Welcome to the arthouseparty blog. We’ve moved to this format from a static site because arthouseparty doesn’t stay still long enough for old-school web pages.
This blog will be a place to
- Talk about what arthouseparty is for and why we think it’s a good thing
- Post updates on what we’re planning for future arthouseparties
- Keep the conversation going between events.
We’re busy planning the next arthouseparty at the moment. If you’re interested in showing, or want to be invited, please email thearthouseparty@gmail.com. Meanwhile, happy Christmas!
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Those nice people at the Institute for the Future of the Book just sent me this link, which collects a series of discussions on creative commons. It’s all about peer production, mass participation and new thinking about the relationship between creativity and intellectual property.
These discussions have huge implications for artists, writers and other creatives. If the content you produce is infinitely reproducible, how can you make a living from selling unique or limited editions? Does it become a status product, or does unique art die out? Is there scope for the creation of open-source art?
After the last arthouseparty, I posted some thoughts about Vinni Kiniki’s extraordinary evening presiding over a wall-sized creative free-for-all. I was really interested then, and still am, by the way everyone piled in and helped create something way, way out of the bounds of what anyone expected. It was scary and beautiful all in one.
I want arthouseparty to be a way of doing more of that. And of finding out where the boundaries are, and how you can create structures that set the forces of creative random free to create new and amazing work. These kinds of open-source social codes might even be the beginning of a new art form.
Meanwhile, can we still copyright our work? What do you think?
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With the dust of Christmas long settled and the financial hangover that is January coming to a close, we figured now was the time to start creating the parameters for the next Arthouseparty. Of course, we cannot create the whole thing ourselves - that’s where you all come in. I was at The Old Crown Pub on
New Oxford Street
with some of the European members of the Burning Man community, talking about radical self expression, collaborative art projects and how they dovetail with the concept of “the social experiment”. Suddenly, I realised - apart from the fire and deserts - both the Burning Man and Arthouseparty share quite a bit of common ground in terms of what the two events stand for. It’s particularly essential for me that we are able to provide a platform for people to use art as a mode of communication, both with others (and perhaps parts of themselves). Also (and admittedly from a purely selfish prospective) I want to be surrounded by beautiful things, be they alluring artistic objects, wonderful people, progressive attitudes and exciting experiences. What’s great about using a setting that is a house is that people feel welcomed and usually reflect that feeling to other guests. A curator and an architect sit on my sofa next to an primary school teacher and strike up a conversation about how beautiful Lauren Shear’s line drawings are - the phrase “So… what do YOU do?” isn’t uttered once. Thank goodness.
When we created the concept in summer last year, it came about as a result of a series of heated conversations with Sebastian Mary about London’s “scenes” and how the desire to be “cool” can give birth to social protocols that stop people from being themselves, and how this can be particularly applicable to galleries - I’ve been to viewings where I’m practically tripping up over disinterested people who are only there to get free drinks, chin stroking critics, or luvvies in tight knit cliques and I feel like I’m the only person who wants to talk to the ‘random’ a few inches away from me about that mind blowing Isaac Julien/Gregory Crewdson/Doug Aitken right in front of me. Over the next few weeks you’ll hear a bit from us about how things are unfolding, the great news and the annoying bits - I hope it keeps you entertained.
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We’re going to have one. On a Sunday afternoon, sometime in spring, when the leaves are starting to come out. As usual, we need help.
If you have any of the following and want to help, please get in touch:
DV camera
Helium balloons
Good quality porn
Wedgewood china
Short films you’ve made and want to show off.
We’d be up for making one, too, if you fancy being a director.
Email thearthhouseparty@gmail.com as usual.
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Just got back from a week being spoiled rotten by the folks at Institute for the Future of the Book, a think-tank working on the future of writing and authorship in the digital era. They’re based in Williamsburg, an achingly hip slice of Brooklyn. It’s obviously just gone over the tipping-point of gentrification, and the murals on the walls of squatted factories are being painted over as the loft spaces get subdivided; but it still had a lovely scruffy-and-experimenting feel to it in between the forests of fixed-gear bikes and skinny jeans.
Looking around, I could see so many venues that would be perfect for an arthouseparty. And Williamsburg was so relentlessly cool that I think it needs one, just to make people talk to each other a bit more. So my next project is to seed us Stateside.
Meanwhile, I was invited to see the if:book gang about possible creative collaborations (amongst other things), and generally rant at them about the literary canon. One of the things I’ve been thinking about and want to do for the next AHP is something with skype, across a few time zones, projected onto the wall in real time. I think it’s going to be fun.
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A few people have asked why the postal invites when email is so much easier. We’ve been trying to figure it out ourselves. Here’s the best explanation we can manage.
