Vague Terrain is excited to announce the launch of our new issue, Vague Terrain 09: Rise of the VJ. Guest curated by Saskatoon-based VJ and artist Carrie Gates, this installment of our digital arts quarterly brings together a wide variety of work exploring emerging VJ culture.

featuring work from:

ana carvalho
kelley bolen and jake hardy
defasten
francis theberge
jackson 2bears
jaygo bloom (interviewed by michelle kasprzak)
lara houston
leeane berger
michael betancourt
mo selle
neubau / kero
ryan stec
solu (interviewed by peter kirn)
tim jaeger
VJ pillow / VJ mademoiselle
VJzoo / chrism & fenris
xárene eskandar
ziv lazar

view the issue: via
http://www.vagueterrain.net/content/archives/journal09/journal09.html


Contact Carrie Gates at: otherartists@gmail.com


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _







Preview the Issue:

vague terrain 09: rise of the VJ / carrie gates

The energy behind the growing practice of audiovisual performance is intriguing; what is it that sparks the passions for creators and theorists working within this art form? The diversity of the concepts, techniques, and aesthetic qualities is remarkable, suggesting that this practice is not rooted in any one particular mindset, but instead, emerges from a wide range of trajectories that are converging within a contemporary form of media based performance art. However, live video mixing performances certainly address a hunger for immersive and synaesthetic sensory experiences where aural and visual elements work together to create a whole that is something beyond the sum of the parts. To experience the live performance of a talented VJ (or live cinema artist, if you prefer) alongside the talent of an innovative sound artist is a treat indeed; the senses are enveloped and the mind is tantalized into a world being spun into existence on the spot. Perhaps it is this feeling of immediacy and immersion that is so rewarding for performers and audiences alike. Perhaps it is the intense bombardment of the senses that does it. Or perhaps it is the richness of the dialogue between technology, spatial architecture, and human expression that speaks to us so powerfully. At any rate, I am pleased to present to you a carefully selected sampling of a few of the brightest creators and theorists working within live audiovisual performance today. Some of these artists define themselves as VJs and some do not, but they are united with their passionate innovation, critical thinking, and attention to detail. I have been impressed and moved by the work within this issue, and I am delighted to be able to share some of the fruit of their labours with you.

The two interviews in this issue present some interesting places to explore some of the concerns informing contemporary audiovisual performance culture. Peter Kirn's video interview with Solu (recorded at the Byte Me! Festival in Perth, Australia two months ago) provides one artist's overview of some of the issues facing people working in this field. Solu touches upon the question of the significance of the nomenclature for practitioners in this field (VJ vs. live cinema artist), working conditions, and gender representation. Michelle Kasprzak's interview with Jaygo Bloom discusses how artists can push the functions of new and old technologies into new "participation devices" where interactivity is a key to communicating with audiences.

Interactivity is a critical theme within this specific form of audiovisual performance. Ryan Stec's article discusses the role of the synaesthetic experience for audience members and how it relates to the question of performativity within technologically-driven audiovisual performance. Connected to this is Michael Betancourt's examination of the fine line between consumption and engagement on the part of audience members and how it relates to the problem of "wallpaper" visualizations vs. fine art practice. Tim Jaeger's article places the VJ at the forefront of new media innovation, suggesting that much of the unique reward in this field of performance is within the "realtime feedback" cycle between audiences and the performing artists.

However, the social and the historical dimensions of live audiovisual performance are also interactive, as VJs engage in dialogue not only with audiences, but also with history, technology, and other creators. Lara Houston's in-depth study of the work of Gilbert Simondon and the practices of VJs draws intriguing lines of thought through to understanding how relations with technology inform, and are informed by, collectivity and individuation. The history of audiovisual performance technologies is examined in Ziv Lazar's article, which also looks at how both club culture and the avant-garde have developed distinctly different veins of live video mixing performance, further problematizing the term "VJ". Xárene Eskander's examination the role of technology as a tool for social change references the radical urban politics of the Situationist International group and draws parallels to the deterritorializing guerilla activities of the San Francisco Bay area "Video RIOT!" events. Describing another scene is Ana Carvalho's writing on the "VJ Theory" project and website, which is a node of contemporary intellectual discourse surrounding the VJ and other forms of realtime interaction.

Several of the videos in this issue work with concepts of spatial, social, and technological architectures. Kero and Neubau present a hypnotizing de/reconstruction of vehicular industrial design, relating mechanical architectures to the organic. Defasten's contribution is an intimate scape of interior life within a seductive postmodern realm of order, disorder, and fragmentation. Glitchy and dark, Francis Theberge suggests a space of technological indeterminacy and perceptual meltdown. The collaboration between VJ Pillow and VJ Madamoiselle abstracts the cityscape of Hong Kong with crisp vibrancy and a distinct sense of place. Speaking to distinct place with contested histories, we find the work of Mo Selle and her expressions on the 1963 Singapore Riots, as well as Jackson 2bear's video-turntablism piece on the problematic representations of First Nations people in popular culture. These two pieces, in particular, are significant in demonstrating the re-visioning of political discourse that can be further enabled by VJing technologies.

Three of the works fall under a more abstract category, teasing the senses and creating an unfixed, yet distinctive psychological space. kelleY boleN and Jake Hardy (aka Holzkopf) present a live recording of a collaborative improvisation with layers of unusually animated and textured materials and a sense of playful interaction between the images and the sound. Visually, Leeane Berger's acid-toned, crunchy squares are highly mechanical looking, but the delicate flickering transformations move at a speed that is both fast and slow at once, as the motion details are caused by the live processing of sounds she performs on a circuit bent children's toy guitar. The video by VJzoo, ChrisM, and Fenris is a delightful, tongue-in-cheek journey through their masterful processing of vintage 1980s Fairlight gear, led by none other than a banana. These pieces provide a small glimpse into the diversity of practices in abstract, improvised audiovisual performance.

