Art Exhibition: Alan Sondheim in HUMlab

Second Life Yoshikaze "Up-in-the-Air" Residency presents

Alan Sondheim

15 -22 September, 2010
@HUMlab, Umea University, Sweden

Opening hours : 8AM-4PM (Weekdays)

Opening : 2PM-4PM, 15 September, 2010
Artist present via video link from New York

Yoshikaze "Up-in-the-Air" Residency is glad to present work by Alan Sondheim at HUMlab, Umea University in Sweden. The exhibition runs between 15th and 22nd of September, and will show A. Sondheim's work completed during his residency at Yoshikaze on HUMlab Island in Second Life.

Yoshikaze "Up-in-the-Air" Residency is a new Second Life residency programme run by Sachiko Hayashi together with sim manager James Barrett from HUMlab, Umea University. Alan Sondheim has been Yoshikaze's first artist-in-residence since 20 May, during which time he has produced tremendous amount of work of highest quality in Second Life. These works, which have been documented as machinimas, audio files and still images, will be shown on eleven monitors in HUMlab's brand new exhibition space at Umea University.

Alan Sondheim:

"For the past several months, as a result of the HUMlab residency, I've been working on avatars and installations in the virtual world Second Life. My main concerns have been the relationship between narrative and architecture, the relationship between language (inscription) and a 'natural' virtual world, the creation of installations that have no referents in the physical world, and the interrelationships among body, sexuality, language, and virtuality….
The images, videos, and documents in this exhibition reflect the varied stages of the installation and performance work. I'm fascinated with the idea of creating the inconceivable, working always in dialog with the software and hardware themselves. And I'm driven, above all, by two things - a real sense of wonder about the world, and the desire to know as much as I can about its structure and phenomenology. Serious play in virtual worlds is an amazingly productive process in this regard, resulting in what I call 'ontological mashups' that seem to constitute the very substance of our being."

In conjunction with HUMlab exhibition, Yoshikaze Studio in Second Life will be open to the public. Between 15-22 September, please visit

http://slurl.com/secondlife/HUMlab/95/215/351/

to experience Alan Sondheim's work inworld (Second Life is required as a free download).

Yoshikaze Curator: Sachiko Hayashi
SL-HUMlab Manager: James Barrett

Yoshikaze Blog: http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com
Yoshikaze on Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/user3882081

HUMlab is an internationally established platform for the digital humanities and new media. Centered around an exciting studio environment of about 500 m2, HUMlab offers interesting technology, prominent international visitors, often several simultaneously ongoing activiites and a rich mixture of competences and interests. Over the years HUMlab has received internationally renowned guest lecturers, among them Katherine Hayles and Steina Vasulka.
More info on HUMlab > www.humlab.umu.se/english , http://yoshikaze.blogspot.com/2010/05/humlab-rl-sl.html