CALL FOR PAPERS HAR2009 (http://www.har2009.org)

CALL FOR PAPERS HAR2009 (http://www.har2009.org)

Hacking At Random,
International Technology & Security Conference August 13-16, 2009,
near Vierhouten, The Netherlands

(please circulate, pdf version at http://har2009.org/index.php?p=86)

From the ancient days long before the first wayback-machine snapshot,
hackers have a track record for appropriating technology that was meant
for something completely different and putting it to alternative uses.
And every four years since 1989, the international hacker community has
descended upon The Netherlands in great numbers for a conference that
focuses on contemporary and future issues surrounding technology and its
social and political consequences. One reason that these conferences
have been successful is the wide range of participants: from students,
amateurs and aficionados to researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs
who are recognized as some of the best in their respective fields.

The atmosphere is open, friendly and relaxed, the scope of subjects
insanely wide, the average level of knowledge high. The venue is always
buzzing with energy, ideas and projects. The New York Times described
the 1997 edition as 'Woodstock for Hackers'. We will gladly honor that
legacy.

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this event with a new
installment: 'Hacking at Random'. HAR wants to offer presentations that
feature the joy of hacking. That means hardcore hacking and science for
its own sake. HAR is soliciting abstracts from anybody who is interested
in giving a talk, in doing a workshop or in otherwise presenting their
work.

When this series of conferences started twenty years ago, the net was
new and unexplored terrain where only the bold dared to tread, and where
legislation and regulation were absent. That has changed. Today, virtually
every household in the Western world has access and many analogue services
are being relocated to the internet, reinventing themselves while doing
so, and thereby simultaneously making internet even more of a commodity
and an indispensable part of our daily lives. Internet has become
ubiquitous, all pervasive, huge and crowded. Because of this, new questions
are becoming increasingly important: questions about governance,
sustainability, dying analogue media, ownership of data and content,
shortage of IP space and energy, censorship, filtering, data trails,
data breaches, security, surveillance - to mention but a few.

As the world is more and more defined in terms of the technology of the
internet, the once obscure political freedom-fights that hackers were
involved in, have truly reached center stage. The next few years are
about defending fundamental freedoms, and we better step to it, because
nobody is going to do it for us.

TOPICS AND TRACKS

We have chosen three main tracks for HAR: subjects that we think are of
prime (future) importance. Of course, not all talks and workshops can
be fitted within these tracks, nor is that our intention. If you have
an unrelated but interesting project, don't hesitate to propose it.
Actually, the only thing we'll really be strict in is that _all_ talks
and workshops should definitely be interesting and knowledgeable, hopefully
be groundbreaking, and possibly, fun. We want to broaden your and our
own horizons, so not many restrictions apply - not even our own. And it
goes without saying that any other smart weird stuff is fine, provided
it makes us go 'wow!' That having been said, the three tracks that we
have chosen are:

1. Dealing with data (DD)

We live in a society that gorges itself on data. We check and intercept
more data and retain them for a longer period, we base individual
interventions on statistics, we amass data in centralized, national
databases, and more and more, we 'mislay' these data and create data
breaches. Often, data is used outside its original scope: the 11 million
files that the Brits have by now amassed on their children in order to
'assist' child welfare, will be open to the police looking for 'evidence'.

Some courts are however getting fed up. Germany has decided that home
computers are indeed private and that the EU data retention law is far
too wide in its scope: only when there's actual suspicion against a
person his or her traffic data may be retained. The European court has
ruled that the Brits - and hence, other EU countries - cannot keep
people's DNA in a database unless they have been convicted.

In this track, we will discuss cutting edge security aspects as well as
their political implications: whose property is a digital trace, should
data have a built-in expiry date, how to counteract identity theft, ideas
about 'data hygiene' and how we can make governmental and company data
mining more transparent or more restrained. This track ranges from
computer security to hacking 'safe' chip cards, from data mining to data
breaches, from lawful to unlawful interception, from amassing data to
data retention, from freakonomics to numerati.