I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of the artists and writers who have shared their work with us for this issue of vague terrain. What an amazing group of people! It has been exhilarating and inspiring to connect with all of these talented creators. I hope that some of my enthusiasm is infectious, as I am highly passionate about both audiovisual performance and the potential for new technologies to further enable the establishment and strengthening of translocal networks. My sincerest gratitude and respect also goes out to Greg J. Smith and Neil Wiernik. Without their support, patience, and hard work, none of this could have happened.


read more & check out some gorgeous VJ reels: http://www.vagueterrain.net/content/archives/journal09/journal09.html

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=812635598

I'm not checking my myspace quite as often these days, but I still wanna konnekt, yo

vague terrain 09:

Rise of the VJ: call for work

There has been a distinct upswing of activity in the realm of audiovisual culture over the last few years. Specifically, the role of the VJ has become noticeably more prominent in audiovisual collaboration, whether it takes place in galleries, electronic music festivals, nightclubs, noise shows, academic institutions, public intervention art, online, or other places altogether. This growing focus on the live mixed projected image begs the question of the relationships between moving image, sound, body, environment, economics, and technology. Since this field is relatively new, and moving along at such a brisk pace, it is wise and exciting for us to critically consider the role of the VJ in audiovisual culture.



For this issue of vague terrain: Rise of the VJ, we are seeking three types of submissions: audiovisual collaborations (in the form of a video to be streamed on the vague terrain site), critical writing, and interviews.


Suggested topics include (but are not limited to):

-economies of VJ technology

-art historical takes on the rise of the VJ

-haptic cinema and synaesthetic approaches to live video mixing

-semiotics and/or aesthetics of contemporary audiovisual collaboration

-possibilities for using VJing for social change

-human-computer interaction

-the role of festal culture in promoting VJ culture

-mapping, precision, and subjectivity in relationships between visual and aural elements

-interactive video installation

-collaboration strategies, processes, and concerns

-working conditions of the VJ

-critiques of VJ performance content

-copyright, Creative Commons, file sharing, and sampling

-crowd-based interaction techniques

-writing custom VJ software with programs like Max/MSP/Jitter and Pure Data

-alternative user interfaces (e.g. biofeedback, MIDI controllers, Google Image search, etc.)

-relational aesthetics

-the role of the Internet in facilitating critical dialogue between VJs

-gender, race, age, and class concerns

-generative video

-vintage equipment vs. emerging technologies on the market

-education and information-sharing vs. trade secrets

-why VJing is so darn fun

-future movements in VJ culture



As a general rule of thumb for all submissions, vague terrain welcomes the recontextualization of past work, but the onus is on the contributor to obtain permission to (re)publish material online if the rights belong to another publication, label, journal, etc.

Vague Terrain is an emerging quarterly web-journal which solicits and showcases works from a range of international artists, musicians, and writers. Our intent is to stake a claim which samples the focus and methodologies of academic and art journals while commissioning parallel excursions into the sonic realm. Content usually consists of a mix of visual art, audio, and text curated by Neil Wiernik and Greg J. Smith. On this occasion, for issue 09: Rise of the VJ, guest curator Carrie Gates has been invited to select content for vague terrain. Heading into its eighth issue, vagueterrain.net is currently attracting an audience of about twelve thousand visitors a month and has been receiving press and support from a diverse range of online communities and print publications including rhizome.org, we-make-money-not-art.com, Wire, and earplug.



Each issue of the quarterly examines a specific theme and all invited artists have been asked to submit work pertaining to this topic. Since vagueterrain.net is a non-profit, unfunded entity, all submitted work will be published without compensation. We understand that everyone has bills to pay and a fixed amount of time they can dedicate to pro-bono work. With this in mind we are open to recontextualization or showcasing of past projects if they relate to the quarterly theme. Ideally, we would prefer that some new work is done specifically with our invitation in mind.

about the curator:

Carrie Gates is a VJ, sound artist, educator, and academic from Saskatoon who has been producing work over the last 12 years for independent electronic music events, public galleries, artist-run centres, festivals, conferences, academic institutions, and symposia. Her work often deals with subjects such as synaesthesia, situationism, and the fantastic, using/abusing technology as a means to tease out diverse perceptions of social and psychological space. With the assistance of a Production Grant from Soil Digital Media Suite, she is currently working on an interactive installation work utilizing EEG biofeedback as a controller for a Jitter-based video system, investigating the paradoxical relationships between consumption, capitalism, and human-computer interaction. Her artwork and academic research has been shared with audiences across Canada, as well as in Germany, New Zealand, and the United States. Gates also is a Co-Director of the BricoLodge net.label, and is employed at the University of Saskatchewan as a Multimedia Programmer.

http://www.otherartists.com

http://www.youtube.com/carriegates

http://www.myspace.com/thesoundsofcarriegates

http://byteme.net.au/spea05.html

http://www.notype.com/bricolodge

http://www.vinylinterventions.com





submission deadline:

If you are interested in participating, please send a brief email describing the audiovisual project, critical text, or interview you would like to propose to Carrie Gates at otherartists@gmail.com by Wednesday, November 14th. Please also send a weblink to any other related work of yours that is relevant to your proposal. Selected creators will be confirmed via email on Saturday, November 17th.

The submission deadline for vague terrain 09: Rise of the VJ is Sunday, December 30th . The issue will launch in mid-January.



technical specifications:

For more information about technical specifications and legalities, please see:

http://www.otherartists.com/vagueterrain

Come One, Come All!

The 2nd Annual Anarchist Book Fair awaits!

