Violence Online Festival - New Media show curated by Agricola de Cologne

VIOLENCE - online festival and exhibition

Version 2.0

Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE 03 - 08 October 2002
Violence Online Festival www.newmediafest.org/violence/index.htm
NewMediaArtProjectNetwork Festivals www.newmediafest.org
A Virtual Memorial www.a-virtual-memorial.org
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contents:
headline
summary
new artists
introduction
all participants
technical requirements
copyright
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headline:
Version 2.0 of Violence Online Festival
online since 07 October will be presented
in October 2002 on

Computer Space Festival 2002 Sofia (Bulgaria)
(18-21 Oct 2002)
and
Liberarti Festival - Liverpool Biennale 2002
(10 Oct - 01 Dec 2002)

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summary:
Violence Online Festival is
a New Media art project
reflecting the phenomenon of "Violence",
curated, organized and created in Flash by
Agricola de Cologne, curator and media artist operating
from Cologne/Germany. As an ongoing project
Violence Online Festival is developed for being
presented in future in the framework of physical and
virtual media festivals and exhibitions.
For each event a new project version will be created
adjusted to the actual needs
including additions of new artists/works
and other changes.

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Version 2.0 of Violence Online Festival includes following
new artists who replace some others
from the previous versions 1.0,1.1:
Jody Zellen, G.H Hovagimyan, Chiara Passa, Lucia Leuci
Katrinka Moore, Tjader-Knight Inc., Franck de las Mercedes,
Lucky Pierre, Nikki Johnson, Johanna Thompson,
Shay Kun, Andrew François, Bruce Petty, Mason Petrie
Marcello Mercado
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introduction:
The human character contains both a light and a dark side, good and bad,
individually manifested. Deeply rooted is a dark-sided
element: Violence.
In happy surroundings, it becomes hardly visible and in
less happy surroundings - either of a physical, psychological,
environmental, ideological, economic or political nature -
nearly automatically a kind of survival
strategy with all the known consequences we see
manifested in conflicts on a small or large scale.
Violence is present anywhere, hidden or sleeping,
hesitating, waiting or in action, starting from simple
mobbing via verbalor physical attacks, the bandwidth has no end.

Nowadays, globalization, social injustice,
unemployment, increasing wealth on one side and
on the opposite increasing poverty (without mentioning some
causes) produce a climate where violence has a fertile
soil. From the attack on 9/11 in the USA, people from
the Western civilization became painfully aware that
security of any kind is a mere illusion; not only the
internal, but also the external enemy is present anywhere.

Artists are said to be the consciousness of a nation or society
as they reflect the actual state of the psychological and physical
environment.
When this state is penetrated by violence, nobody is surprised that
violence becomes a universal subject for artistic reflection, the difference
may
only be the view on it and its perception depending on
the respective cultural background.

'Art and violence both seem to stem from the abstract: that place beyond
logic, the realm of the emotion. When they intersect we are simultaneously
repelled and attracted, frightened and excited. Historically this meeting
has been wrought with complexity, and as cultural violence in every society
increases, we are prevented by paranoia, censorship and ethical demands from
asking, and sometimes even posing, some of the most important questions
violence and art together and separately produce: how is violence
represented, and what or how much of it do we need to resist the cultivation
of fear and the encouragement of dependency? Is violence a tool, a process
or a result? When are artistic portrayals of violence justifiable? As
intellectual exercise, ritual, or spiritual enhancement? For other purposes?
Or are they never justifiable? Is violence in art an action, reaction, or
reflection? ' (quotation: festival statement).

How different the results of an artistic reflection can be is
shown through the Violence Online Festival, a New Media
online exhibition project curated and organized
as an individual event by Agricola de Cologne
including more than 150 artists from
30 countries presenting their work. It forms a
dynamic collaborative art work presenting very
individual visions and use of media.

The relevance of violence becomes visible also through
the high quality standard of all the included works. Each
of them represents another aspect of violence - caught
in textual poetry, running as a video or embedded in an
interactive environment of a net-based art work.

In reaction to the key role (mass) media plays by displaying and even
promoting
violence, a new environment (interface) has been created for Violence
Online Festival, which houses and hosts the art works within a virtual media
company named "Violence Media Incorporated".
By dividing the company into different departments (eg.
"Violence for Happiness" , "Violence Marketing" or "Violence Broadcasting"),
it becomes clear that their meaning
has a rather ironic or sarcastic character, which gives
the embedded art works a new meaning.

While surfing through this environment, the visitor is forced to ask and
give answers, and becomes slowly a part of this network of art through his
reflections and changes of perception.