2. Decentralization (DeCent)

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, most technologies have been
moving towards centralization using economies of scale to create profits.
The result of large centralized technologies has been concentrated power
in the hands of fewer individuals with control over large amounts of
cash to pay for expensive factories and infrastructure. Modern organizations
like nation-states and multinationals mimic this centralization trend.

Many new technologies however are moving in the opposite direction. Cheap
home computers and affordable connectivity to a global (but decentralized)
network have made individuals and communities the center of creativity
again. Other fields of technology that are decentralizing are energy and
manufacturing (think solar and 3d-printing). We'd like to hear cool ideas
about what this could mean for all of us and for the societies that we
live in. Are 200 euro laptops, wifi and 3d-printers the beginning of the
end of multinationals and the nation state? Does the spreading of
technology give power to the people, atom bombs to the terrorists, or
both? We don't know what will happen but maybe you do. If so, we'd like
to hear from you.

If you have a 3d-printer, a solar powered vehicle or a fusion-powered
coffee machine, we'd like you to show your stuff and tell your tale. You
will however be asked to leave your nuclear weapons at the entrance.

3. People and politics (PNP)

We live in the proverbial 'interesting times' the world is running out
of oil, the climate's all weird, geopolitical power is shifting and
decentralization has taken off the gloves. We'd like to think our community
holds some small part of the clues needed to understand today's world.
Hackers have traditionally used these events to help others to become
better equipped to go out and make some changes in the way the world
works.

This event has in the past had a large number of presentations that
bridged between technology, activism, digital rights, privacy, politics
and citizenship, and this edition will be no different. If your presentation
can help others to become more aware or (better) more equipped and more
effective in these fields, please tell us.

Again, these ideas are by no means restrictive. If you have a fantastic
story to share about agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, about nanocomputing
or about biotechnology, please submit your paper. Bear in mind that those
attending HAR are technophiles and love talks in which technology - or
the politics of technology - is key. Also, if you know of someone whom
you think should be present at HAR2009, ask them to submit an abstract,
or inform us of their name and subject.

DEADLINES

Abstracts should be submitted to our paper submission system on
https://pentabarf.har2009.org/submission/HAR2009 and are due May 1st,
2009.

We will inform you about our acceptance or rejection of your abstract
before June 1st, 2009.

General information about HAR2009 can be found on http://www.har2009.org
and http://wiki.har2009.org.

If you have further questions regarding your talk submissions; the
speakerdesk can be reached at speakerdesk@har2009.org

With kind regards,

The Hacking At Random 2009 Program Committee,

Thomas Dullien
Rop Gonggrijp
Menso Heus
Alex Le Heux
Peter Honeyman
Arjen Kamphuis
Karin Spaink
Stephanie Wehner
Jasper van Woudenberg

Welcome 2009

This year was OK. I dont like to complain but things are not really on the way right now... Hope 2009 will be better.

Here in Linz there is a great expectation about the linz09. During 2009 Linz will be the capital of culture in Europe and it means lots of events, exhibitions and concerts to go. This sounds good for me. Also in January the new AEC bulding will be launched. I was working there this month and I can say so far tht it will be very polemic. but i prefer to see it finished before emit an opinion.

I wish you a great 2009!

job position at Tate

I have been working last week in an installation at AEC. But i will write about this soon...

For now I post a job vacancy at Tate modern. Good luck !

We are looking for an experienced curator of modern and contemporary photography with the authority and reputation to bring about a quantum change in Tate's ability to collect and show photography at Tate Britain and Tate Modern. In this prominent new role you'll be based within the curatorial department at Tate Modern, but work across both Tate Britain and Tate Modern working on the acquisition and research of photographic works for the Tate Collection. In addition, you'll contribute to the conception and delivery of the photography exhibition programme at Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

You must have a high level of knowledge of the issues surrounding collecting modern and contemporary photography for museums and extensive experience of the process involved in staging displays and exhibitions, including managing budgets. Confident in your subject knowledge, you must have the authority to be able to guide and advise our Heads of Collections on acquisition strategy and the flair to make an active contribution to the conception of photography related displays and exhibitions across Tate.

