NERDA

Fools Gold

2010-04-23T15:50:00.004-06:00

NERDA's Spring Video Art Show

ThursdayApril 29th, 7:00pm

Starz Film Center in the Tivoli at Auraria Campus

SPRING VIDEO ART SHOW Submission Guidelines

2010-04-01T19:24:00.013-06:00

CALL FOR ENTRIES!!

Submission Deadline April 19th

Jurors Announced!:
Christopher Coleman
&
Katie Watson

What:
The Spring Video Art show is designed for art students to showcase their work in a professional setting.

When & Where:
The show will be held April 29th at Stars Film Center in the Tivoli at Auraria Campus - Starz
(More info to come)

Who:
Any Undergrad Student attending a college in Colorado can submit to the show.
Auraria Campus Alumni can also submit to the show

What:
Submission files must be video, in a .mov or .avi format.
Use the dv ntsc or animation codec
1920x1080 or 720x480
Stereo or Surround Sound

Submissions should be able to be viewed in a theater setting.

Submissions can involve live performance as long as no props are involved.

With your submission, please give the following information in an accompanying text file:
Title, Artist, School, Phone Number, Media, and Year the piece was created

Try not to submit videos that exceed 10 minutes, as the show runs for only 2 hours.

How to Submit:
Submission Deadline is April 19th.

MSCD students can put their submission files in the APPS Drive at any MSCD Computer lab under Public>Art Server Space>Dolan>NERDA>Video Art Show

Other students please send a DVD or flash drive to:

NERDA SUBMISSIONS
c/o Salina Gomez
1550 Pennsylvania St. #35
Denver, CO 80203

Accepted submissions will be announced the week of the show.

Awards will be given out at the night of the show.

If you have questions please email us at mscd.nerda@gmail.com or call Ryan Pattie at 303-907-2531

'Art As Event' CAA session notes... discovered among other things lost

2010-03-27T14:00:00.000-06:00

So I was going through all the pamphlets and invites that I gathered at all the tables and displays like some kind of frenzied squirrel at the CAA conference back in February, and I found a hidden treasure among all the institutional art propaganda... some notes scribbled on the back of a Vermont Studio Center pamphlet that I took at a panel session called "Art As Event", chaired by Nadja Rottner of the University of Michigan, Dearborn.

Rather than take up too much time trying to piece this all together and write an elegantly flowing waterfall of regurgitated ideas and concepts, I'm transcribing my notes as I had written them. Scattered. Have fun making sense of it...

~Salina

_____________________________

"Situational Aesthetics and the Art of Participation"
(Kirsi Peltomaki, Oregon State University)

- Victor Burgin: phenomenology, minimalism were his main influences
- material and even linguistic "framing"
- psychological processes taking place in the mind of the viewer (such as memory) is highlighted; not the object that's highlighted
- the work titled "0 Any moment previous to the present moment" : directs subject to consider past, present, future, object (to a relational experience and a process of perception that places demands upon the viewer... a difficult act of directing your attention/ performative acts that take place in the mind of the viewer)
- Burgin invited a sort of mental gymnastics for the viewer
- perception of viewer is the ultimate focus of his work, while other art is focused on perceptions of artist, not spectator... situationists break down barriers/rules/assumptions about the relationship between the viewer and the artist
- conditional situations limit the agency of the spectator
- new vulnerability in spectator about the environment and other spectators themselves

"Anti-art, Non-event: The Situationist Inverse of Relational Aesthetics"
(Jennifer Stob, Yale University)

- Nicolas Bourriard's Relational Aesthetics
- service is his prime theoretical center... relational art produces human relations (but what type of relations and why?)
- stop analyzing 'situationism'; use it... the rhetoric of updating and reconciling... Bourriard de-politicizes the situationists
- situationsists must prioritize activism instead of art-making... situations that organize resistance
- spectacle should be countered... Bourriard agreed with Debord on this, but Bourriard fought spectacle with spectacle
- 1980 revision on Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord (Bourriard probably should have read this before updating situationism)
- detournement went completely undiscussed by Bourriard
- relational art is always an allegory of it's particular situation, but situationist art is activism (not formalism) and is what it is

notes on next speaker that i neither titled nor wrote down the speaker's name...

- gallery can be a source of collectivity and community... through the feedback loop of the viewers
- Tino Sehgal: artist, relational?
- Ron Sier's Emancipated Spectator ... critique of Bourriard

Charles Sandison at DAM

2010-03-12T18:31:00.004-07:00

The Denver Art museum's Embrace! show is going on until April 4th, and I highly recommend visiting if you are interested in Installation.

Embrace! looks at the unique architecture of the newish Hamilton Building through the lens of 17 Installation artists.

Tobias Rehberger's Bungee cord maze is really spectacular. I love that in the towering wide open space of the Denver Art Museum I can feel cramped and uncomfortable, weaving my way through tight spaces with no real goal other than the experience.

As a digital art enthusiast (and as a human being), I couldn't help but love Charles Sandison's Chamber, an immense video Installation.

