Monthly Archives: June 2016

RIP Libre Graphics magazine

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On March 9th Libre Graphics magazine announced that after six years it would stop publishing new issues. Current and past issues are still available while stocks last.

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Since 2012 I wrote for Libre Graphics magazine as a regular columnist. Prior to this my illustration, What Revolution? was featured in issue 1.2.

What Revolution? in Libre Graphics Magazine

The idea for starting a publication about graphic design that is made with and about open source tools is an idea shared by many, with various people following through on the idea. In the early 2000s there was Code : Free magazine, which never saw a printed version but existed for four issues.

Publications specific to a particular software also exist. BlenderArt has seen issues published since 2005 that focus on Blender. Since 2012 GIMP Magazine has existed to talk just about GIMP. The aforementioned publications offer only pdf versions and only focus on their one topic. To me, what differentiated Lire Graphics Magazine from the others is that it covered not just the practical side of producing art but also the concepts and politics surround it. Plus, it had a focus on print, which has long been an apparent “show stopper” for those wanting to switch to open source software.

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Open source tools have long been criticised for their apparent lack of support for printing processes. “When will GIMP get CMYK?” is an often asked question and is a reason many steer clear of using these and other tools. What I learned from witnessing the production Libre Graphics magazine is that it is easily possible to produce a publication using open source tools and that the results have no differences in quality to those published, for example, using Adobe InDesign or other proprietary tools.

Libre Graphics Magazine 2.1

Although it is ceasing to exist the spirit of it continues in other ways. You can still find out what is happening in the world of libre graphics via the Libre Graphics World blog and the Graphics Planet feed. Conferences such as Libre Graphics Meeting have been going strong for over 10 years. Outside of this, just engaging with the community in some way is really easy. Just using the software, adopting its processes and talking about it publicly is more than enough!

Elephant Magazine – Logos & Protest

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The latest issue of Elephant Magazine is out and is focused on brands and copyright:

I’m With The Brand

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Are brands out to get us? Could our food, sartorial, satirical and political choices now all be considered as brand alliances? Most importantly, do we secretly really love the idea of being defined in this way?

In Issue 27 Elephant investigates the paradoxical relationship that a host of the art world’s new generation of makers have with brands. We meet Chloe Wise, Antonio Roberts, Jemma Egan, Holly White and Rachel Maclean to discuss the changing face of branding and the rise of subliminal messaging.

In this issue I was interviewed by Molly Taylor about my how I relate to logos, copyright and brands:

Logos & Protest

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Antonio Roberts doesn’t like being told what to do by big corporations with clever lawyers. A proponent of free culture, the Birmingham-based glitch artist explores notions of ownership and copyright—often by testing the limits of the latter.

How is copyright affecting the way that artists are able to create and distribute works that remix or reuse images belonging to other people, particularly brands?

I’m not against copyright, I just think it reaches too far. For smaller artists, other people appropriating their work isn’t so much of a problem because if you’re not making much money, you haven’t got much to lose. Whereas for the larger corporations like Disney, they see it as losing them potentially millions and millions of pounds. So I chose Disney for the Transformative Use piece because they have really lobbied to get copyright terms extended in their favour.

Read the interview text on the website and pick up a copy of the issue now!

Last Day

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As part of the Random String microFestival on Thursday 9th June I installed Last Day at Unit 22 at the City Arcade in Coventry.

Last Day

Last Day

Last Day

Last Day is a piece that highlights the fragility of financial markets and the unpredictable nature of consumer habits, market forces and trends. The effects of these have been far reaching, seeing once thriving retail parks home to small businesses and former retail giants rendered as ghost towns of empty units. The choice of imagery shows that nothng is too big to fail.

Last Day

Last Day

Last Day

Last Day was commissioned by Ludic Rooms for the Random String microFestival. It is situated in a derelict shopping unit the City Arcade in Coventry where it will remain until the space becomes occupied again. Many thanks to Dom Breadmore and Anne Forgan for accepting my proposal and Malachi Cummings-Hall for his assistance installing.

More photos are available here.

Moving Bodies Festival, 24th-25th June

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Myself and Rachel Sweeney will be returning to MART in Dublin, Ireland to perform at Moving Bodies Festival from 24th-25th June. For this we will be revisiting Multiplicitous States (previously QWOP Dance):

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Multiplicitous states is a new collaborative work which seeks to question the politics of difference in looking at dance across virtual and live performance sites. The piece is a sound/visual/movement collaboration between butoh dancer Rachel Sweeney, digital glitch artist Antonio Roberts with sound design by experimental electronica artist Shibby Shitegeist. This performance examines the collaborative practices of butoh dancer Rachel Sweeney and digital glitch artist Antonio Roberts, which explore intersections between digitised projected movement and butoh movement to interrogate notions of multiplicity and synaesthesia in performance.

For an idea of what our performance was like check out this review of last year’s performance.

Cat Heroicus Sublimis

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A gif from my 2011 piece, What is your glitch? 1bitgifavibmpbmpcmykbmprgbjpgmpgpcxpixpngppmsgisvgtgawebp, is currently on show in the online exhibition Cat Heroicus Sublimis from Peer to Space.

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Cat Heroicus Sublimis explores how digital artists use abstract visual language. The title refers to Barnett Newman’s painting Vir Heroicus Sublimis (1950-51) at MoMA. Newman hoped that the viewer would stand close to this expansive abstract work to experience a physical human encounter, which is part of his definition of the sublime as a “self evident reality” that comes “out of ourselves, out of our own feelings” and “can be understood by anyone”. Abstract Expressionist artists like Newman escaped traditional patterns and aesthetics to create their own understanding of the sublime.

The online exhibition Cat Heroicus Sublimis is curated by Tina Sauerländer and Peggy Schoenegge.

Log on to see my gif and works by artists including Alma Alloro, LaTurbo Avedon, Carla Gannis, Claudia Hart, Paul Hertz, Faith Holland, Rosa Menkman, Lorna Mills and so much more!

BYOB Porto/OpenField, 8th June

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On 8th June a video recording of Sonification Studies and the Archive Remix videos will be on display at BYOB Porto/OpenField.

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BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer)” é o nome dado a uma serie de “one-night-exhibitions” organizadas um pouco por todo o mundo. Consiste em juntar num espaço varios artistas visuais, cada um traz o seu projector e enche o espaço e as paredes de luz e imagens.

Esta quarta-feira (8 Junho / 18.30) vai-se efectuar um BYOB no Openfield CreativeLab.

The event is curated by Paul Hertz and includes pieces from the likes of Jessica Fenlon and Carrie Gates.

Random String microFestival, 11th June

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In addition to delivering a presentation on at the Symposium on 10th June, on 11th June I’ll have some new work available for viewing at the Random String microFestival.

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The Random String microFestival is an exciting day exploring technology and art.

Digital artworks, interactive installations, hands-on arts activities and workshops will fill the City Arcade, including the Shop Front Theatre, Artspace’s City Arcadia and in the recently opened FabLab Coventry.

Last Day

For the microFetsival I will produce a new vinyl installation work called Last Day.

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Last Day is a piece that highlights the fragility of financial markets and the unpredictable nature of consumer habits, market forces and trends. The effects of these have been far reaching, seeing once thriving retail parks home to small businesses and former retail giants rendered as ghost towns of empty units. The choice of imagery shows that nothing is too big to fail.

The piece will be installed in the window of Unit 22 at the City Arcade.

Last Day workshop

To accompany the installation, during the mircoFestival you will be invited to create your own shop window honouring our favourite defunct brands!

The microFestival takes place 11th June 11:00 – 16:00 at the City Arcade in Coventry and is completely free