Monthly Archive for March, 2009

3. PICTOPLASMA CONFERENCE

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Peter
on 19. March 2009
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CONFERENCEPICTOPLASMA FESTIVAL
3. Pictoplasma Conference, Berlin
19. - 21. 03. 2009
Haus der Berliner Festspiele

With lectures, performances and presentations by: Boris Hoppek (ES/GER), Faiyaz Jafri (NL/USA), Risa Sato (JP), James Jarvis (UK), Andrea Crews (FR), Charles Glaubitz (MX), Klaus Haapaniemi (FIN/UK), W+KTokyoLab (JP), Protey Temen (RUS), AJ Fosik (USA), Gaston Caba (ARG), Saiman Chow (USA), Christoph Bartneck (NL), Geoffrey Long (USA), Ken Belson (USA), Ragnhild Tronstad (NOR) and Verena Kuni (DE) and more…
View the official Opener by David OReilly

2009

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BUMPER CARS

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Peter
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bumper_headlinesPICTOPLASMA EXHIBITION

As the central installation for the exhibition “Prepare for Pictopia” at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2009), Pictoplasma produced a series of five unique, interactive bumper cars referencing iconic characters by international artists Motomichi Nakamura (US/JP), Boris Hoppek (DE), Nathan Jurevicius (AUS), Tado (UK) and Doma (ARG).
Every hour lights gradually faded as the sun set in the exhibition hall, while the central marked place arena came to life in an illuminated fire-work of sounds, lights and colours. The dodgem awoke and invited visitors to hop in the character cars for a truly psychedelic ritual.
Accompanied by the special, 6 channel soundtrack composed by Künstler Treu, a synchronised light-show in blue, red and white revealed the previously hidden multilayered inhabitants of the graphical arena designed by Steve Alexander from the art-collective Rinzen.

The Bumper cars have since made a reappearance at the Internationaal Beeldfestival in Rotterdam, where visitors were able to literally bump away each others visual fatigue.

View a little snippet by clicking on the last image…

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PREPARE FOR PICTOPIA

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Peter
on 19. March 2009
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pictopia_headlinesPICTOPLASMA EXHIBITION

In 2009 the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin) invited Pictoplasma to curate the world’s first large-scale exhibition on contemporary character design and art. “Prepare for Pictopia” playfully explored the phenomenon and offered new and surprising insight into a growing scene of graphic designers and artists that work with a shared set of icons, opening up new contexts and correlations. The exhibition examined the contemporary vague of reduced figuration as a strategy for producing a vitalism outside established narratives. These so-called characters are reduced to the anthropomorphic function of eye contact which seems to look out from flat pictorial space at the viewer.
Besides a large number of site specific work created especially for the occasion by Akinori Oishi, Doma Collective, Doudouboy, Doma, Juan Pablo Cambariere, Rinzen, Borris Hoppek, Waynehorse, FriendsWithYou and Shoboshobo, the group show presented original artwork by: Mark Ryden, AJ Fosik, Ben Frost, Daniel & Geo Fuchs, Dylan Martorell, Edwina Ashton, Faiyaz Jafri, Fons Schiedon, Gary Baseman, Golan Levin, Hideaki Kawashima, Ian Stevenson, James Marshall, Jeremy Dower, Motomichi Nakamura, Nagi Noda, Olaf Breuning, Sam Gibbons, Tim Biskup and many more…

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FUN HOUSE by FRIENDSWITHYOU

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Peter
on 18. March 2009
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funhouse_headlinesPICTOPLASMA EXHIBITION

In the months and weeks prior to the exhibition “Prepare for Pictopia” (2009), a selected group of international artists were commissioned by Pictoplasma and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt to create new site-specific artwork. These works played on the main topics of the exhibition: the remix of a common visual vocabulary, the animistic physical presence of character design and the approach to interact with characters in ritualistic play. One of the most ambitious tasks was to transform the venue’s vast, empty lobby, so Pictoplasma invited Miami based artist duo FriendsWithYou to join in and create an unforgettable experience.
The areal with over 800 square meters was re-designed as a full-grown interactive installation referencing a suburban landscape, including private hide-aways, cheerful picket fences and FriendsWithYou’s legendary bouncing castle “Fun House”.

Not only was the installation the first to greet visitors of the exhibition, thus having to introduce and transport the exhibition’s core topics. Most importantly it had to be carefully conceived and produced in such a way to stand up to the enormous – and sometimes uncontrollable – willingness, of the more than 30.000 visitors to engage in wild, limitless and untamed play.

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PERFORMANCE: CharacterScope Showdown Party

Published
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Peter
on 12. March 2009
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21. March 2009

Shake off your visual fatigue with live performances by whizz-kid Ben Butler & Mousepad, the ludic duo Gangpol & Mit, energising PAN/TONE and DJ-set by minimal-legend Tobias Thomas (Kompakt). Space out to the visual installation of Motomichi Nakamura and W+K Tokyolab while travelling through the soundscape of Scott Monteith aka Deadbeat. Or propel yourself to the upper level, where O Tannenbaum entangles you in an open mix.

