ELO Welcomes 3 New Board Members

ELO is pleased to announce the addition of 3 new members to its Board of Directors:  Philippe Bootz, Leonardo Flores, and Rui Torres.  These three scholar-artists bring a level of artistic and scholarly achievement and expertise that will help ELO grow and develop.  In addition to their deep knowledge of the field, they bring to the board literary expertise in three language spheres (Spanish, Portuguese, and French), so ELO can help build networks of scholars and artists in those literary cultures.

Bios for these three excellent new members follow:

Read more ELO Welcomes 3 New Board Members

Call for 1st Time E-lit Artists (2/15/14)

Kathi Inman Berens has posted a call for works for the Gallery of E-Literature First Encounters, an online gallery concurrent with the 2014 ELO Hold the Light Conference in Milwaukee.   This is a high-profile opportunity for newcomers to the world of electronic literature to have their work featured.  Deadline for submission Feb 15. The call follows the break:

Read more Call for 1st Time E-lit Artists (2/15/14)

ELO MLA14 Off-site Reading 1.10.14 8pm

You are cordially invited to a powerhouse e-lit reading at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago!

elo_mla_names_tower_smaller

MLA14 Off-site E-Lit Reading
Flaxman Library Special Collections Reading Room
37 S. Wabash Ave., 6th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Friday, Jan. 10, 8pm
Coordinated by Mark C. Marino
Hosted by Mark C. Marino and Rob Wittig

 

Featuring:

Abraham Avnisan
Leo Flores
Chris Funkhouser
Dene Grigar
MD Coverley
Mark C Marino
Judd Morrissey
Scott Rettberg
Mark Sample
Stephanie Strickland
Zach Whalen
Roger Whitson
Rob Wittig

The reading room is located on the 6th floor. All attendees must present a valid ID (student, driver’s license, faculty, or other) to enter the building.

Pathfinders Exhibit at MLA14 Celebrates 25 Years of e-Lit

Pathfinders Logo

This year’s MLA conference will feature an exhibit entitled “Pathfinders: Documenting the Experience of Early Digital Literature” organized by ELO President Dene Grigar and board member Stuart Moulthrop on the past and present of electronic literature.  Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the exhibit continues the tradition of curated works featured at MLA, one Grigar has been actively pursuing for several years. Below is the full press release.

Pathfinders:  25 years of Experimental Literary Art continues the work of Pathfinders:  Documenting the Experience of Early Digital Literature is a hands-on exhibit, curated by Dene Grigar and Stuart Moulthrop, taking place at the Modern Language Association 2014 convention in Chicago, IL, from January 9-11 in the Sheraton II, Ballroom, Level 4.

The exhibit generates from Grigar and Moulthrop’s research, “Pathfinders:  Documenting the Experience of Early Digital Literature,” sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and features work of pioneering experimental literary artists of the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as highlights innovative contemporary artists experimenting today with computing technologies for literary production.

The first section of the exhibit, “Paths to Electronic Literature,”
 presents the early works of digital literature that comprise the current preservation efforts by Grigar and Moulthrop for the Pathfinders project.  These works will be made available at the exhibit on computers on which the works were originally experienced by readers at the time of their publication––an Apple IIe, Mac Classic, Mac LC575 and Mac 580, all from Grigar’s Electronic Literature Lab, the site where the Pathfinders research is taking place.  Also highlighted at this station will be raw documentation videos of the artists’ traversals produced for the Pathfinders project.

The second section of the exhibit, “Current Directions,”
features contemporary electronic literature artists who have produced narratives, poetry, drama, and essays via physical computing technologies, augmented reality, social media, mobile media and other innovative approaches.  Seven computer stations showcase the work of Samantha Gorman & Danny Cannizzo; Amaranth Borsuk, Kate Durbin, and Ian Hatcher; Andreas Muller; Christine Wilks and Andy Campbell; Jay Bushman and Mike Daisey; Jacob Garbe; Josh Tanenbaum and Karen Tanenbaum; Erik Loyer; and Jason Nelson.

For more information, contact Dene Grigar, dgrigar@mac.com.

CFP: Off-site e-Lit Reading at MLA 2014

E-lit Off-site Reading MLA 2014Off-site e-lit reading at MLA
Flaxman Library Special Collections Reading Room
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Friday, Jan. 10, 8pm
Coordinated by Mark C. Marino 

Carrying on an MLA tradition, the Electronic Literature Organization is sponsoring an off-site reading of new works of digitally born literature.  Priority will be given to work of high literary value and unforgettable, earth-shattering presentations.  Artists new to electronic literature are especially encouraged to submit!

To participate, please send your proposals (200 words or less) and brief bio (150 words or less) for 10-minute presentations/performance.  Sorry, no remote presentations via Skype or other video conferencing software.

Deadline for proposals Dec 31, 2013
Response by Jan. 3rd
email submissions to: markcmarino at g mail

Flaxman Library is located on the 6th floor, 37 S. Wabash St., Chicago, IL, 60603

CFP ELO 2014 Hold the Light (12/15; 6/19-21/14) UPDATE

Update: New Deadline for Critical and Creative Submissions December 15, 2013

Also, see this new video call for Media Arts Show, including  a solicitation for the Virtual Gallery in Festival of e-Literature 1st Encounters (Feb 1, deadline).

