Sunday Series | The Century of the Self

- Whatever's in my subconsciousness is none of my business.
- It, certainly, is business.

Been watching Adam Curtis's The Century of the Self documentary series. Thought I'd share it in here.
The video below includes all four episodes: Happiness Machines, The Engineering of Consent, There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed, and Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering.

The Century Of The Self-Full Length Documentary from JCBaird on Vimeo.

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Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

#otherness series continues this week with these projects: rendering spatialities & sound.

Rendering SPATIALITY//

1. The Skyliner by Factory Fifteen.

The Skyliner from Factory Fifteen on Vimeo.

2. Internet Machine (trailer): A multi-screen film about the invisible infrastructures of the internet.

Internet machine (trailer) from Timo on Vimeo.

3. IMACHINARIUM: A universe with its own set of rules.

IMACHINARIUM from Barefooted Knights on Vimeo.

SOUND spatialization//

4. Calx

LCC - 'Calx' from LCC on Vimeo.

5. Scave

SKAVE 02 from Running Time on Vimeo.

6. Ultrasonic Theremin: Demo.

Ultrasonic Theremin Demonstration from René Henrich on Vimeo.

7. Spatium Overview: Tools for sound spatialization.

spatium.overview from Rui Penha on Vimeo.

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WATERMARK | A Film by Jennifer Baichwal & Edward Burtynsky

This Earth day, I would like to direct your attention to a new project by the award-winning filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal & Nick de Pencier in collaboration with photographer Edward Burtynsky. Their documentary WATERMARK is the awesomely produced combination of Burtynsky's famous vast perspectives and filmmakers' second collaboration since their 2006 Manufactured Landscapes.

“A feature documentary film that brings together diverse stories from around the globe about our relationship with water: how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it and the consequences of that use. We see massive floating abalone farms off China’s Fujian coast and the construction site of the biggest arch dam in the world – the Xiluodu, six times the size of the Hoover. We visit the barren desert delta where the mighty Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean, and the water-intensive leather tanneries of Dhaka.

WATERMARK - Trailer from Flowers Gallery on Vimeo.

The Making Of:

Behind the Scenes:

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Featured Event | Muzgu i Rikthimit @MIZA

MIZA Galeri

presents // prezanton:

Muzgu i Rikthimit [Twilight of Return]

by // nga 

Ilir Lluka

April 4, 2014 // 4 Prill, 2014

@19:30 hr  

RSVP

,

Here's the curatorial excerpt via MIZA (eng+alb); 

also, make sure to check out other works by the artist here.

“The Twilight of Returning” is a sound-art performance related to the deep senses , to the perception of memory and the way how an object of remembrance returns in less of its original form.

The sounds establish meeting points between the contexta and the listener, each sound bears unique perceptions and aims to trasmit an abstract sense of affiliation to the self.

Perceiveing memory, not as a meditation on the object of remembrance but as a meditation on memory itself and how memory can never reappear detachedly from the flow of thoughts/contextx/sensations that a person has during his life. Every time a memory reappears it exists as a context in progressive evolution. To remember means to continually rediscover yourself in the present state of being.

Twilight: Aesthetic/conceptual conjunction between the element of fading (of a memory) and the romantic element of the perception of the fading itself.

Returning: The return of the object of remembrance (more and more vague and abstracted )

The performance takes place for a period of about 45-50 minutes. The design of the sketch of the musical bases and modulations/stratificationa of the sounds will be prepared in advance and will then be completed during the performance through the laptops, the softwares designed by the artist and the electronic devices. 

The soundworks have a minimalist approach and the performance will also include an associative visual element with a video composed of slowly flowing blurred shapes to provide a hypnotic character to the continuity of perception..

The visual element is not meant to be directly related to the music, but have an additional effect to the musical concepts by creating a separate presentation in two different planes, like looking at an object directly in front of our vision and one in the tail of our vision at the same moment. 

Writer/sound artist from Tirana focused on “Musique Concrete”, an abstract musical form in the field of experimental electronic music. Ilir compositions have been presented/performed in artistic environments and installations in Tirana while his first album was released in March 2014 by the Italian label Manyfeetunder with wider listening in other countries like Italy , Germany , France, England. Several other works have been published published as singles online at the Bandcamp page of the artist. 

