Posted on

Commons Tense @SAHA

15 Sep 2012

amberPlatform organized, in collaboration with TodaysArt Festival, an exhibition entitled “Commons Tense” in The Hague between September 15–30, 2012. The exhibition’s conceptual framework was formulated as a sub-theme of amberPlatform’s 2012 theme “Paratactic Commons”. “Commons Tense” brought together works of new media artists from Turkey, all responding to the theme from broad perspectives and interpreting it through their respective technical and artistic approaches. The project was curated by Fatih Aydoğdu and Ekmel Ertan. Through the two workshops and artist presentations organized as co-events, “Commons Tense” aimed to target a larger and diverse audience through a participatory approach. SAHA supported the production of the new works by the artists who were invited to participate in “Commons Tense: New Media Art from Turkey”.

http://www.saha.org.tr/en/projects/project/commons-tense-new-media-art-f…

Posted on

Commons Tense opening on 15th of September in Den Haag

15 Sep 2012

“Commons Tense: New Media Art from Turkey”
15.–30. September
Electriciteitsfabriek / Den Haag / TodaysArt Festival De Constant Rebecqueplein 20, 2518 RA Den Haag
Opening : 15. September / 17.30h
Workshop : 15–16 September
Public-Art Workshop : 17–19 September Seminar & Artist Presentations : 16. September

“Commons Tense” exhibits the works of new media artists from Turkey. Being a sub-theme of amberPlatform’s 2012 theme entitled “Paratactic Commons”. Commons Tense points out that it is now time to talk within a new category that embeds the Commons in.

The decade that followed 9/11 witnessed a radical regression of communal energies, forcing us to live strictly in individual spheres; the fear and control society in the guise of a war on terror, the tendency of nation-states to impose their ideological agendas onto everyone and everything under their control and the conflicts and collaborations of a global consumerist economy that urges the rapid privatization of public goods have all taken a toll on the common values of human societies around the Globe. The commons that we need to regain entail a broad spectrum. They range from ecological unbalances, which result from the privatization of natural resources, to the ‘de facto’ privatization of judicial systems, which has led to the degradation of a justice that is common to all.

Meanwhile, the ever-popularizing digital media, beginning with the Internet itself as a common resource, has been a major source of inspiration in revitalizi- ng the idea of the commons. More specifically, the capacities offered by new media have helped to re-understand that information is a “common” as well as the right to access information.
Can digital commons be an alternative platform to launch a political thought whose main aim is sharing, transparency, and freedom to access information? What can we learn from free software’s, copyleft movements, peer-2-peer systems, the logic of open source, and creative commons? Could the digital- commons help for the creation of another form of economy and ecology? Could humans share their common resources rather than exploit them? What kind of paratactic artistic strategies could digital commons consist of?

Realized in collaboration with TodaysArt Festival in Den Haag, the artworks presented at the exhibition will offer various interpretations of the theme. The co-events, which consist of two workshops, artist’s presentations, and a seminar, will be held parallel to the exhibition. One of the workshops focuses on art in public spaces and is a collaborative workshop among Turkish and Dutch artists. The second workshop targets younger public with the aim to practice new media in a hands-on manner.

Posted on

Commons Tense / Commons Tijd / Müşterekler Zamanı

15 Sep 2012

“Commons Tense: New Media Art from Turkey”

15.–30. September

Electriciteitsfabriek / Den Haag / TodaysArt Festival De Constant Rebecqueplein 20, 2518 RA Den Haag

Opening : 15. September / 17.30h

Workshop : 15–16 September

Public-Art Workshop : 17–19 September

Seminar & Artist Presentations : 16. September

“Commons Tense” exhibits the works of new media artists from Turkey. Being a sub-theme of amberPlatform’s 2012 theme entitled “Paratactic Commons”. Commons Tense points out that it is now time to talk within a new category that embeds the Commons in.

The decade that followed 9/11 witnessed a radical regression of communal energies, forcing us to live strictly in individual spheres; the fear and control society in the guise of a war on terror, the tendency of nation-states to impose their ideological agendas onto everyone and everything under their control and the conflicts and collaborations of a global consumerist economy that urges the rapid privatization of public goods have all taken a toll on the common values of human societies around the Globe. The commons that we need to regain entail a broad spectrum. They range from ecological unbalances, which result from the privatization of natural resources, to the ‘de facto’ privatization of judicial systems, which has led to the degradation of a justice that is common to all.

Meanwhile, the ever-popularizing digital media, beginning with the Internet itself as a common resource, has been a major source of inspiration in revitalizi- ng the idea of the commons. More specifically, the capacities offered by new media have helped to re-understand that information is a “common” as well as the right to access information.
Can digital commons be an alternative platform to launch a political thought whose main aim is sharing, transparency, and freedom to access information? What can we learn from free software’s, copyleft movements, peer-2-peer systems, the logic of open source, and creative commons? Could the digital- commons help for the creation of another form of economy and ecology? Could humans share their common resources rather than exploit them? What kind of paratactic artistic strategies could digital commons consist of?

Realized in collaboration with TodaysArt Festival in Den Haag, the artworks presented at the exhibition will offer various interpretations of the theme. The co-events, which consist of two workshops, artist’s presentations, and a seminar, will be held parallel to the exhibition. One of the workshops focuses on art in public spaces and is a collaborative workshop among Turkish and Dutch artists. The second workshop targets younger public with the aim to practice new media in a hands-on manner.