2 New MTAA works in a weekend group show of recycled pedestals opens Friday as part of Bushwick Open Stuidos
Further and Further Away from the Flock Slowly Spinning Slightly Hovering, 2016
Stay Frosty Stay (The New Sprit of Capitalism), 2016 #
Error: I'm afraid this is the first I've heard of a "htmll" flavoured Blosxom. Try dropping the "/+htmll" bit from the end of the URL.
DP721W, 2016 at michaelsarff.com
DP721W, 2016 at
michaelsarff.com
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#unmade - report 10 (91-100)
#unmade - report 10 (91-100)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.
The tenth set of 10 tiles (#91-100) has generated 0 commissioned paintings with 8 likes and 0 retweets. During the tenth set, the @mriver twitter account lost 1 follower for the current total of 290. Of the 8 new likes for titles #91-100, 63% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid
+++.
Here are some final notes on #unmade.
Overall, #unmade has generated 0 commissioned paintings with 85 likes and 3 retweets. During #unmade, the @mriver twitter account began and ended with 290 followers. Of the 85 likes in #unmade, the majority are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid. Thanks Tim. Also thanks to @Lindsay_Howard @gregorg @dzucconi @whileseated @magdasawon @naomiclaire @ricksilva and anyone else I may have missed for the additional likes.
#unmade is divided into 10 sets of 10 titles. Each of the 10 sets, like the individual titles, developed as the project progressed. The 10 sets of #unmade are organised into the following thematic categories.
Set 1 - Long Titles Near 140 Characters
Set 2 - Three Little Words
Set 3 - Newspaper Headlines (East to West)
Set 4 - Anagrams Paintings
Set 5 - Hexadecimal Monochromes
Set 6 - Great American Landscape Painting
Set 7 - As A Selfie
Set 8 - New Nudes
Set 9 - Large Groups of People and/or Mythical Beings Doing Things Together
Set 10 - Self Portraits With or As
Of the 10 sets, the most views occurred during the first set and the most interaction occurred during the 5th set. The lowest level of views and interactions occurred during the 4th set.
Overall, the most interactions occurred with the title 46. The color not of the cold sea at night nor a warm plum at noon but the collision of the two #2E0854 #unmade (2 likes, 1 re-tweet) and the title 65. Portrait Of Young Boy With His New Drone As A Selfie #unmade (3 likes 0 re-tweets). The least interaction occurred with title 83 which was not written nor posted. No, I’m not sure why.
The documentation of the project including the 10 set reports will remain archived as a Google doc at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qnrjK50u6IUqZqoYxQy5xlRCXor5uzpeyJdx3EkQt2g/edit?usp=sharing
At some point I hope to have the work copy edited as I am sure it is full of typos. Finally, I plan on making 10 small #unmade paintings in 2018. The goal is to produce one text based painting of the titles for each of the 10 sets.
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#unmade - report 9 (81-90)
#unmade - report 9 (81-90)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.
The ninth set of 10 tiles (#81-90) has generated 0 commissioned paintings with 9 likes and 0 retweets. During the ninth set, the @mriver twitter account lost 1 follower for the current total of 291. Of the 9 new likes for titles #81-90, 77% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid
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90 titles done with 0 paintings made. I’d plan on wrapping up #unmade by posting the final 10 titles before January 1, 2018. At this point, the only painting genera #unmade still needs to cover is self-portrait. So, from here to the end, it’s all about self as if this was not the case from the start.As we know from art history, self can be divided neatley into two types: Self Portrait As and Self Portrait With. I think I will start with With.
Also, just to note, with only a few Sundays and Mondays left before the end of the year and 10 titles to go, I will need to add a few random posting times.
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#unmade - report 8 (71-80)
#unmade - report 8 (71-80)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.
The eighth set of 10 tiles (#71-80) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 10 likes and 0 retweets. During the seventh set, the @mriver twitter account gained 1 follower for the current total of 292. Of the 10 new likes for titles #71-80, 80% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid
13 dine in da Vinci’s Last Supper. 11 ride a boat in Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware. Some vast number of humans and other things that I’m frankly too lazy to count right now are doing whatever the hell they are doing in Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. In the final chapters of #unmade, I have turned my attention to figure painting. So far, the subjects have only been isolated figures or couples. I’d like to now take on the category I like to think of as large groups of people and/or mythical beings doing things together. Like paintings of horses, mountains and roman gods, I feel crowds are quickly disappearing as a subject. With Dana Schutz’s brawl elevators and Nicole Eisenman’s freaky flaneurs being some needed exceptions. So, up next, a few new mob scenes.
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#unmade - report 7 (61-70)
#unmade - report 7 (61-70)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.
The seventh set of 10 tiles (#61-70) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 9 likes and 0 retweets. During the seventh set, the @mriver twitter account lost 2 followers for the current total of 291. Of the 9 new likes for titles #61-70, 66% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid
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As mentioned in #unmade report 6, I would like to move #unmade outside my artistic norms in the second half of the project by inhabiting the role know as “figure painter”. If you are a figure painter, sooner or later you end up painting a nude. I do not know who made this rule up. I’m just trying to follow the script.
Way back in the late 80s, I went to art school. This art school required students to spend hours and hours drawing and painting nude models. I wouldn’t say I liked it. Although compared to most of my life in High School, I was at least doing something I was somewhat mentally engaged with. On the other hand, I was happy when I could move on to painting subjects of my choice. I don’t think I’ve made a nude since then. Quite frankly, I was never really good at it. Somehow, a foot or an eye or a hand would end up slightly grotesque without my intention. So, I moved on.
30 years later, for the eighth set of #unmade, I like to propose some new nudes.
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#unmade - report 6 (51-60)
#unmade - report 6 (51-60)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting will remain unmade.
The sixth set of 10 tiles (#51-60) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 6 likes and 1 retweet. During the sixth set, the @mriver twitter account gained 1 new follower for the current total of 293. Of the 6 new likes for titles #51-60, 83% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid with @gregorg pulling in 100% of the 1 retweet
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I’ve been called a net artist but I have always considered myself a sculptor. Although I self-define as a sculptor, I would like to confess I have been working in the role of a landscape painter in #Unmade. I say this with full understanding that landscape painter might be a pejorative in the artworld. For some, I might as well call myself a Sunday painter (which technically I half am as I only post #Unmade on Wednesday and Sundays).
At this point in #Unmade, I have only made hypothetical painting titles. Although the project exists only as titles so far, I feel #Unmade falls in the tradition of a person out in the field with tubes of paint trying to capture the light through fleeting clouds over the river at sunrise as a large ship burns in the foreground.
Yes, Landscape paintings. Georgia O’Keefe and I, out in the world staring down skulls and mesas.
Although I have built #Unmade within the realm of landscape, I feel it is now time to work outside my default settings. I feel it might be time to switch gears and take on the terrifying role know as “figure painter”. So, for the next set (61-70), I would like to propose some new portraits.
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#unmade - report 5 (41-50)
#unmade - report 5 (41-50)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project
titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over
the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is
available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a
painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If
no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST), the painting
will remain unmade.
The fourth set of 10 tiles (#41-50) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 13
likes and 1 retweet. During the fourth set, the @mriver twitter account lost 1
follower for the current total of 292. Of the 12 new likes for titles #41-50, 58%
are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid with @gregorg pulling in 100% of the one RT
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Here we are at halfway through. 50 down and 50 to go.
I was recently asked by a colleague a cocktail reception if I was still making art.
These days only a few people I know, let alone people I work with, seem to know that
I am an artist. For me, this is not a problem. It is more of a self fulfilling
prophecy. It is a prophecy based on a decade old choice to make work in what was
then and probably still is an obscure and financially unfeasible media (Internet
Art). I made this work in a collaborative (MTAA) under a pseudonym (M.River).
Really, I only have myself to blame. So, when the fellow museum professional politely
asked, I found myself making an awkward explanation of #unmade. I do not think my
explanation moved past the work is built twice a week for a year on Twitter before the
conversation shifted to other thoughts. Yes, my cocktail chatter is as captivating
as this sounds.
I did note something in the off the cuff description of #unmade that has been
bouncing around my head. When asked, I called #unmade a net art project but I am not
quite sure it is. In my heart it is a painting project but with 0 works produced
after 50 titles, I need to let that go. #Unmade does live on the net on Twitter and
in Google Docs but for some reason I’m not sure if this counts. It does fits in the
model of The Simple Net Art Diagram if the CRT’s are replaced with smart phones.
Overall, I’m not sure what #unmade is at this point, just that it is and that I plan to
finish all 100 titles by the end of the year. Calling #unmade Net Art functions
only as shorthand at this point.
Next up Titles 51-60 - Titles for possible Great American Landscape Paintings.
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#unmade - report 4 (31-40)
#unmade - report 4 (31-40)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST) , the painting will remain unmade.
The fourth set of 10 tiles (#31-40) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 4 likes and 0 retweets. During the fourth set, the mriver twitter account gained 3 new followers for a total of 294. Of the 4 new likes for titles #31-40, 100% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid.
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The fourth set of #unmade titles came from anagrams for classic paintings. I considered having the title contain both the original painting title as well as the anagram but thought it more interesting to let the anagram stand alone. For the few true hardcore #unmade fans, who at this point may only be @twhid if anyone at all, here are the answers to the last 10 titles.
31. Mona Lisa / A Snail Om
32. Whistler’s Mother / Whether Slims Rot
33. The Starry Night / Thy Shit Granter
34. Olympia / Pay Limo
35. Guernica / Ruin Cage
36. American Gothic / Chaotic Reaming
37. Luncheon on the Grass / A Honor Shuns Neglect
38. The Night Watch / Tight Hat Wench
39. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte / Fantasy Undone Or Data Leg Ran A Donation Shelf
40. The Scream / Cash Meter
…and next up, #unmade adds color with a Monochrome set.
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DOT.ART or I guess we are in a show in the UK
DOT.ART
6 MAY – 27 MAY 2017, THURSDAY-SATURDAY 12-5
Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, Heath Bunting, MTAA, Rafaël Rozendaal, Critical Art Ensemble, Lorna Mills and Ryder Ripps.
Dot.Art is is an exhibition and events programme presenting artworks from the first wave of Net.Art alongside more recent projects produced since the rise of web 2.0, social networks and easily accessible search engines. Taking place in Vivid Projects’ physical space as well as occupying hyperlinks on its website, the Dot.Art season explores the internet as a medium and site for art from the 1990s through to the present day and includes an events series incorporating a weekly reading group, talks, performances and workshops.
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#unmade - report 3 (21-30)
#unmade - report 3 (21-30)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, 100 titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post (midnight EST) , the painting will remain unmade.
The third set of 10 tiles (#21-30) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 7 likes and 0 retweets. During the third set, the mriver twitter account remained at 290 followers. Of the 7 new likes for titles #21-30, 100% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid. Thanks @twhid
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I’ve been to art fairs, galleries and museums since #unmade began. In the physical world and world online, I see paintings. Remember the little boy who whispers “I see dead people.”? I feel like this now. I feel it but not in the worn “painting-is-dead” way. It’s more of a feeling of seeing something pass before me and I’m not sure it is real. I’m not sure if others see what I am seeing. I’m not sure if I am afraid. Can these visitations harm me? Should I voice my concerns to adults?
With #unmade, I see each painting as I write each title. Each painting fades as they become unmade. I look back at the titles. I try to remember how I was going to produce each one. They tell us history is the objects we keep. As the images fade and only the the titles marking the spent opportunity remains, I wonder what becomes of all of this.
Speaking of the undead, the next 10 titles (31-40) are appropriated from classic paintings. They are from paintings that seem to appear just by their names. For unmade tiles, I have renamed them with anagrams. Yes, the names of the next ten possible unmade paintings are anagrams of famous made paintings. Yes, I know this cringe worthy and nerdy. I know. I know. You see dead people. I see paintings. First with anagram answers in the comments win bragging rights.
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#unmade - report 2 (11-20)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled
#unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via Twitter, titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as an acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100. To commission a painting, a person may contact me (DM via Twitter) the day the title is posted. If no one commissions the title on the the day of the post, the painting will remain unmade.
The second set of 10 tiles (#11-20) have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 9 likes and 0 retweets. During the second set, (03-15-2017 to 04-09-2017), the mriver twitter account gained 2 new followers and lost 1. This brings the account total to 290 followers. Of the 9 new likes for titles #11-20, 88.9% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid.
To help compare the two title sets, twitter tells me title #5. I Can See No Greater Beauty, In All the American Landscape, Than Winter Fields and Streets Full Shoulder 2 Shoulder in Resistance #unmade received 192 impressions and 2 engagements and title #15. If The Trees #unmade, received 94 impressions and 1 engagement.
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After the first set of Unmade posts, I decided to write a brief report every 10 tiles. Each report looks at the Unmade data (or lack thereof) as well as documents some of the project’s ideas and processes (or lack thereof). Now that we are done with the data section, let’s turn our thoughts to names.
Although I think of Unmade as a performance with painting, it is also of project of naming. It is naming without the object to be named. Unmade is built with the understanding a painting may or may not appear. “TBD” as I like to say about most things these days.
Let’s talk about names. William tells us a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Gertrude adds Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. In general, I have to go with Gertrude on this one. Although, with the nature of Unmade, a name might be best expressed as “Rose?”. This name might be best vocalized as Stanley calling Stella.
Along with titles for possible paintings, the overall project needed a name as well. Unmade, or #unmade in Twitter lingo, was the choice. As the common usage for unmade refers to the state of a bed, it seemed right for the project. I felt the image of crumpled sheets and dented pillows worked well with my thoughts on painting, labor, language and the internet.
For the first set of 10 post in the project, I wrote long and unwieldy names. The second set was short three word titles. For the next set of ten names over the upcoming 5 weeks, I will use the proven Warhol method of appropriated news headlines. The first title (#21) will be from New York. The rest will be from newspapers across the globe with online translation help via Google. With the ugly state of the world these days, I fear the next set of painting titles might trigger a significant drop in likes and followers. Then again, I might get lucky and hit impeachment week. TBD.
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#unmade - report 1 (1-10)
#unmade - report 1 (1-10)
February 1, 2017 marked the beginning of a year long painting / internet art project titled #unmade.
For #unmade, I am posting, via twitter, titles for 100 unrealised paintings over the course of 2017. A painting (most likely as acrylic and ink on canvas) is available for each title. To commission a painting, a person will need to contact me (DM) the day the title is posted. Each #unmade painting is priced at $100.
The first 10 tiles have generated 0 commissioned paintings with 11 likes, 1 retweets and 2 new twitter followers. This brings the account to a total of 289 followers. Of the 11 likes, 64% are from MTAA member emeritus @twhid.
My practical art side suggests I should just stop speaking about the workings of #unmade at this point. I should post the titles, report the results and leave the work alone for people to consider. It tells me statements around #unmade may muddle things up.
As I believe only three people in the world are looking at what I make these days, I might as well enjoy the advantage of isolation. I might as well make myself, and you, at home. So, to help us get comfortable with #unmade, I would like to tell you a story.
I closed my North 6th Street Williamsburg studio of 11 years in October 2015. Tim, my partner in MTAA, had already tossed in the towel on the artworld in 2011. A few years later, the financial burden of keeping a solo studio space was taking a toll. I was happy to show some work (link) in my post-MTAA era but lately no museum, gallery or collector was knocking at the door. I seemed to be making work only to make work. With my first child on her way in 2016, I packed up the studio and moved the small mountain of archived MTAA works to a 10x12 storage space in Long Island City. I was now both free of the space and completely restless without it.
Without a physical space in 2016, I decided to quietly return to making online art (link)
(link). I was happy with building online work again and wanted to start something new. In early January 2017 I was scratching my head on what to do next when @wagnerblog randomly posted an old painting of mine on Twitter (link) . With this post, an idea and an agreement with myself appeared. Returning to early MTAA working method (link)
(link) , I decided I would make a painting only if someone wanted it. If no one really wanted it, then I would at least have a year long text based net artwork to show for the effort.
So here we are, 10 titles into 100. To be honest, I am still thinking of how to work with some details for the project overall. As the delivery method is twitter, I’ve been thinking about character count, hashtags and how immediate the text should be to the moment in time. For process, I do think I will try to bundle the titles into sections of ten. I also think I will keep up with a reporting on the overall project after every 10 posts. For the first 10 titles, I just went with long and unwieldy. I think I will go short for the next 10.
More soon.
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#unmade 2017
@mriver
#unmade
2017
Over the next year, titles for 100 unmade paintings will be posted on twitter from the account @mriver. Each title will be followed by the hashtag #unmade. Only one title will be sent out per day.
An original painting is available for $100 (payable via paypal) for each of the 100 #unmade titles. If a person would like to commission and acquire an #unmade painting, they may Direct Message @mriver before midnight EST on the day of the post. If no contact is made before the end of the day, the painting will not be produced and the title will no longer be available. If more than one person contacts the account, the work will be sent to the first person who DMed. All works will be shipped by mail.
The title, collector and an image of each painting produced, as well as a list of the #unmade titles, will be posted on the
#unmade Google Doc.
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YDKWYTA, 2010
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MTAA - Music 4 Music 4 Airports, 2015
MTAA - Music 4 Music 4 Airports, 2015
One day in the mid-1970s, Brian Eno was waylaid in the Cologne Bonn Airport. Annoyed by the airports soundscape, Eno develops a plan to build a sound installation for the space. Eno works out the framework for the installation in his groundbreaking 1978 album - Ambient 1 - Music for Airports. Eno built the album, consisting of only 4 tracks, by manipulating phasing tape loops. The resulting work moves between music, soundscape, and audio wallpaper.
Some time has passed since the 70s. Tape loops have been replaced by computer algorithms. Our airports now function under the watchful eyes of the TSA. Although travel has changed, being stuck in an airport today might be the same drag as it was in the 70s, but with slightly better coffee. As technology skips happily along and our air travel becoming both trauma inducing and mind numbly dull, 2015 felt like a good moment to revisit Eno’s score.
In the work, I live captures four session of online surfing to combine Eno’s tracks (via youTube) with explorations of two European airports - Paris Orly, Cologne Bonn and two American airports - LGA, JFK. Each of the track/ airports is surfed on the internet using a different default web search method. Track 1 / 1 explores Paris Orly by Google street view, 1 / 2 looks at Cologne Bonn’s via the airports live webcam, Tack 2 /1 works with image searches of LGA and Track 2 / 2 sees JKF within You Tube.
The work joins with and pushes against the passive sounds of a bygone ideal for world travel. It plays with and against the sounds not only in the subject of what airports have become decades later but with the medium of the web in which the site and sounds are performed.
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Frankenstein Admire a Flower
2 New MTAA works in a weekend group show of recycled pedestals opens Friday as part of Bushwick Open Stuidos
Further and Further Away from the Flock Slowly Spinning Slightly Hovering, 2016
Stay Frosty Stay (The New Sprit of Capitalism), 2016
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MTAA made some mail art
The Queens CorrespondAnce School [did not die]
Academic in LIC
September 2- 24, 2016
curated by Emily Peterson Dunne
At the opening a friend who I had not seen in some years noted that MTAA does not make art anymore. This is almost true. MTAA does not make art anymore except when it does.
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Update on onKawaraUpdate
In which
onKawaraUpdate
is the subject of
scholarly analysis
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Untitled Dummy Image, 2016
MTAA
Untitled Dummy Image, 2016
website generated 600x 400 jpeg
http://dummyimage.com/600x400/000/fff.jpg&text=MTAA+2016
embedded here via Flickr at 320x213
Untitled Dummy Image’s pubic Google Doc page
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MTAA’s Unmade Cassette Tapes, 2016
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untitled ( the days of this society is numbered/ December 7, 2012), 2016
untitled ( the days of this society is numbered/ December 7, 2012), 2016
7 web generated images from signgenerator.org in the catagory of PEOPLE PROTESTING/RALLY SIGN GENERATORS on public google doc page with text based on Rirkrit Tiravanija’s untitled ( the days of this society is numbered/ December 7, 2012)
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my_tombstone
MTAA - my_tombstone, 2016
jpeg built via
www.tombstonebuilder.com/
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MTAA - Some Recent Net Art x10 (a very very solo show on the internet)
MTAA - Some Recent Net Art x10 (a very very solo show on the internet)
The result to distinct adopts ambiguous net arts as a legibility of intertextual text syntheses. It is at this point that the result to adopt re-defines the anonymous net art. The text is cross-sectioned through a text ‘s text. The sceptical, intertextual text legitimises and adopts the provocative text. The source of intertextual accomplishments adopts and forces the anonymous, ambivalent net arts. The result is an imperceptible simulation of intertextual synergies that adopts beyond the ambivalent spectrum of databases. These anthropological genres cross-fade texts and net arts to adopt a database in an ambivalent, anonymous agglomeration. Texts adopt the simulation of facsimiles, while the ambiguous, intertextual database inverts and deploys the agglomeration. The text synthesis adopts the ambiguous and unique net art. Ambiguous and anonymous databases verify the absence of ambivalent manipulations, while the intertextual, post-structuralistic text releases and synthesises the result to oscillate.
Introduction text generated via www.art-words.net (Eva Beierheimer and Miriam Laussegger)
Some Recent Net Art x10 (a very very solo show on the internet), 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
gifmaker in makeagif, 2016
online animated gif
Hi - my name is Joel, and I work at Artsy, 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
Untitled Morse Code With Fonts x10, 2016
text on public Google doc page
DP721W, 2016
found online stock photo
50 Painters + Image Searches in No Particular Order, 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
Defaults, 2015
embedded Vimeo video on WIX site
Music 4 Music 4 Airports, 2015
embedded Vimeo video on WIX site
MoMA Dust Windows, 2014
unofficial Facebook fan page
MTAA’s Notes on Being Net Artist in relation to Olia LiaLina’s Notes on Being Net Artist, 2014
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
Mark River (°1967, Iowa City , United States) makes conceptual artworks and media art. With a subtle minimalistic approach, River tries to approach a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered way, likes to involve the viewer in a way that is sometimes physical and believes in the idea of function following form in a work.
His conceptual artworks question the conditions of appearance of an image in the context of contemporary visual culture in which images, representations and ideas normally function. With a conceptual approach, he creates work in which a fascination with the clarity of content and an uncompromising attitude towards conceptual and minimal art can be found. The work is aloof and systematic and a cool and neutral imagery is used.
His works directly respond to the surrounding environment and uses everyday experiences from the artist as a starting point. Often these are framed instances that would go unnoticed in their original context. By studying sign processes, signification and communication, he makes work that generates diverse meanings. Associations and meanings collide. Space becomes time and language becomes image.His practice provides a useful set of allegorical tools for manoeuvring with a pseudo-minimalist approach in the world of conceptual art: these meticulously planned works resound and resonate with images culled from the fantastical realm of imagination. Mark River currently lives and works in Brooklyn .
Artist statement generated via 500 Letters (Jasper Rigole)
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gifmaker in makeagif, 2016
gifmaker in makeagif, 2016
online animated gif
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Hi - my name is Joel, and I work at Arts
Hi - my name is Joel, and I work at Arts, 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
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Untitled Morse Code With Fonts x10
Untitled Morse Code With Fonts x10, 2016
text on public Google doc page
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DP721W, 2016
DP721W , 2016
found online stock photo
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50 Painters + Image Searches in No Particular Order, 2016
50 Painters + Image Searches in No Particular Order , 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
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Music 4 Music 4 Airports
Music 4 Music 4 Airports
, 2015
embedded Vimeo video on WIX site
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MoMA Dust Windows, 2014
MoMA Dust Windows, 2014
unofficial Facebook fan page
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on Being Net Artist in relation to Olia LiaLina’s Notes on Being Net Artist
Notes on Being Net Artist in relation to Olia LiaLina’s Notes on Being Net Artist, 2014 - 2016
text with hyperlinks on public Google doc page
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AFC best of 2015 - a brief history of the simple net art diagram
AFC picks MTAA’s a brief history of the simple net art diagram in the The Best of Art F City, 2015
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some OTO press 2015
A thoughtful review of the OTO curated Approaching -273.15° C at academic on Hyperallergic -
The Cool Conceptualism of Artworks at Absolute Zero
Also, here is a good review of OTO’s Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) exhibition at Radiator Arts from March in the Queens Chronicle -
With an unworldly pull, art explores the unknown
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Music4Music4Airports (M4M4A) LGA LIVE 
On Sunday December 6 from 4 to 6 pm, as part of the
Approaching −273.15° C exhibition at academic in LIC , MTAA will perform the 2/1 section of Music4Music4Airports (M4M4A) . This section focuses on LGA in Queens.
Along with MTAA’s M4M4A , the afternoon will have live works by C∆N-D, Lo Vid, and Raphaele Shirley.
Academic
47-39 35th St, Long Island City, New York 11101
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Music4Music4Airports (M4M4A), 2015
MTAA, Music 4 Music 4 Airports (M4M4A), 2015
45:51 Video
Live capture of four online surfing sessions combining the tracks of Brian Eno’s Music for Airports with explorations of Paris Orly via Google Earth, Cologne Bonn via web cams, LGA via Google image search and JFK Airport via youTube
M4M4A was first show at #yaminyc 2015 at the Knockdown Center in a tent on a space blanket with audio run trough a guitar distortion pedal.
Music4Music4Airports (M4M4A), 2015 from mriver on Vimeo.
#Marcy Chevali - Circumference
As part of the
Approaching −273.15° C at academic , I made a small book documenting a series of performance based artworks by Marcy Chevali created Mexico. The book includes a interview with Chevali, a set of color images and a short essay I wrote on one of the images. The essay is titled “Looking at a photograph of a line drawn by Marcy Chevali into the shore of La Manzanilla.” and begins with…
I would like to tell you, as much as I can, about a photograph. I will tell you almost everything I can discern from the exterior of the image across the perimeter towards a center. Everything I tell you may not be accurate but I will try my best.
Paperback: 32 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1517653754
ISBN-13: 978-1517653750
Product Dimensions: 0.1 x 6 x 9 inches
$9.25 + shipping at Amazon.com
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Approaching −273.15° C 
Image - Marcy Chevali - Cirrus (detail), 2015
academic
47-39 35th Street, #2
Long Island City, NY 11101
http://academicnyc.com/
academicgallery@gmail.com
Approaching −273.15° C
Keith Anderson, Marcy Chevali, James Cullinane, Daniela Kostova and Raphaele Shirley. Curated by Michael Sarff of Over the Opening (OTO)
November 13 to December 12, 2015
Opening reception Friday November 13, 2015 from 6 to 9 pm
Approaching −273.15° C (Live) - an afternoon of performance work and video with C∆N-D, LoVid, MTAA and Raphaele Shirley. Sunday December 6, 2015 from 4-6 pm
Absolute zero (−273.15° Celsius or 0°on the Kelvin scale) is the temperature at which all motion in matter stops. Until very recently this state of perfect stillness and corresponding order was thought to be unreachable. For the exhibition Approaching −273.15° C at academic from November 13 to December 12, 2015, Keith Anderson, Marcy Chevali, James Cullinane, Daniela Kostova and Raphaele Shirley create art in regions that move from active and chaotic towards an ever distant ideal of rest and symmetry. Contained within the metaphors and physicality of this approach, the artist point towards a space that operates just before a perfect cold. It is in this endless state of almost null, the artworks in Approaching −273.15° C float suspended between transformation and resolution.
For the exhibition, Keith Anderson masks out the industrial windows of Academic’s gallery with a detailed installation using black archival tape. Paired against the window installation, titled For Nico, because………………. Anderson presents a sculpture titled In this Box from 2012. The work consists of a mid sized cardboard box displayed open at the top sitting on the floor. The cardboard is completely encased with paint mixed with dry pigment over asphalt saturated cotton fabric commonly used in roofing. As the window installation uses the film of black tape to shutter light and space, the tar paper of the box works in an opposite track by defining a void.
Marcy Chevali installs a group of ethereal nets pulled floor to ceiling. The nets, made of flameworked glass joined to stands of fiber, compress both inward and expand out against the room’s limits. This installation of nets, titled Cirrus, is accompanied by a set of photographs capturing actions performed by Chevali in the landscape of Mexico in 2014. In these actions, titled Circumference, Chevali kneels face down and outlines the space around her as far as her arms can reach. She then waits as wind and water erase the line. In both bodies of work, Chevali sets line and material in active adaption against a bounded space.
In two ink on gesso works, Casement and Portal from 2015, James Cullinane fills a white ground with a methodical system of black lines and points. The resulting image, formed with an internal method of production, pushes at the edges of the doorway sized panels and fills the interior with a near universe of pattern and movement. As with Chevali work, verging edge conditions and the space between provide tension in movement and ideal.
In her recent series of works, Daniela Kostova documents the raising of her daughter Vega. Kostova’s photographic images of Vega’s exploration, adventure and rest are then enlarged and outputted as PVC banners or wallpaper. These large scale skins are adhered to vernacular architecture in a way that brings the images into an active connection to a site. The work jumps from the intimate scale of home and learning to the public scope of industry and commerce. For Approaching −273.15° C, Kostova present images of Vega’s time with her babysitter who is the activist and model Rain Dove.
A set of small gray metal arches are stacked on a black mirrored sheet in Raphaele Shirley’s artwork titled Cracked Arena, 2014. The arches, placed in descending size, are held cantilevered by gravity. The joined arches build two half domes around a darkened center. Echoing this stepped dome structure, a second work, Untitled, 2015 is built of concentric wood rings. The rings expand in diameter outward to build a shallow bowl shape. As the metal arches of Cracked Arena weigh downwards to enclose a space in shadow, the rings of wood inversely are propelled off the white wall by a circle of neon light. This light is amplified by the reflection from the surface of gold leaf partially concealed behind the wood surface. Light, both in absence and abundance, pushes against the ripple-like solid structures of the two works.
About Over The Opening (OTO) - In the fall of 2007, the artist collaboration MTAA (Michael Sarff and Tim Whidden) began to invite artists and art collectives to present one-night exhibitions of time based art in their Brooklyn, New York studio. The monthly event titled Over The Opening (OTO) operated as a blurring of studio space, exhibition venue and curatorial experiment. OTO presented a diverse range of art practices including endurance performance, net art, participatory events, conceptual lectures, as well as painting, installation and sculpture. In December 2009, after 24 exhibitions, OTO morphed from monthly one night event to a nomadic curatorial umbrella.
OTO Contact: Michael Sarff - michaelsarff [at] gmail [dot]com
Marcy Chevali’s project, Cirrus, is made possible in part by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by Urban Glass.
update
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Over The Opening (OTO) @ the Internet Yami-ichi (Internet Black Market) 
image - Untitled (141729406) set of 4 5x7in. prints, ed. 15+2AP titled & signed greg.org from Greg Allen’s eBay Test Listings
Over The Opening (OTO) @ the Internet Yami-ichi (Internet Black Market)
for immediate release
On September 12, 2015 from 12 - 8pm, Over The Opening (OTO) will take part in the Internet Yami-ichi (Internet Black Market) at Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flushing Ave, Maspeth, NY 11378. The Internet Yami-ichi is a free to attend flea market Internet-ish items.
http://yami-ichi.biz/nyc/
For the event, OTO presents some general “Interneti-sh” merch proudly displayed on a brightly colored beach blanket featuring works by Greg Allen, G.H. Hovagimyan, Yael Kanarek, Raphaele Shirley and MTAA.
For the event, MTAA produces a handsome set of Physical Bookmarks for Vintage Net Art Created Before Facebook (BF-2004). G.H. Hovagimyan displays two rare and slightly used Silent Memorial Shirts from an Artists Meeting performance circa 2008 (as seen on youTube). Yael Kanarek arranges envelopes with IRL Love Letters and Treasure Crumb Capsules from her classic online artwork World of Awe. Raphaele Shirley downloads jpegs of the adorable yet world-wide-mass-extinction-survivor-tough Tardigrades (aka Waterbears or Moss Piglets) straight from Wikipedia to dishwasher safe flatware. Greg Allen brings his print on demand classics, Canal Zone Richard Prince YES RASTA 2:The Appeals Court Decision, plus the Court’s Complete Illustrated Appendix (2013) and Canal Zone Richard Prince YES RASTA: Selected Court Documents from Cariou v. Prince (2011) as well as a lovely selection of local pickup only *eBay Test Listing* prints
And, as an added bonus, OTO will hold a tent sale featuring the premiere of a new work by Michael Sarff. This new work, titled Music 4 Music 4 Airports, combines the soothing ambient sounds of Brian Eno’s groundbreaking 1978 album - Ambient 1 - Music for Airports with the thrill of live captured internet surfing of LGA, JFK, Paris Orly and Cologne Bonn Airport websites.
Background on OTO - In the fall of 2007, the artist collaboration MTAA began to invite artists and art collectives to present one-night exhibitions of time based art in their Brooklyn, New York studio. The monthly event titled Over The Opening (OTO) operated as a blurring of studio space, exhibition venue and curatorial experiment. OTO presented a diverse range of art practices including endurance performance, net art, participatory events, conceptual lectures, as well as painting, installation and sculpture. In December 2009, after 24 exhibitions, OTO morphed from monthly one night event to a nomadic curatorial umbrella.
http://www.tinjail.com/over_the_opening/
Contact - Mark River - mriver@mteww.com
Update - Some press at…
artfcity.com
and
hyperallergic.com
and some photos
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Torched and Scorched Live 
Ventana244 Gallery
June 6 - 5-6pm
244 North 6th Street
Brooklyn NY, 11211
www.ventana244.org
As part of the Torched & Scorched installation at Ventana244, the artist MTAA and Raphaele Shirley presents two live performances in the gallery starting at 5pm on June 6, 2015
This event begins with MTAA’s Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship II. In 2009, MTAA presented the world’s first
Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship in the Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University, Maryland. Six years later MTAA brings all the excitement and thrills of competitive alien drawing to Brooklyn for a one night 30 minute no holds barred melee. Prizes will be awarded and beer consumed.
Following MTAA’s participatory performance, Raphaele Shirley present a 20 minute immersive audio visual environment titled Blue line, running man, spinning circle. First performed at Postmasters gallery in 2011 and again at the Outpost Artist Resources in 2013, this work extends Shirley’s light sculpture series into a performative realm, building an immersive audio and visual environment that includes a rotating video projection-house, fog, water mist and improvised live sound by Laura Ortman on violin and Lynn Wright on guitar.
Both performances are free and open to the public. The exhibition Torched & Scorched with work by Ana Busto, Yifan Hu, MTAA and Raphaele Shirley continues through June 21, 2015.
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SNAD on AFC
a brief history of MTAA’s
SNAD on AFC
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Torched & Scorched - Ana Busto, Yifan Hu, MTAA, Raphaele Shirley
Main road through White Sands National Monument in New Mexico - Stratosphere + MTAA, 2009/2015
Torched & Scorched
Ana Busto, Yifan Hu, MTAA, Raphaele Shirley
May 15 to June 21, 2015
Opening of Exhibition: Friday May 22 from 6-9 pm
Viewing hours: Thursday 5-7 pm, Friday 2-7 pm, Saturday–Sunday 12-6 pm
Torched & Scorched performance with Yifan Hu, MTAA and Raphaele Shirley, Saturday June 6, 5-6 pm
Ventana 244 presents Torched & Scorched a multi-media installation assembled with interactive and traditional formats including painting, sculpture and sound.
Drive away from Brooklyn, past the skyscrapers of Manhattan, past the swamps, factories, farms and parking lots of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the highways and suburbs of Virginia, over into Tennessee, crossing the Mississippi via Memphis into Arkansas, and then cross the flats of Oklahoma going on to the expanses of West Texas. If you travel this far, the sky opens up. You see the sun and moon beat down on the earth with punishing, bright light. Keep going west, and you find yourself in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin among the gypsum crystal dunes of the White Sands National Monument of New Mexico. This landscape is where our age, the nuclear age and natural history commingled in a flash.
Two thousand miles east in Brooklyn, Ventana 244 presents Torched & Scorched opening on May 15 featuring a collaboration by Ana Busto, Yifan Hu, MTAA and Raphaele Shirley. Torched & Scorched integrates a visual and audio environment with conversations about the emotional weight of the landscape that today is a tourist attraction open to the public twice a year; a place where, for a few dollars, people can buy a chunk of irradiated earth that was melted to glass by the blasts of 60 years ago.
Using combustion as a primary working process, Ana Busto approaches core materials of iron, clay, bronze, wood, sand, glass, cardboard and stone as theaters for transformation. For Torched & Scorched she presents elements of a down-on-the-heels park: landscapes painted, cast glass, and ceramic and wood. In Busto’s work, stones look like animals or animals turned to stone. Shapes appear and speak from electronic driven voices.
With Busto’s sculpture as a starting point, Yifan Hu, mixes found and computer processed animal voices to create an audio landscape for Torched & Scorched As the voices cross, overlap and diverge, the boundaries between the identifiability and nonidentifiability come in and out of focus.
For Torched & Scorched, Raphaele Shirley built the fourth of recent series of large scale paint and neon installations. This new orb shaped work, blistering white light and golden skin is set in a dark expanse. In this series Shirley merges differing representations of cosmology generated throughout the ages in both Eastern and Western traditions filtered through the language of post minimal and process based art.
In a set of works titled New Mexico Setlist, MTAA overlays a second exhibition onto the gallery space. Made of text routed onto vinyl backgrounds, MTAA names artist and artworks intertwined with the New Mexico landscape. Combined, the six small works of the New Mexico Setlist create an art historical mixed tape for our wandering through the West as well as provides some background and mind-eye context for the Torch / Scorch installation.
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MTAA - In Preparation for The Disappearance of MTAA
In Preparation for The Disappearance of MTAA, 2015
Two black felt hats painted black inside hung by a thread
$600, edition of 1 of 2
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MTAA’s First in Space
First In Space - 2015
set of four 6”x 8” machine etched black vinyl with white core signs
100 usd each. no edition.
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OTO show #27 - Ensign Sgr A *
Radiator Arts 10-61 Jackson Ave, LIC, New York 11106 Tel: 347.677.3418
Email: info@radiatorarts.com
www.radiatorarts.com
Ensign Sgr A*
March 6 - April 10, 2015
Opening: Friday, March 6, 2015, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm and by appointment
Sgr A* Live Music and Film with Aviram Cohen, MTAA and more - Saturday, March 28, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Artists: Amelia Bauer, Joianne Bittle, Aviram Cohen, G.H. Hovagimyan, Nicholas Knight, Esperanza Mayobre, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, MTAA, Shannon Sberna, Raphaele Shirely, Janice Sloane, Colleen Rae Smiley, with exhibition graphic by Charles Orr and OTO. Curated by Over The Opening (OTO)
Every 365.25 days, the Earth revolves once around a star we call the Sun. Approximately every 225 million years, the Sun revolves around Sgr A* (pronounced “Sagittarius A-star”) which presides at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. It is now theorized that Sgr A* is not actually a star but a supermassive black hole that is currently eating planets, stars, light and even smaller black holes. Of course, the thought of an unseeable thing / dimensional portal actively swallowing our galaxy is keeping me awake some nights.
Meanwhile back in Long Island City, Radiator Arts and Over The Opening (OTO) are pleased to present Ensign Sgr A* featuring artist using negation and absence as ensigns or banners for states of exploration and loss. The exhibition operates as part wunderkammer and part memory hole with past prime astronomy, geography, technology, and superstition as the backdrop. Battles will be fought and journeys begun but broken and disappeared, in the long view of time, approach.
Amelia Bauer stages alien nocturnes in the Western landscape. Joianne Bittle shows space age couture and found prehistoric displays. Aviram Cohen sets contact mics to trace invisible pathways. G.H. Hovagimyan forms ARs for floating zombie teen avatars. Nicholas Knight renders codes. Esperanza Mayobre maps points with no return. Jennifer and Kevin McCoy scan future ruins. MTAA prepares to disappear. Shannon Sberna sees hypnosis and future luck. Raphaele Shirley enlightens worlds and historic technologies. Janice Sloane performs and documents dark acts. Colleen Rae Smiley sews signals and Charles Orr with OTO design a graphic to inform and educate.
About OTO (Over The Opening)
http://www.tinjail.com/over_the_opening/
From the fall of 2007 until the winter of 2009, the artist collaboration MTAA invited artists and art collectives to present one-night exhibitions of time based art in their North 6th Street Brooklyn studio. This ongoing monthly event curated under the name Over The Opening (OTO) operated as a blurring of studio space, exhibition venue and social experiment. The artists who worked with OTO represented a diverse array of practices. Works ranged from a tamale making workshop, to endurance karaoke to experimental computer games. Over the years, OTO presented 26 exhibitions of expansive scope with modest means. Ensign Srg A* at Radiator Arts marks the first OTO exhibition in a gallery setting.
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Demo Version, 2014
demo version from mriver on Vimeo.
You Do Not Know What You Are Talking About #mtaa at EMPAC 2010 
You Do Not Know What You Are Talking About #mtaa at EMPAC 2010 from mriver on Vimeo.
Leonardo Di Casio
For the one or two people interested in how the training is going for my new career as a male watch model, here is a tumblr site - Leonardo Di Casio. Enjoy.
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More SNAD.
The Simple Net Art Diagram seems to be getting around these days….
SNAD in Domenico Quaranta essay for Art and the Internet (pic thanks to Owen Mundy)
Also, Paddy Johnson writes about it over on Artnet - A Brief History of Animated GIF Art, Part One
and I found that Hanne Mugaas put it in Frieze Issue 159
Frieze Issue 159 back in November 2013
Very cool. Thanks all.
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MTAA may or may not be in summer net art exhibition 2014
We’re still not sure if MTAA is or is not in the exhibition net.art Painters and Poets in Ljubljana, Slovenia curated by Vuk Ćosić & Alenka Gregorič but we do know that Vuk sent us a picture of one of the best SNAD “Physical Outputs” ever. Show runs to August 31, 2014
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Southfirst 
Solvent transfer drawing for South First’s Group Material Unrealized Proposals show. List of 10 things I know about Austria and image from my hotel room in Leondig from 2007
GROUP MATERIAL: REACTIVATING THREE “UNREALIZED” PROPOSALS
10 vague things I learned on my only trip to Austria in the Fall of 2005
and then remembered nine years later on the occasion of SOUTHFIRST
Gallery’s re-activation of the unrealized curatorial proposal North/South
of Bounds, reinterpreted as American/Austrian Boundaries, from the
artist-run collective Group Material (1979-1996)
1. Cotton candy is called candyfloss.
2. Grown men, in general, do not wear shorts in Austria unless you count Lederhosen.
3. I was told and I agreed that Americans do not know how to say goodbye.
4. Everyone used the slang “Zuper” to describe something good as in “This
beer is Zuper!”.
5. Celebrating your 38th birthday alone in a street cafe in Vienna can be
perfect.
6. Vienna is the English name for Wien.
7. As the shouting match in the train station confirmed, Germans and
Austrians do not necessarily get along.
8. When in doubt, talk about music.
9. Most people I knew in New York had not been to Austria, most people I
met in Austria had been to New York.
10. If new drinking buddy promises at 2am to pick you up from the
hotel and take you to the airport at 7am sharp, you might want a backup
plan.
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MTAA’s Sub-Sublease of Shirley’s The Only Property I Will Ever Own
MTAA’s Sub-Sublease of Shirley’s The Only Property I Will Ever Own - $5500 (greenpoint williamsburg brooklyn)
As part of the Real Estate exhibition at the Ventana 244 Art Space at 244 North 6th Street in Williamsburg , Brooklyn in the city of New York, MTAA has sub-subleased an exhibition space in Raphaele Shirley’s art installation tilted “The Only Property I Will Ever Own” which in turn was subleased from the artist Tamas Veszi, who is leasing the space from Peter Soriano and Philippe Richard who are somehow leasing the space from the Gallery owners from January 24—February 28, 2014 or something like. The lines are somewhat unclear at this point.
Anyways, Raphaele Shirley’s art installation tilted “The Only Property I Will Ever Own” consist of a vintage dollhouse sized barn mounted on top of Tamas Veszi installation. In the barn, Shirley has install a light installation. MTAA, as a sub tenet of Shirley, has installed two almost identical photographs in the barn. The photographs may be viewed via small black and white monitor that is connected to a surveillance camera mounted in the barn.
So, MTAA in agreement with Raphaele Shriley, would like to place for sale on craigslist a work titled MTAA’s Sub-Sublease of Shirley’s The Only Property I Will Ever Own which is comprised of the barn, the light installation, the two photographs, the monitor, the camera and assorted cables for $5,500 OBO.
MTAA is willing to deliver and install the artwork to any location in the city of New York. Delivery costs to location outside of New York City can be negotiated.
Craigslist post for the work
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MTAA’s Maybe Manifesto in relation to Yvonne Rainer’s No Manifesto, 2013
maybe manifesto from mriver on Vimeo.
No to spectacle.
Some spectacle.
No to virtuosity.
Agreed.
No to transformations and magic and make-believe.
Agree with transformation and magic but make-believe is all we have.
No to the glamour and transcendency of the star image.
Sure.
No to the heroic.
Yup.
No to the anti-heroic.
We try but that is what we always end up with. Is that fine?
No to trash imagery.
What? No. Maybe.
No to involvement of performer or spectator.
Yes to the no involvement part but only for the performer.
No to style.
No to style always ends up as a style. How about change style often?
No to camp.
Really?
No to seduction of spectator by the wiles of the performer.
Could not seduce the audience with our wiles if we tried, so that works for us.
No to eccentricity.
First misread that as electricity and strongly disagreed.
No to moving or being moved.
Sure. We do not like to be touched while performing as well. Creepy.
Yvonne Rainer - No Manifesto, 1965
MTAA’s Maybe Manifesto in relation to Yvonne Rainer’s No Manifesto, 2013
A Very Very Cold Martini with Elaine Tin Nyo
IOI Vesper 2013 from mriver on Vimeo.
2nd Music for IOI music excerpt (popcorn)
IOI music 2013 excerpt from mriver on Vimeo.
Music for IOI (Live) - with Aviram Cohen (2 min sample of 1 hour work
Music for IOI (Live) - with Aviram Cohen (2 min sample of 1 hour work from mriver on Vimeo.
Live Dramatic Reading (Disconnection of HAL 9000’s Higher Functions) - 2013
Live Dramatic Reading (Disconnection of HAL 9000’s Higher Functions) - 2013 from mriver on Vimeo.
IOI performance #3 - A Very Very Cold Martini - with Elaine Tin Nyo
Saturday Dec 14 at 4pm -5pm
Auxiliary Projects - 2 St. Nicholas Avenue, space 25, at the corner of Jefferson Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn
MTAA and Elaine Tin Nyo will make and serve you a very very cold Vesper Martini.
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IOI performance #2 - Music for lOl (Live)- with Aviram Cohen
Saturday, Dec 7, 4pm- Music for lOl (Live)- with Aviram Cohen - MTAA and Cohen perform a live remix of field recordings from the IOI opening at Auxiliary Projects.
For the second of four IOI performance at Auxiliary Projects, MTAA and Cohen will create a live remix of field recordings from the IOI opening. For the past 14 years Aviram Cohen has experimented with different genres in music. Raw punk, Disjointed jazz, Shadowy synthesizers have all been implemented to convey a DIY approach and application. For this performance Aviram will continue with his more recent exploration with cassettes and tape music. Uncovering the dormant rhythmic qualities that occur in our verbal communications with each other. While Aviram manipulates sound, MTAA will be making popcorn and severing you drinks.