The sound compositions contain recorded daily sounds of the city life which are then extremely modified/reshaped until they loose their original form and context merging with instrumental and electronic sounds to form new layers of organic nature. Among the composers who have influenced Ilir conceptually/musically are: Luigi Russolo, Pierre Schaeffer, Bernard Parmegiani, Luc Ferrari, Francis Dhomont, Eliane Radigue, John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi , Morton Feldman, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Autechre, Akira Rabelais, Atau Tanaka, Fabio Orsi, Ryoji Ikeda, etc.

Ilir Lluka has composed music for installations performed in Tirana and short film be commissioned by the Academy of Arts presented in February 2014 at the Black Box Theater at the Academy of Arts. In March 2013 he has been part of a worldwide radiophonic/web event alongside-known figures in the world of contemporary music like Pauline Oliveros , Felicia Atkinson , Rhys Chatham , Eyvind Kang , André Gonçalves and many others representing Albania as an active point in the sound-art scene . His latest live performance "Intimate Sound Perceptions" was held on February 2014 in the premises of the National History Museum, Tirana.

The artist’s forthcoming album, a sound poetry collaboration with the poet Jonida Prifti, will be issued on June 2014 by the Italian label Ozky E-Sound. 

Since 2011 he is a member of “A Material, A Sound, A Shape”, a community consisting of many known artists in the field of experimental music, where are held promotions and collaborations beyond the divisionas between the national borders of the members. Ilir has been invited to participate in the edition of 2015 of Avantgarde Festival in Schiphorst, Germany. 

“Muzgu I Rikthimit” nga Ilir Lluka from MIZA on Vimeo.

“Muzgu I Rikthimit” eshte nje performance zanore e lidhur me thellesine e shqisave, perceptimin ndaj memories dhe menyres sesi cdo objekt I kujtuar rikthehet duke sjelle gjithmone e me pak nga forma e tij origjinale.

Tingujt percaktojne pika takimi mes kontekstit dhe degjuesit, secila pike mbart nje perceptim unik dhe synon tejcimin e nje ndjesie abstrakte perkatesie te gjithsecilit ndaj vete vetes se tij.

Te perceptosh nje kujtim jo si meditim rreth objektit te memories por si meditim rreth vetvetes dhe sesi nje kujtim i caktuar nuk mund te rishfaqet dot kurre ne forme te ftohte i vecuar nga rrjedha e mendimeve/perceptimeve te vazhdueshme qe cdokush ka gjate jetes se vet. Cdo here qe nje kujtim rishfaqet mbart nje kontekst ne evolim. Te kujtosh, ne nje sens egoist te eperm do te thote te rizbulosh veten ne menyre te vazhdueshme.

Muzgu: Nderlidhje estetike/konceptuale midis elementit te venitjes (se nje kujtimi) dhe elementit romantik te perceptimit te venitjes.

Rikthimi: Procesi I rikthimit te objektit te memories (gjithmone e me teper me karakter te mjegullt dhe te abstraguar)

Performanca zhvillohet pergjate nje harku kohor prej rreth 45-50 minutash. Nje skice e bazave muzikore dhe modifikimeve/shtresezimeve te tingujve do jete e dizenjuar dhe parapergatitur dhe me pas do te plotesohet gjate performances nepermjet laptopit, software-ve te dizenjuar prej artistit dhe aparaturave elektronike.

Punimet muzikore do kene natyre minimaliste dhe performanca do perfshije edhe nje element vizual shoqerues te po kesaj natyre te perbere nga video me forma me rrjedhe te ngadalte per ti dhene karakter hipnotik vazhdimesise se perceptimit.

Elementi vizual nuk ka si qellim te kete lidhje te drejtperdrejte me muziken por te kete efekt plotesues anesor te koncepteve muzikore duke krijuar nje paraqitje te ndare ne dy plane te ndryshme, njelloj sic eshte shikimi I nje objekti ne menyre te drejtperdrejte dhe shikimi I objekteve ne rrafshin anesor me bisht te syrit ne te njejtin moment.

