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Major new residency and performance/installation series

In January 2008, LEMUR will inaugurate "ReSiDeNt," a unique new creator-in-residence program, hosted at LEMUR's Brooklyn space in Park Slope. Each month, we will award three artists a month-long residency at LEMUR, enabling them to create a work utilizing LEMUR's resources, including robotic musical instruments, MIDI audio/video controllers, video projection and tracking system and more. Each group of residencies will culminate in a public show at LEMUR at the end of the month.

Artists from all performing and installation disciplines are encouraged to apply, including musicians, composers, dancers, choreographers, video artists, interactive installation artists, performance artists, multimedia artists and others.
LEMUR's staff will provide technical support to residents for learning and utilizing our resources. For early residencies, we will give preference to artists with a reasonable degree of technical skill with computer art. As the year progresses, we will be able to give a higher level of technical support, possibly including programming, electronic design and more.

The deadline to apply for January's residencies is Monday, December 17th. Announcement of January's residency awards will be announced the following week.

Subsequent deadlines will be rolling, allowing artists to submit applications to be considered for future residencies throughout the year. The application process is outlined below and will also be posted to LEMUR's web site shortly.

Applying to ReSiDeNt

The application process is designed to be easy. Mainly, we want to see your qualifications and past work and get a sense of the type of work you would do at a LEMUR residency.

All applications are accepted via email to resident@lemurbots.org. Please include the following information in your email.

Part 1: Contact Information
Name
Address
Email
Cell number
Alt number

Part 2: Work Samples
Send URLs of video, audio, photos and text documenting your past projects. Please indicate which works you would like us to view, in which order, and what role you had in creating the work.

We prefer to receive all work samples online. You may also attach files up to 1 MB total. If you need to email larger files which you can not put online, please contact us in advance for ftp information. If you must mail hard copy of work, you can send it to LEMUR, 461 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11215, attn: ReSiDeNt.

Part 3: Artist Resume/CV
Send us your artist resume or CV in plain text, Word or PDF format. Important - please make sure to include a list of your technical skills relevant to the residency.

Part 4: Proposal Sketch
Send us your idea or ideas for what you might do during a LEMUR residency. Include which instruments and resources you envision working with (see below). Your project does not need to be conceived in full at this time, but please instill in us the confidence that you have a reasonable plan in mind and that you can realize a work in a month's time.

Thank you for your time and interest in LEMUR ReSiDeNt. We look forward to receiving your application.

Eric Singer
Executive Director
LEMUR: League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots


FAQ
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What instruments, systems and other resources will be available to me?
GuitarBot, XyloBot, ModBots (percussion bots), HydroBots (water-based bots), Slime-o-trons (slime controllers), Chime-o-tron (MIDI wind chimes), Slink-o-trons (slinky controllers), Sonic Banana (bend controller), Ascension Flock of Birds 6-DOF tracking system with 3 trackers, sensors, MidiTron and MidiTron Wireless sensor interfaces, floor-projected video with video tracking overlay, wall-projected video, PA, PTZ camera, broadband internet, Mac and PC computers, MIDI keyboard, software (Max/MSP/Jitter, Isadora, Digital Performer, etc.). In addition, LEMUR is constantly working on new instruments, which will be made available as they are created.

How much time will I be able to spend at LEMUR working on my project?
You can spend as much time as you want, subject to scheduling with LEMUR staff. Generally, someone is there Monday through Friday from 10 am until 8 pm, and weekend times can be arranged as necessary.

Does my work have to utilize LEMUR's instruments and equipment?
Yes. A major goal of this residency program is to partner with a variety of artists to create new work for LEMUR instruments.

What length is my work expected to be?
For performances, we would like a minimum of 20 minutes of work. For music, a 40-45 minute set would be highly desirable. Installations would normally be ongoing, though we would hope that any one user would be engaged for 5 minutes or more.

Is there any stipend or other support money?
This is an unfunded residency program, so there is no stipend or support money. The support we provide is in the form of in-kind donations of our time, space and resources.

Do I have to do a performance, or is an installation ok?
Installations are fine and encouraged. Preference will be given to interactive installations over non-interactive ones.

To realize my work, I want to create new software/Max patches/electronics but I don't know how. Can someone at LEMUR help me?
Not at this time. We don't have the resources to develop custom technology outside the scope of our own work. However, if you have a technologist that will commit to partnering with you, you are welcome to propose this.

