ArtFutura 1992
Mente Global / Global Mind

1 - 5 Abril / April
Palau Sant Jordi, Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona

Brian Eno, Roy Ascott, Kevin Kelly , Sherry Turkle, Rupert Sheldrake, Michael Talbot, Terence McKenna, Monika Fleischmann, Zbig Rybczynski, Ars Electronica

Bajo el sugerente título de Mente Global el festival articula un debate sobre las nuevas redes telemáticas. Participan Kevin Kelly (editor jefe de la revista Wired), la autora Sherry Turkle (“The Other Self”), Rupert Sheldrake (creador de la hipótesis de los campos morfogenéticos) y Terence McKenna (“Food of the Gods”). Es un momento histórico: Todavía ni existe la World Wide Web, pero visionarios como Kevin Kelly avanzan con lucidez el futuro que nos viene.

Las actividades tienen lugar en el Centre d’Arts Santa Mònica que también acoge una instalación del artista Brian Eno, que dará una peculiar conferencia titulada “El Futuro será como el perfume”. Por su parte, Matt Mullican, presenta sus entornos digitales y Monica Fleishmann describe sus proyectos de Realidad Virtual en el instituto alemán ART+COM.

En el apartado audiovisual, ArtFutura presenta el estreno de una nueva obra de Zbig Rybzynski, realizada en vídeo de alta definición, titulada “Manhattan”. Y las directoras Sally Rosenthal (Siggraph Electronic Theater) y Christine Schöpf (Ars Electronica) presentan los mejores trabajos de sus eventos respectivos.

Paralelamente tiene lugar la exposición “Art Inclasificat” con trabajos de Alain Fleisher, Miquel Jordá, Xavier Hurtado, Franc Aleu, Xavela Vargas, Sergi Caballero y Enric Les Palau. Todo ello junto a una performance de Macromassa y un seminario dirigido por Roy Ascott.

La edición de este año viene especialmente marcada por la Expo 92 de Sevilla: ArtFutura recibe el encargo del Pabellón de España de producir un proyecto relacionado con la Realidad Virtual. El resultado es “Memory Palace” (El Palacio de la Memoria), un espectáculo audiovisual basado en un texto original de William Gibson y dirigido por Montxo Algora, que cuenta con la producción musical de John Paul Jones y música de Peter Gabriel, Gringos y Jumo. En el apartado visual participan Karl Sims, Rebecca Allen, Mark Neale, Julia Heyward y Mark Pellington. La escenificación teatral es dirigida por Pep Gatell de La Fura dels Baus. El espectáculo, que presenta un avance durante ArtFutura en Barcelona, nunca llega a estrenarse en Sevilla. Aunque muchas de sus imágenes resurgirán en las pantallas del siguiente tour de U2.

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Under the suggestive title of Global Mind the festival articulated a debate on the new telematic networks. Among the participants were Kevin Kelly (head editor of the magazine Wired), author Sherry Turkle (“The Other Self”), Rupert Sheldrake (creator of the hypothesis of morphogenetic fields) and Terence McKenna (“Food of the Gods”). It was an historic moment: the World Wide Web still didn’t exist, but visionaries such as Kevin Kelly lucidly advanced the future that was about to arrive.

The activities took place in the Centre d’Arts Santa Mònica which also accommodated an installation by the artist Brian Eno, who was to give a peculiar conference titled “The Future will be like perfume”. Matt Mullican presented his digital environments and Monica Fleishmann describes his projects in Virtual Reality in the German Institute ART+COM.

In the audiovisual section, ArtFutura presented the premier of Zbig Rybzynski’s latest work, produced in high definition video, titled “Manhattan”. And the directors Sally Rosenthal (Siggraph Electronic Theater) and Christine Schöpf (Ars Electronica) presented the best works of their respective events.

At the same time, the exhibition “Art Inclasificat”, with works by Alain Fleisher, Miquel Jordá, Xavier Hurtado, Franc Aleu, Xavela Vargas, Sergi Caballero and Enric Les Palau, was shown. A performance by Macromassa and a seminar also took place.

That year’s edition was particularly marked by Expo 92 in Seville: ArtFutura was commissioned by the Spanish Pavilion to produce a project related to Virtual Reality. The result was “Memory Palace” an audiovisual spectacle based on an original text by William Gibson and directed by Montxo Algora and which included musical production by John Paul Jones and music by Peter Gabriel, Gringos and Jumo. Participants in the visual section were Karl Sims, Rebecca Allen, Mark Neale, Julia Heyward and Mark Pellington. Pep Gatell, from La Fura dels Baus, was the director of dramatization. The spectacle, which was previewed during ArtFutura in Barcelona, was never shown in Seville. However, many of its images reemerged on the screens of U2’s following tour.

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“The global mind is only now acquiring a body. As TV signals become digital, the global mind acquires eyes. As data banks fill up with textual knowledge, it gains verbal skills”.

Kevin Kelly