Shkrimtar/sound-artist nga Tirana i fokusuar ne “Musique Concrète”, nje forme abstrakte muzikore ne fushen e muzikes elektronike/eksperimentale. Kompozimet e Ilirit jane paraqitur/performuar ne ambiente artistike dhe instalative ne Tirane nderkohe qe album I tij I pare eshte leshuar ne mars 2014 prej shtepise diskografike italiane Manyfeetunder Label me degjim me te gjere ne vende te tjera si Itali, Gjermani, France, Angli. Njekohesisht disa punime te tjera jane publikuar si singles ne internet ne faqen e Bandcamp te Ilirit.

Krijimet permbajne ne themel te tyre tinguj te perditshem te jetes se qytetit te cilat trasformohen ne mase ekstreme deri sa humbin formen dhe kontekstin e tyre origjinal dhe shkrihen me tinguj instrumentale dhe ato elektronike per te formuar shtresa te reja me natyre organike. Nder kompozitoret qe kane influencuar tek Iliri nga ana konceptuale/muzikore jane: Luigi Russolo, Pierre Schaeffer, Bernard Parmegiani, Luc Ferrari, Francis Dhomont, Eliane Radigue, John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, Morton Feldman, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Autechre, Akira Rabelais, Atau Tanaka, Fabio Orsi, Ryoji Ikeda etj.

Ilir Lluka ka kompozuar muzike per instalacione te kryera ne Tirane dhe per kortometrazh te komisionuar nga Akademia e Arteve i prezantuar ne shkurt 2014 ne sallen Black Box te Akademise se Arteve. Ne mars 2013 ka qene pjesemarres ne nje event mbareboteror radiofonik/web perkrah emrash te njohur te botes se muzikes kontemporane si Pauline Oliveros, Felicia Atkinson, Rhys Catham, Eyvind Kang, André Gonçalves dhe shume te tjere duke perfaqesuar Shqiperine si nje pike aktive ne skenen e sound-artit. Performanca e tij e fundit live “Intimate Sound Perceptions” u mbajt ne shkurt 2014 ne ambientet e Muzeut Historik Kombetar, Tirane.

Albumi i ardhshem i Ilirit, nje bashkepunim ne sound/poetry me poeten Jonida Prifti, do leshohet ne qershor 2014 prej labelit italian Ozky E-Sound.

Qe prej vitit 2011eshte pjese e “A Material, A Sound, A Shape”, nje komunitet i perbere nga artiste te njohur ne fushen nderkombetare te muzikes eksperimentale, ku kryhen promovime dhe bashkepunime pertej ndarjeve te kufijve shteterore midis pjesetareve.

Iliri eshte ftuar te marre pjese ne edicionin e 2015 te Avantgarde Festival ne Schiphorst, Gjermani.

Krijimet permbajne ne themel te tyre tinguj te perditshem te jetes se qytetit te cilat trasformohen ne mase ekstreme deri sa humbin formen dhe kontekstin e tyre origjinal dhe shkrihen me tinguj instrumentale dhe ato elektronike per te formuar shtresa te reja me natyre organike. Nder kompozitoret qe kane influencuar tek Iliri nga ana konceptuale/muzikore jane: Luigi Russolo, Pierre Schaeffer, Bernard Parmegiani, Luc Ferrari, Francis Dhomont, Eliane Radigue, John Cage, Giacinto Scelsi, Morton Feldman, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Autechre, Akira Rabelais, Atau Tanaka, Fabio Orsi, Ryoji Ikeda etj.

Ilir Lluka ka kompozuar muzike per instalacione te kryera ne Tirane dhe per kortometrazh te komisionuar nga Akademia e Arteve i prezantuar ne shkurt 2014 ne sallen Black Box te Akademise se Arteve. Ne mars 2013 ka qene pjesemarres ne nje event mbareboteror radiofonik/web perkrah emrash te njohur te botes se muzikes kontemporane si Pauline Oliveros, Felicia Atkinson, Rhys Catham, Eyvind Kang, André Gonçalves dhe shume te tjere duke perfaqesuar Shqiperine si nje pike aktive ne skenen e sound-artit. Performanca e tij e fundit live “Intimate Sound Perceptions” u mbajt ne shkurt 2014 ne ambientet e Muzeut Historik Kombetar, Tirane.

Albumi i ardhshem i Ilirit, nje bashkepunim ne sound/poetry me poeten Jonida Prifti, do leshohet ne qershor 2014 prej labelit italian Ozky E-Sound.