Following on the heels of the 2013 Paris conference, here’s the call for 2014 in Milwaukee!

ELO 2014 Conference: Hold the Light
Milwaukee, WI (June 19-21, 2014)

The 2014 Electronic Literature Organization Conference will be held June 19-21, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with sessions on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In conjunction with the three-day conference, there will be a juried Media Arts Show, with exhibits at UWM.

For the Conference, proposals should address critical, reflective, or theoretical questions. Formats may include elements of demonstration or (brief) performance, in context of inquiry or analysis that goes beyond the work itself. Proposers are welcome to discuss their own work, under this requirement.

The Media Arts Show provides an occasion for extended display, performance, and presentation of original works. Please identify submissions for the Show as such.

We invite proposals of no more than 500 words, including a brief description of the content and format of the presentation, and contact information for the presenter(s). Describe any technical needs beyond standard screen projection and audio. Send proposals to eliterature2014 [at] gmail.com, using plain text format in the email, or attached as Word or PDF.

Proposals for the Conference will be reviewed by a Program Committee convened by the Conference Co-Chairs. Proposals for the Media Art Show will be reviewed by a jury chosen by the Media Arts Curator.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Proposals are requested by Friday, December 6, 2013

Program Committee Chairs

  • Marjorie Luesebrink, Independent Artist (Co-Chair)
  • Sandy Baldwin, West Virginia University (Co-Chair)
  • Kathi Inman Berens, University of Southern California (Media Arts Curator)

ELO 2013 “Chercher le texte” Commences in Paris

Logo for ELO2013 ConferenceELO is proud to announce the launch of the 2013 conference “Chercher le texte” in Paris, 24-27 September, 2013.   This marks the first international conference ELO has held, but the 5th conference since State of the Arts in 2002. The Paris conference features works from over 100 artists from 14 countries as well as a complete scholarly program of academic presentations.  Events begin Sept 23 with a meeting of the CELL (Consortium on Electronic Literature) group, a debate and performances at Centre Pompidou.

With Paris as its backdrop, the wide variety of events will be held at historic cites in the coeur of Western Europe’s artistic body, including BPI – Centre Pompidou, Labo BnF | François-Mitterrand, École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (EnsAD), and Le Cube – Centre de création numérique.

Conference partners include ELO, Le MIM, La Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), La Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (BPI), Le Cube – Centre de création, L’Ecole nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, DDDL (réseau européen de littérature – Digital Digital Digital Littérature), Le Laboratoire d’excellence des arts et médiations humaines (Labex Arts-H2H), Coalition Cyborg with thanks to MOTS-VOIR and the Swedish Arts Council.

The conference will also mark the change in leadership from outgoing President Nick Montfort to newly elected Dene Grigar, who will preside over the ELO Board of Directors meeting on Saturday.

Performances begin Monday September 23, 2013 at the Centre Pompidou at 7pm. You can find the entire program here. You can see descriptions of works that will be presented in the Performance Gallery.

In addition to the Performance Gallery, there are three primary exhibitions of works:

3 Exhibitions

  • “The digital literature from yesterday to tomorrow” Exhibition
    Location : Labo BNF | BNF François Mitterand
    Dates : September 24 to December 1, 2013
  • “Virtual Gallery” to be launched Sept 24, 2013.

Not in Paris?  Follow the happenings on the Chercher le texte Website site, ELO Conference Website, the Facebook Page,  and on Twitter @chercherletexte

Also, see Judy Malloy’s detailed and thoughtful overview of the conference on Narrabase.

Contact:
Nolwenn Tréhondart
presse@chercherletexte.org

Read more ELO 2013 “Chercher le texte” Commences in Paris

ELO Paris Conference Program Online

As we move along the road to ELO Paris 2013 “Chercher Le Texte,” the organizers are tantalizing us with some of the scenes to come.

Recently, the working version of the conference program has appeared online. Running Monday, September 23 till Friday, September 27, the conference will feature an international gathering of artists and critics.

Also, you can see the gallery of the works that will be presented during the conference (not to be confused with the various other online galleries and exhibitions to come). Venues include the Pompidou Centre, The Cube, and The Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Certainly, there will be more news on this conference to come. Keep an eye on the conference website, @chercherletexte on Twitter, or the Facebook page.

Grigar and Moulthrop awarded NEH DH Start-Up Grant

Announcing an important national grant that will help scholars explore and archive early electronic literature:

The U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Electronic Literature Organization a Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant amounting to $52,003 for an innovative historical effort involving the first generation of modern digital writing.

The Pathfinders project, proposed by ELO President-elect Dene Grigar of Washington State University Vancouver, and Board Member Stuart Moulthrop of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will build an archive of readings in which the authors and volunteer readers explore the textual possibilities of early digital texts.  Readings will be carried out on the early computer systems for which the works were originally intended.

Recorded sessions will be made available through the Electronic Literature Database, and will also form the basis for multimedia presentations developed by the investigators and other colleagues.  Using innovative software such as Scalar, these publications will explore strategies for representing and preserving computer-mediated writing.

