NODE13 symposium ‘The Rules’

February 1, 2013
posted in: News

Two days of symposium ‘The Rules’
13th and 15th of February, 2013

NODE13’s symposium comes with the keytopic ‘The Rules – Examining code as shapeable cosmoplastic material’ and 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 and 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.

NODE13 Symposium

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, and Kyle McDonald. 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 moderation: