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RE: [microsound] Ars Electronica



Phillip and the rest of ya,

you can find the Ars E interview with Naut Humon here:
http://www.aec.at/unplugged/
and make your own interpretation. 

Quoting myself [at the risk of sounding redundant]
-->(by contrast, Rhizome's Mark Tribe uses his interview on the Ars E site to
--> spotlight several young, lesser-known net.artists, while Pete Barr-Wilson
--> only 
--> discusses the work of his own animation company, which all goes to show
--> that
--> everyone comes with their own set of priorities.)

i also know that Naut has been involved in experimental music for QUITE some 
time. [insert here: memories of dropping acid during high school & listening to 
scratchy Rhythm & Noise records found in the Lower Haight] i found it a bit 
suprising that he would want to emphasize the mainstream crossover of 
experimental sounds over a chance to give exposure to edgier stuff. maybe he's 
got a rabbit up his sleeve yet, though, and he's just waiting for the right 
moment to pull it out.

best,
derek


Quoting Philip Sherburne <psherburne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

--> Perhaps this isn't quite appropriate, because it's entirely
--> non-objective.
--> But knowing Naut, I also know that he has a broader enthusiasm for new
--> music
--> and new artists than just about anyone I know, and I've never known him
--> to
--> favor "names" just for the sake of expectations. I also think Naut
--> provides
--> a valuable service to "the scene" by helping to bring together different
--> generations of artists -- older, more established (yet still quite
--> unknown,
--> especially to my generation) artists along with the hot-headed up and
--> comers. I don't know where the Missy Elliott and Radiohead remarks come
--> from, but I would be surprised if he advanced them as the most
--> groundbreaking stuff out there.
--> 
--> As for Ars, do you really think it's any more prejudiced toward "names"
--> and
--> trends than something like Lovebytes, or similar festivals? From what I
--> can
--> see they tend to share very similar lineups. I could be wrong, though.
--> 
--> Cheers
--> Philip
--> 
--> -----Original Message-----
--> From: Derek Holzer [mailto:derek@xxxxxx]
--> Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 12:52 PM
--> To: microsound; Chris Parsons
--> Subject: Re: [microsound] Ars Electronica 
--> 
--> 
--> Chris, et al,
--> 
--> I guess sarcasm is the hardest thing to get accross in cyberspace. [without
--> 
--> emoticons, that is  :)   ]  my hyperbolic commentary was meant to arouse 
--> suspicion...
--> 
--> your points about Ars Electronica's corperate sponsership, high profile,
--> and
--> 
--> potential detachedness are exactly what i was hoping to point out. i
--> think
--> it 
--> is interesting to keep an eye on who those "on the top of the heap"
--> choose
--> to 
--> pick from those further down. when naut humon starts to talk about 
--> groundbreaking electronic music, then fishes up missy elliot and
--> radiohead,
--> i 
--> start to wonder who hands out these awards, and what is really going on
--> anyway.
--> 
--> (by contrast, Rhizome's Mark Tribe uses his interview on the Ars E site to
--> 
--> spotlight several young, lesser-known net.artists, while Pete Barr-Wilson
--> only 
--> discusses the work of his own animation company, which all goes to show
--> that
--> 
--> everyone comes with their own set of priorities.)
--> 
--> in the last couple of years, the "star artists" of the
--> electronic-experimental 
--> music scene --people like ryoji ikeda and carsten nikolai-- have been
--> "honored" 
--> by Ars Electronica, and this exposure seems to go hand in hand with what
--> people 
--> expect to hear when you talk about these area of music in the widest
--> sense.
--> my 
--> point, really, is who gets to pick the poster-children...
--> 
--> of course, there are festivals (like Impakt, Earrational, DEAF, KRAAAK, and
--> 
--> others) willing to dig a bit deeper and look past the names and
--> trend-spotting 
--> to find quality artists of all different kinds of genres. thanks for
--> bringing 
--> these up in response.
--> 
--> best,
--> derek
--> 
--> 
--> Quoting Chris Parsons <cparse@xxxxxxxxxx>:
--> 
--> --> 
--> --> 
--> -->  
--> --> > Ars Electronica is also one of the places where the big-names of
--> the
--> --> Digital
--> --> > Music scene come to claim their crown. The "buzz" in the music
--> world
--> is
--> --> that
--> --> > time has run out for glitch and minimalism, and the "next big
--> thing"
--> is
--> --> surely
--> --> > on the horizon. One wonders how long process, content and concept
--> in
--> --> music
--> --> > creation can really hold out against the trend-driven market
--> machine
--> --> that
--> --> > sinks 
--> --> > its roots into the underground at every turn, and --of course, and
--> with
--> --> > shallow, giddy breaths-- what that "next big thing" will be.
--> --> 
--> --> > What does Ars Electronica, arch-bishop of the electro-avant-garde,
--> say
--> --> about
--> --> > this publically?
--> --> 
--> --> Was this post a press release? It seems like a bit of a strech to
--> cast
--> --> Ars Electronica as the "Oscars night" of new electronic music.
--> --> 
--> --> Ars Electronica is a very well-funded festival, with corporate
--> --> sponsorship
--> --> from the likes of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Siemens, etc.
--> --> That guarantees it is a large well-organized event, but it does not
--> --> guarantee that it is necessarily in tune with the latest + most
--> important
--> --> creative developments.
--> --> 
--> --> There are numerous other similar festivals: Transmediale in Berlin,
--> --> DEAF in Rotterdam, Impakt in Utrecht, Lovebytes in Sheffield, etc.
--> --> You're probably more likely to hear/see really innovative work at any
--> of
--> --> these.
--> --> 
--> --> Don't mean to imply anything negative about Ars Electronica,
--> --> of course it is a great festival. ...it's just, the phrase
--> "arch-bishop
--> --> of
--> --> the electro-avant-garde" seems a bit over the top to me.
--> --> 
--> --> I suppose, money talks. And it's saying what people want to hear...
--> --> 
--> --> Chris
--> --> 
--> --> 
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--> 
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