May 2-3, 2003

The New School (NYC), Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue, Ground Floor

THE FUTURE OF WAR AESTHETICS, POLITICS, TECHNOLOGIES

"What do the Department of Defense and the computer gaming industry have in common? What kinds of strategic alliances is the Pentagon making with Hollywood? How is the American Institute of Architects connecting with the military's designs for a 'new security environment?' Are artists collaborating with, exposing, or resisting the military by deploying technologies of simulation, data surveillance, tracking, and computer vision in their work?"

Presented by Thundergulch, the new media initiative of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) in association with Vera List Center for Art and Politics World Policy Institute Computer Instruction Center at The New School, THE FUTURE OF WAR AESTHETICS, POLITICS, TECHNOLOGIES, will examine the increasingly complex exchanges between the military, the entertainment industry, the computer industry, the media and artists, asking the question: "What impact do these exchanges have on war, technology and related visual cultures in the American public sphere?"

"The conference looks at war not simply as a utilitarian means to an end but as a cultural process involving particular ways of seeing, narrating, and imagining. The conference will focus on the architectural spaces of war, the cinematic language of Hollywood combat films, online gaming and military simulations, and the computer and installation work of artists," they state.

In addition to a presentation of works by artists -- including Matt Adams, artist; Alex Galloway, artist/scholar; Joy Garnett, artist/curator; Natalie Jeremijenko, techno artist/engineer; John Klima, artist; Carl Skelton, digital artist/teacher; Eddo Stern, artist/game developer; and Lebbeus Woods, architect -- among others, the conference will include the following panels:

Moderator: Helen Nissenbaum, professor, Department of Culture + Communication, New York University

THE AESTHETICS AND POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGIZED WARFARE

Panelists Joy Garnett, artist/curator; Natalie Jeremijenko, techno artist/engineer, Yale University + NYU; Tom Keenan, director, Human Rights Project, Bard College; Thomas Y. Levin, curator/media theorist,
Princeton University

"The Aesthetics and Politics of Technologized Warfare Radar, 3-D computer graphics, tracking devices, covert data-gathering, robots, and computer vision have become ubiquitous technologies of warfare and play an integral role in maintaining "homeland security." These technologies have long been a rich source of interest to artists engaged in the subjects of surveillance, control, and military imaging. Curators, artists, and human rights activists examine ways in which art exposes the depersonalization of violence, and resists the erosion of privacy and civil rights."

Moderator: Kadambari Baxi, architect/media designer, Martin/ Baxi Architects

ARCHITECTURE, VIOLENCE, AND SOCIAL (IN)SECURITY

Panelists: Benjamin Bratton, cultural theorist/media architect, Southern California Institute of Architecture; Keller Easterling, associate professor, Yale School of Architecture; Eyal Weizman, architect, Rafi Segal/Eyal Weizman Architects, Tel-Aviv, Israel

"New media artists and architects discuss the impact of violence, political terrorism and social (in)security on architecture and public space. Reflecting on physical and virtual spaces of war, panelists question assumptions about architecture's physical and psychological permanence. They will consider ways in which digital technologies limit and enable public perception of the built environment and spatial innovation."

Moderator: McKenzie Wark, author/media theorist

WAR AND THE CINEMATIC IMAGINARY

Panelists: Matt Adams, artist, Blast Theory performance collective,
Great Britain; Allen Feldman, recurring visiting professor, Anthropology of
Everyday Life Program, Center for Humanities Studies, Ljubljana;
Michael Shapiro, political scientist, University of Hawaii
"Collaborations between Hollywood, network television and the Pentagon
have become commonplace. The shaping of popular culture through film and
television intertwines with political strategies for legitimizing new
modes of surveillance and criminalization. Panelists examine the causal
relationships between the business of war and show biz."

Plus

THE VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD COMPUTER GAMING, MODELING, SIMULATIONS

(Moderator: J.C. Herz, principal, Joystick Nation) and Roundtable Discussions with conference participants about the questions, issues, and themes raised during panel sessions.

For complete information, visit:

http://www.lmcc.net/futureofwar/main.html

Admission is free. Registration is encouraged. Seating is first come, first served. Register online at:

http://www.lmcc.net/futureofwar/main.html

For more information or to register by phone call 212-219-9401 x400.

The conference is made possible with funding from American Express Company, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, and in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

(Note that Conference participants are subject to change)

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