Friday, Sept. 28: Black Carpet evening parteeee
Saturday, Sept. 29th: The Book Fair!



Information
Event InfoName:
BLACK CARPET EVENT
Tagline:
Kick-off party for the Saskatoon Anarchist Book-fair
Host:
the book-fair crew
Type:
Party - Cocktail Party
Time and PlaceStart Time:
Friday, September 28, 2007 at 7:00pm
End Time:
Saturday, September 29, 2007 at 1:00am
Location:
Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre
Street:
614 11th St E (just off Broadway)
City/Town:
Saskatoon, SK

View Map
Contact InfoEmail:
saskatoonanarchy@gmail.com
Description
-Cocktails @ 7, kegs after.
-$3 - 10 sliding scale admission (pay what you can)
-anarcho-formal dress (you decide what that means)
-all ages / bar with I.D. (so bring your I.D.!)

Dress snazzy, sip cocktails, and go wild to:

*DJ Swizzlestix (Saskatoon): lounge, exotica, abstract beats, crooning, limbo contests!
DJ Swizzlestix brings the diamond shaped sparkly back to sweet anarchy with her ultra-neo-fromage, all-vinyl blend of exotica and lounge classics, alongside some sweet instrumental hip-hop beats, live crooning, and perhaps the odd limbo contest or two.
http://myspace.com/thesoundsofcarriegates

*Ze and the Boyfriends (Saskatoon):
This super cute group's infectious indie/pop/new wave/dance/hardcore/electro sound is sure to move your bodies and dampen your undies! Drawing influence from wonderfully puke-worthy trends such as spandex, Anna Nicole Smith, the Olsen Twins, plastic surgery and Barbie, Ze takes all that is shoved in our faces since day one and pukes it back into the media using modern media's tools: music, sex, image, propaganda and the internet.
http://myspace.com/zeandtheboyfriends

*Red Medicine (Edmonton): Experimental/Indie/Mayhem!?
"For McGrath, and drummer Taylor Schaerer, punk rock doesn't necessarily equate spiky hair and studded leather. It's rather an understanding of "punk" as a state of mind, a rebellious and constant quest for change. Red Medicine create harsh, furious noise extravaganzas which have taken root in the members' punk origins, and then evolve them into huge sonic build-ups closer to free-form jazz and experimental music. Think Wolf Eyes meets Mogwai and you get the picture."
- Francois Marchand, SEE Magazine
http://myspace.com/redmedicinehasnoguns

*Trancer (Saskatoon):
Trancer, holy lord of the deepest of underground EDM culture, will emerge from his dark meditative domain equipted with weapons of mass excitation fully prepared to blisteringlly rock the hellshit out of the Anarchist Bookfair Pre-Party Black Carpet Event. Loading ballistic and explosive bombastic four on the floor scorchers into his digital decks, he will move the most rigid of the repressed, exorcize the most wild and untamed of inner demons, and make every boy and girl sacrifice themselves to the glory of his eurphoric golden grooves!!!
http://myspace.com/djjonvaughn

*The New Electric (Calgary): Anarchist New Wave!
What would you say would happen if a two-piece New Wave band with a drum machine shared a bill with punk and hardcore bands? Well, if that band is the New Electric, what happens is kids dance and get enthusiastic and, believe it or not, the band doesn't get beat up. The New Electric fuses a DIY Punk Ethic with a New Wave Style. Are you ready for the information age?
http://myspace.com/heyheythenewelectric

*Holzkopf (Saskatoon/Edmonton): a plethora of sounds by Jake...
"Hey Meagan,
I was hoping actually to do a live set of my super dancey stuff. Is a live set ok? Trust me when I say its ultra phat!
-Jake"
http://myspace.com/holzkopf

*Tapenga (Saskatoon)
http://myspace.com/tapenga31

*7=5 (Saskatoon): Queer-core Hip-hop magic!!






Information
Event InfoName:
2nd Annual Saskatoon Anarchist Book Fair!
Tagline:
A free day of learning, networking, and fun!
Host:
Book Fair Crew
Type:
Meetings - Informational Meeting
Time and PlaceDate:
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Time:
10:00am - 9:00pm
Location:
Cosmo Senior Citizen's Centre
Street:
614 11th Street East
City/Town:
Saskatoon, SK

View Map
Contact InfoEmail:
saskatoonanarchy@gmail.com
Description
Workshop Schedule for Saturday, Sept. 29th

11-12: Vinyasa Yoga -- Cultivating Awareness of Self: Multi-level practice with Georgina Ng

We will practice a vigorous and stimulating asana-vinyasa designed to remove blockages from the casual, subtle, and physical bodies. This yoga is a form of moving meditation, drawing awareness into the current moment and into understanding the true nature of the self. We will also utilize pranayama (breathing) techniques to steady the mind by focusing on the energy behind the breath. Remember that you are not your body, you are not your mind, you are the soul, atman, eternal and undying! Connect to this and find experience bliss.

Georgina Ng is a young spiritual artist originally from Saskatoon, SK where the wheat grows thick and the canola grows high, just returned to our fair city after two years of travel and practice through Europe, India, and China. I'm dedicated to sharing what I've learned on the yogic path with as many receptive beings as possible...teaching yoga wherever it's needed, and working on breaking down those cultural barriers and letting the love flow through!

Come with an empty stomach and a yoga mat if you've got one, if not I've some to share!

LUNCH 12:00-1:00 (and beyond)

12:00 - 1:00 Fraser Baalim facilitates Bike Maintenance

An experienced DIY bike mechanic, Fraser will demonstrate a step-by-step approach to common repairs: fixing tires, chains, and brakes. He will also run through the essentials in maintaining a healthy, happy bike to keep you on 2 wheels all year round. Bring your bike if you want! Tools provided.

