Press Release / 31 JANUARY 2013

NODE13 – Forum for Digital Arts
Symposium ‘THE RULES – Examining code as shapeable cosmoplastic material’
Frankfurter Kunstverein
Steinernes Haus am Römerberg, Markt 44, 60311 Frankfurt am Main 
Dates 	Wednesday 13th of February, 2013 	Lectures: 2 to 6 pm 	Panel with all speakers: 6 to 7 pm
	Friday 15th of February, 2013 	Lectures: 2 to 6 pm 	Panel with all speakers: 6 to 7 pm
Tickets 	39 € each, available online at http://node13.vvvv.org/tickets
Details 	http://node13.vvvv.org/symposium/

The two-day symposium ‘THE RULES – Examining code as shapeable cosmoplastic material’ digs into the rules of the digital sphere and their influence on other rules, whether in society, biology, or art. Which autonomous creative forces are at work in computers and in what way do they affect our self-understanding of politics, art and society? Leading personalities from various disciplines will deal with these issues in the third edition of the festival of digital arts and culture. NODE13 - Forum for Digital Arts takes place for the second time at the Frankfurter Kunstverein from the 11th to 17th of February.
In addition to an exhibition under the same title ‘THE RULES – Examining code as shapeable cosmoplastic material’, the symposium offers lectures on the 13th and 15th February with guests from the fields of philosophy, media theory and politics, as well as artists and activists. As a patron of digital culture the NODE Forum for Digital Arts has a special responsibility to critically examine the essence of the digital and its effect on Society & Culture. First, this means an intensive inquiry of the design possibilities of and by software itself (as a regulatory framework of the computer). Beyond that, the focus is at those areas that are transferred by the use of computer technology. Next to a philosophy of digital media, the topics are related to code and awareness, aesthetic theory (‘New Aesthetic “), the possibilities of synthetic biology and opinion formation in social networks (Liquid Democracy).
“We invite ‘Makers’ and ‘Thinkers’ to consider code as a shapeable and cosmoplastic material. Software uses machine rules for all existing rule systems, we use this software in biology, politics, music, and art. The result is more responsibility in the use of digital resources. I am glad that we can perform this critical investigation with contributions of international key protagonists, such as Joanne McNeil, Rafaël Rozendaal and Kyle McDonald.” -Says curator Eno Henze.
Among the speakers are artists such as Rafaël Rozendaal, who is a leading thinker in the discourse about the rules of the internet as an art medium. Based on their experiences with the renowned digital-art-blog Rhizome.org the American author Joanne McNeil questions the ratio of reality and virtuality of the art scene. The symposium deals not only with aesthetic issues and the challenges of the Internet, but also discusses current trends in society - Niklas Treutner, member of Liquid Democracy gives an insight into new models of political participation which are enabled by technology.
The symposium will be moderated by Dr. Andreas Broeckmann, director of the Arts Program Leuphana Lüneburg. Broeckmann was from 2000-2007 director of the ‘transmediale’, the Berlin festival for art and digital culture.
The concept ‘Make.See.Discuss’ is an invitation to creative folks and other interested parties in culture and further disciplines such as software, interactive media, stage and performance, video, music, architecture and design.

Speakers and topics
Wednesday 13th of February, 2013
Joanne McNeil Writer & Theorist, New York, USA.  www.joannemcneil.com
Joanne McNeil is a writer interested in the ways technology is shaping art, identity, and culture. She worked as the editor of Rhizome.org, overseeing all content published on Rhizome News and the Rhizome blog.
“The internet of dreams”
Physical and digital, history and future, real and imaginary: the internet is breaking down these distinctions. Taking a look at examples in digital art and culture, this talk will discuss the contemporary landscape as online and offline realities grow further indistinguishable.

Rafaël Rozendaal Artist; Amsterdam, NL / New York, USA.  www.newrafael.com 
Rafaël Rozendaal is a visual artist who uses the internet as his canvas. His artistic practice consists of websites, installations, drawings, writings and lectures. Spread out over a vast network of domain names, he attracts a large online audience of over 25 million visits per year.
“I feel free on the internet”
I will be talking about what it means as an artist to put most of your energy to the internet. The internet has its own formal qualities, its own social codes, its own economic models. It is very far from the habits of the art world. I have a leg in each world, and I’m happy about that.

Philipp Kleinmichel Art Theorist & Philosopher, Berlin, DE.  www.theivorytower.tv 
Philipp Kleinmichel taught art theory and philosophy at the University for Arts and Design Karlsruhe/ZKM. In his essays and lectures he focuses on the aesthetic, political, and economic aspects of art and culture and contributed among others to the fifth Berlin Biennale and the Documenta 13. http://philosophie.hfg-karlsruhe.de/team/philipp-kleinmichel-0
“Following the Rules of Art”
Philipp Kleinmichel will ask in which way the digital age changes our understanding of art.  Will it affect the rules by which art is produced and perceived today? 
Gabriel Shalom Artist, Berlin, DE.  www.gabrielshalom.com 
Gabriel Shalom’s audiovisual works are rhythmically edited compositions (videomusic) that explore the hidden musicality of everyday objects, unusual handmade electro-acoustic instruments, and manipulation of traditional instruments. In parallel to his art practice, he has developed Hypercubism, a theory of object-oriented aesthetics. Gabriel is also the creative director of KS12, a studio for experimental storytelling.
“Videomusic & Hypercubism”
Audiovisual composition. Video games. Dimensional collapse. Hypercubism. The transformation of the object. Speculative simulations. Design fiction. Pixels and frames. Through the looking glass.

Friday 15th of February, 2013
Andrew Goffey Author & Theorist, Nottingham, UK.  www.nottingham.ac.uk/clas/staff/andrew.goffey
Andrew Goffey works in the Centre for Critical Theory and Cultural Studies in the Department of Culture, Film and Media at the University of Nottingham. He is the author, together with Matthew Fuller, of ‘Evil Media’ (MIT, 2012).
“Generativity and the Diagrams of Intelligence”
Mixing together philosophy, politics and the study of software, this paper will develop a socially grounded account of the intelligence operative in computational culture. By drawing in equal measure on ideas about the generativity of networked technologies (Zittrain), semiotic theories of the open work (Eco) and the micropolitics of enunciation proposed by Félix Guattari, the paper will move backwards and forwards between digital technologies and their contexts to explore the ruses of intelligence such as they are - and may be - practiced in the 21st century. 
Kyle McDonald Artist, New York, USA.  www.kylemcdonald.net
Kyle McDonald is a media artist who works with code, with a background in philosophy and computer science. He creates intricate systems with playful realizations, sharing his source and challenging others to create and contribute.
Title of lecture to be announced. 
Julian Oliver Critical Engineer & Artist, Berlin, DE.  www.criticalengineering.org and www.julianoliver.com
Julian is a long-time advocate of the use of free software in artistic production, distribution, and education. With partners he published the Critical Engineering Manifesto to frame their practices, foregrounding the languages and cultures of Engineering, rather than Art, in the creative and critical process.
“The ideology of seamlessness”
One could say that seamlessness is ‘design hiding engineering’. While this is sometimes to be desired, Julian will show how the expectation - even demand - for seamless interaction with machines and network services makes us increasingly vulnerable to agendas of techno-political control. The lecture will include references to works of Critical Engineering that seek to find and foreground such technical ‘seams’ alongside topologically descriptive network forensic demonstrations. 
Niklas Treutner Computer Scientist, Berlin, DE.  https://liqd.net/about/vorstand/
Niklas Treutner is a member of the Liquid Democracy e.V. and works on innovative ideas and projects for democratic participation. He studied both Media Technology and Applied Media and Communication Studies at the Ilmenau University of Technology and is currently employed at the Department of Computer Science of the Humboldt University of Berlin. He worked on enquetebeteiligung.de and offenekommune.de and advocates the use of participative democracy in more aspects of our society.
“Politics of code – Code of politics”
The internet has transformed the possible applications of democratic participation and will allow us to find new ways to discuss and decide on political ideas. New sets of rules shape the discussions – some of them due to technical reasons. What are the implications of these new rules? What are the challenges of current applications and how can we overcome them?

Alex McLean Artist, Sheffield, UK.  http://yaxu.org
Alex McLean is a live coder, software artist and researcher based in Sheffield, UK. As a live coding musician, he performs with Adrian Ward and Dave Griffiths as the live coding Slub.org, getting people to dance to code.
“Changing rules while they are followed: Live coding the embodied loop”
In terms of the body, live coding of music is perhaps the most inert performance art invented. Live coders give everything to the digital world they inhabit: in order to achieve creative flow they focus entirely on the code and its effects. The result is stark: blank faces, eyes fixed on the screens, no movement except the efficient tapping on keyboard …

Moderation & Curation

Andreas Broeckmann – Moderator
Art historian & curator, Berlin, DE.  www.leuphana.de/andreas-broeckmann.html
Dr. Andreas Broeckmann is an art historian and curator who lives in Berlin and Lüneburg. He is the Director of the Leuphana Arts Program at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg. His further activities include: Founding Director of the Dortmunder U – Centre for Art and Creativity (2009‑2011), Artistic Director of ISEA2010 RUHR, Artistic Director of transmediale – festival for art and digital culture Berlin (2000‑2007).

Eno Henze – Curator
Artist, Berlin, DE.  www.enohenze.de
Eno Henze works as an artist and scenographer at the intersection of science, philosophy and art. In addition to drawings and installations he designs stages for the Dutch National Ballet or the Royal Ballet of England. For Clients he designs media spaces and software. Henze is a member of NODE e.V. and curates the exhibition and symposium.
  About NODE
Since 2008 the biannual event NODE brings together distinguished artists, coders and scientists. It introduces the world of computer arts to the public in Frankfurt. As a cross-border and interdisciplinary platform, NODE boosts the forward-looking debate about the intersections of art, science, design and technology. The forum deals with the position of digital technology and its implications in culture and society. 
The forum is distributed by ‘NODE Verein zur Förderung Digitaler Kultur e.V.’ and emerged in 2008 from the initiative by the online community of the multipurpose software toolkit vvvv, which was developed in Frankfurt and is used by artists, designers and universities all over the world ever since its creation for creating media work which is mostly interactive and/or generative. 
More information about NODE online at http://node13.vvvv.org/

About Frankfurter Kunstverein
The Frankfurter Kunstverein is a major national and international institution for contemporary art in Germany. Its main goal is to present the viewer with coherently researched exhibitions that are embedded in the present. Its work is mainly based in the development and production of new art works and projects. Hence its aim is to encourage a critical discussion around “contemporary art production” and it stresses the importance of regularly organizing artist talks, debates and lectures in order to create an access point to art and its reasons. The Frankfurter Kunstverein has an eminent social dimension: It wants to promote curiosity towards the future and to place a new confidence in contemporary art production. 
More information about Frankfurter Kunstverein online at www.fkv.de  
Press Material
Texts and images available at: http://node13.vvvv.org/press http://www.flickr.com/photos/node-forum/sets/72157632620599107/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/node-forum/collections/72157632384552860/ 

Press Contacts
NODE Verein zur Förderung Digitaler Kultur e.V.
Max Apel (press) Johannes Scherg (press)
Gutleutstrasse 96 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany
Phone: +49 69 24000333  Fax: +49 69 24000330 Mobile: +49 1577 5376020
Email: press@node-forum.org   http://node13.vvvv.org http://node.vvvv.org
Frankfurter Kunstverein
Anne Kaestner (press stand-in)
Steinernes Haus am Römerberg, Markt 44 60311 Frankfurt am Main Germany
Phone: +49 69 219314-30 Fax: +49 69 219314-11  
Email: presse@fkv.de www.fkv.de