[-empyre-] beyond screens

[ayah bdeir]

Hi ladies,

re: Nat's question: "more interactive/participatory media-based work  
is scarce, was wondering about your thoughts why this is the case. do  
you think this is due to a lack in access, resources, financial  
constraints,..?"

I definitely see Mirene's point on one hand about the image and  
expertise in image development (video, advertising, TV, etc) has an  
impact on it's predominance in work. On the other hand, there are  
several logistical, community reasons for this scarcity i believe. I  
also already mentioned the "artist identity" issue that I think plays  
a role, but that's not the large reason.

I used to also wonder why there was not more interactive art work in  
lebanon for instance, but after spending a summer in beirut, and  
trying to produce several pieces there, I now think it would be a  
miracle if there were more works of this nature! (exagerating a  
little  :) ). Here are two main reasons ill mention:

On a logistical level:
First there are no local stores that sell any electronics that you can  
source to prototype with (except for a few very very generic  
electronics suppliers focused on electrician-type products). But even  
in the states we often cant source parts locally, the second option is  
online. I ordered items for a robotic sculpture i was building, and  
the parts i ordered were stuck in customs at the beirut airport for 10  
days, and then came with a 100% markup on price for customs. So not  
only did it take 2 weeks to get my stuff, but it also cost me over  
140$ in shipping and taxes for cables that cost 23$.

On a more community level:
Technical trailings that teach the "craft" of interactivity are scarce  
(programming for devices, electronics design, 3D sculpture etc), so if  
someone has interest, they would have to rely on themselves and on the  
internet. In the case of physical work, obviously that's not ideal, so  
hopefully that will get better as the community grows, and hopefully  
schools start picking up these themes.

.. i hope... :)
ayah





On Feb 16, 2011, at 5:46 PM, mirene arsanios wrote:

> Dear Nat, Ayah and Mayssa,
>
> Interresting questions : )
>
> I don't know precisely why the screen has had such importance in  
> contemporary Lebanese art, but I can think of a few reasons.
> I know for instance that different artists, before becoming artists,  
> have worked for various TV channels. Roy Samaha once told me that he  
> started working and experimenting with video after reviewing hours  
> of footage for a TV program. I can imagine that coming from such  
> professional background conditions your relation to image making and  
> diffusion.
>
> The other explanation I can think of is that artists working with  
> video today often have a film backrgound and were trained in  
> traditional film schools (considering the lack of contemporary  
> visual art schools) . Also here, keeping a certain frontal or framed  
> relation to the image.
>
> I also think, as you rigtly mentioned, that this is changing and  
> that a younger generation of artists is moving away from the TV  
> screen type of presentation. Rather, what seems to guide the work of  
> this new generation ( I am thinking here about Marwa's work, Raed  
> Yassin, Mounira el Solh), is to activate the image in relation to  
> the material being addressed. For example, to address the history of  
> the Accapulco  (by Marwa Arsanios. Accapulco addresses the history  
> of  a modernist beach resort located in Beirut's southern beach),  
> the artist used video, photos and architectural models. Raed Yassin  
> activates footage from Egyptian film through his sound performances,  
> Mounira el Solh is able to produce paintings through a fictional  
> persona, on which she also produced a fictional documentary.  Rather  
> than identifying these artist through a form or a medium,  (single  
> channel, multi channel, or installation) I tend to think their work  
> as "projects", which take different forms, depending on what they  
> want to explore.
> Hope you are all well,
>
> Mirene
>
>
>
> -- 
> Mirene Arsanios
>
> www.mirenearsanios.wordpress.com
> www.98weeks.blogspot.com
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mail.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/attachments/20110217/841bf871/attachment.html>