1:00: Ali Lake facilitates Networking and Collaborating

This will be a facilitated get-to-know-you session for anyone who wants to take advantage of the huge collective knowledge base of book-fair attendees, make new friends and valuable contacts. The process will continue more casually throughout the day with the aid of (optional) nametags and an on-going networking wall.

Ali Lake is one of the organizers of the Anarchist Book Fair. She is a student of biology, a comics artist, and the inventer of fabulous foods.

1:30: Farzad Bawani - Men and Feminism

How do men fit into feminism? It may seem easy to some, but even men in the more progressive or activist communities continue to have a difficult time understanding or feeling comfortable in their place alongside women in the struggle for gender equality. This thought-provoking discussion will be a great introduction to feminist thought, as well as an exploration into today's pressing issues.

Relocated to Saskatoon from Montreal, speaker Farzad Bawani works at a regional psychiatric centre, and is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology.

2:30: Garnet Woloschuk - Gender Roles and the Queer Community

This workshop will confront the ways in which the GLBT community affects gender roles, how homophobia supports the status quo of gender roles, how drag and transgendered people effect gender norms and how the gendered privileged affects the queer community.

Garnet Woloschuk is the Director of Educational Programming at the Avenue Community Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Saskatoon.

3:30: Christine Regnier - Life in Saskatchewan Post-NDP

Worried about what will be going on in Saskatchewan if/after the Sask Party gets elected? Come join this important discussion about Saskatchewan's (and its neighbours') future.

Christine Regnier is a social and political activist in Saskatoon. She is an educator, social worker, researcher, and mother with experience and extensive knowledge in community organizing, government processes, the legal system, and citizen's rights.

4:30: Eriel and Sue Deranger - Aboriginal Issues in Canada: "Where do we fit in on a global scale?"

Aboriginal peoples of Canada are in a very precarious position that is both privileged and detrimental. On the one hand the Aboriginal peoples of Canada are privileged enough to live within a country that is both "developed" and "democratic". This allows some advantages to pursue and pressure the governments to uphold certain fundamental human rights and intrinsic treaty rights that are the basis of our country. However, it's unfortunate that it is the same governments that developed and built systems to subjugate the Aboriginal peoples of this country. In fact, the Canadian government and the Crown did such a good job of creating tactics of control and subjugation they have been used to model some of the world's most appalling genocide systems, such as Apartheid.

This workshop will be an interactive discussion, learning and forward planning session that will focus on Aboriginal issues nationally and internationally. In addition, we will look at how the onset of globalization and ICT's are bringing Indigenous people together, contribute to building international partnerships, and how they are bringing grassroots struggles into the forefronts of politics and the media.

Susana Deranger is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation who resides in Regina, Saskatchewan. She is an educator and a researcher with a BA, BEd, and MEd in Curriculum and Instruction. She is the International Partnership and Special Projects Coordinator for the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation. She also was part of a team that developed a Masters of Indigenous Education Program at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Chiapas (UNACH) in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Development and Management at UNACH in San Cristobal, Chiapas, Mexico.

Eriel Deranger is a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation who resides in Regina, Saskatchewan. Eriel is currently the National Aboriginal Youth Engagement Coordinator for Creating Local Connections Canada, a project of TakingITGlobal. In this position her goal is to inspire, inform and involve Aboriginal youth in becoming active, engaged members of their communities. Her work contributes to the construct of a cohesive network of youth working for and with Aboriginal organizations in Canada.

Eriel was recently chosen as one of three Aboriginal youth from Canada to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York City, where she contributed to the development of the United Nations International Indigenous Youth Caucus. This youth caucus successfully wrote and submitted two statements and set of recommendations to the Forum. From these recommendations the UNPFII has accepted Indigenous Child and Youth Issues as a permanent agenda item for future forums.

5:30: Silas Kallikoph - Armed Resistance/Self-Defense

An exchange of information and ideas on the role of armed resistance in socio-political movements, including the ethics behind armed resistance. The topics of insurrectional activities, armed self defence, some information on tactics, improvised weapons, firearms, knife fighting, organization, etc. will be touched upon. This is a space for discussion, so please come with an open mind!



Vendors

* Haymarket Worker Owned Cooperative Book store and Cafe, Calgary
* Capitalist Hate Us Distro, Edmonton
* Food Not Bombs Calgary
* International Workers of the World, Edmonton
* Black Books, Edmonton
* Thoughtcrime Ink, Edmonton
* Kudzu Press, Saskatoon
* JackPine Press, Saskatoon
* Turning the Tide [R]evolutionary Media, Saskatoon
* Seeds of Change (used books), Saskatoon
* Briarpatch Magazine, Regina
* Wasase Speakers Forum
* Anti-Racist Action, Calgary
* FarOut! distro, Calgary
* + artists/musicians/labels:
o Pop Quiz net-label, Saskatoon
o Carrie Gates, Saskatoon
o nOncapable Recordings, Saskatoon
o and many more!

More info coming soon at saskatoonanarchy.blogspot.com.

*NEW* forum for carpooling, discussion, and networking at saskatoonanarchy.forumsdot.com !!! Check it out and leave us a note!

Part octopus, part exhibitionist mediaphile, part mad scientist, Carrie Gates work
spanning the last decade+ consists of many artforms: experimental turntablism, VJing, audio art, improv, freestyle scat/beatbox-esque vocals, web design, curation, performance art, installation, sculpture, and situations. Love for diversity, community, and experimentalism is her fuel.