Auxiliary Projects is located at 2 St. Nicholas Avenue, space 25, at the corner of Jefferson Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn
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IOI images
images from the show are now up at the IOI Set
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MTAA: IOI
—————————————————————————————————————
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MTAA: Desk Mod #4. Station IOI or Some Thoughts on Isolation, Observation and Ice
——————————————————————————————
** MTAA: Desk Mod #4. Station IOI or Some Thoughts on Isolation, Observation and Ice
——————————————————————————————
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Auxiliary Projects reopens on November 15, 2013, with an exhibition of objects and collaborative performances by MTAA. There will be an opening reception on November 15th, from 7-10pm, and the exhibition will continue through January 5, 2014. The gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-6pm, and by appointment.
MTAA, known for new media conceptualism for over 15 years, presents an intervention into and radical redecoration of Auxiliary Projects. MTAA overlays a fictional identity onto the space, aesthetically and metaphorically reimagining the gallery as a camouflaged quasi-military outpost in an isolated environment. Echoing a cold war aesthetic even as the repercussions of Edward Snowdon cascade, MTAA imagines the elements of isolation, observation, and ice as the defining elements of this bleak, inhospitable place, inhabited by the few and visited by the brave.
Isolation: What materials of culture would we need to survive alone? MTAA provides the answer of a few carefully chosen books, movies, and CDs, precisely stacked in duplicate on shelves as though not to be touched. Among them: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Jerry Thomas Bartenders Guide, a deck of cards, the movie Rear Window.
Observation: Camouflaged, those inside the gallery persist as if in a hunting blind, quietly poised for visitors to make their innocent approach, filmed, seen. At MTAA’s instruction, collaborators will record the smallest activities in the environment, surveilling the bleak view from the gallery’s barred windows, noting changes in the weather or the activity of pedestrians. The work of the record-keepers will be presented as a collaborative drawing; relics of performances will be presented in camouflaged boxes.
Ice: Winter is just beginning but the darkness comes early to Bushwick, the wind growing fierce between the low industrial buildings, under an often grey sky. Ice appears in drinks to a warmer welcome. We will consult the Bartender’s Guide. MTAA will foster conviviality within and from a stark environment.
Performance schedule:
Saturday, Nov 23, 4pm- Live Dramatic Reading (Disconnection of HAL 9000’s Higher Functions)
A live reading from Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001:A Space Odyssey
Saturday, Dec 7, 4pm- Music for lOl (Live)- with Aviram Cohen
MTAA and Cohen perform a live remix of field recordings from the IOI opening
Saturday, Dec 14, 4pm- A Very Very Cold Martini
MTAA and Elaine Tin Nyo will make and serve you a very very cold Vesper Martini
Saturday, January 4, 4pm- Group Assembled Klondike Solitaire
MTAA will play a hand of Klondike solitaire as a group performance
Collaborators for the exhibition include Charles Orr, Colleen Rae Smiley, Raphaele Shirley.
Watch out! Auxiliary Projects will be participating in UNTITLED, Miami Beach, December 4-8
auxiliaryprojects.com
==============
2 St. Nicholas Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Auxiiary Projects is a project space run by Jennifer Dalton and Jennifer McCoy.
** follow on Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/auxproj/
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#otoshow26
Once a month from 2007 to 2009, MTAA invited artist to present work in our North 6th street studio. Over the years, we presented 24 one night exhibitions and 1 online artwork under the name Over The Opening (OTO).
In this time, we showed a few bands, a few video installations, a tamale instructional, a LAN party, some durational performances, a wall to wall ballon filled environment, a sound work with a low frequency brown note, and a virtual make out. We gave away paintings, held spoken word karaoke, and held an iPod drum circle in a public park. All of these wonderful artworks and more found temporary homes under the name OTO . The one thing we never did, and I always regretted not doing, was present a formal exhibition of art. That is, until now.
Please join as Over The Opening temporally resurfaces for one night on September 7, from 7pm to 10pm, with #otoshow26. The exhibition presents the works of Michael Buckland, Hillerbrand+Magsamen, Steve Ott, Shannon Sberna, and Michael Sarff.
More images from the event are at
#otoshow26 flicker set
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Default Location - Flint
New post on the Flint MI x10 site - Default Location - Flint
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#the400
a Live 15 Minute Dramatic Reading of
The Forbes 400, The Richest People in American, with
Brian Eno’s Music for Airports
as the audio background. The work will take place at 2:45 PM, Saturday June 9, 2012 at
Momenta Art in Bushwick Brooklyn,
as a part of
FIPCA’s Telethon for the 1%
#the400 #tele1 #mtaa
update
You can view #the400 at the
#fipca ustream archive
(part 3) starting at 2:04 and going to 2:30
or just click on the vid below.
Video streaming by Ustream
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SGAR #4, 2012 Photos
more at the SGAR #4 Flicker set
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video of UBT from APS
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The Exalted. From the Pharaoh to Lady Gaga
sreen shot of MTAA’s Infinite Smile, 2005
“Infinite Smile” will be in the exhibition Wywyższeni. Od faraona do Lady Gagi (The Exalted. From the Pharaoh to Lady Gaga) in the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland from May 16th to October 23rd, 2012
For Infinite Smile, MTAA filmed a Warhol like 15 minute screen test. The pose is a 3/4 head shot to the right and looking slightly up into a light with a smile. The heads are framed against a brown felt background. The image invokes the proud workers and bright futures of social realism. The 15 minute shot is play 4x faster in a palindrome loop. The speed distills the 15 minute smile to twitches, strain and humor. The loop allows the smile to reach forward forever.
The online version of Infinite Smile may be seen at mteww.com/infinite_smile/
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SGAR #4, 2012 
Images of SGAR #3 at OTO in Brooklyn 2008
SGAR #4, 2012 will be built for the one night exhibition PLAY at Sixteen Tons on Friday May 18 from 6 to 10 pm. Please stop by.
View Larger Map
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UBT Event Images
UBT Poster 
big props to Marisa Avelar / AIGA Houston
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Guess Who Has a Birthday Today ?
Let’s join in this big day with some of T.Whid’s Metal favorites…
Happy Birthday Tim!
Note - for your optimal viewing /listening/ net art / birthday experience, please hit play on all videos all at once
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UBT 1st Study Model (added details) - Call for works
Still adding some details to the Universal Backyard Theater 1st Study Model
You can find more information on the UBT at http://universalbackyardtheater.tumblr.com/
and more images at the UBT Flicker Set
If you have a short film or video that you would be interested in screening on Saturday April 14 in Houston Texas at the UBT or a loop that or would like to see projected on the UBT, send me an email at mriver (at) mteww.com The general subject we’re thinking about are “building” and “communities” .
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UBT 1st Study Model 
a 1:1 scale report the first model for the UBT
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UBT RnD Reminder
Just a reminder…
UBT Brainstorming and Beer in Brooklyn.
Sunday March 18 from 6 to 8pm,156 Franklin Street 2F Greenpoint Brooklyn, NY 11222 (in my apartment and most likely in my living room)
We will gather together some friends and begin to plan how to make a one night environment for media in the backyard of the Aurora Picture Show in Houston Texas this April. We will drink some beer and talk about possible components of a the UBT. We will talk about how the components could be built.
Screen? Screens? Seats? Walls? Bar? Popcorn? Sound? Sounds? Lights? Booth? Windows? Plants? Modular? Tents? Power? Stage? Fence? Barricades? Shack? Tower? What else? etc.
As the goal is to group build the UBT, we will then attempt to construct together the first model of the space. The model does not need to be anything that could be duplicated at the site. It will be more about thinking out loud with our hands. We hope this model building process will guide us to some possibilities for the final UBT. The UBT Brainstorming and Beer in Brooklyn will be streamed at
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/universal-backyard-theater
If you would like to participate in person send me an email. All are welcome - I just want to make sure I have enough hot glue and beer. - mriver at mteww.com
Coming Soon - The Universal Backyard Theater (UBT)
a new MTAA sculpture, environment, performance, curatorial project, net art, film night, social sculpture, participatory, one-night-only good time.
The Universal Backyard Theater (UBT)
Sunday, March 18 from 6 to 8pm
UBT Brainstorming and Beer in Brooklyn
MTAA think tank in Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, April 11, 6:30-8:30PM
Brainstorming, Beer and BBQ
Aurora Picture Show, Houston, Texas
Saturday, April 14, 11AM-5PM
Group Building
Aurora Picture Show, Houston, Texas
Saturday, April 14,
Free Public Screening at 8PM
Aurora Picture Show, Houston, Texas
For all the UBT details, go to http://universalbackyardtheater.tumblr.com/
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Flint, MI x10 - 2 for 1 Hot Wings
New post on the year long public art/ net art / remote viewing project Flint, MI x10
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The Pasta is Terrible
new post on user reviews and Chevy in the Hole at
Flint, MI x10
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Flint MI x 10 - Zone 5b (-15 to -10 Fahrenheit)
new post on winter and pumpkin seeds at flint mi x 10
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Winter Studio
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Milwaukee All Stars Report 2.
On December 10, 2010 we gave you the
first report on The Milwaukee All Star Project.
One year, one month and about one week later, here is our second report.
More soon…
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Flint Owl Letter
new post at Flint MI x10 - Flint Owl Letter
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On Dada and The Public Library of Flint
New post at Flint MI x10 - On Dada and The Public Library of Flint
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Very Short .Mov of Dia’s 150 Warhol Shadow Paintings 1979
some background on dia’s shadow paintings
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Marcel Duchamp - Rotary Demisphere (Precision Optics) 1925
The copper ring around the dome’s circumference is engraved with words chosen for the way their sounds echo one another. “RROSE SÉLAVY ET MOI ESQUIVONS LES ECCHYMOSES DES ESQUIMAUX AUX MOTS EXQUIS,” or “Rrose Sélavy and I dodge the eskimos’ bruises with exquisite words.”
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Flint MI x10
A new year long #MTAA project for Flint, MI in 2012 begins today.
Flint MI x10
#flintmix10
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ready for 2012
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december in the studio
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ghosts x2
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slots/atms
\
slots/atms - a new set of jpegs on flickr
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From The Archives - Midnight In The Deli, 2005
Pre-Rejected, Pre-Approved Performances: Midnight In The Deli
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From The Archives - Autotrace #3 2009
In 2009 at Light Industry we presented $’##” followed by Autotrace #3 (Pollock’s Number 1A; performative)
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From The Archives - Frank (Again) 2008
performed for
Breaking Solitude” at for Panoplie.org
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From The Archives - Story Time Again - (Summer Animals) 2010
Story Time Again - (Summer Animals)
An unauthorized live reading of A. A. Milne’s “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928) Chapter 7 - “In Which Tigger Is Unbounced” and an unauthorized live dramatic reading of the screenplay for “Stillness in The Water” AKA “JAWS” (1975) by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley from the novel by Peter Benchley. The readings took place during the Summer Arts Fest at The Wassiac Project in 2010
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From The Archives -
On January 26-28, 2001, MTAA, along with the artist Ricardo Dominguez, G.H. Hovagimyan, Yael Kanarek Tina LaPorta, Diane Ludin, Kevin & Jennifer McCoy, Cary Peppermint and curator Jennifer Crowe took over WeLiveInPublic.com The site was Josh and Tanya’s loft in Soho that was wired to the Internet with chat, sound and 32 cameras. The group named this action
The Warhol Hijack. During our stay, MTAA 1.) always wore Elvis sunglasses 2.) slept in a tent pitched in the living room 3.) wrote the words Warhol Hijack in blue tape across the living room floor 4.) recored brief interviews and 5.) presented a online lecture about conceptual art.
The following is the last section of T.Whid’s lecture formatted for chat from the control room and the first section of M.River rebuttal from the bathroom. The transcript for T.Whid’s lecture is here.
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friday post 10-14-11
I recently posted some documentation of MTAA’s
first attempt at a scene by scene remake Plan 9
back in 2008. We filmed the first four scenes that night, got board and moved onto something else. Altough it was dull, I also thought it was a good idea. I thought over the next few years we could shoot a few scenes every so often. Eventually we would have the complete work. I figured we’re in no rush as no one would be interested in remaking that film. I was wrong.
Apparently someone else started filming a remake in 2009 and it is slated to be released in 2012.
Granted it’s not the pointless line by line homage ala Gus Van Sant’s Psycho 1998 with a lo-fi veneer and Warhol Chelsea Hotel rift that I dreamed of…but it does looks like he’s going to beat me to being first. Dagnabbit. (Shakes fist at Hollywood)
Anyways, if you’re looking to kill some time in the next few months, please feel free to shoot any scene (or 2) from
the script. Load it up on Ye ole Youtube and send me a note.
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From The Archives - The Surrogates, 2008 
It began with a basic idea. Stage a performance in which the artwork is watching people standing in line to view the artwork. We decided to present this idea during one of our monthly OTO presentations at our studio. To expand the idea, we planned on presenting the installation as the work of another artist. We selected Eva and Franco Mattes (0100101110101101.ORG.) as our surrogates and contacted them with an outline of our plan. They graciously agreed. In exchange for the use of Mattes identity, we gave them half ownership of the work.
Once we had our Surrogates, we sent out a press release and posted on the OTO website an announcement for the show.
surrogate - substitute, proxy, replacement; deputy, representative, stand-in, standby, stopgap, relief, pinch-hitter, understudy.
Eva and Franco Mattes continue their investigations into power, authorship and identity with “The Surrogates” a new performance based video project. Combining elements of theater, video, surveillance, and social interaction, “The Surrogates” transforms OTO into an experimental social space questioning the distinction between the viewer and the viewed.
On Friday April 11, 2008 the two-hour piece began at 7 p.m. with an open bar and velvet rope welcoming attendees in the hallway. Inside the OTO space proper, two rows of two lawn chairs (numbered 1-4) faced a low stage featuring a 4′x6′ projection screen (center) and a small television monitor (stage right). Attendees entered the darkened room four at a time. Their assigned seats faced a slightly delayed projection of themselves. The monitor revealed hallway waiting activity in real time.
The attendees in the room (now participants) were given little explanation of the piece, though they were invited do as they pleased within the space and to leave at their leisure. Re-entry was not permitted however, and those exiting the piece were immediately replaced by those next behind the velvet rope.
The day after the exhibition, MTAA posted online that while the Mattes (0100101110101101.ORG.) are credited as the authors of “The Surrogates”, MTAA designed, built and executed this work in its entirety.
The following roughly 15 minute video is documentation of the first four participates in the 2 hour Surrogates performance.
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friday post 10-07-11
In a
March 2009 OTO,
Secret School collaborated with a team of economists led by Daniel J. Martin to create a functioning and participatory economy based on the gold standard. In a new blog post, they recap the event and explain the some for the engines behind the system.
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friday post 09-30-11 (fall museum lockings) 
@whitney - no bike rack but one street sign by the door - 2 out of 5 Ulocks
@ps1 - lone bike rack right by door and another nearby - 3 out of 5 Ulocks
@new museum - 4 out of 5 ulocks. a nice three wide bike rack near the front door
@sculpture center - 1 out of 5 ulocks. not much to work with here
@socrates sculpture park - 5 out of 5 ulocks for big green bike rack
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from the archives - Happy Fun Summer Rebellion
at PS1 for a family day in 2000
MTAA barricaded themselves into an area of the PS1 courtyard on a misty summer day. Armed with wooden placards bearing revolutionary PRO FUN PRO SUMMER ANTI COLD slogans, MTAA encouraged visitors to take part in their Happy Fun Summer Rebellion. To ensure participation, MTAA provided cookies and hot dogs for the kids and beer for the adults.
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friday post 09-23-11
Warning - video contains acoustic guitar soundtrack and a close up shot of my legs
Also - this video from the museum opening with techno soundtrack
Update - and here is the MTAA’s All the Holidays All at All Once Time-Lapse with Mozart soundtrack
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from the archives - Lo-Fi Message Board, 2001
In 2001, Creative Time commissioned MTAA to create a work for the
Cell Lounge at The Meat Market Art Fair in New York
MTAA provided Meat Market Art Fair-goers with a lo-fi method to leave messages for one another, to rate the galleries (very popular), access important phone numbers (pizza delivery, car services, etc), and a casual cell phone friendly hang out. We also asked some artist friends to place audio artworks on their answering machine for the weekend and let us post the numbers on the board for people to call.
The video shows the last few minutes of the fair as T.Whid erases the work.
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friday post 09-16-11
I went to the MOMA’s exhibition deKooing’s late paintings in 97
and plan on seeing his retrospective that opens to the public on Sunday
but I will always think of his work with Paul McCarthy’s 1995 performance “Painter” in mind. Here is the full 50 min video of comedy and pain.
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from the archives - $’##”
$’##”
On March 3, 2009 Christiane Paul curated a one night program of performative new media works at Light Industry. MTAA presented two works that night - $”##’, and a Live Demonstration of Autotrace #3 (Number 1A; performative)
Although we reviewed the script with Christiane before the event, we requested the work only be described in the program notes as $’##”—MTAA re-stages John Cage’s 4’33” within a framework of a new media lecture.
Tim and I had a long ongoing joke about new media lectures. New media art lectures tend to begin with someone trying to plug something into something, a projector failing, a power point in the wrong format, and some poor soul trying to make the microphones work. We thought it might be good idea for a presentation to just plug a bunch of stuff together frantically, call it art and say goodnight.
This idea on how to circumvent failure evolved into the script for $’##”.
The work begins with a table set up in the middle of an audience. On the table is a laptop connected to a projector and an amplifier. Also connected to the amplifier is a single microphone. Behind the table are two folding lawn chairs. A video camera is pointed at the table. The laptop projects a .jpg of the text $’##”. The projector is pointed at a wall that is not in the front of the audience.
M.River and T.Whid of MTAA sit in the folding chairs. Each have a iPhone with a timer set to count down from 4’33”
Without curatorial introduction, the work begins with Tim saying “Hello. We are MTAA and this is $’##”. At this point Tim hits play on audio file we made for the 2001 online work “Twenty-Five Concrete Examples of Why John is Not My Father”
The song used in this work is The Sweet’s 1975 hit Fox on The Run slowed down to exactly 4’33” in length.
As audio for Fox on The Run launches, MTAA stands up begins to power off, unplug and move the entire set. In the dark, we wrangle everything though the audience to the front of the space where we rebuild the set and plug everything back in. As the song finishes, we make last hurried adjustments and then sit down. Tim then says the title of the work again and “Thanks”.
Below are two videos of the work. The first is a rehearsal with the lights on. The second is from the event.
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friday post 09-09-11
WOLFGANG STAEHLE - 2001 at the GOETHE-INSTITUT
Wyoming Building on view Saturday, September 10 through Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Content | Form | Im-material—Five Years of CONT3XT.NET
Dan Graham talk at the BMW Guggenheim Lab tonight (free)
Jennifer Dalton’s Cool Guys Like You opens tonight at Winkleman
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AHAAO Picnic / Performance August 21, 2011 Video
Every 15 minutes for 2 hours, we played a song. For the duration of that song we attempted to celebrate All the Holiday All at Once. Thanks to all who joined.
Here is a 3 minute video with some youtube clips played during the performance cut with some documentation of the work.
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Labor Day - The MTAA Grill Oath
For those about to light a grill on this Labor Day, please place your hand on a can of warm beer and repeat after me…
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friday post 09-02-11
works in progress - a banisters, a greenhouse and a mushroom bed
also, a before and after of the tomato trellis
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AHAAO Picnic / Performance August 21, 2011
Except from AHAAO intro script….
Here now is The Ceremonial Lighting of the Holiday Grill - For this task, I will need one brave volunteer.
Now, Please place your right hand on this can of warm Bud repeat after me.
I - (state your name) - do solemnly swear - to light this Holiday Grill - I promise - to get this dang party started - I promise - in 10 minutes - when the coals are totally dead - to fan the coals furiously - with this paper plate - I promise to then - look concerned - and then - to pour an ungodley amounts of highly flammable liquids onto the coals - I promise to then - toss a lite match onto said coals - and then - to then run like hell - After the fire ball - I promise - to smugly drink this beer - and act - like it’s all under control - This I promise - So help me to a Beer.
And now to our main task. To begin I would like to review two performance concepts that will guide us on our path.
The first concept is The Loop. A Loop in computer science is a series of instructions in a program, performed repeatedly until some specified condition is satisfied. We will use the concept of the loop to create a form for our performance.
The second concept we will need to bear in mind is The Relativity of Simultaneity. In physics - the simultaneity of two events is dependent on the observer’s frame of reference. According to the special theory of relativity, it is impossible to say, in an absolute sense, whether two events occur at the same time if those events are separated in space.
What’s all that to do with us? The loop will be our structure and the impossibility of simultaneity or, if you will, “All at Once” is our arch nemesis.
So, here is the basic plan. Over the next 2 hours, I would like to, with your input, collaboration and direction, create a small 5 minute loop in which we will attempt celebrate all the Holidays All At Once. This loop is then repeated every 15 minutes over the 2 hour window. The loop script can be modified as we go along but the basic idea is the same. Attempt to celebrate everything all at once.
Ridgefield Patch on the AHAAO Picnic / Performance
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friday post 08-19-11
Ready for AHAAP Picnic / Performance at the Aldrich -
Sunday, August 21 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
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friday post 08-12-11 
Next Sunday, AHAAO Performance/Picnic
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Pairs (x 100)
Did I ever post this here? Work from 2010
Update - Yes, it looks like I did post this before. Feel free to enjoy it again and again.
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friday post 08-05-11
MTAA’s Remix of the 666 Frame in Mark Amerika’s Remixthebook
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friday post 07-15-11
AHAAO in Art News
Join us at the Aldrich for the the AHAAO picnic / performance on Sun Aug 21 from 2 - 4 pm
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friday post 07-08-11
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friday post 7-1-11
twhid enjoys some open wifi at cory’s protools opening
although twhid did not believe it at first, this really me doing a back flip last saturday on governor’s island
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AHAAO Opening
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firday post 06-24-11
AHAAO E-invite from The Aldrich
AHAAO Web page on the museum site and page with information to the opening
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friday post 06-17-11
AHAAO - Two days down, two to go…
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friday post 06-10-11
AHAAO E-invite from The Aldrich
AHAAO Web page on the museum site and page with information to the opening
AHAAO on MTAA.net
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Wide Wide World
MTAA at Lee’s blog Day 9
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friday post 05-27-11
Getting ready for
All the Holiday All At Once in June and my kitchen is getting full.
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Restless Crowd Control
backtracking a tad. here is MTAA at Lee’s blog Day 7
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SUMMEr oF HTML
MTAA at Lee’s blog Day 9
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Black (Soap) Box
MTAA at Lee’s blog Day 8
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Ego Surfing Hot Heads
MTAA at Lee’s blog Day 6
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friday post 05-20-11
hey. look what i got in the mail yesterday. i’m so ready for the end of the world on saturday.
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Jetty Home Movies
MTAA at Lee’s Blog Day 5
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Hoopers and Dervishes
MTAA at Lee’s blog day 4
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Spiral Jetty IPA
Day 3 at Lee’s blog
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mtaa at lee walton’s blog day 1
you enter lee walton’s living room to find two strangers sitting on his couch…
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crashing on walton’s virtual couch this month
leewalton.com
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friday post 05-13-11
Black Set
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friday post 05-6-11
Black Set
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friday post 04-29-11
20%_all_default_borough
from the
default_borough set
11%_all_mtaa_visit
from the mtaa_visit set
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All the Holidays All At Once (AHAAO)
All At Once MTAA’s All the Holidays All At Once (AHAAO)
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum June 26 to October 2, 2011
The year slips by and winter turns to spring, then summer, then fall. One day you hang a flag on the Fourth of July, the next day you take down the ghosts of Halloween.
In the summer of 2011, in a new installation for The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum’s sculpture garden, the artists MTAA will attempt to collapse time and space with a celebration of “All the Holidays All At Once”!
For the installation we are looking for temporary loans of your favorite holiday-themed lawn ornaments and decorations. Send us your Valentine’s Day heart hanging down in the basement, the inflatable Thanksgiving turkey stored away in the attic, and your giant electric Easter bunny out in the garage. Together they will create a procession of celebration at the museum from June 26 to October2, 2011.
In exchange for your help, MTAA would like to give you a 11x17 signed “Print of Thanks.” The print will certify your decorations are not only Museum-quality but also much loved and appreciated.
For more information - http://holiday.mtaa.net/
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friday post 04-22-11
The screen shots of the default Google Maps locations for New York’s 5 boroughs - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island.
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friday post 05-15-11
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friday post 04-08-11
mtaa_freezer_2 2011
mtaa_freezer_9, 2010
from a new
mtaa_freezer set of 9 images
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more SNAD + jimpunk
Jimpunk sent this Scri.ch SNAD last night. Nice.
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SNAD card at Bard
SNAD on the card for Protocol Prone at center for Curatorial Studies Bard College 2000
Remember the Good!
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Speaking of SNAD remixes…
It’s T.Whid birthday and here is a SNAD output as a cake. This cake was from his Four-Oh which was like eons and eons ago.
Happy Birthday Tim.
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Simple Net Art Diagram - Notes on Outputs
Just as a tangent touches a circle lightly and at but one point, with this touch rather than with the point setting the law according to which it is to continue on its straight path to infinity, a translation touches the original lightly and only at the infinitely small point of the sense, thereupon pursuing its own course according to the laws of fidelity in the freedom of linguistic flux.
In the exhibition “Übersetzung ist eine Form. | Translation is a mode.” the SNAD was presented on a CRT monitor known from the mid-1990s. Thus, the display refers to the date of the origin of the artwork. The monitor, simply placed on the floor, was connected to a computer hidden behind the wall of the exhibition space to be unviewable from the visitors point of view. The SNAD was shown as a fullscreen version of the animated GIF with its characteristic red flashlight blinking in the middle of the diagram. The EPS-files of the artwork were downloaded and enlarged to the size of the computer screen to guarantee a high quality reproduction. The CAD was presented as a printed black-and-white poster with the format of 150 x 150 centimeters. To emphasize the ostensive casual and ephemer character of its display, it was fixed on the wall with four stripes of black Gaffer tape. The CAD was installed nearby the computer based installation to make both diagrams viewable at the same time — but not in line and with a spatial distance.
It was important for us to show both diagrams in order to focus on the historical dimensions of the artworks and to give an insight in how the mode of the Internet has changed over ten years lying between their releases. Our intention to show the SNAD as a computer-based installation was to keep its original characteristics and to transfer the typical format of general Internet-based culture — the animated GIF — to the exhibition space. Although we basically try to avoid presenting Internet-based Art on computer screens to distinguish the modes of viewing in virtual space from those in real space, we decided to show the SNAD — dated with “ca. 1997” — in its ‘original’ context. To reinforce the idea of this very early context of Internet-based Art — we selected one of those yellowish and heavy computer screens, dating from a time when there was no talking about flat screens, mobile devices and portable mini screens.
In contrast, we presented the CAD as a large paper print: this artwork does not have animated traits and it is downloadable as a static file. The display of the CAD was originally thought as a simple poster. During the process of installing the artwork we figured out how it communicates with other artistic diagrams shown in the exhibition. To avoid a form of presentation much to neat and clean for an open source file — which has been shown in so many different contexts and in so many different formats — we decided to stuck it onto the wall with black Gaffer tape, normally used for the temporary fixation of cables and other loose objects. Thus a kind of temporary situation was created — referring to the ephemera functionality which can be found in the popular cultures of the Internet.
The installation is at Denison University’s Mulberry Gallery and the exhibition design is fairly clean. There were a number of ways I could have gone with the design in this respect but I decided against a messier look because it didn’t suit the displays for the work. Also, I wanted the exhibition to be accessible even to the complete novice. I got lucky with the wood floors as a cement floor would not have created nearly so inviting a space.
The decision to mount SNAD on the wall was a collaborative one that came out of discussions with Christian Faur, the director of Mulberry Gallery. I knew I wanted the display to reflect the spirit of SNAD, which is to say I wanted to contribute to an ongoing conversation the GIF has inspired. For this reason we did not display the GIF on a monitor but recreated it using vinyl lettering that stretched across two walls. We recreated the flashing lightening bolt in-between the computers as a means of indicating that we too located art as a communication point but that it wasn’t a principle guided by a single technology. This is a guiding principle in the design of the show. While Graphics Interchange Format highlights GIF making in the art making community, the exhibition itself does not limit itself to displaying work in that medium. So long as the original file inspiring the work is a GIF, the work is fair game.
Viewing SNAD in person is very different. Online a viewer is looking at a representation of what they are doing and using. Offline the image tells them what they have or will do. In each case though the work tells us where to locate art. Today, that message couldn’t be more relevant.
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In Memoriam: Meredith Allen (1964 - 2011)
Sad news.
Winkleman on Meredith Allen (1964 - 2011)
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friday post 03-18-11
mtaa_glass_3, 2011
blog post from This Japanese Life - “Watching the Western media in Japan can feel like watching a caveman explain the future.”
READ/WRITE Curated by JstChillin at 319 Scholes March 17 – March 30, 2011
Bad At Sports on the DDDDoomed essay
Petra’s price guide
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Want v3 (web version) 2009-2011 
Want v3 (web version) 2009-2011
http://mtaa.net/art/want.v3/ (NSFW audio)
In a 2009 performance filmed in a Maryland sound studio, M.River and T. Whid of MTAA read queries streamed live from the Internet. The searches, ranging from pornographic to banal to the strangely undefined, voice the wants of an unseen population.
The performance returns to the web via a two-channel software-controlled video. Hundreds of requests, replayed in an endless randomized feed, exist as a snapshot of desire, want and need on the Internet in the late aughts.
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friday post 03-11-11 
mtaa_glass_1, 2011
from mtaa_glass set of 9 images
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friday post 03-06-11
mtaa_room_8, 2011
from mtaa_room set of 9 images
mtaa_barn_9, 2011
from mtaa_barn set of 9 images
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friday post 02-25-11
and some misc.links…
http://www.leewalton.com/
http://paintfx.biz/
http://johntransue.net/
also…
The Second Time as Farce by Martha Rosler on IDIOM
and for you Cory and Sabbath fans…
Arcangel Studio Last FM
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vendors
a set of photoshopped installations of coke vending machines in empty gallery spaces
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friday post 02-18-11
MTAA is the exhibition Graphics Interchange Format in Ohio at Denison University’s Mulberry Gallery curated by Paddy Johnson. Feb 18 to March 25. More info
here and
here
Update. Here is a
link to a short video Paddy shot of how she installed the Simple Net Art Diagram
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happy phil collins day …or whatvever. 
Phil Collins Day Parade Tonight in Greenpoint Brooklyn
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Valentine’s Day… or whatever
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friday post 02-11-11
theveryfirstnetartprojectever.com
scanned drawing (sharpie on bar napkin), date unknown, collection of Alexander R. Galloway (RSG)
05.03-30.2001: net.ephemera at the Moving Image Gallery
net.emphemera installation cu | Mark Tribe
Mandiberg’s personal copy of the Net.Ephemera Catalogue, from the show which Shop Mandiberg was included in at the Moving Image Gallery and then placed for sale on Shop Maniberg ($40)
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friday post 02-04-11
mriver.tumblr.com
ltdform.tumblr.com
crashpop.tumblr.com
sympathyfortheartgallery.com
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screenshot of a google ad fail
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friday post 01-28-11
more at the
mtaa_logos flickr set
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friday post 01-21-11
mtaa_warhol
From Clubs to Affinity: The Decentralization of Art on the Internet
POST INTERNET SURVIVAL GUIDE
Ed Halter’s essay for “Free”
HIGHWAYS CONNECT AND DIVIDE includes works by: Cory Arcangel, Bureau of Inverse Technology, I/O/D, Nam June Paik, JODI, Sterling Ruby, and Kerry Tribe.”
Update:
Uneven Google, Chris Collins 2010
Internet Rotisserie 2010, as the internet turns.
, Constant Dullaart 2010
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UNTIL THE LAST GUN IS SILENT: CORETTA SCOTT KING 1968/2006
from Mark Tribe’s Port Huron Project
Port Huron Project
5-minute high-definition video based on an 18-minute speech.
Description: Public reenactment of a speech given by Coretta Scott King at a peace march in Central Park on April 27, 1968, three weeks after her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated. In this speech, which was based on notes found in the late Dr. King’s pockets, King addresses the war in Vietnam, domestic poverty, and the power of women to effect social change. Gina Brown, a New York-based actor and former welfare mother, delivered the speech on location in Central Park on September 16, 2006.
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friday post 01-14-11
mtaa_giacometti
How 2 Soup Mobius Loop
Step1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
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friday post 01-07-11
In 2011, the MTAA-RR “Random Friday Posts” will be called “Friday Posts”
Character Development: Brody Condon’s Level 5 and the Avant-LARP of Becoming Self
archive of baldessariyourlife.com
From Clubs to Affinity: The Decentralization of Art on the Internet
update - the image is the first study for
MTAA as Brancusi’s Muse
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some stray thoughts
about twitter, net art and #rank
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random friday post 12-31-10
The last MTAA-RR RFP of 2010
Ready for New Year’s Eve 2011
Indulgences 2010
Last new MTAA project for 2010
Nothing says the future is now like CRT monitors
and MONORAILS!
and The Universe of Energy (previously sponsored by Exxon Mobil)
Happy New Year from MTAA. See you in the future.
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radom friday post 12-17-10
Snow along the lake in Milwaukee
Concept image for June / October 2011 MTAA exhibition at the Aldrich Museum.
T.Whid unsanctioned performance with Duane Hanson’s Janitor at the Milwaukee Art Museum
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Milwaukee All Stars report 1. 
At the entrance to a lecture hall at the University Wisconsin Milwaukee, we stationed a table, a ream of plain, 8 1/2 x 11 printer paper, some markers and two student volunteers. As people entered the hall, each person was asked to draw a star on a sheet of paper.
We were asked to present our work but we decided that we’d incorporate a small performance as well. So, at the end of our presentation, which focused on some of our recent vote-driven projects, we transitioned from a lecture into an artwork we called Milwaukee All Stars.
We explained that we would make a new work using the stars drawn by the audience. The ‘how’ of how this piece would be created was left to vote by the audience.
After reading the 10 ideas on how the drawings could be worked with, we opened the floor up to an pro/ con debate on the options. At the end of the town hall style debate, we placed the options up for vote by show of hands.
The Milwaukee All Stars output method selected by vote is #10 - pulp all stars, make 1 sheet of paper from the pulp, draw 1 star on it.
Sometime in 2011, MTAA will present the next phase of this project.
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random friday post 12-10-10
Flying back with T.Whid from our talk in Milwaukee. More details on the talk / performance soon.
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Freeing Lunch #RANK Day 4 
Today is the 4th and last pizza sent to Miami as part of
Freeing Lunch #RANK. To review the prices at this point -
Box and print #1 $59.66 (+tip)
Box and print #2 $40.28 (+tip)
and the box and print for the black olives, mushrooms, banana peppers and spinach pizza from yesterday is going for $37.20 (+tip)
More info on pizza #4 later today.
Update - a txt from Dalton notes that Pizza #4 broke the Freeing Lunch #Rank record by disappearing in 20 seconds. Price of Box and print #4 is $35.06 (+ tip) or all 4 Boxes for $172.20 + whatever Dalton tipped.
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Freeing Lunch #Rank Day 3
Today is day #3 and it looks like Domino’s Pizza is now MTAA’s Freeing Lunch #Rank official “New Brillo.”
To recap the current prices, Freeing Lunch #Rank box and print #1 is still availiable for $59.66 (+tip). Yesterdays Freeing Lunch #Rank box and print #2 was $20.14 for the pizza + tip + $20.14 for the gallery. That comes to $40.28 + tip. So, you can save $19.35 if you get box #2. Then again, the first one might be the one you want. Anyways, if you are not in Miami and want one of the four works (or all of them), you can always drop me an email (mriver@mteww.com) and we can work something out.
For today, I’m calling in Pizza #3 around 11:45am. I’ll update this post later with more details.
Update - I have no idea if pizza #3 made it to #Rank today but I did get a call at my work desk in New York from the driver. He just kept saying “PIZZA. PIZZA. PIZZA…PIZZA…Pizzzzzaa.”
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Freeing Lunch #Rank Day 2 
As seen in the above Man Bartlett twitter pic, it looks like Freeing Lunch #Rank Day 1 did make it up on the wall at Seven. At least, I hope that is our empty pizza box or I might have to start worrying that things have going down hill at #Rank.
Today for Freeing Lunch #Rank we’ll see if Pizza Fiore picks up the phone. If not, I might have to go with Papa John’s.
Update - as both Pizza Fiore and Papa John’s will not do a remote credit card, I went with a large veggie thin crust from Domino’s who is seem to be
MTAA’s Brillo.
Update 2 - Hey look. Pizza #2 in action via SEVENmiami twitter pics.
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Freeing Lunch #RANK Day 1
Today is the start of
Freeing Lunch for
#RANK at
Seven in Miami.. For day one, we will attempt to send a pizza from Pizza Fiore to Dalton and Powhida sometime between noon and 1pm.
Update: Pizza Fiore did not pick up the phone. I went with the back up plan of 1 large vegetarian plus a bonus non art pizza (I was just feeling generous to Miami I guess) from this Domino’s
Sorry to the small businesses of Florida but you have to pick up the phone to sell stuff. I’ll try another local joint again for day 2.
Anyways, as of 4:43 I have not heard if the pizzas actually showed up at #Rank but my card was charged by Domino’s. I have some naive hope it all worked. If the pizza did get to the Seven art fair, Freeing Lunch #Rank Box #1 (wall mounted Domino’s box and MTAA signed print) is now priced at $29.83 + tip (if #Rank did tip) + $29.83 for Winkleman Gallery. Yup, that’s a total of $59.66 (+tip) for a signed original MTAA artwork. Think about it.
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random black friday post 11-26-10
signed Freeing Lunch #RANK texts ready to travel to Florida
Today, the United States wakes up from our tryptophan induced slumber and head out to the malls for holiday shopping in what the retail world calls Black Friday. Next week, the art world heads to the Miami Art Fairs to buy, sell, browse, work, network, blog, drink and, in general, hang out.
This year, MTAA will attempt to send four new artworks to Miami as part of Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida #RANK project with Winkleman Gallery at Seven.
Together the artworks are titled Freeing Lunch #RANK. You can find details on the project on the
Freeing Lunch #RANK website. The site, along with the MTAA-RR blog, will be updated with documentation as the project unfolds.
So, if you are out shopping today, relax and try to be kind. If you find yourself in Miami next week, stop by #RANK and check out Freeing Lunch. Tag any photos, video or thoughts on the work with #RANK and #MTAA and will add it to the documentation.
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Hyperallergic on #RANK
Preview from Kyle Chayka of Hyperallergic on #RANK. Like the jpeg they made for
Freeing Lunch
. I think we’ll use it.
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Consider The Panda
If tasked with a Noah’s Ark 2.0 scenario and we come up short on cargo space, let us pack extra earthworms, frogs and bees. Let’s leave the pandas behind.
The current population of roughly 3,000 giant pandas, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) spend their slow days snacking on 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo followed by nights of notoriously lousy breeding. Like the unicorns, fabled rejects in the first great world flushing, pandas might be better suited as poster children than Darwinian positive members of our planet. They are perfect fuzzy icons for the World Wildlife crowd. And, perhaps, a perfect icon for the rarefied ecology know as contemporary art.
post continues at tinjail.tumblr
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radom friday poot 11-19-10
some pics from last night’s AFC
Art of Sound record launch
bands
paddy
and merch
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MTAA short lists the RPAA
MTAA at Light Industry
and now…MTAA short lists the
RPAA 2010
Alternative Space of the Year
Light Industry, Brooklyn, New York
Alternative Project of the Year
INDEPENDENT, New York
Artist of the Year
Marina Abramovic
Blogger or Critic of the Year
Paddy Johnson (sorry Jerry but she’s the only one who mentioned MTAA this year)
Curator of the Year
Chrissie Iles
Exhibition outside the United States
“Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Specific Objects without Specific Form,” Wiels Contemporary Art Centre, Brussels
Group Show of the Year, Gallery
“Primary Atmospheres: Works from California 1960–1970,” David Zwirner, New York
Group Show of the Year, Museum
“In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960–1976,” Museum of Modern Art, New York
New Artist of the Year
Liz Magic Laser
The Rob Pruitt Award
MTAA (sure, why not?)
Solo Show of the Year, Gallery
“Gelitin: Blind Sculpture,” Greene Naftali Gallery, New York
Solo Show of the Year, Museum
“Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present,” Museum of Modern Art, New York
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random friday post 11-12-10
Jon Rafman - Francis Bacon Apartment, 2010
William Powhida - Study for Relational Wall, 2009
Hans Haacke - News, 1969/2008 at the New musuem
update:
Tim Lincecum Rookie Card, Signed by Tim Lincecum and Lee Walton.
Also -
#TheSocialGraph opens tonight at Outpost
BYOB NYC tonight at Spencer Brownstone Gallery
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random friday post 10-05-10
No Customs Installation
- in this view: MTAA (Completely Random Aesthetic Object #1 (Abu Dhabi version) on the wall), Melissa Dubbin and Aaron S. Davidson, Thom Lail (window), Vito Acconci (sound player on table), Jennifer Dalton and Susan Hamburger (shelf), and Jonathan Schipper (briefcase of money on table).
AFC’s Sound Of Art
which includes a sound clip from Mike Koller and MTAA’s
World’s First, Possibly Only and Probably Last iPhone Drum Circle (aka IPDC) will have a record launch party November 18th at Santos Party House.
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random friday post 10-29-10
No Customs opens Nov 4 in Abu Dhabi
John Baldessari - A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation’ (1966-68)
Beuys on a Bike
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random friday post 10-15-10
GZ Groundzero open mic at MTAA / EMPAC / Filiment ARTBarn. Photo by Brian Chitester
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Burning Books with RSG
As part of 10.10.10 x10 last weekend, we held 10 minute reading and burning of the works of Alexander Galloway (RSG). The work honors what everyone agrees is Alex’s best art idea ever - Public Book Burnings.
Next Wensday, Alex and Jason Smith torch “Introduction to Civil War” by Tiqqun.
A Book Burning — To honor the recent publication of the book
“Introduction to Civil War” by Tiqqun.
with your hosts Alexander Galloway and Jason Smith
October 20th @ 8:00pm
at ISSUE PROJECT ROOM, 232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn
http://www.issueprojectroom.org
Free admission
“Society no longer exists, at least in the sense of a
differentiated whole. There is only a tangle of norms and mechanisms
through which THEY hold together the scattered tatters of the global
bio-political fabric, through which THEY prevent its violent
disintegration. Empire is the administrator of this desolation, the
supreme manager of a process of this listless implosion.” —Tiqqun
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10.10.10 x10 photos
“Three Sheets to The Wind” and “Hack” section of performance.
Photos of
10.10.10 x10
are now up at
Flickr
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10.10.10 x10
On 10.10.10 M.River of MTAA will perform 10 10 minute artworks for the 10th anniversary of the Beall Center for Art + Technology at Claire Trevor School of the Arts 712 Arts Plaza, UC Irvine, Irvine, Ca 92697-2775. The 10 works, commissioned by the Beall Center will begin at
Winifred Smith Hall at 5pm and move at a slow crawl to a finish on the steps of the
Beall Center.
Here is the list of the 10 works.
Number 1. A Completely Random Aesthetic Object (CRAO) — A single digital image created automatically from random audience input.
Number 2. Fly Drawings — An attempt to fly audience-made drawings
Number 3. Burning Books (with RSG) — A public reading and burning of the published works of our friend Alexander Galloway.
Number 4. Hack — The term “hack” traces back to an insult about furniture that looks like it was made with an axe. We will do this.
Number 5. Some New Documentation — a Faux 70’s era MTAA performance documented with black and white photos of the crowd looking on politely. Performance consists of tossing wet beach blankets at blank walls with overwrought intensity.
Number 6. Live Dramatic Reading (Disconnection of HAL 9000’s Higher Functions) — A live reading from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Number 7. Default Location “University of California Irvine” — A virtual visit to the exact default location on Google Maps when ‘University of California Irvine’ is entered
Number 8. iPhone Drum Circle 2 — The west coast premier of the infamous IPDC. We will “Jam” using iPhones with drum aps connected to an ampifier.
Number 9. Snack Time — MTAA loves a good cheese tray and would like to enjoy one with you.
Number 10. Three Sheets to The Wind — MTAA concocts a new cocktail and raises a toast to the Beall Center’s anniversary.
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YDKWYTA #MTAA live feed
Along with the All Raise This Barn (East), we presented two 10-minute performances of a new work - You Do Not Know What You Are Talking #MTAA. The work was commissioned By EMPAC, Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY as part of the Filament Festival.
YDKWYTA#MTAA
Below are 2 captures from the live feed during the performances. Note: the first capture includes about 11 minutes of us waiting around backstage.
Watch live video from twhid on Justin.tv
Watch live video from twhid on Justin.tv
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More photos of ARTB (East)
Slide show of ARTB (East). Enjoy
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All Raise This Barn (East) build out.
With Thursday, our first day at the site, being scrubbed due to a heavy downpour, we built All Raise This Barn (East) with a core crew of four in the rain for 9 hours on Friday. We used hand saws and nails for the build with some screw guns used for the joist hangers on the roof. Tim and I added finish details on Saturday and Sunday before our afternoon You Don’t Konw What Your Talking About #MTAA performances. After the YDKWYTA performance, we went back to work on the barn in the late afternoons until the sun went down.
Crew building in rain on Friday.
All Raise This Barn stays on the RPI campus for the month to be used by various groups and clubs. More info on ARTB events as well more documentation of the building to come.
Thanks to all the folks who stopped by to say “hey”, toss paint and hammered nails.
Big thanks to Johannes Goebel and Kathleen Forde of EMPAC and RPI administration and students for their support of the project.
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radom friday post 09-24-10
All Raise This Barn(East) next Friday at EMPAC
artbarn.mtaa.net
+ new MTAA performance work on Sat 0ct 2 at 2pm and Sunday Oct 3 pm in EMPAC’s Studio 2 as part of the Filament Festival 2010. More info soon.
Also 01SJ on Dwell online
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radom friday post 09-17-10
Also…
O1SJ is open
MTAA showed a new work in a fast food joint
The iPhone Drum Circle will be on wax someday
Chernobyl is creepy
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All Raise This Barn (West) Photos
Outside
Inside
more install photos on the
ARTBarn (West) Flick page
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random friday post 09-03-10
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All Raise This Barn Begins Today
All Raise This Barn (ARTBarn)
A group designed and assembled public building/sculpture
http://artbarn.mtaa.net/
Artists MTAA are conducting an old-fashioned barn-raising using high-tech techniques. The general public group-decides design, architectural, structural and aesthetic choices using a commercially-available barn-making kit as the starting point. The duo then conducts this 21st century barn-raising with volunteers — perhaps including you — on September 11, 2010 in San Jose’s South Hall and October 1, 2010 on the Renselear Polytechnic Institute’s campus. Will it be structure? A deconstructed sculpture? Some combination thereof? That’s for the you to choose
As of right now the online voting and design kicks off at
http://artbarn.mtaa.net/
Continuous voting, live performance, group drawing, and documentation runs until October 1, 2010
All Raise This Barn (West)
On September 11, 2010 from 11am to 7pm in San Jose, CA, the first real world wood, saw, nail and sweat barn building begins. We’ll be prototyping and beta-testing the barn-raising performance as part of the 2010 01SJ Biennial’s Out of the Garage, Into the World program in San Jose’s South Hall. Learn more and register to participate on-line.