A large room in the DAM is turned in to what looks like a milky way of words and patterns sprawled across the walls and ceiling, interrupted from time to time by your towering shadow. The words and colors change, like a living stream.

Just go check it out for your self to get the real experience, but Sandison compared it to getting lost watching fire. The most primitive form of entertainment, created with technology, and modern language.

If you're a Projectorphile like me, you will especially enjoy it.

-Ryan

MCA Chicago - Must Haves! - learn and be inspired folks (by Liberty)

2010-02-19T18:11:00.010-07:00

Oh lordy, the MCA Chicago was where it's at! Four floors of mind blowing, inspiring, amazing art! I'm posting links to artists and images from the MCA's Arte Povera and Beyond show on the top floor.

Arte Povera (poor art) is a term coined by art critic Germano Celant. The style is usually highly conceptual work with a minimalist feel. But! the thing that set it apart was use of non precious materials like sticks or string and not the norm for the time oil, canvas, bronze, marble etc.

Explore these beauties for yourself and be inspired!

Carol Rama - Presagi di Birnam, 1970 (Bicycle inner tubes on iron stand
180 x 120 x 60 cm)
Here's a link to the artists website http://www.carolrama.com/eng/hp-eng.htm

Diego Perrone - La fusione della campana, 2008
(Epoxy resin, iron, polystyrene)

Getulio Alviani - Interrelazione cromospeculare, 1969
Environment, various materials

This is absolutely amazing folks... there is a little entry way built into one of the gallery walls where you walk into the piece. Once you enter you are completely immersed in another world, one filled with light, shape and dizzying fields of space.

Gianni Colombo - Spazio elastico, 1967-1968
(Fluorescent elastic, electric motors, wood’s lamp)
UNBELIEVABLE! Loved this! A turn and a twist from the main gallery hall bring you into this tiny dark room filled with elastic string, strung up in cubes, after a moments time you start to wonder... is this moving?? (it is! and it's wonderful)

and for NERDA's video lovers... delicious stuff to track down...

Ugo Nespolo - Un supermaschio

Francesco Vezzoli - An embroidered Trilogy

Bruna Esposito - Senza titolo, DVD per la proiezione di un ombra

Domenico Mangano - La storia di Mimmo

***this one is great****
Monica Bonvicini - Hausfrau Swinging

This little gem was playing in the elevator - on a small screen in the top left corner
Paul Dickinson, sleep talk, 1998
watch the video here - http://goshyes.com/pdvideo.html

VISUALIZATIONS FROM CHICAGO

2010-02-15T16:20:00.002-07:00

VISUALIZATIONS FROM CHICAGO

(nerda attends the CAA conference in 2010)

I shot this photo for my sister, she's real into owls. The whole time our plane was in the air all I could see was this owl looking at me, and i couldn't help but think about that movie wehre people get abducted by aliens and see owls all the time.

Heres ryan looking less than pleased that he had to pay to watch TV, way to go Frontier!

As we descended into Chicago Midway I noticed this "M" shaped building. I think all buildings should be the shape of a letter, and spell out little antecdotes for the travel weary.

The woman on the plane next to me told me that this view is of Chicago from about thirty miles away, she also told me that Uno's pizzeria was the best pizza in downtown Chicago. I think I saw her wandering around aimlessly down by the baggage claim searching for her lost cat a few minutes later...

Getting closer, this city is prety big by the way.

Uhm, which way do we go?

Out of place.

"See that building, that's the Sears Tower, I know cause I go to school here."

-Random dude on street downtown

This place was way awesome, super modern and overall aesthetically pleasing, which made up for the fact that it was blocking our view of the city from our hotel (the little black building behind it).

Downtown Chicago's architecture was so awesome you almost forgot it had the same crappy restaurants and retail stores as every other major city.

I like to tell people that this is the view from my hotel room. It's actually the view from the elevator lobby.

Heres a shot of me taking a picture of Liberty taking a picture of Bobby and Jen in front of a giant statue of American Gothic but not really in front of NBC studios in downtown Chicago, where Oprah films her shows.

Metal Moose.

Oh America how I love you so.

"See that building, that's the Sears Tower, I know cause its the tallest building in Chicago."

-Random dude on street downtown

Old.

Church.

This guy was buying ice cream.

We went to the MCA one day and I was able to take some photos of some really cool artwork. However I was also forced to rush cause the security guards wanted to catch their trains or whatever. Here's what i was able to snap.

Heres some pretty awesome shots of the city at dusk.

For some reason this thing was parked outside the conference all week, probably in case some rowdy art history professor got too drunk off wine coolers and started a heated debate about the feminist movement.

Meanwhile, an extraterrestrial spacecraft had crashed landed into Millenium Park. NASA workers found the craft seamless and impenetrable.

We also went to see the art institute of Chicago's impressive collection of everything you've ever seen in an art history book . It was free February and there were way too many kids there. Heres an assortment of art that you've seen before.

Ryan looks happy to be leaving the european modernism wing.

You are beautiful.

We found time in between sessions to find our way over to the West Loop which can be compared to the Five Points neighborhood in Denver.

Jen and I made some peanut people...

