patriarchic designs for the world and the onset of a new
androgynous era in which power actually will no longer be allocated
along gender lines? Ars Electronica 2000 will also discuss the
political dimension of these questions. What political
repercussions can we anticipate from the conflicts between conservative
family values and women's rights that are now approaching a
climax? Will political leaders actively take these emerging
developments into account in coming up with innovative policy
proposals and creating favorable framework conditions?
Ars Electronica - NEXT SEX will also deal with highly critical points related to the current political situation in Austria.
The Constructed Human Being - Horror or Ideal?
Will the creation of human life in the future take place solely in the laboratory? Do we face the threat of serial production of genetically "perfect" human beings-whatever "perfect" might be construed to mean? Just as one is able today to select sperm from a semen bank, will parents of the future be able to browse through a genetics catalog to choose the mental and physical traits they desire for their child?
Which criteria are decisive in assessing genetically doubtful material, in judging between perfect and defective? Bioethical questions that are highly explosive and of tremendous consequence have become unavoidable-questions that mankind is unable to come to grips with using tried-and-true practical experience, questions the very mention of which is taboo.
New World View, New View of Mankind?
Reproductive technology does not only mean that human beings will be produced via technological processes. Reproductive technology also compellingly raises the question of which human beings will be produced. This central issue of the genetic engineering discussion revolves around the dangerous development of a new form of eugenics, and subjects our Weltanschauungen and value systems to a rigorous test.
In light of all these possibilities inherent in reproductive technology, Ars Electronica 2000 wishes to contribute to enabling a discourse to take place on worldviews, images of humanity and human beings, and the systems of ethical and social values associated with them. Reproductive technology most vehemently raises the question of its own ethical legitimacy as it violently collides with the restrictions and taboos of our society. But aren't taboos merely a good excuse to not have to think an issue all the way through?
Website NEXT SEX
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News Service
http://www.aec.at/nextsex
http://www.aec.at/festival2000
Focusing specifically on the NEXT SEX theme, Ars Electronica offers
a daily update featuring international press coverage, a detailed
and comprehensive collection of material, and links to other sites
having to do with genetic engineering and reproductive technology.
Online Editor: Karin Rumpfhuber; Web Design: Ars Electronica FutureLab
Art & Events - Ars Electronica 2000
Ars Electronica understands art as an interface, a source of stimulus,
and a catalyst for the interaction of the public with the world
of science. Ars Electronica also assigns art a place far beyond
the role of moral authority. The full-throttle intensity and dynamism
with which art can approach explosive issues make artistic encounter
an ideal driving force behind social discourse and social innovation.
In a packed schedule of events, installations, performances, exhibitions
and network projects, Ars Electronica 2000 will put this claim
into practice and enable art to fulfill its promise as a catalyst
of social development processes.
Next Sex - Projects
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September 2 - 7, 2000
Brucknerhaus, 10.00-19.00
The challenges that are materializing as a result of the emerging
revolution in human reproduction are also challenges to art. The
"design" possibilities and "creative" potential opened up by modern
biotechnologies give rise to ethical and moral border conflicts
involving the operating system of art itself. Ars Electronica
2000 presents installations focusing on specific aspects of this
year's theme that artistically treat a broad spectrum of highly
explosive issues having to do with NEXT SEX.
With the Audio Microscope of American artists Joe Davis
and Katie Egan, users can observe living cells while at the same
time listening in to their highly amplified, species-specific
micro-acoustic coloratura.
Tissue Culture and Art (TC&A) by Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr
(Australia) and Guy Ben-Ary (Israel) is a research-and-development
project currently in progress. The artists utilize tissue cultures
and tissue technology as a medium for artistic expression.
In Nature? Marta Menezes (USA) investigates changes that
go beyond sexuality. Targeted interventions into the development
process of butterflies produce specimens whose wing patterns do
not occur in nature. Although designed on the drawing board, these
new patterns are nevertheless completely natural. Instead of "Next
Sex," Nature? rather illustrates an alternative to sex-that is,
modification totally without sex!
Ars Electronica 2000 also presents Natacha Merritt's (USA) Digital
Diaries, works of photographic art that exemplify the eroticism
of the Internet generation; Dieter Hubers (A) computer-generated
Klones, which treat in a way that is both subtle and radical
the recreation of mankind as well as the tension between naturalness
and artificiality; and Tit for Twat, photographic collages
by Kaucyila Brooke (USA), which, under the title Madame and
Eve in the Garden, retell the story of creation in a way that
leaves the conventional heterosexual pattern far behind.
sex i(n) motion: In the lab on Linz's main square, sex-related
science and technology can be "experienced," as visitors are immersed
into the world of genes and genomes. They can marvel at techniques
of in-vitro fertilization, and observe a number of varieties of
sexuality in the animal kingdom.
SPERM RACE
Take a chance at the outrageous "sperm race." Sperm will be measured
on the basis of a number of parameters (such as motility, sperm
count, and pH value) in accordance with medical criteria. In an
anonymous ranking process, visitors will have the chance to emerge
as the daily or even weekly winner.
Social Club - Stadtwerkstatt/A
September 3 - 6, 2000, Ars Electronica Quarter - Stadtwerkstatt,
23:00
The human body occupies the spotlight-the body as the object of
science, the body as the object of desire, the body as cultural
product.
Events & Performances
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The line-up of (musical) performances and events, compressed into
six Ars Electronica Nights, will provide for exciting NEXT
SEX artistic evenings. Highlights include:
Opening Party - Ars Electronica 2000
September 2, 2000, Eishalle, 22:30
The motto NEXT SEX will be subjected to special artistic treatment
and a comedic once-over. Ice, a critically important medium for
the preservation of reproductive agents, is the essential element
characterizing the opening party's venue.
Night 2
OMV Klangpark - with Alexander Balanescu (UK), Isabella
Bordoni (I), Rupert Huber (A), Sergio Messina (I), Siegfried Ganhör
(A), To Rococo Rot (D)
Opening: September 3, 2000, Donaupark, 20:00
Intercourse - The File Cabinet Project - Istvan Kantor
(CDN)
September 3, 2000, Brucknerhaus, 21:00
Machinery and raw emotion collide in this performative encounter
of the human body with its technological enhancements; the filing
cabinet as socio-sonic noise machine and interactive sub-monument.
Night 3
Hearing Monkeys - Lawine Torrèn, Hubert Lepka (A)
September 4, 2000, Posthof, 19:00
In this conceptual ballet, five scientists investigate the biologically-socially
ambivalent construction of sex on the threshold of the Biotech
Age.
Night 4
Active Score Music
Scribble - Golan Levin (USA)
Small Fish - The Performance - Masaki Fujihata, Kiyoshi
Furukawa, Wolfgang Münch/J
September 5, 2000, Brucknerhaus, 20:00
The synesthetic bonding of sound and image is the central artistic
motif of this concert performance. Ars Electronica has invited
the two artists to premier their installations and software modules
as digital media instruments.
D.A.V.E. - Klaus Obermaier, Chris Haring (A)
September 5, 2000, Brucknerhaus, 21:30
A dancer as a virtual character switches effortlessly between
young-old-male-female, distorting and reforming his/her body.
D.A.V.E. takes a close look at the manipulation and redesign of
the human body via biotech, genetic engineering and computer technology.