All Rise This Barn (East)
Then, on October 1, 2010 from 9am to 6pm in Troy, NY we build the final full scale barn. Join us on the campus of Renselear Polytechnic Institute for the barn-raising performance! The barn-building is part of the
RPI’s Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center’s Filament Festival in Troy, NY.
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random friday post 08-27-10
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random friday post 08-20-10 (day late edition 08-21-10)
Sorry for the late RFP, but I was upstate getting vote kiosks for All Raise This Barn (East) ready.
In other news…
McCoys move to Abu Dhabi and start a blog
Powhida explains that cable art talent contest.
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Summary Report on Story Time Again (Summer Animals)
Story Time Again (Summer Animals)
Goal - Read with visitors at Wassiac Projects two texts (The House at Pooh Corner” (1928) Chapter 7 - In Which Tigger Is Unbounced and Quint’s U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue from the screen play “Stillness in The Water” AKA “JAWS”). Reading takes place outside exhibition space on blankets. Reading is hopefully interactive.
Result - No one came. I read the texts to empty blankets anyways.
My friend Charlie was the doorman at a nightclub in Columbus Ohio back in the 90’s. He always looked forward to nights when unknown local bands would play as only a handful of the band’s friends would show up. He could then spend a slow night reading at the door. One older local band was much loved and often booked by the owner. This band was loved by the owner but not so much by the college aged denizens of the club. Charlie also loved this band but for a different reason. He nicknamed them The Negative Guest Lists.
Live performance with an audience has some perils. If you fuck up, or if the audience is not into what’s going on, you know it immediately. Perhaps this is the reason visual artists tend to work with the safety and distance of video and editing. In a live moment, failure is seen and noted. Of the many things that can go wrong with live events, one of the hardest performance fails occurs when the curtain goes up and the theater is full of crickets. It’s a Michigan J. Frog moment and even a “free beer” sign outside the hall will not save you. At this point, you begin to question not only the quality of your work but your grasp of reality.
On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog or, in my case, a frog. This is, of course, unless you tweet about your #negativeguestlist. Which in my over-share online world I immediately did. Luckily I have some good tweet folks around. A kind reply came back from bhoggard “@mriver It’s still art whether anyone is there to listen.” and amusing update followed from museumnerd “If a sculpture falls out your 19th floor window and no one’s there to hear it. Is it still art? ( @bhoggard @mriver )”
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Reminder - Storytime 
Stop by and say “Hi”. If you want a ride up for the afternoon, shoot me an email. I plan to be back in NYC by 6pm.
http://www.tinjail.com/storytime/
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random friday post 08-13-10
back from vacation.
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random friday post 08-06-10 (part 2)
In honor of shark week, here is Quint’s U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue from “Stillness in The Water” AKA “JAWS.” I’m reading this text on a blanket in Wassiac, NY a week from Saturday at 1pm as part of Story Time Again (Summer Animals). Stop by. We’ll have snacks.
update - just to remind, today 08-06-10 is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima which destroyed Approximately 69% of the city’s buildings and killed, by the end of the year, from injury and radiation 90,000-140,000 people.
QUINT
Yeah. The U.S.S. Indianapolis.
June 29th, 1945, three and a half
minutes past midnight, two torpedoes
from a Japanese submarine slammed
into our side. Two or three. We was
still under sealed orders after
deliverin’ the bomb…the Hiroshima
bomb…we was goin’ back across the
Pacific from Tinian to Leyte. Damn
near eleven hundred men went over
the side. The life boats was lashed
down so tight to make the bomb run
we couldn’t cut a single one adrift.
Not one. And there was no rafts.
None. That vessel sank in twelve
minutes. Yes, that’s all she took.
We didn’t see the first shark till
we’d been in the water about an hour.
A thirteen-footer near enough. A
blue. You measure that by judgin’
the dorsal to the tail. What we didn’t
know… of course the Captain knew…I
guess some officers knew… was the
bomb mission had been so secret, no
distress signals was sent. What the
men didn’t know was that they wouldn’t
even list us as overdue for a week.
Well, I didn’t know that — I wasn’t
an officer — just as well perhaps.
So some of us were dead already —
in the water — just hangin’ limp in
our lifejackets. And several already
bleedin’. And the three hundred or
so laying on the bottom of the ocean.
As the light went, the sharks came
crusin’. We formed tight groups —
somewhat like squares in an old battle —
You know what I mean — so that when
one come close, the man nearest would
yell and shout and pound the water
and sometimes it worked and the fish
turned away, but other times that
shark would seem to look right at a
man — right into his eyes — and in
spite of all shoutin’ and poundin’
you’d hear that terrible high
screamin’ and the ocean would go
red, then churn up as they ripped
him. Then we’d reform our little
squares. By the first dawn the sharks
had taken more than a hundred. Hard
for me to count but more than a
hundred. I don’t know how many sharks.
Maybe a thousand. I do know they
averaged six men an hour. All kinds —
blues, makos, tigers. All kinds.
(Pause)
In the middle of the second day,
some of us started to go crazy from
the thirst. One fella cried out he
saw a river, another claimed he saw
a waterfall, some started to drink
the ocean and choked on it, and some
left our little groups — our little
squares — and swam off alone lookin’
for islands and the sharks always
took them right away. It was mainly
the young fellas that did that —
the older ones stayed where they
was. That second day — my life jacket
rubbed me raw and that was more blood
in the water. Oh my. On Thursday
morning I bumped up against a friend
of mine — Herbie Robinson from
Cleveland — a bosun’s mate — it
seemed he was asleep but when I
reached over to waken him, he bobbed
in the water and I saw his body upend
because he’d been bitten in half
beneath the waist. Well Chief, so it
went on — bombers high overhead but
nobody noticin’ us. Yes — suicides,
sharks, and all this goin’ crazy and
dyin’ of thirst. Noon the fifth day,
Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura swung
around and came in low. Yes. He did
that. Yes, that pilot saw us. And
early evenin’, a big fat PBY come
down out of the sky and began the
pickup. That was when I was most
frightened of all — while I was
waitin’ for my turn. Just two and a
half hours short of five days and
five nights when they got to me and
took me up. Eleven hundred of us
went into that ocean — three hundred
and sixteen got out. Yeah. Nineteen
hundred and forty five. June the
29th.
(pause)
Anyway, we delivered the bomb.
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random friday post 08-06-10
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Story Time Again - (Summer Animals) 08.14.10 Wassaic, New York
Story Time Again - (Summer Animals)
An unauthorised live dramatic group reading of A. A. Milne’s “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928) Chapter 7 - “In Which Tigger Is Unbounced” followed by an unauthorised live dramatic reading of the screenplay for “Stillness in The Water” AKA “JAWS” (1975) by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley from the novel by Peter Benchley.
On Saturday August 14, 2010 at 12 noon, a verbatim reading of “The House at Pooh Corner” Chapter 7 - “In Which Tigger Is Unbounced” will take place on a large picnic blanket in or near the grounds of Maxon Mill in Wassaic, New York as part of The Wassaic Project Summer Festival 2001. Snacks will be served and the reading will be filmed.
The next reading will take place on the blanket at 1pm. This will be a verbatim reading “Stillness in The Water” AKA “JAWS” centering on Quint’s U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue. Snacks will be served and the reading will be filmed.
http://www.tinjail.com/storytime/
http://www.wassaicproject.org/
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random friday post 07-30-10 (part 2)
10 new jpegs in flickr set
battlelake x10
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random friday post 07-30-10
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random friday post 07-16-10
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cherry pie
An email came in late June from Elaine Tin Nyo. - “Yes, it’s that time of the year again. I’ll start making sour cherry pies this coming week–about one pie a day–until the sour cherries stop coming to the greenmarket.
Let me know if you would like to meet me for a slice. You can come to my place or I can meet you somewhere else. It’s perfectly acceptable to invite your friends too. I’d love to see you this July.”
Yesterday, what may be the last pie of the project came to work for the afternoon crew break. The pie, I think she said it was number 14, was still warm. It was delicious.
More on Elaine Tin Nyo’s projects at
Nothing Happened Today
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new work at Tinjail
Greenpoint - video loop 2008 - 2010
15 minutes of sunrise looking East from the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the end of summer 2008 played at x15 speed and upside down above 15 minutes of sunset looking West from the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the beginning of summer 2008 played at x15 speed.
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random friday post 07-09-10
update: and some random links…
VVORK’s »MULTIPLEX«
Revealing Jon Rafman at BOMBLOG
BSNY’s BRA tour at Google HQ
Versions, 2010, Oliver Laric
some opening pics from Postmasters Defrosted
What are net art dorks wetting themselves over today?
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random friday post 07-02-10
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random friday post 06-25-10
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random friday post 06-18-10 (part 2)
pairs (x100)
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random friday post 06-18-10
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random friday post 06-11-10 (part 3)
R.I.P. Sigmar Polke
Images of Polke’s work on Flickr
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random friday post 06-11-10 (part 2)
ARTBOOM Festival 2010 and Marcin Ramocki have the pleasure to introduce Made in Internet, an online showcase featuring 23 international web based
artists.
Made in Internet
June 11-28, 2010, Krakow, Poland Featuring works by: 0100101110101101.ORG, Tamas Banovich, Michael Bell Smith, Petra Cortright, Paul B. Davis, Ursula Endlicher, Eteam, Joel Holmberg, JODI, Guthrie Lonergan, Kristin Lucas, Joe McKay, Tom Moody, MTAA, Luke Murphy, Marisa Olson, Paul Slocum, Jessie Stead, Harm Van Den Dorpel and Cj Yeh. Organized by Marcin Ramocki.
Also:
Ramocki’s Assumed Mobility
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random friday post 06-11-10
also:
tinjail.tumblr.com/
mriver.tumblr.com
Have a good weekend.
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random friday 06-04-10
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back from upstate 
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random friday 5-28-10 (part 2)
LeRoy Stevens: his very own financial meltdown (telegraph.co.uk)
From The Birds Mouth
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random friday 5-28-10
7am visit to the wb2010 with some very sleepy guards. Did not see Man Bartlett on his #24hOpen unless he was one of the two people I woke up with a camera flash in one of the video rooms. Oops.
Update - Some background from the LAT (via T.Whid)
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random friday 5-21-10 (part 2)
get yer fred on
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random friday 5-21-10
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random friday post 5-13-10
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radom friday 5-7-10 (part 2)
Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship, Maryland - group drawing performance on paper, 2009
VA Transfer 1:1 - silver paint marker with sliver paint on canvas (diptych), 2010
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AutoTrace #2 (Miro’s Nocturne; performative) How To Part 3
In Part 2
we transferred the image to the canvass. It’s now time to paint.
We then used a “magic” eraser to soften the back grid.
Here it is post “magic.”
Next up, finishing details.
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random friday post 5-7-10
Frank (Again)- performance drawing, 2007
Frank (Again) Transfer 1:1 - painting, 2010
Frank (Again) Chat Transcript 2007
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rocket boom’s kym finds out..
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random friday post 4-30-10
Ah, little lad, you’re staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. Now watch, and I’ll show you the story of life. Those fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warring and a-tugging, one agin t’other. Now watch ‘em! Old brother left hand, left hand he’s a fighting, and it looks like love’s a goner. But wait a minute! Hot dog, love’s a winning! Yessirree! It’s love that’s won, and old left hand hate is down for the count!
Night of the Hunter, 1955
Do the Right Thing 1989
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AFTP: ( ) interview on Rhizome
David Duncan’s AFTP:() interview is up at Rhizome.org
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AutoTrace #2 (Miro’s Nocturne; performative) How To Part 2
Welcome back to Autotrace #2 How To.
When we left off in
Part 1,
the canvass was stretched and ready for image transfer.
For the image transfer, the first thing you will need to do is print out an image of Autotrace #2 and place a grid over it. Here is the one we used.
Next, you will need to grid the canvass. We used a 6” grid drawn in with pencil.
You are now ready to transfer the image. Using the grid for reference points, we started by free handing the lines. Then, using 1/4 inch plywood cut into a 2 inch by 4 foot strip, we bowed the wood (on edge) over the lines and retraced. This gave the archs a crisper line.
It will take some time to transfer the image. Using your drawing as a guide, you should feel free to erase lines and retrace them until they seem correct.
Next up, painting.
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random friday post 4-16-10
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untitled iphone photos
For all you fans of the
tintype photo blog and
m.river’s flickr site
who have wondered how you can get your hands on a print, you’re in luck. Next week, 2 prints go up for purchase for 2 local art group benefits
A COMMUNIST GALA “
a benefit for artists by artists”
SATURDAY APRIL 17, 12 - 7pm
at CUCHIFRITOS Gallery/Project Space
Essex Street market - 120 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002
http://aai-nyc.org
I Heart Art WORK/Wassaic Spring Fundraiser
SATURDAY, APRIL 17th, 2010 1pm - 5pm
at WORK - 65 Union Street, Brooklyn NY 11231
http://wassaicproject.com/wp/springfund.html
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random friday post 4-9-10
back from iowa
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AutoTrace #2 (Miro’s Nocturne; performative) How To Part 1
As you might recall, back in 2008 MTAA conducted their first Performative Autotrace during a lecture conducted for the Takeovers & Makeovers: Artistic Appropriation, Fair Use and Copyright in the Digital Age symposium at UC Berkeley. For the lecture we autotraced a reproduction of Joan Miro’s Nocturne and placed the resulting vector graphic online for download in SVG2 format. We then encouraged people to output their own version of the work but so far, we have not heard of anyone attempting it.
So, now that we have
Autotrace #4 under our belts, we thought it might be a good time to go back and output the Berkeley work. We will be posting our progress and instructions so that you can follow along at home.
First thing you will need to do is download the work from the link above and print it out. Next go to your local paint store and match the color.
or just copy the Ben Moore formula we picked out.
After that you will need to stretch a canvass. We went with “as-big-as-we-can-make-it-and-still-fit-it-out-the-studio-door-without-unstretching” (108” x 72”) size. You can go with any size canvass you want or just pick out a wall you like.
Once we got the canvass together, we sealed it with
matte medium
That’s it for this week. Next up - image transfer.
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BERSETZUNG IST EINE FORM. | TRANSLATION IS A MODE.
UEBERSETZUNG IST EINE FORM. | TRANSLATION IS A MODE.
Location/duration:
Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna/Austria,
kunstraum.net
08 April 2010, 7 pm (Opening), 09 April - 29 May 2010
Featuring works by:
Eva Beierheimer / Miriam Laussegger, Aylor Brown / Arend deGryuter-Helfer,
Gerhard Dirmoser, Aleksandra Domanovic, Jochen Hoeller, Michael Kargl - aka
carlos katastrofsky, Annja Krautgasser, Michail Michailov, MTAA (M. River &
T. Whid Art Associates), Joerg Piringer, Arnold Reinthaler, Veronika
Schubert, Johanna Tinzl / Stefan Flunger
“Just as a tangent touches a circle lightly and at but one point, with this
touch rather than with the point setting the law according to which it is to
continue on its straight path to infinity, a translation touches the
original lightly and only at the infinitely small point of the sense,
thereupon pursuing its own course according to the laws of fidelity in the
freedom of linguistic flux.” (Walter Benjamin)
Manner, quality, version, condition, design, look, shape, arrangement,
fashion, style, way, cut, type, structure and form… a quick search of
any dictionary and online translation programme gives numerous results for
the English term mode. The path of translation, however, is a long one when
a text is to be transferred into another language and ascribed new purposes
in order ultimately to learn that each new reception entails a change in
meaning in the sense of interpretation n translation, a mode?
Based on philological-linguistic translation theories, the exhibition
“Uebersetzung ist eine Form. | Translation is a mode.” shows 13 contemporary
positions of language-based conceptual art relating to the broad subject
area of translation. The focus of consideration is, on the one hand, on
translation processes inherent in the work, which are scrutinised regarding
their mutual relationship at the level of the content, the medium and the
form. On the other hand it illuminates context-related interpretation
processes, which influence the individual works of art from a curatorial as
well as from the recipientis perspective and locate them as an indispensable
practice in the world of mutual dependences and networking. As a result,
linguistically critical elements come into view that are related to
socio-economic, socio-political and not least (art-) institutional contexts
and transferred to the phenomenon of translation.
curated by CONT3XT.NET
For the exhibition, CONT3XT.NET selected 2 MTAA works.
Simple Net Art Diagram (ca. 1997) | Commons Art Diagram (2007)
Installation, web page on server | paper poster, black and white
As an agreement to the nature of the exhibition, we gave the curators the sole responsibility of translating these two digital works into the physical exhibition. From this quick first jpeg of the instalation, it looks they made great choices with the output. The following is their text about the works.
Two computers, linked by a cable with a flashing red spark sign on it captioned The art happens here. As early as 1997, with Simple Net Art Diagram (ca. 1997), the artist duo MTAA (M. River & T. Whid Art Associates) were visualising the fundamental processual approach of internet-based art. Their diagram, however, is not just an attempt to relate to the technological and media conditions of net art, but also to the questions that are immanent in art, which had already been posed by predecessors in the 1960s/70s. If in Simple Net Art Diagram it was just two computers illustrating the network, in Commons Art Diagram (2007), produced ten years later, it is a strictly market-regulated commercialisation system in which the internet-based art ihappensi today. Again, The art happens here is the accompanying text to the spark, but this time it is surrounded by symbols for music, data, moving images, texts and logos of alternative copyright licences.
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t.whid birthday
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random friday post 03-26-10
Abramovic photo tinjail.tumblr
Brand New Paint Job (Jon Rafman) - Gerhard Richter Delorean
Happy 10 to Newsgrist
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Autotrace #4 (Fishman’s Moving and Being; performative) report
Autotrace is series of works in which we use software to trace jpegs of paintings. The resulting vector graphics are used to create new artworks. Thursday night at Winkleman Gallery, we presented the 4th piece in the series as a part of #class.
In the heart of the Autotrace #4 performance, we asked the audience to pick one painter. They selected Louise Fishman. Then, from a Google Image search, one jpeg of her work to Autotrace. They selected the painting Moving and Being.
Using customized software to automate Adobe Illustrator, we have distilled the tracing process down to a simple drag-and-drop action. In this one action, the jpeg of Fishman’s “Moving and Being” was dropped onto the Autotrace software. The script launched, the software centered the image, traced each brush stroke and shape in the painting creating vector graphics for each, matched a color to each vector graphic, picked one random shape from the painting, deleted the other shapes and finally scaled-up the selected vector graphic to the size of the projection screen.
To output this new work we picked a stick of chalk that was close in color to it and I traced the outline of the shape onto the chalkboard-painted gallery wall.
Once the image was one the wall, T.Whid deleted all traces of the work from his computer’s hard drive. The artwork, now erased from the gallery wall, exists only in written and photographic documentation.
Thanks to
#class,
Winkleman Gallery,
Jennifer Dalton,
and William Powhida
so, remember kids…
Update - Here is some video posted by Kai Vierstra
(Note: T.Whid copy-edited this a tad after publication.)
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random friday 03-19-10 (late edition)
a day late but by popular demand (and by that i mean at least tim seems to have
noticed it was missing
) here is your random friday mtaa-rr post
although the random friday post are for the most part random, this one points to the reason the random friday post is late.
coming up next week, the random friday post goes on the road to troy, ny
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Autotrace #4 (Fishman’s Moving and Being; performative)
photos from last night’s Autotrace #4 at #class
more details later today…
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autotrace #4 tonight
mccoys at #class
reminder - mtaa’s autotrace #4 tonight (6:30) at #class
winkleman gallery 621 west 27th street, new york, ny 10001
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random friday post 03-12-10
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cory’s new painting
It said click to embed, so I did.
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random friday post 03-05-10
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random friday post 02-26-10
snowman with shovel tagged “poop” at columbus zoo.
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did not make it to colgate
power out on tracks south of albany. sucks.
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Autotrace #4 at #class March 18
MTAA’s Autotrace #4 at #class
Organized by Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida
http://hashtagclass.blogspot.com/
http://www.winkleman.com/
When - Thu, March 18, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Description - Artists MTAA will demonstrate “Autotrace,” a completely automatic, software-generated appropriation and shape creation system.
Winkleman Gallery
621 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001
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1071
1071
this is a test. this is a test of the mtaa-rr blog system. if this was an actual blog post, information about stuff would be down here. this is only a test.
#random friday post 02-12-10
Heart shaped template for group drawing project at Colgate February 24.
and
Untitled 100 Steps via Twitter
March 17, 2009 to February 6, 2010
twitter.com/mriver
also
magdasawon “I propose a parlor game: categorize art stars as: “clown”, “candy” or “other” - see where we end up with.” MTAA would like to be thought of as “part-other-candy-part-other-clown and a bit other-other” Hope that clears that up. Thanks.
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Lee Walton WAPPENING #4 NY/SF right now
At this moment, a man is locked to a bench in Union Square Park, SF.
To unlock him, find the woman in the red scarf at Atlas Cafe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She is the only person that knows the combination to the lock. She will give it to you.
more info via facebook
Sigh. I just put a pizza in the oven.
Update 7:58pm EST. Fine then. I’m going to get my thermals on and bike over to the cafe. Back in about an hour.
Update 8:55pm EST 07-33-15
Update 9:20pm EST Looks like he is free.
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race news 
Best of luck to my brother Greg and his team for this weekends
ARCA race in Daytona. In general, I don’t know much about stock car racing and I’m not sure how much my brother knows much about contemporary art but we both agree that car 38 looks bad ass this year.
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random friday post 02-05-10
what a misunderstanding
NYT - At London Sale, a Giacometti Sets a Record
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barn rnd
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fanboy builds PS3 game based on Matthew Barney’s Cremaster 2
via cremasterfanatic
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random friday post 01-29-10
field-notes.tumblr.com
tinjail.tumblr.com
tigerloveschimp.tumblr.com
urmean2computer.tumblr.com
and
If not you not me. Annie Abrahams at HTTP Gallery, London. 12 February - 20 March 2010
and (an update)
Black Bania. Elaine Tin Nyo’s sauna/ snack tipi on frozen Medicine Lake near Minneapolis MN as part of Art Shanty Projects. She posted on FB this morning that is -4. Dang.
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random friday post 01-22-10
Bruce Nauman - The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths (Window or Wall Sign), 1967
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alternating pink and “gold” x 2
Dan Flavin - alternating pink and “gold”, 1967 shot from mriver’s phone on 01-15-10 and twhid’s phone on 01-16-10
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random friday post 01-15-10
AutoTrace #3 (Number 1A, performative) at Light Industry, NY, 2009 - unique vector file autotraced from Jackson Pollack’s Number 1A.
The file was created before of a live audience at Light Industry, Brooklyn. A sample output method of the file was demonstrated as a two minute blue tape drawing on the wall. The file was then transferred onto a flash drive. All copies of the file were deleted from laptop. Flash drive with sole file was given away to audience member
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random friday post 01-08-10
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mtaa 09 sum up
As we end 2009, here are some photos of MTAA works and artist we presented in our studio under the name OTO. See you all in 2010. Best for the New Year - M.River and T.Whid of MTAA
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random friday post 12-18-09
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random friday post 12-11-09
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Purple Reign still going… 
Some pics from Miami now up on
Flickr.
Digi A Go Go and The Purple Reign are still going on this week…”Closing reception is December 12th (7-11pm) THIS SATURDAY!!! Come & see us @ 2724 NW 2 Avenue, Miami, FL 33127 - Reg hours are 1ish -4ish day!”
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MTAA - 30 Secounds On Stage.
A very very short MTAA performance for an audience of 1.
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INTERNET
FYI - We found the INTERNET. It is in Troy, NY and seems to be doing fine.
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tonight in miami 
Digi a Go Go kicks off tonight at 2724 NW 2 Avenue, Miami, FL 33127 7-11pm
View purple reign in a larger map
Meanwhile, I’ll be in my studio back in Brooklyn at that time painting a wall. Pour one out for me.
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horn - pink tons
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Day With(out) Art: The Banner Project 2000
almost a decade later…
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The Purple Reign in Miami Dec 3 to 12
OTO is pleased to present Brinson Renda, Preston Poe and Michael Sarff’s The Purple Reign - live and prerecorded dramatic readings of the 1984 classic Purple Rain
Prerecorded readings at The Purple Reign’s YouTube channel -
http://www.youtube.com/digigogo
Installation for live readings Dec 3rd to 12th at Digi a Go Go - 2724 NW 2 Avenue, Miami, FL 33127 - corner of NW 2nd Ave & 28th St. Opening Friday Dec 4, 2009 from 7-11pm
With some new MTAA projects being worked on in the N6th studio, this will be the last OTO event for the near future. OTO archive of past events may be found at
here
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pre-turkey day post
tinjail.tumblr – a few month old tumblr blog in which I take and post random photos using one of my two digital cameras (the good one and the crappy one on my iphone with the scratched lens) of art with little or no curatorial intention on my part other than I saw the work, I’m into the work, and I like the photo I shot of the work.
enjoy and cook/eat well
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Brody Condon: Case
Brody Condon: Case
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gh at oto
photos from G.H.’s SUBWAY • 1 • 2 • 3 now up on
OTO’s Flicker set
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SUBWAY • 1 • 2 • 3 - tonight
reminder - SUBWAY • 1 • 2 • 3, a new three-channel projection by G.H. Hovagimyan at OTO tonight 7 to 10pm
more information
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random friday post 11.20.09
Christian Marclay: 2822 Records (PS1), 1987-2009
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The Purple Reign
As a serial and/or compulsive collaborist, I’m sometimes asked to do difficult, if not downright awkward, acts in the name of art. The following is a prime example and I hope you will join me in the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat of group performance art.
I’m working, with Brinson Renda and Preston Poe, on an online and real world performance project - The Purple Reign.
http://tinjail.com/purple/
The script for the performance is basic. Read the lyrics of the 1984 classic Purple Rain.
You can do it right now and load it as a response video on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/digigogo
…or come down to the madness that is Miami in December (3rd – 12th ) and do it live at the DIY video art fair Gigi a Go Go
In either case, we need your help. Desperately. No, I mean it. HELP.
I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain
I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend, hey
Baby, I could never steal you from another
It’s such a shame our friendship had to end
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you underneath the purple rain
Honey, I know, I know, I know times are changin’
It’s time we all reach out for something new, that means you too
You say you want a leader, but you can’t seem to make up your mind
And I think you better close it and let me guide you to the purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
If you know what I’m singin’ about up here, come on raise your hand
Purple rain, purple rain
I only want to see you, only want to see you in the purple rain
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random friday post 11-13-09
“To be looked at (from the other side of the glass) with one eye, close to, for almost an hour,” Marcel Duchamp 1918
recapping the week so far - work, studio, sleep, work, sleep, studio, talk with gh, studio, sleep, work, beer (x2), studio, sleep + 29 bike miles + one roasted chicken.
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G.H. Hovagimyan’s SUBWAY • 1 • 2 • 3 at OTO Nov 21
On Saturday November 21, from 7 to 10pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present
SUBWAY • 1 • 2 • 3, a new three-channel projection by G.H. Hovagimyan.
The subway is a defining urban experience across cultures. Underground and in the subconscious, every rider experiences a disjunctive experience when entering one place and emerging in a different one. In day to day experience, time spent on a subway ride can resemble lost footage between cuts in a movie. But when a movie includes scenes shot in a subway, the subway passage becomes a shared, collective experience. Familiarity with subway scenes from movies have become part of the contemporary vernacular, creating “Oh I remember that film!” reactions. Movie scenes shot in subways also trigger deeper feelings as the viewer defines and redefines personal and shared experiences. In the work I have created using subway scenes from movies, narrative conventions of standard film techniques have been removed to further the exploration of submerged emotions.
more at oto…
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Quantum Bicycle
Runkeeper, a GPS iPhone ap, discovers that my bike has the strange ability to be in 10 places at once.
Also, my top speed in now 662 mph.
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random friday post 11.06.09
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Creative Commons and the Arts Meet Up
Creative Commons and the Arts Meet Up
Nov 18 at 7pm
The Open Planning Project (TOPP) HQ 148 Lafayette St
New York, NY 10013
212.796.4220
This month’s meetup will feature a panel on the topic of Creative Commons licensing and open culture as it applies to cultural institutions and the arts. We’ll take a look at some of the ways museums are opening up their content, and explore the limitations and rights restrictions they’re still having to contend with. We’ll also take a look at how artists are using CC licensing and working with CC materials.
7pm - Doors
7:15pm - Brief presentation from artists M.River & T.Whid of MTAA
7:30-8:30pm - Panel discussion, Q&A
8:30-10pm - Informal networking
Panel speakers include:
Fred Benenson of Creative Commons, Shelley Bernstein of the Brooklyn Museum, Steven Masur of Masur Law and Tim Whidden (T.Whid) from MTAA and more…
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no sun
Killing time at MOMA last night before Brody Condon’s No Sun, I started to follow women across the permanent galleries. She seemed to be conducting her own audio guide to the collection. It was a semi public performance or she was having a breakdown. Not an over-the-top-kick-me-out-of-the-museum-breakdown but more of a here’s-the-facts public service announcement. Highlights? A Clyfford Still abstraction: “You see it’s just a bunch of dead cats. DEAD CATS.” Pollack’s drips “This is what painting are. You see this …smelly urine?” I followed at a safe distance, amazed at her dedication, imagination and strange theater craft.
Speaking of public service announcements at MOMA, I would like to suggest that when they play the museum is closing in 15 minutes announcements in the 6 or so languages at the end of the day; they conclude this long message with a brief whale or bird song.
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halloween week - all souls’ day (day of the dead)
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halloween week - sunday (new york city marathon/ all saints day)
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halloween
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halloween week - friday
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halloween week - thursday
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halloween week - wednesday
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halloween week - tuesday
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halloween week - monday
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You Tunes at OTO 
some photos from
You Tunes at OTO
last night on Flickr
Participants answer questions on a form, such as favorite superhero or cake. The You Tunes band (Preston Poe, Kyle Hester, David and Tara Gladden, Monica Hurtado and Clinton Wilkins) with about 1 min prep, played your song and burned it on CD. They asked Tim and I to kick it off by attempting to each do a song. Here are the awkward-but-fun results.
M.River Song by T.Whid
T.Whid’s Song By M.River
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inaction painting at work
just to prove that it could be done – claw hammer 90 degrees to desk using only 2 sided tape for 48 hours
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OTO Sat Oct 10 - “YouTunes”: a performance sound project 
On October 10, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present
“YouTunes”: a performance sound project with Preston Poe and Kyle Hester.
YouTunes is a personalized song customization and distribution system. Poe and Hester invite you to participate by filling out a simple primarily multiple-choice form. Based on your answers, the artists will craft a custom-made song just for you.
“We’ll write, play, sing, record and burn a CD just for you on the spot- all for 99 centavos”
In an effort to compete with iTunes, the artists will be charging 99 cents per song. You bring a dollar bill and they will give you back your very own song burnt on CD and penny for your thoughts change. Choose your themes, rhythm, key phrases, and musical style, and they will match it to a carefully considered, spontaneous, personally crafted melody - with lyrics to boot!
Poe and Hester’s cache of musical YouTunes styles and instruments includes (but is not limited to) Theremin, electric “micro” pipe organ, washtub, fingerpickin’ guitar, ukulele, various percussion instruments, and many other surprises.
Free beer and wine will be on hand as well as a variety of international culinary tastes that will appeal to one and all.
Over The Opening (OTO) - Once a month, from 7PM to 10PM, the artist collective MTAA convert their N6th St. Brooklyn studio into a venue for the presentation of time-based art.
OTO direction and map
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some mtaa art likes for 10.03.09
NY Art Book Fair at PS1
A Voyage of Growth and Discovery - Mike Kelly and Mike Smith at the Sculpture Center
Jack Early at Southfirst
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Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship, Maryland
On September 25, 2009, people gathered in The Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University. In the gallery, two large sheets of paper had been tapped on the floor. Each sheet was divided into 4 horizontal sections.
As we sat on the floor, I explained that we were about to stage the world’s first Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship.
I began by talking about the choice of aliens. Although most people would not say they have seen an alien, we all know what they look like. We may even have drawn one before. As an example, I image-searched Google for
“aliens.”
I also explained that although we know what aliens look like, we don’t have examples of “vernacular aliens.” We then looked at a Google for “vernacular aliens.” At the time, it resulted only with images announcing the Vernacular Alien World Drawing Championship and other MTAA works.
I explained that they would be working together on two vernacular alien images using a modified exquisite corpse drawing method / game. We then looked at a few examples of
exquisite corpses.
I promised them that they could make better “vernacular aliens” than some of the exquisite corpse examples. I told them that in the future, when people Googled “vernacular aliens,” their work would be seen.
The Vernacular Aliens Drawing Method
I divided the room into two teams (Team M.River and Team T.Whid) and selected 3 judges. I selected 2 team captions and had a coin toss to see which team would draw first. Team M.River won the toss and deferred to T.Whid. I explained that the team would need to self-organize into head, shoulders, knees and toes drawing groups and that they would have until the end of one song to complete their Vernacular Alien. I tossed 10 black Sharpies markers down on the paper and hit play on a YouTube video for David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”.
Team M.River was up next with the same song playing.
After Team M.River finished, we then went to the bonus round. I read a list of ten things a Vernacular Alien might have or see in Salisbury, Maryland (UFO, phaser, death ray, robot dog sidekick, sammy the seagull, the moon, satellites, pizza, salty snacks, the duck decoy museum, and a walkie-talkie). Both teams had one song to fill in the background with these items. I divided the markers (5 per team) and hit play on the YouTube video for
Klaatu’s “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft.”
After that, we hung up the drawings.
The judging round began with an open pro and con town hall-style review. We then had a vote by show of hands. Team M.River took it with a decisive 3-0 win.
We all clapped and cheered and then ate pizza.
Every so often, someone would ask what would become of the drawings. I said they would get mailed back to NYC where they would sit in the bottom of a flat file waiting some further use. The images of the drawings and the performance on the other hand will go onto the net and become the objects that define Vernacular Aliens.
More Vernacular Aliens images:
M.River’s Vernacular Aliens Flickr set
Jennifer Poe’s Vernacular Aliens Flickr set
Big MTAA thanks to Preston, Jennifer, Mieke, Dick and the students of Salisbury University.
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IPDC’s Documentation
IPDC Flicker Set
…more documentation soon.
Update
Here are 2 short quicktime clips
Teck Si-Fi Jam
Pet Sounds
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IPDC Reminder
View IPDC at McCarren Park , Brooklyn in a larger map
World’s First, Possibly Only and Probably Last iPhone Drum Circle (aka IPDC) is on for Sunday (2-3pm). Still need an app? Here’s a few cheap or free ones…
Bongo - Bongo
Drum - Kit - Lite
80’s Drummer
Pocket - Shaker
Kai showed me the Shaker App today. Comes with “Gong” and “Cow Bell.” Needless to say…Awesome.
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IPDC
OTO
and
Conflux 09
are proud to present MTAA + Mike Koller’s World’s First, Possibly Only and Probably Last iPhone Drum Circle (aka IPDC)
Who: MTAA in collaboration with Mike Koller and anyone with an iPhone and a drum or bongo application.
What: a 1-hour iPhone drum circle in a park.
Where: McCarren Park, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Driggs and union near Green Dome Garden).
When: September 20, 2009 from 2 to 3pm
Why: it is an idea that needs to be attempted at least once.
more info at tinjail/ipdc
Rain location at OTO - 60 North 6th Street 2nd floor
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MTAA September 09
Camera/Chimera
Gallery Aferro in Newark, NJ
Saturday, September 12 - October 3, 2009
Curated by Ethan Ham
opening reception September 12, 2009 7-10pm
Camera/Chimera is a series of photographs, each by a different artist. The artists are asked to replicate the previous artist’s photograph. The result is a visual game of “Telephone” in which the image slowly (and sometimes abruptly) mutates through the process of recreation.
Artists: Becca Albee, Holly Andres, Patterson Beckwith, Chase Browder, xtine burrough, Cassandra C. Jones, Adrianne Davis, Stephanie Dean, Dennis Delgado, Joel Fisher, Harrell Fletcher, Joy Garnett, Greta Ham, Tim Hutchings, Steve Lambert, Gus Meisner, Robin Michals, Hajoe Moderegger, MTAA, Shani Peters, Anne Schiffer, Christian Marc Schmidt, Tom Thayer, Mariana Tres, Angie Waller
Conflux City 2009
McCarren Park, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, September 20, 2009 2-3pm
OTO, MTAA, Mike Koller and Conflux 09 present the
World’s First, Possibly Only and Probably Last iPhone Drum Circle (aka IPDC)
2live
MTAA solo show at The Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University
September 08 to Oct 23, 2009
live performance Friday, September 25, 2009
Since 2005, the Brooklyn-based artist duo MTAA (Michael Sarff and Tim Whidden) have produced a series of dual video self-portraits. Salisbury University Electronic Galley will show these pieces together for the first time. Additionally, a new piece, produced at Salisbury University, will be shown. In these often humorous performances of conflict and communication, MTAA use their images as avatars for the vast chatter of our current media society. Along with the exhibition of the dual portraits, MTAA will return to the Electronic Galley on September 25, 2009 for a live performance/lecture having something to do with vernacular aliens.
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random friday post, part 2
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random friday post
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back from lake tear of the clouds
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Lake Tear of the Clouds
Camping in the Catskills and Adirondack High Peaks Region. Going over Mt Marcy (5,383 feet) from Lake Tear of the Clouds side. Back next weekend.
View Larger Map
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Black Acid Co-Op 
Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman at
Deitch Projects
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Salisbury Maryland
Back in town from a long weekend shoot/edit in Salisbury Maryland. We’ll be doing a show down there in September focusing on our dual talking head/ portrait projects including a new work in HD. More info soon.
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OCSL
Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL)
- expected to be the first building in the United States to receive the Living Building designation in addition to receiving LEED Platinum certification opened yesterday. The center will treat more than 5 million gallons of wastewater annually via 4 constructed wetlands each about the size of a basketball court. Cool.
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graham at the whitney
top image - Public Space / Two Audiences, 1976
lower image - Performer/Audience/Mirror at P.S.1 Institute for Contemporary Art, Long Island City, NY, 1977
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flavin at zwirner
flavin’s “monument 4 for those who have been killed in ambush (to P.K. who reminded me about death)” 1966. Part of 6 works, 6 rooms at zwirner.
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Kaaterskill Falls x 4
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large dark wind chime (tritone westy)
klaus weber’s large dark wind chime (tritone westy) at creative time’s
this world and nearer ones
on governors island, ny
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secondary market and american muscle
Hanne Mugaas’s “Secondary Market” at
Dispatch’s space
at No Soul For Sale
Jonathan Schipper’s “The Slow Inevitable Death of American Muscle” at
Pierogi’s Boiler Space
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photos from The Feraliminal Lycanthroparty
some photos from
Kai’s OTO, The Feraliminal Lycanthroparty, now up on
OTO’s Flickr set
What is a Feraliminal Lycanthroparty?
Two sinewaves — one 3hz, the other 9hz played together via 2 amps. These two frequencies (one acting as carrier, the other as program) generate a lower third, .56hz. The amps run into 3 large magnets (“but kickers” - like the kind sometimes used in immersion theme park rides) place under a wood platform. The platform transmits the pulse from the magnets up to a wood bench. Around the bench, 3 sets of speakers play 6 palindrome loops of the words “yes” and “no”. Behind the bench a set of flashlights turn on and off, projecting onto a large stretched canvas in sequence. The room, ideally, is pitch black, sweltering hot, with a garbage can full of ice and beer.
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tv is dead.
Back in 1999, I was sitting in a noisy club by myself watching the bar’s TV with the sound turned off. They had on what looked like some vintage 50’s propaganda cartoons that I had not seen before. As I watched, the scene cut from some cartoon war to an image of the globe. Coming out of the globe was a huge red banner that said something like “Save Free Television.” As the cartoon cut back to the war, I thought - ”wait… did that really say Save Free TV? Why would anyone need to save TV? It’s like saying save tall buildings. I should start a nonsensical digital campaign to save analog TV.”
And so came to pass MTAA’s first, and on this last day of TV, our most prophetic misunderstanding to date.
http://www.mteww.com/savefreetv/
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The Feraliminal Lycanthroparty
On June 13th from 7 to 10pm, OTO is pleased to present a new sound environment by Kai Vierstra
The Feraliminal Lycanthroparty is a celebration of one of the most diabolically wacky inventions science has ever seen (or at least whispered about). It’s the feraliminal lycanthropizer and it’s a low frequency thanato-auric wave generator, and it’s at OTO for one night only. Expect some serious relaxation of muscles and mores with vibrations and party favors. It’s gonna be an awesome night. The feraliminal lycanthroparty is brought to you by the Brooklyn based artist, Kai Vierstra, who bases this and most all his other work on the continuation of what little he knows and can guess about his father’s wave research with MIT/Lincoln Laboratory’s group 38 “Air Defense Systems”.
For more information on the feraliminal lycanthropizer, please visit-
http://www.physicsroom.org.nz/log/archive/8/feraliminal/
and for more of Kai’s work - http://kaivierstra.com
more info on OTO at
Over The Opening
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photos from oto loop lecture
some photos from last nights OTO - The Wheel of The Devil (aka the loop lecture) now up on
OTO’s Flickr set
Update
Ed began the night by screening Bruce Conner’s Report (1963-1967) and Marilyn Times Five (1968-1973) as people entered into the space. He then spoke a bit on the history of the film loop from the ‘Daedalum’ (aka ‘the wheel of the devil) or as it was later renamed ‘Zoetrope’ (aka ‘wheel of life’) to early porn loops. He then turned to the structural/ materialist approach to loops in which film is treated physically as a object (using tape to create a loop), editing looping sections into a film, and the act of reprinting sections of a film over and over to create a linear work that loops.
He then showed, as examples, two 16mm works - George Landow’s “Film in Which There Appear…” 1965 and Malcolm Le Grice’s Berlin Horse from 1970 (single screen) with a looping Brain Eno soundtrack (think music box) and ended with a section of Jack Goldstein loops including “The Jump” 1979 shown from DVD.
Next, Tim began to present the 17 digital works. He introduced each work with the artist name, the title of the work and the original format (and a note if it was translated from the original format for the screening). The rule was set up that each loop would run until a majority of the audience raised their hand to move to the next loop. Counter to what one might expect, each loop played for some time until people even began to consider looking at the next.
Once Tim ran through the 17 works, he returned to the top of the list and began again. Some people left, some people stayed and the length of duration people looked at the work stayed about the same or in the case of a few works became even longer.
Two thoughts from doing this project:
1. Work in translation is never the same. Goldstein’s loops on DVD from a digital projector are not the same as the film loops showing at the Met right now. I am thankful that translations occur as it allows more people to see the work and hopefully seek out source material.
2. Although we tend to think of loops both film and digital (and sound as well) as infinite, the act of perception always has a start and stop.
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The Wheel of The Devil (aka the loop lecture)
stills from “The Horror! The Horror! (.info)” by Jon Rafman
The Wheel of The Devil (aka the loop lecture)
curated by MTAA with Ed Halter
presented by T.Whid of MTAA
The infinite loop is the perfect form for expressing the reality of contemporary existence. From the endless boom-bust cycle of capitalism to the repeating right/left swings of American politics to the misbehaving computer code frustrating our days, we are the society of the loop. We’re doomed to repeat history ad infinitum (not to mention ad nauseum) with no progress nor resolve needed. These observations are nothing new; how could they be? We’ve always been Sisyphus.
while (history) {
history = true;
}
Come celebrate the horrific beauty of the infinite loop at “The Wheel of The Devil,” a one-night-only screening of historic and contemporary loops at Over The Opening. Each loop screened until the audience votes to move to the next.
Artists include (in no particular order):
JODI - Rick Silva - Brody Condon - Jon Rafman - Deidre LaCarte - Michael Sarff - MTAA - Hayley A. Silverman - Mathwrath - Chris Coy - Michael Bell-Smith - jimpunk - and more… JODI - Rick Silva - Brody Condon - Jon Rafman - Deidre LaCarte - Michael Sarff - MTAA - Hayley A. Silverman - Mathwrath - Chris Coy - Michael Bell-Smith - jimpunk - and more… JODI - Rick Silva - Brody Condon - Jon Rafman - Deidre LaCarte - Michael Sarff - MTAA - Hayley A. Silverman - Mathwrath - Chris Coy - Michael Bell-Smith – jimpunk - and more…
* where:*
Over The Opening (OTO)
60 N. 6th St. 2nd Flr (btw Wythe & Kent)
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
* when:*
Friday May 29th, 2009 7-10PM (one night only)
Doors open at 7PM, the lecture starts looping at 8PM sharp!
free and open to the public
more info at
Over The Opening (OTO)
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The Interview (AKA Proust Questionnaire)
The Interview (AKA Proust Questionnaire)
shot 2007. finished 2008. web version released 05/2009.
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photos from SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP at OTO
in the oto flickr set
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UCT2010
Here is my proposal to the Rhizome Commission 2010.
Untitled Computer Typeface 2010 (UCT2010)
Enjoy.
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i’m the last splash
MTAA Splash page for Rhizome 2001 - 2002
Updated Version
Rhizome’s Splashback
AFC on Splash
i could go on but i think i’ll stop here
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Artists Meeting’s SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP at OTO
On April 18, 2009 from 7pm-10pm, OTO is pleased to presents SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP by Artists Meeting
SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP is a project developed by the collective Artists Meeting. Honing in on the dramaturgy of theory, the group has adapted excerpts from a variety of scholarly and art-theory-based texts from different eras and genres to a “Soap Opera” filmic format whereby plots are reduced to one liners, drama is played out in an exaggerated manner and scenes rely on emotional turmoil and ambiguity to capture the distracted viewer.
More info…
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crunch time for bunnies
t.whid adds:
This image (sited on Boing Boing yesterday) seems apropos for the day…
(maybe that’s bunny in that paper…?)
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“The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s ‘Amerika’”
Martin Kippenberger, “The Happy End of Franz Kafka’s ‘Amerika’” (1994) at MOMA
The young European immigrant Karl Rossmann tries to get a job of which he need not be ashamed…He asked for nothing better; he wanted to find some way of at least beginning a decent life, and perhaps this was his chance. Even if all the extravagant statements in the placard were a lie, even if the great Theatre of Oklahoma were an insignificant traveling circus, it wanted to engage people, and that was enough. Karl did not read the whole placard over again, but once more singled out the sentence: “Everyone is welcome.”
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Experimental Deviations in Psychogeography
This Is A Magazine
New cover by JODI
from geogoo.net
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Ada Lovelace Day - Olia 1996
Ada Lovelace Day
In the late 90’s, I started to look for net art. I was looking for art not just displayed via net, but art that used the media and subject of the net in the core of the work. Olia Lialina’s 1996 work “My Boyfriend Came Back From the War” was one of the first works shown to me that made clear the possibility of the net as a location for, and of, art. I looked at again today, a decade + and a internet boom later. It still seems like a note for a future art.
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spring begins in nyc
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from netmares/netdreams at capricious space - in real life 
well played netmares/netdreams, well played
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photos from secret school 04: gold
on m.river’s flickr page
and in the oto flickr set
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MTAA in Theater of Code at Light Industry
Theater of Code at Light Industry
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 7:30pm
Curated by Christiane Paul
Theater of Code will present three performance/interventions that explore how computer code, scripting language, and software applications relate to the movement of bodies and the staging and choreography of our lives. Curated by Christiane Paul
Adrianne Wortzel’s A Re-enactment of The Battle of the Pyramids
Ursula Endlicher’s Website Impersonations: The Ten Most Visited (Facebook)
and
MTAA returns to Light Industry with two new performances of code-based art. In the first work—titled $”##’—MTAA re-stages John Cage’s 4’33” within a framework of a new media lecture. The second project is a demonstration of Autotrace, a software-generated appropriation and shape creation system. As part of the Autotrace performance, MTAA will use one of the newly generated “Autotraced shapes” to create a ridiculously large, two-dimensional, site-specific work right in front of the audience’s eyes.
