This is the dj-set I played last night at Neon Space Beach, the NYE party at WILLIE in Havenkwartier Deventer.

Like said before, I am guest-curator for an exhibition about social media in Kunstenlab Deventer, entitled ‘#isthemessage’. This is a video of the opening on December 18 by De Bubbelebim:

You can still visit the exhibition, it ends on January 29. More information can be found here: www.hashtagisthemessage.net.

Social media have made a name for themselves in society. For many, a life without is barely conceivable. How does art relate to social media? Artists are, as with the introduction of photography and video, first at the scene to explore the (artistic) possibilities of the medium. But also to critically examine and question them. Reason enough for Kunstenlab to ask me as a guest curator for an exhibition on this topic. Not only because I’m an artist, designer, curator and owner of a record label, but also as early and frequent social media user.

The exhibition ‘#isthemessage’ shows a kaleidoscopic and intriguing image of social media and the phenomena triggered by them. For example, Christopher Baker makes you aware of the nature of tweets in his Murmur Study, Birgit Bachler lets you listen to the Internet and examines an anonymous communication network in physical public with The Discrete Dialogue Network, Philipp Teister made the login of his personal Facebook profile known in his Facebook Life Sharing project and Nicholas Felton (also graphic designer of the new Facebook Timeline) shows very personal infographics in his Annual Reports.

As with other media, it is primarily how, why and by whom social media are used that matters. The exhibition is the result of research into a multitude of different perspectives from which social media can be viewed: e.g. psychology, identity, communication, utopia, altruism, social criticism, corporate business, data mining, marketing, revolution, democratization (of art) and – somewhat obvious – privacy. The exhibition ‘#isthemessage’ opens new ways to experience the power of social media and to ask critical questions about the place these media have in our lives.

Given the particular subject of this exhibition I decided not to fill the entire exhibition to leave room for a social aspect. The public can contribute and participate by mailing directly to the printer that is installed in the exhibition area (starting December 17 to isthemessage@hpeprint.com) or be a guest curator of this input by making a personal selection of the prints accumulating on the floor. Of course, participation via Twitter (#isthemessage) and this Facebook wall is also possible.

I created the website hashtagisthemessage.net for this exhibition. Usable as an online version of a catalogue. In the middle column you’ll find an additional selection of works, which can be found online. This website will be updated once more with all added content and data obtained during the exhibition.

The opening of #isthemessage takes place on Sunday 18 December at 16:00 with the participation of De Bubbelebim, an (anti)literary and absurd theater-stage-performance-viduo from Rotterdam. De Bubbelebim appears to have something to say about sociale media as well.

Nieuwe Electronische Waar (N.E.W.) organizes a conference day filled to the brim with masterclasses. On December 10, in Burgerweeshuis Deventer. The place to be if you’re into electronic music and want to learn more about hardware, software, mastering and mixing. All you need to get the best out of your tracks, both on record and in a live set.

Masterclass 1: Nobody Beats the Drum – Hardware vs Software
Masterclass 2: Kubus – Synthesizers, Sounddesign & Synthese
Masterclass 3: Delic – Software & Mix techniques
Masterclass 4: Rinus Hooning (Recordindustry) – Mastering
Masterclass 5: Arne Broekhoven – Online promotion
Masterclass 6: Pitto – Ableton
Masterclass 7: Steve Mensink – Hardwired

And there’s so much more… my record label esc.rec. will be there too of course! Please look up the complete program overhere. Tickets are available throughBurgerweeshuis for 10 euro.

And (as you may have noticed by now), the N.E.W. platform has had a massive re-design! There’s still some work to be done, but the new website is live and there’s more to come. Check it out!

Like said before, composer and theatre maker Dick Raaijmakers is to receive the Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology Award 2011 for his entire oeuvre. The award ceremony takes place in the Bergkerk Church in Deventer on 10 November 2011, and will be celebrated with a Raaijmakers exhibition which will run until 4 December 2011.

On the last day of this exhibition, esc.rec. organizes a special 18th edition of ass-crack stage-hack with a complementary program about Dick Raaijmakers at WILLIE in Havenkwartier Deventer. You can attend this program after your visit to the exhibition in the Bergkerk Church; WILLIE opens at 15:00 hrs.

Starting at 15:30 with a screening of the film ‘Op zoek naar een vergeten toepassing – A portrait of Dick Raaijmakers by Jacqueline Oskamp‘. Jacqueline Oskamp is also the author of the book ‘Onder Stroom’, in which she vividly describes the history of Dutch electronic music. She is present at the screening, tells us more about Dick Raaijmakers and answers questions if needed.

After you’ve enjoyed a good meal at WILLIE, the program continues with three concerts/performances/installations which have an obvious relation to the work of Dick Raaijmakers. Performing artists are Cathy van Eck, Radboud Mens and Wouter van Veldhoven.

Read more…