Technologies of abundance : consumer culture, government and the media arts

Arts funding provides one of the clearest examples available of the cybernetic metaphor, that is, the role of cultural policy in hierarchically ranking cultural forms and their publics. Justification for the hierarchical control of the cybernetic apparatus in the national cultural interest takes on a rhetorical form because it is, in essence, an ideological argument, reflecting the dominant social beliefs and interests which underpin political action. The objective of arts funding policy is cultural survival in global capitalism through government subsidy and top-down prescription of appropriate social practices. This emphasis on the creative dimension offers not only images of what is, but also those of what might be--alternatives to the status quo. The convergence of the home computer, television, and telephone lines as the nexus of a new social machinery--interactive media, on-line multimedia and their hybrids promises new cultural territories for consumer capitalism. The new contexts, technological, commercial, and telesocial, require a reconsideration of methodologies of cultural production and conventions of consumption. The new forms of production and consumption will inevitably generate new cultural institutions. With these potential realities in mind it would seem appropriate to anticipate what kind of art we are going to make in these new social spaces, what kind of audience we will have, and what kind of interaction will occur-- ultimately, to consider what art will become in this context. The era of on-line digital interactivity and virtual communities will evolve a genre that may be unrecognizable in a traditional sense

Hors des sentiers battus = Off the Beaten Track

Defining Winnipeg as representative of the postmodern condition, the authors underline the role of artist-run centres in the development of regional cultures and a multiplicity of practices. Includes descriptions of the artists' works. Biographical notes. 3 bibl. ref

New Brunswick Media Ticks

For lack of being able to reconstitute the history of time-based art (of all categories) in New Brunswick, Leblanc traces the trends in video, audio and performance art originating from Sackville, as well as major events in media arts. Kisil addresses theories related to new technologies, while G. Elstrand documents the organization of the event. Includes the list of videos presented with summaries for six of them. Brief biographical notes

Edge Manitoba

Includes four essays on contemporary art in Manitoba. Madill evaluates the work of 13 artists in the context of spectacle and tableau, while Streifler examines allegorical and other representational strategies (fragmentation, layering). Labossière raises issues of cultural unity, marginality, regionalism, and racial and linguistic difference in Manitoba, and Kisil discusses the influence of artist-run centres on artistic production in Winnipeg. Biographical notes. 14 bibl. ref

In, Here, Out, There : Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art 1998

A catalogue to accompany the 1998 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, comprised of works in a wide range of media – sculpture, installation, painting, photography and digital technology – by 26 artists based in Alberta. In their curatorial essay, Mastin and Crowston suggest that the exhibition looks at how contemporary artists respond to concepts of the frontier. The authors also provide brief interpretations of each artist’s work. The following issues are discussed: the border, the land, colonization, travel, ecology, nature and heroism. Includes artists’ statements. Biographical notes. 14 bibl. ref