[-empyre-] Final Week of May? What is Dystopia, Really?

Tue May 26 14:49:38 AEST 2020

Thx so much for that generous intro Byron, and thanks for having us!

To better inform our discussion, I’d like to share a bit more about my
creative practice as well as some recent projects which I feel exemplify my
goals as a practitioner. Regardless of the role I may be playing within a
project, my focus is on cultivating spaces of care where accessible
conversations can begin to demystify coding and technology, leading to new
formats for collaboration and interfacing with creative communities.

Before distancing times, my most recent curatorial project at Langer Over
Dickie, which I co-run with Ali, was an exhibition titled Controlling Time
<https://www.langeroverdickie.com/controlling-time>. This show brought
together 14 artists to create short video works made for the portable
screen. Each of the 13 works, displayed on tablets in the gallery, was
accompanied by a charm bracelet that was designed in collaboration with
each artist. These charm bracelets featured 3d printed and laser cut
iconography from the video works, as well as a USB drive with the video.
<https://www.langeroverdickie.com/sales>

Another project I am excited to share with this community is CQDE: A
feminist manifestx of code-ing, a piece of writing Alejandro Acierto have
been collaborating on for some time. Excerpts of CQDE can be viewed here
<https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fzvmfquBvq3ynWAWvJiW53BKle9ALQiN>. This
text, which is currently in production with Sybil Press, is a theoretical
framework that outlines a new logic via techno-collaborative problem
solving, accessible coding practices, and alternative operators.

Lastly, I’d like to share my most recent work, Jurassic Warp
<http://glp-startr.glitch.me/>. This work is the distance version of a
two-person show, which was to take place at Ground Level Platform in March.
Because we were unable to articulate the IRL show, María Luisa Sanín Peña
and I reformatted the concepts of the original show to fit into a
browser-based multi-level VR work, which I designed and developed using
A-Frame.

I’m looking forward to sharing more about these and upcoming projects in
our discussion, which will revolve around frameworks and approaches for
creative placemaking and access in distance. 🤗- KT

On Mon, May 25, 2020 at 7:36 AM Byron Rich <brich at allegheny.edu> wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>
> For the last week of May, I thought we could change it up and discuss
> curatorial practice as it relates to the current moment. KT, Alejandro and
> Ali are going to talk about heir current collaborative works, virtual
> exhibitions and open API tools, among other things.
>
>
>
> KT is an artist that I first met while working with New Media Caucus
> probably three years ago. KT’s talent as a designer and artist is
> inspirational, but their enthusiasm, ambition especially in regard to
> laying bare the marginalizing forces behind code and actively trying to do
> something about it, is transformative for many, including me. KT will be
> joined by Alejandro Acierto and Ali Seradge, two equally talented folks who
> I am delighted to get the chance to know.
>
>
>
> I’m going to let KT take the lead and dive into the discussion and I’ll
> chime back in with some questions in a bit.
>
>
>
> *Alejandro T. Acierto (US)* is an artist/musician/scholar whose work is
> largely informed by the breath, the voice, and the processes that enable
> them. He has exhibited projects at the 2019 Havana Biennial in Matanzas,
> Cuba, Issue Project Room, MCA Chicago, and Art Institute of Chicago with
> upcoming projects at the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Yerba Buena Center for
> the Arts. Acierto has held residencies at Skowhegan, VCCA, and the Banff
> Centre. A 3Arts Awardee, he holds degrees from DePaul University, Manhattan
> School of Music, and an MFA from University Illinois at Chicago. He is
> currently Mellon Assistant Professor of Digital Art and New Media at
> Vanderbilt University.
>
>
>
> *Ali Seradge (US)* is an Iranian-American from Oklahoma City. He
> currently lives and works in Chicago where he is the Co-Director of Langer
> Over Dickie Gallery and a member of the new media collective PIXELFACE.
> Seradge utilizes the framework of “old world” myths and examines them with
> a contemporary critical eye. He incorporates ideas of Persian ornament,
> North American flesh, and borderless culture in his work. As a 2nd
> generation American, he acts as an outsider between worlds. Not quite
> Iranian, and perceived as not quite American, Seradge finds himself in the
> limbo many children of immigrants inhabit. While many choose one side over
> the other, and some embrace both, Ali stares into the limbo. In that
> swirling void of culture, he believes lies the future of the still nascent
> American identity.
>
>
>
> *KT Duffy (US)* is a new media artist and educator from Chicago’s
> southwest side. They received their MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from the
> Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014 and are currently an Assistant
> Professor of Art and Technology at Northeastern Illinois University and
> co-director of Langer Over Dickie Gallery in Chicago. Working in the space
> between labor and automation, Duffy conjures entities into existence via
> code-based processes and digital fabrication. Duffy’s social practice
> strives to demystify coding and technology for creatives, centering those
> underrepresented in STEAM fields. They have recently presented work at
> Ortega Y Gasset Projects, the South Bend Museum of Art, Terrault Gallery,
> Mono8 Gallery, and the Donnelley Foundation, with forthcoming shows at
> Ground Floor Platform, The Neon Heater, and the Elmhurst Museum of Art.
> Duffy also creates work as the new media collective, PIXELFACE, whose work
> has recently been shown at Comfort Station, and in the 2019 Terrain
> Biennial. They have been awarded recent residencies at The Vermont Studio
> Center, Latitude Chicago, ChaNorth, and Acre.
>
>
>
> --
> *Byron Rich*
> Assistant Professor of Art
> Director of Art, Science & Innovation
> Global Citizen Scholar Faculty Director
> Affiliated Faculty - Integrative Informatics
>
> *Allegheny College*
> Doane Hall of Art, A204
> Meadville, PA
>
> (o) 814.332.3381
> www.byronrich.com
>
> Allegheny Lab for Innovation & Creativity
>
> www.sites.allegheny.edu/alic/
>
> Co-chair of Exhibitions & Events - New Media Caucus
> www.newmediacaucus.org
>
> Reference letters require three weeks of lead time.
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu

-- 
KT Duffy
*they/their/Mx.*
Assistant Professor of Art & Technology
Northeastern Illinois University
ktduffyprojects.com
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