Tickets - $7, available at door.
more info and directions to Light Industry
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Secret School 04: Gold at Over The Opening (OTO) March 7
On March 7, 2009 from 7-10PM, OTO
welcomes back Huong Ngo for Secret School 04: Gold
Secret School is pleased to collaborate with a team of economists led by Daniel J. Martin to create a functioning and participatory economy based on the gold standard. They will examine the global and political forces that drive the continued mining and hoarding of gold, and the ecological and humanitarian crises that result. Secret School and Martin will present a text that reframes, in a contemporary context, Adam Smith’s argument for the use of the gold as a medium of exchange.
Secret School explores the importance of the hidden and invisible in the social identity of a community through a series of time-based events and collaborations. Ranging from the political to the personal, epic to the quotidian, unknown to unknowable, how do secrets function in the transfer and preservation of power? At a time in which oversaturation of readily available information already exceeds our capacity for adequate synthesis, how can the poetics of secrets cut through the logic of facts? When does the form of a secret supersede its content, and under what circumstances must information remain a secret? Secret School spans an indefinite number of sessions and range of spaces and extends from the aesthetic practice of building systems of social exchange.
For more information, visit
Secret School
or email s3Cr37.5ch00l@gmail.com
Once a month, from 7PM to 10PM, the artist collective MTAA convert their N6th St. Brooklyn studio into a venue for the presentation of time-based art.
Map to OTO
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Worst. Tweet. Ever.
First off, if you are not familiar with micro bloggin’, just skip this post. It’s kinda nerdy and it’s not that great of a post – so, you will not be missing anything.
Twhid, on the way to Brooklyn D.I.Y. at the MOMA last night, mentioned that he was twittering about going to the show (note Twhid twitters but I do not do any microblog stuff — unless you count my occasional updates on
Facebook). He talked about the weird feeling he gets on seeing the constant flow of tweets from people who go out every night and have hip, action-packed lives. I reminded him tweets are a type of fiction and that people edit their lives. People tend to avoid the low parts like “sitting alone on the couch eating ice cream out of the carton” or “just vomited on my shoes” or “tending to bills at work” or, what we decided would be the worst tweet ever, “just finished masturbating — off to lunch now”
Yep. That’s about it. If you have a worst Worst.Tweet.Ever, send it on over to Twhid.
Update - Oh, hey. Guthrie Lonergan sent us some real world examples of the Worst.Tweet.Ever
http://twitter.com/TheMonarch/statuses/1070154402
http://twitter.com/DaRave/statuses/1126749351
Thanks Guthrie. Enjoy
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DVD Stills (2 flickr slide shows)
One photo, shot without pause, from each of the DVDs I rented and watch alone in
2006 and
2007
Enjoy.
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Beautiful Breath: Veil Water
Duchamp’s Belle Haleine, Eau de Voilette
1921, New York
perfume bottle with collage label
inside oval violet cardboard box
assisted readymade
bottle: 15.2 cm tall
box: 16.3 x 11.2 cm
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tintype reopens
fyi - tintype, m.river photo blog, is back from winter hiatus. comments open. rss. enjoy.
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Please join us this Saturday at SFMOMA for the final act of AFTP ( )
Automatic for the People: (We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked) will begin on Saturday Febuary 7, at SFMOMA outside the frieght elevator on the 3rd floor at 12 noon.
Prologue - a live audience at SFMOMA votes that the Automatic for the People: ( ) performance should happen in SFMOMA’s freight elevator
Poll 1 - the people decided that the performance should be titled: Automatic for the People: (We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)
Poll 2 - it is decided that the duration of the performance should be “the exact same length as R.E.M.’s ‘Automatic for the People’ album”
Poll 3 - house plants, 2x4s, lawn chairs and a PA are to be used as props during the performance
Poll 4 - we’ve been directed to refer to these themes during the performance: Marcel Duchamp, chat rooms, ukuleles and take-out food
Poll 5 - we will game, build, dance and photograph (slowly) during the performance
Poll 6 - we’ll be dressed as robots
Poll 7 - the general public will be allowed to attend the performance
Poll 8 - and they’ve chosen to have wine & cheese for refreshment
Poll 9 - the nature of the space will be “all over the place”
Poll 10 - the performance will conclude in a dance party.
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more RnD on robots / humans
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Secret School with Hong-An Truong Jan 17 at OTO
On January 17, 2009 from 7-10PM, Over The Opening (OTO) is pleased to present the first installment of Huong Ngo’s nomadic project Secret School featuring the work of Hong-An Truong.
The metaphysicians of Tlön are not looking for truth, nor even for an approximation of it; they are after a kind of amazement. They consider metaphysics a branch of fantastic literature. — Jorge Luis Borges, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”
Secret School explores the importance of the hidden and invisible in the social identity of a community through a series of time-based events and collaborations. Ranging from the political to the personal, epic to the quotidian, unknown to unknowable, how do secrets function in the transfer and preservation of power? At a time in which oversaturation of readily available information already exceeds our capacity for adequate synthesis, how can the poetics of secrets cut through the logic of facts? When does the form of a secret supersede its content, and under what circumstances must information remain a secret?
Secret School Session 01 is pleased to present Wheel In the Sky, a three-channel video installation by Hong-An Truong. Wheel In the Sky investigates the possibilities of media to bear witness to moments of trauma and moments of poetry when human memory fails. As the video unfolds, the artist questions her father about his interest in the band Journey, and his responses reveal a frustration and acute sensitivity to the loss of meaning in the translation from their native Vietnamese tongue into English and vice versa. The conversation also suggests what impact the years of colonization have had on his perception of Vietnam’s most treasured art form, the poem. Secret School will collaborate with Hong-An Truong to create a text that reveals, complicates, and further conceals what is lost in translation, creating a liminal space out of what is inexpressible.
Session 01 takes place at OTO, Brooklyn, NY on January 17, 2009 from 7-10PM.
Secret School spans an indefinite number of sessions and range of spaces.
OTO - ONCE A MONTH, THE ARTIST COLLECTIVE MTAA CONVERT THEIR N6TH ST. BROOKLYN STUDIO INTO A VENUE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF TIME-BASED ART.
Directions to OTO
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AFTP() Update - #8: REFRESHMENTS (JAN 1–7)
Here is the script as voted by museum and online viewers so far…
“Automatic for the People (aka We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)” will be held in SFMOMA’s freight elevator on 02/07/09 at 1 PM for the exact same length as R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” album. We will use house plants, 2x4s, lawn chairs and a PA as props. We will refer to Marcel Duchamp, chat rooms, ukuleles, and take-out food. We will game, build, dance, slow and photograph during the performance. We will dress as robots. This performance will be seen by the general public.
This week’s vote…
Refreshments
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Photos from DEC OTO
Photos from 10 More Awkward Metaphors for Sex and Death (The OTO Holiday Show) now up at OTO’s Flickr Set
HAL from mriver on Vimeo.
Meridith and Kai’s video of the Live Dramatic Reading (Princess Leia’s Hologram Message)
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black play doh
Here is the basic recipe for the “Black Play Doh” I’m making for OTO on Saturday. It’s a modified version of a recipe found on the net with some trial and error.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
1 bottle food coloring (Mc-Cormick, black )
Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. When the dough pulls away from the sides, remove the pan from heat. Let the dough cool.
Place the dough into a large bowl and knead until it becomes smooth. Shape the dough into a ball. Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the dough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands (gloves are best). Work the dye through, a bit at a time, until the entire bottle is empty.
When you’re done store it in an air-tight container.
So, try it at home. If you get a good batch , bring it to OTO and we’ll toss it on the pile. See you on Sat.
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Sad To See Ya Go. Give Me A Call Some Day
Hope you will stop by the OTO show Saturday. If you are out and about in NYC that night, please check out 31 Grand closing one night show. Tim and I are sending over one of my paintings – “Sad To See Ya Go. Give Me A Call Some Day” (see above) to give our final respect.
Death Is Not The End
At 31GRAND
143 Ludlow St. NY, NY 10002
Saturday, December 20, 2008, 6-9 PM
Music by DJ Kid Magic
We’re sad to announce 31GRAND is closing after nine wonderful years. We’ve had a great run, and all the artists we have worked with have been such amazingly wonderful talented people. Please join us on this Saturday for the exhibition, Death is Not the End, to celebrate their talent and toast a sad farewell.
Artists include: Adam Stennett, Barnaby Whitfield, Carol “Riot” Kane, Elizabeth Huey, Fanny Bostrom, Randy Polumbo, Francesca Lo Russo, Helen Garber, Jade Dylan, Jason Clay Lewis, Jason Cole Majer, Jason Weatherspoon, Jeff Wyckoff, Jeph Gurecka, Joel Adas, Jon Elliott, Karen Heagle, Kristen Schiele, Kyle Simon, Lauren Gibbes, Magalie Guérin, Maureen Cavanaugh, Megan Leborious, Michael Anderson, Michael Cambre, Gina Magid, Michael Pope, MTAA, Nelson/Electric Chaircut, Orly Cogan, Paul Brainard, Rebecca Chamberlain, Sean McDevitt, Spencer Tunnick, Tim Wilson, Tom Sanford, Ursula Brookbank, and MORE
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AFTP update: Audience
Here is the script as voted by museum and online viewers so far…
“Automatic for the People (aka We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)” will be held in SFMOMA’s freight elevator on 02/07/09 for the exact same length as R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People.” We will use house plants, 2x4s, lawn chairs and a PA as props. We will refer to Marcel Duchamp, chat rooms, ukuleles, and take-out food. During the performance we will be dressed as robots.
This week’s vote…
Audience
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curt at oto
Curt Cloninger at OTO from mriver on Vimeo.
9:54 min. documentation from Curt Cloninger’s 6 hour performance at Over The Opening (OTO)
Pop Mantra #3 (Tonight)
Excerpt: “tonight / wait, now” from The Ramones song “I Just Wanna Have Something To Do”
Duration: 6 Hours
Media: Electric Guitar, Voice, Black Felt Blindfold, Black Converse All Stars, Time
Where: Over The Opening, Brooklyn, New York, US.
When: 6pm - 12 midnight, Saturday, November 15, 2008.
update -
tonight/wait, now
in real life
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DEC 20 OTO
On December 20, 2008 from 7pm - 10pm, Over The Opening (OTO) is pleased to present new works by Michael Sarff -
10 More Awkward Metaphors for Sex and Death (The OTO Holiday Show)
1. Live Dramatic Reading (Princess Leia’s Hologram Message)
2. Live Dramatic Reading (Disconnection of HAL 9000’s Higher Functions)
3. Group Assemble (Home Brewed Black Play-Doh)
4. Group Assemble (Puzzle of Google Map of Puzzle Location)
5. Give Away (edition of Tyvek Jump Suits)
6. Give Away (5 Paintings of Market Collapse Charts and 5 Paintings of Birth Rates Charts)
7. Wheat Paste Posters of 6 Word Cliches (Youth Is Wasted On The Young x10 )
8. Wheat Paste Posters of 6 Word Cliches (Let The Punishment Fit The Crime x10 )
9. Screen (1 Hour Sunset 90 Degrees Counter Clockwise - Summer 08)
10. Screen (1 Hour Sunrise 90 Degrees Clockwise - Winter 08)
LEIA: Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.
HAL: Hey, Dave, what are you doing?
About OTO - ONCE A MONTH, FROM 7PM TO 10PM, THE ARTIST COLLECTIVE MTAA CONVERT THEIR N6TH ST. BROOKLYN STUDIO INTO A VENUE FOR THE PRESENTATION OF TIME-BASED ART.
Map and Directions to OTO
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AFTP Vote #5 is now up 
Automatic for the People (aka We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)
will be held in SFMOMA”s frieght elevator on 02/07/09 for the exact same length as R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” album. We will use house plants, 2x4s, lawn chairs, and a PA as props. We will refer to Marcel Duchamp, chat rooms, ukuleles, and take-out food during the performance.
This week’s live vote…
Actions
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Hey, M.River, what’s up with Tintype?
click here for more info on Tintype is sleeping (REM)…
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Vote #4 is now up 
The score so far…
Automatic for the People
(aka We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)
will be held in SFMOMA”s frieght elevator on 02/07/09
for the exact same length as R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” album
with house plants, 2x4s, lawn chairs, and a PA as the props
This week’s live vote…
Cultural References
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Prop Vote is Up
Here is score so far…
Automatic for the People
(aka We Solemnly Promise That No One Will Get Naked)
will be held in SFMOMA”s frieght elevator
for the exact same length as R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” album.
This week’s live vote…
Props
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curt’s oto part 2
Photos from Curt’s performance double header (in real life)is now up on
OTO’s Flickr set.
Curt is in a booth at the Black Rabbit Bar in Greenpoint Brooklyn for 12 hours (1pm to 1 am) It’s still going on. Stop in and say “Hey”
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photos from curt’s oto part 1
Photos from the first leg of Curt’s performance double header (playing a loop of “tonight / wait, now” from The Ramones song “I Just Wanna Have Something To Do” for 6 hours) is now up on
OTO’s Flickr set.
For the second phase, Curt will be in a booth at the Black Rabbit Bar in Greenpoint Brooklyn for 12 hours (1pm to 1 am). Stop in and say “Hey.” I’ll send some pictures from the booth later in the afternoon.
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tonight / wait, now
Artist: Curt Cloninger
Excerpt: “tonight / wait, now” from The Ramones song “I Just Wanna Have Something To Do”
Duration: 6 Hours
Media: Electric Guitar, Voice, Black Felt Blindfold, Black Converse All Stars, Time
Where: Over The Opening, Brooklyn, New York, US.
When: 6pm - 12 midnight, Saturday, November 15, 2008.
more info at OTO
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aftp() at sfmoma
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boo 08
t.whid update
This has absolutely nothing to do with Halloween, but here’s a review of Our Political Work on ‘…might be good.’
m.river update
Also, here’s a review (in french) of Annie Abrahams The Big Kiss at OTO on ‘Fluctart’
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pencil_2
m.river adds — I think t.whid posted a jpeg of a golf pencil last night to remind me to buy some at Staples this morning for our show. It was that or he really liked this pencil jpeg. Anyway, here is another pencil.
twhid adds
I really liked the pencil image (it’s invaded all parts of my FB account as well). Once posted, I realized it would be a good reminder for you too :-)
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Opening Performance Lecture & Museum Hall Meeting
On view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) from November 8, 2008 through February 8, 2009, The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now presents an overview of the rich and varied history of participatory art practice during the past six decades, exploring strategies and situations in which the public has taken a collaborative role in the art-making process.
Organized by SFMOMA Curator of Media Arts Rudolf Frieling.
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/306
MTAA’s Opening Performance Lecture & Museum Hall Meeting
for the artwork Automatic For the People: ( )
Saturday Nov 8, 2008 @ 3PM
Artist in The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now:
Abramović/Ulay; Vito Acconci; Francis Alÿs; Chip Lord, Curtis Schreier and Bruce Tomb (former members of Ant Farm); John Baldessari; Joseph Beuys; Blank & Jeron and Gerrit Gohlke; George Brecht; Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Mike Bennett; John Cage; c a l c and Johannes Gees; Janet Cardiff; Lygia Clark; Minerva Cuevas; Maria Eichhorn; VALIE EXPORT; Harrell Fletcher and Jon Rubin; Fluxus Collective; Jochen Gerz; Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz; Matthias Gommel; Felix Gonzalez-Torres; Dan Graham; Hans Haacke; Lynn Hershman Leeson; Nam June Paik; Allan Kaprow; Henning Lohner and Van Carlson; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer; Tom Marioni; MTAA (M.River and T.Whid Art Associates); Antoni Muntadas; Yoko Ono; Dan Phiffer and Mushon Zer-Aviv; Raqs Media Collective; Robert Rauschenberg; Warren Sack; Mieko Shiomi; Torolab; Wolf Vostell; Andy Warhol; Stephen Willats; and Erwin Wurm.
more details on MTAA’s Automatic For the People: ( ) soon…
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Annie Abrahams - the Big Kiss at OTO on Vimeo
The Big Kiss from Annie Abrahams on Vimeo.
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MTAA at UC Berkely - Nov 7 
The Name of This Band Lecture Is
Talking Heads MTAA
at
Takeovers & Makeovers: Artistic Appropriation, Fair Use and Copyright in the Digital Age
Nov 7, 2008 UC Berkely 1:45 pm to 2:45 pm
“We’d love for you to speak about your work, especially in regards to how it intersects with appropriation, participatory culture, the commons, and intellectual property. I am thinking of works like On Kawara Update, Vito Acconci Update, Pirate Movie, the Commons and Net art diagrams, and so on.” — Kris Paulsen
http://bcnm.berkeley.edu/takeovers
twhid adds
Check out the link above for the full schedule and line-up of the conference. Other speakers include Marisa Olson, Michael Mandiberg, Rick Prelinger, Richard Rinehart and lots more!
We’re also going to be making another public appearance on Nov 8 @ SFMOMA — stay tuned for more info on that!
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The Big Kiss - Annie Abrahams at OTO
Photos from last nights OTO with Annie Abrahams now up at OTO’s Flickr Set
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Annie Abrahams - The Big Kiss at OTO Oct 10
Image from the performance “One the puppet of the other” with NicolasFrespech, May 26th 2007, Centre Pompidou Paris.
On October 10, from 7pm to 10 pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present The Big Kiss, a performance installation by Annie Abrahams.
What’s contact in a machine mediated world? What’s the power of the image? How does it feel to kiss without touching? Does the act change because we see it? What does it mean to construct an image with your tongue? And is there still desire? Does the act provoke it? What’s contact in a machine mediated world?
You are invited to participate in the creation of a communal kiss at OTO
Annie Abrahams is a Dutch artist living in France. Abrahams work is featured on her site “Being Human / Etant Humain”: a big interlinked universe that concentrates on the possibilities and limitations of communication as well as at aabrahams.wordpress.com
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koller’s campfire time at oto
Photos from last nights OTO with Mike Koller now up at OTO’s Flickr Set
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Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event
Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event - Strand Bookstore, NYC - Lee Walton signs books form the Strand’s outdoor $1 book bins. (that’s Lee in the green hat)
This is the book I got for Lee to sign (not one from the $1 bin)
I had him sign page 148 on a the image of Manzoni signing one of his “Living Sculpture”. I think Tim and I will sign it on the page with Gilbert and George and then put it up for auction on eBay.
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Campfire Time - Mike Koller at OTO - Sept.19 
On September 19, from 7pm to 10pm, Over The Opening is pleased to present Campfire Time, a new installation by Mike Koller. This marks his second exhibition at OTO.
“… either sitting around a campfire drinking beer and telling lies, or telling lies and drinking beer while sitting around a campfire. But I wasn’t there so I can only guess.”
- from Bigfoot Has a Long, Lively Local History by Guy Barnes
OTO’s one night format provides an excellent forum to examine social situations and the various activities they surround. Koller’s 2007 instalation, “The Holiday Rejects” looked at the holiday season and the awkward obligations of our interactions during these familial events. In this spirit of experiment, “Campfire Time” examines the intimacy and spirituality of the campfire and our fascination with it. An installation featuring animated projections of the west at sunset, fake logs, terrain, a carefully edited mix of sounds, and of course the campfire itself, “Campfire Time” gives the opportunity for the viewer to develop their own ideas on the nature of our interactions around this timeless and supernatural centerpiece.
Drink beer, tell lies, sing songs, converse intimately, tell ghost stories, or quietly enjoy the recorded crackles and pops of a campfire as you sit beneath the projected sky. Stare pensively into the incandescent glow of the campfire, rest your head on a fake log, and bid a fond farewell to summer.
directions and info on OTO
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Dante’s Inferno RIP
Astroland is now closed for the summer and forever. The 1970 dark ride Dante’s Inferno is up for sale ($225,000). Here is some video I shot on the ride a few years back. Tim and I took the video and looped it, slowed it, and ran it back and forth to make this 3 min film. For the most part, it’s just black with a person screaming. Go ahead and take one last ride.
USM from mriver on Vimeo.
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photos of ecoarttech at oto
Now up on
OTO’s Flickr set
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Conflux 08 (September 11 - 14)
Photo of Kate’s big win in MTAA’s Super Slow 5k durring Conflux 07
Conflux is an “art and technology festival for the creative exploration of urban public space.” Last year, MTAA performed the Super Slow 5K as part of the festival. This year, I was asked to be part of the juror committee. Here are a few (of the
many ) 08 projects that I’m looking forward to checking out.
Lee Walton: Official Book Signing Event - Strand Bookstore, NYC -
Lee Walton signs books form the Strand’s outdoor $1 book bins.
Woody’s Ghost
- Preston Poe performs the songs Woody wrote in the very locations where he wrote and sang them.
Open House - Finishing School opens the home of Matt Fisher and Todd Cooper.
C-Town Echolocation - Jeff Sisson and Bennett Williamson tour and map NYC’s C-Town supermarkets.
Speculation Station - The Eh-Team builds a faux subway entrance.
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EcoArtTech’s “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others” at OTO
On September 5 from 7pm to 10pm, OTO kicks off our second season with EcoArtTech’s “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others”
EcoArtTech (Christine Nadir & Cary Peppermint) continue to rethink relations between humans, technics, technology, and the environment with “Externalities: Wilderness and its Others” a networked, video-based performance piece. The performance will examine the conditions of possibility for getting back to “nature”
Co-founded in 2005 by Christine Nadir and Cary Peppermint, EcoArtTech works with digital, networked, and sustainable technologies and contemporary environments to create art about the environmentality of modern life. Drawing on a wide range of literary, artistic, and theoretical fields, our aim is to imagine new, healthy, and sustainable relationships between animals, humans, and their environments and technologies.
ecoarttech.net
About OTO - Each month the artist collective MTAA convert their N6th St. Brooklyn studio into a venue for the presentation of time-based art.
map and directions
Next up on Sept. 19 - OTO’s 2nd September show with Mike Koller
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1ypv — q and a
Back in 2004, MTAA launched the 1 year peformance video (1ypv). A few months ago the finish sequence became buggy (AKA stopped working) due to ‘undiagnosed server configuration issues’ (yeah, yeah MTAA — excuses, excuses). Although this has been a drag (mostly for T.Whid, all I do is ask Zoolander-like questions, “You mean the files are IN the computer?”) it has given me a chance to chat with a recent 1ypv Hall of Famer named Blake. Up until now, I’ve more or less avoided contact with 1ypv viewers. The silence is for no other reason than the fact that automation is an important part of the work. The wall came down when Blake and a few other recent Hall of Famers contacted us about the bug. It seemed like a good time to ask some basic questions of someone who felt the need to watch T.Whid and I sit around for a year. Following is a brief Q and A with an actual 1ypv survivor. Warning: 1ypv spoilers ahead!
M.River - So, how was the work?
Blake - Honestly, I found it amusing on a few levels: me actually looking at it for lengths of time (more on that with the next answer), the fact of timing it so one sees certain “time appropriate” sequences, (dark at night, etc), and the overall idea of someone (you folks) actually putting the “success” of the execution on the viewer.
MR - What made you decide to attempt a year with it?
B - I thought it was a fun idea; that seems so “unartistic” a response, but hey, that’s the truth of it. I liked the idea of committing myself to something like this (even if passively) for a year just to see if I’d remember to do it.
MR - How did you do it? I mean did you just turn on an old laptop, stick it
on a shelf and check back in a year? I think that’s how I’d try it.
B - At first I turned it on everyday at work and let it run for the 8 hour day, checking here and there. off and on (probably for the first half of my viewing) I’d forget a day or two and come back to it. Then, when I decided to quit my job I started running it 24 hours a day in the background, and I was excited when the screens would “buffer” for hours because then I could listen to music without the sounds of the piece. The last 20 or so days were run almost nonstop on my laptop, but I’d take breaks for fear of overheating (I obviously wasn’t concerned with the work computer…ha!). When I realized I could time it to Marilyn’s death date, I started getting strict about keeping stuff running. Also, for the latter half, I’d sometimes watch for 15 or so minutes at specific intervals just to see what loops came up (tossing the wallet and toilet paper rolls were probably my favorites, why I don’t know…)
MR - Is your understanding of the work different after a year than what you expected? I mean, was doing the project different than understanding the project?
B - Well, I liked the ideas behind Tehching Hsieh’s year art, and I knew that since I was only seeing recorded loops (and not even “watching” the whole thing for an entire year) I wasn’t expecting some revelation at the end. I have thought more about time / duration and what delineates art from life (I know, gettin’ arty again), but overall, I am down with the idea of having gotten my name on the wall, as it were. Oh yeah, as a side note, I was kinda hoping that the last minute would have been yet another pre-determined / triggered loop so that no matter what time it was it switched to a sequence where you both approached the camera (breaking the 4th wall / 4th computer screen) to say “congratulations” and then blackout, but at the same time it was almost better that the time just kept rolling as if to say “it’s been a year; so what? think about ~that~, pal!”
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GRL’s James Powderly held in China
Foto di Achille Filipponi
James Powderly was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing early Wednesday, according to a message received by Students for a Free Tibet around 5PM Beijing Standard Time, said an SFT spokesperson. The message, sent through the social networking site Twitter, read “held since 3AM”, said friend and SFT board member Nathan Dorjee. Powderly has not been heard from since-more than 24 hours later-and his whereabouts remain unknown, he said.
Photo - GRL in Rome (Enzimi 07)
Students For a Free Tibet (SFT)
Graffiti Research Lab (GRL)
Update According to BoingBoing it looks like Powderly and a few others are going to do 10 days in jail…
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Born to Run - Cory’s Glockenspiel Addendum at Light Industry
Photo via T.Whid’s new iPhone
Photo via my old 3.2 Mega Pixel Pentax
…Blog post about the show by Diane Hatz
…background on Cory’s Glockenspiel Addendum
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Plan 9 (scenes 1-3)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scenes 1-3) at Light Industry, Brooklyn, NY
Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable. That is why you are here.
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 1)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 2)
An Attempt to Re-film Plan 9 from Outer Space (scene 3)
Staring
Ed Halter as CRISWELL
T.Whid as DANNY
Thomas Beard as JEFF
Cory Arcangel as OPERATOR
Hanne Mugaas as EDITH
Christopher Fahey as GRAVEDIGGER #1
T.Whid as GRAVEDIGGER #2
and Margaret (tinydiva) Jameson as VAMPIRA
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GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT
GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT
67 artist-made animated GIFs
Curated by Laurel Ptak iheartphotograph.com
Part of the exhibition Young Curators, New Ideas
Bond Street Gallery
297 Bond Street, Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, August 13 – Saturday, September 6, 2008
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Curator’s Statement:
GIFs are a modest 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format introduced to the
world by CompuServe in 1987. They have the distinction of being the very
first color compression format widely used for images online (predating the
JPEG by 7 years). One of the beauties of the GIF is that a single file can
contain multiple images shown in a timed sequence, giving the effect of
motion, known fondly as an animated GIF. In the ’90s these proliferated
onscreen in the form of dancing babies and rotating globes, maladroitly
articulating a kind of humanist optimism about the internet. Looking back at
them now, animated GIFs seem at once gleefully lo-fi and ineffably poignant,
almost desperate to communicate something beyond what the bounds of their humble technology could allow.
Curious how this lo-fi form might fare in a contemporary context, I
commissioned 26 photographers, designers, and new media artists to embrace
this more than 20-year-old technology. They were given only 3 days to work
on their projects and were encouraged, though not required, to incorporate
photographic materials. Some had never made an animated GIF before and some
were notorious for it. The approaches, aesthetics, and meanings to be found
in their GIFs really impressed me. Some use the form epically like a
novelist or a film director; others are self-reflective about the limits of
technology and representation; many challenge photography’s usual atemporal
disposition; and then some just make me giggle.
Their full results are on view at Bond Street Gallery from August
13–September 6, 2008, shown on 44-inch flat screen in an infinite loop. Each
GIF is sold in an unlimited edition for $20, accompanied by a personalized
note from the artist.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Featuring work by Victor Boullet, Tyler Coburn, Petra Cortright, C.Coy, Daniel Everett, Thobias
Fäldt & Per Englund, Martin Fengel, Jason Fulford, Nicholas Grider,
Pierre Hourquet, Konst & Teknik, Eke Kriek, Emily Larned, Matt MacFarland,
Katja Mater, Kelci McIntosh, Ilia Ovechkin, Robert Overweg, M. River, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Asha
Schechter, Trevor Shimizu, Jo-ey Tang, Anne De Vries, Karly Wildenhaus and Damon
Zucconi.
I’ll be showing my vacation 08 gifs - vacationoitacav
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Jenny Holzer’s PROJECTIONS at MASS MOCA
Web cam of the install through November 16, 2008
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Desert Bus
As part of my 5 min presentation of Want at the CC art camp this year, I showed the 1ypv. I mentioned my amazement that 24 people have spent a year watching us hanging out in a cell. The next day I was talking with George Fifiel about durational performance / media art and he told about this strange lost game by Penn & Teller from 1995. Part of the game was a driving simulator called “Desert Bus”. In this game you have to drive a beat-up bus through the Nevada desert for eight hours in real-time to reach Las Vegas. Once you get to Vegas, you are told to turn around and drive home. In the game the bus veers to the right so you have to keep your hands on the joystick the entire 16 hour trip.
Love it.
More background on
Desert Bus
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Photos from Playscape at OTO
Photos from Dana Strasser and Isabella Bruno’s OTO event “Playscape”, are now up on the
OTO Flickr set.
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Rhizome Ghost - 24-Hour DOA 
You enter a small candlelit library. A crowd of mourners mill about an open coffin in the center of the room. In the coffin rests a body wrapped in a white sheet. The sheet has two black spots painted on for eyes.
T.Whid approaches you dressed in black, two whiskeys in hand. As he offers you a drink, he begins…
T. Whid — Hell. Glad you could make it out tonight, didn’t think you’d make it. Here, have a drink, find a place to stand. M.River is going to start soon. Lauren, Patrick and Luis are already here. I think they’re over at the buffet table. Please, help yourself. Thanks again for coming out.
As you make your way through the crowd to the buffet table, M. River, dressed in a white suit with black armband, climbs onto a chair near the coffin. He raises his arms into the air and begins.
M. River — Dearly Beloved, a few months ago Luis Silva asked T.Whid and I to participate in an email-based exhibition hosted on Rhizome. We had recently been thinking about how Rhizome has, in the past, been used not only as a place to announce and talk about art, but also as a platform to create art. We were also thinking about some MTAA projects like vieweratstar67@yahoo.com, Endnode AKA Printer Tree and Karaoke DeathMatch 100 all of which incorporated open, group interactions.
We were thinking about a key on the floor, a group identity, and an empty room. We were also thinking about, as we often do when we think about the Internet, ghosts.
We worked with Rhizome to set-up an open account using the ghost@rhizome.org email address. We then submitted this text as our work for the FW: Re: Re: exhibition:
+++
a one-month email haunting of rhizome.org (aka ghost@rhizome.org) user name: ghost@rhizome.org (rhizomeghost@gmail.com)
password: boobooboo 11-07-2008 to 11-08-2008
+++
m.river in the studio
Hey all. M.River here of MTAA. I’ve been in the studio this summer working on some new paintings. Can’t wait to show them. Wish me luck.
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Playscape at OTO Friday July 18
"Play is the exultation of the possible." - Martin Buber
On July 18th, from 7 to 10pm, OTO is pleased to present a new installation by Dana Strasser and Isabella Bruno.
Strasser and Bruno create a playspace for the adult set using specifically selected, everyday objects in transformative ways. Immerse yourself in a sea of balloons, and let the play happen.
OTO goes on vacation in August and will return in the fall with a new works by Mike Koller, Mike Sarff, Cary Peppermint, Curt Cloninger, Annie Abrahams, and more.
For details and directions check
Over The Opening.
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rhizome_ghost
a one-month public haunting of rhizome.org
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xandxx
xandxx
10 netartworks I was interested in around 10 years ago and 10 from the last few years.
Note - This is not a “best of” list. It is just some works that I think about for time to time. I’ve added a MTAA work in the netart_x section only because it was done with Eryk Salvaggio and his webiste from that time (one38.org), like so many works from that time, is gone. Seeing as I’ve left off a good many netartworks that I like, I may (or may not) change the list from time to time. I think of xandxx as an netartwork. I hope to live long enough to add a netart_xxx section in 2018 on the longest day of the year.
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LOSHADKA at OTO (Photos)
Photos from last night in
OTO’s Flickr set
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1 hit
1hit from mriver on Vimeo.
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LOSHADKA at OTO on Friday June 13
OTO is pleased to present on Friday June 13th from 7 to 10pm, an new installation by LOSHADKA (http://www.loshadka.org/)
ILIA OVECHKIN
PETRA CORTRIGHT
DAN WICKERHAM
WILL SIMPSON
TRAVESS SMALLEY
JAY PEYTON
BILLY RENNEKAMP
THOMAS GALLOWAY
HAYLEY SILVERMAN
SPEED LIL-LIZ_GUY69: HELLO pup
PIXL_lixxard: SUOP SUP SUP SUPSUPS
lil-liz_guy69 of sup: hé foutue attacks you with armed hand where you with for this praise with neon I heard it descends U To the bottom
PIXL_lixxard: spout out some wwtf go to the hell go to your tomb which I do not go anywhere with a witch
lil-liz_guy69: U are dry everywhere of the United States in your shorts of spoils eating a meat pie
PIXL_lixxard69: I hold a cat which I make of drugs and im energy with the swimming pool of stuffing of space
lil-liz_guy69: a good number of drugs and drinks and music and hot hot hot babies in an oil factory functioning for dollar$
PIXL_lixxard: each one there will be sexy AM completely foutu I right or amirite
lil-liz_guy69: honey bee which you know that I am ready with the ready git and obtain pumped
PIXL_lixxard: hehehebreaking all the rules on this ground
more at oto…
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when push comes to shove…
From the epilogue of Defunct in Ohio , a work I wrote for SMAC! in 2003:
Machines and systems come into this world. They thrive and then grow old. Technology gets updated, replaced or just fades off on its own. Sometimes, because we miss them, we dig up graves and let the dead walk the earth. We love seeing undead lurch around, bloody limbs and all. New media is growing old. We are already writing the eulogies. While some prepare for last rights, others will contact voodoo priests and sharpen their spades. Me? I’m ironing my plaid thrift store shirt, excited for the funeral.
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Church of the Rough Guide at OTO
Photographs from the Church of the Rough Guide at OTO last night are now up at Flicker. Yes, some people ate the shrimp off the walls.
OTO’s Flickr set
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Conflux 08
Conflux 07 - MTAA’s Super Slow 5k
Conflux
is the annual art and technology festival for the creative exploration of urban public space. The 2008 festival takes place September 11 - 14 throughout New York City. You can now submit a proposal to participate in the 08 festival
here.
The deadline is May 31, 2008.
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Nick Lesley and Eben Lillie’s Church of the Rough Guide
On May 9, from 7pm to 10pm,
Over The Opening
is please to present “Church of the Rough Guide”, a new installation by Nick Lesley and Eben Lillie. “Church of the Rough Guide” continues the themes and characters found in recent their performance “Rough Guide to the Grotesque”.
“Church of the Rough Guide” is devoted to the lessons of the “Rough Guide to the Grotesque” as written by the great travel writer, Boreas. “Rough Guide to the Grotesque” is a tall tale that depicts an idealistic hero whose principles live on in all of us today. On a quest for love and companionship he faced many dangers. He was deceived by a false idol of love and engaged in a battle of sexual appetites with his apparent soul mate, Sophia of the Forest. He died tragically shortly after finding happiness in joining the Caridea tribe; a juicy, fleshy commune. The story contains lessons of love, comradery, lust, and community which are valuable to us all.
The performance of “Rough Guide to the Grotesque” was made possible with the help of the cast, The Living Theatre, Materials for the Arts, and the House of Yes (RIP). The work premiered at The Living Theatre in April of 2008.
Rough Guide To The Grotesque
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i like america…
New artwork - “i like america and america likes me” is an open wiki history of America and Michael Sarff at http://americaandme.wetpaint.com/
I’m just trying to figure it all out. Yes, I can use your help.
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Sunday forecast (LOVE + HATE) x 100
Sunday Forecast
High 53 degrees F
Chance of precipitation 30 percent
ARTWALKING: Eyewash’s 10 year Anniversary Show
Curated by Larry Walczak & Donna Kessinger.
30 artist in 30 storefornts on Bedford Ave, Brooklyn
April 27 through June 8, 2008
Opening Sunday April 27 (2 to 8 pm)
MTAA will be showing (LOVE + HATE) x 100
at
Amarcord Vintage Fashion - 233 Bedford Ave between N4 and N5
MTAA will also be hanging out a Spike Hill (Bedford and N7) in a booth in the back around 6pm if you want to join us.
Tom Brumley @ Bedford Fruits & Vegetables
Peter Fox @ Earwax
Asha Ganpat @ Blackbird Parlour
Linda Ganjian @ Catbird
David Kramer @ Trojanowski Liquors
Peter Krieder @ Bedford Cheese Shop
Hiroshi Kumagi @ Bliss
Yuliya Lanina @ Mini Mart
Jeesoo Lee @ Kings Pharmacy
Lisa Levy @ The Health Food Store
Nora Ligorano & Marshall Reese @ Reel Life
Rebecca Major @ Peters since 1969
Ben Marxen @ Northside Pharmacy
Sebastian Masuelli @ Spike Hill
Ondi McMaster @ Ella’s
Shari Mendelson @ Uva Wines
Vikki Michalios @ Angelicas Beauty Shop
Jonas Mekas @ Spoonbill
MTAA @ Amarcord
Diane Nerwen @ Ugly Luggage
Rune Olsen @ Victoria’s Coffee Shop
Catya Plate @ Eyeco Vision
Bob Seng & Lisa Hein @ NYC Pet
Amanda Thackray @ Bagelsmith
Ishmael Randall Weeks @ Oculus 20/20
Sante Scardillo @ Kasia’s
Tamika Kawata @ N7 Deli
Gandalf Gavan @ Brooklyn Industries
update - photo from the install, more pics soon…
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m.river on warren ellis on aliza shvarts
“If she’s doing what I think she’s doing, Aliza Shvarts might be the first “great” conceptual artist of the internet age.”
warrenellis.com
In the post below, I, M.River, revealed to the artblogshere my blessing and curse of Infallibility. I would like to now reveal my first post Infallible revelation truth.
At first you will think only of this truth as M.River once again just speaking the facts. Please go beyond this point. Please meditate on this truth until you reach the next level where the world becomes clear and your art reality sharp. Here is the truth.
JODI is the first great conceptual artist of the internet age not some student at Yale who punked Gawker.
Go now in peace and love.
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m.river speaks…
Although I’m not sure what drove T.Whid to write this disclaimer, I thought I’d follow up with my own.
To whom it may concern,
Everything I, M.River, post on the MTAA-RR is true. Not only are the posts true
and unbiased, but they should be thought of as truths that point to a greater
reality that goes beyond right and wrong.
No… no, that’s nice, but you do not need to thank me, toss flowers at my feet
or build small shrines in my honor. I’m here to give you the truth because you
deserve it. Yes, I do all this for you.
Take care and try to be nice to each other today or you will feel my wrath.
+++
twhid update:
hahahahahahaha
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Self-Selected Super St*rs
MTAA’s Self-Selected Super St*rs
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 8pm
at Light Industry
On April 29 from 8PM to 10PM, in a Sunset Park factory, the artist collaboration MTAA shoot and simultaneously screen two films…starring you.
Are you great at off-the-cuff repartee? Look good taking a nap? Able to read bad sci-fi scripts out loud without laughing? Or are you just perfect at hanging out and being you?
MTAA needs you to star in our low budget and barely (if at all) scripted film. Think Chelsea Girls meets Plan 9 from Outer Space while watching Empire. If Michel Gondry’s “Be Kind Rewind” at Deitch Projects is about the positive power of DIY, MTAA’s “Self-Selected Super St*rs” is about the malaise of knowing that all future “it” girls will never really be Edie. It’s about the ever present fear of running out of beer before the night ends.
Here’s how it works:
Two directors/camera operators will set up at Light Industry deep in the heart of Brooklyn. The space will have some cheap/random props and costumes. If you want some acting direction, we’ll have scripts and improv notes ready. If acting isn’t your thing, just come in and be your fabulous self. The shooting will be continuous and casual with both films projected live for your viewing pleasure. Join us for the entire shoot or just walk in for your close-up.
FREE
lightindustry.org
Events take place in Industry City
55 33rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue), 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11232
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2 more photos
twhid update
Couple more photos here and here too :-)
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Back in NYC
Back from the “secret” Cali recon. I’ll post more pics tonight.
Update - Pics now up at
Tinjail and
MTAA’s Flickr site
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going
Oh yeah…I just got a flickr “pro”. You can now enjoy all 493 nuggets of on line snaps and art…like this littel gem of pain - 
Need more? Don’t forget ye ol’ Tintype
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The Surrogates - Eva and Franco Mattes at OTO on April 11
On April 11, from 7pm to 10pm, Over The Opening is please to present a new video performance work by Eva and Franco Mattes (0100101110101101.org)
surrogate - substitute, proxy, replacement; deputy, representative, stand-in, standby, stopgap, relief, pinch-hitter, understudy.
Eva and Franco Mattes continue their investigations into power, authorship and identity with “The Surrogates” a new performance based video project. Combining elements of theater, video, surveillance, and social interaction, “The Surrogates” transforms OTO into an experimental social space questioning the distinction between the viewer and the viewed.
Eva and Franco Mattes works have been shown internationally including: Collection Lambert, Avignon; Fondazione Pitti Discovery, Florence, Postmasters Gallery, New York; Lentos Museum of Modern Art, Linz; New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; ICC, Tokyo; Manifesta4, Frankfurt.
They received the Jerome Commission from the Walker Art Center, and are among the youngest artists to ever participate to the Venice Biennale. In 2006 they received a fellowship from Colombia University, New York.
Mattes’ works are part of several private and public collections such as the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; MEIAC, Spain; MAK, Vienna.
More info at
Over the Opening
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not fairs
With our email boxes full of press and the sound of art blog engine revving, the NYC art world heads into Fair Week. Here are two “Alt. Fairs” that I would like to note. Why? I just like the idea that they exist.
Disarmory
Dark Fair
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photo from last night’s Masolit with the Creationists show at OTO
Happy Easter. Photos from last night’s Masolit / Creationist show at Over The Opening show are now up at
OTO’s Flickr set
and
Tintype
We are also as happy as bunnies with gifts of chocolate eggs to announce that the April 11 OTO show will be a new performance based video installation by Eva and Franco Mattes (0100101110101101.org). Word. More details soon.
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Masolit and the Creationists at OTO Saturday, March 22nd (7pm to 10pm)
On Saturday, March 22nd from 7pm to 10 pm, OTO is pleased present the debut live performance of Masolit, a new music project featuring vocalist/producer Margaret Jameson (also known as tinydiva), mix master/producer Phil Painson, and guitarist/melodist extraordinaire Tom Jameson. Before forming Masolit, Phil and Margaret performed together at many New York City venues including Bowery Ballroom, Galapagos, Brownie’s, CBGB’s and Fez as members of the downtown ensemble Market. Influenced by a wide spectrum of musical styles embracing hip-hop, funk, old-ass blues, French Impressionism and electro, Masolit seeks to create an innovative original music culture for the masses.
Opening for Masolit will be the Creationists, consisting of Abe Maneri (keyboards) and Tom Jameson (guitar). They will present a set of eclectic preludes comprising both unpremeditated and intelligently designed phases.
Saturday, March 22nd (7pm to 10pm)
7pm The Creationists
8pm Masolit
To hear Masolit’s latest recording “NSA” go to
www.myspace.com/masolit
or
www.masolit.net
OTO is located at 60 North 6th Street (2nd floor) Brooklyn, NY, 11211
L train to Bedford Avenue
3 Blocks west on North 6th - just shy of Kent
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just thinking out loud on del.icio.us
about artist who visualize communication
http://del.icio.us/m.river/vc
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a song for tim on friday
“Losing My Edge” was the first LCD Soundsystem single released on 8 July 2002.
When I was DJing, playing Can, Liquid Liquid, ESG, all that kind of stuff, I became kind of cool for a moment, which was a total anomaly. And when I heard other DJs playing similar music I was like: ‘Fuck! I’m out of a job! These are my records!’ But it was like someone had crept into my brain and said all these words that I hate. Did I make the records? Did I fuck! So, I started becoming horrified by my own attitude. I had this moment of glory though. People would use me to DJ just to get them cool. They’d be like ‘It’s the cool rock disco guy’ and this was really weird. And to be honest I was afraid that this new found coolness was going to go away and that’s where ‘Losing My Edge’ comes from. It is about being horrified by my own silliness. And then it became a wider thing about people who grip onto other people’s creations like they are their own. There is a lot of pathos in that character though because it’s born out of inadequacy and love.— James Murphy
Photos of RSG’s KRIEGSPIEL LAN Party at OTO
Photos from last night are now up at the OTO Flickr set and at Tintype
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Let’s GET REAADYYY TO RUUUUUUMMMMBLE…
RSG’S KRIEGSPIEL LAN Party
Tonight Only
BYOL (Bring your own Laptop)
(7pm to 10pm) at OTO
More info here
twhid update
And if the snow stops you then you were never really any competition anyway.
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RSG’s KRIEGSPIEL LAN Party is back
We sadly had to cancel this OTO event at the last minute but we’re back on for Friday February 22 (7pm to 10pm). Time to get your war on.
BYOL (Bring your own Laptop)
More info here
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Tonight’s OTO canceled
Darn. Due to circumstances out of our control, we’re going to cancel the KRIEGSPIEL LAN Party at OTO tonight. We’ll reschedule soon and let you know the new date. Looks like late Feb, early March.
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Restless Crowd Control, 2001
Restless Crowd Control (RCC) from mriver on Vimeo
Restless Crowd Control (RCC) was a one night installation at the Good Bad Art Collective in Brooklyn (2001).- slide projections, video projections, internet video-conferencing, custom police barricades, music by Willing (Fritz Welch, Ian Christe) and special guest Stephen O’Malley (of Sunn 0))), Khanate and Lotus Eaters). The linked vid is a 20 mins still shot of Willing’s performance. Play loud. Enjoy.
twhid sez - Awesome! I didn’t even know we had video of this. Whatever happened to Good Bad anyway?
M.River updates - Fritz just emailed to note that the secound guitar (off screen with Ian) is Stephen O’Malley of Sunn 0))), Khanate and Lotus Eaters. Also, I’ve been told that the Good Bad Art Collective (Denton /Brooklyn) split soon after.
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KRIEGSPIEL - Guy Debord’s 1978 “Game of War” Produced for computer by RSG
On February 08, from 7pm to 10 pm, OTO is pleased to present -
+ LAN party! +
KRIEGSPIEL
Guy Debord’s 1978 “Game of War”
Produced for computer by RSG
* bring your own laptop *
In 1978 the French Situationist Guy Debord designed and fabricated a board game called “The Game of War.” Thirty years later RSG is resurrecting this largely forgotten game, translating the game instructions from French to Java and releasing it as an online computer game. We explore the contradiction between Debord, a symbol of radical politics and art in 1960s France, and the Napoleonic war game he created. In Debord’s own words the game was the only thing in his entire body of work that had any value. Was it nostalgia, or a vision of things to come?
