lucia udvardyova

New online archive of writing on media art histories and network culture.the purpose of the site is to distribute the material for education in media, arts and technologies.

Currently the site lists almost one hundred books/catalogues/pamphlets/papers for free download, published moreless
in the current decade, however in the future we would like to include more historical material.

If you feel affiliated with the idea of the project,and are willing to share a content resting on your hard drive or scan new things, email the administrators of the site.

Nový dokument o digitálním samplingu v hip hopu a související otázce autorských práv. Kromě jiného se ve filmu představí hiphopeři jako Chuck D, De La Soul, DJ Qbert nebo Mix Master Mike. Film má mít premiéru v USA na jaro tohoto roku.

Úrývek z filmu na Youtube:

Copyright Criminals

Transmediale – 22. ledna – 1. února.

Festivalová sezóna už pravidelně začíná berlínským festivalem elektronické kultury Transmediale. Tématem letošního ročníku DEEP NORTH jsou kulturní dopady globálního oteplování a lidská interakce s prostředím. Paralelně s hlavním denním programem Transmediale se také odehrává klubová část Club Transmediale.

In December, I visited several New York institutions that focus on preservation, distribution and popularization of audiovisual media. In comparison with European institutions the local "archive" scene is decidedly less opulent - mostly acquiring finances from private resources. State support of these organizations - and this pertains art in general - in comparison with similar European institutions, is miniscule.

The New York AV archive scene is relatively small, people know each other. This is quite surprising considering the size of New York is similar to the size of the whole Czech Republic. Firstly, I visited the Anthology Film Archives (AFA) located in the grand building in East Village. Apart from an experimental film archive - primarily in its Essential Cinema Repertory, the AFA is also a popular cinema showing independent films and is also a spot for interesting cultural events. On the day I visited the AFA, the African film festival was attracting a sizeable group of students presumably on a school trip. The artistic director of AFA is Jonas Mekas who established the archive almost forty years ago. Currently, his position is largely symbolic - not because of his age - but because he is extremely busy what with the recent interest in his ouvre. More about the activities of AFA in an interview that I conducted with John Mhiripiri, the Administrative Director and Exhibitions Coordinator at the AFA (the interview will be published on this site in the "Textarchiv" section).

The following stop was at the Electronic Arts Intermix situated in Chelsea which is renowned as a hotspot for galleries and the art world. The EAI was established in 1971 as an independent and non-profit organization focusing on distribution and preservation of video and media art. The EAI Collection encompases works by Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, Martha Rosler and also an extensive selection of works by Woody and Steina Vasulkas. Apart from classic video art titles, you can find works by the infamous New York pop art collective Paper Rad.

The EAI adminsters several initiatives: Artists Media Distribution Service- a distribution service of its titles for research, educational and exhibition purposes; EAI Online Catalogue is an online catalogue of the EAI Collection that also encompases primary and secondary resources; A Kinetic History: The EAI Archives Online provides rare materials and historical documentation of early video art. EAI is also active in the realm of media art preservation and provides information on this topic on its website ( EAI Online Resource Guide for Exhibiting, Collecting & Preserving Media Art ).

An important part of the EAI is the Public Programs initiative that includes screenings of titles from the EAI archives, as well as panel discussions on topics such as Copyright & Contemporary Art Practice or Preserving the Future: Innovative Strategies for Saving New Media. The Public Programs initiative also facilitates collaborations with education institutions - mostly film schools all around the world. I spoke to the coordinator of this project Josh Kline. The EAI organizes 10 to 11 projects as part of the Public Programs initiative, out of which 8 to 9 take place at the premises of EAI. Usually, the focus is on a single artist whose ouvre will be presented over a period of one month and includes discussions and screenings (for instance Michael Bell Smith, Carolee Schneeman). The EAI also cooperates with other institutions in this programme, such as the Museum of Modern Arts in New York, Art Basel Miami but also institutions from Poland), and lends its titles for non-commercial prices to educational institutions. What pertains 2009, for instance in February, a Takeshi Murata showcase is planned.

More about the activities of the Electronic Arts Intermix in an interview that I conducted with Leah Churner, the Media Art Collection Manager at the EAI. The interview will be published on this website in the "Textarchiv" section.

The unique project by ZKM was established in 2004. The laboratory develops methods on restoration of old formats of AV material. It owns more than 300 machines – which they also obtain from ebay, for instance – and processes approximately 50 various video formats (such as open reel, quarter inch reel, half inch reel, cartridge, etc), mostly from the period of 1960-1980’s.

The tapes that enter the laboratory are often in bad condition, as due to a chemical reaction, the tapes decay after 30 years. First, the tapes have to be cleaned in a special way. The tapes have to be then played on an adequate machine. The laboratory also collects video machines as it is crucial to have the original machine the tape was intended to be played on. A time-based corrector prepares the tape for digitization. The tapes are then digitized, an analogue copy is stored. The laboratory also restores and preserves tapes for companies outside the ZKM.

An exhibition of new works by students of the Center for Audiovisual Studies at the TV and Film School (FAMU) of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

GAMU — Malostranské náměstí 12, Prague 1

Open daily on Monday 10:00 a.m. — 18:00 p.m

Works of students from the University of J. E. Purkyně in Ústí nad Labem, Academy of Fine Arts in Prague as well as works by the film production company Punk Film will be presented. Also participating at the event are foreign institutions, such as the US-based Video Smart Festival and Eu-expanding-use from Germany. A section dedicated to Woody Vasulka is also included into the programme.

The Center for Art and Media (ZKM) is one of the most respected cultural centers in Europe. It encompasses several institutions - the Museum of New Art, the Media Museum, the AV Institute, the Institute for Music and Acoustics, the Institute for Media, Education and Science and the Film Institute under the leadership of Peter Weibel. ZKM closely cooperates with the Staatliche Hochschule fur Gestaltung that is situated in the same building as ZKM.

There are currently two exhibitions ongoing at the Museum - You_ser presenting participative practices in art (more about this in Magda Kobzova's submission), and Medium Religion focusing on religious motifs as artistic tools. ZKM disposes of an excellent library where you can find an extensive collection of books about new media, art and also the ZKM Edition. Another important part is the Mediathek - the audiovisual archive of ZKM. The video collection includes approximately 600 video art titles primarily from the period of 1960's - 1980's with a large collection of works by Woody and Steina Wasulkas. The ZKM video archive was established in 1991 and was initially curated by Dieter Daniels. The archive encompasses purchased works of video art, ZKM's own materials and Media Art Prix winning titles. Apart from the publicly accessible collection, ZKM also has a so-called Research Coolection that thanks to limited copyright, can be only viewed for research purposes. The Research Collection has approx. 5,000 titles.

The user interface is realised through audio and video jukeboxes. The video jukeboxes were first installed in 1997 and operate on Windows software. The videos are archived on CD's that are searched out by a "robot". ZKM also encompasses the unique laboratory Labor für antiquierte Videosysteme where video preservation and restoration techniques are developed (more than 50 various video formats, including U-matic).

Výstava představí významného umělce Simona Wachsmutha narozeného 1964 v Hamburku a žijícího v Berlíně a ve Vídni. Simon Wachsmuth studoval obor vizuálních médií u profesora Petera Weibela na Hochschule für Angewandte Kunst ve Vídni, byl vyznamenán za své computerové animace cenou Prix Ars-Elektronica v Linci a vystavoval na poslední dokumentě 12 (documenta 12) v Kasselu. Jeho poslední práce využívají quasivědeckých metod archivní dokumentace a na základě těchto zdánlivě objektivních materiálů vedou diváka k velmi osobnímu, subjektivnímu způsobu vnímání reality.

Druhé pokračování konference "Otevřené archivy", proběhne jako součást Mezinárodního festivalu dokumentárního filmu Jihlava. On-line archivy v oblasti nových médií, filmu, vzdělávání a vědy se stávají vysoce kontextuálními prostory setkávání nejen různých médií, ale především lidí. Nové otázky a možnosti, které přináší digitalizace audiovizuálního dědictví do vzdělávání a způsobu předávání znalostí, znamenají evoluční změnu v pojetí archivů. Myšlení o archivech se vydává směrem sémantického webu, nelineárních struktur médií a síťových společenských technologií.

Vyhledávač v rámci Custom Google Search Programme zaměřený na AV web stránky (film, video, dokumenty, TV, rádio, zvukové nahrávky), k dispozici v různých jazycích, kromě angličtiny např. arabský, čínský, holandský, ruský nebo španělský. Vyhledávač vytvořil Eric Hennekam z projektu Archieven.org.

Prezentace a diskuze projektů Creative Commons (CC), Open source software (OSS), Wikipedia a anti-copyright hackerů z hysteria.sk. Konference představí českou iniciativu zavádění licence CC do českého prostředí, prezentace CC projektů ze slovenského prostředí, CC a jeho fúzi do politiky Change-congress. Následují ukázky CC z praktického hlediska uživatele Shivers a WILL, komplexní přehled právních aspektů Open Source licencí, dále zkušenosti licencování portálu Wikipedia a závěr přiblíží pohled na přístup ke copyrightu hackerů ze sdružení hysteria.sk.

Kromě prezentacím by měl být večer věnován debatě mezi autory, právníky, médií, veřejných institucí, wikipedisty, softwarovými vývojáři a designéry.