Qe prej vitit 2011eshte pjese e “A Material, A Sound, A Shape”, nje komunitet i perbere nga artiste te njohur ne fushen nderkombetare te muzikes eksperimentale, ku kryhen promovime dhe bashkepunime pertej ndarjeve te kufijve shteterore midis pjesetareve.

Iliri eshte ftuar te marre pjese ne edicionin e 2015 te Avantgarde Festival ne Schiphorst, Gjermani. 

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If you missed the event, you can now watch it below:

LIVE “The Twilight of Returning“ by Ilir Lluka from MIZA on Vimeo.

Featured Project | Albanian Lapidar Survey

Help the Department of Eagles realize their latest project, the Albanian Lapidar Survey on Indiegogo. 

They can be found in every Albanian town and city, but no one knows how many there are: the lapidars. Their amazing form, architecture, and sculpture is unique to Albania, and the Albanian Lapidar Survey is the very first attempt to photograph, document and geotag every single one of them to preserve this important cultural heritage for future generations. The final publication will also include contributions from renowned theorists in the field of socialist realism and monumentality.

Introducing the Albanian Lapidar Survey for Indiegogo from Department of Eagles on Vimeo.

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Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

#otherness this week includes experiments in sound, visuals, motion and territory.

Solvent "Burn the Tables" | I Dream of Wires

Solvent "Burn The Tables" (official video - IDOW soundtrack) from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

SYN-Phon | Budapest Art Factory (BAF)

SYN-Phon ( Graphic notation) from candas sisman on Vimeo.

Li Hongbo: Statues in Motion | Kid Guy Collective

Li Hongbo: Statues in Motion from Todd Martin on Vimeo.

{ _ } | Alterritorios

{ _ } from alterritorios on Vimeo.

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Featured Artist & Exhibit | Alketa Ramaj @STACION

STACION - Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina 

presents:

The First Solo Exhibit of the Albanian Artist in Kosovo  

Alketa Ramaj: NO TITLE

Curated by: 

Albert Heta

Today: February 21st - March 22, 2014

opening @20:00 hrs

RSVP

Artist Talk: February 22, 2014 @19:00 hrs

About the Artist.

Alketa Ramaj (here) was born in 1983 Përmet, Albania. After receiving her B.A. at the Academy of Fine Arts in Albania, she went on to study in Venice at the Academia of Belle Arti di Bieno. She currently lives and works between Tirana and Venice. Her work has been the subject of widely exhibited group and solo shows, and has won her prizes and residencies locally and internationally. Among others, she has won the Onufri Award (2012) and Ardhje Award (2013).

Curatorial Text. (via)

NO TITLE at STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina appears in the functional architecture designed for another piece that was exhibited as part of the program of STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina. The decision to show this work in this functional structure, powerful but foreign to it, has to do with the physical space where this architecture can function, with the new process initiated by this work, but also the social context and the time when this work is shown. This context is not a foreign to this work.

The work can be seen as a reference of the relationship between a couple as a cycle of what may seem monotony, but in reality is an internal conflict of insecurity and silent domination.
In this context, this reading stimulates thinking about the ‘natural’ acceptance’of the silent domination (or the loud), within and outside traditional man- woman couples and keeping conflict as internal being the modus operandi of our entire society. We don’t only lock our rights and the rights of others, but also our ambitions and dreams, pressured by social norms which are not created to become laws, but are constantly uploaded and recycled by ‘parallel’ societies for daily needs of domination. Shshsh! The boy is sleeping.

The boy sleeps in a context dominated by the disappearance of public institutions which in any context should produce space for the progress of a contemporary society, whose steps to progress cannot be halted by stories of the past, a private interest or a certain belief.

About the Venue. (via)

The exhibition NO TITLE with Alketa Ramaj at STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is a prelude of the New Project, a collaboration project between STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and Tirana Institute for Contemporary Art – T.I.C.A. This project is based on the strategic goal of STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina and T.I.C.A to create working space for artists, socio-political workers and independent institutions that in any reality and society are indicators of social development and often are also the only connection with the existing social and political reality.

NO TITLE with Alketa Ramaj at STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is placed to function in the architecture of the exhibition 3-2-1… Long Sorrow with Anri Sala curated by Edi Muka.

NO TITLE with Alketa Ramaj at STACION – Ceneter for Contemporary Art Prishtina is part of the annual program of STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Republic of Kosovo, Ministry of the European Integration of the Republic of Kosovo, X-print and DZG.