Heres where we ate lunch everyday, the Chipotle on Michigan and Wacker.

RED LINE. Chicago.

This was a way cool place on Milwaukee avenue that charged way too much for stuff you could buy in an Oriental Trading Catalogue. There were some cool art installations there though.

The winter and local anti-graffiti laws made it hard for me to enjoy any street art in Chicago, but I did find some nice little gems.

This picture was really awesome, i shot it just as the Subway was coming down the track, when those trains approach it feels like an earthquake. It reminded me that the earth might be pissed off, hence all the earthquakes, i'd be pissed off too if I had billions of parasites eating me alive and tapping deep under my skin. And then I got hit up for Change.....

The Bean!: Ryan

2010-02-12T14:11:00.003-07:00

Jeromie and I got a chance to be major tourists and take photos with sculptor Anish Kappor's Cloud Gate (nicknamed The Bean) in Millennium Park. It was definitely on my list of must sees while I was here. It was only a couple blocks away from our hotel, luckily.

Chicago's beautiful towering buildings are even more incredible as warped organic curves in Cloud Gate's reflection. We approached the massive piece of art while watching our doubles on the surface, the cityscape wrapped around behind us.

After Gawking at the Bean, we headed over to the Art Institute of Chicago (our CAA IDs got us in for free), where we saw the artworks we had only seen projected in a dark art history class. The most famous piece was of course (because of art historical and pop culture recognition) A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte painted by Georges-Pierre Seurat. Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol, and all the greats were also present of course, but
what really got my attention more than the Paintings were some of the more recent new media works

Being Not Truthful Always worked Against Me
by Ralph Ammer, 2006

An interactive projection showing an animated spider web that attachs to you as you walk past it. I love this piece because it is an example of how digital art using interactive programming makes people want to move around and be part of art, and make stupid gestures while strangers watch them.

CAA Thursday Feb, 11: Ryan

2010-02-11T23:35:00.001-07:00

Art in the Age of Dispersion

Michael Mandiberg, a member of the Eyebeam Art Group, spoke at a session I attended today called New Media: The Culture of Dispersion. He considered and shared his experience with The internet and sharing an invented idea or product.

One vocabulary word several of the speakers during the session used was: Snack. Snacks are quick instantly gratifying, interesting finds, like a site, video, picture or idea on the web. People who use services like Delicious or Digg bookmark snacks. It's sort of the like the internet is full of little ceramic figurines and when you find one you like, you take it and put it on your mantel to enjoy later.

Michael Mandiberg went on to explain how he considered success on the internet "being copied". You know your snack has reached its potential when people are imitating it and spreading it elsewhere. Snacks are not about financial gain, but about influence. You birth the snack and then let if go alone into the world in hopes that it will flourish without you.

Michael also spoke about open source software and objects. The term Open Source is usually associated with being "free", but it actually means the creators give out the source code used to build the product so you can alter and build upon the software if you have the knowledge. I never really thought of objects as being Open Source, but Michael shared several open source object projects with which he was involved. These were objects that could be built and altered by anyone who liked the idea.

Image at the top of this post is Micheals Bright Idea Shades Project: http://eyebeam.org/project/cfl

CAA conference notes: Jeromie

2010-02-11T21:12:00.002-07:00

CAA conference notes - as typed from my iphone...

Artists are just idiot savants
No longer believe in art but only the idea of art
Meaning less form and formless meaning
Elephants in the. moon
Art is tied to skill is tied to technology
Daily practices remain the other to the artist
D.F.A.-Doctor of Fine Art
Let's Media
Always count on New Media to fail
Manifesto for a new age
Youtube on demand
Boutique toy design
Couture is flat everywhere WMD will at once
Milieus which penetrate culture
DIY fab communities
Murakami
Urban vinyl toys
Snack
Kid Robot
Kid Idiot

Epic Fail!
Ass micro niche production
Watch the audience cringe
WTF!
Where exactly are you going with this?
Fluxus
S is the 3
21
Contuse
Massively networked community
STFU! Benjamin
Dispersion
George Lucas like production

Poku
Fanboy
Love the couture
Second life

Fan collection artifact
Write a better paper on Murikami
Could he make designer toys sound any lamer?
Frank Kozik
Cultural dispersing
Attention span dispersing
Crowd dispersing
Prior systems of production
Conceptual object
Micro
Labor
Through crowd sourcing
Atomizes
Stream
Toys doppelganger art object project
We got a bunch of factors representing our media
Why keep referring to Duchamp?
Murikam
Vinyl Toy at a garage sale and it was a day that I smiled
Fetish
Eating out
Open source and Free culture

We are artists
We are designers
We are activists

We are not business people
Success aesthetically destined to fail electronically
Beautiful art is defined by the lack of usability
What works cannot be beautiful
Name.space

Oeuvre
Labor
Worker
Someone
Acted otherwise
Labored all day
Work for french
Work and labor
Labor of our body work of our hands
Life necessitates life
Consumerism and the taboo of bestiality
Science and new media?
Capitol itself can reproduce more capitol on its' own
Capitol cannot reproduce itself
Swastikas
Critics
Text relational aesthetics
Truly flat rhyziomyticalxpactic dialogue
Culture has become super flat
Power down

Cultural language
Learn a new language
Art design or just a blog dressed up as a movie
Rapid changes that occur at a global scale
Artistic opportunities
Make art in China

Multiples
Originality
Avant-garde becomes available to the masses
Mass Production

More people are buying more art for more money than ever before
Intimacy of scale
The multiple may be the most influential art form of the past 50 years.

Post-Duchampian perspectives on the teaching of art (by Salina)

2010-02-11T08:19:00.003-07:00

Post-Duchamp, Post-Production: Delineations of Media in Art Theory and Pedagogy

I took a lot of notes on this session... it was probably one of my favorite panels at the whole conference, hands down. Ideas about how the teaching of art in institutions is evolving were prevalent on this panel, and most engaging was the discussion & debate of the new PhD in Fine Arts or Studio Arts or whatever it's being labeled at this moment. What a time we are living in!

______________________________

Mariah Doren (Columbia University and Purchase College, State University of New York) presented a paper, titled Post-Duchamp Critiques in Art School: Following the Narrative of Originality, and she spoke of the readymade as political gesture. Duchamp shifted the focus from the art object to the art gesture and it was this very gesture that became the cause for us to stop and look and reflect upon our experience, rather than the art object itself.

Applying this to how critiques are run in art school and it is not difficult to see that a shift was necessary in the way we approach the structure of feedback between peers and professors; trying to define meaning in an artwork is an obsolescence that only produces vague and idiosyncratic critiques empty of value. Greenbergian-esque claims of impartiality, universality and objectivity put static meaning upon the work of art and produces not so much of a professor or teacher, but a connoisseur that simply reinforces an outdated hierarchy.

Over time we see trends in art practice and theory whereby as artists we go through cycles of building up value around a distinct theory or trend and then we later break down that value... over and over again. In this way, value becomes a performative act; it is a constant reorganizing of building and breaking. Value becomes a verb; we now have a non-linear, non-hierarchical practice of art production and evaluation based on the idea of the rhizome. The rhizome represents the structure known as network where related concepts branch but do not compete for power. Value need not be linear in the teaching and administering of art.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sean C. Lowry (University of Newcastle) presented his spin on artistic production, The Agnostic Readymade: Beyond Art and Anti-Art, keeping me on the edge of my conference seat like some kind of geek. I highly recommend checking out Lowry's website and seeing his history in music and experimentation. A lot of what he was experimenting with back in the day - music appropriation and experimentation in melody matching - is very similar to the mission of today's internet site Pandora (Music Genome Project).

Lowry spoke of his earlier projects while in art school of strategic concealment of music appropriation (music sampling based on key, melody, etc.) which he is calling "subliminal appropriation". The main difference between the readymade-type appropriation and this type has to do with the intention of the artist. Blatant appropriation is different than concealed appropriation because of the differences in the self-consciousness of the artist. Lowry played samples of the musical experimentation that he examined while still in school. He gathered musical data (songs) that had similar melodic properties and played in similar keys, blended the data together to create a montage sound of familiarity, and had musicians play their instruments on top of those montage tracks... creating and essentially curating an entirely new sound that ended up getting him signed on to record deals.

Lowry said something profound that got my total attention and has been resonating in my mind ever since... he said that in a post-Duchamp world, we are agnostic. We don't believe in art anymore. We believe in the idea of art. No longer is it necessary to continue to enforce the binary of art and anti-art, where the aesthetic is a belief in art as an index of culture and the anti-aesthetic is a belief in art as culture itself. Art and anti-art are now entering the pluralistic state of being equivocal, of being companions and no longer opponents. In Lowery's opinion (and I completely agree), the most provocative art refuses to exist at either end of the binary. The agnostic readymade is about finding peace between cynicism and anti-cynicism.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Natalie Loveless (University of California, Santa Cruz) presented her written work titled Participatory Dissent and the Fine Arts PhD and I swear to you my NERDA friends, though she calls herself Loveless she is very far from it. The passion this woman has for the discourse around institutionalized artistic practice has gotten me to start seriously considering the possibilities of a much different future for artists in the United States... a very bright future.

Where to start? Well first of all, Loveless began the presentation of her paper with a call to action. Her first slide was a quote from one of my deeper and more potent influences in artistic practice...

Every human being is an artist... called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking and structures that shape and inform our lives. - Joseph Beuys

Loveless began by posing a very serious question:

What is the definition of PhD labor, or, what are the limits of PhD labor?

She spoke of the process of research being at odds with the process of making art, that art is at odds with the university proper because art itself is messy, indulgent and creative - far from research practice. She took a very critical look at the fine art PhD, calling it a candy-like degree that takes away the artists' creativity and economy. Calling for a new way to look at the degree, she laid the foundation for something she is calling "participatory dissent", a model for institutions to follow that supports and allows both dissent and libidinal investment on the artists' behalf, a model that would allow for all participants to reconfigure themselves in incredible ways. Using a Lacanian psychological model as the grounds to understand participatory dissent, we can transform antagonism into agonism.