--------------------------->


Carrie creates and teaches workshops in various media arts, including VJing, contact microphone construction, mini-FM transmitter construction, improvised music, experimental turntablism, and vinyl sculpture and theory. In her avant turntablism classes, she often programs multiple lecturers as well as screening indie videos about turntablism, and providing experimental turntablism/DJing demonstrations alongside more hands-on, sculptural activity for workshop participants. She has taught in high schools, national festivals, conferences, and galleries to people from 5-65 years years of age. Demystifying technology, promoting social change, and advancing critical new perpectives and practices about media art drives Carrie's educational outreach activities.

--------------------------->


Once upon a time in the mid 90's, Carrie was known as the Lady Gates to the rave scene in the Canadian Prairies. She performed in many cities at the peak of the rave scene's energy as the only experimental/downtempo/ambient female DJ in Saskatchewan (an interesting position in a huge province with ony one million people for the total population). At raves, Carrie has often been the headliner in chill rooms and the like, presenting a bizarre mix of music that could best be summed up as 'freakbeat oddio'. Often she has combined performance art with her DJing performances, coercing her friends to do things such as hand out Q-tips wearing nurse outfits, hand out pineapple slices in hula gear, or push around a shopping cart wearing a chicken suit. For her wild musical and performance antics, Lady Gates was known to many as an 'experience' that brings a smile to many people's faces still today. As the rave scene metamorphosized over the years, Carrie became more interested in experimental music performance, VJing, event coordination, making small electronics, doing field recordings, and examining very closely exactly what the vinyl record and the turntable are really capable of doing in the hands of a very curious, hungry lady.

--------------------------->


Since 2002, she has been a member of the musical collective, The Vinyl Interventions
Trio, alongside Esther B. (Montral) and Marinko Jareb (St. Catherines, ON). The trio performs together using turntables (new, old, and Fischer-Price), contact mics, condenser mics, homemade record needles, found objects, prepared records, rare experimental vinyl and an appetite for destruction!

--------------------------->


A fascination for the magic of recording media and the way in which it makes ridged
grooves turn into sound has fueled many of the concepts behind her more sculptural
works with records. These sculptural experiments then become fuel for sound
performance. She sometimes uses blank records in her work, choosing to etch, burn,
and otherwise alter the grooves, turning nothing into sound. The spiral of the record
guides the needle in circles at a steady rhythm, allowing patterns and cycles to emerge.
Pattern interference also emerges when Carrie intervenes upon the forms of commercial
detrius of the abandoned vinyl record by cutting, glueing, covering, filing, shattering, and
melting. Yet other vinyl-based works show a tendency towards mimicry, pop,
synaesthetics, and fetishism, such as the flexible vinyl molded record, soft gold record,
or the preserved dust-blanketed record made with Jake Hardy "5 Years of Dust".

--------------------------->


Field recordings and contextual sound experiences are other areas of interest. Performing in places as diverse as university atriums, public galleries, house parties, and artist-run centres, Carrie aims to bring audiences closer to their sensual perceptions of the everyday world. Recontextualizing sounds from within the performance space and focusing on the forgotten, she weaves together beautiful textures and strange details that evoke questions about the self-editing of the personal auditory experience.

--------------------------->


Over the last few years, Carrie has been VJing at electronic music parties, using net.art software, cut-up sampled clips, lo-fi processed video games, live feeds, and footage of strange experiments from The Lab. Carrie's work with the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Saskatchewan has allowed her to research interactive visualizations from an academic perspective, which complements her extensive performance practice. Thanks to a Professional Development grant from the Saskatchwan Arts Board in 2006, Carrie is now using Max/MSP/Jitter/Cylops alongside Arkaos, Cosmic Painter, and Ms. Pinky to create her intriguing visuals for live events. She performs regularly across the Prairies, and is looking forward to an Eastern Canada tour in June of 2007 that will allow her to perform in bigger centres and meet other VJs across the country.

--------------------------->


Carrie's work has been shown in Regina (Neutral Grounds re:mote Symposium, 2005),
Winnipeg (send + receive 2005), Montral (MUTEK, 2001, microphone in a storm of
noise, 2003 and 2004, The Upgrade!, 2005), New York (The Upgrade! International,
2005), and Cologne, Germany ([R][R][F] SoundLab Channel, 2004). She has played at all but one one of the eleven annual CONNECT outdoor electronic music festivals, usually with two themed sets (night/day) over the weekend. Carrie has worked as a Researcher with the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Saskatchewan, and currently works at the University of Saskatchewan in the Division of Media and Technology, developing websites and running broadcast cameras for long-distance learning programs. Carrie also co-Directs the BricoLodge net.label, and is the recent Past President of the artist-run media centre, PAVED Arts.

--------------------------->


In the summer of 2005, Carrie Gates and Jon Vaughn launched a net.label, BricoLodge, as a response to a growing, vibrant community forming from the meeting of the Montral NoType crew and the all-star cast of the quasi-legendary DIGIDOME event that Vaughn and Gates orgainized in a huge inflatable golf dome in Saskatoon in 2002. This group, joined by ideas, but separated by place, includes artists from all over Canada, as well as artists living in the USA, France, and Japan.

--------------------------->

Let me know if any of these links are broken...

people have been asking for this lately, so here it is - a sampler of excerpts of a bunch of my sound art work...some of it is old, some of it is newer...I'll add new stuff sometime later...

