Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts

Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

co-curated by Peter Weibel, Bernhard Serexhe on behalf of ZKM and Atif Akin on behalf of santralistanbul

Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey
co-curated by Peter Weibel, Bernhard Serexhe on behalf of ZKM and Atif Akin on behalf of santralistanbul
Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

Art in new forms, surrounded by social and cultural engagements, refusing to settle into any established medium of expression is now in need of new venues. These venues appear to be not only museums but also institutions that allow practical research and development, creating social contexts and supporting social responsibility.

The exhibition featured works by well known and emerging avant-garde artists and collectives from all over the world. e interactive and immersive qualities of the works were well to the fore to enable the visitors to discover spectacular forms of artistic expression and radical changes in the relationship between the visitor and the work of art.

Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey
Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

“No Maps for these Territories” is a documentary lm about William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer, a seminal science fiction novel
and an influential reference for cybernetic studies of every kind. is exhibition is no exception on the strength of the film’s title. throughout the documentary, Gibson comments on Neuromancer, stressing the discrepancy of analyzing the truth in a cybernetic context. Uncharted scrutinizes user frames in media arts. It positions the consumer as artist, visitor as user, and therefore renders the difference between use value and artistic value of objects. Interaction is the basis for the resulting shifts. New media art tries to reveal an aesthetic potential through these transformations. Some of the pieces in the exhibition are not intended as artworks, some of them are designed as musical instruments and yet, others are gadgets or gizmos. Eventually they are all materials of the immaterial system so as to be the ‘ready-mades’ of the digital age.

Uncharted is a secret record of multimedia: a narrative that includes the pioneering activities of a diverse group of artists, scientists, musicians, and theorists.


Many of the young artists presented by Uncharted are the pioneers
of open source computer programming that enable human-machine interaction for artistic purposes. these young artists are shown at media art festivals such as Transmediale or Ars Electronica, which are attended not only by art professionals and academicians but also by companies developing or producing new cultural objects equipped with new media technologies. Consequently Uncharted underlines an arena of creative profession embedding artistic practices with informatics and technology where it has the great potential of influencing a great portion of young population in emerging market economies.

Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey
Atif Akin, 2009, Istanbul, Turkey

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