Your degree and post-graduate qualification in photography or history of art (or another related field) will be complemented a proven track record in publishing and research and by significant experience of working in an art gallery, museum or collection setting. A natural collaborator, you'll be able to work effectively with colleagues across the organisation and your accomplished networking skills will mean you'll be able to draw on an established network of contacts in the photography field.

Contact details/How to apply:
For further information and to download an application pack, please visit our website at http://www.tate.org.uk If you're unable to access our website please email jobs@tate.org.uk quoting ref: 8140. Closing date: 9 January 2009.

Walt Disney wonderful world and it roots in European art

This week I had the pleasure to go to Munique and see some exhibitions. However I would like to point out one that impressed me more: the wald Disney wonderful world and it roots in European art.

When I first knew this show I thought it would be a bit boring with all movies and drawing that we know since we were child. However I was delighted by an amazing surprise. The exhibition was extremely nicely done with an interesting design, but what is the best in this show was the explanation about some of Disney’s references.

 The references go from “Nosferato” in fantasia to “The cabinet of Dr. Caligari” in some Mickey Mouse’s short movies. From ancient Chinese painting in Bambi to a castle named Neuschwanstein in Germany in Cinderela.

Even thought these nice information the hight point of this exhibition is an unpredictable collaboration between the surrealist artist Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. In 1946 Daly was in Disney’s studios and produced a short movie called “Destino” that was finished only in 2003 and presented in this exhibition.

It is a nice exhibition that will make you look in a different way to Disney’s movies. If you have the chance do not miss.

 Opening hours

September 19, 2008 - January 25, 2009  

open daily from 10 am to 8 pm  

closed on December 24

December 31 open from 10 am to 2 pm  

Admission

Regular: 10,- €

Groups of 10 persons and over and senior citizens: 8,- €

School-age children, students and the unemployed: 4,- €

wearable toy piano

My dear friends Mika and Hanna did a great job creating a wearable toy piano. All the circuit was made with conductive fabric and it is totally washable (but i doubt someone will dare to do it...). Other good thing is that you can find on internet a step-bu-step tutorial about how to make your own. You can find here the link. This would be a nice idea for a gift... maybe even you can create a band just hacking instruments...

You can see more information and a video in this link.

PECHA KUCHA NIGHT SEVILLA #05 | BIACS EDITION

El próximo jueves 18 de diciembre de 2008 tendrá lugar la quinta edición de Pecha Kucha Night Sevilla BIACS EDITION en Red Pública (Patio del Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Sevilla) a las 20:20h.

CONVOCATORIA DE SPEAKERS
Desde el 1 hasta el 10 de diciembre de 2008 podrás solicitar tu espacio como speaker en el quinto volumen de Pecha Kucha Night Sevilla. Para participar, sólo tienes que enviar tu solicitud siguiendo las siguientes instrucciones antes de que finalice el plazo.
A la convocatoria puede acceder todo aquel que se identifique conectado de algún modo a la Bienal Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla. Los candidatos deben enviar dos imágenes y un texto orientativo en el que se explique la conexión speaker-BIACS, así como la temática y estética de la presentación.

¿Cómo solicitar tu espacio como speaker?
Para solicitar tu espacio como speaker deberás enviar tu solicitud por email a speaker@pechakucha.es (no enviar más de 3mb por mail e incluir en el asunto: SPEAKER + nombre).

1. Nombre y apellidos, nombre del colectivo o empresa (en caso de pertenencia a alguno de estos), disciplina, dirección de e‐mail, web (aclarar si desea que mencionemos su nombre y/o compañía). Esta información será publicada online en la página www.pechakucha.es para su difusión previa al evento.

2. Breve descripción biográfica/curricular así como de la temática a tratar (en torno a 300 palabras)

3. 2 imágenes en formato JPEG de 1024 x 768 pixeles ó un fragmento de video de 1 min aprox. para su visualización.