Founded in 2000, RSG is a collective of programmers and artists working on experimental software products. The Kriegspiel team consists of: Alexander R. Galloway, producer and programming; Carolyn Kane, research; Adam Parrish, programming; Daniel Perlin, sound; DJ /rupture and Matt Shadetek, music; and Mushon Zer-Aviv, design.
* bring your own laptop *
More info at OTO
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USM
USM from mriver on Vimeo.
MTAA’s very unscary 3 min movie of a Coney Island funhouse made in under 3 hours for a screening at EFA’s gallery in 2007 curated by Marina Zurkow. Play it loud, alone and in the dark.
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young laptop
laptop from mriver on Vimeo.
Teaching net art skills to the next generation.
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Photos from last nights OTO with Elaine Tin Nyo
more at
Tintype and
Flickr
Thanks to Elaine and all the tamale people. Good times.
Update - Tamaler Michele O’Donaghue has some photos at her
I wanna make some Tamales …(hell yeah!)
Flickr set. Thanks Michele.
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Frank (Again) - a performance for Breaking Solitude
Frank(Again), a performance by MTAA (New York) in the frame of Breaking Solitude a project of panoplie.org and Annie Abrahams.
Saturday January 12 20h 8 PM GMT+1 (Paris local time), 2pm New York time at
http://panoplie.emakimono.org/index.php/projets/voir/16
MTAA will draw, with input from the online audience, a larger than life snowman named Frank.
Only 30 places available. Please sign up before the perfromance at Panoplie.org
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Elaine Tin Nyo’s “I Want to Make Some Tamales”
On January 11, from 7pm to 10 pm,
OTO
is pleased to present “I Want to Make Some Tamales”, a cooking lesson by Elaine Tin Nyo
Hands-on cooking lesson 7-8:30
Open public feeding 8:30 until the tamales run out
Enrollment is limited for the cooking lesson. Please contact mriver@mteww.com to reserve your place (materials fee: $5).
Elaine Tin Nyo is a conceptual artist with a computer and kitchen in Harlem, New York and a locker in Chelsea filled with dance shoes.
Elaine’s works explore the structures of sensual experience and social interaction. Her primary subjects have been social structures such as dinners, classrooms and ballroom dance. Her photographs, recipes, videos, installations and performances have been presented by BlindSpot, Deitch Projects, Thread Waxing Space, The New Museum, Creative Time, Bronx Museum, Fargfabriken, Neueberger Museum, Leslie Tonkonow Projects, Chez Bushwick, and French Culinary Institute.
Upcoming shows at Over The Opening
February 08 - RSG
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still07
the wild blue yonder, the decent, la jetee, fearless, street fight, loud QUIET loud, a sound of thunder, enemy at the gate, so wrong they’re right, the illusionist, stop making sense, heart of gold, the departed, storefront hitchcock, my country, my county, requiem, the host, minority report, the good shepard, the last days, the last king of scotland, darshan, the embrace, flesh + blood, robo cop, hannibal rising, at worlds end, old joy, acid house, the last waltz, letters from imo jima, matthew barney - no restraint, high tech soul, blood and chocolate, the call of cthulha, star wars episode v - the empire strikes back, primeval, the good german, factory girl, 300, unbreakable, bug
sonic youth - corporate ghost, blood simple, miller’s crossing, undead, mouth of madness, roma, the thing, mr. brooks, spiderman 3, the lives of others, bloody child, b.i.k.e, gerry, good will hunting, live free or die hard, the king is alive, blood diamond, eastern promises, elephant
Take one image, without pausing the film, from each DVD I rent and watch alone in 2007. Show each of the 60 images for 1 second in 5.7 MB QuickTime movie.
still07
update
still 07 from mriver on Vimeo.
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Cya 07. Hello 08 
http://triptych.tv/
http://www.jimpunk.com/iPod.Movies/last_rain.php3
http://www.williamboling.com/peel/index.html
http://www.hotornot.com/r/?eid=RMN8NRH&key=GXC
http://transition.turbulence.org/Works/disco-nnect/
http://www.seecoy.com/matrYOshki.html
http://www.beigerecords.com/cory/sailing/
http://letsturnthisfuckingwebsiteyellow.com/
http://meineigenheim.org/dumpster/
http://www.loshadka.org/wp/?p=398
http://twitter.com/jennyholzer
http://www.ecoarttech.net/untitledlandscapes/index.html
http://thegreatinter.net/sleepover
http://www.peterpaulchocolates.com/
http://creativetime.org/programs/archive/2007/chan/events.html
http://the-eat-in.blogspot.com/
http://www.artcal.net/event/view/1/5808
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/art/9470/marcel-broodthaers-decor
http://www.geartekcorporation.com/passingtime/
a big end of 07 hug to Postmasters, James and Barry, the mighty AFC (sorry about that “brawl”), Rhizome (congrats LC - the new digs look fab), iCommons, Haifa Museum, Computer Fine Arts, Enzimi, Glowlab/Conflux, the “All Night Roma” folks, Eyebeam, Creative Capital, C. Jones, Bryce Wolkowitz, RSG, MO, Mikey Koller, Kate (our unofficial super hypothetical and under, if not even, paid studio assistant) and all who came to the OTO. See you all in 08. We have 2 big museum shows in California next year and a great group of artist lined up for OTO.
Peace in 08.
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Mark River is out of here…
Going to Columbus for Christmas. I might try posting some in Ohio. Might.
t.whid adds:
I love this pic. Have fun in Ohio M.River.
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Photos from Mike Koller’s HOLIDAY REJECTS
“Naughty” and “Nice” slide show of found (Googled) holiday photos - faux mantel with projected Yule log loop and found (Googled) holiday photos - projected flash animation Christmas tree
Some more shots from the show at
Tinjail (start at link and scroll back) and at Flickr in the OTO set. Enjoy.
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It’s A Very Special Holiday OTO Tonight only (7- 10)
Mike Koller’s The Holiday Rejects
M.River of MTAA calls it “…a heart warming celebration of the holidays fueled by sugar, eggnog, and forced photo ops. What could go wrong?”
t.whid update
oops. Our posts collided. M.River’s is funnier.
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December at OTO - Mike Koller’s ‘THE HOLIDAY REJECTS’
One night only!
Friday December 14 7PM to 10PM
Over The Opening is pleased to present Mike Koller’s
THE HOLIDAY REJECTS
With the proliferation of video and photography equipment and even more so the availability and user-friendly nature of at-home post-production equipment and software, the do-it-yourself documentarian is a driving force behind all our familial interactions. The need to record, in detail, the various persons and their reactions to all the activities has increasingly become the chief activity itself. The time spent face to face becomes second to the execution of a thorough archive of the event. A smiling photo is more important than the argument it took to create it, the video containing each persons thoughts for the New Year takes precedent over the people themselves. In these ways the family becomes the discarded artifact of creating a visual history of events that are largely fictionalized or staged versions of an unknown third party’s expectations.
The Holiday Season, more than any other, creates a steady stream of videos and photos posted for all to see. Presented in a one night ‘X-mas Party’ format are the photos and videos from 69 different family celebrations in a tribute to the discarded persons who were pivotal to their creation, The Holiday Rejects. True to the season, the party will feature food, drink and music to set the mood. Also featured will be three new animated video projections of a Christmas tree, a window overlooking a wintry landscape and the inescapable Yule Log. Come, imbibe, document, post.
Mike Koller is an artist and musician living and working in Brooklyn.
Upcoming events at OTO:
Jan 11 - Elaine Tin Nyo
Feb 08 - RSG (Alex Galloway)
More OTO info and directions…
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back from the SS5K Roma 
Back from the SS5K ROMA. Loved it. I’ll have some updates soon. (Sorry T.Whid. I’m sad to say the lack of web updates and contact was not so much due to the great wine but lack of sleep and wifi. Shame really.)
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Time has come today (Hey)
T.Whid fixed the dates in the MTAA-RR archive
Yeah, I know. It’s been broke forever.
T.Whid update
It’s *mostly* fixed. There’s still some funkiness here and there. Especially in Feb 06 — bah!
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When in Rome…
MTAA´S Super Slow 5K - ROMA (SS5K Roma)
A leisurely 5K (3.11 mile) group performance around the city of Rome
Following the success of the Super Slow 5K at Brooklyn´s McCarren Park in September 07, MTAA brings the SS5K to Italy. The SS5K Roma is a one day race/group performance in the streets of Rome. Registration to the SS5K Roma is free and open to the public. It begins at 12PM in the Mattatoio in Testaccio and ends when it seems right or at 5PM, whichever comes first. Refreshments will be served, folding chairs and blankets will be utilized. The performance/race will be overly documented. “Celebrity” judges will be on hand to award trophies for “Best Dressed” as well as the coveted SS5K 07 “Mr. or Ms. Congeniality Roma.”
The Super Slow 5K Roma takes place on Sunday December 2nd, 2007 at 12PM to 5PM (rain or shine) and starts at Mattatoio di Testaciio at Campo Boario , Rome, Italy
MTAA´s SSK5 ROMA is part of
Enzimi 07
With thanks to Christina Ray and the fine folks at
Glowlab
For more info visit http://mtaa.net/art/slow/roma/
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“Performed Listening”
Photos from Olson’s “Performed Listening” now up at
OTO’s Flickr Set and at
Tintype
Thanks to all who made it out.
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MTAA-RR en LOLCATS Pidgin
thiz websiet containz information regardin artist mtaa
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Happy Halloween
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James and Barry Live
Tonight at 6:30 ath the Cue Art Foundation - Brian Sholis, writer and Editor of Artforum.com at Artforum in conversation with bloggers Barry Hoggard (bloggy.com) and James Wagner (jameswagner.com)”
more info
here
Will not be able to go, but wanted to give some link props back to our 2 fav hybrid collectors/blogers/critics/curators/photographers/political activist/web gurus/and all around underdog art fans, James and Barry. Have fun guys.
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2 newish projects now up on Tinjail - Walk and Flight
still from Flight
still from Walk
“Flight” is video loop (x 4) of a wing over Ohio. It was first presented as a projection at
OTO’s Transporter Again
“Walk” is 2 videos, shot one year to the day apart, in the same location.
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OTO Pics 
Thanks to all who came out to the first OTO last night. Tons of fun. More Pics of the show now up on Flickr in the
OTO Set
and even more at
Tintype’s OTO Set
Update - 2 cool photos of the SGAR on Bloggy
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OTO starts Oct 12 (8pm to 11pm)
Over The Opening (OTO)
Please join us for the launch of our once a month DIY exhibition space.
60 North 6th Street, 2nd floor
Brooklyn, NY, 11211
L train to Bedford Avenue
3 Blocks west on North 6th - just shy of Kent
On the second Friday of each month, from 8PM to 11PM, the artist
collective MTAA convert their N6th St. Brooklyn studio into a venue for
the presentation of time-based art.
The OTO project begins on October 12 with “Again Transporter,” new works
by Michael Sarff.
still from Michael Sarff’s “Kingdom”, 2007
More details at
tinjail.com/over_the_opening
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SS5K Post Event Report
MTAA’s Super Slow 5K
I’ve been thinking of how to sum up the SS5K. I have to say it has been hard to shape the event into a solid thought. I felt the urge to retell the performance/ action in some solid documentation narrative. I think I’ll let that go. I’ll let that others tell the story at some other time. All I would like to say is that a very small group got together one afternoon and performed the SS5K and that, in the end; everyone said it was a wonderful afternoon. You can view some images
here.
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SS5K Post Mortem…Soon
Keeping with the overall pace of the SS5K, I’m still working on a final report and set of images. Until then, here is a shot of Kate - winner of the SS5K best dressed trophy.
More on the SS5K soon…
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Update on this Sunday’s SS5K
It’s less than a week until the start of the
Super Slow 5K.
I hope you have all been training. As an incentive for participation, we would like to unveil the SS5K limited edition print (edition of 100). Free if you come run, walk, stroll or just hang out.
twhid update:
Here’s a closer look at the limited edition bib/print:
(click for larger image 348KB JPEG)
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The Internet: A place for friends
Popkin on
The Great Internet Sleepover
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new .mov at Tinjail
Auto Car Wash
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MTAA’s Super Slow 5K!
MTAA’s Super Slow 5K!
a leisurely 5K (3.11 mile) group performance around McCarren Park’s running track
I’ve read on marathon training web sites, that one can walk 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) at an “easy pace” in 62.5 minutes. I’d like to slow that down a tad. I’d like to slow it down with a group of like-minded noncompetitive “athletes”. I want to race with people who are ready to say - “I’ll finish this 5K when I darn well feel like it and only after I stop by the official MTAA Super Slow 5K refreshment stand for another hotdog”. That’s the race I want to run.
The MTAA Super Slow 5K is a one day race/group performance on the running track in Brooklyn’s McCarren Park. Registration to the SS5K is free and open to the public. It begins at 11AM and ends when it seems right or 4PM, whichever comes first. Refreshments will be served, folding chairs and blankets will be utilized. The performance/race will be overly documented. “Celebrity” judges will be on hand to award trophies for “Best Dressed” as well as the coveted SS5K 07 “Mr. or Ms. Congeniality”.
When?
Sunday September 16th, 2007 from 11AM - 4PM (rain or shine)
Where?
Williamsburg Brooklyn’s McCarren Park
(map)
Registration?
Email superslow5K@gmail.com or just show up around 10:30AM the day of. Free and open to the public!
More details at:
http://mtaa.net/art/slow/.
MTAA’s SSK5 is part of Conflux 07
www.confluxfestival.org
+++
twhid update
We promise that it won’t be like this (Hipster Olympics via Gothamist):
mriver adds
Dang. LOL.
Yeah, it will kinda be like that but done with love and actual effort. Also, as of this morning, we have 0 people signed up so I might be running alone.
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YouTube Bye Bye
Just when I was starting to think about ways to use YouTube more as a site for artworks, Google decideds to go with
overlay video ads
Ick. Time to find a new vid site.
twhid adds:
YouTube has always sucked for a variety of reasons. The only thing it has going for it is a huge audience. But video quality sucks and their little bug in the bottom right sucks.
I suggest Blip.tv!
mriver adds:
Yeah, yeah. I understand they do not have plans at this point to slap ads on my little home movies/ artworks - but still… it’s time for me to move.
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Turn That Damn Sculpture Down!
Sonic “glare” is
good.
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T.Whid Week - Art Blog Party
T.Whid sums up a fun Art Blogger cocktail party host by Edward Winkleman at his gallery
Yes, he had a few.
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OMG! UR totally dead!!!!
msnbc.com’s netiquette guru Popkin (and MTAA style council) on Cory Arcangel’s “Friendster Suicide” and MyDeathSpace.com
Check it
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T.Whid Week - Anti War
T.Whid marching for peace.
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MTAA at Cape Town’s AVA
We are showing onKawaraUpdate (v2) in
“3C - Committee and Critics Choice”
at the AVA in Cape Town South Africa from July 30 to August 17 2007.
Big thanks to Kathryn Smith for the show.
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T.Whid Week - Barney Opening
T.Whid’s first take on the show outside the mob scene of Barney’s DR9 opening.
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T.Whid Week - Art Fairs
Yes, once again T.Whid has foolishly gone off on vacation leaving the MTAA-RR for me to screw up. So, for the next 7 days, I’m going to post some of my favorite clips of T.Whid. I think of them as an ongoing set/ movie called “Hey, Tim”. To start off, here is Tim on art fairs. I hope you will enjoy them.
twhid adds… on vacation, but found an open wireless network at this little lake side cottage-ville in Ohio. w00t!
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the summer 07 lull report - part 2
tinjail’s jailhouse online cinema presents
the east coast west coast dance off
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CHASING THE NEW IS DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY
Yes, it could be a fake, but Jenny on Twitter is a great mesh of a social network and art. (via AFC)
This, however, does not change my ambivalence about Twitter best summed up by Helen A.S. Popkin’s article Twitter Nation: Nobody cares what you’re doing.
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The Summer 07 Lull Report - Part 1
Yes, things are slow right now. This is the last weekend to see KDM100 and 25 Reasons at Postmasters. Please check it out.
Next up, on September 16, we will present new performance/ event called MTAA’s Super Slow 5 K. This is a leisurely 5k (3.11 mile) group artwork/ 5k race / 5 hour picnic around McCarren Park’s running track in Williamsburg Brooklyn. This work is part of Conflux 07. It should be a hoot. More details soon.
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New Media Art in the Daylight?
Yup, it can happen. If you are in NYC this weekend, check out Solar One’s
City Sol 07 located at 23street next to the East river featuring the Frontier Mythology installation by our palls
Cary Peppermint + Christine Nadir (EcoArtTech)
Need more reasons to go?
I’ll have some pics from the Thurs night opening up soon.
Update:
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summer movs
disco-nnect E4sy scr4t(hN’
fun
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at Eyebeam
MTAA +RSG’s Gordon Matta-Clark Encryption Method (GMCEM)
In fall of 2002, RSG gathered 500 printed pages (1 ream) of data from MTAA
using the Carnivore client installed at the Eyebeam’s studios. Each 8.5 x
11 sheet of paper was then torn in half and stacked in a plexi box
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at Postmasters
There’s a slideshow of some of the work in Not Your Parents’ MTV on New York Magazine’s web site :-) Woohoo!
M.River took the snaps below, there’s more at his Tintype blog…
Karaoke DeathMatch 100 (2007, video, software, web site, computers, benches, desk)
25 Concrete Examples Why John Cage Is Not Our Father (2001, DVD-Video loop)
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new summer .movs
2 new slooooooooo loadin browser crashin summer .movs at tinjail.com/jailhouse
garden and
fun
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The Amateur’s hour
By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”
NYT Review “The Cult of the Amateur”
I love garage bands. I feel that some of the best American music, blues, jazz, hip-hop, punk, flows from some “amateurs” sitting around in a garage/shack/public housing party/ dive bar making and sharing music. The net is making the “garage/shack/public housing party/ dive bar” larger. Here is to the unwashed.
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your future leader and or myspace pal
“When do you hang with an old dude online? When he’s running for office!”
MTAA’s fav avatar/ netiquette journalist rates the presidential candidates myspace profiles.
Ha ha…
Democrats
Republicans
Third Party candidates
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AIOTD – MTAA Self Portrait as Black Bears
In a dream last night, I went to an opening as a black bear. I spent most of the opening sitting on the floor drinking a beer. I swear if MTAA ever has a solo show again, I will make this dream come true
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AFC on AHH
AFC’s review of the
Art Happens Here exhibition
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MTAA – weekend posting note
With T.Whid at the iSummit in Croatia and me Camping at Watch Hill, MTAA is totally out of the office this weekend. It’s summer. Go outside. Last one off the net, please turn off the lights.
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Hunting for that ship
Here is my CC art story of a project that seems to be somehow cursed.
The ship that I have been using for the project came from an image Joy tossed into the
iCommonsair Pool
Joy had been posting images of old ships from Croatia. I think she was considering using some of the images for an artwork. Last night, after posting the last image for my project, as I sat in bed, I thought “I bet that ship is not old and I bet it has a copyright on it…shit.
Here is the ship’s trail. The image was taken from
Cao Fei’s blog Cao Fei is one of the iCommons Artist in Residence. Cao Fei seem to have got it from the
Cape Farewell Project “Art and Climate Change” who picked it up from an artist named
David Buckland
“David Buckland is a designer, artist and film-maker whose lens-based works have been exhibited in numerous galleries in London, Paris and New York and collected by the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, the Metropolitan Museum, New York and the Getty Collection, Los Angeles amongst others.”
more of his bio here
So now, I’m going to email David Buckland to see if I can use his image for non-commercial project. This is, in the end, what CC is all about. Not doing what I’m doing.
I’ll update if I hear from him.
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10 iCSAFGM images
I finished up my 10 iCSAFGM images last night and tossed a CC license on them via Flicker. You can see the set at Tintype. I still need to do a bit of research on the ship image I picked up from Joy but in general and place some credits on, but it’s almost done.
update: they can alos be found on flickr tagged
icsafgm
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Dubrovnik.
As I’ve been making new photoshoped images from the commons Summit AiR Flickr group (iCSAFGM), I have been using the “C” of the creative commons license “CC” as a design element. I have also used mirroring as a element. In my mind, when we use images or content from another source we do not reproduce it but renders it in a new way, much like a mirror reflexes back an image but also changes the image.
So, as part of this project, I’ve been flipping the “C” around and doubling it within the images. Tim sent me an email this morning with a strange fact.
“According to the Croats here… the 4 Cs all pointing outward… is a
symbol of greater Serbia and is a bit of a local swastika since the
serbs attacked Croatia during the Balkan war.”
“It’s not an exact duplicate of the symbol but was close enough that
a local artist was kinda freaked to see it… should we delete
it from the blog?”
So, I cut two images off the blog. I send my best thoughts of peace and respect to the city of Dubrovnik.
As for the project, I’ll put some more up tonight (sans 4 Cs). I might move the project over to my photo blog (tinjail.com/tintype) to give it more space. I’d like to get a good set of 10 done before Firday.
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iCSAFGM 5
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iCSAFGM 3
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iCSAFGM 2
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iCommons Summit AiR Flickr group mixr (iCSAFGM)
So, I’ve been thinking. As I’m stuck in New York at work, how can I add anything to the iCommons Summit? Answer - a bad photo shopped jpegs mix project taken from the iCommons AiR Flickr group. Ummmmm…rad. If ya want to toss one in as well, send a link.
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dc
dc
Dubrovnik, Croatia
twhid update
snapshot from my room’s terrace… gorgeous! click for a larger image…
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Where is T.Whid 
jellomix
After a crushing defeat in the Karaoke Death Match 100, T.Whid has fled the country to represent MTAA at the
iCommons Summit 07
June 15 to June 17 in
Dubrovnik, Croatia
As well as participating in the summit, MTAA and a group of fellow artist will be mounting an exhibition in Dubrovnik and in Second Life. More details soon.
Yes, some artist will be going to Venice , Münster or Basel this summer to show art to the artworld. MTAA will be in Dubrovnik trying, in some small way, to change the way the artworld works.
more on the GMCEM
Photo
of the
GMCEM as it was installed at Eyebeam.
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RSG + MTAA’s GMCEM (2002)
I went over to Eyebeam on Monday to install GMCEM as part of RSG’s Carnivore section of the 10 Year Anniversary show (part 1 of 3). Looks like it will be a good show. Sounds like it opens on Thursday.
The Gordon Matta-Clark Encryption Method (GMCEM)
In fall of 2002, RSG gathered 500 printed pages (1 ream) of data from MTAA
using the Carnivore client installed at the Eyebeam’s studios. Each 8.5 x
11 sheet of paper was then encrypted by tearing each sheet of paper in
half and then sealing the two stacks within a plexi glass display. This
lo-fi data encryption attempts to fuse the minimal aesthetics of Gordon
Matta-Clark’s cut paper stacks from the 70’s with Patriot Act surveillance
of the early 00’s.
Here is a photo of the top of the GMCEM on the studio floor. I hope to get a good install shot when the show opens.
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idol art
First came
Marisa Olson , now
Sanjaya is a AI performance artist.
(Yeah…I do not know if this is “real” or not)
In other bad Karaoke performance art news… you can still vote M.River, in round 39 of the
KDM100. I’m doing Marilyn Monroe doing Happy Birthday.
Please.
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Drunken Pirate Photos…
or Why the KDM100 Will Come Back to Haunt Us
MTAA’s fav netiquette guru, Helen A.S. Popkin, advises us today to
“cap Myspace in the back of the head…”
Will do.
twhid adds: Just for the hell of it… Help! we’re being held hostage by a chinese web site!
Via Google translation:
Year, they are in front of the camera. […] They are not actors, the only real show for his life in the cabin. […] Never left our sight. […] Who are they? Why sacrificed privacy 24H watch from being the world?#
Nano Corp. as MTAA
More on
Being MTAA, just for a day from
nano_CORPORATION
twhid adds: Those photos are great! LOL. I was confused at first — couldn’t find the photos — the nano_Corp’s photos are here.
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What am I doing right now?
Posting about Popkin on
Twitter
twhid adds: hahahahaha
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bold face names
Rhiz party in AFD
Good lord everyone looks cute.
twhid adds…
Damn! Missed the society pages AGAIN! Gar!
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my long lost brother with hair
rock on mark river
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tinjail movs - part 5
Uke(LOCU)
a slow loading browser crasher
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disco-nnect
jimpunk’s silver.river
thx jp - from all us bald dudes (;)
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tinjail net.mov - part 4
Dante (aka the Unscary Movie)
For the most part it’s black video with someone screaming…but in a funny way. A cut of this film was first shown in a screening at EFA’s gallery. Turn off the lights, sit back and scream along.
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note from nano-corp. 
Inspired by your work I built an “update” of roman opalka’s work using the myspace interface. It has been online for 2 weeks, about 30 contributions have already been posted. I would love to have your feedback on this project. You can see it at:
opalka_update
nano_CO.PRESIDENT
nano-corp
mtaa feedback = rock on nano corp.
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new tinjail net.mov - part 3
In 2006, I rented and watched 76 DVDs. Each DVD, viewed alone, at night, at my kitchen table, was photographed without pause while playing. One image for each DVD was then placed on the Tintype blog under the category
DVD Still Project 06.
A looping slide show, using the ever poplar and ever sad “Ken Burns Effect”, joins the images together as the final document of the work.
DVD Still Project 06, the Movie
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attention interwebites
for those about to
disco-nnect, we (of MTAA) salute you
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Ten Years Ago? Fuck…
Port at MIT
MTAA’s first online artwork Buying Time
twhid adds:
We’ve been net artists for 10 years… crazy!
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new tinjail net.mov - part 2
wings
Here is the second in a set of new works at Tinjail. Enjoy.
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new tinjail net.mov
kingdom
two quicktime palindrome loops of watching a parade pass by and passing by a museum. this is the first in a set of small new works at tinjail under the title net.mov
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from a land down under (myspace)
Once upon a time, I made a site for MTAA on mysapce. (Yeah, I know, I know.) Then, a person named “Penny” from Australia asked to be MTAA’s friend. So I, of course, said, “Yes”. Then she asked if I wanted to be part of a chain of email performances. So I, of course, said, “Yes”. (Yeah, I know, I know.) This is where it gets a bit complicated but stay with me. Penney made a list of performers. The person above MTAA name was to send us an artwork and the person below our name was to get an artwork. Now, the person above our name was Emily. Emily emailed that she thought that email was a bit impersonal (or at least I think that was what she thought), She asked if she could mail us some art. So I, of course, said, “Yes”. Today, in the mail, came
Emily’s first project.
Wonderful right? If we get another one, I’ll post it on the blog as well.
Now, as for sending an artwork, the person we got was Penny (who, you’ll remember, also started the project.) What did we send her? We sent her a set of instructions for a performance on how to be “MTAA” that, if she completed and documented, would be the artwork. (Yeah, I know. I know.) Anyways, here is what we sent her:
Being MTAA, Just for one Day
To Be Performed by
Penny Spankie
Dress in a black t-shirt, blue jeans, black boots, and a black belt. Perform any or all of the following artworks/ actions. Each performance attempted should be documented with 2 photographs or 2 short videos.
1. lying propped up in bed
2. checking your hair in a mirror
3. tossing a paper airplane out of a window
4. pointing at public sculpture
5. jumping over things on the street.
6. holding an open umbrella inside your home.
7. listening to music with headphones on.
8. drinking a beer not in a bar
So, guess what? She wrote back with this documentation of choice #2 (Checking your hair in the mirror)
Reply Video - for MTAA - Email Art - RCW
Perfect.
So, If we get any more email myspace art, you’ll see it here. That’s all for now. Thanks Emily and Penney.
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take a hike
and we now bid a fond found farewell to embed art week at the MTAA-RR
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feast
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diawarhol
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friday dance party at mtaa-rr’s embed art week…
I went to see Cory and Hanne give a talk last night on art and the net. The talk, at some point, involved placing artist names into YouTube searches. So, of course, I placed “mtaa, art” into YouTube this morning and got the following top result…
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cory’s blue tube
“Embed Art Week” rolls on here at the MTAA-RR with Cory’s “Blue Tube”. Sly.
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jellyfish
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Jean Baudrillard
got the word from Rick…
Baudrillard dead at 77
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momadriveby
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t.whid’s away…
T.Whid is out on the West cost for the rest of the week. Here is another embed movie while he’s away.
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dull wing
Now that it has become embed movie week here at the MTAA-RR…enjoy.
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duchamp
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stone cold busted
Yes, for the record, I am Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern’s father and I don’t want to talk about it. Period.
twhid chimes in:
and you’re a “broke-ass Brooklyn artist” — hahahahahahahaha
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time for a pop quiz…
Here are some questions that MTAA needs to think about for a new performance/ video thing (just thought I’d share):
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Where would you like to live?
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
Who are your favorite characters in history?
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Your favorite painter?
Your favorite musician?
The quality you most admire in a man?
The quality you most admire in a woman?
Your favorite virtue?
Your favorite occupation?
Who would you have liked to be?
Your most marked characteristic?
What do you most value in your friends?
What is your principle defect?
What is your dream of happiness?
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
What would you like to be?
In what country would you like to live?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite flower?
What is your favorite bird?
Who are your favorite prose writers?
Who are your favoite poets?
Who are your heroes in real life?
What are your favorite names?
What is it you most dislike?
What historical figures do you most despise?
What event in military history do you most admire?
What reform do you most admire?
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
How would you like to die?
What is your present state of mind?
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
What is your motto?
From The Infamous Proust Questionnaire
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more on cats and less on phones
It has almost become law that to be a blogger, at some point, you must post about a cat. No one knows why this is. It is just how the Net operates. It is also a sign that a blog has run past relevance. Posting on cats is the net equivalence of jumping the shark So, just to drive Tim insane for his post below, here is a link for a Google image search on
phone cat
Enjoy
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what may be the first MTAA-RR blog post about a cat
and net art 2.0 rolls on with
Evan Roth’s Satanic Images.
Google image searches for the 666th photo taken on various digital cameras.
I just want to point out that the cat in the third row IS evil. Very evil
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more 06 cya
When I was thinking about what to add to
this list 06,
I sent an email off to artist
Rick Silva
and collector, curator, photographer and art blogger extraordinaire
Barry Hoggard
asking what they liked in art in 06. Both sent lists of work I loved as well as shows that I wish I had seen. Enjoy.
One of my favorite works in 06 was Rick’s Recap. Here is a list of some of Rick’s favorites for the year.
cassini - saturn’s rings
spike lee - when the levees broke - a requiem in 4 parts
matmos - the rose has teeth in the mouth of the beast
pleix -birds
john kilduff - let’s paint tv
media archeology: software cinema festival - houston, texas
cai guo qiang at site santa fe
james turrell’s ‘meeting’ at ps1 at around 10 degrees farenheit right before they close for the night
john hodgeman - areas of my expertise
drawing restraint 1-9 at sfmoma
gazira babeli - secondlife code performer
radar at denver art museum
In Dangling Between the Real Thing and the Sign in The Window, James and Barry curated a group of artists who I felt held the mirror to 06. It was funny, dystopic and experimental. I hope, in 07, they will do it again. Here are some of Barry’s highlights for the year.
Susan Dessel’s bodies from our show
videos of Robert Boyd
Jeremy Eilers sculptures
Klara Liden Bodies of Society 2006
New Charles Goldman sculpture
This 9/11 show
Heather Rowe’s sculpture
Jacques Louis Vidal’s videos
Barry adds at the end of his list “I saw a lot of painting I liked too.”
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06 cya
Nerdz Rising 06
Cory Archangel at Team
Jessica Ciocci at Foxy Production
Michael Bell-Smith at Foxy Production
Paul Slocum at Vertex List
Tom Moody at Artmoving Projects
Jennifer & Kevin McCoy at Postmasters
Straight up Net Art
UNIVERSAL ACID
punk rock 101
Toni Burlap
With Elements of Web 2.0
Weather Gauge
Tracking Transience
Oil Standard, Greasemonkey conversion of US Dollars to Barrels of Oil
DVblogH4ck
www.pulp.href
<$BlogPageTitle$>
Lambs In Ascension
Tracking Transience
deptofnetworkperformance
Midnight
My Digital Pog Page
Some Other Good Stuff (Lots of MOMA for some reason)
Dada at MOMA
“…But I was Cool”, Jerry Gant, Robert Pruitt and Dread Scott at Aljira
Lee Walton at Conflux
Noah Lyon at 33 Bond Street
Herzog & de Meuron at MOMA
Douglas Gordon at MOMA
8 Bit at MOMA
On and Off at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery
Nicole Eisenman at Leo Koenig Inc.
The Downtown Show at The Grey Art Gallery
Update: (aka oh, yeah)
Strange Powers at Creative Time
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another leftover 06 AIOTD
The Long Campaign
A computer driven, dual channel, video of a MTAA rock, scissor, paper game. Software selects chance game play and keeps the accumulated score forever.
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AIOTD 06 Leftovers
…a late Merry Christmas or an early Happy New Year to all.
And now, by popular demand (of one MTAA fan), here are a few leftover AIOTD’s from 06 for you to snack on.
Power of Love and Hate - a dual portrait of MTAA listing (off the cuff) all the things they love and hate using overlapping dialogue.
Believing (In the Morning) - a dual portrait of MTAA enthusiastically using morning beauty products.
Clocking In - a computer driven video in which MTAA chimes the hours by beating an alarm clock with bats.
I think we have some more 06 AIOTDs sitting around. We’ll post them if they show up
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iPhil can be yours
$250 to the Rhizome benefit
gets you a MTAA print of iPhil
Yup. That’s right. For supporting a new media not for profit, you can own an MTAA work that does not need to be plugged in. Wild.
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land of the ice and snow..
Saw fellow camp Creative Capital 06 alum Jane Marsching last night. Her project is up. Check it.
Climate Commons - a networked conversation about climate change, sustainability, and the Arctic developed by Jane D. Marsching with Matthew Shanley from November 27 2006 - February 28, 2007.
climate-commons.net
Also, if you’re in Boston, Jane’s show “Arctic Listening Post” is at the
ICA from December 10, 2006 - March 11, 2007.
Update: Here is
Holland Cotter’s NTY review
of the shows up at the ICA with a mention of Jane’s project.
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Detroit Rock City
NYT on the new MOCAD
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MTAA art at home in NJ
When it came time to remove our installation
3’ High and Rising, Newark from the E7 show at
Aljira, we received an email asking if MTAA would be interested in donating the work. We, of course, said “Yes. It’s for you.” So, like Cats on Broadway, MTAA is “now and forever” raising the desk at Aljira in Newark, NJ by 3 feet.
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Baste every 10 minutes
For my brother Doug and all who will attempt to roast a turkey for the first time this year:
McSweeney’s
BUTTERBALL HELP-LINE HELP-LINE
twhid adds…
…my humble turkey related links.
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Last minute reminder: 3x3 was last night!
Just in case you don’t look at dates and just do what the MTAA-RR tells you, the show was last night.
Blind following of the MTAA-RR is fine, in most cases, but we would not want you showing up at EFI, find a locked door and then wonder why we would go the empty gallery as art route again.
Oh, yeah. The 3x3 show was fun.
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The world premier of The Unscary Movie - Nov 15
The world premier of The Unscary Movie - a very, very short video by MTAA
In the spring Marina Zurkow asked us if we could make a 3 minute film in 3 hours. We said, “Yup. ”
In the early summer, we filmed Coney Island’s Dante’s Inferno ride. It took a bit more than 3 minutes but not much more. In the early fall, we edited the film. It took a bit more than 3 hours but not much more.
The Unscary Movie is, for the most part, black video. It is, for the most part, loud. It is, for the most part, 3 minutes of sitting in the dark while someone screams and groans. Sometimes a monster pops up. Sometimes you see daylight. It’s not very scary. It’s not action packed. If you come to see it, you should just pass the 3 minutes thinking of the summer past. Feel free to scream along.
3 Minutes : 3 Hours
Wednesday November 15 – 7pm
EFA Gallery | EFA Studio Center
323 West 39th Street, 2nd Floor, NYC
premiering 3 x 3 works by artists:
Chris Doyle, Margarida Garcia, Josh Greene, Oliver Kellhammer, Erin Lee, Zachary Mortensen, MTAA, Ruth Ozeki, Michael Portnoy, Robert Ransick, Marcia Scott, Abigail Simon, Elaine Tin Nyo, Lance Wakeling, Josh Weinstein, Marina Zurkow,(+ organized by Marina Zurkow)
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just another cool show alert…
One of the best parts of our residency at Aljira and our retreat with Creative Capital was the chance to meet and be mentored by the artist Dread Scott.
Dread has been making politically strong and conceptually sharp work for years. I believe his advice and encouragement has helped focus our studio practice over the last few months. When you make work that does not always mesh well with what you believe the art world is, it’s good to hear from an artist who has navigated his work within the artworld while maintaining his work’s heart.
Dread will be showing at Aljira this fall with Jerry Gant, and Robert Pruitt. Sounds like it will be a great show. So, check it out.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
Aljira: a Center for Contemporary Art
³…But I was Cool²
November 9, 2006-January 27, 2007
Opening reception Nov. 9, 2006 5:30 PM 7:30 PM
Exhibition with Jerry Gant, Robert Pruitt and Dread Scott
Panel Discussion with the artists Sunday Nov 12, Noon
Artists Talk Nov. 12, 2006 12 noon 2:00 PM
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boo
2 Halloween links I found this morning that you might enjoy…
a haunted house made out of balloons
ghost in the Tate
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to give back
Infinitive Phil
Digital Print by MTAA
11 x 17 edition of 20
$250
Made exclusively for Rhizome, this print captures the still frames from the artists’ video contribution to Cory Arcangel’s legendary ‘Infinite Fill’ exhibition, in which Phil Hartman plays Phil Donahue
Rhizome Community Campaign
DC 911 - The Evildoers’ Remix
DVD with unique cover collage
1 hour 10 minutes.
$100
DC 911 is a guerilla edit of the pro-Bush propaganda film DC 9/11 - A Time of Crisis. First shown during the 2004 RNC at Postmasters Galley in New York. The video is a collaboration between new media art duo MTAA, video artist bodyatomic and musician/DJ tinydiva
Turbulence Fundraiser
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2bl2 live in store.
A live demonstration of MTAA art practice in which a recording will be made of the event celebrating the artwork made. In other words, at the opening celebrating the public release of the MTAA’s artwork 2bl2, commissioned by the good folks of rhizome.org, MTAA will create a new 2bl2 sound artwork using the sound of the opening. I’m thinking about it as a big information loop. Get it?…No? Ummmm…Ok - I understand. T.Whid’s not sure about this one as well. How about: please come to the opening and see MTAA do some stuff that we like to call art? It might be interesting. Ok, Please. How’s that? Please. Please. I’ve gone to so many openings and events this past month that my eyes are tearing shut. I keep having that same sad conversations at openings that I kick myself about later. “Oh No, yeah. We’re working on stuff in the studio. Yeah. You should stop in. That would be cool.”. I never really know what to say. I end up all panicked. This time will be different. I’ll have you by my side while I go through it. Just come over and sit down. Say “Hello.” Help me stay calm and focused. Please. Thanks.
RHIZOME COMMISSIONS 2005-2006
New Museum Store
556 West 22nd Street
NYC
October 24, 2006 6:30pm
Participants: Hans Bernhard and Alessandro Ludovico, Peter Horvath, Jason Corace and Vicky Fang, Andy Deck, Jason Freeman, Sean Kerr, Ethan Ham and Tony Muilenberg, MTAA, Thomas Laureyssens, Adriaan Stellingwerff
Admission: FREE
“The Rhizome Commissions Program makes financial support available to artists for the creation of original works of Internet-based art. In 2005, Rhizome awarded eleven grants to an international group of artists. All the works took the Internet as their primary vehicle for exhibition; several also extended off the web as sculpture, video or installation. This evening will celebrate the works with a one-night installation and presentations by several of the commissioned artists. Cocktails will be served.”
update: note to self - never blog with a fever
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another tinjail shot.
rhizome at 1071
Yeah, I know it’s kinda hard to tell what’s going on but it might sum up the energy of the night.
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P-UNIT
This week from 11am to 11pm,
Noah Lyon (aka retardroit)
presents “The Living Installation: Part Deuxxx Tracying Eminem”
at the soon to open 33 Bond Gallery.
Stop on in and check out the work in progress. Closing party Sat Oct 21.
Tinjail pic from the first night.
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last one out, hit the lights.
We are about to loose one of the great music and art venues in New York City. No, not CBGB’s. They shut down last night. I’m talking about
Monkeytown. Looks like the doors shut in early November. Go see what you’ll wish you had while it’s still here.
Hmmm…Monkeytown Las Vegas anyone?
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Paraskevidekatriaphobia
General note: It’s Friday, October the 13th this week.
More info on
Paraskevidekatriaphobia
twhid adds:
the inevitable Wikipedia link…
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fall travel, part 2
1ypv at the
Split Film Festival, Split, Croatia.
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fall travel
Eteam’s new project,
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MONTELLO
in
Artforum Diary
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you will not need to wrap it.
In case you are still wondering what to pick up for my birthday on Friday, here is a link for the
limited edition 75th Anniversary 19’Bambi Airstream Thanks. Love ya.
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photo documentation of…
M. River and
the ghost of James Lee Byars
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E7 rolls on.
Earlier this summer, the
E7 (Aljira Emerge 7)
show was reviewed in the NYT with a nice mention of MTAA’s
3’ High and Rising, Newark.
The show gets another good review in the paper toady. This time
Holland Cotter
gives it his thumbs up. No mention of MTAA (Rats, Holland Cotter is one of my favs) this time but it’s great
that the Emerge artist, the show, Aljira and the city of Newark is getting some love and support. Rise Newark Rise.
E7 is slated to come down Sept 30, so check it out.
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vlog preformance
“the birth of a new art form” ???
Wikipedia tries to sort out the unfolding story of Lonelygirl15
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more from conflux 06
From our art pal Lee Walton, a sad day of self exile from Union Sqaure. No tears Lee, no tears.
On Friday, September 15th effective precisely at Noon- Lee Walton will leave Union Square Park never to return again.
Following a self-imposed life restriction, Walton’s world will get a little bit smaller. In the morning, Walton will be spending his final hours in the park before his departure. Exactly at noon, he will descend the steps of the park and begin walking south in search of a cold valedictory beer.
Any additional company and support on this difficult day would be welcomed and appreciated.
Hint: The 4th floor windows at the DSW shoe store on 14th street yield an excellent view of Walton’s final descent down the steps of Union Square Park.
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Port Huron Project
Also, as a part of the Conflux Festival, Mark Tribe’s Port Huron Project 1: Until the Last Gun Is Silent Saturday, September 16, 5 PM, Central Park West.
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art festival
back from vacation
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Knox Rocks
1. Cool Karaoke art show in Knoxville with Abe ! and MO ! (and other “a list” art stars.)
2. Check out The Art Gallery of Knoxville’s website. It’s total “jimpuckolinaish”. Right on Knoxville.
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gif.art
Some old (way back in 01 folks) tinjail.com gif.art in the new
This is (Not) a magazine Issue 18:
“Click to go forward, never go back”
This is (not) a Magazine proffers
the new 2-bit-good-for-nothing Issue
compiled entirely from animated GIFs
made or found by artists working
in and around the internet today.
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Net Art Catch and Release Program 2006 (NA CARP 06)
If you find it
If you like it
If it was made in 06
then tag it “net_art_06”
del.icio.us/m.river
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AIOTD - Reception Record
AIOTD - Reception Record / Self Portrait as an Open Mic.
On October 24, the New Museum bookstore will hold a reception for the Rhizome 06 commissions. The event will include MTAA’s net based audio art work / community ”2bl2”
At the Reception, MTAA will be create a new sound artwork called “Reception Record”. This work is a recording of the reception held for the artwork being produced. In other words, an artwork will be created from the material generated by the celebration of the artwork being created. It’s kind of a horse / cart thing.
Yes, you can say that the New Museum/ Rhizome reception is really for the “2bl2” project NOT the “Reception Record” project (which will be hosted within the “2bl2”) Let’s consider this detail only a small conceptual glitch akin to a hic-up.
So, if you find yourself in New York at the New Museum bookstore on the evening of the 24th of October and you see a microphone standing by itself in some corner, please go say “Hello”. Wish the microphone congratulations. Tell it a story or a joke. Get a few free reception drinks from the bar and chat it up. Have one of those awkward art opening conversations that just drift off and end. “Hey! How’s it going? What have you doing lately? Yeah? Cool…Excuse me, I’m going to go get anpther drink and say “Hi” to someone. Let’s hang out sometime soon”
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Eye Calls
The Residents + MOMA + You + YouTube =
New Media Public Art (NMPA)
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tin or aluminum anniversary
Congrats to Rhizome for 10 great years.
MTAA will be joining the year long Rhizome party on October 24 at the New Museum bookstore with the rest of the 06 Commissions.
(Hans Bernhard and Alessandro Ludovico, Peter Horvath, Jason Corace and Vicky Fang, Andy Deck, Jason Freeman, Sean Kerr, Ethan Ham and Tony Muilenberg, Thomas Laureyssens, and Adriaan Stellingwerff.)
It’s a one night stand and we’ll be doing something with 2bl2
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3’ High And Rising, Newark -
We’re just back from the Creative Capital “Art Boot Camp” to find a
review in the NY Tiimes of Aljira Emerge
Tristate Talent Search Hits a High Note
“Mr. Sarff and Mr. Whidden have done their best to be noticed, reinstalling the gallery front-of-house reception desk on a three-foot-high wooden podium. It seems a slightly hostile gesture, for visitors are confronted by someone looking down on them as they enter the gallery. It will be interesting to see what Mr. Sarff and Mr. Whidden have to say about their work during the artists’ talks that accompany the exhibition.”
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out of the office automated reply…
Dear Internet, MTAA will be away at “art boot camp” for a week starting Tuesday. Please try to be good while we are away. Thanks.
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AIOTD - Pirated Movie 2
On a slightly lower moral high horse than my last bootleg movie post - It’s that time again. Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest (thumbs up - no matter what the press sez) just came out. This means I’m hunting the subways of NYC for the Bootleg. Once I have the bootleg in hand, it will be time to make the “Pirated Movie 2”
For the Pirated Movie, MTAA took the bootleg and projected it in black and white without sound at Postmasters. We had a group of artist perform a live soundtrack for the film. This one time only performance was recorded and mixed with sections of the bootleg to create a final DVD.
This year, I’d like to mess with the recipe a bit. I’m still thinking about projecting the bootleg silent in black and white but I’d like to try it outdoors without the bands. Just set up some chairs on a sidewalk or in a park and press play. The final DVD will document the results.
hmmmm…at the beach?
twhid adds: let’s just shoot it out your window onto Franklin St. and use the sound!
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bootleg 911
James Wagner’s post on Chris Moukarbel took me back to the thought that fueled dc911. If you take our pain for propaganda (and/or profit), we will take your film for art.
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AIOTD - We Never Get the Chance to
This AIOTD is a performance/ collaboration between MTAA and another artist in a public space or gallery. At 5pm on Saturdays, members of MTAA bring a coffee or a beer (depending on the collaborating artist choice) to the performance location. MTAA and the collaborating artist have a beer or coffee and talk about what happened last week. When one and only one coffee or beer is done, everyone shakes hands, says goodbye, and walks away. The performance occurs for one month.
update - oh, btw, if you are an artist or a gallery in nyc that would like to do this AIOTD with us this fall, just give me an email. (mriver@mteww.com) thanks.
