AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

sonic.focus: theory and practice between sound and image
November 3-4, 2006
Brown University
Providence, RI
http://www.sonicfocus.org

sonic.focus is a project that examines complementarities and antagonisms between sound and image in contemporary culture. Starting with film & video screenings on October 20th and 27th, the events will culminate in a conference and performance series to be held at Brown University on November 3 and 4, 2006.

This program is prompted by the emergence over the past decade of an auditory culture that parallels the dominant visual culture. Among the phenomena that signal this emergence are: the increasing presence of sound in visual arts exhibitions and venues; the proliferation of visual and media practices in which sound is central to meaning; and the development of a body of theory that examines the nature, history, and circulation of sound as a useful social or conceptual model.

The aim of the conference is to foster a fruitful dialogue among theorists and practitioners working at the intersection of the visual and the sonic arts. Keynote speakers will include David Toop, Diedrich Diederichsen, and Douglas Kahn. Panels will include presentations by Christian Marclay, Renee Green, Stephen Vitiello, Steve Roden, and others. Finally, two nights of performances will include appearances by artists such as Tony Conrad, Robert Lippok, AGF & Sue C. and David Shea. All talks and panels will take place at the Joukowsky Forum, 111 Thayer Street in Providence.

The program opens with two nights of screenings exploring classic and contemporary films and videos by Oskar Fischinger, Hans Richter, Kenneth Anger, Brian Eno, Phill Niblock, Carsten Nicolai, Billy Roisz, Leslie Thornton, and others. The screenings will take place from 6-9pm on October 20th and 27th in the Modern Culture and Media Cinematheque, 135 Thayer Street in Providence.

sonic.focus is organized by Tony Cokes, Christoph Cox, and Roger Mayer, and sponsored by the Department of Modern Culture and Media, Brown University. Additional support for sonic.focus has been provided by the Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Research in Culture and Media Studies; the Creative Arts Council (Fitt Artists-in-Residence); The C.V. Starr Foundation Lectureships Fund; Global Security Program of the Watson Institute for International Studies; German Studies Department; and the Goethe-Institut (Boston).

For complete schedules and further details, visit: http://www.sonicfocus.org