Call: Papers wanted for "Embodied Politics in Visual Autobiography"

Call for Papers

Embodied Politics in Visual Autobiography

We invite contributions for a proposed collection of essays on visual
autobiography, focusing on health, bodies, and embodied subjectivities.
The collection will consider how cultural practices of self-narration
and self-portraiture image and imagine unruly bodies and, in so doing,
respond to Patricia Zimmerman's call for "radical media democracies
that animate contentious public spheres" (2000, p. xx).

How are health, dis/ability, and the body theorized, materialized, and
politicized in visual autobiographies, including forms such as
photography, video art, graphic memoir, film, body art and performance,
and digital media? We are particularly interested in the potential of
visual autobiographies to:
-explore how bodies negotiate disciplinary regimes and technologies
-produce counterdiscursive manoeuvres and new representational spaces
-investigate how power/knowledge relations constitute embodiments
-provoke critical and ethical reflection

We welcome contributions from academic- and arts-based researchers and
practitioners. We encourage a wide range of critical perspectives:
cultural studies, critical theory, disability studies, feminist
studies, critical race studies, diaspora studies, queer studies,
Aboriginal studies, globalization studies, literary studies, art
history, music, media studies, theatre and performance studies.
Analytic approaches could involve: textual analysis; histories,
presents, and futures; practices and practitioners; and pedagogy.

Possible topics:
dis/ability
sickness/wellness
disease
bodies negotiating borders and boundaries
traded and disappeared bodies
trauma and testimony
memory and memorializing
monstrosity
care of the self
care-giving
fatness and body size
aging
body alterations and transformations
environments
activisms

Send a 300- to 500-word abstract, working title, and a brief bio, by
email in a Word attachment, to Sarah Brophy (brophys@mcmaster.ca) and Janice Hladki (hladkij@mcmaster.ca) on or before May 15, 2008.
Inquiries are also welcome. Final papers should range in length from
4000-8000 words.

About the editors: Sarah Brophy is an Associate Professor in English
and Cultural Studies, McMaster University. Janice Hladki is an
Associate Professor in Theatre and Film Studies, McMaster University.

Free VJing workshops offered in Prince Albert by Carrie Gates and Leeane Berger with Common Weal

VJing 101: An Introduction to VJing with Arkaos

Monday, April 23rd to Friday, April 27th 7:00 - 9:00pm,
at Prince Albert's St. Mary's High School computer science labs

Have you ever wondered how VJs create their artwork? Have you ever wanted to create a custom visual projection to work with a dance or theatre piece? Have you ever tried adding live visuals to a band's performance or a DJ set? We can show you how!

Using Arkaos VJing software, instructors Carrie Gates and Leeane Berger will guide you through a series of fun and focused workshops that will take you from recording and digitizing your own video footage to programming video mixing software to being ready for a live VJ performance.

Workshops take place in the evenings, from Monday, April 23rd to Friday, April 27th 7:00 - 9:00pm, at the St. Mary's High School computer science labs. Since there are limited seats, we ask that you send us a short letter or email by April 17th outlining why you would like to learn more about VJing. Let us know if you have any experience working with video, but beginners are also welcome. Up to ten participants will be selected for this free workshop offered by Common Weal Community Arts, Inc.

Please send your application to:
Judy Mc Naughton
nac@commonweal-arts.com
Common Weal Community Arts, Inc.
1010 Central Avenue
Prince Albert, SK, S6V 4V5
Phone: 960-9020 Fax: (306) 953-4814
www.commonweal-arts.com
Applications received after April 17th will not be considered.

Class YouTube Video Website:
http://www.youtube.com/vjnode



More about the instructors, VJs Leeane Berger and Carrie Gates:

Carrie Gates – VJ Instructor
Carrie Gates' diverse art practices span the realms of VJing, experimental turntablism, sound art, sculpture, performance art, digital media, and the catylization of provocative interactive situations. Her work is unified by a pluralist vision and an appetite for teasing the uncanny from the familiar, critically yet playfully using and abusing any media she encounters. Recently, Gates has been working with creating innovative VJ performances using Max/MSP/Jitter and Arkaos software, sharing her findings with her peers through workshops and artist talks to encourage others to reclaim digital media as a tool for personal artistic expression and social change. Since 1996, she has been performing regularly at electronic music events, noise and experimental music shows, new media festivals, and art galleries. Her performances, compositions, videos, and research work have been shown across Canada as well as in Germany and the USA.

http://www.youtube.com/carriegates
http://www.myspace.com/thesoundsofcarriegates
http://www.notype.com/bricolodge
http://www.vinylinterventions.com

Leeane Berger – Assistant VJ Instructor
As part of a new generation of artists, Leeane Berger is currently working in the discovery, documentation and rediscovery of all things - great and small - that make up everyday living in Saskatchewan. In 2004 Leeane set out with a project to refurbish trash from alleys, sidewalks, parks and dumpsters. This endeavor propelled her into further exploration of salvaged and found materials. Leeane works in a variety of techniques and media in attempt to correlate viewer with surroundings. Using simple electronics to bring motion to a piñata television made from found electrical cords, wire and spray paint to the exploration of substance use in adding texture and depth to her found object paintings, Leeane is on a constant look out for new tools of expression. Working most recently in video, a medium she began working with while briefly attending Concordia University in 2005, has lead to experimentation with video mixing and animation. Her videos have since morphed from canadian video art inspired short-films into grungy expressionistic mixups for teasing and pleasing the eye.

