The Cultural Analysis of Globalisation

April 2, 2008

University of Amsterdam

Ridgway presented her work and conducted a workshop for students of the Research Master in Cultural Analysis programme.

Alternative spaces, web spaces, artists associations, and networks have thrived in recent years, encouraging and enabling resistant forms of art, political and social positions. What are the means to determine value and is there any general standard with which to work? If ‘money tends to be represented as an invisible potency because of its capacity to turn into many other things… its hidden capacity for action.’ (Graeber, 2001, p. 114), how are cultural currencies cultivated? This presentation considered the production of art and its use value in the twenty-first century, along with its relationship between new media and the Internet, cultural translation witihin the art world and wealth distribution models.

Politics of the contemporary: Globalisation and Interculturality
Research Master in Cultural Analysis Programme

Professors: Sophie Berrebi and Deborah Cherry

Course guidelines: Key concepts will be explored in relation to a range of cultural instances such as museums and international art exhibitions, documentary, installation, contemporary art and the globalization of culture and politics. The inherently interdisciplinary nature of the subject requires the use of a diversified range of theoretical sources. While the presentations by tutors and seminar discussions will predominantly deal with case-studies from the visual domain, students are invited to research other areas of contemporary culture in which relations between the local and the global are seen to be at work.

Holding an Angle

Videoscreening of works by international artists

Saturday, February 9, 2008

at the Cacao Fabriek Helmond, the Netherlands

This site-specific context of a former chocolate factory was the place of a series of screenings by various artists.

Curated by Lieke Snelling and Ruth Legg

Skin Deep
single channel projection
12 minutes
2008

In this video the topics addressed deal with land and sovereignty. The value of the currency, in this case embodied by the possession of land, is continuously increased and decreased over time. Land here is currency as well as the material salt and is determined by gains and losses. In this case, time is the length of the video, reflected here through the action/ritual by a performer replacing an area of the projection (light) with salt. This crystalizes the image, so to speak, allowing it to be seen; the video becomes visible. The video is Native New Yorkers, a one-minute loop showing a time-lapse of an entire piece of deerskin (as a metaphor for land) being cut up, unravelling.

Be(com)ing Dutch: The Gate Foundation, it’s past, present and future

November 19, 2007 at the Van Abbemuseum

Part of the caucus programme of Be(com)ing Dutch

Guest speakers: Sebastian Lopez (Director Iniva London) Shaheen Merali (Head of Art, Film, New Media, exhibitions at Haus der Kulturen der Welt ) Diana Franssen (Head librarian, Van Abbemuseum) Renée Ridgway (former Board member, Gate Foundation, artist, curator)

This workshop which addressed the acquisition of the Gate Foundation within the Van Abbe Museum and its present state and use value by exploring the cultural significance of its history, its accomplishment and ambition of its collection. Taking the Gate as a case study, as an ‘interpretative field of material’, we further contextualised this within the framework of alternative ‘autonomous insitutions’ (Iniva, Haus der Kulturen der Welt) whose mission is to reinstate internationalism, world culture, while working towards inclusion.

Part of the workshop was devoted to attempting to unpack some of the terminology associated with ‘cultural diversity’ used in policymaking over the years within the cultural sector, to question the autonomy of these institutions in relationship to areas of ‘positive discrimination’ as well as the ‘top down’ financing that supports such cultural initiatives. These questions were conceived together with Sarat Maharaj and are being further discussed and disseminated via a wiki. More soon.

A Short History of Dutch Video Art

224 pages, 340 illustrations, English/Spanish
design: Sander Boon
publisher: episode Rotterdam
ISBN: 9059730313
Price: € 27,50

This is the last publication of the Gate Foundation.

The publication catalogues the exhibition A Short History of Dutch Video Art, which was curated by Sebastian Lopez and organized by the Gate Foundation. With its 224 pages, this bilingual (English and Spanish) publication has already been shown in 7 museums around the world. It contains 340 colour illustrations and descriptions of the works as well as comprehensive videographies, thereby providing the most complete overview of the artist’s achievements. The publication also includes an essay by Sebastian Lopez, reflecting on Dutch artistic and cultural dynamics around the new medium of video introduced in the 1970s.