Among the works chosen for the project are Judy Malloy’s Uncle Roger: The Blue Notebook (1986), John McDaid’s Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse (1994), and Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl (1995).  Plans are underway to expand to other key titles from the 1980s and 90s.

Sponsored by the Electronic Literature Organization, the research will take place in the E-Lit Laboratory of Washington State University, Vancouver.  The project begins in the spring of 2013 and will conclude in late 2015.

Members should remember that ELO can be used as a sponsoring organization on many different kinds of grants.  Contact us for more information.

ELO Elects New President, Vice President, and Secretary

www.electronicbookreview.com
President Elect of ELO, Dene Grigar

ELO is pleased to announce the election of new officers. Dene Grigar has been elected as the next ELO President; Sandy Baldwin, Vice President; and Davin Heckman Secretary.

Drs. Heckman and Baldwin will take their new posts immediately, and Dr. Grigar will take the Presidency at the 2013 ELO Conference in Paris.  We are fortunate to have such accomplished board members take these positions. They have already distinguished themselves in their service to the organization.

As incoming President, Dr. Grigar moves from her position as Vice President.  During her time in ELO, she has coordinated a major conference (2010 Visionary Landscapes);  several major exhibitions, including recent events at MLA 2012 and 2013 and the Library of Congress, and has worked toward networking ELO with other organizations.  She has played a pivotal role in the organization and has been actively involved in ELO’s recent events.  Her work has greatly raised the profile of the organization and electronic literature more broadly.

We relay our gratitude to President Nick Montfort, who has served his post with excellence for the past three years. During his tenure, Dr. Montfort has overseen the release of the Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 2, the ELO Conference at Morgantown (2012), the development of the Electronic Literature Directory, and many other key projects, along with managing the day-to-day operations of ELO.  Dr. Montfort will continue as Faculty Advisor, as our headquarters remains at MIT, where he is on faculty.

Mark Marino has stepped down as Secretary, but he will continue as the Director of Communication.  Vice President Talan Memmott will also continue to serve.

Some information about our new officers can be found below.

Sandy Baldwin (PhD, NYU) is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Literary Computing at West Virginia University. In this capacity, he directs numerous projects on new media and digital humanities, as well as teaching courses on multimedia writing. He has been a Fulbright Scholar of new media studies in Austria and Visiting Professor of hypermedia at the University of Paris 8 (St. Denis). Baldwin is a scholar of code, bodies, and creativity in new media, with numerous essays on this topic. He is Managing Editor of electronic book review and the creator and publisher of Computing Literature, the only academic book series devoted to scholarship on electronic literature. His codework poetry is collected in several books and he creates glitched/interventionist computer game performances. For over a decade, he has collaborated with Alan Sondheim on an exploration of performance and embodiment in virtual worlds.  Baldwin formerly served as ELO Treasurer. He has also been involved in planning the annual ELO conference and in managing the database interoperability between the ELOs CELL partners.

 

Dene Grigar is an Associate Professor and Director of The Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver who works in the area of electronic literature, emergent technology and cognition, and ephemera. She is the author of net art works, like “Fallow Field: A Story in Two Parts” and “The Jungfrau Tapes: A Conversation with Diana Slattery about The Glide Project,” both of which have appeared in The Iowa Review Web, and multimedia performances and installations, like When Ghosts Will Die (with Canadian multimedia artist Steve Gibson), a piece that experiments with motion tracking technology to produce networked multimedia narratives. Recent projects include the “Fort Vancouver Mobile” and “The Grand Emporium of the West” funded by a 2011 NEH Start Up grant and a 2012 “We the People” grant, respectively, and explore location-aware nonfiction content for mobile phones to be used at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. She is the recent recipient of a 2013 NEH Grant, along with Stuart Moulthrop, to  preserve works of electronic literature, circa 1985-1995.  She is also Associate Editor of Leonardo Reviews and President-Elect of the Electronic Literature Organization.
Grigar has curated 10 exhibits since 2005, including those for the Planetary Colleguim, the ELO 2008 and ELO 2012, the MLA 2012 and MLA 2013, and the Library of Congress.  Upcoming exhibits she will curate include a showcase at the 2013 Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria and an exhibit at Illuminations, the gallery for the School of English, Media, and Theatre Studies at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, in March 2014. Grigar is the Founding Director of Nouspace Gallery & Media Lounge, the gallery located in downtown Vancouver associated with the CMDC Program.
Personal Website: http://www.nouspace.net/dene

 

Davin Heckman (Associate Professor, English, Siena Heights University) is the Supervising Editor of the Electronic Literature Directory. His book, A Small World: Smart Houses and the Dream of the Perfect Day (Duke University Press, 2008), addresses the intersection of technology and everyday life. In 2011-12, Heckman was a Fulbright Scholar in Digital Culture at the University of Bergen. His articles on “digital poetics” can be found in Culture Machine, Dichtung Digital, electronic book review, and Leonardo Electronic Almanac.  He is the “electropoetics” thread editor for the electronic book review and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards for the journals Rhizomes, Hyperrhiz, and Reconstruction.

Posted in