9-10-11th may 2007  |  Español

T h e   F i r s t    I n t e r n a c i o n a l    C o n g r e s s   A R T    T E C H   M E D I A

Considerations – History – Presentation

At this dawn of a new millennium, spectacularly universal, auguring a more just and democratic social order, science and technology are evolving unequivocally as foundations for the great changes that humanity will undergo.

Since the 18th Century we have constructed around them the modern myth that an increase in scientific knowledge and the emancipation of humanity go hand in hand. This enlightened creed soon acquired the embellishments of a religion which held to the deeply-rooted belief that there only exists one way of being modern and it is always the best way. Nevertheless we know that it isn't always like this. Modernity has also created monsters that attempt to sequester and dominate the human desire to progress, with unidirectional messages of confrontation (the clash between civilisations and cultures).

Throughout the 20th century a technological revolution has developed with new tools and resources that bring with them new languages and concepts leading to new ways of doing, seeing, thinking and being, with a clear influence on art and society as a whole.

In this new century, the process has accelerated vertiginously with the explosion of digital technology and the popularisation of the internet, computers and mobile telephones, whose implementation has transformed our manipulated reality: virtual and enhanced reality, hybridisation, software and hardware, 3d modelling, robotics, interface. bioinformatics, cybervision, moblog, nanotechnology, etc. And all this comes hand in hand with new forms of artistic expression such as net art and digital art.

The application of these new tools and resources for the artist implies a questioning of structural relationships on which the art world has been based. It changes how we create; it changes the solitary artist into a collaborative nomad belonging to multidisciplinary, transnational groups; it changes the materials used, the concept of the unique work and its inherent rights, its exhibition and the function of the general public. Consequently, the roles of museums and art centres, gallery owners, curators, public and private institutions, media etc. also change. There is a permanent evolution, subject to continuous revisions.

Lining in a technological society allows us to find solutions to multiple problems but it also forces us to reflect upon numerous issues that concern the globalised world.

The use of technological tools makes it necessary to learn the implicit codes that they carry. This knowledge and its use can become an end in itself, given the complexity of existing languages, or could serve as a way of glimpsing into the new hardly intuited scenarios in which we have become immersed, without meaning to or even being aware of it. The technology isn't neutral, it is more than just a tool, it has its own discourse that transforms and alters everything it touches.

However, only a small elite seem to know the secret code that is coming into play. The inexistence of a conceptual, aesthetic or even ideological framework that clearly defines where art is at the moment, makes it necessary to reflect both on its practice and its interpretation.

Within this context, an intensive debate needs to take place on the influence and transformations that new media is producing in art, there needs to be a greater understanding of the foundations for more effective cooperation between the different sectors linked to digital art, and proposals need to be devised for the development of national and international collaborative networks in order to improve production, research, exhibition and promotion.

The future is already here and it's here to stay, with us or without us.

Background

In October 2004, we began to contact practically all the Museums and Contemporary Art Centres in Spain, as well as Media Labs, Foundations, a large number of Artists, Art Galleries, Critics and Curators, the Media, Associations of Visual Artists, Producers, Cultural Agents, Public and Private Institutions, and in general all sectors relative to art and new technologies, inviting them to participate in Encuentros Art Tech Media 06.

Two years later, now that these Encounters had been held at nine Spanish museums, and given the great participation and the opinions collected, its seems clear that this is an ideal time to celebrate the First International Art Tech Media Conference. It represents a great opportunity to hold a transversal debate in order to devise proposals that will lead to greater and better coordination among the different sectors of art, aimed at strengthening its development.

more: www.artechmedia.net/artechmedia06.htm

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-- books
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-- Strategic Plan
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-- official opening
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