Tape Club Berlin, Heidestr. 14, 10557 Berlin, 23h

in cooperation with www.clubtransmediale.de

www.tapeberlin.de


EXHIBITION: Pictopia Opening

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Peter
on 12. March 2009
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19. March 2009

Pictopia opens its gates – and starts with a big bang! Stroll down the lanes of Character Kingdom to the heart of Pictopia, go crazy in the Fun House by FriendsWithYou and hop back on the Character Ride. After reliving the all-time best of ‘Characters in Motion’ on the big screen, dance the night away with a live performance by Candie Hank and DJ Mobiletti Giradischi. But be warned: the creatures awake and await you at the central market for truly character-driven bumper car combat.

Haus der Kulturen der Welt
19h

exhibition.pictoplasma.com/pictopia


EXHIBITION: Character Walk Party

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Peter
on 12. March 2009
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18. March 2009

After non-stop gallery hopping, it’s time for a first Character Walk welcome party. Take the elevator to the 12th floor and join us for a supreme panoramic view of Berlin,where the stars come out as the night kicks off with live sets by Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts and Crackhaus from Canada. 

Weekend
Alexanderstr. 7, 10178
Mar 18, 22h - open end

in cooperation with: 
www.clubtransmediale.de

www.week-end-berlin.de


BRILHANTE

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Peter
on 7. March 2009
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BRILHANTEPICTOPLASMA EXHIBITION

French designer Florent Feys aka Doudouboy has worked extensively for the luxury industry – his luscious, oneiric and crystalline illustration style is the perfect match to brand high-class products such as haute couture or radiant perfumes.
In 2009, Pictoplasma commissioned Doudouboy to collaborate on a large-scale, walkable installation, playing on the topic of perfect and sterile consumer aesthetics incorporating minimal, yet engaging characters. The aim was to create a maximal notion of desire while keeping the viewer at unreachable distance.

The installation “Brilhante” employs the optical illusion of an infinity room by arranging mirrors to seal and extend a closed space. This endless void is the perfect stage for an over-sized, gently revolving koala bear statue covered in exclusive fur.
A soundtrack sets an uncanny mood, as the visitor is tempted to touch, hug and cuddle the precious creature, only to see his own image endlessly reflected in the life-less eyes and infinite space of the installation.

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PREPARE FOR PICTOPIA

Published
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Peter
on 6. March 2009
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pictopia_headlinesPICTOPLASMA PUBLISHING
The 328 page and colorful catalogue, published on the occasion of the Pictopia exhibition at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in spring 2009, assembles texts and works by international artists, designers and theorists, all investigating the aesthetic principle of reduction and abstraction in the design of anthropomorphic characters. Including work by AJ Fosik, Ben Frost, Borris Hoppek, Dylan Martorell, Edwina Ashton, Faiyaz Jafri, Fons Schiedon, FriendsWithYou, Gary Baseman, Hideaki Kawashima, James Marshall, Jeremy Dower, Mark Ryden, Motomichi Nakamura, Nagi Noda, Olaf Breuning, Sam Gibbons, Shoboshobo, Tim Biskup and many more…

With essays by Paul McCarthy (artist, Los Angeles), Kristof Nyiri (philosopher, Budapest University of Technology and Economics), Lev Manovich (media therory, University of California), Thomas Macho (cultural history, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin), Anneleen Masschelein (literature studies, Katolieke Universiteit Leuven), Kirsten Anderson (curator, roq la rue Seattle), Gregor Jansen (curator, ZKM Karlsruhe), Woodrow Phoenix (author, London), Peter Schneider (psychoanalyst, Zürich), Terry Harpold (literature studies, University of Florida), Brian Duffy (robotics, Paris), … and many more…

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CHARACTER WALK

Published
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Peter
on 6. March 2009
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walk2009_headlinesPICTOPLASMA EXHIBITION

The Character Walk is an open tour through numerous galleries, project spaces and other locations made temporarily available to host exhibitions, installations and performances of outstanding international character art.

Held three times in 2004, 2006 and 2009 as the official opening event to the bi-annual Pictoplasma Conference, we invite innovative artists and international designers working with a reduced visual vocabulary of anthropomorphic shapes to present their work to a wide and interested audience. All exhibitions are open to the general public, entrance free of charge.

Since 2009 Pictoplasma and DISK/club transmediale additionally offer young and upcoming artists the opportunity to present their character driven work to a wide, international and interested audience in a unique residency program.
As part of the official Walk the renown project space General Public in the center of Berlin serves as the perfect stage for the winning proposal. The awarded artist receives up to 10 days of accommodation in Berlin and a grant to help realize the submitted proposal.

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