[spectre] Pixelache 2011 - Open Call: map me if you will + Computational Photography

[Juha Huuskonen]

This is an open call for two Pixelache Helsinki 2011 programme  
sections: map me if you will and Computational Photography.

The deadline for proposals is *Monday 8 November 2010*.

More information at: http://www.pixelache.ac/helsinki/festival-2011/

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Open Call: map me if you will

Pixelache Festival 2011 looks for works that collect, transform, and  
make use of the data of everyday life in unseen artistic ways.

By the mere fact of living an ordinary modern urban life, we produce a  
huge amount of information about ourselves that we are hardly aware  
of, nor we usually see or make use of. Through this data we become  
traceable, accessible, predictable – and clearly enough – ideal  
clients of information-based capitalism. So if we cannot prevent the  
production and the corporate or governmental use of this data without  
changing our lifestyle completely, how can we at least benefit from it  
ourselves? How can we share this information with the society at large  
or the community we live in to our common advantage? And how could we  
even build systems ourselves that collect data for our own purposes?

Concurrently, the complexity of human actions and interactions  
increases with the accumulation and growing capacity of the digital  
tools we are using. We may therefore better understand what's going on  
around us if we find ways to visualise and interpret the data which we  
produce. How can our processes and the correlations of our actions be  
represented in meaningful and inspiring ways? Are there inventive ways  
to visualise/represent data that go beyond the pure digital and turn  
abstract data into concrete entities/objects?

'map me if you will' is a programme devised by guest curator Susanne  
Jaschko. One or two new artworks will be created by invited artists.  
This open call is for works which will either be presented  
individually or as a part of a the 'map me if you will' seminar. You  
can also propose workshops, performances and other related programmes.

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Open Call: Computational Photography - the return of the unexpected

In computational photography, camera and picture-taking are perceived  
as concepts that can be modified in do-it-yourself spirit and are  
therefore open to discussion, redefinition, and hacking. This artistic  
approach to the field differs from how the term is understood in the  
photographic industry where the focus is on features that serve  
typical photographic purposes.

The digital camera has become increasingly a tool for programming  
instead of merely recording images. Cameras are also equipped with  
sensors that retrieve location and position data thus giving rise to  
expanding the visual realm to location-aware, multisensory and  
embodied expression. It is still possible to just 'take pictures' but  
the means of visual expression go beyond what is commonly understood  
as photography.

The work of an artist takes place in close connection to the digital  
medium and algorithms that are usually not as well-controlled as  
conventional photographer's tools, leaving plenty of room for playful  
and unexpected results. The partly artificial or manipulated nature of  
the resulting images is in many cases visible - a seemingly faithful  
representation of reality is abandoned and our aesthetic  
preconceptions are challenged. The Internet can be seen both as a  
giant repository of source images, and a platform for shared projects  
and shared code.

This open call is for artworks of computational photography in the  
broad meaning of the term. They can be still or moving images,  
installations, online projects; or devices or social processes used to  
create new visual languages. The programme section is organised by  
guest curator Markku Nousiainen and in collaboration with Aalto  
University Media Factory. The advisory board for this programme  
section consists of Antti Huittinen, Jussi Ängeslevä and Miska Knapek.

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