HYBRID - Living in Paradox
Let me introduce the themed exhibit of ARS, which is another great feature of the festival along with the actual competition. I explained before that ARS initially began as an electronic music festival, but since 1987's "FREE SOUND", the festival runs with a particular theme each year.
The themes were introduced as a way of unifying the events and exhibitions that take place every year. Let me explain: the theme for 1988 was "The Art of Scene". Basically, it was like after a 3 year hiatus, some rock band released a double-album titled "FREE SOUND" and "The Art of Scene" - i.e. the titles don't necessarily have inherent meanings, they're merely there to "bind" the songs together. Same with the ARS themes. Rather than shaping the nature of the festival as a whole, they merely give structure to the chaos.
That said, the themes became somewhat political after 1989. 1991's theme, "OUT OF CONTROL" hinted at the fast developing, sophisticated technology that was threatening to overwhelm humanity. 1995's theme "Welcome to the Wired World" focused on the newfound network society, as the internet gained widespread appeal. 1998's "INFO WAR" provoked us to think about our superior information society, post Gulf-war, through the context of art. 2000's "NEXT SEX" critiqued the way in which technology is threatening the existence of biological organisms, and life itself. In short, the themes of ARS in the 1990s were adopted from social and political keywords that defined the climate of the times.
Thus, exhibitions and live performances adhere to the year's chosen theme, and the audience can listen to heated discussions regarding the topic in various conferences.
This year's theme is "HYBRID" - half-blood /mixed-race, crossbreed, and so on. Cars for example run with a hybrid of gasoline and electricity; nothing too mind boggling, right?
| This year, the works exhibited at ARS approached the issue of technology infiltrating our world - humans, plants, nature, and our living environment, the good hybrids, the bad hybrids, and the various chemical reactions that are occurring right now - through art. Technology has long surpassed civilization and culture, and is now the very basis of our everyday lives. And it all happened in a flash. |  |
| One thing that bothers me is the fact that the word "HYBRID" is rather passe. I swear everyone was talking about it 5 years ago, and the concept itself if rather old. That said, the exhibits were really interesting. |