I have a great idea but I've never done computer art before? Should I apply?
At the early stages of this program, we will probably not be able to support artists who do not have reasonable skills in implementing their work.

I live outside of New York City. Can you provide room and board?
We can't, but you probably already have a friend with a sofa in New York City :-)

Will there be future opportunities to show the work I create after the end-of-month show?
The best work to come out of ReSiDeNt will likely have future opportunities to be shown. LEMUR stages performances and installations around the world, and we are always looking to incorporate new work.

What are some examples of projects you will consider?
Compositions for the robots
Interactive performances with the robots and/or controllers
Interactive installations with the robots and/org controllers
Interactive dance with the robots
Theater pieces or performance art with the robots
Interactive video installations incorporating the robots

My discipline doesn't fall into your listed categories. Can I still apply?
Definitely. These are simply examples, and we will consider work from any discipline if we feel it is possible to realize at our space.

Do I have to come in with a project idea from the beginning?
You do not have to come in with a fully formed project, but you should have an idea of what you want to do and should outline this in your application. You can develop the specifics of your project within the time frame of the residency. Also, feel free to bounce ideas off us before applying.

What if my work will take longer than a month to complete?
We can only devote one month of work time to each artist. If you need more time but can do your preliminary work off-site prior to the residency month, we will consider this.

Please feel free to contact us with any other questions you may have.

Wafaa Bilal grabbed the attention of the media last year with his performance Domestic Tension. Bilal, born in Iraq and currently teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, installed his living quarter at Chicago's Flatfile Gallery. Viewers could peep in on him anonymously 24/7 over a live webcam, chat with him online 24/7 over a live webcam. But the twist was that the camera was affixed to a rifle-sized paintball gun-and online visitors could therefore fire the gun and shoot at the artist, or anything else in his room. 24/7. And according to Newsweek, viewers have shot the gun 40,000 times in the project's first two and a half weeks. The work brought to Chicago the conditions of bombardment felt by citizens of his homeland.

Domestic Tension. Photo Chicago Tribune

In his latest work Virtual Jihadi, Wafaa Bilal reconfigures the Al Qaeda-produced on-line propaganda video game The Night of Bush Capturing to introduce himself a character in the game, a suicide bomber based on an image of a traditional Arab warrior, and turn it into a rumination on the plight and behavior of civilians caught in a conflict zone.

Virtual Jihadi, image courtesy of the artist

Bilal's mod and installation is based on a 2003 video game called "Quest for Saddam" that involved players fighting stereotypical Iraqi foes and trying to kill the ex-Iraqi leader. The game in turn inspired an al-Qaida-produced spin-off called The Night of Bush Capturing where the U.S. president is the target. For his piece, Bilal hacked into the al-Qaida game and inserted himself as a suicide bomber who is sent on a mission to kill President Bush.

His work is like one of the missing piece of the puzzle, we get some pieces while watching TV news but the picture is not complete and the media often leaves very little space for dialog anyway. I'll past an extract of the statement from the artist as i think every single word of it is worth reading:

My underlying premise for this piece is that hate is being taught - it's not a natural emotion. And video games are one of the technologies being used to foster and teach hate. I am especially concerned by the ones created by the US military, which are intended to brainwash and influence young minds to become violent. Though Al Qaeda's game where Bush is hunted down and killed generated much international outrage, the U.S. Army's own free on-line game is equal to the Night of Bush Capturing in its propaganda motives. Since I belong to both nations fighting in this current war, and since I am an American, I have the ability and right to question my own government's use of these video games to teach violence and hatred.

Along with shedding light on the power of video games and their manipulative uses by both Al Qaeda and the U.S. military, I want to show how civilians in war zones find themselves switching allegiances as a means of self-preservation as the balance of power shifts. Their cities are turned into battlegrounds, and survival is often a matter of obeying the power that exists at any given time regardless of any ideology.

This dynamic is apparent in various conflicts around the world, and even in any American inner-city where the gang members have more control than police; and civilians recognize this and refuse to cooperate with the police even if they don't intrinsically support the gang members. In Afghanistan, Afghani civilians switch sides depending on who is in power. In Iraq people are constantly switching sides. Most Iraqis who support the insurgency do so not because of ideology, but because of their need for security.

The fighting forces in the Iraq war and most wars do not represent the people of either of the warring nations. It's the fundamentalists - Islamic and evangelical -who fuel this violence, and force civilians to ally with them in order to survive.

