LE FORME ESISTONO IN QUANTO STRUTTURE

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www.festivalmiden.gr, info@festivalmiden.gr

Video Art Festival Miden

The Video Art Festival of Kalamata

festival miden 2008

«start from zero»

PRESS RELEASE

Contemporary video art screenings in Kalamata

GIOSUE' MARONGIU'S VIDEOS-ART ARE PRESENT: "BEYOND THE GARDEN" AND THE VIDEO CLIP " METARATIONALITY (F)"

Many artists, groups and video creators from all over the world will participate in this year’s screening program of Video Art Festival Miden, which will take place in public spaces of the historic centre of Kalamata, from the 4^th to 6^th of July 2008 (Amfeia’s Square, 9.20pm).

In its 4^th realization Festival Miden will present 205 works from various artists from over 40 countries, aiming to a global presentation of the most interesting contemporary video art practices and trends. The program includes thematical screenings and tributes, interactive projects, student works and a special tribute to Manthos Santorineos, As. Professor in Athens School of Fine Arts and a pioneer Greek media-artist.

This year’s program includes the following theme screenings and tributes:

Experimental music videos. A selection of 18 experimental music videos which aim to explore the relationship between image and sound through the unique and particular essence of each creator. Musicians and visual artists “meet” in this theme screening sharing the common ground of musical and visyal innovation and experimentation.
Headlines. Festival Miden invited artists to submit their personal view on the theme without further explanations and restrictions. Mass Media, the dominant culture, social conflicts, information in general, but also the relation of the individual with his/her own life and the “headlines” that are chosen in each case are some of the artists thoughts that are expressed in this unit.
Experimental animation. A tribute to contemporary experimental animation through a selection of 16 videoworks. A wide range of techniques and visual experimentations will be presented in this section, from “traditional” handmade animation to contemporary digital 3D graphics.
Videotopia. Works inspired by art history, alternative comments and critiques on everyday life and personal thoughts, combined in a vigorous unit with humorous, ironic and -at the same time- deeply poetic mood.
Mediterranean. A tribute to Mediterranean artists as part of a cultural exchange and collaboration between Mediterranean countries. A selection of videos from Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Israel, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Tunisia, Egypt, Portugal and Spain will be presented in an attempt to explore the possible relations, diversities, juxtapositions and common grounds, emphasising on the particularity of the Mediterranean identity and culture.
Personal Identity. This is also a pre-announced theme program, given to artists without any further explanations. Here, the artists visualize the definition of “diversion”, exploring multiple versions of “identity” through a wide range of variations, from personal narratives to sophisticated imageries of the self and eccentric symbolisms.
Periscope. A global view of Greek and international contemporary video art, a selection of 22 videos in which formal and aesthetical issues are dominant.
Student videos. In this unit, Festival Miden presents student’s videos from the following Greek Universities:

-The Department of Audio & Visual Arts, Ionian University, Corfu (a special presentation curated by video artist and Professor Marianna Strapatsaki);

Also works from Princeton University (USA), Computer Mediated Arts, Victoria University (Australia) and Bergen National Academy of the Arts (Norway).

· Into the Pill. Invited by Festival Miden, the alternative online platform intothepill.net presents a special screening of selected videos by 16 artists. The action and the content of intothepill.net are coordinated by a group of Greek artists. The group is active since 2006. Intothepill.net publishes online periodical issues and organizes live screenings, video installations and collaborations with different artists, art spaces, museums and institutions on a regular basis. The core intothepill research team consists of Yiannis Isidorou, Lina Theodorou, Vassiliea Stylianidou, Yiannis Grigoriadis, Katerina Iliopoulou and Daphne Vitali.

· Personal Cinema, The Making of Balkan Wars: The Game. The 3D online video game for many users, “The Making of Balkan Wars: The Game” uses the language and codes of epic war video games to criticize the geopolitical history of the Balkan Peninsula. Dated back to 2002, it is the most famous project of “Personal Cinema”. Over 50 artists from 17 countries (mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe) participated to the realization of the game, among them: Robert Alias Dragot, Beatrijs Albers, Reggy Timmermans, Koen Wastijn-Deschuymer, Irena Paskali, Maya Bontzou, Moris Ganis, Mpampis Kantilakis, Nikolas Kozakis, Dimitris Tzamouranis. The members of Personal Cinema are: Daphne Dragona, Ilias Marmaras, Andy Deck, Maya Bontzou, Dimitris Ntokatzis, Stelios Giannoulakis, Vasilis Kokkas, Nikolas Kozakis, Panos Papadopoulos, Giannis Skoulidas, Aleksandros Spiropoulos, Stewart Ziff.

· Flag Metamorphoses. Interactive flash presentation of an ongoing participatory art project - a continuously growing series of animations. Animated by as many artists from across the globe as possible, the flags of all nations in the world are morphed into each other through flash animation. An exploration into the meaning of imagery on flags, aiming to create interrelated associations through questioning, reassessing, fluidizing and re-mixing of diverse national iconography. Concept: Myriam Thyes (Germany, 2005-08)

Saturday, July 5, 7 p.m, Concert Hall of Municipal Conservatory