Another Publication
You can’t judge a book by its cover

Official launch and symposium at Casco Projects in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

October 6th, 2007, 14:00-18:00

guest speakers:

Jan Verwoert, Frans-Willem Korsten, Marina Grzinic.

Moderators:
Katarina Zdjelar & Renée Ridgway

in cooperation with Piet Zwart Institute and Revolver Books

Another Publication is a book project around the manifold perspectives on otherness. Twelve writers were invited to contribute a text on this subject, each writing a preface to a possible book around the ‘other.’ Together, these prefaces trace different identifications and applications of the term, such as collaboration, love, aesthetics, institutional critique and globalisation. In addition, 82 artists were invited to submit a cover for this book and they, in turn, invited another to contribute an image for a cover. Each compilation of texts is framed by one single cover image, each in an edition of seven.

Editors: Katarina Zdjelar and Renée Ridgway

With text contributions by: Mieke Bal, Dieter Lesage, Bojana Kunst, Steve Rushton, Hito Steyerl, Nato Thompson, Thomas Michelon, Frans-Willem Korsten, Jelena Vesic, Boris Buden, Jan Verwoert, Rosi Braidotti
Graphic designer: Sander Boon

Website: http://anotherpublication.net/

Order a publication at Revolver Books

Once again, many thanks to the writers and all of the 164 image contributors for their images!

Oliver Ressler, Mieke Bal, Christoph Keller, Peter Piller, Erzen Shkololli, LIGNA, Marina Grzinic and Aina Smid, Zoran Todorović, David Maljković, Chris Sullivan, Paul Khera, Christina Erman Widerberg, Karl Persson, Raqs Media Collective, Inder Salim, Ivan Grubanov, Predrag Pajdić, Siniša Ilić, Bojan Djordjev, Ivan Moudov, Michael Hofstetter, Carey Young, Ine Lamers, Robert Suermondt, Bert Sissingh, Nalini Malani, Nourit Masson-Sékiné, Diego Ferrari, Mr. Chankyong Park, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Diego Bruno, Craig Coulthard, Philip Provily, Chad McCail, Biljana Djurdjević, Jos van der Pol, Maurice Bogaert, Melvin Moti, David Maroto, Antoine Prum, Holger Nickisch, Liesbeth Bik, Stefan Saffer, Monali Meher, Renzo Martens, Banu Cennetoglu, David Kellner& Ivan Jurica, Frank J.M.A. Castelyns, Roland van den Berghe, Kara Hamilton, Johan Waerndt, Sanjeev Sinha, Hans Bernhard, Nancy Bleck, Odili Donald Odita, Tere Recarens, Durga Kainthola, Servullo Mendez Rey, Hinrich Sachs, Olaf Probst, Tamuna Chabashvili, Betsy Green, Anneke A. de Boer, Sandra Semchuk and James Nicholas, Christiaan Bastiaans, Carlos Aires, Joseph Semah, Duba Sambolec, Delphine Bedel, Caecilia Tripp, Natasja Straat, Melanie Carvalho, Alireza Rasoulinezhad, Ni Haifeng, Caterina Pecchioli, Matthijs de Bruine, Margret Wibmer, Peggy Buth, IRWIN, Group OHO (1966 – 1971), Katrin Plavcak, Marieken Verheyen, Eduardo Molinari / Archivo Caminante, Simon Ferdinando, Susan Kendzulak, Abrie Fourie, Shaheen Merali, Basekamp, Thomas Buxó, Mark Zirpel, Klaas van Gorkum & Iratxe Jaio, Tina Aufiero, Mounir Fatmi, Sylvia de Swaan, Kenneth R. Vick, Masist Gül, Hung-Chih Peng, Els Vanden Meersch, Sonia Balassanian, Anita Di Bianco, Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Maria Dumlao, Tiong Ang, Stefan Bohenberger, Charlie Citron, Ella Klaschka, Cecilia Mandrile, Sandra Stephens, Stephanie Benzaquen, Judi Werthein, Remy Jungerman, Arthur Neve, Mary Ellen Carroll, Sharmila Samant, Raul Marroquin, Risk Hazekamp, Tushar Joag, Dawn Woolley, Radcliffe Bailey, Marietheres Finkeldei, Berend Strik, Desiree Palmen, Albert Weis, Thomas Lenden, Mark Brogan, Franco Angeloni, Karolina Freino, Marisa Jahn & Steve Shada, Shunji Hori, Serkan Ozkaya, Stani Michiels, Lisa Holden, Ayreen Anastas, Luisa Kasalicky, Rene Gabri, Astrit Schmidt-Burkhardt, Rob Birza, Guerilla Girls, Mohamed Abdulla, Rachel Wilberforce, Steve Lambert, Isabel Cordeiro, Sal Randolph, Kathe Izzo, Orgacom, Bert de Muynck, Naomi Tereza Salmon, Lucia Zegada, Atone Niane, Manon de Boer, Paul Carter&Paul Gray, Rodrìguez foundation, Birgit Knoechl, Mark Booth, Fendry Ekel, Joachim Stein, Nasrin Tabatabai, Miloš Lolić, Naro Snackey, Josiah McElheny, Adi Hollander, Eitan Ben Moshe, Ana Dzokic, Corinne Gambi