Sound Art Sampler

 

1. 01-snelgrove_p-form-excerpt_01
(1:38, 2.3 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

2. 02-floors_and_frames-(dub)
(1:42, 2.3 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates, Tim Olive, and Jon Vaughn

3. 03-mendel_remixed_1
(4:00, 5.5 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

4. 04-vinyl_int_3_live_at_ecube-excerpt_
(11:43, 2.4 MB, 192 kbps)

by The Vinyl Interventions Trio (Carrie Gates, Esther Bourdages, and Marinko
Jareb)

5. 05-blank_star_pt-4
(1:10, 1.6 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

6. 06-snelgrove_p-form-excerpt_2
(2:27, 3.4 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

7. 07-Work,
Buy, Sleep (5:54, 8.1 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates, Max Haiven, Marinko Jareb, and Jon Vaughn

8. 08-vinyl_int_2_live_at_Ecube_excerpt_3
(1:57, 2.7 MB, 192 kbps)

by The Vinyl Interventions Trio (Carrie Gates, Esther Bourdages, and Marinko
Jareb)

9. 09-vinyl_int_3_live_at_ecube-excerpt_2
(1:49, 2.5 MB, 192 kbps)

by The Vinyl Interventions Trio (Carrie Gates, Esther Bourdages, and Marinko
Jareb)

10. 10-superimposition
(8:14, 11.3 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

11. 11-frillo-loon
(6:44, 9.3 MB, 192 kbps)

by FRILLO (Carrie Gates, Jon Vaughn, Christine Eggertson, Morgan Sorochuck,
Jeff Morton, and Dylan McKinnon)

12. 12-PhantomPowerTrio-excerpt
(13:57, 19.2 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates, Marinko Jareb, and tobias c. van Veen

13. 13-TEXTURESdotSK-excerpt
(5:04, 7 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates, Constantine Katsiris, and Jon Vaughn

14. 14-Unlocking_the_Groove-intro_excerpt
(2:37, 3.6 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates

15. 15-Interviewed_by_DJ_Cyan-CKUTRadioMontreal2005-excerpt
(13:32, 18.6 MB, 192 kbps)

by Carrie Gates and DJ Cyan

The Joys of Noise with Toys

With Jeff Morton

Jeff Morton is teaching a workshop at Chez Carrie's "House of Pain" on Sunday, May 20th from 7-10pm. The workshop fee is $10, plus a variable materials fee for things like knobs, cords, switches, toys, etc.

Participants will, via soldering and very simple computer programming, acquire the knowledge to circuit-bend (1) electronic devices (such as toys or musical instruments) and (2) computer soundcard circuit-boards (virtually, with visual computer languages PD or Max/MSP), imposing inputs, outputs, and effects upon the one, and writing ("drawing") logical feedback loops, automations, and sensors with the other. Interaction between the resulting circuit-bent electronics and homemade computer programs will be explored.

Participants are encouraged to bring:
-laptop computer
-Pure Data installed < http://crca.ucsd.edu/~msp/software.html >
-old broken Walkmans or Discmans (we will salvage parts from them)
-old sound-making children's toys (we also have some extras)
-soldering irons
-potlucky snacks and drinks (no 40s before soldering!)
-cash for knobs and cords and other upgrades

Participants must bring:
-$10 workshop fee
-love
-brain


Download this workshop info as a pdf file here:
http://www.otherartists.com/workshops/joysofnoisewithtoys.pdf

--> BatchSplash! <--

--> curated by Jon Jones & Jon Vaughn

--> May 8th - June 8th, 2007

--> SCYAP Gallery, 253 3rd Ave. S, Saskatoon, SK

Drawings, Paintings and Videos by:

Leanne Berger
Carrie Gates
Nem Gostimirov
Ben Hettinga
Doctor Inkswell
Jon Jones
Lira Lee
Rene Marchildon
Karleen McKeagan
Jesse Siebens
Yuka Yamaguchi
Jon Vaughn
Devon Storey

--> Friday, May 18th
--> Opening 7pm
--> Concert 8pm-2am

Music by:

Amazing Grace Jesse Siebens & J-P Crowe (drones and effects)
Meagan's Mittens (keyboard improv)
Wizards from the End of Time (Jon Vaughn & Nem Gostimirov)(musique concrete and escapist island music)
Skeletons (psyche rock)
Fubfuika aka Jon Jones (idm)
Nuthre (fantasy ambient)

Live Video by:

Carrie Gates

Video Screenings by:

Jon Vaughn
Leanne Berger

!

So Jon Vaughn and I just got back from the send + receive festival in Winnipeg, MB.  It was very, very fun, and I reconnected with some tres excellent old friends (Constantine Katrsiris, Martin Tetrerault, Crys Cole) and met some very inspiring new friends (Frieda Abtan, Minibloc, etc...).  I love travelling to make art.  Yes, indeed.

Anyways, here are some videos from the performance I did with Jon:























and here is our description:

J & C Feedback Factory
This collaboration between Jon Vaughn (audio) and Carrie Gates (video) is an intimate, yet risky, dynamic, and colourful presentation of live video and audio mixing using "no-input" closed system feedback techniques. The audio and video are created live, without using any external sources, such as cameras, microphones, or source tapes and CDs. The audio and video affect one another in surprising ways, but the intensity of the matrices of the complex feedback system are carefully controlled through delicate physical interactions with the machines. Aesthetically, the work pulsates with both human warmth and mechanical error-surfing, creating a sort of psychedelic, synaesthetic effect that hypnotizes viewers in a new world of relationships that are at once alien, but also suggestive of the secret micro-world of electricity and its fluid interactions behind everyday phenomena.


More info about the send + receive festival:
http://www.sendandreceive.org


(there are more videos coming...8 "songs" all together)

The ever-so-wonderful Deanna Redford (Winnipeg) just wrote an article for the Canadian Electroacoustic Community Online Journal that takes a bit of a snapshot of the Prairie sound art / experimental music scene. It's a quick read, and it might even be inspiring!

Featured in this review are the likes of 3x3=9, Blunderspublic, myself, Guidewire, Shawn Pinchbeck, Ken Gregory, Steve Heimbecker, Laura Kavanaugh, Ian Birse, Ellen Moffat, and not half.

