ROBOTIC ARTS, INFLATABLE AESTHETICISM Marjan van Mourik: EXPERIMENTAL ART FOUNDATION and the ADELAIDE BANK FESTIVAL OF ARTS 2006 present ROBOTIC ARTS, INFLATABLE AESTHETICISMRobotic Arts, Inflatable Aestheticism is a project comprising exhibition, workshop, and presentations by Chico Macmurtrie, one of the world’s leading artists using robotic technologies.

Chico MacMurtrie - born in New Mexico and now residing in New York - is the Artistic Director of Amorphic Robot Works (ARW). Formed in 1992, ARW is a group of artists, engineers and technicians working together to create robotic performances and installations. Chico MacMurtrie describes his vision, “The work is an ongoing endeavor to uncover the primacy of movement and sound. Each machine is inspired or influenced, both, by modern society, and what I physically experience and sense. The whole of this input informs my ideas and work.”www.amorphicrobotworks.org3 MARCH-8 APRIL INFLATABLE BODIES A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTIC SCULPTURE

Since its establishment, Amorphic Robot Works has investigated the nature of movement via the creation of multi-faceted machine-sculptures that play and interact in their uniquely designed environments. This artistic program has resulted in the creation of more than 250 mechanical sculptures of varying size, that assume anthropomorphic and abstract forms.

One of the hallmark aspects of ARW’s work is its direct contact with the audience. Rarely does the work appear on stage, behind ropes or behind glass. As the audience for the work has grown in size, so has the work itself. To make performances visible, and yet still physically accessible to the audience, the work has been erected and performed upon integrated sculptures of increasing height. A new generation of permanent work from ARW will completely eliminate the metal and thus, the physically and logistically cumbersome weight. Humanoid forms will arise from high-tensile inflatable fabric skeletons, formless until air inflates the bones. The possibilities for range and kind of movement, are as broad as that for muscle and bone, but with little of the mass. This new generation of interactive performance sculpture from ARW allows not only for a broader exhibition base, but an interesting new robotic form that does not conform to the standard conception of either ‘robotic’ forms or the existing understanding of kinetic sculpture.

3-19 March: 10-5 Daily; 21 March-8 April: 11-5 Tues-Fri; 2-5 Sat; Admission Free24 FEBRUARY-7 MARCH WORKSHOP THE CREATION OF ROBOTIC ARTS

The Robotic Arts Workshop will serve as a practical and theoretical platform for the creation of new generations of robotic sculpture and installation, developed by Chico MacMurtrie and Amorphic Robot Works. The event will urge the creation of robotic arts by Australian artists, as it provides hands-on exploration of robotic technologies. Drawn from national registration, artists and robot makers will assist in the building of the robotic structures for the exhibition.

24 February-7 March. Registrations closed.6 & 7 MARCH FREE PRESENTATIONS

4-6pm Monday 6 March: Public lecture, Mercury Cinema, Lion Arts Centre, 13 Morphett Street, Adelaide

10.30am-12.30pm Tuesday 7 March: Artists’ Week panel discussion “Emerging Fields” Elder Hall, University of AdelaidePUBLICATION

A comprehensive catalogue with information about the project will be available.FURTHER INFORMATION

Contact Experimental Art Foundation Director and Curator of ROBOTIC ARTS, INFLATABLE AESTHETICISM: Melentie Pandilovski: +61 (0)8 8311 7505.–

EXPERIMENTAL ART FOUNDATION curates its exhibition program to represent new work that expands current debates and ideas in contemporary visual art. The EAF incorporates a gallery space, bookshop and artists studios.Lion Arts Centre North Terrace at Morphett Street Adelaide * PO Box 8091 Station Arcade South Australia 5000 * Tel: +618 8211 7505 * Fax +618 8211 7323 * eaf@eaf.asn.au * Bookshop: eafbooks@eaf.asn.au * http://www.eaf.asn.au * Director: Melentie Pandilovski

(Via Rhizome.org Raw.)