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Hand shadows being turned into magical monsters? Counting the number of visitors can become a welcoming performance? Interesting, inspiring and interactive art installations from prominent media artists worldwide will be shown at the 䩕Microwave International New Media Arts Festival蒅 from today (November 4) until November 15.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the festival showcases integration between cutting edge technology and new media arts through exhibitions, video screenings, conferences, workshops and talks at various venues. Not to be missed is Daniel Sauter﷿s 䩕Light Attack蒅 which travels around the city with an animated virtual character.
A special treat this year is a programme which is a tribute to Korean video art master Nam June Paik, a globally influential figure in the development of media arts.
Officiating at the opening ceremony at the Exhibition Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall were Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho; Assistant Director (Heritage and Museums) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Dr Ng Chi-wa; Director of the Goethe-Institut Hongkong, Mr Michael M䏳ller-Verweyen; Programme Director of Department of Cultural and Religious Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr Oscar Ho and Board Director of Microwave, Ms Ellen Pau.
Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and organised by Microwave, the 䩕Microwave International Media Arts Festival蒅 has 䩕Animatronica蒅 as its theme this year to explore the nature of animated images through the form of animation and surveillance devices. People are invited to engage, participate and experiment in the different works.
The exhibition of 䩕Animatronica蒅 at the Exhibition Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall features works of international media artists including Rafael Lozano-Hemmer from Canada, Max Kazemzadeh and Camille Utterback from the United States, Philip Worthington from United Kingdom, Alvaro Cassinelli from Uruguay, Daniel Sauter from Germany and Jin-Yo Mok from Korea. Admission is free.
Surveillances devices are perceived as an intrusion to privacy but Rafael Lozano-Hemmer turns the device into fun. In his classic work 䩕Surface Tension蒅, animated eyes react to the movement of the public through a detection system. His other work 䩕Glories of Accounting蒅 is an interactive installation tracing the emotion of visitors with large hands.
Philip Worthington﷿s 䩕Shadow Monsters蒅 turns a shadow into a magical monster associated with sound and animation. Alvaro Cassinelli﷿s 䩕Khronos Projector蒅 enables participants to interfere in time and space with their hands and Max Kazemzadeh﷿s 䩕SpinFlick蒅 lights up a panel of light when a coin spins.
To encourage more local art works, the festival presents 䩕X-D Animation Award 2006 Prize Presentation and Showcase蒅. The six winning awards are exhibited with the American artist Daniel Shiffman﷿s 䩕Super Happy Particles蒅 at the Exhibition Hall of the Hong Kong Film Archive.
To commemorate the life and works of Nam June Paik, screening programmes on November 11, 13 to 15 at the Cinema of Hong Kong Film Archive will feature a collection of Nam﷿s works including 䩕The Strange Music of Name June Paik蒅, 䩕You Can﷿t Lick Stamps in China蒅, 䩕A Conversation蒅, 䩕Experiment with David Atwood蒅, 䩕26﷿1.1499 For a String Player蒅 and 䩕Stockhausen﷿s Originale蒅. A special lecture with Korean speaker Wonil Rhee will be held at 7pm on November 14 before the screening. The lecture is conducted in English.
Another screening is the 䩕Best of the best from Siggraph 2006 Computer Animation Festival蒅 at 9pm on November 15 at the Hong Kong Film Archive.
Two conferences will be held on November 13 at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. 䩕Hong Kong Distinguished New Media Artists Presentation蒅 will be held at 3pm.
The keynote conference 䩕Strategies of Interactivities in Media Arts & Visual Culture蒅 will be held at 7pm to explore the relationship between electronic arts and the social and cultural space. Guest speaker Rafael Lozano-Hemmer will present his enigmatic works 䩕Glories of Accounting蒅, 䩕Surface Tension蒅 and 䩕Body Movies蒅 while Daniel Sauter will showcase his 䩕Light Attack蒅 - moving projection that travels around the city.
Four workshops from Alvaro Cassinelli, Max Kazemzadeh, Jin-Yo Mok, and Philip Worthington will be held from November 5 to 8 at the North Committee Room, High Block of Hong Kong City Hall followed by talks on their exhibits at the Exhibition Hall.
Conferences and artist talks are conducted in English and admission is free. Tickets priced at $30 for screening programmes are now available at URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients.
For programme details and ticket discounts, please refer to the leaflet available at LCSD performing venues or call 2734 2900 or visit www.microwavefest.net or www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp.
Ends/Saturday, November 4, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:31
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