The Art, Technology, and Culture Colloquium
of UC Berkeley's Center for New Media Presents:
From Utopian Determinism to Network-Centric Paradigms
Marko Peljhan, Projekt Atol-Pact Systems and UCSB
Mon, 18 Apr, 7:30-9pm: UC Berkeley, 160 Kroeber Hall
All ATC Lectures are free and open to the public.
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Marko will present a a critical overview of the aesthetic, political
and legal aspects of his MAKROLAB project (1997-2007). The conceptual
work on the Makrolab project started in 1994 during the Yugoslav civil
wars with the purpose of establishing an independent and self
sufficient performance and research structure in isolation as an
outpost for Utopian removal, survival and a critical reflection of the
extreme and entropic societal conditions in which the author and his
collaborators found themselves.
The first phase was realized in 1997 during the Documenta X exhibition
in Kassel and it has since evolved in remote and isolated areas of
Scotland, Australia, Slovenia, Italy, and Finland, with future setups
and developments planned for India, Nunavut, and finally, in 2007, the
Antarctic.
The three dynamic zones of research and inquiry that Makrolab is
focused on are telecommunications, climate change and migration
patterns. The primary thesis is that a unified theory for these
fields will emerge from the project's insulation/isolation strategies,
a method combining conscious physical, geographical, and political
isolation on one hand, and a communications, close proximity and
sensor/processor saturation, coupled with energy and biospheric
autonomy on the other.
Makrolab is envisioned not only as an architectural and engineering
development process, but also as a highly networked sensor/processor
and data aggregation and reflection system, with distinct mapping
capabilities and future capability projections, such as the use of
sensor carrying UAV's, autonomous robotic probes and full spectrum
communications capabilities. On the social level, it provides a living
and working environment of close proximity, shared knowledge and
responsibility among the crew members.
The presentation will discuss the Utopian roots of the project
connected to the work of the Russian futurian Velimir Khlebnikov, the
development of the architecture and autonomy systems,
telecommunications infrastructure, tactical media initiatives related
to the project and the plans for the future and final set up of a
transnational research facility and base and the corresponding network
centric infrastructure in the Dronning Maudland area of
Antarctica. One of the main driving principles behind the project, the
s.c. CONVERSION (military-civilian-military) will be discussed in
detail.
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Marko is currently Assistant Professor at the University of California
Santa Barbara and as the director of Projekt Atol. Marko Peljhan was
born 1969 in Sempeter pri Gorici in Slovenia and studied theater and
radio directing at the University of Ljubljana. In 1992 he founded the
arts organization Projekt Atol in the frame of which he works in the
performance, visual arts, situation and communications fields. In 1995
he founded the technological branch of Projekt Atol PACT SYSTEMS and
in 1999 he founded the Projekt Atol Flight Operations branch of this
organization. In 1995 he co-founded one of the first open access
digital media labs in Eastern Europe in Ljubljana and from 1996 on he
worked at LJUDMILA (Ljubljana Digital Media Lab) as programs
coordinator. He is also the coordinator of the international INSULAR
TECHNOLOGIES initiative and the MAKROLAB project and from 1999 on he
served as the flight director of seven art and science related
parabolic flights with the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in
Moscow. In 2001 he became member of the strategic council for
information society established by the government of the Republic of
Slovenia and in the same year he also coordinated the production of a
mobile media lab initiative, Transhub-01, which was first realized as
Mobilatorij in 2002 and now travels southeastern Europe. His work was
presented at major international exhibitions and institutions such as
documenta X in Kassel, the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, Ars Electronica,
Media City Seoul, Gwangju Biennale, ZKM, Manifesta, Transmediale,
Canon Artlab, P.S.1 Moma , the New Museum and Venice Biennale. In 2000
he received the special Medienkunst prize at the ZKM and in 2001 the
Golden Nica Prix Ars Electronica together with Carsten Nicolai for
their work Polar. In 2004 Makrolab was awarded the second prize of the
Unesco Digital Media Art Award. See:
http://makrolab.ljudmila.org
http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/dissertationen/arns-inke-2004-02-20/PDF/Arns.pdf
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The ATC is sponsored by UC Berkeley's: Center for New Media, Office of the
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, College of Engineering
Interdisciplinary Studies Program, Center for Information Technology in
the Interest of Society, Consortium for the Arts, BAM/PFA, Townsend Center
for the Humanities, and the Intel Corporation.
ATC Director: Ken Goldberg
ATC Associate Director: Greg Niemeyer
ATC Exec Assistant: Irene Chien
Curated with ATC Advisory Board
Full F04-S05 series schedule and video archive:
http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/lecs/
Contact: [email protected], or phone: (510) 643-9565
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atc @ ucb: Marko Peljhan, 18 april 7:30pm
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Type: discussion