Borders, Boundaries & Liminal Spaces was originally conceived to be an extension of our concept of the new media center. It also seemed logical to have a conference about liminal spaces inside of one. Truly, the conference afforded us an opportunity to interrogate the space more thoroughly. Aside from the specifics of the topics covered (remains, the body from within and without, present and future, and the manipulation of the system) the conference was particularly enlightening with respect to the engine of Second Life and communication within that medium.

Conference in Second Life at Ars Virtua

Panelists:
Laura Jones (J0E Languish for this presentation only)
Renée Ridgway (Chloe Mahfouz)
Brad Kligerman (Kliger Dinkin)

Moderator
James Morgan (Rubaiyat Shatner)

The session was intended to look at the nature of what is left behind by a culture, people or civilization through the lens of an archaeologist, architect and artist. Laura manages to find a new discipline in the archaeology of the virtual, but one that is different in its essential character but not in its essence. Archaeology will still be about putting together incomplete pieces but the pieces will now be recorded bits of data. Brad focuses on the crossing of the threshold into the synthetic environment. He chooses to consider what is left behind in the transition. Renée considers history through visualization and story telling. She reconstructs the metaphoric narrative based on the bits and bobbs of text that refer to events. She also shows us a cultural perspective based entirely within a familar land.

The CADRE Laboratory for New Media, an interdisciplinary academic and research program dedicated to the experimental use of information technology and art will publish Switch 23, ‘Function//Border//Dysfunction’, featuring the ‘Borders, Boundaries & Liminal Spaces’ conference.

More info about ArsVirtua

Bags and more bags? any extras?

We still need your help
Temporary Services
Do you have a section of your kitchen or home that is dedicated to stowing these excess plastic shopping bags as they accumulate? We do, and many of our friends do as well. We have begun to collect photos of people’s bag collections in their homes which we will turn into a public archive. We have some photos of bag accumulations found so far posted on our blog’s photo gallery.

Please send us a photograph of your storage recepticle or collection of excess plastic shopping bags. 300 dpi photos are required for print quality. 3″ X 5″ would be fine. If the file is too large to attach, feel free to send us files using free services like YouSendit.

We’ll also take donations of unwanted plastic bags that we can use for these projects. If you have a bunch of bags and are located in Berlin or Chicago, let us know and we can get them from you.
Photos should be emailed to: servers@temporaryservices.org

[display_podcast]
Beavers are back in New York city (The Bronx)

Panel Discussion
November 18, 2006, 13:30
Practical History

Ridgway presented her visual work along with sound tracks from her archive of interviews of people with Dutch surnames.

