Thematic-Animation Beyond Animation

Lens-Based Thematic Project Seminar 2016- 2017

Thematic Project Seminar 1: ‘animation beyond animation’, a media-archeological seminar lead by Edwin Carels

“A kaleidoscope gifted with consciousness:” writing at the dawn of modernity, Baudelaire used an optical toy as a metaphor. Meanwhile, a century and a half later, handheld electronic devices are bringing the whole world into the palm of our hand, ready to be activated, brought to life by a simple touch of a finger. Since Baudelaire first used his metaphor, the fractals have multiplied phenomenally, as we are adapting ourselves to more and more audiovisual interfaces. We now live in hyper-kaleidoscopic times indeed, concentrating for a large part of the day on pixel-configurations on a multitude of media. The dynamic that visually accompanies, and also technologically underlies all these actions, is animation. The movement of pixels, the creation of a virtual realm, the agency that both stimulates and steers our interests: the impact of animation is no longer a metaphor, but a method that affects us in more ways than we realize. As the 19th century optical toys already demonstrated, the animated image could only occur thanks to physical action and physiological response, mediated by the observer. The history of animation should therefore not be dissociated from larger developments within twentieth century art. This seminar poses the question to what extent diverse forms of animation practices bring in its own set of ‘problems’ or paradigms, and whether these are really new, twentieth century paradigms (related to the start of film history), or rather rooted in a further past.

Thursday, 22 September, 10:30 - 17:30 Day One – THE CASE OF MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY

10h30 – 12h30 : introducing Media Archaeology as method + assignment
13h30 – 15h30 : Correcting the Perspective on Joseph Plateau
16h00 – 17h30 : Flip and Flicker

Assignment: Present three cases of contemporary, 2Ist century artists who make an anachronistic use of 'dead media' and / or invent their own prototypes or variations on standardized audio-visual technology, tthis as an integral part of their artistic strategy. Not Dutch students may also devote one out of the three cases to the historical introduction of the magic lantern in their specific country.
Length : free
Deadline: Oct 4th ; send an electronic copy and preferably also bring along a print out on the 4th.

Tuesday October 4, 14:30 - 22:00 travel to the EYE in Amsterdam Day two - SURVIVING PRACTICES

14u30 - 15u30 : Performing the image: Cinema’s Savoyards
16:30 – 17:30: Shadow Boxing
19:30 – visit to the Panorama exhibit @ EYE
20:30 : Shadow Puppets and Dirty Ice, performance Serge Onnen @ EYE

Thursday 6 October, 14:00 - 19:00 Day three - REIVENTING MEDIA

14h00 – 15h30: The productivity of Julien Maire’s prototypes
15h30 – 17h00 : The infernal Dreams of Zoe Beloff
17h30 – 19h00: The Telepathic Cinema of David Blair

Edwin Carels is a teacher and researcher at the University for the Arts KASK in Ghent. As a film programmer and curator he is especially interested in the relationship between animation, cinema and the visual arts. Since 1997 Carels has worked for the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where he is in charge of the section that explores the hybridisation of the medium. He also works regularly for the MuHKA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp). As a journalist and author Carels writes on media archaeology, visual arts and film.