What I mean by over-billed: the event lived up to my expectations based on the flyer. Usually I think new media events sound like a lot on paper and just aren't that exciting in real life.

congratulation to my colleagues at XX for putting on an engaging and well-organized event.

Most importantly, it looked as if all the prinicples involved in the planning and execution were enjoying themselves along with the audiance.

Probably my only gripe is that it is still really difficult to present website-based works of art as performance, it becomes something like a powerpoint presentation and the artist has a huge repsponsability to engage an audiance in a piece that is meant to be a one-to one experience.

Usually the suggestion in those circumstances is to set-up stations to allow multiple users to access the site at the same time as well which isn't the solution because then a social event becomes to solitary.

What I would suggest is that new media art in which the primary mode of distribution is a website should be scripted for performances. for example Emily
Hermants Lies Projects
Involves a user contributinga lie taht they have told. Herment than goes and adjusts the lie.

In a scripted interaction with the peice, Emily could pick a friend who has some experience either with storytelling or acting and direct them to tell the story of their lie as they enter it into the website, ( in front of the audience). Than she could go adjust the lie and read it back, giving a wider and more enjoyable demonstration of the actual experience of the site.

All that being said I still enjoyed myself and it was nice to see all my old friends and colleagues.

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The Event at XX made me think of this article from The Artful Manager In whcih Andrew TAylor talks about the word change and it's relation to the arts world.

His point which I think is essentially correct is that the word change implies a certain servitude to facts which are immutable about arts programming and promotion.

These facts such as low-attendance and the complexity of the relationship between the artists and his/her sponsors do not have to be formulated in ways that make the artist or arts organization appear to exist at the whim of "change."

Tayler makes a comparison of discoviers in physics proving extant facts whereas these truths of change in the arts market are treated as they had not existed prior to their acknolegdgment.

Looking at XX I can see his point. In the years that I worked there we struggled with low attendance and the high learning curve of new technology - these two facts never changed. Neiether did the fact that women working with new technology and art make up a tiny minority of the Montreal arts community. Yet we struggled with these facts as if they represented huge shifts in the terrain when in fact they were probably the only constants the organization had dealt with in the entire 7 years of its existence.

I was pleased to see that as a result of some good programming by Caroline Martel and Jake Moore, the work of younger artists was being presented allowing our audiance to naturally diversify and include a wider cross-section of the local art enthusiasts.

Now I am excited for the board meeting on the 24th.

Posted by Miriam at January 17, 2005 1:27 PM | TrackBack Posted to Arts Marketing