Night 5
Ars Electronica Quarter Night
Audio-Visual Quicksand - Bernhard Fleischmann/A, POLE/D
6. 9. 2000, 20:00 - 22:30, open air, Ars Electronica Quarter
GRAMM/D
from 22:30, Ars Electronica Center, Sky
A.V.Q.'s listeners will slowly sink into the capriciously shifting
underground of visual stimuli and endless waves of sound. Performers
including video artists, DJs and live acts from Austria and abroad
will provide the unstructured, driving audio-visual underground,
and Jomasounds will supply the accompanying survival manual. (audio
concept: jomasounds/A; visual concept: Dietmar Offenhuber/A)
Night 6
20' to 2000 - Concept: Carsten Nicolai (D) - Goldene Nica
Digital Musics
September 7, 2000, Posthof, 21:00
Current goings-on in the musical domain between techno-club and
experimental digital music, featuring performances by the 12 artists
who collaborated on the prize-winning project. With: Komet/D,
Ilpo Vaisanen/SF, Ryoji Ikeda/J, coH/RUS, Beytone/D, Senking/D,
Thomas Brinkmann/D, Scanner/UK, Noto/D, Mika Vainio/SF, Wolfgang
Voigt/D, Elph/UK
Body Spin - Time's Up/A
September 3 - 7, 2000, Ars Electronica Quarter - Parkbucht,
10:00 -19:00
Body Spin is an interface (SPIN) that allows users to enter a
VR environment with their entire bodies. A "walkable" trackball
finally gives real meaning to the term "walk-through." The users'
own bodily motion and balance in the trackball serve as the means
of navigation in virtual space.
Network Art
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Network art has already been among the chief focuses of Ars Electronica
for a number of years now. In light of the increasing importance
of this area of artistic activity, Ars Electronica 2000 has come
up with some new presentation formats and event concepts featuring
network art-openX - electrolobby.
electrolobby I.P.O. (Initial Public Opening)
September 2, 2000, Brucknerhaus, 14:00 - 17:00
An intoxicating mix of personalities and information, food and
sound, and hacks and chats. The Electrolobby Initial Public Opening
launches a series of project-related competitions, and delivers
a sneak preview of the daily program modules featured in the electrolobby
showroom.
openX - electrolobby
September 2- 7, 2000, Brucknerhaus, 10:00 - 19:00
Showroom for net-inspired digital culture Following the Initial
Public Opening, electrolobby will harbor an archipelago of net-inspired
lifestyles: a marketplace of opinions, projects, branded cultural
commodities and their pirated bootlegs-a venue in which genetic
researchers meet experimental entertainers, food jockeys mingle
with MP3 mixers, game designers kibitz with concept engineers...
openX-electrolobby will focus on the bold strategies being spawned
in the white heat of social, economic and cultural transformation,
which are rapidly overhauling global computer networks. Generations
X, Y and Z will come together in full confidence and share the
challenges, conflicts, and opportunities faced in this, the very
top-level domain of life.
Monotonik/UK - One of the hottest Internet music labels
in the area of ambient IDM-Techno and Dope Beats. With: Lackluster
(aka Distance), Subi, Vim!, Thug (aka Serkul), Dharma+Dice, Sushi
Brother, Jiva, and others.
The Free Software Project/USA - A blend of cutting edge
online journalism and the Open Source Way of Life, with continual
feedback from major protagonists on the digital stage. With: Andrew
Leonard
Pixelporno/CH/USA - An ensemble of projects centered on
voyeuristic network technology, sex confusion, and the nagging
problem of designer babies. With: Stylo, Steeph1, Wale, Lopetz
and others.
etoy/EU/USA - etoy establishes bridges between business
culture and consumer culture, between power and subversion, beyond
good and evil. With: etoy.ZAI (CEO), etoy.GRAMAZIO (President),
agent.NASDAQ aka Reinhold Grether
Memepool/USA - One of the most prominent examples of the
new generation of collaborative data filtering (weblogging). With:
Joshua Schachter
Next Sex Web Jam/F/I/J - A crack team of International
designers has just 36 hours and a mission: programming the ultimate
Next Sex web portal. With: Sebastien 'Seb' Kochman, Tony 'Chick'
Derbomez, Sebastien 'Jolls' Giuli, Guillaume 'Run' Renard, Olivier
Janin and others, in association with Shift (Japan)
Boombox/CH - The collective of networkers, designers, promoters,
DJs, VJs and food jockeys is a prime example of the reciprocal
relationship between club culture and Internet culture. With:
Mouthwatering, Micromusic, Büro Destruct, Stocktown, Dublab and
others.
