Imperica – Copyright, Culture, and Creativity

Imperica recently released the first issue of its digital magazine. I’m happy to have contributed an article called Copyright, Culture, and Creativity. The article focuses on how large commercial corporations appropriate and exploit internet cultures and aesthetics.

Beginning to understand copyright on even a basic level can be a career in itself and take years of study. Just as no users of technology read the terms of service, no artist spends their time studying the Statute of Anne in order to understand Copyright. And why should they? We’re in the business of creating art, not law.

It is this naeivtiy and lack of understanding which corporations, with their teams of copyright lawyers, can exploit in order to push the boundaries of what is acceptable. Artists, which includes anyone creating anything (yes, even a tweet is your work of art), do not have the luxury of being able to call upon the advice of expensive legal teams every time they create an artwork.

One such example of this exploitation is Left Shark. This high profile case centers around a meme born out of Katy Perry’s performance at the 2015 Superbowl. The performance featured Perry performing with dancers in costumes, including two sharks positioned either side of her. Viewers noticed that the shark on the left appeared out of sync with the other one, appearing even slightly drunk. The internet loved this and quickly Left Shark was born, with the memes appearing almost immediately.

It’s a good article to read to gain a greater understanding of the concepts behind No Copyright Infringement Intended.

The magazine also features some great articles and essays from Philip Ellis, Catherine Young, Ana Mendes, and more (they’re also looking for contributions for issue two. It’s available to buy now for £/$/€2.

Stealth Launch Photos

Stealth launched at Vivid Projects on 25th June and it was a great success! It’s the first time I have curated an exhibition or event that has lasted more than a few days, so I’m happy to see that there have been a steady flow of visitors.

Stealth

Stealth

Stealth

Stealth

Stealth

Stealth

Thanks again to James Bridle, Manu Luksch, Joseph DeLappe, Sang Mun, Ryan Hughes and Henry Driver for participating in the exhibition and to Dave Checkley for helping to draw the Drone Shadow piece. He certainly had a lot of fun unveilling the piece.

If you want to know more about the exhibition check out the interview with myself and several artists for Imperica.

Stealth runs until 11th July and is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 until 17:00.

Imperica – New Horizons

Directly after f(Glitch) I’ll be in London to take part in the New Horizons event from Imperica on 7th March, 09:00-18:00.

imperica_nh

New Horizons brings a variety of people, disciplines, and interests together in one provocative, thought-provoking, enormously creative, and fun day. This will not be a day of death by PowerPoint. You’ll leave the day with new ideas, new visions, and new friends.

This event is ideal for professionals, academics and enthusiasts of film; advertising; design; digital technologies and their impact; art; and media.

I’ll be part of a joint presentation with Camillie Baker entitled Error Detection:

We expect perfection like never before. Whether it’s a slight hiccup on our digital TV, a spelling error in a press release or an incorrect fact in a tweet, there’s little room for manoeuvre. How is the “imperfect” recognised, exposed, used, and celebrated on both an artistic and intellectual level?

The event isn’t free (£87.77), but has some really amazing participants, so you should definitely buy a ticket.

Test Transmission

Imperica were the very first magazine/publication to interview me all the way back in 2011 for GLI.TC/H Birmingham. Since then the magazine is still going strong and they’ve recently launched an online shop where you can buy books, clothes(?) and other stuff. To celebrate this new venture I was asked to make some art!

Test Transmission

Test Transmission

Test Transmission

Test Transmission

The series, entitled Test Transmission, is, like the shop itself, an experiemnt and a bit of a risk, but one that will hopefully pay off eventually! They were made using various bits of hardware and software whilst I was in Arles for databit.me, which I’ll write about shortly.

Y’all can buy them now for only £6.72.

Interview with Imperica – Celebrating Imperfection

I was interviewed by Imperica recently about GLI.TC/H coming to Birmingham.

Caca on Imperica

For the viewer, appreciating Glitch art inevitably depends on the form that the work takes, and an understanding of the work not being “broken” but a new construction in itself. Glitched artwork “… can be beautiful, but it can also be chaotically noisy. It isn’t just an hour of TV static or hard noise. They have a narrative; they tell a story in some way. I want the viewer to see the value in things that are corrupted, bent, and broken.”

Go read it now!

GLI.TC/H comes to the world on the following dates:

  • Chicago_USA: Nov 4-6 2011
  • Amsterdam_NL: Nov 11-12 2011
  • Birmingham_UK: Nov 19 2011