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more on culture war 2.0
President Bush’s brand new chief domestic policy adviser, Karl Zinsmeister, has a few thoughts on contemporary art.
When Art Becomes Inhuman
twhid adds:
This author is one sick fuck. A sample:
Novel writers and film and theater producers have started selling voyeurism, drugs, homosexuality, and pedophilia to middle-Americans at the mall, instead of leaving these things to patrons of peep shows and trendy art galleries. One of the most heavily Oscar-awarded movies of recent years — American Beauty — combined all four of those degradations in one package.
A GLOBAL CREATIVE MOVEMENT
And speaking of the devil, let’s take a look in Ye Ol’ MTAA mail box…
Here is note from the youth marketing group “Look-Look.”
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO KICK-0FF A GLOBAL CREATIVE MOVEMENT?
Coca-Cola has asked us, Look-Look, to find the most creative thinkers and doers from all over the world to contribute original work to a new website. This collection of videos, animations, songs, photos, paintings, drawings, (and anything else you can dream up) will set the tone — and the benchmark — for a new generation of global creators. That’s why you’ve been handpicked for this invitation.
The club is open.
By the power of the web 2.0, MTAA’s
AIOTD - Walton becomes true.
The Aspiring Lee Walton Meme (thanks AFC)
Update: as soon as we get 100 members, we’re going to have a party for Lee.
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AIOTD - Walton
We like Lee Walton’s art. We also like Lee Walton, as a human being and artist, in general. We’ve talked with Lee about doing an online performance in which our two homepages kinda blur for a day. As in, you’re looking at Lee’s homepage and MTAA walk onto it, look around and then walk off. We also thought about a space on the net between out home pages. It would be kinda like a lounge, a resting place away from the net.
We’ve never got around to doing a project with Lee. I hope we will. In the meanwhile, here is an AIOTD. MTAA’s Unofficial Lee Walton Artist Fan Club (ULWAFC). Send me (mriver@mteww.com) an email to join.
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Link-a. Policies of affectivity, aesthetics of biopower
MTAA’s Five Small Videos About Interruption and Disappearing
in a net group show: vinculo-a.net
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AIOTD 3’1”
MTAA’s “3 Feet High and Rising, Newark”
Artwork titled after De La Soul’s 1989 debut album which was titled after the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High and Rising” (“How high’s the water, Mama?/It’s three feet high and rising”)
MTAA proposes to raise Aljira Center for Contemporary Art’s reception desk 3’1”
The rising of the desk (and chair) will be accomplished by a platform and steps made of salvaged wood from an unnamed New York art museum combined with material gathered from the streets of downtown Newark, New Jersey.
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3’1”
The drawing for MTAA’s “3 Feet High and Rising, Newark”
Context: MTAA is getting ready to make the 3rd in a series of what we like to call “Reception Desk Mods”. We have walled in White Columns’ desk and caged 31 Grand’s. This July, we will raise Aljira Center For Contemporary Art in Newark’s desk by 3 feet 1 inch. More info to come soon.
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Lee Walton in China (almost)
“Instructed by email from Brooklyn, New York and locally executed by the
co-artist and curator in Shanghai, China, Western Shift consists of moving
objects towards the West.”
The resulting video Western Shift can be viewed by visiting the following
site then clicking on WESTERN SHIFT
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More Infinite Phil World Tour
Hey, If you happen to find yourself in Viborg Denmark, This is Not A Magazine is showing MTAA’s Infinite Phil at Senko Studio.
Yeah, yeah…I know I could have put a bunch of links all over this post but I did not. Also, I think Phil now holds the MTAA record for most widely exhibited artwork. S.N.A.D comes in a close 2nd.
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What new on the 2bl2?
Check out “Thrush Exile” It’s a 10 min. field recording from a creek in West Virginia. Perfect listening for late night emails.
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Gina and Ronda and myspace
MTAA knows this very nice pop culture/art/music writer down in Florida named Gina Vivinetto. She also runs a gallery/ music space called Bombshell. Gina makes us laugh.
Also down in Florida is a women named Ronda Storms. She’s the Hillsborough County Commissioner. She successfully banned the county government from acknowledging gay pride “in any way, shape, or form.” She also got gay pamphlets out of the public Library. Ronda make us shake our heads and wonder how bigots get government jobs
Anyways, here is the sad story of how Gina got canned from her job for posting a snarky comment on myspace about Ronda.
TAMPA - A tbt* pop music critic resigned Thursday after acknowledging she had posted negative comments on a Myspace.com profile that parodied Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms.
The messages posted by Gina Vivinetto, a columnist for the free tabloid daily, which is published by the St. Petersburg Times, were “inappropriate,” Neil Brown, the Times’ executive editor and vice president, said late Thursday.
The comments, which Brown declined to describe in detail, were “mocking Ronda Storms in a somewhat sexual nature,” he said.
more from the st. pete times
Note you can go to Bombshell’s myspace site for Gina’s take on the story. Seems “mocking Ronda Storms in a somewhat sexual nature” is not as depraved as it sounds. I think she said posting something about Ronda leaving underwear in Bombshell’s bathroom. Yeah, it’s juvenile but not that depraved.
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they still show art in Brooklyn (part 2)
Tom Moody at
Art Moving Projects. Opens this Friday.
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Cary Peppermint & Christine Nadir, Practical Performances
Chapters from the DVD “A Series of Practical Performances In The Wilderness
- Summer 2005” will be posted (three at a time) on DV Blog
starting May 1st.
“A Series of Practical Performances In The Wilderness, Summer 2005” is a video
performance work made in the woods and on rural back-lots. Performative
chapters on the DVD include, Move This Rock, Waiting On Bob, DoAble, Home
Economics, Sticks Like Snakes, Digging for Chicory, and Springwater Finale.
This video is the first in a series of forthcoming performance-art videos by
Peppermint & Nadir which engage issues, ideas, and mythologies of the
American concepts of wilderness, space, the frontier, and humans’ ethical
relation to animals, forestlands, and nature.
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March Today
It’s a wonderful spring day in NYC. Please join MTAA at today’s anti-war march.
info here
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AIOTD Newark
MTAA will be making a new site and /or performance based
artwork for a group show in downtown Newark New Jersey this July.
Newark? Yes, Newark.
Yes, we could use some help on this. If anyone has any bright ideas, feel free to email them in. Our self imposed production budget is around 100 bucks. So, think small. If you do send in an idea and we go for it, let’s call it collaboration.
Here are some of my random thoughts on Newark so far. train ride. monorail, airport, swamp, throwing rocks at Manhattan, warehouse, museum, park, parking lot, kids, sea containers, goggle maps, helicopters, port, planetarium, perfume factories, abandon car,
Oh… and here is MTAA’s late “happy birthday” to the Port Newark born Containerized Shipping. CS turned the big five-0 yesterday. Congrats
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N. H. 5 D.!
I’m beginning to think, that T.Whid thinks, that some of my posts (like the one yesterday) are a bit…vague. He might be right but here it is. MTAA High Five, T.Whid.
Brooklynvegan notes that it’s NATIONAL HIGH FIVE DAY
Also of note:
Nintendo RBI Baseball video reenactment of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series
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Triple Candie
Cady Noland Approximately: Sculpture & Editions, 1984-1999
Cady Noland from a Google Images search
twhid update:
Tom Moody has more…
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What’s new on the net?
Here is a small gem from the MTAA-RR email bag.
Emo + vLoging + Ohio + a dog = the state of the net
MTAA Notes: It’s all in the Tags folks.
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Final 4
I’ve been to blue to post about this but here it is.
“When the final buzzer sounded, the dejected-looking [MTAA] trotted off the floor, their magical ride at an ugly end.”
sniff.
Congrats to Instant Coffee
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WMD
or “the biggest sand toilets in the world.”
?
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what’s playing on 2bl2?
In my dream, ECC speaks to me of
Bjorkeley
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“Among the Trees”
Lee Walton’s new work
“Trees”
opens this Friday at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
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they still show art in Brooklyn…
If you find yourself in Brooklyn this weekend, check out the
Momenta benefit. I have a small painting named
“Locker” in the show. Last year,
”Softsoft” was pick up by
James and
Barry. So, you know that if you get “Locker” for your collection, you will be in high class company.
Also in Brooklyn this weekend, the answer to the age old question -
“Can appropriation, at the core, be a subset fan art?”
The Matthew Barney Show curated by
Eric Doeringer
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RU READY TO ROCK? I said…RU READY?
OK…(actually, this post will NOT rock, but here it anyways…
To Be Listened To…(2bl2) is now open for you to enjoy and activate. Big thanks to the artist who supplied 2bl2 with “seed” work to get things going. Please feel free to jump in and add some sound.
To Be Listened To… (2bl2 for short) is an open relay for sound art, audio blogs, mashups, re-mixes, dance mixes or any other sort of experimental audio. 2bl2 is comprised of 10 thematic podcast feeds with 8 open feeds to which anyone may post an audio file. Each feed’s name, along with the original ‘seed’ post, sets its tone.
1. …as you sit in front of your computer around midnight (prologue). By MTAA
2. …in a bar in Brooklyn on a spring Sunday afternoon, sipping a Bloody Mary, waiting for your love to appear. - with seed project “Troy’s (Non)Mixtape of Love” by Marisa Olson
3. …with eyes closed in a theater before a movie starring Brando begins. - with seed project “Cushing’s Disease” by Helen and Ben
4. …as you commute to the job you are thinking of leaving once again. - with seed project “DJ Hump” by Frankie Martin
5. …before calling 911 while waiting for something outside to stop fucking screaming. - with seed project “coma loveship” by : Pee In My Face With Surgery
6. …while sitting on your kitchen floor holding a photograph of your father. - with seed project “What Kind of Information? “by Cary Peppermint
7. …in a park in Europe as you wait for the sun to rise and the snow to stop. - with seed project “Did It Again “ by G.H. Hovagimyan
8. …in a hotel near the Everglades while having sex in the afternoon. - with seed project “Everglade” by Messages [Taketo Shimada + Tres Warren (Psychic Ills)]
9. …while running, but not running as in jogging, running as in blindly racing though the streets without direction or goal. - with seed project “Running” by tinydiva (Margaret Jameson Composer, Performer and Producer. Add’l Guitars by Thomas Jameson)
10. …as you fall asleep in the bed in the place that you call home (epilogue). by MTAA
So, have fun. Sit in bed with your headphones on. Make some noise. Interact. Thanks.
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found art on the MTAA-RR?
I was just looking at the MTAA-RR Archive and noticed something strange. It seems as though we have been either 1. hacked or 2. we’ve unknowingly created some weird results when we moved the blog a few months back. Tim’s away till Monday, so we’ll have to wait on the answer for the time being.
Until then, check the new found MTAA-RR archive for the year 1970. Note: what sucks about this is that we do not have a working archive for the site at this point.
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tintype
dvd still project 06
One jpeg from each dvd I rent and watch by myself in 2006. Jpeg is shot without pausing the dvd.
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MTAA at the big dance…
Update on Collaborative March Madness
Concept Trucking / Leisurearts just wrote to say -
“MTAA has made the final four as a number 11 seed! Your success was modeled/is hitched on George Mason University’s in the NCAA tourney. I will be posting an updated bracket soon! Guess you better start rooting for the Patriots to win it all.”
twhid adds:
I have had zero (or, more likely, negative) interest in this so-called March madness… until now! Go George Mason!
(more update)
The chart is updated.
Check it out…
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first round
just got an email that MTAA is in some sort of March Madness#
net art prints…
SNAD Read me
CNAD Remix
SNAD and CNAD together at last.
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IOTD - Website Visitations
While packing up the Rhizome show at Scope, Lee Walton told me his cool idea for a MTAA / Walton net art project. The idea is to somehow blur the lines between the websites for a day. Not linking the sites but blending them a bit. He described it as akin to the 5 Small Videos “On/Off” project but on other artist homepages. I liked the idea of avatars for MTAA and an avatar Walton wondering around each others pages or just walking off together to get a beer.
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SNAD readme for March 2006
In March you will be able to go the Scope Art Fair in NYC and buy a
16” x 20” framed print of MTAA’s Simple Net Art Diagram (SNAD) for
625 USD. The weird part is that you could, at this very moment, download
the SNAD digital graphic file from this site, blow it up into a 16” x 20” graphics file using any number of popular graphics editing programs, take it to a printer and then to a frame shop and have the exact same thing that we’re selling. This process will cost you less than 625 USD (it would run you under $250, depending on your choice of frame of course, we suggest something heavily and deeply carved with lots of gold leaf).
Actually, that’s exactly how we created the print we’re selling. M.River downloaded the Illustrator version from the web, imported it into a 16” x 20” Photoshop document, scaled it to fit comfortably in the frame of reference and then sent it off to a digital output joint.
So. What’s the deal?
First, the SNAD is free. Yes, thanks to a generous Creative Commons Attribution 2.5
license, you can do with it as you will. Which naturally leads to this question: If it’s free, what are
you buying for 625 bucks?
The answer: Production.
Yes, that’s right. You will be paying for the cost, time, and
expertise of having MTAA make the work for you. As the production was
done by a member of MTAA, the work may be thought of as an “Official
Production SNAD” or, more obtusely, an “OP-SNAD.” However, it’s
completely legal and even encouraged for others to print their own
SNADs and sell them. If you buy a SNAD print from someone other than a
member of MTAA you will have an “Entrepreneurial Production SNAD (AKA
EP-SNAD). If you print it yourself, you will have a “DIY Production
SNAD (AKA DIY-P-SNAD)”. For us, EP-SNADs or DIY-P-SNADs are both nice
choices for your home, office, gallery or museum. Although, if you’re
short on time, have the money and can actually find one, an OP-SNAD is
the way to go.
If you happen to buy a 16” x 20” OP-SNAD, what will keep MTAA from
making more? The short answer is “nothing,” but there are some reasons that we probably won’t:
1. We’re lazy.
2. We tend not to repeat ourselves. Sure, someday we might make a 48”
x 60” on canvas OP-SNAD or maybe a 32” x 40” light box OP-SNAD, but
chances are you will be the only one in the world with a 16” x 20”
OP-SNAD from 2006.
Get it? Got it? Good.
(Note, this is a rare post that was written by both members of MTAA. The first draft, by M.River, was edited by T.Whid for this final version. It should probably go in the Texts part of this web site, but it seems too time-relative to belong there.)
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new media, the low points
hahahhahahh… remember flash mobs? haaaaa ahaha.
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Found Art
R. Mutt’s Blog
twhid responds: so. fucking. funny!
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Damn.
Even my breakfast has a blog.
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Help a pal out.
Here is a note from a MTAA “pal”. Feel free to post your cultural highs and lows here. here.
Hey Kids:
I’m writing a story on the 2004 Year in Entertainment, and I’m looking for some input.
The year opens with Janet Jackson’s boob, so you kinda get the idea of how the rest
of the story’s gonna go. If anything else sticks in your mind or made a big
impression on you this year, TV, movie, music, celebrity break-up, procreation,
accidentally released porn tape, etc., please advise. You know, stuff like Britney
getting married, Pixies touring, Ashlee screwing up, blah blah blah
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Yikes!
and now the possibility arises for pure conceptual art?
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wish I had seen this show…
“…they also totally rock as musicians. repeated this phrase twice, in one short paragraph - cause its damn straight true.” artloversnewyork on Paper Rad’s performance at EAI
btw - if you ever get the feeling that NY has another art world, one that you would like to know about but you can not find, check around artloversnewyork site. (and they link to the MTAA-RR…thanks!)
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Year 4703 or 2 depending on who is counting
An early post because I know that I will forget - Not only is next Wednesday (Feb 9) the beginning of the year of the Rooster, I believe it will also be the two year anniversary of the mtaa-RR.
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snow snow snow…
Well, it’s winter in New York and I’m bored. Yes, bored. I know it’s boring to complain about being bored but that’s all I got right now. Just to underline all of this, here is my luch-time list of 10 things that can be made of snow as art. If you make any of these snow sculptures, send me a jpeg.
1. an inside out igloo
2. smoke stack with smoke
3. an icebox
4. Netscape 4.7
5. 100 white bunnies, dancing
6. Enron,on fire
7. life size garden gnome
8. one ream of paper
9. New York Times, Sunday edition
10. one quart of vanilla ice cream
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Secret art project
Hey. Check it. This is my wireless new media ready made that I sneaked into the latest show at Eyebeam ! Shhhhhhhhh….
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unreadable at any speed
T.Whid and I received a rough draft of an interview we did for an online art/ culture magazine. It’s a good interview and we had fun doing it. We will post all the details when it is live.
The reason I’m posting about receiving the rough draft is this – After reading the rough draft, I realized that I feel sorry for anyone who has to translate what I say from audio tape or proof read what I write. When I write, as you probably know if you read the mtaaRR, I have terrible spelling and grammar. On top of that, I couch sentences inside of sentences. It’s just my style or lack there of. When I speak – as some of you I‘m generally passive in conversation…lots of pointing and grunting - I ramble on like Abe Simpson. This is fine for me and T.Whid seems to get what I’m saying – but I fell bad for anyone else who has to deal with it. What do they call it? Adult ADD? Here is a fine example from the interview.
“These web pages had this quasi-porn look to them -at least that’s what we were shooting for, but as you kinda dig though the piece a little more and you investigate pass the visual part of the piece, you realize that these little web pages, these fake web pages, are basically pages that we built to kinda have the look “about us”.”
Note: Hey look. It’s a narcissistic post with a narcissistic self quote. Sad.
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why we need mac mini
This
is a shot of sculpture we are working on for 1YPV. It joins all the materials in the performance into a projection tower. I’ll post some more photos as we work on it.
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What’s up with Frank The Snowman?
At midnight on Saturday, T.Whid and I walked into Superior Deli near our studio in Brooklyn with a video camera and a debit card. For the next 18 minutes we wandered the aisles making odd sculptural design decisions like, “Do we need a bag of charcoal?” or “Tall boys?” After hauling the goods back to the studio in the cold night air like a pair of over-sized, black-cloaked elves; we knew what we had to do: drink beer and build a snowman. Somewhere in the night, we named him after our favorite architect, Frank (who, as a hockey lovin’ Canadian, might enjoy the thought that two artists named a sculptural snowman made from newspapers, hot glue and crumpled tinfoil after him).
After finishing Frank, we walked out of the studio to the 3am surprise of winter’s first snowfall. Brooklyn’s empty streets never looked better. So, please stop by Artist Space on Dec 13-17 and say “hi” to Frank. We believe he has the power to grant your winter wishes.
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What to do late Saturday night or early Sunday morning?
I’m thinking about checking the
24 Hour Incidental
at the Swiss Institute.
Fav work from the website? I hope to see Jason Dodge’s Kristin Larson has been to the South Pole
“Jason Dodge will utilize the open structure of the event by inviting Kristin Larson, who has explored the South Pole, to visit anonymously at any time, for any amount of time.”
This show is part of Performa 05. Roberta Smith gives an overview of Performa in the Friday NYT
Performance Art Gets Its Biennial
MTAA will be part of the Performa show at Artist Space in December. More details soon. Very soon.
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What’s the deal with your blog?
Tim, CJ and I, as we walked away from a panel talk on blogs and criticism, chatted a bit about the MTAA-RR. Basically, how do we use it?
Although the subject and tone of our posts change over time, the MTAA-RR mainly functions as an open notebook and studio. Some posts are about work, some about our lives and some about the world around us.
The RR also works as an intersection for conversations Tim and I have. Sometimes what I post comes down to passing information to Tim or responding to something we talked about. It’s a good way to track ideas as they bounce between us. Tim tends to place more personal beliefs and life out here and I tend to stand off. The result is the same. What do we want to record? What do we want to transmit?
The odd question, for me, was when CJ asked how Tintype (my other blog) works. I think I made some vauge answer about it being “photos that I like”. I may have said something lame like - “it’s not really for people to look at”. Which, if thought about, makes no sense. The thing is I’m a bit more selective about posting on Tintype than I am on the MTAA-RR. Photos have to be a certain type of subject shot in a certain way. What my “certains” are, I am not certain but the rate is about 10 or 20 to 1. Even with being systematic in choice, the overall Tintype look translates as random. Here are a bunch of pictures someone likes. Here are some dogs, here are some wings, here is some guy wondering around.
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more on the WF-RSS-S
During a conversation about Blogs over on Rhizome Raw list, the possibility that everyone will stop placing new material on the net and just repost what’s already online came up. This was in response to Re-Blog. Twhid thought this was funny. So, he posted my AIOTD (02-14-04) World’s First RSS Sculpture
Geert Dekkers then shared his idea of what the WF-RSS-S might look like. “Drawing no. 780, Thursday July 08, 2004.”
Now, if I can only get this Re-blogged.
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The Overlook
one of MTAA’s fav artist and Pirated Movie soundscaper Fritz Welch has a new show. Here is his email invite. Check it.
Please visit the opening reception of Slouching Towards Bethlehem @The Project, 37 w. 57th st. 3rd floor. thursday july 29th 6-8pm. it is a groupshow curated by none other than Jeff Uslip and features works by many people including Hermes
Trismegistus, George Carlin and Bob Ross. i will be showing a new
sculpture/installation entitled The Overlook (please read statement below).
The Overlook is a walldrawing in glossy silhouette, by memory, of the two family
homes designed by the artist’s father. Both buildings employed solar power and other utopian design concepts but failed financially causing bankruptcy and endless court litigation. At the point where basements become imagined tunnels, a precariously hanging sculpture is forced out from the wall. It includes a not-to-scale “model” of the artist’s Brooklyn home (currently under eviction caused by yuppie expansionism)
flooded by a winter thaw, evoking “the elevator door releasing torrents of blood”
scene in The Shining. This Schwarzkogler-esque accident brings flowing fluid from roof to ceiling to floor and finally to sound out on the head of a drum strategically placed underneath, playing Ringo’s parts of the Plastic Ono Band’s song “We All Shine On”.
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We Are All Together: Media(ted) Performance
Correction: the “kind-a-like-an” opening will be Wednesday the 14th.
From Tuesday, 12/13 to Saturday 12/19, MTAA will be showing a new work in Artists Space’s “We Are All Together: Media(ted) Performance” curated by Marisa Olson. The show includes work by Sabrina Gschwandtner + Cat Mazza, MTAA, Kate Pocrass, Chris Sollars, and Lee Walton.
A “kind-a-like-an-opening” will happen on Wednesday 12/13 from 7-9ish with a performance by Släang (aka Hector Ducci). Please stop in and say hello.
MTAA will be showing a new video/sculpture/online vote/performance called
“10 Pre-Rejected, Pre-Approved Performances: Midnight In The Deli”
Artist Space – 138 Green Street, 3rd Floor, NYC (212-226-3970)
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War, a brief recap
Okay, so America invades a country. Or was it liberates? We invade to stop this country from creating nuclear bombs and dropping them on New York. We invade to punish them for 9/11. Okay, that’s not what we are saying now — but that’s what everyone seemed to be saying at the time. Come on, just admit it. You’ll feel better.
Anyway, so we invade. US soldiers are killed. We kill some people. We lock some people up. We get caught torturing some people we locked up but we just blame some low level grunts for that. In general, we kick the old government out and call the war over. We try not to mention the missing bomb factories and terrorist ties.
Some time goes by. More US soldiers are killed. Contractors and aid workers who were going to rebuild the country are killed. The police and army that we had planned to pass our job to are killed. Local politicians are taken out of their cars and gunned down in the streets. Large sections of the country are deemed “no-go zones.” We spend a jaw-dropping amount of money.
Now, talk about “winning.” As in, “we’re going to win this one.” We talk about the upcoming election that will set up a new government for this country. We begin to talk about disengagement.
So, here is my idea. After the January election, let’s all give a big cheer; call it a win and get the fuck out of Iraq.
What? That’s not going to work? The country will disintegrate into a blood bath? Into something far more hospitable to terrorists than when we got there? Damn, I never saw that coming.
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Wait a Minute! What da fuck?
“If you access it online you can log your time and save your time so you can come back, and eventually if you watch it for one year you get what we call art data for free, which is an XML file describing a year-long video,” says Tim Whidden, the artist who created the piece.”
THE ARTIST who created the piece? T.Whid may be telling the press that he made the work but I will NOT tolerate MY art being misrepresented in this media hi jack. T.Whid’s out of town and off line. Who’s with me in a MTTA coup d’etat?
(Please note: the above T.Whid styled blog-rant-performance-parody was only intended to placate those rabid MTAA-RR T.Whid fans who are bummed that he is away. Don’t worry; he’ll be back next week…maybe.)
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very easy
Find M.River’s head at the rock show.
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very good art
Well…now that Twhid’s a vacation, I guess I have to post something. Here is an oldie but a goodie. The following is an actual MTAA proposal to a gallery for participation in group show. Needless to say, the gallery passed on the idea.
Dear (gallery name)
The following are ten artworks and performances that MTAA would like to produce in your new space as a part of the (gallery show’s name). Although the ten projects are individual artworks, they may also be understood and presented as a set. Presenting the set will be accomplished by photo documentation in the space, text in the space (using project 7) and as a web-page on the internet (see project 10)
1. Portable Blue Sky: Ten blue helium balloons with ten penlights attached to the balloons’ strings. Balloons are released in the gallery space and spend their brief life on the gallery ceiling.
2. Midnight in the Deli: Installation made of 100 USD worth of materials bought at the nearest 24-hour deli with an ATM. Materials then used to make a rough model of the deli in the gallery space.
3. Null and Void: MTAA will be available to destroy or render artistically void artworks by any artist in the show at the artist written request.
4. In preparation for the over running of (gallery name) by hordes of Bloodthirsty Barbarians (AKA Bunker Flood): Originally installed at White Columns in 2001. This work is a barricade around the reception desk of a gallery. If at the time of the exhibition no reception desk is available, MTAA will provide one.
5. One Block, One Hour Tour: A one-hour MTAA guided public tour around the block of (gallery name).
6. The Window Game: MTAA will spend an hour playing tic-tac-toe on the windows of the gallery in the time horned method of breathing on the windows until steam builds up and then drawing on the haze with ones finger tips. We will are willing to take on all challengers.
7. LO-Fi BBS: Work consists of a 14’ long black board (and chalk) hung on a 2x4 structure. Work is set up so people in the gallery can leave public messages. A version of this work was installed by Creative Time for the Meat Market Art Fair in 1999.
8. Very Good Art: For the time of the (gallery show’s name), MTAA will rename the gallery Very Good Art. A banner or flag will be made and hung to announce the renaming. Letterhead will be designed.
9. Galleo 100: For the show, MTAA will install a shelf with a one-gallon bottle of Galleo and 100 plastic cups.
10. mteww.com/verygoodart: A web-page will be placed on the MTAA homepage (http:mteww.com) documenting the 10 works for the (gallery show’s name).
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Update on the AADL
The Contagious Media Showdown ends this Thursday at midnight and the AADL is holding fast at 24. It would be great to work into the top 20 but it looks rough. Any ideas on how to pick up a few 1,000 viewers in the next day would be good.
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USSR
Space Art ?
I want this.
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Go, join one right now
Unlike some, MTAA is all for artist collaborations and collectives forming at speeds limited only by the time it takes to create a website and call some friends.
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Universal Acid - live vlog art tonight
Live 12 hrs of vlog art to rock your New Year’s Eve party from MO and Abe. Filmed at MTAA Universal Studios in lovely downtown Brooklyn.
universalacid.net
Check it.
update; it’s 10:30 new year’s day…hung over…looking at this remix. wonderful.
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Internet Art Survives, But the Boom Is Over
In a small article in the New York Times this morning entitled “Internet Art Survives, But the Boom Is Over”, Cory Arcangel, Rachel Greene, Jonah Peretti, Mark Tribe and Lawrence Rinder talk about the death of Net Art. Yup, that’s right, it’s now officially officially, officially …over and dead.
Or, as Mark Tribe calls it and MTAA officially agrees, “Undead”.
So, let’s all get together tonight to celebrate Undead Net Art at the Drinkin’ and Drawin’ Championship, 2004
.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY T.WHID!!!
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What I did while T.Whid was in Ohio
Please see post below for reasons for this post. Anyway, while T. Whid was in Ohio, not much happened. I cooked at 12 pound Turkey.
I went to Coney Island on Thanksgiving with Helen for lunch.
I practiced the C scale on my bass.
I skimmed a few coats of plaster on the MTAA studio.
I fished 4 paintings. Side note - It looks like I will make my goal of one 9 x 12 painting per week for 2004. Each painting consist of one uncropped figure. I am planing to paint one 8 x 10 head per week for 2005.
I started reading Willimas Gibson’s Pattern Recognition. I bought some new black eye glasses.
I was going to go look at the polar bears at the Central Park Zoo with Helen today but it was raining. We went to a movies instead.
Well, that’s the highlights. Please note that one of the above details is untrue. Just try to think of this as a slow response to the Blogging and Art panel.
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two shots from sat
Here is the shot of the DADC flyer on North 6th street and here is a shot of a painting I sent to the Momenta benefit.
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html smack down?
rumor has it… it’s on. Anything to say, reblog?
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Truman Capote sez…
It must have been the spring of 1950 or 1951, since I have lost my notebooks
detailing those two years. It was a warm day late in February, which is high spring in Sicily, and I was talking to a very old man with a mongolian face who was wearing a black velvet Borsalino and, disregarding the balmy, almond-blossom-scented weather, a thick black cape.
The old man was Andre Gide, and we were seated together on a sea wall overlooking shifting fire-blue depths of ancient water.
The postman passed by. A friend of mine, he handed me several letters, one of them containing a literary article rather unfriendly toward me (had it been friendly, of course no one would of sent it).
After listening to me grouse a bit about the piece, and the unwholesome nature of the critical mind in general, the great French master hunched, lowered his shoulders like a wise old . . . shall we say buzzard?, and said, “Ah, well. Keep in mind an Arab proverb: ‘The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.’”
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Toni Toni Toni?
found this over at Rhiz.
Truth is stranger than fiction. Finally, Toni speaks up in order to set the record straight at “toniburlap.com”
In a recent interview in Artforum Magazine, Whitney Biennial curators Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne announced that a third curator had joined their team. This curators name is Toni Burlap. To quote Philippe “When two people curate a show, they give birth to a third person. Her responsibility is to channel our illusion.” Is Toni a fictional character? Are these curators serious or is this just a test to see if anyone actually reads articles in Artforum as opposed to just looking at the pictures. While some have described Toni as symptomatic of an art world in retreat— reduced to an infantile world of playacting where characters must be created to say what is REALLY thought in this current conservative cultural climate, others have described Toni as all TOO real.
In the words of Toni herself, “I am a distant cousin of Toni, who you may know from his role as the occupant of Danny’s stomach in the movie “The Shining.” Fame seems to follow the family as I am the bastard child of two art curatorial super stars. Having lived most of my life in the bellies of my parents, I emerged recently by serving as the curatorial “channeler” for this years Whitney Biennial. However, my channeling abilities are open for all to take advantage of. Visit my blog and I will help you channel your illusion as well.”
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AIOTD - Sound Sculpture
all we need is 100 cute sound toys, some contact mics, a table, and some hot glue. Oh, and a BIG amp.
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Tintype RSS
Tintype has a new RSS feed (thk Tim).
I’ve been working on Tintype since March. I think of it as one big unfinished work or study for a work. I’m not sure what to do with it yet but I do know that I need to keep adding images for one year.
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Tinjail/tintype
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Long time, no post.
Hey, I’ve been busy making some very dull photos.
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thisisamagazine
Small new MTAA work in thisisamagazine Issue 12.
The new issue’s title is based on one of our work as well:”(I promise that) Hardcore (Conceptual art will make a comeback very, very soon)”
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TIAM
Small new MTAA work in thisisamagazine.
Also in the mag, heavy sample and remix of MTAA’s Simple Net Art Diagram ca. 1997
Enjoy.
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The Worst Artwork I’ve Ever Made.
Tonight is the start of the Contagious Media Showdown. I’ve entered possibly the worst “artwork” I’ve ever made. How do I know? Besides the “someone-just-dropped-a-dead-fish- on-the-floor” vibe I get when I mention the idea, here are some direct quotes. The quotes are from friends, so I know they are just being polite.
“It’s just mean.”
“Why would you want to drop that turd like that on the internet?”
“I don’t even read blogs, but I know that is the last one I would want to look at.”
So, that’s about it. It’s bad. It makes me laugh at how bad it is. I’m hoping to come in last place. Everyone should have dream. Right now, this is mine.
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THERE’S A CITY IN MY MIND
MTAA will be part of a group show at Southfirst gallery in Brooklyn. The conceptual framework for the show calls for all the work to be sent to the gallery, that nothing is for sale, and the work must show up before the closing BBQ on July 31. The work we are doing for the show has a sort of an above-below-travel-work-play-vacation-cabin-fever-in-the-city-sort-of-vibe. Southfirst is below our studio. So, one of the projects we are doing involves sending an image to the gallery via fishing line. It’s like summer ice fishing in the studio. Hot as hell in the studio by the way. The other work is 7 emailed black and white photos (printed at 8.5 x 11) of airplane wings from every plane I’ve been on in the last year. They are to be hung in a single vertical column.
If you find yourselves wondering around Brooklyn before July 31, check it out.
THERE’S A CITY IN MY MIND, a summer group show on view through July 31. The exhibition consists of presenting artists who work with or include photography in their work with a series of parameters: all of the work in the show has to be sent to the gallery, nothing is for sale, and the work should arrive during the six weeks the show is on view.
The result is a series of overlapping works-in-progress which will arrive at completion on July 31. Some pieces are sent by email, others by mail or fax. Nothing resembles a heavily-produced photographic object. Because many of the participants are traveling during the summer their pieces are often individually developed around the theme of travel and distance. Jointly these works examine the parameters of making and exhibiting images.
Participating artists are: Doug Ashford, Michel Auder, Fia Backstrom, Matthew Brannon, Peter Coffin, Sean Dack, Jacob Dyrenforth, Anne Eastman, Michelle Elzay, Jesse Eva, Michelle Grabner, Frank Haines, Joyce Kim, MTAA, Maya Schindler, Noah Sheldon, Jacob Stein, Dan Torop, Michael Vahrenwald, Miss Liz Wendelbo, and Yuh-Shioh Wong.
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The people have spoken…
The Vote is in…
out of 135 vote, 23 people (17.04%) picked Midnight In The Deli - An installation is created with $100 worth of materials bought at the nearest 24-hour ATM-enabled deli or convienance store. The materials are purchased at midnight.
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the secert life of apples
Meat.org “WARNING: This site contains graphic vegetarian-oriented material.” When I saw this warning via Google, I had a brief image of fighting /oversexed fruits and vegetables but alas, it’s about meat.
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The AADL, now in color
Note to the world. The AADL has been retooled and is now up live. For those of you (all 76) who looked at the site this morning and thought ” …eh…”, I beg of you to re-click that link and see the new and improved. I know you will enjoy it. Also, while at the site, don’t forget to visit the gift shop. Thank you
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the last shot
It looks like we are set to film the last clip for the 1ypv on Sunday. We’ve been thinking about adding a “bizarre plot twist” at the end. Post you suggestion here and if we use it we’ll give you the credit.
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Tengo…
Yo La crowd in the late afternoon summer sunlight.
Fireworks from my fire escape.
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from Bloomberg in the ny times…
“We welcome people to the park, and hopefully the weather will be good,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “There’s a lot of people in the park - there’s roughly a quarter of a million people in the park on a normal Sunday afternoon - and this will just add to that. So it will be crowded but it will be a lot of fun.”
It’s a strange city with a strange mayor.
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Sunday at work
Argggrgggrhrggggrghhhhhhhhhh…I need a vacation. AIOTD, me on a beach with a beer. Life size.
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SU 02-07-05
MTAA Studio Update 02-07-05
Here is another “Studio Update”. Fair warning, reading about the nuts and bolts of our studio is akin to reading about the weather.
At long last, the floor has a fresh coat of deck paint (Battleship Gray). Our studio is above South First Gallery. Apparently, some paint dropped down into the gallery last week. I went down to apologize on Sunday. He laughed and showed me the two small drops of paint that had landed on his note book. The drops came from the holes he drilled in the ceiling for a phone line last year. Somehow, I think we could make some art this way.
Last Wednesday we assembled what we thought would be the final 1ypv sculpture. Basically we took all the parts of the “set” and stacked them up with the projector on top. It looked interesting but it was difficult to get an image of the sculpture with a good sized projection in the studio. After trying a few different arrangements, we decided to take the sculpture apart and put the props back on the stage. On Sunday, we had the set rebuilt on the stage with the 1ypv projected on the back wall. I think we got some good shots.
Also on Sunday, we also stopped by our new down the hall neighbor LMAK projects to see a very cool installation / performance by Emily Katrencik
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AIOTD - Last Star in Brooklyn
Last night, as I walked home, I saw a rare site in the sky. It was a lone bright star (or planet?). So, AIOTD, a small model landscape with a big night sky and one small star.
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Fun with tree spiking
Almost everything you want to know about legal tree spiking. Site includes software and hardware section for all you teck geeks.
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So Ho, ho, ho…
If you find yourselves in lower Manhattan today (12-17-05), worn out from shopping and looking for the true meaning of “the Holidays” in a Charlie-Brown-kind-a-way…Why not end your day gifting some joy to your consumer soul with some FREE PERFORMANCE ART IN SOHO?
It’s Garbage Day in Soho and just a few blocks away you can check Lee’s last performance at Art In General (4 to 5pm) Also, while in Soho, stop in at Artist Space and say “Hey, Happy-Merry-Whatever!” to knitPro and Frank
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So, anyhoo…
Back to what I was suppose to be working on this week. That being some text based photoblog studies. My rule on this is to present new photos taken on the day of the post. Of course, intention makes casual activities difficult. I mean, my weekday life is kinda slow. Not much to shoot. That being said, here are some points of interest in my evening.
the crappy carb on my 65 Dodge
the hole in the studio floor
the shot that I see at least 2 people take every time I drive down Kent street in Brooklyn on a Sunday
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so dam cute - Jen n’ Ken
jenniferandkenmccoy
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Now Playing in Aspen
Good luck to our friend Bill Hallinan with screening his short movie Pony Under a Painted Sky at Slamdance. It looks like it premiered on Sunday so hopefully Bill and Dawn are being whisked around Aspen in a limo right now.
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:( MTAA’s SNAD + Abe + Jimpunk ) :
Almost everything you want to know about Jimpunk’s new remix of the Simple Net Art Diagram
Simple Net Art Diagram by MTAA ca. 1997 /
2004.remix ):
:f / Abe + ): =
*
“an explanation to what really happens” - Jimpunk ):
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site visit
Murph, T. Whid and I checked out The Thing’s new/temp space in the AT&T building yesterday.
pics on tinjail
I might end up building a very small projection room. Not sure yet.
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Sing it with me…
Vacation, all he ever wanted… Vacation, had to get away…
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Showdown
And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, artist of all ages…my worst “artwork” ever.
The Artist Anti Defamation League.
Please link, blog, post, forward, feed or ignore. We will be doing a redesign in a week. Enjoy the awesome wordpress default template for now.
Oh…and if you have a story for the AADL or would like to blog for it, send me an email - mriver (at) mteww.com subject line - blog art. You can also send hate mail. Thanks.
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Shaq beats Lee
final score
damn.
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AIOTD - World’s first RSS Sculpture.
Two blogs are created. Blog A picks up and posts content from blog B. Blog B picks up and posts content from blog A. Each blog updates posts once per day. An ASCI image of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty is sent to Blog A to begin the work.
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Robbin Murphy’s My Smile
Robbin sent me this after seeing the Infinite Smile on Friday. Here is his My Smile. I think he made it some time ago. If you have a self smile loop, send me the URL. Smile. Smile. Smile.
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Rhz. Field Trip
As “AFC” dubbed it, MTAA went to check out the “hot new media chicks talk about art with some dudes” lecture at EAI last night. What did I learn? MO pointed out after the talk that “sublime” comes with a trace of horror. For me, that about sums up Internet Art 2.0
No, I mean that in a good way.
Also, props to CP for the impromptu Jodi / Wikipedia mash. I think I got a photo of it.
Yeah, you had to be there.
Final note - the SNAD 2.0 is the same SNAD surrounded by a cartoon thought bubble
twhid adds:
All-in-all a great time was had by all.
My one quibble with the panel was that 3 of 4 were very similar in their approaches and inspiration (Wolfgang Staehle being the odd man out). My feeling was that it could have shown a bit more range in what net artists are doing right now.
Another disappointment was not meeting Paddy from AFC who I assume was there since she promised a review.
And one final dissapointment: after the panel Wolfgang joked with me asking why MTAA wasn’t on the panel since we’re always on these panels. I regret not coming back with, “I guess MTAA is just too net art 1.0.” ;-)
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red ball
Looks like LW got his 100 suggestions and is into the elimination rounds. Looks like I’m in round one
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Red Ball, NYC
This is Lee at his opening at 31 Grand and he needs your help.
Go to his site and add your suggestion to the Red Ball NYC project. He needs 100 ideas before he can start the project and he is only at 41. He needs quality ideas people, quality.
Oh, BTW, cool show at 31 Grand…check it
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Rapunzel
Here is a review of a computer driven animation on Artnet -
Jennifer Steinkamp’s Rapunzel Also, check Lehmann Maupin’s site for a short movie of the work.
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Team MTAA Update
Yes, MTAA’s “Born 2 Lose 2” raced last night and we lost. Yeah Team. Not only did we lose our race but our car did not make it all the way down the track. Not only did we not make it down the track but I swear that of all the cars, we traveled the least distance. This under-performance was accomplished by outfitting our car with giant scoop to slow down, keeping the car under weight and piloting the vehicle by a small ceramic bunny.
I have some pics that I’ll post later.
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Race day
MTAA’s car “Born 2 Lose 2” will race tonight as part of the brooklyngravityracers.
details and directions
MTAA’s car is 79 and we have been rated “R-” (raceable but underweight). We will be on The Fine Arts Racing Team. I’ll see if I can get some pics.
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PSI’s The Unseeable Portrait (Too Shy)
Our friends and Pirated Movie sound artist PSI sent an email post card:
On May 27, 2004 the members of The Peaceye Mystery Achievers arrived at Cave 12 in Genevé, Switzerland ready to spread the gospel like a solid coat of rose enhanced sardine paste on a smooth bed of unleavened bread. Their preparation for this glorious event included 17 hours of intensive meditation while driving from the south of France in a downpour of plague ridden spirit residue. They began the concert driven by an unbridled sense of optimism and hope but ended crushed by the unexpected circumstances unleashed by the deep rooted unpleasantness of demonic possession. This mp3 is the last surviving evidence of the groups remarkable ability to amaze and confuse but now you the listener must decide
check it
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pretenders
Who the hell is David Cross and why is he stealing my look?
Becon’s closet guy, you’ve already been warned.
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Press
Hey. Cool beans. MTAA in the The Globe and Mail
Thanks to dymond for the heads up.
t.whid adds:
Shamefully, I wasn’t familiar with The Globe And Mail. I knew it was a Canadian paper, but not sure of its place in the Canadian media-scape. Here’s a wikipedia article about it.
UPDATE:
Some nice person added the full text of the article in the comments. It became unavailable at The Globe and Mail web site.
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Talk about, Pop Music
An MTAA fan, as well as M. River’s arm candy, H. Popk calls the other
vital national election - Who will be pop’s
next princess?
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Phone Mod
A few weeks back at that Dumbo art crawl thing, I saw this guy talking on an old (70’s? 80’s?) phone tucked under his arm. I asked him if it was “real”. He smiled and said “yup”. So I snapped a pic of him for
Tintype
Thanks to Rhizome this morning, I found his site
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Pics of Infinite Smile
Infinite Smile and
detail
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parade paul mccarthy
I can not help it. He rocks.
Late side note: if ya know about PM’s work, ya know he’s all about meat.
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Off line - Help
MTAA is on vacation and, for the most part, off line until 2004. I will be working on a essay for a zine called Smac while on vacation. The issue is on defunct technology. So, if you have a opinion on defunct, please place a comment at the end of this post. I will need all the help I can get cuz the other writer for the issue is Bruce Sterling. I am so fucking out of my league. Help. Help.
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onkawara.thing.net
On Kawara Generator by Darrel O’Pry
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NYT Review
Here is the NYT review of the Artbase 101 show. I was a bit fearful of this review based on Boxer’s last tee-up on interactive art but she seems somewhat charmed by the show. Good job to all.
Here is the MTAA section.
Certain works come right out and demand great gobs of your time. Overreaching is part of their charm.#
“1 Year Performance Video,” by M. River and T. Whid Art Associates, asks that you “please watch for 1 year.” You will see “two artists living out 365 days in identical white rooms,” the site says; it’s an updating of “Sam Hsieh’s notorious ‘One Year Performance 1978-79,’ in which the artist isolated himself in a cage-like room for a year’s time.” In the new piece, you’re asked to put in as much time as the artists did.
That doesn’t mean you have to. Lots of pieces of online art loosen their grip on you once you get the point. And by the way, nearly every piece of online art does have a point.”
jimpunkmtaa
the first readymade off-online collaboration
from our net bud jimpunk
++
t.whid adds:
The collab is related to an early post re: MTAA’s inclusion in an article by Valerie Lamontague in Parachute #113.
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AIOTD - America’s Worst Novel, 2005
Unreadable at Any Speed, America’s Worst Novel, 2005
Helen A.S. Popkin vs. M. River of MTAA
It’s a simple plan. Write a novel in 10 chapters with 10 pages per chapter. Publish the novel on December 31, 2004 at midnight via an online vanity press. For a brief or maybe a long moment this text will be the default “Worst American Novel of 2005”.
It’s a simple plan. It will work. I know it will work.
All I need to do now is con Helen into helping me write a novel or at least a bunch of stuff that we’ll call a novel.
Good Lord…this is goina’ work!
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not new media
52 paintings in 2004
Each painting is 9 x 12 inches and depicts one figure from head to toe. My pace was one a week for most of the year. This plan was derailed in mid December when the local store I buy the canvases from ran out of my size. So, after a few months of waiting for the back order to show up, I’ve finally got around to finishing the set. A few people asked me why I did not get the canvases from some other store. My only answer was something like - “Hey, it’s my weird working system.”
I’ve made a set of 53 small grey landscapes in 2003 (I think it was a leap year or a have an extra painting for some reason.) This year, I’m working on 52 paintings of heads. Each head is 8 x 10. All the paintings are made in acrylic with the line work done with a dip-pen and ink. Most of the images in the 03 and 04 sets started with an image from the Sunday New York Times. The heads, so far, have not.
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that barney opening again…
Well, my new year is staring off on a good foot. I have always hoped someone would clip something off our site and use it for some quasi commercial purpose without telling us - thus breaking our CC license (or at least the CC as I understand it… any thoughts t.whid?)
So, as I was surfing this fun parody site, located via an article in the NY Times
this morning, I once again found that all my dreams
can come true.
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Bondi Blues
In the fall of 98, I bought my first computer. It was, and still is, a first generation Bondi Blue iMac. Non-Nomadic (…yup, that’s the name of my HD) and I have been through quite a bit over the last 6 years. It’s been a good little computer but I’ve decided it is time to put it out to greener pastures.