We’ve been putting on arthouseparties for a bit now, at some effort and expense to ourselves, because we want to. Last time, absolutely loads of you turned up. It was wonderful and exciting, but really hectic. Some people we didn’t really know that well, or had turned up out of nowhere. sMary was a bit scared of some of them. And seeing as the whole point of arthouseparty is to do something friendly where everyone can talk to randoms and join in with things, we thought that was a bit silly.
So we’ve been trying to work out how to have an arthouseparty with people who really want to be there. And we decided that emails just travel too fast with no effort. And that means lots of people get invited who don’t really care one way or the other whether it’s a good night for everyone. And we wondered whether, if we made a bit of extra effort with the invitations, the party might make a bit of extra effort with deciding whether to be there or not.
Hope that doesn’t sound too grumpy, but it is my sitting room you’re talking about after all. And if you are coming, please please tell us - we’re going to be sending them out in a few days!
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A friend of ours is currently helping to organise a series of workshops, discussions and events looking at the future of film, in light of recent technological developments. I was thinking of editing it for a moment but then realised I was making it sound boring formal and devoid of passion so I’ll forward the email in his own words. I’m going as it looks like a great place to meet leading edge thinkers in the web 2.0/creative sectors.
Quoting Saul:
“The first one is on the 15th February, and will be hosted by notorious dorkbotters: Jo Walsh (http://frot.org ) and Christian Nold (http://softhook.com ) and is titled:
‘On Location: Citizen Journalism and Mobile Media’.
I think it could be a lot of fun - when we met to talk about it yesterday they were talking about shooting off fireworks ;). Yeah! The evening starts with some presentations, then workshop activities, then a discussion around the talkaoke table (http://talkaoke.com) - which should be fun. So - if you’d like to come, the masterclasses are free - but there are only 30 places (probably fewer now) so register soon! You can register for any or all of the workshops separately - you don’t have to do them all… http://londonwestside.com/booking / If for some reason, that horrible website won’t load for you (don’t ask) then just mail me if you want to come and I’ll pass it on.”
Coming and want to join us? Get in contact with us at thearthouseparty@gmail.com
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————————– PROGRAMME —————————–
- 15th February: On Location: Citizen Journalism and Mobile Media.
+ led by Jo Walsh and Christian Nold
- 22nd February: CineCities: interactive architecture and the city.
+ led by Wojciech Kosma and Usman Haque
- 5th March: Peercasters: Podcasting and p2p.
+ led by Penny Nagle and Adnan Hadzi
- 26th March 2007: Live Cinema: streaming to the silver screen.
+ led by Adam Hyde and Kelli Dipple
|
| To register please visit : http://londonwestside.com/booking/
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This just landed in my inbox. Last time I went I ended up in a pillow fight on the dance floor. Strongly recommended.
GUERRILLA ZOO PRESENTS
`THE EXPERIMENTS 2.0′
ON
SATURDAY 10th FEBRUARY 2007
@
CORSICA STUDIOS
5 FarrelCourt, Elephant Road, Elephant and Castle, London SE17 1BL
www.corsicastudios.com
8pm-4am
Guerrilla Zoo is a collective armyof underground artists un-caged and exhibited to the public. This is fifth eventin a series of underground happenings.
Tickets are only £6 (£8after 10pm)
Guerrilla Zoo has been likend to is `a mini Glastonbury butunder a railway arch and in South London!’ Its designed to stimulate all senses, just walk around! You’ll findsomething exciting & different in every direction.
FULL DETAILS >>>
www.GuerrillaZoo.co.uk
www.myspace.com/guerrillazoo
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So far, we are plotting the following:
1. Labyrinth. I like the idea of a labyrinth, because by the time you’ve found your way through it you’re in a different frame of mind from when you started. What I like about arthouseparty is that it’s not the normal world, but a place that feels different and where different rules apply. So it makes sense that we make some kind of airlock between it and the outside world.
I’m not sure yet how to go about making one, though. The ever delicious Emily suggested helium balloons. Does anyone know how you go about procuring lots of these?
2. Socks. I’m not going to tell you anything else about this now.
3. Live action. Please let me (SM) or Heleana know if you’re in an acty performy costumy mood when you come, as if you are we’ll need your help.
4. Voodoo. Symbolic patchworks, narrative palimpsests, chaotic improvisation, drumming. We have some plans already, but suggestions and contributions are welcome.
5. Local history. For all that arthouseparty is a different place from the world outside, it needs to belong where it is. So we need the place’s stories. What do you know about E9? What are its stories? Does it have ghosts? Could you help us find its gods? If you have maps, photographs, stories, litter, posters, accretions of anything particular to E9 that you could share with us please shout.
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