Practice and theory need not be separate endeavors. One is not the instrument of the other. Using theory to make art or making art to create theory is not as transformational and engaging as living in a world where practice and theory envelop one another, become one another, and shape the way we live in profound ways. Practice becomes theory and theory becomes practice and there is no real boundary between the two. (One is not organized and one is not messy. One is not above and one is not below in a hierarchy. One is not words and one is not visual. That is my own interpretation of the idea.)

Loveless reminded us that pedagogy is a political act; it is social sculpture.

And she reinforced the important question in regards to the PhD... What is that labor that we call research?

It is important to remember that the PhD is not the same as an artwork. It is not an MFA in Studio Art. It's more of a question, a philosophy, a research practice where theory becomes practice and practice becomes theory without a collapsing of either of the two. The current structure of the Fine Arts PhD as a justification of disciplinary labor in art that entangles us in relations of debt, and it needs to updated to reflect the interests and needs of the artist.

CAA Wednesday Feb. 10: Ryan

2010-02-10T22:49:00.010-07:00

So this is my first Blog Post in Chicago, Illinois. In case you didn't know, NERDA (New Endevors Regarding Digital Art) is here for the annual College Art Association Conference. Waking up at 5AM and making our way to DIA wasn't fun, but we all successfully made it through security and arrived without incident. Everything went as planned and Jeromie even made friends with the woman sitting next us on the flight.

In Illinois we took the rail from the airport into the city where we walked to our hotel. By the way, someone needs to get to work on shoveling the sidewalks here, my socks are soaked. (I saw one lone orange suited man working his shovel, but I think he was the only on in all of Chicago).

The stories are true, the wind chills you to the bone. I should have brought long johns, dang! At least I have my hat and gloves (thanks for the many reminders, Mom).

Anyway, Swissotel where we are staying is just two blocks away from the Hyatt where the conference is being held. There weren't any sessions today but I registered and got my fancy ID. Taking a peek into the big empty auditorium I can't help but wonder what I'll be part of this week.

After that, My NERDA Mates and I took the suggestion from Jeromie's plane pal and went to the original Uno Pizzeria to eat some authentic Chicago style Pie. So far the only thing the trip has been lacking is warmth and wifi. Our Hotel is charging $10 a pop, and it hasn't been easy finding free wifi in the city!

Toward the end of the night we were able to meet up with our fellow Metro Roadrunners: The Art Guild. We all had a nice dinner at the Navy Pier. Liberty and I shared the Mac n Cheese, in case you were wondering.

Here are a few upcoming sessions I am looking forward to:
Emerging Art Histories
The Object of Nostalgia
The Modern and the Fashionable
New Media/Terrain: Pioneering a PhD in Creative Research

Another thing! Jeromie got stuck in the Swissotel Elevator for 20 minutes. It was nerve wracking, but also pretty funny.

Visit to MCA Chicago's "Production Site: The Artist's Studio Inside-Out"

2010-02-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Hi there, Salina here... this is my first post from the Windy City... and windy indeed!

I decided to spend my first afternoon checking out my favorite cultural institution in Chicago. So, about a 10 block hike from the conference hotel and several bitter gusts of wind later, I arrived at the Museum of Contemporary Art to observe a performance by Indian artist Nikhil Chopra, Yog Raj Chitrakar: Memory Drawing XI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUHPQ8xMLuA

The performance took place over two full days as a part of the longer running Production Site exhibition, and the remnants of the performance are to be on display through the rest of the run time of the exhibit. I caught the tail end of Chopra's soberly slow performance, in which he existed in a large room where the intersection of art studio and fictional narrative were enacted via a fictional character or persona (somewhat based on ideas about his grandfather). The walls were no longer white when I arrived. They were covered in nearly 12 foot high, obsessive charcoal markings often taking the shape of repetitive spirals leading towards the ceiling. The large spirals were indexical of the artist's sweeping movements across the gallery walls - or should I say - studio walls. The walls were completely covered in the dark markings, and as you walked through the space (well, I did) you could see a thin layer of charcoal dust all over the floor and the artists' footprints within it. There were key areas in the room that delineated previous actions, such as a washing area for the artist (chair, old-fashioned shaving tools, a bucket of water, etc.) and a creation area (ladder, basket of charcoal) and an eating area (table and chair and food on the table). There was even an area with a strange wig and a black outfit laid upon a mass of dirtied white fabric... perhaps an apparel-changing area? The room was so very silent as the artist moved slower than a sloth to perform his tasks, dressed like a 19th century dandy at the time. It was easy to get absorbed in his absorption.

Chopra, or "Yog Raj Chitraker", was sitting at the table eating a piece of bread from a loaf when I arrived. My immediate reaction was to enter the space, however most people were looking in from the doorway or only hovering near it. A little hesitant to enter, I looked in and saw the artist's room and really, really wanted to go in. So after I asked and found out it was okay, I walked into his performance space, the "studio" and observed the beautiful and somewhat manic charcoal markings all over the walls. There wasn't a whole lot of white left there... there was a lot of filling in of empty spaces and some markings were like a child filling in voids or delineated spaces in a coloring book. I stepped over a layer of charcoal dust on the floor and walked around the different relics of the last two days of performance, and I realized that the room was very charged with the idea of a working space, a true studio. It felt very lived in and yet very sterile, like the creative process was tethered to some kind of anxiety, some personal anxiety. I did not go near the artist in the corner of the room because of this. It felt suddenly strange to be walking in his space and not talking with him, like I was ignoring the host. Then I felt I had to leave and let him continue to be gazed upon by the spectators at the door. But it was so important to have had the experience of getting close to some of the relics of performance and getting into the space as the artist/performer was still engaged, still a part of the piece of art that the whole room embodied. I left the space feeling sad that I didn't get to learn more about this character from the previous two days... that I would only be able to imagine what had been.

I wandered a bit more through the exhibition, found some other really interesting and different perspectives on the idea of the artists' studio - some more literal, some with more concept depth - but I kept wanting to go back to the hyper slow performance in the other room. I did, and found that the artist was standing up and heading towards the entrance of the room. Very, very slowly. About forty feet and twenty minutes later, he made it to the front doors of the MCA (about 6 minutes prior to MCA closing time) and when he stepped out into the cold outdoors, his pace became normalized suddenly and it was like he was rushing off onto a very important task. But I realized that when he started trodding down the steps of the museum and walked off along the sidewalk into the city where you could no longer see him, that it was a relative perception and that he wasn't really rushing off anywhere. He was converting his pace from hyper slow to normal... and so it seemed that he rushed. But in retrospect, he really just left the building and walked off like any other civilian would. He literally went home (I think?). He is a Chicago-based artist and I actually imagined him walking to his home or taking the transit in the city, dressed in costume, top hat and all. It was a good ending, though I had not seen the beginning.

Tomorrow starts the conference... a beginning that I wish had no ending!

Chicago Flight Cancelled Until Tomorrow Morning: NERDA Disgruntled

2010-02-09T20:01:00.005-07:00

NERDA is still here in Colorful Colorado because of the bad weather in Chicago. Our flight was cancelled, but we'll be on the first one tomorrow morning, so expect Blog posts about CAA tomorrow night!

CAA Daily Blog Posts

2010-01-29T10:40:00.004-07:00

NERDA is very proud and excited to be able to attend this year's College Art Association Conference in Chicago.

On February 9th we will take off our shoes for security, then make our way to Illinois for the week.

We invite all you friends of NERDA to keep up with us by reading the daily posts we will be making here on our blog going over all the sessions, workshops, lectures, and events we attend. Pictures, videos, links, etc. detailing our adventures.

Check back here February 9th-13th.

Bang

2009-12-04T13:48:00.004-07:00

Bang!

An Interactive Spectacular

Dec. 11th 6-9pm

at 1777 Larimer St.

Bang is an event showcasing the projects created in Metropolitan State Colleges new Interactivity Installation and Performance Class. The Students used the program MAX/MSP/JITTER as well as the Arduino to create artwork that viewers can not only watch, but interact with. Its art you can touch and be part of.

Nerda recommends this show if you want to take a look at what new media and creative programming for interaction are doing for the digital field today. It's also a look at what direction the Digital Art Program at Metro is going.

See you and all your friends there!

_c0da Exhibition Photography by Liberty Shellman

2009-11-05T09:33:00.012-07:00

Here's a taste of the _c0da show at Object + Thought design studio and gallery. We were all too busy to photograph on reception night! I don't remember the last time a gallery was packed so tightly. Better too much than not enough. And thanks to everyone that dressed up... NERDA liked it.

Thanks to Liberty Shellman for some beautiful pictures of the exhibit. And yes, we had to shovel snow, and yes, that's a video projector inside a car! One of Robert's pieces was exhibited outside as a projection on the front of the building with supportive photos on a pedestal nearby.

_c0da Artist Awards!

2009-11-01T12:11:00.004-07:00

Thank you everyone for a very well attended reception! The gallery was packed like sardines and the _c0da pumpkin lit the way! (Pics to come soon.)

We would like to congratulate our two award winners. Both are incredible artists and have bright futures ahead... NERDA was so proud to give the following awards to these two indivuduals:

The Righty Tighty Award
Robert Nachman, MSCD

The Left Field Award
Gabriel Walford, CU Boulder

All the best to you in your future endeavors!

_c0da Exhibiting Artists

2009-10-23T12:12:00.004-06:00

We would like to thank ALL of you who submitted to the show. Good luck in all your art endeavors to come, and thank you for the support!

_c0da Exhibiting Artists:

Milton Croissant
Salina Gomez
Talena Hayward
Candice Knutson
Melannie Martsolf
Robert Nachman
Jon Pettit
Brandon Roth
Anna Thielke
Ashley Thompson
Gabriel Walford
Kyle Wright

Show runs Oct 28 - 30 @ Object + Thought.
Opening Reception is Thursday night and Award Reception is Friday night.
More info by clicking on the NERDA facebook event page above.

See you there!

_c0da SUBMISSION UPDATES...