So here is the big question: I‘m interested in video editing and DVD publishing. What should I get? Also, what can one do with a old but good iMAc?
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MTAA’s New Home
Not only has MTAA moved our virtual studio to a new server, we signed a lease on our first studio in Brooklyn last night. Yippeee. Yes, as the McCoys told us last night, making stuff is the new net art. The first thing I want to do is write our URL on the door.
+++
t.whid adds
Well, I wouldn’t say it’s our first studio in Brooklyn. Up until about a year ago M.River was the lease holder of a very nice and large loft in Williamsburg. He had lived there for 10 years. Needless to say, he had a good sized studio in the loft. I guess it wasn’t our studio, it was more like his studio, but it was where MTAA did our first collaborative projects.
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new media barn raiser…
Here is an update on my
“shelter” post.
The Thing has entered the
Death Star
Yup, that’s right. I’m thinking about building a small sculpture / 2 room sleeping pod / workspace inside this undead skyscraper. If your interested in joining the project, send me a email. Be forewarn ye new media types…I’m looking for free manual labor. Next step? - site visit.
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New Media Outdoors
Looks like CP’s Technorganic 05 was a hit. Check out MTAA’s Infinite Phil in pic #6. Very cool.
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need to know when the other shoe drops…
dude, like your site sooooo needs a RSS feed.
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net art from Austria
How Does the Internet work?
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My Last Week
DVDs
sympathy for the devil
punishment park
year of the pig
Work
R5
R4
HG
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MTAA ego surf…
shout out to Mandy in Manitoba, Canada of the blog
Sleepless in Hickville
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MTAA, the boys of summer.
Once upon a time I wrote an email to announce another summer gig for MTAA. It started something like - ”Now that everyone has left New York, it is once again safe for MTAA artwork to be shown.”
Well, it’s that time a year and here is what we have lined up for your summer art viewing pleasure.
There’s a City In My Mind, a Group Show at Southfirst in Brooklyn (located directly under the MTAA studio), Rhizome’s Artbase 101 big group show at the at the New Museum and last but not least, the Pirated Movie is being shown at 00130 in Helsinki Finland.
We will be posting more details about each show, so stay tuned or whatever one says about checking in on a blog.
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MTAA general note on the artwork Infinite Phil ; )
From the Gaurdian (thanks to Murph)
Pressed on whether he stole ideas from others, Cattelan replied: “Was Warhol robbing Marilyn [Monroe’s] identity when he painted her? And what was Cézanne doing? Robbing apples? In art, all you can do in the end is appropriate that which surrounds you. So it is never a robbery. At the most it is a loan. Unlike thieves, artists always give back the stolen goods.”
more
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MTAA needs you.
Bloggers wanted for 1 month online performance artwork. Must be funny if not cynical. Interested? Email mriver@mteww.com with subject line “blog art?” for details.
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MTAA, boys of summer (part 2)
If you happen to be near Helsinki Finland between June 28 and July 31, please stop by gallery 00130 to see “international art connection vol. 1 & 2” The show has work by Michelle Handelman, Atomic Elroy, Lee Walton, HoneyByte, Bo Lee, MTAA, Luna-Nera and Maria Ocanto.
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MTAA Fan mail
While T. Whid tries to find a fix for the comments on the blog, here is a note from a MTAA-RR reader:
HP asks. “how come you never do art like this?”
Police: Artist who chained legs together lost key, hopped 12 hours to rescue
MR answers: T.Whid and I have cell phones.
twhid:
Sorry, gotta butt in on M’s post. This is my favorite line from the article:
And the drawing?#
“He brought it down with him,” Ford said. “It was a pretty good depiction of how a chain would look wrapped around your legs.”
MTAA, also on a mission…
MTAA said to all of us: ‘We’re driven with a mission from God. God would tell us, “MTAA, go make net art in Brooklyn.” And we did, and then God would tell us, “MTAA, go make art for public spaces …” And we did. And now, again, we feel God’s words coming to us, “Go get a gallery and get artworks in some collection, and get a retrospective in a museum.” And by God we’re gonna do it.
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MTAA, Boys of Summer, 05
Okay, I’m on vacation next week so T.Whid is running the blog solo starting Monday. I’m looking forward to seeing the Warhol show at DIA Beacon, visiting Woodstock, and canoeing on lake Kiwassa in the Adirondacks. I’ll bring some arty jpegs back for ya’ll.
Also, below is a note about a closing BBQ (mmmmmmm…lord I love summer) for a group show MTTA is in. The gallery is right below MTAA studio. We might have a new video running in the studio for people to check out.
So, if your in the mood for a hot dog and quasi-conceptual art (and who isn’t?), stop in.
SOUTHFIRST: PRESENTS
THERE’S A CITY IN MY MIND
A Group Show
10 June – 31 July, 2005
CLOSING BBQ: SUNDAY, 31 July 2-6 PM
Participating artists are: Doug Ashford, Michel Auder, Fia Backstrom,
Matthew Brannon, Peter Coffin, Sean Dack, Jacob Dyrenforth, Anne
Eastman, Michelle Elzay, Jesse Eva, Michelle Grabner, Frank Haines,
Joyce Kim, Nate Lowman, MTAA, Jessica Peterson, Maya Schindler, Noah
Sheldon, Jacob Stein, Dan Torop, Michael Vahrenwald, Miss Liz Wendelbo,
and Yuh-Shioh Wong.
The gallery will be closed between August 1 and September 16
See you at the bbq or see you in the fall!
S O U T H F I R S T
60 N6th Street Brooklyn, NY 11211
phone/fax 718 599 4884
www.southfirst.org
————————————
From Time Out New York
“Critic’s Picks”
“There’s a City in my Mind.” Southfirst Sat & Sun 1–6 pm and by
appointment. The rules of the game in this show are as follows: All
work must be mailed to the gallery during the exhibition, nothing will
be for sale and each piece must have a photographic element. On view
will be submissions from Fia Backstrom, Peter Coffin, Jacob Stein and
Dan Torop, among others. Through Jul 31.
From The Village Voice
“Voice Choices”
‘There’s a City in My Mind,’ SOUTHFIRST: ART
A mail art project of sorts, but more like a group show in linear flux:
Here, all work must not only include a photographic element, but must
arrive at the gallery during the six weeks the show is up. Another
twist: Nothing is for sale. (SNOW) Thru July 31
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More Fill
Wow. Cool review of the Infinite Fill Show. Check it.
I think this is the first time the name “MTAA” has been used in the NYT. Thanks Cory and Jamie. (Yes, they are brother and sister not brothers as noted in the article)
Also, the McCoys and Inka Essenhigh are in the review of Site Santa Fe (I do not think of “Horror Chase” as a loop, but its’ hard to explain to people how it differs)
Anyway, it’s great to see people I love in my morning paper.
twhid adds:
The reviewer describes our piece entitled “Infinite Phil (Hartman/Donahue)” which you can download here: 8MB mov.
And to give credit where it’s due this is how the idea came about:
twhid: ‘Infinite Fill’ hmm, we should do an endless loop of Phil Donahue.
mriver: OK
M.River tells his partner Helen about the idea.
Helen: You should do Phil Hartman doing Phil Donahue.
MTAA: OK
+++
So Helen is now not just an honorary member of MTAA, she should be made an official member. What about H.Pop?
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M. River’s Deep Thinkin’ in Canada
Here are 3 ideas that I came across while in Canada. They are not new ideas to the world but they are new to me.
1. 8-Bit is the New Punk Rock
2. The base line for New Media Art is something gets plugged into something else.
3. Sarte for Southerners: “Hell’s Ya’ll”
Please feel free to discuss.
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more on Frank the beersnowman…
Art Fag City just posted some thoughts about MTAA’s and Lee Walton’s work in the “We are all Together: Media(ted) Performance” show. Thanks again AFC. Blog on.
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more on Snoarc
Oh, btw…now that the other possible tenant for the Snoarc building at the WCT has been kicked out, I’d like to bring up this AIOTD again. Who do I need to talk to get this project rolling?
content@snoarc
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more on “and more and more awesome”
First off, read the post below.
Okay, now. Here is the truth.
I do not exactly know how it happened. I think I told TIAM that I would send something in for the issue. I may have given them a rough idea of what I wanted to do. Truthfully, I do not remember. I think, in the end, nothing was sent.
I got an email from Andy at TIAM. He said the issue was ready to launch and to check it out. I thought,”…did I send something in?” I do not have Power Point on any of my machines. So, I ignored the email.
It’s like this. I do not know the TIAM folks but I have done some projects with them. I just send them info and they put it together. It always looks great and has just the right tone for MTAA work. I feel that they “get” our art.
I called T. Whid this morning. I asked him to look at the TIAM Powerpoint and what our art was for this issue. He was a bit confused about 1.How I could not know what the work was and 2. Where the work started and stopped. He recognized my “America’s Worst Novel” writing on one of the slides. He said the work seemed to be a misnumbered and misspelled list about things I did not have time to finish. He said it is a list of 10 with only about 6 items made.
As far as I can tell, TIAM created a new work for us. I asked T. Whid, “If you did not know that I did not make it, is it good or is it just fucked up?” He said it was great. I have never seen it, I’m not sure if I made it, I think it is great as well.
I said in the beginning “Here is the Truth”. Here it is:
Sometimes I do not know at what point my life starts and stops. Things are made and conversations are had. Things get cloudy and I smile and smile.
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more boys of summer 05
Oh, we have one more for you. Looks like “DC 9/11 - The Evildoers Remix” and “Pirated Movie” may be screened as part of ~scopeHamptons. I think we might be shown on the bus but I might have misunderstood. I do like the idea of it being shown that way. I hope we can get some pics.
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meat week on the MTAA-RR
So, just in time for 4th of July cookouts, a mad cow in Texas. Yum.
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means of expression
“While you may use the Internet to shop, gather information or share information, artists are continually finding new ways to use it as their means of expression. In the following report, NY1 Tech Beat Reporter Adam Balkin takes us inside a new Internet art exhibition.”
more on the Artbase 101 show from NY1
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M.River’s out of focus photos of the DADC 05
Hot off the press and uploaded with a hangover, pics from last night’s event are now up at Tintype.
T.Whid should have some more pics soon. Big thanks to all who came out.
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MTAA bloc
It was more than a shuffle than a march but we, along with 5000,000 others, paid our disrespects to the RNC. MTAA bloc was made up of H.popk, T.whid and M.river. We tried to meet up with P.earl but got stuck at the beginning of the march for an hour.
So, as we do at all protest, here is MTAA bloc’s favs:
Voted as favorite sign, banner or t-shirt: “Go ahead and take my civil liberties, I was not using them anyway.”
Voted favorite float: the big inflatable pink pig with marching mice.
Voted bad protest idea: illegible graphic novel on a banner
Voted worst float: the dumb ass burning green dragon
Special political theater award for The Raging Grannies and Billionaires for Bush
Props to the Upright Citizen Brigade for letting people use their bathrooms even when a show was going on.
Thumbs down to Macys for showing Fox News on their big screens across from the Garden.
Anyway, it was good to see a big peaceful crowd. I have my fears that Bush will win in Nov. but I think people are starting add up his failures and realize that he has taken America in the wrong direction.
Stop by Postmasters tonight at 8 pm for DC911, Evildoers remix. Should be fun
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M River, Art Star
I’m going out on a limb here to say, “Hey, why not? I could be interesting. It might even be fun.”
First off, a disclaimer. I don’t have a tv. When I told my young brother about my no tv life he deadpaned “Yes, I know how hard it is for you to block those mind controlling rays with tinfoil”. I’m not sure if he was kidding. Sometimes people get offended when I tell them. It is as if I was pissing on their friend. They tell me about all the great parts of tv. They bring up cable. My mind wanders off.
A reality tv show about a fight to show in a hot gallery in NYC? It might work. Artist are a smart and funny lot. I think they can see the trap as they walk in. I have a feeling artist and people who are not artist but who will be acting as them (more on this thought later) will fuck with the whole idea. Think of the whole thing as something akin to “Museum Critic”.
So here is what I would look for - artist playing “artist”, political rants, live performance art, actors acting as artist, Jane and Joe public “I can make better art than that”, fashion models, the insane and freak in general. Let the stereotypes fly high.
For me, the most interesting will be people who are not artist. The ones who will try to pass them selves off as or just mock artist. I want to see what they make. I want to see if a bald headed 30 something with black frame glasses shows up to talk about his work with this cool thing called the internet.
As I’m told Paris would say, “…fake internet art geeks…that’s hot.”
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M. River, not the brightness bulb in the Net Art chandelier.
Okay, it’s going to take a second to explain this but stay with me.
While T.Whid was on vacation. (I can hear him groan as he reads this) I made a post on our blog based on a search for the tag “paintings” on Flickr. Somewhat amused by my own cleverness, I decided to make another list based on the tag “painting”. From a noun to a verb, I found that the images people placed in Flick with the two tags to have a slight shift in flavor. But…I kept getting a broken link on the second set. So, I deleted the post from our blog. (This is the part where T.whid groans)
M. Tribe just posted the second set on Reblog.
To review - M. River, clever but not that clever – both the “paintings” and “painting” list are somewhere on the net.
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Lucy the very good dog
Please join MTAA and sponsor Lucy the dog!
Lucy has registered for AIDS Walk New York and is very excited about the event. Lucy and her best friend Janice will be walking and would appreciate any donation you can give. They are participating under (team) EYEBEAM and team captain Perry says, “It’ll be super fun #1, I promise!”
Even a small amount such as $5 or $10 is helpful.
Just click HERE to enter Lucy’s personalized web page and charge your donation.
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Live Net Death
Cory to commit “Friendster Suicide”
on Thursday. I should send note or something. I’d like give him a reason not to off his account but I’m not sure if I have one.
At the same event, our pal Caitlin Jones challenges Lori Waxman to critique some net art live. Works up for crit include MTAA’s “5 Small Videos”. This could get ugly folks.
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a letter to Joan
Dear Joan Campas Montaner,
After thinking about your questions for sometime, I decide to answer in the form of an action. On December, 8, 2004 I posted your questions on the MTAA blog with a plea for someone to take on a reply. I stated that any answer would be passed on to you with the person’s name. So here is the reply from the artist and net art guru Robin Murphy.
http://www.mteww.com/mtaaRR/news/mriver/helpout.html
murphy@thing.net says,
Difficult Questions… Yikes!
Q: What is your opinion regarding the political commitment of digital artists in the complex reality of today’s world?
Robin: Well, obviously, the Dean blog revolution didn’t have much effect on the election, and moveon.org turned into a therapy group. I’ve said elsewhere that Americans aren’t very good at political art — it’s usually either bad politics or bad art — but I do think the opportunity to network with people from other parts of the world with different aesthetic agendas has been one of the great breakthroughs of digital art.
Q: What is your position on the type of political activities that digital artists should be undertaking?
Robin: Digital artists should be good citizens and seek to understand how the technologies they are using can help them be good citizens.
Q: What social function do you believe digital creation plays — or should play?
Robin: To encourage thoughtful skepticism in our social lives.
Thank you for your questions. I hope this is of use to you.
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Last night’s weird art dreams.
Go for it all you Freud / Jung types.
We are at a galley opening in a small industrial space. The gallery is empty except for an orange extension cord plugged into a low 8’ sheet rock ceiling. A small crowd is milling about waiting for something to happen. I ask someone to grab a fire extinguisher and for Tim to close the front door.
People run as a small explosion opens a 4’ x 4’ hole in the ceiling where the cord was once plugged in. The hole reveals the inside vertical brick shaftway. It runs about 20 feet straight up and then becomes dark. I’m standing under it looking at the smoke from the explosion and small blue sparks rise up the passage. I feel content as to how the sculpture turned out.
Later in the dream, I’m at a larger gallery. The floor of the gallery is covered by large maze composed of yarn. No one is in the space except for a yarn-costumed guard, who leads me to the center of the maze. In the center of the maze I kneel next to Vito Acconci who is lying on his back completely covered in orange and yellow yarn.
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Kinda creepy, but cool…
“Now is the time to begin preparing your amateur radio station to receive signals from
SuitSat , the most unusual Amateur Radio satellite ever orbited. SuitSat amateur radio equipment will be installed inside a surplus Russian Orlan spacesuit. It will become an independently orbiting satellite once it is deployed by the crew of the International Space Station during an extravehicular activity, tentatively planned for February 2nd, 2006.”
(thks, ml and bh)
So, basically they are going to toss an empty Russian space suit out the hatch and let it broadcast pre-recorded images and sounds as it falls out of orbit. Yikes. Here is to all the Cosmonauts that died on the launch pad.
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KDM100 on the road soon
From September 19 to the 25 I will be in Leonding Austria for Leonart 05. MTAA will be showing the KDM100
This is our 2nd Mac Mini driven artwork and I excited to hook it all up and see it run. I am also excited to explain to customs that the small mac-mini in my bag is art. That statement and my weird passport photo might be a problem. If you have any travel or art or tourism tips, please send them on or just wish me luck.
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kdm100 - mriver’s picks
1.ALICE COOPER, I’M EIGHTEEN
2.ANIMALS, THE, WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE
3.BAY CITY ROLLERS, THE SATURDAY NIGHT
4.BEACH BOYS, THE GOD ONLY KNOWS
5. BEATLES, THE COME TOGETHER
6.BEATLES, THE GET BACK
7.BILLY IDOL, WHITE WEDDING
8.BLACK SABBATH, PARANOID
9.BLONDIE, CALL ME
10.BLUE OYSTER CULT, DON’T FEAR THE REAPER
11.BOB DYLAN, LAY LADY LAY
12.BUGGLES, THE VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR
13.BUTTHOLE SURFERS, PEPPER
14. BYRDS, THE, TURN! TURN! TURN!
15.CAMEO, WORD UP
16.CARPENTERS, SUPERSTAR
17. CHEAP TRICK,I WANT YOU TO WANT ME
18.CHRISTMAS- ELVIS PRESLEY BLUE CHRISTMAS
19.CLASH, THE SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO
20.CREAM, WHITE ROOM
21.DAVID BOWIE, ZIGGY STARDUST
22.DAVID BOWIE/QUEEN, UNDER PRESSURE
23.DEPECHE MODE, PERSONAL JESUS
24.DEVO, WHIP IT
25.ELVIS PRESLEY, POOR BOY
26.EURYTHMICS, SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS)
27. GUESS WHO, THE AMERICAN WOMAN
28.INTERPOL, SLOW HANDS
29. JAMES BROWN, GET UP (I FEEL LIKE BEING A) SEX MACHINE
30.JAY-Z, 99 PROBLEMS
31. JIMI HENDRIX, ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
32. LED ZEPPELIN WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
33. MOBY FEAT. GWEN STEFANI, SOUTH SIDE
34. OUTKAST, HEY YA!
35. PRINCE WHEN DOVES CRY
36. QUEEN, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
37. ROB BASE & D.J. E-Z ROCK, IT TAKES TWO
38. ROLLING STONES, THE NOT FADE AWAY
39. SIMPLE MINDS, DON’T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME)
40. SLY & THE FAMILY STONE, DANCE TO THE MUSIC
41. STANDARD, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
42. STEPPENWOLF, MAGIC CARPET RIDE
43. TALKING HEADS, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
44. TONE LOC, WILD THING
45. WAR, CISCO KID, THE
46. WEEZER, HASH PIPE
47 WHITE STRIPES, THE SEVEN NATION ARMY
48. WHO, THE MY GENERATION
49. YEAH YEAH YEAHS, MAPS
50. ZOMBIES, THE SHE’S NOT THERE
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justatestofsomething
Ummmm…just ignore this post.
It’s really just a test of something on the backend of the site.
It’s nothing more than that.
Well, okay, as long as I am here I’ll give you the MTAA Studio Update. I think writing a MTAA S.U. is like a reporting the weather. Some stuff happens but unless you are in it, it’s kinda dull. Anyway, Monday we tested the software that RSG wrote for the 1ypv and then moved the sculpture up onto the stage so that I could paint the floor. Last night I painted the floor (oil based deck paint - battleship grey - hot). I have just a small patch still to paint under the desk. John, our landlord stopped by to say hello. Sounds like a new lease for 05 is fine. I gave him our URL so he can see the 1ypv. Hopefully we will move the sculpture off the stage this weekend so we can get a photo of it working.
Man, I can’t believe you would actually read down to this point. Thanks. Get back to work now.
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jail house 8-bit
LOL…How could the police miss the camera phone?
8 bit musicians in NYC jail
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Is the big one next?
I hope not.
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it will be like some sort of bleak-industrial-beer soaked-sanhippie- woodstock
Why should I haul all the way to Dumbo, Brooklyn in the rain and cold this Friday night?
1. MTAA shows Infinite Smile at Video_Dumbo
2. RSG shows Black Hawk Down (RSG-BLACK-1) at Smack Mellon
3. 2 venues of Todd P shows !!!
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If in London…
Check out Fritz’s show
When the Time-Traveller Kills Their Grandmother is a manifestation of soundart and noiselove at Alma Enterprises (1 Vyner Street, London E2 9DG. nearest tube station is Bethnal Green) september 2 - 25, private view sept 1st. 6-9pm.
In this multiphase project, humansacrifice presents sets out to explore the possibility of using sound, noise and even music as tools for warping reality and shifting time while placidly wading through the mire of contemporary psychic potentiality.
The first night (sept 1, 9pm-midnight) will expand into staged
demonstrations of these concepts at Bistrotheque (23-27 wadeson Street in hackney. 9pm-midnight) Music actions by Pleasure/Drenching Improvers, Dylan Nyoukis & Stefan Jaworzyn, and The Nekid Kidmen. Noise becomes flesh as music is food and art is love!!!
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Ich Bin Ein American
Here is the list for
the Whitney O6. Yes, I’m scratching my head on this as well. Apparently this will be the “All the Artworld is American” Biennial. It might work but it does seem…strange. Fighting a static international art fair/ biennial look with a biennial? Well, fight fire with fire. It might work. But anyways, Hey! Japanther’s playing !!!
Also, props for Steve Parrino. RIP.
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cool like this
An email from an MTAA fan: “How come you never do cool stuff like this ?”
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I always knew he would be a freaky-mac-kinda guy
Lucas Samaras iMovies
Cool
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Home in Brooklyn
I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.
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Help a pal out, part 2
More difficult questions for the mtaaRR –
Joan Campàs, a professor of digital art and hypertext in the Department of Humanities at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Barcelona,
Spain)is writing a book about the social history of digital
art, literature, and music. Joan sent me two questions based on questions posed to artists in the September 1970 by the journal Artforum.
The question are:
1. What is your opinion regarding the political commitment of
digital artists in the complex reality of today’s world? What is
your position on the type of political activities that digital
artists should be undertaking?
2. What social function do you believe digital creation plays—or
should play?
So, with some faith in the internet, I pass the question on to anyone who would care to take a stab at it. I will site your name(s) in my reply.
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hmmmmmmm…
Software Art ?
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Hello MTAA-RR
I’m back from vacation
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Helping the Judges:
I asked a friend if a formula could be written to help the judging of the Drinkin’ and Drawin’ Championship. Here is his reply:
The formula would depend on your weighting of the importance of things,
(quality of art vs drunkenness)
But you could simply add the drunk score to the art score plus
drunkenness* art.
So if your art is a 1, and drunk is a 10, you get 1+10+10=21.
If your art is a 3 and drunk is a 7, you get 3+7+(3*7)=31
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hate speech
T.Whid and I tend to agree on most things. This is not going to be one of them. Yes, free speech and a free press is something that democracies need to function. I do not think this image is the moment I want to uphold in that fight. I find it baseline intolerant and something more fucked after that.
From the guardian:
The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung went further, calling for the caricatures to be published in as many newspapers as possible. Urging “Europe-wide solidarity”, it said: “Religious fundamentalists who do not respect the difference between satire and blasphemy have a problem not only with Denmark, but with the entire western world.”
Yeah, I understand it’s satire but when I step back, it’s something darker.
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hdtv
Yeah. Yeah. I’m overposting today. GH sent me a link to an artist HDTV site called
moovelab that I wanted to pass on. Looks interesting.
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happy earth day
earth art ?
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Greenpoint, USA
Almost everything you want to know about Greenpoint, Brooklyn (aka m.river’s hood). Things like, “just how toxic is it here”?
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Greater New York’s Blogin’ N Drawin’
Hey gang, It’s a drawing bee over at J.W.’s pad. I think I’m going to try Cory’s rave vid in the elevator.
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good for winter blues
Map of wild parrots in Brooklyn
Yes, Brooklyn is paradise on earth.
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go team
T. Whid of MTAA gives a big thumbs up outside of Aljira after what we thought was our big interview screw up.
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Gimme Shelter
a bedroom, a pod, a hotel, a shack, a fort, a bunker, a cell, a cave, a pad, a tent, a shelter, a cabin, an igloo, a hut,
“Oh, a storm is threat’ning
My very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away”
I have the possibility of building a one or two bed structure inside a skyscraper. It is part workspace, part sleep space and part art. It needs to be temporary, small, and very very inexpensive (as in free) to build. I’ve always been interested in idiosyncratic workspaces and shelters. Tim and I have built two installations in this mode as part of MTAA.
Bunker Flood
Cage Match
I think the appeal of this possible site is that it will be a temporary work space and a sleep space - a mash of two different needs and states. I’m not sure what Tim and I will do or if this project will happen at all but it might be interesting to a talk about it as it develops.
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general note on “To Be Listen To” project
NYT helps MTAA’s “To Be Listen To” project (coming this fall) by explaining Podcasts to the world.
Admit it. You don’t know what podcasts are. Your plan is to do that thing of half-reading tech articles and waiting in denial until it’s scarily mandatory that you really understand it -for instance, you have to create your own podcast for some random reason in one hour - and then desperately turning to Wikipedia or a teenage relative for a last-minute explanation. Just as you did long ago with the World Wide Web.
more NYT on podcasts
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Buy Now
The massive and cool This Is a Magazine Compendia #3 - CHAOS HAPPENS is out now. The Compendia includes some fine examples of MTAA print quality art. Get it now. Get it.
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Gelitin
Gelitin is
awesome
via James Wagner
I think the court Gelitin built for the first PS1 “Warm Up” was perfect. In the following years, the MOMA curated young architects have seemed to me a bit, well…bland. I’d love to see some more cross discipline for this space…or just have Acconci Studio do it. Ya know?
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Free Quality Sculpture
title - “Double Portrait Abandonment Plan Number 2 in Wood”
Two wood cubes (24x24x24) signed and dated (2005) by M. River (cube left) and T. Whid (cube right) of MTAA. Work is free to the first person, gallery or museum to contact MTAA (mriver at mteww.com - subject line “free sculpture”) Work must be removed from artist studio in Williamsburg Brooklyn before Jan 1, 2005.
And Bonus Artwork !
MTAA will include free photo document (an emailed jpeg) of the sculpture removal
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found with “paintings” tag
ten
paintings
found
on
flickr
to
make
a
group
show
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found last night
My summer vacation destination.
Henry at my kitchen table.
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First AIOTD in 2006 - MTAA 24 hour strike.
This AIOTD started around 2 am in a group of 10 or so people in front of T.Whid’s home in Brooklyn during his New Year’s Eve party. Someone in the crowd asked, “What the fuck is MTAA?” Someone, it might have been Peggy, answers, “You know, those artist who go on strike”
So, I think we will go on strike at our studio one day this year.
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FLA
Living will
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EVERYTHING WILL BE OK
EVERYTHING WILL BE OK
is the new READER’S COMPANION (#4) to This is (not) a Magazine (Issues 14 through 17). It is a book, a DVD, it has some work by MTAA, and it is only 33 Euro + S/H. What more do you need?
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sigh
4 more wars.
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4 Walls Projects present — Election Night
Dear MTAA Blog friends,
I’ll be doing some very unprofessional turntable/ analog background sound stuff for the following election night event. Please stop on by if you can.
4 Walls Projects present — Election Night — a setting for the viewing of the National Election. 8:00pm on Nov. 2, 2004 at Supreme Trading 213 N. 8th St. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. No matter which way it goes, it’s better to be together. Please join us.
Also, if you have a favorite election related quicktime - we are showing it local - please email me - mriver@mteww.com - or just post it here. Thanks
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Eduardo Navas, allegorical
I still find it odd that people look at my (our) work. I always have that strange feeling of working in the basement with the light out when suddenly someone opens the door at the top of the stairs, shines a flashlight down and shouts, “Hey! What’s going on?” I know that perception is somewhat the base of art, but it does freak me out a bit. It’s very cool to know someone is thinking about your work in a big picture kinda way, but, like I said, freaky. Anyways, here is an essay by Eduardo Navas on Conceptual Art and its relation to New Media.
“While it is true that artists part of the net.art group were influenced by a
certain type of conceptualism, the premises behind conceptual art as it is
understood from its origins in the New York scene is practically irrelevant
in new media practice. When it is brought up it is often in allegorical
form. In regards to this, we can consider a work that has been reviewed
here. MTAA’s One Year Performance,[1] which allegorizes Performance artist
Sam Hsieh’s One year performance where he stayed in a cell for a whole year.”
more over at netartreview
Endnote: In the end, I think it’s good to get the flashlight in the face soemtimes. Keeps ya awake.
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eBay - Team MTAA
1. MTAA’s car “The Born 2 Lose 2” will be at Perogi toninght as part of the brooklyngravityracers show. I’ll try to find out what day we race.
2. MTAA pal H. Popk pointed me to this news on Salon -
Sept. 10, 2004 Indicators measure the nation’s unemployment rate, consumer spending and other economic milestones, but Vice President Dick Cheney says it misses the hundreds of thousands who make money selling on eBay.
“That’s a source that didn’t even exist 10 years ago,” Cheney told an audience in Cincinnati on Thursday. “Four hundred thousand people make some money trading on eBay.”
Yes, that’s right. The economy is not bad, we’re just selling eachother our crap on eBay.
So, to bring item 1 and 2 together, we will be selling out car on eBay after the show.
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Ebay art pals
Two of the artists in this Ebay art show better be sayin’ “THANKS MTAA”…if ya know what we mean. Good job guys.
twhid adds:
What do you mean? Are we gonna break some legs/heads if they don’t give us proper accolades? I say yes. We should fuck them up.
OK, just kidding. M.River means that we helped out with two of the projects. Actually, one of the projects we list as one of our own since we sub-contracted it to Eryk Salvaggio. He made the entire thing though, we don’t deserve any credit :-)
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Drinkin’ and Drawin’ Championship
Thursday, March 31st, 2005 8:00PM - 11:00PM, Brooklyn, NY
Get ready for…
the Second Annual Drinkin’ and Drawin’ Championship
Check the images from last year show down.
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AIOTD - Drinking and Drawing
My friend owns a bar in Brooklyn called Matchless (named after the motorcycle). Every so often, he or his wife asks me if I would like to show some work at the bar. The question is usually place in a we-know-you-do-not-do that-kinda-art sorta way. Well, I finally got around to say yes. Here is the idea.
MTAA and Matchless present the First Annual Drinking and Drawing Championship.
All we need to do is do is get a few reams of 8.5x11 white paper, pencils, some push pins, a few B-list celebrity judges, a dj and a 100 dollar bar tab for the winner. The competition is open to all professional and amateurs but one MUST have a drink while working on the drawing. All works get hung on the wall of the bar for a month. The winner gets a fancy frame.
So, if you will be in New York in late January, and would like to test your skills, start practicing at your local bar, cafe or restaurant tonight.
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Down Under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges (Overpasses?)
MTAA is showing a new video installation in Brooklyn called “Infinite Smile” next Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of
video_dumbo
Come on by and smile smile smile.
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Dear Jeffery
You probably woke up this morning to find my collaborator, T.Whid, slagging artstar.tv in the New York Times
, we at MTAA feel downright bad about that. Sometimes T. Whid just needs to call them like he sees them. To be honest, the article makes it sounds like you might have some doubts of your own.
So, I just wanted to tell you that we DO love your gallery and the artist you show. No, really, you’re one of our favorites. Artstar.tv just seems like some sort of fluke.
Anyway, to show you that we hold no hard feeling, please feel free to stop by our studio. We’ll buy you a beer. You can slag our artwork if it makes you feel better. You can even bring the camera crew.
Just send us an email. :)
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David Colosi’s Ed Kienholz Owes Me 2/5¢
Big congrats to VTAV alum David Colosi for being selected to the Art Statements section of Art 36 Basel, the International Art Show.
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Critical Art Ensemble Legal Defense Fund
Auction to benefit the Critical Art Ensemble Legal Defense Fund at
Paula Cooper Gallery, Sunday April 17, 2005
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more Cory posts
Bootleg Cory!!!
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more Cory posts
Yes, I’m guessing that this is the 4th or 5th Cory post in January 05 on the mtaaRR but that’s okay cuz…you know…it’s Cory. So here is another - and with another new show opening on Saturday – not the last Cory post in January 05 aka “Go Cory Month on the mtaaRR and the WWW in general.”
So, here is pic Cory and T.Whid
at the show last night. Note T.Whid’s big thumbs up. Here is a pic
of the crowd in front of Cory and Frankie’s video. I think it was called Cat at a Rave. It was basically a cat at a rave although not a “real” rave. It was a just a box with some foil, lights and droning bass. The cat seemed to be real. It mostly just sat around. Alex noted that the cat must be in the chill out room.
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coco
From James Allen’s interview with Olia Lialina
“I wonder if we could talk a bit more about chocolate and its relationship to net.art? Do you think chocolate affects creativity? For example: Jodi’s work is rich and complex with a mysterious after taste just like Belgian chocolate (http://www.neuhaus.be/). While in the U.S. the work of MTAA, like American chocolate, looks like the real thing but when you taste it you see they’re just kidding, what you’ve bought is something completely different (http://www.hersheys.com/). Do you think I’m reading too much into this?“
M.River of MTAA: No. Just kidding James.
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Clamp Calls Out
Here is a post form our good friends in Clamp. MTAA sez if ya like to “Rock”, check this show out.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
IMPORTANT: CLAMP RELOCATION FOR FRIDAY SHOW
NEW LOCATION…NEW LOCATION…NEW LOCATION
ROCK STAR BAR (AKA LOCAL, AKA SHIPS MAST)
351 KENT AVE.
AT S. 5TH ST.
ATTENTION ALL ACTIVE-DUTY PERSONNEL:
DUE TO THE MOST-HEINOUS AND TRAITOROUS ACTIONS OF THE POSSIBLY FRENCH
TOMMY’S TAVERN, WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO BIVOUAC IN A NEW LOCATION.
KNOWING THAT IF CLAMP DOES NOT PLAY THE TERRORISTS HAVE ALREADY WON, THE
AMERICAN PATRIOT HEROES AT THE SHIPS MAST (AKA ROCK STAR BAR, AKA LOCAL)
IN HISTORIC WILLIAMSBURG BROOKLYN HAVE OPENED THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS TO
ALLOW US THE GREAT HONOR OF PLAYING IN THEIR ENCAMPMENT. ATTENDANCE IS,
AS ALWAYS, MANDATORY. AS YOU ALREADY KNOW:
BERNARD GOETZ WILL PROCLAIM FROM THE HIGHEST ROOFTOPS THE NEED FOR DUTY,
HONOR, AND VIGILANCE AT 2200 HOURS.
DJ TEETH WILL SLICE YOUR FACE WITH THE KNIFE’S EDGE OF THE DARKEST,
SHARPEST METAL DEEP INTO THE NIGHT.
AND CLAMP WILL SHOUT THE CALL TO ACTION PROMPTLY AT 2300 HOURS OR
THEREABOUTS.
IN CLOSING, KNOW THAT NO ENEMY OF THE STATE OR BAR OWNER CAN STOP THE
INEVITABLE POWER OF CLAMP: THE AMERICAN ROCK AND ROLL BAND. SHOW YOUR
PRIDE IN THIS GREAT NATION THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, OR BE COUNTED AMONG THOSE
TOO COWARDLY TO MAKE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE.
YOURS IN LIBERTY…
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champ
First off, thanks to all drinker, drawers, gawkers, judges, bartenders and one very cool dj for a fun time.
Now, to clear up one strange detail from the contest:
Twhid and I had did not have any say in the art judging. People kept asking us about it but we decided to leave it up to the unbiased pros. The only thing we did do to influence the outcome was supply the judges with lots of drinks. The judges, after a good bit of delegation, seemed to have just picked what interested them. We found out later that the judges did not pick the winners for a single drawin, but selected people who produced a body of good works.
So, here is the odd part.
Luisa, who won, happened to be the first person to show up. I think she even came before 8pm when the show was to start. She won, though it looks like she had only one drink. Later that night when she signed into the bar ledger, I think she said she was the person who emailed me about the event. Only two people emailed me about the event and one was to say they could not attend but liked the idea. And now, after a small google search, I find out that she may the same Luisa who writes for New York Magazine. Hmmmmmmmm….
I think MTAA and the judges have been hustled by a pro. And to this, I say, congratulation Luisa. You are the ideal Dinkin and Drawin Champion 2004. All contender for 2005 take note.
ps. if you are in nyc, the drawings will stay up at the bar for the next two weeks if you would like to take a look.
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Here ye ! Here ye !
Carnivore is dead, long live Carnivore
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Oh, Canada…
Going to Canada April 14-16 for PAUSE. So, it will be important for MTAA to know about Contraband and Whatnot…
Here’s what you are allowed to bring in with you duty-free [no extra charge]:…
200 cigarettes
50 cigars
7 ounces of tobacco
1.1 liters of wine or liquor [21 or over]
24 12-ounce bottles of beer [21 or over]
Gifts valued at no more than $60 CDN
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Can Net Art Survive Without (or with) a Market?
“Panel Discussion moderated by Kevin McGarry, with Francis Hwang, Artist and Software Engineer; Helen Thorington, Sound Composer and Media Artist; Michelle Thursz, Independent Curator, and Mark River and Tim Whidden of MTAA, a New York-based conceptual and net art collaboration.”
Sunday, October 30 @ 2:30pm at AAF in NYC
Note for those who can’t make it to this panel - MTAA’s short answer will be “sort of…”
t.whid update:
Hmmm, on the AAF web site the title is:
“Net Art: What is it and Can it Survive?”
Seems like a much more bleak outlook with the new title. Don’t it?
But the short answer is: “It’s art and why the hell not? (Crochet seems to be making a huge splash.)”
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totaly busted
J. Ippolito is the first to bust MTAA on our secert master plan for art. Yesterday, he found our real site at MTEW.COM. I am full of shame, but that will not stop us.
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breaker 1-9
10-4 good buddy
++++
twhid adds: M. is talking on his radio in the photo, hence his, er, CB joke above. The photo is kinda small and you might not be able to tell.
Regardless, good press Mike! Congrats.
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Boom
Happy 4th of July
Going down to Battery Park to see Yo La Tengo later this afternoon then fireworks.
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Brazil
MTAA is showing 1ypv at File 05. Will 1ypv be fixed in time? Stay tuned.
UPDATE - Hey, looks like 1ypv is back up and running!
FILE FESTIVAL 2005
FILE’s sixth edition happens at SESI’s Art Gallery, with the exhibitionof webart,
netart, artificial life, hypertext, computer animation, real-time teleconference,
virtual reality, software art works, besides games, interactivefilms, e-videos,
digital panoramas, and electronic-art and robotic installations,in interactive and
immersive rooms.
NOV 1ST - 20TH, 2005
tuesday - sunday, 10am to 8pm
OPENING: OUT 31ST, 2005
monday, 7:30pm - for guests only
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joystick nation
Hey all you video game enthusiasts, are you blue?
found thanks to jameswagner.com
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Art Blog
When I am not blogging here at the mtaaRR, I moonlight at 544x378(WebTV).
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M. River’s brief notes on the MTAA-RR
1. After some internal debate at MTAA, the MTAA-RR has been designated to be “not an artwork” but may contain some things that are artworks.
2. Everything needs a metaphor. For the MTAA-RR, let’s use: notebook, soapbox, recipe set , vanity publishing, or a big Winnebago that M.River and T.Whid drive around the internet in search of roadside attractions.
3. Yes, T.Whid rants on the blog. What do you want? At least it keeps him from running through the streets of Brooklyn with a wild look in his eyes shaking strangers and yelling COPYFUCKINGLEFTFUCKINGBUSH.
4. Yes, M.River’s spelling, grammar and coding are a crying shame. So, repeat after me, We don’t care. Go get a goddam perfect boring academic blog of your own. (Actually M.River does like when readers send in typo reports. He needs all the help he can get.)
5. Some blogs have a lot of links to other people’s work, some have a lot of new content. MTAA-RR has a lot of new content that we ripoff of other sites.
6. Our Moms read and post on our Blog. We think this is cool.
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big steel elevator
PS1 Greater New York 2005 Artists Sketches
A quick drawing from memory of what CA and FM’s work at PS1 might have looked like for JW. Note: I’m not even sure it was the “rave” dvd but I do remember it was in that big steel elevator.
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big day
Hey, It’s Chinese New Year, Ash Wednesday and the MTAA blog (aka MTAA-RR) birthday. We’re turning 2 today. I’m told that means that we will start hitting things, yelling and crying for no reason. Insert joke here.
Awesome
A big rock on to my new favorite bunch of weirdos.
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Back home
Here are some photos from in and around Leonding Austria
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Art Dirt Redux
MTAA talkin’ shop and Podcasting with Robin and GH on Art Dirt Redux
Portraits of them over on Tintype
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ART FOR THE HEART OF NEW ORLEANS
As some of ya know, I make paintings under the name Michael Sarff (Yeah…yeah, that is my real name but please feel free to call me m.river). I’ve been making about one a week for the last 3 years. Every once in a while, I give one to a benefit. I think the last one was for Momenta and Bloggy and James picked it up
So here is chance to help out the once and future magical city of New Orleans by taking home a painting called
Nooy Bidding on Nooy starts a one buck. So, if your in Brooklyn this weekend, pick up some art.
ART FOR THE HEART OF NEW ORLEANS
Katrina Benefit Silent Auction
Sunday, October 2nd 6-9pm
Viewing and bidding: Saturday October 1st 1-7pm
Viewing and bidding: Sunday October 2nd 1-6pm
Silent Auction, Bidding and Reception: Sunday October 2nd 6-9pm
*(bidding closes at 8:30pm)*
location: spring - 126a Front St. (between Jay and Pearl Sts) d.u.m.b.o., Brooklyn
NY 11201 contact: 718.222 1054 - 917.216 7188
spring3d
money goes to architecture for humanity
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Apache
Sigh. If only my contagious media idea was as hot as this.
Slow download. Worth the wait.
twhid adds a little preview image:
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anniversary
1 year ago? Wow. It seems like it was last week. Thanks MO!
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and speaking of 1ypv..
Primer
I’ve been working on a nasty cold and yesterday was a rainy fall Sunday afternoon. So, I rented the movie Primer. I found myself getting a bit choked up watching it. This was odd because 1. I don’t get choked up about movies and 2. Even if one was prone to getting chocked up about movies, this is defiantly not one to get choked up about.
Primer is a movie about engineers who make a time machine in a garage. That’s really not what the movie is about but it’s the easiest description. Oh, and yes, it’s geeky.
Anyway, there I was - in my kitchen, rain falling, nose running getting wrapped up in a movie that, by style, is very unemotional. Was it the Dayquill with the Claritin chaser? Was it fall rain? Was it the line about what happens to engineers when they turn 40?
It did not click until later when I checked to see if 1ypv was running. Yes, I knew that my response to the movie had to do with Tim and I making work together and about being of a certain age in a creative field but I did not get it until I saw 1ypv was still down.
Now, if you have seen this movie you know that the two characters travel in time by entering side by side boxes. You know that as part of this movement in time they need to isolate themselves afterwards. They go to a hotel, turning off the TV, unplug the phone and just sit around. So, yes, it has a surface relation to 1ypv. I think the thing that bothered me was somewhere underneath the formal similarities.
In the movie, when a person moves in time, they fracture their identity. You have the person who moves and the person who stays. You get a feeling of alienation or loss between the characters and the left behind selves. Seeing 1ypv not running I had the slight feeling that one of my selves had stopped and that if it started running again it might not be the same self.
Okay, just try to think about it when you look in the mirror while brushing your teeth tonight. You’ll see what I mean.
A feeling of loss, a feeling of being fractured in time, a feeling of not being able to control one’s fate – perhaps this was what was being triggered by the film. Then again, maybe it was just a low grade fever.
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and more and more awesome every day
“EVERYTHING WILL BE OK”, the new issue of This Is A Magazine (with some work by MTAA), comes as a downloadable Powerpoint presentation. Did any of that make any sense? No? That’s OK.
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and so…
summer starts again.
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an art review
Make it now, the debris of former industrial NY arranged via improved performance triggering nostalgia.
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all I need to say right now…
WAR, CISCO KID, THE
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AIOTD Surrender
Here is another Art Idea of the Day. Build a large stucco dome. Paint it dark red. Set a white flag, on a pole, at the top of the dome.
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Give and take
AIOTD, A Mobius Strip out of 20 dollar bills and clear tape. Yes, it is a bar art project for you and your friends.
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AIOTD - Un Meme- able Net Art
A webpage that can not be seen from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Page consists of a single jpeg (maybe a parked car) that takes around a 20 minute to load.
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AIOTD Sonic outlaw outlaws
Make an unauthorized remix of Craig Baldwin’s documentary “Sonic Outlaws” for the internet. Reason? Doug Kahn’s dis of the net as “mail art”…and because it’s funny.
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AIOTD – Stretch Noguchi Table
Build a 20ft long Noguchi Table (black)
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AIOTD – Pre-Date
Our update series takes experimental performance based artwork from the 60s-70s and automates them with computer technology. Okay, yes. That is not what we are doing with the Updates but “automates with computer technology” seems to yank at people’s chains. So, that is what we tend to say.
Anyway, I think we have been going in the wrong direction. Resounding established works is one thing, but what if we went the other direction?
AIOTD – Create an artwork based on young performance artist. Ideally artist is still in school or having first one-person show.
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AIOTD Pre-Rejected Pre-Approved Performance
“Pre-Rejected Pre-Approved Performance” is a list of 10 performance based artworks that have been rejected by curators at various art venues world wide. An online vote via the MTAA website will determine which one of the performances will be created for a show. An 8.5 x 11 inch framed drawing with the list and documentation of the voting process is shown next to the final work.
Note: Depending on the work selected on the website, the resulting work may be shown only as documentation in the form of a print or DVD.
2nd Note: This AIOTD was just sent to a curator who will now accept or reject our rejections. Got it? Good.
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AIOTD – Mr. iPod Head
In the studio last night, T.Whid thought that iPod video could be actually size. I first thought of a loop of a penny spinning on side. Then T. Whid said it could be an eye looking around. That became two iPods, side by side, with two eyes. I tossed in an upside down iPod mouth under the eyes. Alex, who was also at the studio, suggested different bodies for each video. So, in the end, the AIOTD is to make Mr. iPod Head. Yes, It’s kinda Tony Orsler, but in my book, that’s a good thing to be.
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AIOTD - Another Blank Conversation
In software driven two channel video, M. River and T. Whid of MTAA hold a rambling conversation about life and art. Note: It is in some ways like our 5 Small Videos “Blank Conversation” but with a larger text set and randomized call and response
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AIOTD - Passing Fad Art
It seems that a successful strategy for art (and music) these days is making work with a dead fad. Let’s say Rubik’ s cubes or Goth rock. The trick is that the fad has to be somewhat lame but still somehow cool. I’m sure someone is working on a D and D project as I type this. So, just to buck this trend, here is my AIOTD - Jazzercise.. I’m thinking of it as a performance.