http://www.youtube.com/itrashfish
http://www.myspace.com/printedonrecycledpaper



DOWNLOAD THIS INFO AS A PDF FILE HERE:
http://www.otherartists.com/commonweal/pdf/CW-VJ_Poster-April10-07.pdf

Call: University of Regina's soundscape conference seeks participants

We are pleased to announce a SSHRC-funded Summer Institute and Conference, to be held from June 9-22, 2007 at the University of Regina. Hosted by Dr. Pauline Minevich (Department of Music) and Prof. Charles Fox (Department of Media Production & Studies), these creative and theoretical forums will provide a unique opportunity for students, artists, musicians, composers, and researchers to participate in an intensive programme devoted to soundscape art forms.

The formal and informal venues of ais2 will take place in an atmosphere of collegiality and discourse between artists and academics. Theorists will directly experience creative practices and artists will have an opportunity to display and validate their current developments amongst peers.


The Creative Forum

Building on the success of the Summer Institute held at the University of Regina in July 2004, The Art of Immersive Soundscapes 2 will attract Canada's leading artists and academics to contemplate, compose and create immersive soundscapes. The opportunity for presentation of complex three dimensional soundscapes will be given the best of possible venues, through high quality presentation facilities, engaged inquiry and enthusiastic, receptive audiences: artwork that is on the leading edge of technology and artistic expression.


The Creative Forum's program is diverse, including:

Master Classes For the advanced student or practitioner: be exposed to new methods and theories.
Audio Basics For those new to audio art: become grounded in audio and composition practices through classes presented by leading artists.
Collaborative exploration State-of-the art multichannel audio studio facilities will enable a creative setting for the creation and presentation of new, challenging methods, ideas and artworks.
Presentations Nightly artist talks and presentations of audio compositions, plus an off-site visit to a special prairie setting.

The nine Artists-in-Residence for ais2 are among Canada's most innovative composers, acoustic designers and audio artists:

Darren Copeland (Toronto): Independent audio artist and Director of New Adventures in Sound Art, Toronto.
Dr. Christos Hatzis (University of Toronto): Distinguished multi-award-winning composer, whose music utilizes multimedia and sound art.
Stephen Heimbecker (Montreal): independent audio artist, with exhibited installations in Europe and North America.
Wade McGregor (North Vancouver): Senior consultant, MC Squared Systems Design Group, specializing in acoustic design; has published over 250 technical papers, awarded patent for design of modular microphone (with Charles Fox).
Ellen Moffat (Saskatoon): Independent audio artist, with sound installation presentations across Canada.
Gordon Monahan (Berlin): Independent audio artist, with exhibitions and performances across Europe and North America.
Barry Truax (Simon Fraser University): Internationally celebrated pioneer and teacher in audio art, technology, and electroacoustic composition.
Dr. Ellen Waterman (University of Guelph): Creative sound artist, music performer and improviser.
Hildegard Westerkamp (Vancouver), Independent audio artist, former faculty member at Simon Fraser University, with exhibitions world-wide.


The Conference

"IAS2 Intersections: Soundscapes and Music; Soundscapes and Identity "
An International Conference held at the University of Regina, June 20-22, 2007

Dr. Pauline Minevich (University of Regina) and Dr. Ellen Waterman (University of Guelph), co-chairs.

Keynote speakers will be the distinguished Canadian audio artists and composers Dr. Christos Hatzis (University of Toronto) and Prof. Barry Truax (Simon Fraser University).

Call for Papers
Proposals are invited for papers, performances, and presentations that address aspects of relationships between different kinds of soundscapes, musics, and concepts of identity. Topics may encompass identity in personal, national, political contexts; musics ranging from traditional acoustic to electronic and computer-generated; and varieties of soundscapes, from environmental to electronic. Multi-media presentations are welcome. Papers/presentations are limited to 20 minutes in length. We are currently pursuing opportunities for publication of the proceedings.

Abstracts should be 250-500 words long and can be submitted by e-mail, by April 15, 2007, to the address listed below. The abstract should be included in the body of the e-mail, as should the author's name, telephone number, e-mail address, and institutional affiliation. Identifying information will be removed before evaluation by the program committee. E-mail notifications will be sent by May 1, 2007.

Contact Address: Dr. Pauline Minevich
Pauline.Minevich@uregina.ca
Department of Music
University of Regina
3737 Wascana Parkway
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4S 0A2 Canada
Tel.+ (306) 585-5525
Fax: +(306) 585-5549


ais2 Registration - visit http://uregina.ca/soundscape

Creative Forum: Two weeks enrollment, including master Classes, is limited to 25 participants. The fee for the two-week workshop is $300 regular, $200 students; includes the Conference fee.

Audio Basics: One-week (five two-hour classes) - $100 reg., $50 students.

Conference: $100 regular, $50 students.

All amounts in Canadian dollars

Low-cost accommodation is available on-campus in student residences.
Some financial assistance will be made available for students; please inquire.

For more information please contact:
Creative Forum: Prof. Charles Fox
charlie.fox@uregina.ca

Conference: Dr. Pauline Minevich
pauline.minevich@uregina.ca


ais2 website http://uregina.ca/soundscape

Please note: the website will be updated with current Creative Forum and Conference information beginning March 15, 2007