Last Updated on 2021/11/18
“The Digital Age has rapidly shifted away from all historic periods that preceded it in the sense that physical objects have, in many ways, lost their value.
Table of Contents
Public event:
6-9pm Tuesday, September 3, 2019
MotionLab.Berlin
Bouchéstraße 12, 12435 Berlin
Official site | Facebook | Meetup
Many people as they read this, either present in person or present in front of their computer screens, might object to my statement.
“No,” they would say, “I hold dear the artworks I purchased throughout the years.
They are irreplaceable by digital prints.” Photography lovers would say, “Instagram is saturated with digital images, but I always prefer analogue.”
In fact, the more saturated our daily life is with digital images, the more analog film will appeal to people because there is a certain sacredness to an image that has material weight.
And most importantly, such an image can be owned. By associating the special value of art with physical existence, the physical existence of art has become ancient.
Just like my father’s Polaroid camera is ancient, ancient in the sense of obsolete. “The Digital Ancient” speaks of a disjunction, between the material ages before, and the digital age now, where art, among other things in our life, has become dematerialized.
Indeed, we live in a time where the material existence of things is ceasing to matter.
The digital representation of things radically replaces the things themselves. Before a thing exists, we will already have a digital representation of the thing. And by definition, it is no longer the representation of the thing, but the thing itself.
The digital appearance of the thing is its original appearance in the world, in all its digital glory, shining on a backlit surface in a dimly lit living room.
It’s difficult to imagine a role the ancient can play in that little dimly lit living room. But let’s imagine it anyway. Let’s imagine how the digital can speak to the ancient, if not grabbing its waist by force.” – Q. Lei
About the event:
There will be three artists or artist groups presenting their latest tech-art projects all under the topic of “The Digital Ancient.”
These projects are still work in progress or about to be launched, so they are all potentially looking for input from the tech art community to help them realize the projects, including but not limited to conceptual input, technical support, connections, a suggestion for funding opportunities, etc.
The event is open to artists or technical person with an interesting art idea, they are also welcome to come pitch own project or idea to the host of the salon (Q. Lei) in person. Tech Art Berlin might be able to host a pitching event for artists if find other interesting projects under a similar theme.
The evening is also for everyone who is interested in tech-art to share their opinions on important social issues related to the latest technologies. This time, the issues that will be covered include AI and creativity, the translation of ancient knowledge to the digital age, algorithms, and the freedom of music, AI music, etc.
Participating artists (in alphabetical order): Jon-Carlos Evans (ReVerse Bullets/KVK), Christian Loclair (Waltz Binaire Studio), Adrian Pocobelli.
About Tech Art Berlin:
Tech Art Berlin is a creative community to connect talents, share resources, and create dialogues on critical issues in technology and art. There will be a (tentatively monthly) curated tech art salon where artists or artist groups will pitch their works in progress under a designated topic. Tech Art Berlin mission is to connect artists, entrepreneurs in tech, engineers, and scientists, by allowing groups or individuals to present collaborative projects on relevant social, political, environmental issues prompted by technological and scientific progress in recent years. Tech Art Berlin believe in joining various resources to make projects happen.
Q. Lei, founder of Tech Art Berlin, is the curator of the salon. Q. Lei is a Chinese-born curator and filmmaker, based between Berlin and Shenzhen. She is currently working as an independent curator and filmmaker, producing cultural projects in tech-art in the hope to bridge cultural scenes in Berlin and Shenzhen.
1 thought on “The Digital Ancient – Tech Art Salon”