2009-10-08T11:15:00.002-06:00

For full information on the _c0da show at Object + Thought, see the full entry below this one, with the _c0da logo in it.

This entry is an update on submitting your work.

SUBMISSION FEES: At this point, depending on where you are in Colorado, submission fees may or may not arrive in time in the mail to Liberty Shellman by the day of jurying. That is okay! NERDA is more interested in making sure that your work is viewed by the jurors... that is what is important in this experience. We'd rather recieve your submission fee late than deny you the opportunity to have your work juried.

On the good faith premise, we'll accept all submissions for jurying, but we DO expect to receive your submission fee within a week of jurying. Please do not take this opportunity to skip the payment process and wait to see if you've been juried into the show. We trust all artist folk! :)

ONLINE SUBMISSIONS: We are still accepting submissions through NERDA's email account (see full details below), and to be more clear, anything that is a visual representation of your piece(s) will suffice, so long as you include the required info on you and the piece itself. This means that if all you have is a photo of your work - even if it's multimedia installation or some other environment - it's okay. Any way that you can present your work - whether it be a .jpg, a .mov, a series of images (3D works), a link to an online video or online website with the work you want to enter, or a combination of any of the above - it's fine with NERDA. We understand that many new media works are hard to capture with just an image, or just a video, and that's fine. As long as it's up to your standards and can give the jurors an idea of what it is, it's fine.

Additionally, descriptions of how your piece works (especially if it is interactive) would be helpful in case the jurors have questions about them.

And if you're this kind of type... yes, we are accepting artist statements (brief) about the work if you have one and if the jurors want to read them.

METRO STATE UPLOADING OF SUBMISSIONS: As a Metro State student, you are proabably alredy aware that we have public server space on the Macs in the digital art labs. NERDA has placed a folder in there for you to submit your work there if it's easier for you. Just follow these paths (and then get your payment to either Salina, Ryan, Liberty or Jeromie):

Public Folder (on desktop) > Art Server Space > Dolan > NERDA > _c0da submissions

PHYSICAL DROP-OFF: NERDA has gotten communication from AHEC Facilities that due to some windows being replaced in the Arts Building, they will be taking over Gallery 199 as a temporary storage space for their construction materials next week.

That trumps our previous reservation in Gallery 199 for physical drop-off of art works. HOWEVER, officers and volunteers of NERDA will still be setting up a table outside of Gallery 199 for physical drop-off and submission fees. We will be storing the works in our advisor's office overnight, and moving them to a conference room the next morning for jurying.

So, if your work is super large, you might want to consider photographing it and submitting it that way. That would be best for everyone. We'll still be outside Gallery 199 for accepting submission fees. Thanks!

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We'll announce those that are juried into the show next week Wednesday, Oct. 14th, by email and by the blog. We'll also be sending everyone .jpg's of the invites with artist names on the invites so you can forward it to your friends & family, and have a file for your CV. Further instructions and communications will ensue after the jurying, with those juried into the show, in regards to physical drop-off at Object + Thought.

NERDA wishes everyone the best in submitting!

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Rhinoceropolis event pics are up!

2009-09-20T15:28:00.012-06:00

Well, NERDA fans, it was a great night. We are sorry about the lack of photos, but the lighting in the space was pretty dark, so that the video projection could be seen on the back wall behind the performers. NERDA had a really great time with the live visuals software product Resolume Avenue, which enabled us to work with multiple video files and filters and effects all at once. A lot of troubleshooting at first with getting all the hardware and software to play nice together, but we learned a lot and everyone had a blast.

Thanks so much to the bands and DJs that donated their time and energy to this event! We simply supported their fantastic performances with visuals, so really, it was their show. Nice work everyone. NERDA's new officers work really well together, we found out!

Going to be a great semester... can already tell!

And would you look at this amazing photography! Liberty, you are a tremendous talent with the lens... what would NERDA do without you!? :)

Friday, Sept. 18th @ Rhinoceropolis

2009-09-01T22:46:00.002-06:00

NERDA is hosting it's first video and music event of the year!

Come support local digital art and kick off the semester right, with music by Hollagramz, Ate Bitten, Swimming with Models, Modern Witch, DJ Cory Brown, DJ Tyler Snow, Water, and Hideous Men.

Live visuals by NERDA.

See you there kids.

_coda / colorado digital art

2009-08-17T22:44:00.037-06:00

An annual digital art & new media exhibition - sponsored and produced by NERDA - showcasing juried art works of student artists attending Colorado institutions of higher education.

****CALL FOR ENTRIES****

Who:
All undergraduate students attending a Colorado college.
(If enrolled as a post-bachelor, you can submit as long as your previous degree was not in Art).
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NERDA's aim is to give Arts undergraduates in Colorado an off-campus venue for a professionally juried exhibition. Part of NERDA's mission is to provide valuable supplementation to education in digital arts by creating a space in which rising digital and new media artists are able to gain experience exhibiting their work publicly and professionally, prior to graduation. We believe that the experience of submitting work alongside our contemporaries in Colorado is a relevant and practical simulation of the future demands of a professional art career, and we believe that open lines of communication between our contemporaries fosters strength and growth in the work of everyone involved.