NO TITLE with Alketa Ramaj at STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina is placed to function in the architecture of the exhibition 3-2-1… Long Sorrow with Anri Sala curated by Edi Muka.

NO TITLE with Alketa Ramaj at STACION – Ceneter for Contemporary Art Prishtina is part of the annual program of STACION – Center for Contemporary Art Prishtina, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Republic of Kosovo, Ministry of the European Integration of the Republic of Kosovo, X-print and DZG.

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Featured Artist | Irgin Sena @MIZA

MIZA Galeri

presents // prezanton:

IT STARTED STARTED STARTED SOMEHOW (zoo)

by // nga

Irgin Sena

February 19 - March 19, 2014 // 19 Shkurt -19 Mars, 2014

Opening // Hapja @19:00 hr

RSVP

Irgin Sena is an Albanian artist currently living and working in NYC. For selected works and other info, make sure to check out his website, where you'll also find a preview of his piece “it started started started somehow (zoo)” opening at MIZA on Wednesday.

Below, is an excerpt in Albanian via MIZA:

“it started started started somehow (zoo)” është një film 16 minuta, i cili përbëhet nga tre elementë të vecantë. Njëri prej tyre hulumton marrëdhënien midis një monumenti dhe pemëve që e rrethojnë atë; për më tepër vë në dukje kapacitetin e kësaj marrëdhënie për të kompozuar kolonën zanore të saj. Një element tjetër hulumton një kopësht zoologjik – që zvogëlohet gjithnjë e më tepër duke qëndruar si një mbetje nga një kohë tjetër – dhe marrëdhënien e tij me ambientin rrethues. Kamera është e drejtuar nga objektet që përbëjnë këtë ambient, duke bërë që kopështi zoologjik të jetë i pranishëm në film vetëm nëpërmjet zhurmave që prodhon. Të tre elementët përbërës ndërpresin, zgjasin, deformojnë, riformojnë dhe përtërijnë kuptimin e njëri-tjetrit nën efektin e kontekstit ku ndodhen.

Pa titull është një video lak e cila paraqet një objekt rrotullues mbi një platformë. Objekti, rrotullimi i të cilit është i përkohshëm, ka si realitet rënien. Rënia, në këtë video, duket e vonuar; por me kalimin e kohës vërehet që objekti nuk bie. Ai është në një rrotullim pa fund.

Kjo zgjatje kohore materializohet edhe në shushurimën e ujit, e cila është një instalacion audio në hapësirën e parë të galerisë. Kjo shushurimë, në gjëndje të segmentuar, është e pranishme dhe në “It started started started somehow (zoo)”, film i cili shfaqet në hapësirën e dytë të galerisë.

Here is an interview with the artist [in Albanian].

IRGIN SENA SPECIALE nga Elsa Demo from MIZA on Vimeo.

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Off Book Series | Robots/Human Society

**Creative Sunday Series

We don't have to imagine a future world with robots. That future might be is now.

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Anticipating "Tomka Dhe Shokët e Tij" Restoration via The Albanian Cinema Project

credit ACP // for more photos visit their website

The Albanian Cinema Project has just made a public preview of TOMKA AND HIS FRIENDS / TOMKA DHE SHOKET E TIJ directed by Xhanfise Keko, 1977. Make sure to check it out on their website. Also, stay tuned for more updates.

This is the second film (after SECOND NOVEMBER / NËNTORI DYTË) that is being fully restored by ACP in collaboration with Arkivi Qendror Shteteror I Filmit (Albanian Film Archive) and the US Library of Congress Audiovisual Conservation Center.

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Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

If you haven't yet, check out this gorgeous short video by Rino Stefano Tagliafierro. All your favorite classics come to life in this  B E A U T Y [ful] animation. 

B E A U T Y - dir. Rino Stefano Tagliafierro from Rino Stefano Tagliafierro on Vimeo.

#otherness

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Monument Valley | A Game About Architecture & Impossible Geometry

Monument Valley is the latest game from ustwo™, creators of Whale Trail and Blip Blup. A game about discovery, perception and meaningful beauty, inspired by the art of M.C. Escher, each level is a unique, hand-crafted combination of puzzle, graphic design and architecture. 