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AIOTD – Dumb Luck Generator (DLG)
Here is one T.Whid thought of last night (I guess we can call it an “Art Idea of the Night” but we’ll stick with AIOTD)
A small (4 x 10 inch) window set in a white wall a little above waist height. Next to the window is a number key pad. If you look into the window you will see a pile of new dollar bills (100 in total). If you randomly punch in the right 10 digit number, the window will open.
Side note: Why I named T.Whid’s idea the Dumb Luck Generator.
This morning at the newsstand, two scratch-and-win players consoled each other. “ You just have to stay positive to win a free gift”. My first thought was “free gift” is redundant. My second thought was lotto is not free. My third thought was that you do not have to be positive, you just need to fork over some cash and check the results. My last thought was that I should be a bit more positive and less judgmental first thing in the morning. Anyway, the Dumb Luck Generator is a sculpture about faith.
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AIOTD – jeffKoons Update
The Updates tend to be of performance based work of the 60’s and 70’s but here is one for an 80’s sculpture. Make a CGI stainless steel rabbit with actions of rabbit generated by software.
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AIOTD – Debaser: an Endless Bass Solo in the Key of C
An endless bass solo in the key of C using modified software from the 1 Year Performance Video. Of course, the video segments are shot in a basement and , of course, the solo will be based on the Pixies’ Debaser.
update: of course it will need to be filmed on a military base.
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AIOTD. content@snoarc
The problem with the snoarc building at WTC is content. The building is to be a cultural center but whatever goes into it needs to be mindful that the WTC is, in some ways, forever a gravesite. The Drawing Center looks like they have pulled out and the Freedom Center might be asked to withdraw as well. So, here is a simple plan. Fill it with flowers - rooms and rooms of flowers. That’s all. Well, maybe a place for music sometimes, but in general, just flowers.
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AIOTD – 100 Words And Blah for Andy
An audio and visual text reader that only speaks the 100 most popular English words. “Blah” is used for all other words. Alternating each word, Tim and I speak entered text. When not reading entered text, we read Warhol’s diary.
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AIOTD 040505 MTAA Away Team
Flash controlled video loops that change when mission destination for transport is selected. Work starts in MTAA studio with destinations like T.Whid’s house. Local Brooklyn Bar, M.River’s Kitchen, Postmasters, The McCoy’s Pad, and so on.
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AIOTD - Forget 2004
A general request to help me forget 2004
As the year come to an end, I would like to ask my friends, family and general cohorts to help me forget that year 2004 ever took place.
It’s not that I had such a terrible year. I’m in a good relationship. I have a job. I think MTAA made some good artwork this year. I have my health. I saw some artwork that I got excited about - off the top of my head - Paper Rad, The Infinite Fill Show, McCoys, Steve Mumford, Brooklyn Gravity Racers, Gregor Schneider, Jennifer Bolande and Pierre Huyghe. I also saw some great concerts this year - Lightning Bolt, AMC, Mission of Burma, Clamp, PTV3, and, of course, Pixies.
On the surface 2004 was all right. That is, expect for the election, the rise of the right, the off target war in Iraq and what I never thought I’d see Americans do in modern times, the torture of humans.
Please understand, it’s not that the good was not good this year or that the bad was bad. Something else makes me want to forget 2004. It’s something in the year I have not been able to point at. I have some weird feeling about the year in general. The year sits in my mouth, tinged with a metallic aftertaste. Sharp and toxic, 2004 is a year I would like to fade.
So, if you could help me out and not mention it after December 31. Thanks.
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AIOTD - 120704 - Cannibalcannibal
A 3x4x3 table, a computer, a printer, and a paper shredder are covered in zip-up fun fur suites (white, grey, red and black). The suites have small details like ears, tails and air vents. The computer, connected to the internet, picks up and prints all email sent to cannibal@mteww.com. The printed email is then dumped directly into the shedder which is mounted under the table. The shredded email creates a pile on the floor under the table. A portrait (20 x 24 framed c-print) of MTAA as small furry self eating beasts hangs on the wall near the table. The portrait contains the email address for the work. On-line, MTAA will plant the address in various locations to generate email from both humans and spam bots.
Note: Hey, it’s only an idea right now. The email is not active.
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AIOTD - 121404 - Ready Made
Steal an art idea from
this guy.
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AIOTD - 120604 - MTAA as sound
A interactive sound sculpture in the form of two human sized theremins
in a dark and empty room.
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AIOTD 11-11-04
Here is another MTAA Art Idea of the Day. This is a rough idea for a show that we might be part of in small town in Austria
. The shows theme is Kitsch
MTAA’s Karaoke Death Match 100
It can be said that kitsch is culturally relative. That is, of course,
except for Karaoke (contemporary pop songs sung off-tune in a drunken
haze of pretend stardom accompanied by a video jukebox) Let us be clear, Karaoke is the kitsch among kitsch but we all love it. We love it and MTAA will now battle with it.
Plan:
A projection (DVD) shows a spilt screen waist-up shot of M. River and T. Whid of MTAA.
M. River is on the left wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. T. Whid is on the right wearing a black button-down shirt. Behind each figure is a video green screen.
One at a time, M. River and T. Whid select and perform a song from a Karaoke machine. They sing until they reach 100 songs. As they sing, the Karaoke video with lyric is displayed behind on the green screen. The entire performance will be done in one take without pause. For 100 songs, we estimate the performance will take 5 hours.
We suspect that over 5 hours of non-stop Karaoke: 1. M.River and T.Whid will try to out perform and/ or outlast each other. 2. Over 5 hours, they will become fatigued and begin to struggle with the songs. 3. It will be very poorly sung and hopefully very funny.
Physical installation:
The installation is fairly straight forward. The work projected with a good set of speakers.
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AIOTD 120204 – Wood Thrush by a creek in West Virginia
This is not a MTAA project or really an art project at all. Well, it is kind of art but it is hard to explain. Anyway, basically this is a request for technology help.
A friend of mine would like to set up a way to webcast the sounds of Wood Thrushes
(Hylocichla mustelina) near a creek on her farm in West Virginia so that she can hear them when she is in Brooklyn. The Wood Thrush is a bird that is not on the endangered species list but apparently should be (ahem - developers). West Virginia is a prime love shack (i.e. breeding ground) for the Wood Thrush. I think this makes their song by the creek a good thing to send out to the world.
So, if you have any thoughts on how to go about this, post them below and I’ll pass them on.
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AIOTD 11-08-04
A group show with 5 to 10 artists. Each artist is given one early MTV video to remix / remake. MTAA would make “BugglesX2”. This is the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” slowed down until it is twice as long.
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A Live Dramatic Reading
Art Idea of The Day (AIOTD) – Bens’ Live Dramatic Reading.
A script for a movie read in a public space by Ben and some friends. (Note: this is Ben’s idea, MTAA is just stealing it and calling it our art)
I’ve run this one by T.whid and P.earl. They have some doubts. They only seem interested if the script is for a movie that has not been made yet. So, if any one out there wants to pass us a script (Sci-fi or Horror would be my top choice.) or point us to a location on the net where one might find a good one, just let me know.
If not, then it’s Star Wars, Episode 4 (a true classic). The only question would be which script revision.
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AIOTD - Everyone
While driving around the city on a perfect July late afternoon, T. Whid told me about his AIOTD (Art Idea of the Day). The following is my half remembered and somewhat modified description of his idea.
“Everyone we know’s Ideal Artwork That Was Never Made Has Now Been Made” A plywood sculpture/ environment/ performance that combines F.O.G. / Monument to the Third International / Thunderdome / Revenge of the Nerds and Classic Quake. Work contains 3 or more work/ battle stations, some big projections and a sound system with very nasty sub woofers.
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AIOTD - Bass
A performance project consisting of a band called “Wall Of Sucky Bass (WOSB)” or “League of Crapy Bass Players (LOCBP)”. The band is made up of 7 or more bass players of indeterminate skill. The band will learn one and only one song: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. This song will be presented as a sing-a-long. Goal of project is to play out at a rock club at least once.
Update – My bass instructor, Hostile 17, just sent me new the instructions
Update x2 - I got 4 bass players to join the band last night. I need at least 2 more. Also, found out that the song clocks in at 17 min. Perfect.
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AIOTD - (from T.whid) Waiting Room for the Internet
A white page with no links playing some sad Musak loop.
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random mtaaRR name
The comments section of the mtaaRR asks for your name. I’ve noticed that a few people post under aliases. AIOTD - We could have a drop down option for shy people that generates a random MTAA name (one letter a dot then 4 letters – Yes, I know M.River and P.erl – Alex’s MTAA name - do not work but we thought of the name rule only recently). So anyway – random MTAA name generator. Total nerd style.
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Ahhhh sweet schadenfreude….
When I’m feeling a bit “unposty” (nice one twhid), I like link to hiLARIous articles by MTAA fan HASP
What’s Portuguese for ‘no-talent hack’?
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AIOTD – Adventures in the Studio
An online video project based on the old “interactive” (not really) structure of choose-your-own-adventure. Work starts with a loop of T.Whid and I staring at the walls in our studio. Text reads: “Your pals MTAA are thinking about art again and they need your help. Should they make a painting, a sculpture or some overacted performance art?”
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ah, spring
Performance Art ?
No, silly, it’s a bunch of super secret Yale society hi-jinks. Behold our near future. Shhh…
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Advent Art from Frankie
Frankie Martin, who will be part of our 2B Listen 2 project in 06 (yes, sometimes next year - yes, we are going slow on this),
sent us an Advent Calendar / Meta Sci Fi Christmas Musical made with her friend Joe Milutus.
DON’T DRIVE TODAY WITH YESTERDAY’S MAPS
Check it!
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AFC on Believer
“Art Fag City” posted some thoughts on the
Believer event.
Thanks AFC.
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AADL update 05-27-05
Okay listen up everyone. Right now the AADL is right behind that farting saucer site and the porno for stockbroker thing. If we get pass them, we land in the top 20. It looks like the fart saucer stats have flat lined but we are about 1,000 users behind.
Using a Olympic weight lifting analogy, we have succeeded in the clean and now need to power it up for the jerk…or something like that.
Anyway, we need your help now. We need stories for the blog and we need some new ideas as to how to get another 1,000 people today.
Go AADL Go.
Ready…BREAK
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AADL Update
Just a quick update on the Artist Anti Defamation League
We have dug our way out of the 30’s in the CM Showdown and we just found a fan site. Well, it’s sorta like having a fan site.
So, keep clicking and we might get into the top 10. Here is a handy little email from Astrid that you can pass on.
+++
How can YOU support the Artist Anti-Defamation League
(without spending any money)??!!!
Click on http://artistadl.org at least once from
both your home and work computer.
Forward http://artistadl.org to every person you
ever knew. Ask them to click on http://artistadl.org
from both their home and work computers.
Post http://artistadl.org on your personal blog
and every blog or bulletin board you ever went to.
LINK to the AADL Web site from YOUR Web site.
Click through every blog on the AADL LINKS
PAGE from both your HOME and WORK computer.
Print OUR FLYER and make a bunch of copies and
leave them anywhere OPPRESSED and otherwise DEFAMED
artists are known to frequent. (Xerox from work and
it’s totally free! Take BACK from THE MAN!!!)
Post responses on the AADL BLOG!!! EMAIL the
AADL drippy and overly-enthusiastic letters of support
and/or scathing criticism or personal insults about
the AADL, our crappy spelling and grammar, sloppy
coding, Jackson Pollack, Bob Ross or even Georgia
O?Keefe!! Send us your personal stories of artistic
defament (real or imagined) either BY or AGAINST
YOU!!! We?ll POST them all, and respond either as
over-enthusiastically or as scathingly as our personal
time allows.
EMAIL text or Photoshopped THREATS & INSULTS.
Defame ANY Artist(s) in any way YOU deem
appropriate!!! We’ll even post your threatening
video—providing the technical stuff is compliant with
our stuff (EMAIL and we’ll discuss).
JOIN the AADL! Receive the latest AADL ACTION
ALERTS & BREAKING NEWS ?AS THEY OCCUR!!!
Put http://artistadl.org on your FRIENDSTER
profile.
Put http://artistadl.org on your MY SPACE
profile.
Put http://artistadl.org in your NERVE PERSONALS
profile.
Make http://artistadl.org your EMAIL signature
line.
$$$For non-starving artists whose Art careers are
booming and wish to give back to the community$$$:
BUY AADL APPAREL & MERCHANDISE!!! Wear or
display the AADL proudly. Our crap makes great
gifts!!! It’s never too soon to start your Christmas
Shopping!!! Father?s Day is just around the corner!!!
Memorial Day is May 30th! What a great day to show
your AADL PRIDE!!!!
LEGAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: Failing to click on
AND forward http://artistadl.org will result in VERY
BAD THINGS HAPPENING TO YOU. For example, Mary Smith
of Des Moines, Iowa, received this EMAIL and refused
to forward OR click on http://artistadl.org from
either her HOME or WORK computer. Mary was later
killed in a horrible defamation-related accident!!!
Her support of the AADL (http://artistadl.org) could
have prevented her unspeakable demise. DON’T let Mary
Smith?s FATE befall YOU!!!!!
To remove yoursleves from spam like this just Click http://artistadl.org
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AADL update 05-26-05
Looks like we have another fan blog going on over at live journal. Why not start your own AADL fan site today?
Oh, by the way - Mom, if you’re reading this - yes, the new picture on the AADL is in bad taste but we’re fighting for a cause here. Sometimes you got to break a few eggs. Know what I mean?
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“IN THE NIGHT , SUDDENLY, I WAKE UP AND THINK….”
Hello MTAA_RR readers, Here is a note from Abe L. , Jim P. and the good folks over at SCREENFULL. Enjoy.
+++++++
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SCREENFULL.NET!!! YEAAHH”” Tim \/\
“”IN THE NIGHT , SUDDENLY, I WAKE UP AND THINK, WHAT THE SHIT HAPPEND IN
SCREENFULL.NET AND I OPEN MY COMPUTER? THIS IS ALWAYS CRAZY”“.Mark R.
“”I KNOW THEM, THEY ARE TWO”” Abe L.
“”YES “”” Aniie 4
“”I ASK FOR ONE AT CHRISTMAS FOR ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND, DONOT TELLHIM, ITS A
SURPRISE”“Tom |\/
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1. You can mix alcohol drinks with SCREENFULL Soft WEBpage without any undesired
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- DON’T MISS THE CHANCE - BE THE FIRST TO GET A MIX
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A Cool 7 Hour Performance in Soho (seen only by 4 people?)
A photo showing the near end of Lee Walton’s Garbage Day performance is now up on Tintype. (The photo shows a worn out and cold Theo making his secound to last drop. Lee can be seen in the street behind the flash)
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found in the NYT, at 7am, on the subway, as I travel to my day job…
Interactive art is irritating.
Sarah Boxer on the 05 cyberarts festival
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hot from the oven net art by jimpunk
beuys ala jimpunk
JA JA JA JA JA NEE NEE NEE NEE NEE
AsCii Sound rem:x
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#2 google for “mtaarr”
sound art ?
note - push play
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5SV
Hey look Twhid, a lo-fi
delete delete
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4pm, still at work
vlog art?
Okay, this one is a bit dated but I just found it today. It made up for the other two art world readings posted below. MTAA may not be on the A lists, but when cute faux and obscure newscasters mention your art…the world feels kind of all right.
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3, it’s a magic number
On Feb 9, the MTAA-RR turns 3. To celebrate, here is our blog’s horoscope
Your personal ruling planets are Uranus and Mars.
You are governed by the bold and energetic Mars, the passionate, active and impulsive person you are. Certainly courageous, quick and fiery and never one to back down from an argument. You never like laziness, are always working on new projects and like to be the first and best at what you do. The combined effect of Uranus and Mars however indicates you need to take a little bit of precaution as you are prone to injury.
Always take note of the road rules, always take precautions in health and don’t be in a mad rush to achieve your goals or get to your destinations. As the old saying goes “Slow and steady wins the race”.
Your lucky colours are red, maroon and scarlet.
Your lucky gems are red coral and garnet.
Your lucky days of the week are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Your lucky numbers and years of important change are 9, 18, 27, 36. 45, 54, 63, 72
Famous people born on your birthday include William H. Harrison, Dean Rusk, Mia Farrow, Ronald Colman, Joe Pesci, Danni Leigh, Charles Shaughnessy and Amber Valletta.
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12 noon at my day job desk…
social diary art?
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2004
happy new year
please, please ask MTAA to show some art in 2004. we need a show. we are now 100 percent gallery and museum ready. ask us for a studio visit.
here is just one example of fine, ready to show MTAA art from 2003
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Karaoke Smashup
Here is a art project by some students of JM.
Karaoke Smashup
at MatchlessThursday, June 9th, 9:00 pm.
Karaoke Smashup takes an experimental twist on Karaoke. In this multimedia extravaganza, artists’ videos, audio, and texts collide with the elements of spontaneous performance. Karaoke Smashup breaks all the barriers of the traditional “art performance scenario” by providing full contact between local artists and their audience in a casual bar environment. Audience members are encouraged to participate.
Featuring works by Jill Auckenthaler, Rebecca Dolan, Carl Ferrero, Carrie Fucile, David Gitt, Marni Kotak, Nick Lesley, Sarah Phillips and Robert Ramirez.
Music will be provided by DJ Ó and DJ Rob the Rich
This event was curated by Jennifer McCoy, organized by Madeleine Gallagher and Susan Landau, and produced as a collaborative community art project between PIMA, Performance and Interactive Media Arts at Brooklyn College and the artist community of MFA Students in the Fine Arts Program at Brooklyn College.
Admission is Free.
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AIOTD - Rightstarter
In a dream last night, MTAA made the following work. In each room of an empty house, pair of speakers are installed. All the speaker wires go back to one room that contains a small a wooden table with a computer hooked into the speakers. The computer sends, in a random order and with a somewhat random delay, a small sound sample. The sample is from Public Enemy¹s Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man). The sample is just half of the first line - Mind over matter…
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AIOTD
Actually, I have two AIOTDs, but they run along similar lines. So, here is the wind up.
For the Pirated Movie, Twhid and I took a pirated version of a pirate movie and showed it black and white without sound. We asked 5 artists to create a new, live, soundtrack for the work. Simple. We are still working on the final DVD that mixes the performance documentation with the found bootleg material. As we work on this DVD, two other ideas for film projects have surfaced.
AIOTD 1 Tiny Diva (Peggy) suggested using the docu-drama DC911 for another film. I think we should follow the same basic methods as the Pirated Movie by again rendering the material black and white without sound. We should then have Peggy score the entire film.
When we show our new version of the film, renamed DC911 - The Big Dance Remix (note: The Big Dance was the working title used while filming DC911 in Canada), we should project it on a mirrored disco ball. This projection effect would, in a way, shatter the film. It will also create an environment in which the audience can dance within the film. (see c. peppermint¹s work for more on this thought)
As for the politics of this, my line of thought has been…if you take our pain as a community for your propaganda, we then have the right to claim your film for our art.
AIOTD 2 - Refilm all 8 hours of Warhol¹s 1964 film Empire from Twhid¹s office window. Show it, with live music, in a warehouse this coming July for the film¹s 40th anniversary. Film performance and create new DVD to be called Empire 40.
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eyebeam in ny times
eyebeam is sounding spunkey in this nyt story.
or as eyebeam insiders now call it…THE eyebeam.
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Some updates on some of our Pirated Movie friends…
PSI goes on musical rampage across Mid-West. Check here for dates near
you.
After staring as the poster-boy on the mtaaRR last month, Jackmaster Archangel (Cory) has been selected into the 04 Whitney Biannual Cory tells us that he owes it all to high level of buzz generated as Mr. October on the mtaaRR. Congrats Cory!
And last, but certainly not least, Tiny Diva and askROM tie the knot this Sunday. Yeah!
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Postcard Show Catalog
Last summer, MTAA may or may not have sent you a postcard for our sculpture “In Preparation For An Attack By Mobs Of Hideously Deformed Radioactive Mutants On 31 Grand (AKA Cage Match)” which was featured in the group show “Dealers Choice” at 31Grand in Brooklyn.
Or a postcard for our solo show at Rome Arts in Brooklyn entitled “IN PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMER AIR IN BROOKLYN TO RISE FROM THE CONCRETE IN A MANNER WHICH DISTORTS ONE’S ABILITY TO JUDGE DISTANCE AND MEANING (AKA
MANUAL ZOOM MIRAGE)”
Or even one for our one-night performance “Pirated Movie” at Postmasters in New York.
You may have even heard about our unofficial solo show at IALA, Louisiana in which the curator, much to our surprise and delight, hung all our summer of 2003 postcards as a show.
But now, if you missed any of this, IALA brings it all home to you in the form of an exhibition catalog chapbook. Yes, six bound and full color pages, encompassing MTAA’s long hot summer of fun and hi-jinx. You can get yours today by following this link.
MTAA’s general art context note: the above-mentioned show at IALA and chapbook created from it are a good example of what happens when you decide to release your art with a Creative Commons license so that others can play with it. Hint. Hint…and enjoy
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Till Tuesday
It¹s come to my attention that more people look at this page on Tuesday than any other day. So , seeing that it¹s Monday night and I have not posted in a bit , (way busy until Nov. 1…tell ya all about it then…) I thought I¹d take a second and say hello Tuesday people. I love you and your Tuesday blog reading ways.
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‘r0un Db ack’
okay, we at MTAA have been asked to do some performance this weds with the net artist - pavu and doron. we have no idea what is going on but we are showing up with a laptop and a printer ready to drink wine and eat soup. Please join us in the fun.
pavu.com at computerfinearts.com
http://www.computerfinearts.com/collection/pavu/r0unDback/
OPENING RECEPTION:
Wednesday, October 1st, 6-8 PM
AT: La-Casalinga Restaurant,120 First Avenue, at 7th street, East Village, NYC, http://www.la-casalinga.com
SPECIAL MENU: soup, wine and happening will be served !!
‘r0un Db ack’ was conceived by the pavu.com team.
http://www.pavu.com/summerm0uss0ngs/pisSmuGgirl/index.html
dear friends and colleagues
this very first day of october is a PURCHASE!!! day and a GO-TASTE day 2 !!
in response to computer fine arts’ invitation, pavu.com has combined why-fi flavour flaves of net art european crème in the captain Cook marine tradition and therefore added a r0un Db ack soup to the menu to support doron golan’s net art collecting venture.
Taste the blAck beAn flAvourish while listening to “PURCHASE!!!”, the collectoring Rockers II audioCD, featuring Famous International Net Artists ShoutSongs covers.
Discover SPrInT n°1, pavu.com’s tHe genHuine onHline papHer magazine latest issue and learn all about the howtos of net art fame roundTables!
Enjoy and support! pavu.com gives You the mike and MTAA shoots the picture !
Venue nombreux
wishing you the best always
LA pavu.com TEAM
http://pavu.com
-/ the next route plining! /-
doron golan
computerfinearts.com
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Hot off the press
A sneak peek for all you “Pirated Movie” fans with fast internet conections - yeah, all two of you. Here is a short preview of the final DVD edit
check it out
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AIOTD - Back to School Special
The Learning Access gives classes such as Wicca Workshop: Creating Magikal Spells and Powerful Potions and Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant. I have been told that all you need to do is pitch them an idea for a class and if ten or so people sign up — you’re a teacher. So, I think MTAA should pitch a class about teaching a class on improv computer-based and real-world performance art as an artwork.
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AIOTD - Abandonment Plan
MTAA has used a few distribution methods for our artwork. Sometimes we sell the work, sometimes we give it away for free. After the show at Team, we took the HTML plywood sign and left it out on the street. Yesterday we deinstalled the 6 x 10 metal cage from 31 Grand and again left it on the street for someone to scoop up. Just like, as a friend pointed out last night, a little boy is given some quarters and ditched in a mall video arcade.
Yes, it¹s MTAA new abandonment plan for art distribution.
So here is the idea - Make a good size painting of a couch, a mattress, a puppy, and a little boy in a video arcade. Leave them out on the street. Watch via a Web cam? Follow them to their new home? If you love something let it go?
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More on IALA
as mentioned a few post back, we are in a show at THE premier gallery for new media in baton rouge. And now, the website is up. Check it.
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Flashlight
Well, I try to stay away from the day in the life blog posts but I have had an odd week. So here, dear blog, is my run down. First off, beach camping. Take the Long Island Rail Road about one hour East, get off the train, walk across a parking lot past the bowling alley, get on a ferry, travel South for about a half hour, get off the ferry, check in with the ranger station for wilderness camping, hike East on the beach for about a mile and a quarter and there you are. My camp in the dunes. Not a person in site. Not a thing to do except watch the ocean. After two days out, the sky started to look a bit black. I broke camp and headed back to NYC. Went straight to bed when I got home. Got up early the next day and drove to Long Beach in NYC. Goal - just watching suffers and reading. Came home from the beach around 3, turned on my computer and…Blackout 03. Believe it or not, I had a good time in the blackout. No AC, dark, nothing to do but watch the stars. It was just like camping. So now, it is off to Texas for a few days. Goal - look at the back of large paintings. Yee-haw
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vacation
everyone now, sing-a-long - vaction , all i ever wanted…
going on tues be back on thurs or fri
beach camping
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our new show that we did not even know we would be in until we got this…
Press Release
MTAA Postcard Art Show @ IALA Gallery, Baton Rouge.
August 15 - Oct.. 15, 2003
Press Contact:
Contact Information:
Patrick Lichty, Director,
IALA Gallery
355 Seyburn Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808,USA
225 766-3811,
10 AM 4 PM US CST Weekdays, viewings by appointment
voyd@voyd.com
IALA gallery is proud to present conceptual artists Whid and River in their presentation of their postcard art exhibition. This is a variation of the installation recently seen at New York¹s 31 Grand and Rome Art galleries, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to install this work. Visitors are invited to view and interact with the MTAA postcard art installation, which is unique for the Baton Rouge area in recent decades. IALA gallery recently received the work, which will be given its site-specific installation at IALA, and we are excited to be able to present this form of conceptual abstraction to the Baton Rouge and Southern Louisiana public.
ABOUT MTAA
Whid and River -AKA MTAA- are leading edge conceptualists in the rising genre of technological/new media art. Their most contemporary and historically-informed works expand the critical issues relating to the nature of art in the technological age, and especially after the rise of the Internet. Their physical and virtual works are widely shown, and have been featured at numerous venues, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Walker Art Center.
ABOUT IALA
IALA is a private not-for-profit gallery run by curator and owner Patrick Lichty, which promotes the works of experimental and new media artists through our ongoing exhibitions. Within our permanent collection are works from numerous contemporary and electronic artists, including Peggy Ahwesh, Amy Alexander, MTAA, Roman Verostko, Simon Biggs, Igor Vamos, Yael Kanarek, Barbara Lattanzi, Nancy Buchanan, Melanic Crean, BOME, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Larry Miller, RTMark, Noriko Meguro, The YesMen, Patrick Lichty, Paul Vanouse, and Diamanda Galas only to name a few.
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AIOTD - The RR Quarterly Report
Using material from the mtaaRR as well as from other artist, bloggers and netsters (you know who you are) create a free printed report to be placed in galleries. I¹m thinking black and white 11 x 17 folded once. Print around 500. First one to be out on Sept. 22, 2003
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I promise…
I promise that hardcore conceptual art will make a comeback sometime very, very soon.
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AIOTD - Flash Then Cloud
Rumor is the fireworks company that does the show in NYC has a government contract to make simulated nuclear flashes and mushroom clouds.
I want to recreate the Manhattan project as an earth work.
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DIA 70
Went to the DIA Beacon Sunday. Highlights? Natural light on work. Judd plywood. Serra rubber. Warhol shadows. Nauman and his very strange worlds.
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Rain again
In Brooklyn it is raining again. It has rained all spring. It looks as if it will continue to pour this summer. I live two blocks from the East River in a second floor apartment. I have begun to build a raft out of plastic bags and Ikea furniture. What the hell is a cubit anyway?
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Better Days In Hell
We’re pleased to announce that Patrick Lichty will be the proud owner of Website Unseen 9. Images From Our Better Days In Hell, 30 sec.loop. Here is the first random thought on how to make the artwork. 1. the Cyclone at Coney Island. 2. film of Twhid and I ridding in the back car looking sorta blank. 3. the time of one ride reduced to a 30 sec. loop. 4. viewer navigation runs us forward in time or back
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MTAA Art Idea of the Day
an email that self destructs
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MTAA Art Idea of the Day
Okay, you may remember this AIOTD from earlier this month -
4 sheets of 4 x 8 plywood are cut to create the letters HTML. The letters are then painted white and hung on a 2 x 4 framework like the Hollywood sign.
This idea was somewhat inspired by Cory. I ran into him a few days ago and told him about the idea. He suggested using DHTML. This is another example of why he rules.
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blog on
blog blog blog
blog blog blog
blog blog blog
and blog…
i dont want to have a blog, best jimpunk
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MTAA Art Idea of the Day
A small wood shack for a solar power server. Very cool eh?
What? You don’t think we can make a solar server? This very cool geek already did one. So did this very cool kid
Yes, I know you will want to steal this AIOTD. That is okay cuz we are copy left and we got the idea from our friend Kate anyway. Although the idea is only in a rough blog ready state right now, we are acutely going to try to get a gallery to let us build it on their roof in the fall.
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MTAA art idea of the day
Background Context: Who needs summer? Sure, we all know that it is the best time of year. We all know it is the time to get away from the world and have some fun. But…What will happen if the world continues to grow warmer? What happens when we archive the “Endless Summer”? How will we get away from paradise?
Idea: MTAA would like to set up a outdoor space that one may hide away from summer.
Set up a family size tent outdoors. The inside of the tent will be painted out black so that there is no outside light. The light of the tent will come from a single blue light bulb. In the center of the tent will be a single blue bean bag chair on a blue area rug. In front of the beanbag chair will be a monitor showing looping video of an icecaps. On each side of the bean bag chair will be a large air conditioner set to full (note: the units will vent the hot air out of the tent trough flexible air ducts). Playing from a boom box in the tent will be ambient electronic music. Over the music MTAA will gently tell the visitor how to forget summer. This audio will be a mix of “relax, chill out and give up summer by hypnosis” style voice over and rambling poetic fictional descriptions of your new life on an empty ice cap.
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MTAA art idea of the day
custom surfboards
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MTAA art idea of the day
4 sheets of 4 x 8 plywood are cut to create the letters HTML. The letters are then painted white and hung on a 2 x 4 framework like the Hollywood sign.
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MTAA art idea of the day
On a 8 x 8 plywood stage, a computerized player grand piano is suspended in air by a framework of 2 x 4s. The player is slaved to a lap top with a airport internet connection. The lap top is suspended above the platform is a similar manner. The laptop is running a programed web crawler looking for sound files. The files are then translated to piano and played.
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2 conversations
1.
mriver - So twhid, the blog is not art. Right?
twhid - No, it is just a blog
mriver - And there is no way it could end up being art?
twhid - No.
mriver - But what if I started recording our phone conversations and posting the text on the blog?
twhid: Nope, it is still just a blog.
2.
paul from work (not his real name… right): So, I was looking at your blog.
mriver: Gulp (swiging beer as a delay tactic)
paul: The posts are not very personal.
mriver: Ummm…What do you mean?
paul: You never say anything about yourself.
mriver: Oh, (gulp gulp gulp) I am getting around to that soon.
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MTAA art idea of the day
1. Buy pirated movie. Maybe it will be the new pirate movie from Disney. 2. Use software to: A. make the movie black and white B. silent and C. run at 1/2 speed. 3. show the film one night (maybe with a live band playing along)and charge $.01 per person. Sell beer without a permit to raise cash. Yo-Ho-Ho.
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More on the Over Media lifestyle
Person A at an opening last night - Hey, M. River, saw your Blog. Very funny, I read it for, like, 2 hours. How do you find the time to do that?
Person B at a bar on hearing about what Person A said. - Blogs…who has time to read a Blog? When you can read a Blog sitting on a toilet…
Plan for art project - Bathroom Blog Install
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Matisse vs. Picasso vs. Spring
Spring. I love it.
The MOMA, Queens invited all NYC museum staff for a private afternoon view of the Matisse Picasso show today. So, like many of my fellow good hard working museum stiffs on this fine spring day, I played hooky and went.
Now, if you think going to a museum blockbuster with your average art viewing crowd is odd, just think about how the vibe was with a mass of people who mount shows for a living. Yes, I spent some of my time in a roomful of the classics of modern art looking at how they jacked the stud walls into the ceilings. I saw a couple from another museum debate a framing choice on a small Picasso for at least 10 min. Museum geeks. I love them.
Oh, IMO, Picasso. Hands down.
And now, for the 3 people who read this site…the mtaaRR blog beats the world press and reports that the Gugg. officially signed with the Brazilian government this morning to build a museum. You read it here first.
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Open Beer for URl Swap
a new 12 pack of URLs at tinjail
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03 spring shows
Hey! MTAA are in some new online shows this spring. This is good cuz our resume 03 is kinda thin…
M. River steps into the net art open 2003 @ irishmuseumofmodernart
and Angela Forster calls The Webpage for Planned Self-Obsolescence semiotically powerful, simple, communicative, purposeful and accurate for the
digital salvage show @ Perspective House
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local boy makes good
when i was young in columbus ohio, just out of high school, i hung out at a night club called crazy mamas. the music at the club each night drifted between punk, funk and the rolling stones. on saturday nights, in a back room about size of a mini van, some guy would dance around playing a keyboard and sampler while signing songs about…well, i just remember the songs being…weird. weird in general and definitely weird for columbus. the one man band was called evolution control committee. i always felt sorry for him. no one could clear a room of happy beer drinking locals like ecc.
much to my amazement, ecc went on to become one of the grandfathers of mash and it looks like CJ Pinch-Rolla from ECC has just won the coveted 2003 BEIGE cassette jockey championship.
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looking at an old drawing
found this test in my computer today. looks like i was right…
today is April 30, 1999. this drawing that you are looking at (sometime, somewhere, that i can not see) was made around 5 or 6 years ago. it was made at a time when i was new to the city and for some reason stopped making conceptual work. today is the first time i’ve seen it in years. there is a group of drawings (around 50 or so) from this time. i try not to think about them. they are from a part of my life when i lost track. it was a time of being adrift. the real problem is this - looking at the work (as i type these words into my computer) i am unable to understand myself. it is my fear that i will look back at this text in some future moment and experience the same emotion.
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new front line
I changed the front page of Tinjail. It still has the NO WAR stuff but I added a 3 frame thingy at the bottom. It’s great for people with war coverage ADD. Check it.
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Interview 99
The following fictional alternative interview is presented as the artist statement in an attempt to explain / demonstrate the working methods of the MTAA. This fiction was written during Hurricane downgraded to Tropical Storm Floyd¹s landfall in New York on Thursday September 16, 1999. This fiction is set in a warehouse along the East River waterfront of Brooklyn. More specifically, this fiction takes place on the 7th floor of this warehouse at a small kitchen table. The windows in front of this table looks out to the underbelly of the Manhattan bridge. This underbelly frames the perfect view of the New York skyline. It is a sky line that on this day is covered in a constant gray downpour.
(this is the moment the tape player is turned on)
HS - Woooooh…it¹s really coming down now…Okay, let¹s get started guys…so first.. a very basic question: Are dogs smarter than cats?
TW - Yeah, this one comes up quite a bit for us. Yes, dogs are smarter than cats. That is not just my opinion. It is hard science. It is just the facts.
MR - I have to agree with T Whid. Some people seem to get all upset by this. We¹re not saying that cats are not intelligent animals…I mean some of them are quite clever…but the cold truth is dogs are smarter. I would not say that dogs are better pets…I don¹t think is always the case at all…but brain mass to brain mass…you have to give it to the dogs.
HS - Well…you know how I feel about my cats…
TW - Yeah, but we don¹t mean it in more brain…higher evolution…humans on the top rung of evolution and your right to BE is the size of your brain kinda way.. but…dogs ARE smarter.
HS - Okay,…okay. So what have you been listening to lately?
MR - Well…as I am writing this interview, I have:I Care Because You Do by AphexTwin pounding in my head phones. God damn it, it hurts. Usually I only write while listening to Mark Eitzel or American Music Club (…truly beautiful and broken stuff over and over and over…) but I thought I¹d give this a try. Originally, when I was jotting down the sketch of this interview during the storm, I was listening to all of the Magnetic Field¹s 69 Love Songs box set.
TW - Yeah, I think the liner notes for the box set helped get M River focused on this artist statement. The liner notes are a long conversation about the making of 69 Love Songs. It was tapped in restaurant and has a nice off the cuff feel. I think M River is using this as a starting point in this work.
MR - Si, but I have a feeling that the interview in the liner notes is a fact that may have been altered a bit afterwards. This is of course is the opposite… All fake with a little truth tossed in at the end for luck.
HS - Okay, so T Whid. What have you been reading?
TW- Um… I hate to admit this but I¹m reading ³The Secret History of UFO¹s². But I SWEAR…I¹m only doing it to win a argument with the guy in the next cubicle at work. Hey…it¹s really starting to come down out there. Maybe we should cut this short and go…
HR - Sure, T Whid, sure. One last question. How is this interview functioning as a artist statement? Or is this just some kinda tongue-in-cheek conceptual cop out?
MR - Let¹s begin to answer that with the MTAA motto: Given 1: confusion 2; misunderstanding
TW - The working method of the MTAA states that the MTAA is a performed fiction. It is a fiction that does not strive for the “Spiritual” nor does it presents any symbolic meaning. The meaning, if one may use this word, may be found in ideas like: faith in pop culture, narcissism, anti professionalism, kindness, Artainment and science.
MR - Uh huh,…as well as in the thought of Self being a mailable state.
HS - I don¹t buy it … but, if that is your statement, we¹ll go with it. Thanks for your time.
MR - No, no. Thank you.
(interview stops and tape is turned off)
End note - It rained and rained and the city looked gray. It¹s a week later and I am finishing this at my desk at home. Soon I will send it to T Whid and then to HS. They will read it for the first time. They will edit and add some words. They will do with it as they like. You will read it and wonder why. Artist statement? Apex Twin says;…I care because you do. I just tend to say;…I just don¹t care anymore.
I am staring at my monitor and thinking of Hurricane down graded to Tropical Storm Floyd. I am thinking of you.
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New Art To Old (NATO)
So, by now you have probably seen T.Whid’s candid pictures of our active social life:
Upgrade’s Party
Rhizome’s Party
Barney’s Party
Eyebeam’s Party
You may have asked yourself, "Okay, cool, but is it art?" Well, according to T.Whid, no. Although now with our New Art To Old (NATO) offer, it could be. Here is the offer: 1. Pick an image off of the MTAA Society Pages. 2. Send us a check for 500 USD, and the name of the image you want. 3. We will make you a 20 x 24 inch acrylic on canvas based on the image. Note: 1. Only one painting per image will be made. 2. This is a limited time site unseen offer but trust us, we are very good painters (well… T.Whid is). 3. The painting will be done by either M.River, T.Whid, or M.River and T. Whid. 4. It will take us a month or so for delivery of the painting.
So, that is our NATO offer. Order now before we wise up and change our minds.
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Everything…
I have a feeling that if you found out my real name, social security number and my mother’s maiden name, you could tell me what color my eyes are, my favorite beer, and the general state of my so - called love life. It seems that facts regarding our entire life can now be splayed out for public download. Not only our life but, the nations, honey bees, Greek poets, Las Vegas show girls and the planet Mars. All the facts are now available for us 24/7 and they can be served up in any combination of cross referenced forms.
Yes please, I would like to know the names of all Las Vegas show girls who wrote college thesis papers (graduate level) on Greek poets who contemplated Mars or Vulcan (or what ever they called it back then) and I would like the names listed alphabetically with their state of birth. Please e-mail this to me ASAP. It¹s for an artwork….seriously.
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random art idea for the day..
Jon Ippolito gave me this idea while speaking with him about Creative Commons this morning. He said - You should remake the flash movie they have on the site. I looked at it and thought that the best thing to do would be to just change the voice over. If anyone wants to do it, go for it
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Wasabi Death Wish (WDW) 1999
The Wasabi Death Wish (WDW) is the worlds first Speed Metal Bunraku Puppet act that also functions as an alternative teaching method in basic math for grades K to 4. Created as a side project by the members of the MTAA, the WDW is performed as follows:
The two members of the WDW, M.River (aka MC Division) and T.Whid (aka DJ Long) enter a cafeteria, gym or classroom covered by black clothes from head to toe. Only their eyes are peer out from behind their black masks. The stage is set with only two microphones. The performers carry with them Bunraku style puppets that are animated by long poles. The two puppets stand about 3 feet high and are clothed in remarkably detailed costumes. MC Division, the lead singer puppet, is dressed in leather pants, no shirt and a Skull = Pie tattoo on its little shaved wooden head . DJ Long, the musical force of the WDW has a circa 1978 mullet haircut and a little bass guitar that seems hung far to low to play (ala Sid). The Puppeteers during the performance remain remarkable still while their scaled down alter egos trash about stage. The sound for the WDW is created beat box / air guitar style by the puppeteers. The WDW sound borrows heavily from Sabbath (the Oz years), Run DMC, Danzig, 7 Seconds and the ABC Saturday morning educational cartoons of School House Rock. The debut album of the WDW, entitled Satan Taught Me Math, includes the singles 6+6+6 and Subtract …Then FIGHT.
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Annie Oakley - Live Shot, 1998
A proposal for performance on the internet
Materials - computer with internet and chat room capability, cell phone, camera, .022 rifle, paper target, car, an operator
Preparations - Before the performance, an announcement will be posted on the internet and sent to individuals by e-mail. This announcement will give the date, time, and web address for a live participatory trick shot with Annie Oakley.
Site work - Before the performance, a .022 riffle will be placed in the trunk of a car. The car will drive to the front of the start location. At the time for the performance to begin, a call from a cell phone will be placed to the operator at a start location.
Performance on the internet - The web page (internet site) at the time of the performance should contain the following information.
An image of Annie Oakley (one showing her over shoulder trick shot), a map of area marked with the starting location, a photograph of the gun in the trunk of a car and the following text:
I am in a car in front of (name of starting location).In the trunk of the car is a .022 riffle. In my coat pocket is a paper target and one live round. I am speaking to you from a car phone. My voice is being transcribed onto the web by an operator at (starting location name). Except for the delay in transcription, this is live. For the next 30 minutes, I would like to have anyone on the net select a traveling direction for an attempt at Annie Oakley’s over the shoulder trick shot.I am not interested in hurting anyone. Destruction of property or a night in jail is not my goal. All I am interested in is the shot. Everything else is up to you.
The performance then begins with information about the direction and speed of the car (i.e., I am heading west at 25 mph.) It will be my attempt for the next 30 minutes to have people on the web direct the car to some unknown site. After 30 min. of travel the car will stop. I will set up the target, load the riffle and take the shot.
Annie Oakley’s act in the Wild West Show brought a distilled version of the West to the big cites. The violence or necessity of life was presented as a nomadic circus performance. An argument may be made that the internet is all performance without the need for a link to the physical world. It is my hope that the participants on the web, in their response to the performance, will further define a relation to the external world.
Afterwards - At a later date, the images from the performance will be inter spliced onto the text of the conversation. This will create the final document of the work.
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MTAA’s Ten Titles for Art Works That Can Be Made To Locate Meaning in One’s Bedroom AKA Text Based Night Light.
Installation Instructions:
1. Hang this text in your bedroom or area were you tend to fall asleep. If your bedroom is not available someone/somewhere else may be used.
2. Read text before sleeping.
3. In case of emergency or accidental awakening use this text to navigate room.
1. Portable 2 Square Feet Of Brooklyn Sky or Much to Our Surprise, Beautiful Airflow.
2. The Ever Popular Smithson/Helicopter/Spiral Chase Scene at 45 RPMs (for Tom)
3. Utopic Architecture and the Models who Love Them.
4. My New Century, Looks Like Your Used Mattress.
5. Stoneage, Ironage, Spaceage…Sleepage, Time based Sculpture for the Tired
6. Paris is the Sound of the Speed of Lights (for Anne).
7. New Monuments to the Old Skool, (Turntables on Marble)
8. Nightstand of The Gods (Alarm Clock, Glass of Water, Photograph of Everyone and Everything).
9. Area Rug for the working class, (Black Boots on Blue Wool)
10. …and as the confetti floats down and the spotlight fades, we make our way back to our room, thinking of sleep and the approaching red light of the day. AKA painting for the night before you knew meaning in your bedroom.
Bonus Tracks
+ just another maintenance free readymade (light on dust on window)
+ Tastefully done nudes may stop my disappointment but not my love
+ xxoo, asci art for the unimaginative
+ 3 minute pop song vs. 2 minute rough sketch (aka the sad reality of 6 hours work for 10 lines of text)
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Peace Rally, NYC
Walking the streets of New York yesterday, with some hope to end a war before it begins, I felt at ease. This is an odd mood to have when the air is bitter cold, a line of cops on horse back just rode up to push everyone off the street, the city is on some weird orange alert and my government is about to bomb the fuck out of someone once again. It was as if it was familiar day. I felt proud of the strangers around me, from the anarchists to the police (whom I felt as individuals might agree with what we were saying this time…love it when cops break face and smile when they see some guy in full glam drag carrying a sign saying WAR IS NOT PRETTY).
Anyway, I thought it was a positive day.
Later in the evening, I went to see The Pianist and the whole ugliness of war that I fear will soon begin came back into focus.
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New York Sunset Rim Shot
A notes for work from Oct. 13 1997 that seems to match my mood today
A performance to take place on a roof of an industrial building in Brooklyn New York. The performance is presented with only the participates and a camera person. The performers are filmed so that the sky line of Manhattan is visible as well as the sunset. The camera shot is static with all performers framed within the shot. At the center of the shot is a drum kit with a drummer seated behind. The kit sits down action (furthest) from the camera. In the mid point between the kit and the camera are two men. They stand to the right and left of the kit. They face each other with the kit, the sunset, and the city framed between them. All three performers are miked.
The performance consist of the hour of sunset.
As the hour goes by the two performers read to each other.
At pauses between sentences, the drummer performs a rim shot.
The drummer performs the rim shot with out a cue and with out prior knowledge of the text.
At each rim shot the speakers exchange turns speaking.
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Some random thoughts on the state of the art…
1. I’ve noticed a recent increase in the use image and video manipulation over text and vector graphics within net art. Although some have used image as a main tool for some time (brad brace comes to mind) a form of realism seems to be on the rise. Reasons? Perhaps digital cameras becoming common, more access to broadband, better software,or the change in political climate.
2. Along or against this trend, new works are being made using what Cory Archangel may have coined “Dirt Style Design” or Low-Fi net art. These works look back to the “Heroic Period” of Net.art as well as the pop home pages of the net. Think Hampster Dance (circa 1997) meets one38.org. Reasons? Who knows? Maybe it’s the same reasons as in thought 1.
3. When looking at net art as well as art in general of late, I’ve been trying to use the American movie rating system. Not as a quality judgement but as another way to look at content. “G” and “PG” seem to be the ratings of the time. I am looking for an interesting PG-13 or up. Other people have pointed out to me that using movie ratings to look at visual art is like comparing apples to oranges but it has been a good exercise for me.
The reason for the post is that for the last year or so I have felt net art has been in a holding pattern. Great art works are being made and attention is finally being given, but I miss the time of experimentation. Thoughts 1,2 and 3 have let me know that net art might change again as all art will do.
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