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List of all participating artists in Version 2.0 of Violence Online Festival

Germany: Agricola de Cologne, Roland Schappert, Knut Eckstein,
Jürgen Bysard Adams, Ilse Hilpert, Sabine Scholz, Wittwulf Y Malik,
Argentina: Rachel Partnoy, Alicia Partnoy, Ruth Irupe Sanabria,
Gabriel Otero, Anahi Caceres, Jose Cuckier, Irene Coremberg
Colombia: Andres Yepes, Eduardo Angel, Claudia Tribin,
Alejandro Jaimes-Larrarte Austria: Klaus Schrefler, Medea, Renee Kellner
Italy: ego, Casaluce/Geiger, Caterina Davinio, Antonio Sassu,
Marcello Mercado, Chiara Passa, Lucia Leuci
Australia: Francesca da Rimini, Michael Grimm, Andrew François, Bruce Petty,
Mason Petrie
Japan: Kenji Siratori United Kingdom: Jess Loseby
Croatia: Tony Mestrovic, Maya Kalogera Canada: Eva Lewarne,
Jeremy Owen Turner, Babel, Jo Cook, David Cheung, David Fujino
Romania: Peter Jacobi Belgium: Tamara Lai Russia: Sergej Jakovlev
Ireland: Feargal O Malley Portugal: Susana Mendes Silva
Mexico: Fran Ilich, Cindy Gabriela Flores Nicaragua: Franck de las Mercedes
Puerto Rico: Richard Monge Brazil: Giacomo Picca
Israel: Igor Ulanowsky, Shira z. Carmel, Shay Kun
Turkey: Bulent Bas, Genco Gulan France: name diffusion, Nicolas Clauss,
Xavier Leton
USA: Doron Golan, Gerald Schwartz, Seth Lew, Eric Parnes,
Nancy Jane Moore, Joy Garnett, Yevgeniy Fiks, anonymous, Restate,
Moya Devine, Sharon Harper, Coco Gordon, Brody Condon,
Rika Ohara, Mike Salmond, Steve Bradley/Timothy Nohe, Alison Cole, Craig
Macneill,
Eric Wennermark, Brian Judy, Humberto Ramirez, Deb King,
Robert Dohrmann, Judson Wright, Jeff Gurecka, Anne Bray and Molly
Cleator,
John Kannenberg, Katrinka Moore, Johanna Thompson, G.H.Hovagimyan,
Jody Zellen, Jerzy Kolasinski, Lucky Pierre, Nikki Johnson
Estonia: Dagmar Kase Lithuania: gintas K Serbia: Marko Stamenkovic
Finland: Janne Vanhanen Finland/UK: Tjader-Knight Inc.
Philippines: Fatima Lasay and her classes: VC36 CLASS John Michael Acevedo,
Mark Anthony Alvarado, Carlo Ahillion, Rikki Carmelo Baranda,
Criselda Cac, Alexander John Castro II, Nathaniel,
Chua, Eric Flores, Gimo Lanot, Sabrina De Leon, Merwin De Mesa, Jr.,
Marielle Nadal, Lizamae Orola, Francis Rafael Sanbuenabuentura,
Rogelio Santos, Jr., Lea Segarra, Zoltan Pabon, Vincent Paul Samson,
Don Juan Paolo Torres, Alfred Mark Trajeco, Sheryl Valencia,
Archie Yumul SFA192 CLASS Gerard Baja, Anna Teresa Cabardo,
Uriel Colomo, Niko Loren Dela Cruz, John Ervin General, Michael Angelo
Lampayan,
Olivia Lopez, Deodato Pairez, Jerusalem Pimentel, Alfred Anton Po,
Joseph Raz, Jr., Ruth Kathryn Santiago, Brian Oliver Sergio,
Cherry Ann Tolentino FA100 CLASS Eleanor Alfante, Carlito Amalla,
Maysa Arabit, Ry Sedrick Bolodo, Joey Claronino, Monica Delgado,
Katrina De Dios, Amiel Lapuebla, Catherine Rose Lasam, Michael Sagcal,
Mary Grace Tenorio, Gem Alexandria Tuano, Winchell Saludares,
Camilla Tabagan, Paulo Vinluan

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Visit this dynamic exciting show.
There are optional following accesses:
direct: www.newmediafest.org/violence/index.htm
but also
www.newmediafest.org
www.a-virtual-memorial.org

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technical requirements
optimized for VGA resolution 1024x768
PC Pentium III 600 Mhz or better or comparable MAC
Soundcard, recommended 56K or 64K modem or faster,
browsers: MS Internet Explorer 5.5+ or Netscape Navigator 6.0+
Players/Plug-ins: essential the latest Flash 6,
Shockwave, Real Player, Quicktime

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copyright:
Violence Online Festival
www.newmediafest.org
text, conception, programming, visalization
curator, organizer = Agricola de Cologne - copyright © 2002 . All rights
reserved.
copyright © of all art works of
the participating artists hold the authors or owners.

NewMediaArtProjectNetwork - the experimental platform
for the arts in Intenet is founded and created by
Agricola de Cologne.
copyright © 2000-2002 by Agricola de Cologne. All rights reserved.

A Virtual Memorial
www.a-virtual-memorial.org
copyright © 2000-2002 by Agricola de Cologne.
All rights reserved.
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contacts:
Press
press@newmediafest.org
Violence Online Festival
violence@newmediafest.org
A Virtual Memorial
info@a-virtual-memorial.org

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version 1.0 presented on Violens" Festival Tábor (Czech Republic) 17 - 31 August 2002
version 1.1 - featured project on A Virtual Memorial during September 2002
version 2.0 presented on Liberarti Festival at Liverpool Biennale (UK) October/November 2002
Computer Space 2002 Festival Sofia (Bulgaria) 18 - 21 October 2002