The full issue can be found here:
http://cec.concordia.ca/econtact/index.htm
The article on Prairie sound art is here:
http://cec.concordia.ca/econtact/9_2/radford2.html
or as a pdf here:
http://www.otherartists.com/pdf_news/CEC-SoundOut-March2007.pdf

So I'm now planning to get a train pass for all of June, and I'll be travelling alone with my laptop and a video mixer, hitting up Detroit (to do some Max/MSP stuff with Kero), Montreal, Toronto, St. Catherines, and Winnipeg (Max/MSP with Ken Gregory).

I'm looking for tips on places I can apply for shows or mini-residencies while I'm on the road. I can perform solo VJ sets or electroacoustic/noise/avant turntablism sets. I can teach workshops in VJing, contact mic construction, and improv. I'd love to hook up with other VJs and Max/MSP/Jitter/Ms.Pinky users along the way, too.

Any ideas out there for me?


Also, I started a Google Calendar for my tour.



If you'd like to access more permissions on the calendar, just drop me a line at otherartists at gmail dot com.

this is a pic of the mixer I made a while ago...



here are some silent video clips...I use these when I perform live...the final presentation would be a mix of these sorts of videos, so the videos aren't really meant to be stand-alone works, fyi...

Green Gift

Green Gift is a duo consisting of Carrie Gates and Jon Vaughn, performing with a eclectic variety of homemade and prepared instruments, analog electronics, turntables, tapes, strings, percussion, found objects, and voice. Green Gift performs pieces that illustrate a narrative, or explore a theme, from folk fantasies to psychic exorcisms to bruitist lullabies. This new project is the cumulative product of a six-year dialogue between Gates and Vaughn, imbuing the collaboration with a distinctive power and intimacy that is highly engaging.

Jon Vaughn and I will be performing our "Green Gift" duo in early June in conjunction with this series...more info soon!



March 1, 2007


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL GALLERY LAUNCHES
NEW MUSIC SERIES


Neutral Ground art gallery will launch its New Music Concert Series
on March 6, 2007. This world class program brings to Regina, audio
art and experimental video works from 8 countries in a series of 5
concerts where Regina-based composers present new electroacoustic and
video works in a live program with invited guest artists from New
York and Saskatoon. Phill Niblock is the first artist in this series
and is co-founder of Experimental Intermedia in 1968 where John Cage
performed in his emergent years. It is such an honor to welcome him to Regina.

As part of an extended program that maps the field of experimental
video and audio, "Screen Compositions", curated by New York based,
Quebec born, artist and curator, Katherine Liberovskaya, is a 2 hour
program consisting of 12 digital video/audio works with musical
compositions from accomplished artists whose range of expertise
includes artists who studied at the Julliard School and claimed
numerous international awards.Regina audiences will have rare opportunity
to see an experimental video program of this caliber, March 8.

Director Brenda Cleniuk says "Regina does not have a regular new
music concert venue and this will be our first venture into that
territory. The idea is to demonstrate the caliber of accomplished
artists in Saskatchewan like Charlie Fox and to encourage emergent
and mid career artists like Carrie Gates, Jon Vaughn and Ryan Hill by
aligning them with composers and artists from other parts of the
world. The program is already a success with Kenji Saritori, Japan
and Kim Cascone, USA, lining up for the second series, next year.
The ways in which sonic art and video are aligning truly speaks to the
condition of convergence with which Neutral Ground has a long
standing commitment with its digital media lab, Soil."


Tickets $5.00 at the door
Doors open at 8:00 pm
March 6, 2007







New Music Concert Series


Tuesday March 6, 2007, 8:00 pm
Phill Niblock and Katherine Liberovskaya
$5.00

Live set: Phill Niblock and Katherine Liberovskaya - Live mixing of
audio pieces by Phill Niblock with Live video mixing by Katherine
Liberovskaya

In this live set Niblock mixes between audio pieces based on diverse field
recordings which are very different from his music compositions.
Liberovskaya mixes video with Jitter/Max/MSP from a vast personal database
of clips shot over the past fifteen years.



NEUTRAL GROUND NEW MUSIC CONCERT SERIES:


Concert: Music by Phill Niblock

Zrost (23:30, 2004) , Martin Zrost, soprano saxophone, recorded samples
Valence (23:03, 2005), Julia Eckhardt, viola, recorded samples
Harm, for cello (22 min, 2003), Arne Deforce, cello, recorded samples

Phill Niblock plays a live computer part with several of the pieces
Images by Phill Niblock from the film/video series "Movement of People
Working"

Phill Niblock is an intermedia artist using music, film, photography, video
and computers. He makes thick, loud drones of music, filled with microtones
of instrumental timbres which generate many other tones in the performance
space. Simultaneously, he presents films / videos which look at the
movement of people working, or computer driven black and white abstract
images floating through time. He was born in Indiana in 1933. Since the
mid-60's he has been making music and intermedia performances which have
been shown at numerous venues around the world among which: The Museum of
Modern Art; The Wadsworth Atheneum; the Kitchen; the Paris Autumn Festival;
Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels; Institute of Contemporary Art, London;
Akademie der Kunste, Berlin; ZKM; Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at
Harvard; World Music Institute at Merkin Hall NYC. Since 1985, he has been
the director of the Experimental Intermedia Foundation in New York
() where he has been an
artist/member since 1968. He is the producer of Music and Intermedia
presentations at EI since 1973 (about 1000 performances) and the curator of
EI's XI Records label. In 1993 he was part of the formation of an
Experimental Intermedia organization in Gent, Belgium - EI v.z.w. Gent -
which supports an artist-in-residence house and installations there. Phill
Niblock's music is available on the XI, Moikai, Mode and Touch labels. A
DVD of films and music is available on the Extreme label.




