Symposium: Image and Photography in the Post-Digital Era
The symposium of the Riga Photography Biennial will turn its attention to image and photography in the post-digital era. During the last 20 years the presence and ever-increasing role of the Internet and technology in our lives has introduced significant changes in society and altered art forms and their subsequent means of expression. The Internet and digital technologies have influenced not just image aesthetics alone, but also the ways we perceive, create and share images. Nowadays, when an art exhibition can be experienced online and the identity of an artist has become unimaginable without the virtual environment, the image has acquired more significance than ever before – it is the main tool of communication and representation, turning out to be the central player and determinant of political and social discourse.
What exactly is the role and power of an image in this endless flow of information? How has the transformation, sharing, accelerating and manipulation of images influenced photography as a form of art? Is it possible to talk about a new form of photography and photographic experience?
The programme of the Riga Photography Biennial symposium will explore various issues relating to the image: the use of image, its preservation and durability, as well as its autonomy and acceleration within the context of digital environment; materiality, aesthetics and manipulation of an image such as sharing, liking, clicking, transforming, linking, searching, accumulating etc.; ways in which an image alters and acquires a new meaning in response to touch-sensitive screens / surfaces, multisensory environment, tactile imagery, interaction, postproduction, downloading and other instruments afforded by new technologies. The symposium will look at networked image, the effect of post-Internet art on photography, the new aesthetics of the digital environment and its relationship with the corporate environment, opportunities offered by the virtual environment, currently available tools and platforms (such as Google Earth, Google View, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc.) and their role in shaping a new image and photographic experience. Can we now talk about a new mode of thinking, perception, production and consumption that has developed as a result of increasing influence of the Internet and digital technologies?
Participants: Amalia Ulman (USA), Ivars Grāvlejs (LV/CZ), Alise Tifentāle (LV/USA), Agnieszka Polska (PL/NL), Asha Schechter (USA), Camille Laurelli (FR/EE), Inga Lāce (LV), Jennifer Allen (CAN), Juste Kostikovaite (LT/UK), Viktor Timofeev (LV/NL), Mishka Henner (BE/UK), Kate Cooper (UK/NL), Paul Paper (LT), Alfredo Cramerotti (IT), Kārlis Vērpe (LV).
Program
Friday, April 22
16:00 – 16:15 – registration
16:15 – 16:30 – introduction
16:30 – 17:00 – first presentation (Alise Tīfentāle)
17:00 – 17:30 – second presentation (Paul Paper)
17:30 – 18:00 – third presentation (Kārlis Vērpe)
18:00 – 18:30 – Q&A, discussion
18:30 – 18:50 – coffee break
18:50 – 19:30 – first conversation (Agnieszka Polska + Inga Lāce)
19:30 – 20:10 – second conversation (Camille Laurelli + Ivars Grāvlejs)
20:10 – 20:30 – Q&A
Saturday, April 23
12.00 – 12:15 – registration
12:15 – 12:30 – introduction
12:30 – 13:00 – first presentation (Skype, Alfredo Cramerotti)
13:00 – 13:30 – second presentation (Jennifer Allen)
13:30 – 14:00 – third presentation (Justė Kostikovaitė)
14:00 – 14:30 – a moderated discussion (by Alise Tifentale)
14:30 – 16:00 – lunch break
16:00 – 16:40 – first conversation (Kate Cooper+Asha Schechter)
16:40 – 17:20 – second conversation (Mishka Henner+Jennifer Allen)
17:20 – 18:00 – third conversation (Viktors Timofejevs+ Justė Kostikovaitė)
18:00 – 18:30 – Q&A
18:30 – 19:00 – coffee break
19:00 – 19:20 – Amalia Ulman Skype presentation
20:00 – 22:00/23:00 – The closing event of the Riga Photography Biennial 2016 Symposium with documentary reconstruction of Paul Paper’s projected photography show Sraunus, small talk, drinks and musical accompaniment by Alise Ģelze.
Working language - English.
Entrance - free of charge.
Curator: Maija Rudovska
Organizers: Riga Photography Biennial
Image: Asha Schechter, We can build you, 2015