“Monument Valley originated from wanting to make a game where architecture was the main character. It’s a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry where the player guides Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

Monument Valley is a beautiful, exploratory experience, somewhere between exploring a toyshop and reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

-Ken Wong, creator - interviewed by formfiftyfive. (check the link for the full interview)

To know more about this beautifully made game, check its website or sign up for an early beta testing. 

via

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Featured Film | Dreams That Money Can Buy

I'd like to start off the new year with a surrealist piece of art that will (hopefully) set the tone for the rest of the year. An avant-garde experiment and inspirational project, just as this blog strives to be(come). 

Dreams That Money Can Buy is a 1947 experimental feature color film written, produced, and directed by surrealist artist and dada film-theorist Hans Richter.The film is a well-curated showcase of dreams by an artist collective including: Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, Darius Milhaud and Fernand Léger; and original music compositions by John Cage, Paul Bowles, Darius Milhaud and Louis Applebaum. The film won the Award for the Best Original Contribution to the Progress of Cinematography at the 1947 Venice Film Festival. 

Featured Artist & Exhibit | Ledia Konstandini @MIZA

For its last show of the year and to mark its first anniversary, MIZA Gallery is recognizing the work of Ledia Kostandini, an emerging young Albanian artist with a tremendous body of work. 
Her solo exhibit ÇENTRO ESTETIKE (AESTHETIC DOILY) is curated by Eriola Pira and will be in view at MIZA from December 23, 2013 - January 23, 2014. The opening is Monday @7:00pm so don't miss the chance to meet the artist and curator. 

End 2013 with an artistic blast☺!

Curated by Eriola Pira.

“ Ledia Kostandini closed the year 2012 with a studio visit. Everyone was invited. The artist’s studio (which she still shares with her colleague, Matilda Odobashi) was transformed into a Salon full of art and life. Previously exposed work, work in progress, discussions, gaiety, coffee and wine, all was served to art-lovers for four days. The artist and her art presented themselves generously, straightforwardly, without the framing of an exhibition or the contextualization of the next curator. It’s rare that we, the public, have such direct access to an artist, let alone her studio, which we imagine as a mysterious place where the artistic process and the work of art are conceptualized and realized before we encounter it in the gallery or elsewhere. Last year’s invitation for a studio visit was a sort of demystification of the artist and a re-introduction to her, by bringing the artist, as well as her labor and artwork closer to the public, who has lost links with the artist as much as contact with art.

Ledia Kostandini will close out the year 2013 at MIZA Gallery. Not in her studio, but there she will be welcoming you this holiday season. What was conceptualized over this past year has taken form, personality, and demands attention and value. The invitation to this exhibition -- the last of their first year -- comes from Miza. The end of the year occasion comes as an offer to reformat, redefine, and re-present the self, our appearance, vision, thought, and approach to the everyday and that which surrounds us. Ledia treats things full of energy and intensity, sometimes with sincere and sometimes with grotesque humor, by changing their function, meaning, and value, by adding elements and other object-parts, not very differently to what happens in beauty salons, gyms, and under the plastic surgeons knife. The objects and installations at Miza follow in the trail of the Surrealists of the early 20th Century and the legacy of Duchamp in the 21st, in a post-industrial context of global production and consumption, where criticism and the celebration of this political, economic and cultural order don’t much differ from one another, if they aren’t the same altogether.

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[alb] “ Ledia Kostandini e mbylli vitin 2012 me një vizitë në studio. Të gjithë ishin të ftuar. Studioja e artistes (të cilën e ndan akoma me miken e saj Matilda Odobashi) u shndërrua në një sallon plot art e jete. Vepra të ekspozuara, pune në zhvillim e sipër, diskutime, hare, kafe e verë servirur art-dashësve për plot katër ditë. Artistja dhe arti i saj u paraqitën bujarë, të drejtpërdrejtë, pa kornizën e ndonjë ekpozite apo kontekstualizimin e ndonjë kuratori të rradhës. Pak herë kemi rastin, si publik, të kemi akses kaq direkt me një artiste, dhe aq më pak në studion e saj, të cilën e imagjinojmë si një vend misterioz, ku procesi artistik dhe vepra ngjizen e përfundohet para se ne ta shohim në galeri a gjetkë. Ftesa e vjetshme për vizitë në studio ishte një lloj çmitizimi i artistit dhe një ri-prezantim ndryshe me të, duke e sjellë vetë atë, si dhe përpjekjen dhe punën e saj më afër publikut, i cili në mos ka humbur lidhjet me artistin, ka humbur kontakt dhe me artin.

