Thursday, June 30, 2005

aaSwarmArt

June 2005
Potter-Belmar Labs
Solaris: Tent of Thee Summer Solstice
performance at AASWARMART

Work Gallery, Ann Arbor
photos by Jason Engling










It was sweet be a part of Zack Denfeld's AASWARMART project, a social sculpture extravaganza utilizing the UM Art School's Work Gallery as its headquarters. Located on bustling State Street, the whole affair drew much public interest and participation.
Let's hear it for helping the "normal people" get connected with art--
Way to go Zack!
Make sure to check out the swarmart blog!

PBL mixed it up inside of the old NIB tent* using Tarkovsky's sci-fi film Solaris as a base-line for an homage to the summer solstice. The film builds a dynamic between the futuristic (albeit bachelor-pad style cluttered) space station and the humanity of its inhabitants, who's deepest emotional longings become embodied in earthy physical form. A kind of Tiamat vs. Marduk theme emerges regarding the quest for structured, ordered meaning and the unruly chaos of existence.

*The Nomatic Information Broadcasting Studio & Portable Exhibition Venue was my project six years ago, when Michael Rodemer led a band of motley art & tech students to Germany for a few weeks. You can view the original "blog" at http://www.umich.edu/~elray/NIBhtml/index.html
I traveled with the tent, a projector, video camera, and laptop. I wrote the pages in HTML, and learned how to update my website at internet cafes on the fly. In 1999, "blogging" was still a twinkle in its mommy's eye, as I sought new modes of expression and communication.The tent served as a space for social sculpture interactions, including free hand massages and video-diary screenings.

JOMAS (1)

June 2005
Potter-Belmar Labs performs at
Journal of Motion & Sound DVD release party
555, Detroit
photos by Ross Orr

Potter-Belmar Labs gets to perform for the release party along with our pals the Shenanigans, and FJ Julie Meitz. Excellent performances by all!



Potter-Belmar Labs from above





Potter-Belmar Labs




Julie Meitz & FWG




Potter-Belmar Labs screenshot

JOMAS (2)


futureWorkerGirl




Potter-Belmar Labs (FWG + spokeNine)


spokeNine



Julie Meitz

Hickory, North Carolina... the Wizard Lounge

June 2005
Potter-Belmar Labs at the Wizard Lounge
Hickory, NC


Projexorcism invited us to their town, Hickory NC, after the Tournament in Knoxville.

We played an old biker bar, the Wizard Lounge, between punk rock sets.
It definitely took me back to the Day when I was publishing my 'zine Dead Fish Month by Month.



(L to R) Nicholas Sorlein, Phase (Projexorcism), futureWorkerGirl, spokeNine, and Meximese (in front)

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Unreal Tournament: Round 2/Knoxville

June 2005
Potter-Belmar Labs
at the Unreal Tournament: Round 2
Downtown Gallery/University of TN, Knoxville
A/V-J battle against Projexorcism



pre-battle

sushi-special dinner:
fastest chopsticks competition
photo of
Julian Stark's video-documentation
winner:
yours truly


View this clip on Vimeo





the A/V Battle competition:
Projexorcism from Hickory, North Carolina
an honorable engagement!

Ed Cooper (L) and Phase (R)











Referee Meximese Nguyen
judges behind his left shoulder are
Charlie Thomas,
Beauvais Lyons, and Kevin Bradley of Yee-Haw Industries






back row: Mike Berry (
UT Downtown Gallery Director), Jason Brown (UT sculpture faculty), Jason Jay Stevens (Potter-Belmar Labs), Joseph Whitt (Unreal Tournament, Round 1 Winner), Phase & Ed Cooper (Projexorcism)
middle row: Julian Stark & Jonathan Gougn (
Whitecouch)
front:
Vihn Nguyen (referee), vjFutureWorkerGirl, Nicholas Sorlien


PBL takes first place!

vjFutureWorkerGirl@Fuse-In

May 2005
Fuse-In, Detroit's Electronic Movement
photos by Jason Jay Stevens





RedGloveGirl on Hart Plaza








FWG in the cockpit, photo by Julie Meitz





runningNose on Hart Plaza

the VJs are in the white tent,
one scaffolding-deck above the sound board;
in the background is the main-stage






danglies on Hart Plaza

spring tour

April 2005


tourjournal

SHOWDOWN: A/V-J Division (2)

Early March 2005
University of Michigan Duderstat Center Video Studio
these photos here are all taken by Julie Meitz,
who competed in the VJ division


prizes, selected/created by Tim Furstnau & Vinh Nguyen

SHOWDOWN: Big Battle of the Audio-Visualists (1)

Early March 2005
at
Sync'05 / Digital Media Commons
University of Michigan Duderstat Center Video Studio



Showdown 'zine cover, Vinh Nguyen



Battlegrounds, photo by Julie Meitz



Showdown rules & regulations



Showdown 'zine, back cover by Vinh Nguyen

January 2005: first of the A/V-J duels

Unreal Tournament, Round 1
at Metrospace in Lansing MI
organized by Whitecouch
Lansing City Pulse article


(L to R) Dr. Zizz of the Earthwurms,
Referee Meximese Nguyen,
and spokeNine of Potter-Belmar Labs
determine the subject of the next round


vjFutureWorkerGirl and spokeNine...
aka Potter-Belmar Labs


Thursday, June 23, 2005

aaswarmart made me do it!

In order to post a reply on Zack Denfeld's aaswarmart.org site, I registered as a blogger.
So now, we'll see how this goes...