[-empyre-] empyre: Resistance is futile, ISEA, Sydney 2013

[Simon Biggs]

I would like to close July's empyre discussion on the themes and activities underlying and emerging from this year's International Symposium of Electronic Arts, held in and around Sydney, Australia during June 2013.

I would like to thank our invited discussants, Terry Flaxton (UK), Gary Warner (AU), Paul Sermon (UK), Charlotte Gould (UK), Deborah Ely (AU), Garth Paine (US/AU), Clea Waite (US/D), Daniel Howe (HK/US), Ruth Aylett (UK) and Sue Hawksley (UK) for their thoughtful and at times provocative contributions. I would also like to thank all those who responded and contributed to the debate and those who followed the discussion. The focus during the month covered the diverse themes arising from the event. To recap the discussion: the primary theme for ISEA was "resistance is futile". We sought to inquire into how we might interpret this and asked what it was we were meant to be resisting? The conference programme offered a positive take on this statement - proposing that the electronic arts have moved from the margins to occupy a central role in contemporary culture. But we queried whether this has happened - and, if it has, if it is generally the case or only so in certain contexts?

Other themes addressed included:
- sustainability - how this can be achieved in relation to the environment but also how artists, arts groups, academics and activists might ensure their activities are sustainable as the processes of technologisation and globalisation unfold?
- notions of the human - what does it mean to be human now, in the context of developments in genetics and ICT?
- globalisation, diasporas and cultural identity?
- the boundaries of the real - where virtual and augmented realities have become pervasive media?
- the post-digital and its implications for aesthetics and questions of agency?
- the challenges and opportunities associated with big data?
- urbanism, activism and the socially disruptive potential of technology?

During the month of August empyre will be taking a break and we will return in September with a new theme, shortly to be announced. As always, thanks to all list members for your attention.




Simon Biggs
simon at littlepig.org.uk
http://www.littlepig.org.uk @SimonBiggsUK http://amazon.com/author/simonbiggs

s.biggs at ed.ac.uk Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/edinburgh-college-art/school-of-art/staff/staff?person_id=182&cw_xml=profile.php
http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/simon-biggs%285dfcaf34-56b1-4452-9100-aaab96935e31%29.html

http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/  http://www.elmcip.net/  http://www.movingtargets.org.uk/  http://designinaction.com/
MSc by Research in Interdisciplinary Creative Practices  http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/degrees?id=656&cw_xml=details.php

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