Sissy Fight 2000/USA - An online multi-user game faces
the problem of coming up with promising strategies in the age
of evolutionary biology. With: Eric Zimmerman
Icontown/D - An unusual network community project based
on the concept of the pixel as building material. With: Mayor
Be aka Bernd Holzhausen
Leonardo/F/USA - Leonardo, an artistic and scientific network
that has existed for over 30 years has been slapped with a lawsuit
by a French financial firm claiming violation of its trademark
rights. With: Annick Bureaud
Distributed Annotation System/USA - A program for the publication
of genome data, based on the controversial Napster technology.
With: Lincoln Stein
lo-ser.org/A - The prime time independent media manufacturer
has targeted cheap, portable consumer electronics as a vehicle
for communicating within the subculture. With: lo-ser (aka Chris
Kummerer)
Giant Connection Machine/UK - A series of micro-DJ lectures
about mutations in electronic music, media theory and science
fiction. With: Kodwo Eshun
Concept and program:
TNC Network/F (Tina Cassani, Bruno Beusch), Spatial design: Scott
Ritter/USA/A
Free Speech
Radio FRO 105.0 MHZ - http://www.fro.at
September 3 - 7, 2000, Ars Electronica Quarter, 13:00 - 20:00
Over the course of the emancipation of civil society-an issue
of tremendous international relevance and one that is of particular
interest in Austria in light of that country's current political
situation-the discourse surrounding free speech has increasingly
focused on access to and the independence of the media. The Free
Speech and Open Source Movement that is actively involved in this
controversial area is making key contributions to debates concerning
censorship and democracy as well as software. Concept: Radio FRO/A
Prix Ars Electronica 2000
As an internationally renowned prize for cyberarts, the Prix Ars
Electronica 2000 is one of the centerpieces of the Ars Electronica
Festival. The annual competition conducted by the ORF-Austrian
National Broadcasting Company's Upper Austria Regional Studio
is a forum for artists and scientists who employ the computer
not just as a tool but as an all-encompassing medium with which
they are able to deal both creatively and competently. This year's
prizes will be handed out during the Prix Ars Electronica Gala
to be held on Monday, September 4, 2000 in the ORF studio.
Golden Nica 2000:
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer/MEX/CDN - Interactive Art
Neal Stephenson/USA - .net
Jakub Pistecky/CDN - Computeranimation
Christian Volckman/F - Visual Effects Carsten
Nicolai/D - Digital Musics
Verena Riedl, Michaela Hermann/A - u19 cybergeneration
- freestyle computing
Prix Ars Electronica in the Internet: http://prixars.orf.at
Cyberarts 2000 - Prix Ars Electronica Exhibition
September 2 - 7, 2000, O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst, 10:00-24:00
Opening: September 2, 2000, 10:30
An impressive look at current developments in the digital arts
is offered by Cyberarts 2000, an exhibition at the O.K. Center
for Contemporary Art being presented in conjunction with the Ars
Electronica Festival. A separate exhibition space is devoted to
"u19 Cybergeneration - Freestyle Computing," Prix Ars Electronica's
category for young artists.
Projects and artists:
Vectorial Elevation, Relational Architecture #4 - Rafael
Lozano-Hemmer/MEX/CDN
Audiovisual Environment Suite - Golan Levin/USA
A Body of Water - Andrea Zapp & Paul Sermon/D/UK
GraffitiWriter - The Institut for Applied Autonomy/USA
Unconscious Flow - Naoko Tosa/J
As Much As You Love Me - Orit Kruglanski/Israel
The Active Text Project - Jason E. Lewis, Alex Weyers/USA
Watashi-chan - Tomoko Ueyama/J
Asymptote - Douglas Edric Stanley/USA
Free Range Appliances in a Light Dill Sauce - Rania Ho/USA
Borderland - Laurent Hart, Julien Alma/F
Experiments in Touching Color - Jim Campbell/USA