Ledia Kostandini do ta mbyllë 2013-ën në MIZA Galeri. Jo në studio, por atje ju pret këtë fundvit. Ç'u ngjiz gjatë këtij viti ka marrë formë, personalitet, dhe kërkon vëmendje dhe vlerësim. Ftesën për këtë ekspozitë të fundit të vitit tyre të parë e dërgon Miza. Okazioni i këtij fundviti vjen si një ofertë për të ri-dimensionuar, ri-përkufizuar dhe ri-prezantuar veten, pamjen, shikimin, mendimin dhe qasjen tonë ndaj së përditshmes dhe çka na rrethon. Plot energji dhe intensitet, me një humor herë të çiltër dhe herë-herë grotesk, Ledia i trajton sendet duke iu shndërruar funksionin, kuptimin dhe vlerën, duke iu shtuar elemente e objekte të tjera përbërëse, jo shumë ndryshe nga çka rëndom ndodh nëpër sallone bukurie, nëpër palestra, apo nën thikën e kirurgut plastik. Objektet dhe instalacionet tek Miza janë në vazhdën e Surrealistëve të fillim shekullit XX, trashëgimia e Duchamp në shekullin XXI, në një kontekst post-industrial të prodhimtarisë dhe konsumit global, ku kritika nga lëvdata për këtë rend politik, ekonomik e kulturor, nuk dallojnë shumë nga njëra tjetra, në mos, janë e njëjta gjë.

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Otherness | Misc. Projects of the Week

Otherness this week: 

INVISIBLE WIRELESS NETWORKS

by Nickolay Lamm

theoretically visualizing the invisible electromagnetic radiation from cellphone signals

photo by nickolay lamm

via

CARUSO'S DREAM

by Brian Goggin + Dorka Keehn 

an installation of 13 glass piano sculptures suspended off an apartment building, 

inspired by the italian tenor enrico caruso

photos by Michael Short/The Chronicle

via

SMARTPHONES INTO 3D SCANNERS

by ETH Zurich

instead of taking photographs, you can just move the phone around the object and a three dimensional model appears on the screen

via

SALINA TURDA

a centuries-old salt mine in romania, converted into an underground tourist attraction complete with rides, a museum, and health spa

Salina Turda from binecuvantare.ro on Vimeo.

via

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Open Invitation | DEAR ALBANIA Video/Photo Contest!

Remember last year's film project by Eliza Dushku on Albania? 

Well, she has announced an official video/photo contest with a December 15, 2013 11:59pm PST deadline. 

“One of the film's major themes is that Albanians remain proud of their country, even when they do not live within the country's borders. We want to show Albanians bringing Albanian pride to their own homes and communities around the world. We need your help. We are looking for video or photos that will help tell this story. 

No matter the corner of the world you live in, you're more than welcome to participate by showing how you keep the Albanian spirit alive.

“Do you teach an Albanian Language course? Or take one? Show us your Albanian class.

Have you taught your grandchildren your favorite Albanian dances? Show us a clip of their performance. 

Do you make Berek for your family dinners-- even if it's paired with local wine? Show us what your dinner table looks like. 

Do you have pictures in your home of your parents or grandparents? Show us! 

Where do you exhibit the Albanian double-headed eagle? Do you hang your Albanian flag on your brick faced Boston walk-up-- or inside the shop your parents have run for decades?

If you are interested in being in the movie, follow the official instructions for HD Video submissions (preferably) or old photos that depict the Albanian pride of previous generations throughout the world. The chosen entries will be featured in the film, receive credit in the end credits, and also be awarded a free copy of the final feature “Dear Albania.”

For official rules, forms, and further submission check the links below:

Rules: http://www.dearalbania.com/Contest/OfficialRules.pdf

Entry Form: http://woobox.com/hrs94w

INFORMATION ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE GO HERE.

Also, check out the contest's Facebook page.

Here's a sneak peek:

Dear Albania Ruff Intro from Nate Dushku on Vimeo.

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Don't forget the deadline: 

December 15, 2013 11:59pm PST (Pacific Standard Time)

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