4. PKN Sevilla, le da la oportunidad de ser mencionado (nombre + link) en la web global del evento (www.pecha-kucha.org), junto con los speakers del resto del mundo.
Instrucciones generales para speakers seleccionados
• PKN Sevilla #05 tendrá entre 7 y 12 espacios asignables para speakers.
• La exposición debe contener 20 diapositivas. También se aceptará formato video siempre y cuando su duración sea de 6'40 minutos.
• Cada imagen se presentará durante 20 segundos. El speaker no tiene control sobre los cambios y los tiempos, ya que la duración de las imágenes estará programada automáticamente.
La lista de speakers seleccionados será publicada el día posterior al cierre de la convocatoria. En caso de duda o consulta, no dudes en visitar www.pechakucha.es.

Richard Kriesche Capital + Code

Talking about money and art there will be another exhibition in Graz (Austria) that is relate to this issue. It is interesting to see how artists are becoming more sensible to the impact of economy in our life. I hope see more works in this direction....

Richard Kriesche
Capital + Code
Nov 15, 2008 - Feb 22, 2009
Tue – Sun 10am-6pm

Kunsthaus Graz am
Landesmuseum Joanneum
Lendkai 1, A–8020 Graz
T +43-316/8017-9200, F -9212
info@kunsthausgraz.at

http://www.kunsthausgraz.at

Richard Kriesche explores systems of perception. With his perennial focus on the challenges of new technology and science, he is a key figure in contemporary art. His works, which often have a cultural political background, have always been at the forefront of media art.

In his Capital + Code exhibition, Richard Kriesche zooms in on interconnections, focusing on the structure of phenomena. In the Aesthetics of Capital light installation (2008) especially created for the Kunsthaus Graz, he bathes everything in a technoid computer-blue light. The installation uses eight projectors and visualization software (which also sees use in the money markets) to project market-type fluctuations on the interior wall of the building. The constantly changing images are real-time responses to search questions on Google involving different combinations of the words art, work, capital and freedom. The images are an indication of an elusive global state.

The installation may seem clairvoyant, since it was conceived more than a year before the recent dramatic events on the world's financial markets. It thus gives a graphic picture of the interconnections and interdependence of complex relationships that determine not only today's financial world but indeed the entire image of the world.

For Kriesche, this totality with its portrayable realities is consequently a system that can be critically investigated. Analysing it is a hallmark of his oeuvre, as was evident even in his late-constructivist Numerische Systeme (Numerical Systems) of the 1960s. The exhibition is therefore a cross-section of his works, showing different perspectives that are always close to the events of the day, and focusing on the effects and circumstances of visual and socio-determinative systems. In Studio Sperimentale, shown at the 1970 Biennale in Venice, Kriesche traces the conditions and apparent unambiguities of dimensions. Life-Video-Sound-Polaroid Installation was an exhibition at the Neue Galerie in Graz in 1973, and focuses on the relationships between exhibition premises, the staging involved and the displacements between creating and viewing.

In Zwillinge (Twins) of 1977, Kriesche confronts social reality with philosophical considerations, and uses electronic media to reveal new real spaces. W.Y.S.I.W.Y.G. of 1989 transforms the history of art into "objective" visual information by means of digital geodetic analysis. In a similar way, The Informations Loaded Portrait of 1997 investigates the possibilities of pictures as information-carriers, and overlays forms of portraiture with the relevant details about the people. In the case of Art_Chip (2004) and the Genetisches Portrait (Genetic Portrait, 2001), this examination of the systematization of the human dimension is taken to visual and acoustic extremes. In a wholly different vein, Der ewige Horizont (The Eternal Horizon) of 2000 comes full circle in Kriesche's investigations of visual and social codings, giving us a highly poetic glimpse of the ecological rhythm of the world in a repetitive movement.

Thus the exhibition as a whole brings together the systems of science, social and political analysis, the economy and art together in an interaction that extends into the public and political arena and redefines architecture and the use of the media in doing so.

Curators: Katrin Bucher Trantow, Peter Pakesch

via: e-flux