Banquete_nodos y redes

Interactions between art-science-technology-society in digital culture in Spain

The banquete_ project came about at the beginning of the 1990s and evolved as a network of conversations and collaborations between artists, scientists, humanists, technologists and activists. The shared motivation has been to encourage and socialise the dialogue between sciences and humanities with a mandate to explore the relationships between biological, social, technological and cultural systems. Over time, this network has given rise to an interactive ACTS (the Spanish acronym for Art-Science-Technology-Society) environment, defining a space of encounter and collaboration between different artistic, scientific and technological centres for research, production and diffusion both here in Spain as well as internationally.

This third edition of banquete_nodos y redes is grounded in the theoretical and practical requirement to explore and visualize the dynamic emergencies of the Net Society. In order to achieve this, it follows a line of inquiry that links together the neuronal structures studied by the histologist Santiago Ramón y Cajal with those social and communication networks studied by the sociologist Manuel Castells. The concept of a network – simultaneously present in nature, society and technology – is used to question the currently prevailing model of cultural production that is based in hegemonic centres and unquestionable axes. In contrast, the dynamic of a network generates horizontal and distributed systems of interconnected nodes in which everything, from ideas and concepts to individuals, organisations and institutions, becomes the catalytic agents for a process of dialogue and transformation of society and culture.

The exhibition features thirty digital and interactive art projects which posit a series of critical reflections and participative experiences while also exploring the new shared matrix of the net. By sustaining an open dialogue with other contexts and practices pertaining to the different branches of science and contemporary thought, banquete_nodos y redes attests an emergent interdisciplinary dynamic in the practice of art within Spain. Photographic-based works, videos, virtual reality installations or participative net.art projects comprise a wide-ranging exhibition which outlines a path through these neuronal micro-worlds and the global dynamics of contemporary societies.

Artists:
Aetherbits/ Antoni Abad/ Eugenio Ampudia/ Marcel-lí Antúnez/ Pablo Armesto/ José Manuel Berenguer/ Clara Boj y Diego Díaz/ Daniel Canogar/ Álvaro Castro/ Alfredo Colunga/ Escoitar/ Evru/ Joan Fontcuberta/ Dora García/ Marta de Gonzalo y Publio Pérez Prieto/ Hackitectura/ Ricardo Iglesias/ Influenza/ Concha Jerez y José Iges/ Kònic Thtr/ Laboratorio de Luz/ Joan Leandre/ Neokinok TV/ Marina Núñez/ Pedro Ortuño/ Raquel Paricio y J. Manuel Moreno/ Platoniq/ Francisco Ruiz de Infante/ Águeda Simó/ Technologies To The People

Idea and concept: Karin Ohlenschläger & Luis Rico
Curator: Karin Ohlenschläger
Exhibition design: Jovino Martínez Sierra (Arquitecto)
Produced by Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior de España (SEACEX), Fundación Telefónica and LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial

LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial is a space for artistic exchange. It is set up with the purpose of establishing an effective alliance between art, design, culture, industry and economic progress and the goal of becoming a space for interaction and dialogue between art, new technologies and industrial creation. It throws a special spotlight on production, creation and research into art concepts still being defined

LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
Los Prados, 121
33394 Gijón (Asturias) Spain
Tel: +34 985 185 577
Fax: +34 985 337 355
info@laboralcentrodearte.org