UTOPIA & NATURE
Based on H.D. Thoreau's “Walden

EXPERIMENTATION AND RESEARCH IN CONTEMPORARY
ARTISTIC
PRACTICES



Utopia as an expression of unlimited imagination and desire is a concept that has always fascinated artists. Art can see in utopia a means to lift the restrictions of reality and accomplish the free expression of its visions. Starting from this connection and its various instantiations in the history of art, this workshop deals with the multiple significations, implications and dimensions of utopia. In everyday discourse the term ‘utopia’ is usually connected with an ideal future, with what seems impossible within the confines of reality, and is thus bound to create margins for many and often contradictory interpretations. Utopias are the places of dreams and hopes for a better life, which provide an escape from an always incomplete and constraining status quo. Sometimes they involve grandiose metaphysical schemata, other times they take the form of ephemeral shelters distanced from detailed sociopolitical reflection. Always, however, their creation is based on the criticism of established (political and aesthetical) institutions and social structures. Inspiring antithetical political and artistic practices, praised but also criticized, utopia has been a focus of debate for many disciplines and approaches. By blending theoretical discussion, aesthetic reflection and the artistic work of the participants, this workshop aims at critically exploring the various interconnections between theory and praxis, vision and reality, desire and finitude, utopia and dystopia.
In this workshop we will research methods and tactics and we will ask from the students to collect material or to archive material that they already have and reconsider it, to think alternative ways of presentation of materials, ways of incorporation of them in their pictorial language. The aim of the workshop is to exhibit the results of this research, the ideas or the work that will come out of it.

This year’s workshop investigates the relationship between contemporary artistic practices and the natural environment. Art is often seen and spoken in terms of being environmental, critical and subversive. For the past decades, the natural environment has seen radical changes and has been at the forefront of many contemporary art projects. What is the relationship between art and nature? During the workshop, we will consider different ideas in contemporary art making and theory to examine from varying perspectives the question of art and nature.


.

ASFA (Athens School of Fine Arts)

Organizers-Facilitators: Vassilis Vlastaras, artist, Lecturer, Athens School of Fine Arts and Maria Glyka, visual artist, teacher BA & MA Vakalo college of Art and Design.

ASFA annex
Evligia Hill, Rethymno

Basic timetable:
4 July: arrivals
5 July – 7 July: artists presentations
8 - 20 July: preparation of the work
21-23 July: show and presentations of final works
24 July: end of show – departures

Number of participants: 11

In collaboration with:
Mr. Gary Woodley, artist and lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.
Mr. Klaas Hoek, artist, head of the postgraduate department of University of Utrecht and head of the printmaking of the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL.

Guests Professors and artists:

Mrs Caroline de Lannoy , artist and lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, Byam Shaw School of Art, Central St Martins College of Art - University of the Arts London, and West Dean College.
Mr. Jim Hobs, visual artist.
Dr.Yannis Stavrakakis, associate Professor of Political Sciences of the Aristotle University of Thessalonica,
Dr. Fay Zika, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Theory of Art Department of Theory and History of Art The Athens School of Fine Arts
Mrs. Katerina Gouziouli, art theorist.


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Michael Bolen
Yahoo! Canada News

If a serious person puts their money where their mouth is then Mark Boyle is the world's most serious man.

Inspired by Gandhi's famous words to be the change you wish to see in the world, the economics graduate from the U.K. has been living entirely without money since 2008.

He has written a book about the experience titled 'The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living' in order to share both the philosophy which led to his drastic decision and the tactics he has used to survive.

Living in a trailer given to him for free by someone on freecycle.org, Boyle cooks food which he either grows himself, barters for or forages from the land. He bathes in a solar shower, uses a compost toilet and even makes his own paper.

Despite his challenging lifestyle, Boyle has no plans to return to civilzation. He says the time he has spent away from money has been the happiest of his life.

Learn more about a moneyless life from Boyle himself in the video below.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/100828/canada/man_has_lived_without_money_since2008
">

Thursday, August 12, 2010

">

Friday, July 16, 2010

"I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself." H.D. Thoreau, Walden

silence


Examined Life

'Green' Lab - Caroline de Lannoy

'Green' Lab - Part 1 


Sepia ink


Ingredients:
1. ink sacs (from cuttlefishes)
2. shellac


dry the ink sacs / when dried, ground to a fine powder / then mix with shellac


There is one ink that is related to cephalopods: the historical artists' ink sepia, one of the brown inks used by artists for their pen and ink drawings. Sepia is a red-brown ink made from the ink sacs of cuttlefish. The ink takes is name from the cuttlefish species Sepia officinalis. This ink came into use in the eighteenth century and was quite popular in the nineteenth century. The term sepia now also applies to any red-brown colour similar to the colour of sepia ink.




Tuesday, July 13, 2010

natural mosquito repellents



The most common way of repelling or getting rid of mosquitoes involves spraying a large quantity of poisonous chemicals in your yard and on yourself. If you are interested in a more natural approach, consider these plants that repel mosquitoes:

citronella grass
catnip
rosemary
marigolds


Citronella oil is popular as a 'natural' insect repellent. Its mosquito repellent qualities have been verified by research.

Friday, July 9, 2010

The Nauru Project



The Nauru Project is an ongoing artists' collaboration based around gathering information on the South Pacific island of Nauru, the world's smallest island nation. The project was initiated in 2007 by Maria Georgoula and has since involved exchanging various findings and commissioning work within the group of invited artists and writers.

COLLABORATING ARTISTS:
Caroline Bird, Dan Coopey, Maria Georgoula, Lo Hillarp-Sjöström, Christopher Robbins, Iorwerth Wallace, Ian Whitfield

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Giant Crystal Cave Comes to Light




The two brothers who discovered this Cave of Crystals "antechamber" dubbed it the Queen's Eye, because the opening leading to it resembled an eye.

The cave is 950 feet (290 meters) underground. The Naica mining complex, which yields lead, zinc, copper, silver, and gold, zigzags nearly half a mile underground (760 meters).

BioPong - Tennis for Two with Cockroach

What happens if the ball is being replaced by a cockroach? This AI for just-another Pong-Derivate is meant to be highly unpredictable. As play continues, the ball algorithm matures. Game-breaks for feeding the insect are considered. No insect should be harmed! watch out for more arcade-machine art at:
www.insertcoin.biz




"While men believe in the infinite some ponds will be thought to be bottomless." - H.D. Thoreau, Walden





UTOPIANS 2010

UTOPIANS 2010
michalis, aglae

giannis, anna, andreas, klaas

natalia, maria, alkistis, Kristbjorg

fanis, garry, fay, giannis

maria, panagiotis, ryan, katerina

giannis, bryan, caroline, giorgos

victor, vassilis, jim, julia