Extended Programming:

Thursday March 8, 2007
8:00 pm at Neutral Ground
1856 Scarth Street, Regina, SK


Presented by Soil Digital Media Suite

'SCREEN COMPOSITIONS'
Curated by Katherine Liberovskaya

A selection from 'SCREEN COMPOSITIONS' 2005, 2006, 2007, a regular
mini-series within the yearly March concert series at Experimental
Intermedia New York. Screen Compositions focuses on intersections of moving
image with sonic art. It presents screen works representing dynamic two-way
collaborations between video/ film artists and sound/ music artists
specifically intended for single-channel projection with no live or
performance component.
The Program

"Le train où vont les choses", Nathalie Bujold (Can), 2005, 8'23''
music: Gerard Leckey (Can) + Lary Seven (NY)

"Paysage avec miroir", Inès Wickmann (Can), 2006, 7'
music: Ingrid Drese (Belgium)

"Take-off", Katherine Liberovskaya (Can), 2006, 24'
music: Al Margolis/If, Bwana (NY)

"Optical Sound", Mika Taanila (Finland), 2005, 6'30''
music: The User (Can)

"Bow Falls", Paul Ryan (NY), 2003, 26'
music: Annea Lockwood (U.S.A.)

"Tunnel Vision", Janene Higgins (NY), 2004-05, 3'30"
music: Elliot Sharp (NY)

"Light Work 1", Jennifer Reeves (NY), 2006, 8'
music: Anthony Burr (NY)

"Dance Hall Subotnick", Benton-C Bainbridge (NY), 2006, 3'21"
music: Bobby Previte (NY)

"Untitled" (excerpt), Ursula Scherrer (U.S.A./Switzerland), 2004, 12'
music: Michael Schumacher (NY)

"Sunnet", Margarida Garcia (Portugal), 2006, 3'
music: Manuel Mota (Portugal)

"Tomato One / Navigator", Sami van Ingen (Finland), 2006, 5'
music: Petri Kuljuntausta (Finland)

"Synchronator", Bas Van Koolwijk (Netherlands), 2006, 6'
music: Gert-Yan Prins (Netherlands)

Katherine Liberovskaya is a video and media artist based in Montreal,
Canada, and New York. She has been working predominantly in experimental
video since the late eighties. Over the years, she has produced many
single-channel videos and video installation works, some of which have
earned awards and mentions in Europe and North America. Her works have been
presented at a wide variety of artistic venues and events around the world
among which: Diapason Gallery, NY, Netmage, Bologna, MUU Gallery, Helsinki,
Bunkier Sztuki National Gallery, Krakow, M'ARS Gallery, Moscow, Gallery 21,
St-Petersburg, Gallery Ssamzie, Seoul, Stazione di Topolo - Postaja
Topolove, Italy, Institute for Transacoustic Research (Iftaf), Vienna,
Balazs Bela Studio, Budapest, Gallery Parzival, Berlin, Erasing, Belgrade,
ISEA 2004, Helsinki, The Subtropics Experimental Music Festival, Miami,
Images, Toronto, FCMM, Montreal, Osnabrück European Media Art Festival,
VIPER, Basel, offline@online Media Art Festival, Tallin, WRO Festival,
Wroclaw, Festival Internacional de Nuevo Cine, Havanna, VideoMedeja, Novi
Sad, Mass Cultura, Lisbon, Les instants vidéo de Manosque, France... She has
held numerous grants and arts awards in Canada and in France where she
studied media arts. In addition to her art practice she has concurrently
been involved in the programming and organization of diverse media art
events, notably with Studio XX in Montreal (programming coordinator
1996-1998, president 2001-2003), Espace Vidéographe, Montreal and
Experimental Intermedia, NY (Screen Compositions 2005, 2006, 2007) as well
as the OptoSonic Tea series in NY. Her articles on video and media art have
been published in ESSE-Arts + Opinions, la Revue Électronique du CIAC, the
Banff Center's HorizonZero and the Canadian Journal of Communication. In
recent years her work mainly revolves around collaborations with new music
composers, notably Phill Niblock ('Babel-On', 2004,installation, 'Painting
the Painting', 2003, single-channel video, 'Topolo: de Passato a Avvenire',
2005, installation), as well as Al Margolis/If, Bwana ('Take-off', 2006,
installation), and David Watson. In 2003 she began exploring live video
mixing, using MAX/MSP and Jitter, in improvisation with live new
music/sound. Since, she has performed live video mixing at a variety of
venues in NY, Montreal and Europe with a number of music/sound artists
including: o.blaat, Toshio Kajiwara, Shelley Hirsch, Margarida Garcia, Barry
Weisblat, Vortex (Satoshi Takeishi + Shoko Nagai), Mary Halvorson, Hans
Tammen, Anthony Coleman, Tiziana Bertoncini, Thomas Lehn, Urkuma, Angelica
Castellò, Micheal Delia, Antonio Della Marina, Giuseppe Ielasi, Renato
Rinaldi, TV Pow, Boris Hauf, Richard Geret, Gil Sanson, Gill Arno, Ben Owen,
André Gonçalves, Matt Pass, Al Margolis, Monique Buzzarté, Alessandro
Bosetti, Audrey Chen, murmer, Hitoshi Kojo, Max Shentelevs, John Grzinich,
the Notekillers, Zanana, among others.

VJ @ "Broken Rave" (Saskatoon, SK)








DJ @ "CONNECT 11" (Besant Campground, SK)








VJ and Event Coordinator @ "NINTENDISCO 2: The Reign of the Nerds" (Saskatoon, SK)







VJ @ "A Nu Hope" (Regina, SK)