St. Mark’s Church Sanctuary, 2nd Ave and 10th Street

Short presentations, some featuring audio-visual and performance elements, addressing questions including: How can we interpret the landscape of the past through the environment of the present? What was the catalyst for panelists’ involvement with the project? What are the reasons to pursue cross-disciplinary work, and how does promoting dialogue among artists, scientists, and historians enhance professional investigations or creative endeavors?

press contact: Felicia Mayo, 212-228-2781 or info@smhlf.org http://smhlf.org
Thanks to The Netherland-America Foundation, Mondriaan Foundation

I presented a lecture about my artistic practice at the De Halve Maen to KLM: 400 Years of Dutch-American Exchange conference in Albany, New York on June 6, 2006

Organized by the New Netherlands Institute

Sotheby’s Dutch kas(t) circa 1689

“Not only an integral part of almost every family home who could afford any type of valuables in the Netherlands in the 17th century, but also to the early settlers in the New World who brought with them this piece of furniture, the ‘kas’ or ‘kast’ stands even today relatively alone as an all-encompassing symbol of Dutch materialistic possession, property and general prosperity.” (Kamil, Of American Kasten and the Mythology of “Pure Dutchness”) Part of the ‘uitzet’ or dowry of a woman given in marriage, her worth or value was placed and contained in this object and moved house along with the bride. The 17th century ‘kast’ was produced in the Netherlands and was an important product/statement of Dutch wealth, design and identity, a symbol of Dutch cultural currency. Upon emigration, if one were wealthy, it was shipped to colonial America, or if one were poor, less intricate copies were made in the colony. The passage of the immigrant and the mutability of assimilation and adaption parallels the kasts’ emigration to America- the Dutch ‘kast’ has been adapted to the colony of Nieuw Amsterdam, or N.Y. “The American kas (or kast) has been perceived as synonymous, indeed almost inextricably intertwined, with the material life of early New York. Such an enduring relation has only served to exacerbate a curious process of mystification about the “Dutchness” of New York.” (Kamil, ibid)

The New Netherland Project was established under the sponsorship of the New York State Library and the Holland Society of New York. Its primary objective is to complete the transcription, translation, and publication of all Dutch documents in New York repositories relating to the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. This unique resource has already proven invaluable to scholars in a wide variety of disciplines. It also serves to enhance awareness of the major Dutch contributions to America over the centuries and the strong connections between the two nations. The Project is supported by the New York State Library, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the New Netherland Institute.

Money Talks – the recyclability of cultural currency in contemporary exchange systems

Beavers weave stolen cash into dam

April 25, 2006

Invited as a guest lecturer at University of Brighton, Ridgway conducted a seminar for Ph.D. research candidates about her work as a visual artist and her approach to research-based art.

Research Department, Faculty of Arts and Architecture
University of Brighton
Brighton, UK

Uses and Abuses of Art History

Methods and modes of working, games played in an era where everybody forgets everything, historicity is considered a faux pas. ‘In an age that has forgotten how to think, first of all, historically,’ (Jameson) it is refreshing to discuss the application of history, or in this case art history within the field of play- contemporary art. My point of view is a personal one, built upon years of working that involves aspects of decolonization, displacement mappings, ersatz notions organized within a semi ‘pataphysical nomenclature in a process, a labour of love.

Suprematism (White Cross) Alexander Brener’s dialogue with Kazimir Malevich

In a quasi-archival logic, I rework history and art history in contemporary practice and part of this process is the outcome of a new ‘archive’, or rather platform or podium, installation or staging, which all seem to contain those things that are ‘found yet constructed, factual, yet fictive, public yet private.’ (Foster)
By re-appropriating the past into the present, art history is still alive; reworked, reorganized, recycled and its dilemma of being forgotten as quickly as it is made, is all part of the process.

editor’s note: I have seen the Malevich in the Stedelijk before and after Brener’s intervention. I could swear that I saw a dollar sign (or is it the aura?) appear after the restoration.

Panel: Writing Histories of Contemporary Art, AAH conference

April 8, 2006
University of Leeds
Leeds, U.K.