www.filmwinter.de

<http://www.filmwinter.de>

For Immediate Release "Defining Lines" online exhibition curated by Cristine
Wang <http://cristine.org/bio>
http://cristine.org/borders will participate in the International
Competition for "Best Internet Art" 16th Stuttgarter Filmwinter - Festival
for Expanded Media
Stuttgart (Germany) January 16 - 19, 2003 Festival Locations:
Filmhaus Stuttgart, Friedrichstr. 23 A /
Ex-IKEA, Kronenstr. 36 / GEDOK Stuttgart, Hoelderlinstr. 17
http://www.filmwinter.de


[Essays]
"Bandwidth in the Context of Contemporary Art"
an interview with Catherine David by Marleen Stikker "The Work of Art in the
Age of Digital Reproduction"
by Douglas Davis "Who does the Internet serve?"
by the Electrohippies Collective "Troubles with Life + the Internet"
by Marina Grzinic "Negotiating Meaning: the Dialogic Imagination in
Electronic Art"
by Eduardo Kac "Code as Law"
a presentation by Lawrence Lessig "Database as a Symbolic Form"
by Lev Manovich "Z-niffing the net: Hacking and Hacktivism"
by Jenny Marketou "On Electronic Civil Disobedience"
by Stefan Wray


[Intro]
This exhibition will attempt to present a comprehensive survey of the work
of artists
who are breaking down the borders or boundaries that define artistic
practise in the
21st century. From the computer DESKTOP, to DOWNLOADABLE COMPUTER VIRUSES,
OPEN SOURCE AND CODE CRACKING SOFTWARE, and E-BOOKS, to ALTERNATIVE NETWORK
BROWSERS, OPERATING SYSTEMS and SHAREWARE/FREEWARE, DOMAIN NAME SERVERS, to
GAMING PATCHES, LISTSERVS, ONLINE THEATER (in the form of activism, or
ELECTRONIC PROTEST)–what constitutes "ART" is being re-defined as EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES and mediums are giving artists the "TOOLS" and a new means of
expression. In addition, our notions or definitions of the tangible,
physical "BORDER" "TERRITORY" or "OWNERSHIP/PROPERTY" is being transformed
in the virtual realm of cyberspace. The idea of territory becomes one of
"INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY" and "COPYRIGHT /LEFT". Geopolitical, and
topographical territories are being replaced with domain of the Corporations
and Governmental Agencies (ICANN) who control the "space" of the World Wide
Web. Borders existing on the network, tracing the idea of "open" borders vs.
"closed" borders, similarly we look at "firewalls", "encryption",
"carnivore"; in contrast to "open source", "General Public License" (and
therefore the ideas of "authorship") "sharing of files", "data transfer".
The "SERVER" or "HARD DRIVE" as the new territory where "HACKING" and "ART"
exchange fertile ground in the realm of the digital NETWORK we know as the
Internet. Artists and Activists have their say in the wide open territory of
the WWW, creating a hybrid art form called "PRACTIVISM" (–Paul Garrin).
Hackers and Activists merge and become "HACKTIVISTS" (–Electronic
Disturbance Theater). A new form of electronic theater or digital
performance art is developing, that of the Online Protest, or "VIRTUAL
SIT-IN". At the beginning of the 21st century, we see that the words of
Joseph Beuys has its corollary in the electronic realm: "…Social
Sculpture–how we mold and shape the world in which we live: SCULPTURE AS AN
EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS; EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST…All around us the fundamentals
of life are crying out to be shaped, or created." [–Joseph Beuys]

Photo Credits:
Roz Mortimer, "Dog of My Dreams", 2001, 35mm film
Tina LaPorta, "border\_cam", 2001, web-based project

[Festival Press Release follows below:]
Stuttgarter Filmwinter - The festival with an expanded media concept
1,300 submissions - festival record - from the film, video and new media
sector were brought forward to the preselection committee of the 16th
Stuttgarter Filmwinter - Festival for Expanded Media. This number makes the
Stuttgarter Filmwinter one of the most important European media art
festivals. NEW: DASDING Audience Award For Film/Video And New Media at the
16th Stuttgarter Filmwinter
New media and film / video. Two categories, in which DASDING, the SWR radio
station for adolescents and twens, presents its audience awards, in
cooperation with Wand 5 e.V.
For the first time in the film and video category the best short film or
video gets awarded. The award in the category new media for the best
internet project is endowed with a prize money.
The audience of the Stuttgarter Filmwinter will chose their favorites from
six film programs - no jury, no criteria such as "artistic integrity" or
"technical perfection" influencing the choice. The voting for best website
will be effected online. In December all information on this voting will be
available on www.filmwinter.de and www.dasding.de.
The two DASDING audience awards for film and video are endowed with 1,000
each. Winners will be chosen from 57 works, which is the preselected rest of
more than 1,300 proposals in this category. Films and videos range from
1-minute-films to elaborate 35mm productions. No advertising or purely
commercially initiated works were admitted. Competition Film / Video
"Your new world will begin like ours as pictures…" (Mike Hoolboom)
The short film competition plays the leading part at the festival and
provides a platform for new brave and experimental productions. 1,300
submission from more than 50 countries were proposed to the Stuttgarter
Filmwinter. This record number underlines the festival's character of an
international platform for innovative and independent media culture. Nearly
60 productions were selected for the six-part program of the international
short film competition.
Important film producers such as the British video artist and movie director
Matt Hulse ("Plot") and the Austrian experimental movie director Dietmar
Brehm ("Rolled eyes, 2nd version") as well as the German experimental movie
director Eva K