What:

Call for digital art and/or new media.
(Pretty much any art that's process is heavy on the digital side, including but not limited to new media, video, interactive-based, sound, electronic, net/web, sculpture, installation, performance, etc.)

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NERDA provides an opportunity to be juried into a small group show right in the heart of Denver, just next to the Museum of Contemporary Art at Object + Thought. Not only are we determined to give students an opportunity to enter a competitive show that provides visibility and opens a dialog with their state-wide peers... we are so ambitious about providing exposure that we've planned for the opening reception (fully catered) to take place on the same evening as the MCA's "Biggest Bash of The Year"... The 2009 VeloCity Gala. NERDA wants Colorado digital and new media artists to be seen... and heard!

When & Where:
Submit entries in person on Monday, Oct. 12, 2009
(Drop-off is in Gallery 199, located on the first floor of the Arts Building on the Auraria Campus. For directions and a detailed map of the campus, click here.)

Email / Send links to entries by Monday, Oct. 12, 2009 at 11:59 PM.
(We must have received your entry fee(s) in the mail by Monday, Oct. 12th, in order for your work to be viewed by the juror. Send submission fee(s) at least a full business week prior to the deadline to ensure we receive it. Other arrangements are possible- see contact info at bottom of post.)
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Fee is $5 per entry, cash or money order (made out to NERDA). No limit on number of entries.

If you are submitting online, email us at mscd.nerda@gmail.com with the subject line "_c0da art entry." Attach files to the email or paste a URL into the email for the piece(s) of work(s) you are submitting (make sure it's easy to find on the URL provided). Include the following info in the the email: name, school affiliation, phone, title of work, media, and year created. Please call or email us with questions regarding online submissions... we're here to help.

Send entry fees (cash or money orders made out to NERDA) to:
Liberty Shellman
3645 Clayton St.
Denver, CO, 80205
Include all the same info that was provided in the email, so we can match up payments to your submissions. Thanks and good luck!!

Jurors:
Rori Knudtson rknudtson.com
Caitlin Green galleryuccs.org

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Juror's Choice Awards for two distinctive artists:
The Left Field Award
(Never saw it coming...

...original & unexpected.)
The Righty Tighty Award
(So polished it shines...

...professional & refined.)

_c0da Exhibition Location:
Object + Thought
1430 Delgany Street
Denver CO 80202
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(right across from MCA Denver)
objectandthought.com

_c0da Exhibition Dates:
October 28-30, 2009
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Business hours are from 9am - 6pm
Reception Night: Thursday, Oct. 29 from 7 pm - 10pm +
Awards Night: Friday, Oct. 30 from 7pm - 10pm

For any further questions, email mscd.nerda@gmail.com with the subject line "_c0da questions" or call:
Salina Gomez, NERDA President, at 303-665-8166
Ryan Pattie, NERDA Vice President, at 303-907-2531

First meeting for the NERDA 2009-10 academic year...

2009-08-11T10:13:00.002-06:00

Hey all!

NERDA has some great officers and some really involved members this year. We can't wait to get started! Out first meeting took place at Wash Park and we talked all things NERDA. A very inspiring start... and a very beautiful summer day.

Looking forward to an active academic year! Special thanks to Buddy (MMCIII) for offering up his space, Rhinoceropolis, for the first NERDA event of the year... we'll have live music and video art projections from Metro State digital artists. And a very special thanks to Mario Zoots, artist and dedicated friend and member of NERDA.

You all rock!

~NERDA

We are NERDA.

2009-08-10T22:26:00.041-06:00

Jeromie Dorrance / Secretary, Connections Guru
I make art.
And I was most voted most likely to be abducted by aliens in high school.

Liberty Shellman / Treasurer, Photography Goddess

Liberty is a fine arts major and a political science major at Metro State in Denver. When she isn't making art, talking about art (and/or politics), traveling the world to further her art and her socio-political ideas, she saves puppies for a living and throws a ball for her dog.

Ryan Jay Pattie / VP, Graphic Design Sorcerer

Ryan Jay Pattie was born and raised in Denver Colorado. He studies Fine Arts with a concentration in Digital Art at Metropolitan State College. He enjoys creating and viewing design and artwork, as well as story telling and not math. His favorite color is a secret. He also has a beagle.

Salina Gomez / President, Visionary Witch
Art is in my blood.

Some days I'm exalted about where technology is going. Other days I fret about carbon-based existence and question whether my art is part of the problem or part of the solution. The best days occur when I believe every action is pregnant with potential and its rate of realization is positively correlated with passion output.

Art is the dance of creation.

Rebecca Dolan / Advisor to NERDA

Assistant Professor & Coordinator of Digital Art at Metropolitan State College of Denver
Rebecca Dolan is an artist, educator and curator who lives and works in Denver, CO. She holds an M.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Photography and Digital Imaging and teaches and coordinates the Digital Art program at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her work has been screened and exhibited nationally in venues including the National Gallery Film Theater in Washington, D.C. and the Renaissance Society in Chicago.