So my character in the game will be like any Iraqi civilian on the ground, allying with the power which is dominant at the moment. At the beginning of the game the American soldiers are stronger than Al Qaeda, and I will ally with them, fighting Al Qaeda. But as the game progresses and Al Qaeda becomes more powerful, I will switch sides to fight on behalf of Al Qaeda. That is exactly what is happening in Iraq. The game will culminate with my revenge on the Bush administration for the destruction it has wrought on my country. I will be a suicide bomber who attacks Bush.

Virtual Jihadi, image courtesy of the artist

Bilal gave a talk last week at the Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (the video is available online) and an exhibition of Virtual Jihadi opened the same night... to be closed the day after.

Wafaa Bilal's installation re-opened this week at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 Sixth Avenue in Troy. The piece was to be on display through April 4, 2008, as part of a month-long celebration of art, freedom and democracy at the Sanctuary.

Unfortunately, one day after the second opening the City of Troy closed the sanctuary due to "code volition."

Please visit the artist's website and show your support either by writing a letter to Shirley Jackson president of RPI (president at rpi dot edu). Or add your opinion in the chat room. Brian Holmes wrote a clear and well-balanced post about the situation a few days ago. I'd also like to mention an article in The Guardian which discusses the current lack of appetite for films about the war in Iraq.

When i first contacted Wafaa to get a brief email interview last week, i had no idea his work would be censored and his view would be silenced. I must add that his work came to my attention thanks to an email from members of the RPI arts department who are very supportive of Bilal's work. Now for your conversation:

What did your previous project Domestic Tension - Shot in Irak teach you? How did you use what you learned during the performance to develop Virtual Jihad?

Domestic Tension

WB: It reinforces my notion of the comfort zone versus the conflict zone. Because of image overexposure, we need to come up with smarter tactics and strategies in order to engage people. Otherwise we will continue to exist in the comfort zone while our collective power is taken away by institutions.

In Virtual Jihad, the main character looks like you and carries your name, why do you think it is so important to expose yourself so much personally?

WB: I wanted to place it in the context of reality, the need to reflect life in art. What better way to reflect what Iraqis are going through than a personal tragedy, casting myself as a suicide bomber after the killing of my brother. I represent so many Iraqis who find themselves vulnerable to a terrorist organization like Al Qaeda taking over their homeland. They either become violent because of the pressure or they are forced to join these organizations out of fear or they join because of their outrage at what the U.S. is doing to their homeland.

Why do you use video games as a medium for your interventions? What makes them more powerful or more adapted to the kind of discourse you are engaged in?

WB: Because video games have become the medium of our time, so many people use this popular medium to convey a message. With video games, people are engaged beyond art, their senses are engaged.

Showing your works must be challenging for art venues because all the media attention (and probably mis-understanding) they get. What is the experience you have with exhibition spaces?

WB: We are certainly experiencing the problem of an artist versus the establishment. We are using the power of the internet as an encounter. The internet levels the playing field. Video games are becoming more and more powerful because they bypass the censorship of institutions.

Your work has very controversial undertones. How much do you think this helps and/or impedes the audience to understand the message your work is carrying?

WB: Sometimes the project itself becomes the trigger for the dialog. I'm not necessarily interested in imposing ideas or having a project that is dogmatic. I want the conversation to be carried on outside the gallery walls. The purpose is not art itself but the conversation it triggers

Can you tell us something about your upcoming book? What will it be about?

WB: It is called "Shoot an Iraqi: Life, Art, Resistance under the Gun" to be released in Fall 2008 on City Lights Press. It is basically a dual narrative of my Domestic Tension paintball project last Summer and my life in Iraq and the U.S.

Thanks Wafaa!

However, Wafaa still has one project going on. Online! Run to Dog or Iraqi and cast your vote to decide which one -- a dog named "Buddy," or an Iraqi, himself -- will be waterboarded at an "undisclosed location" in upstate New York. Waterboarding is a form of torture which dates back to the Spanish Inquisition. The person is immobilized on their back with the head inclined downward,, and water is poured over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent. The person would (usually) be "resuscitated" at the last moment

Dog or Iraqi

A doctor and a vet will be on hand to minimize the risk of death to the dog or the human being. At the time i spoke with Wafaa, the dog was the clear winner of the contest!

I'll leave you with this video interview of Wafaa commenting on the RPI censorship: