WHAT IS MEDIA-SCAPE?

(Welcome Address)

Heiko Daxl, Ingeborg Fülepp, Bojan Baletic,

In 1993 Zagreb hosted MEDIA-SCAPE for the first time as a forum for the Arts, Media and Architecture. The theme of Integration of New Technologies pointed out the recent developments in techniques and forms related to the changes of aesthetics and content. In a 3 days session different viewpoints were presented by international artists and specialist including screenings, installations, lectures, seminars and open discussions.

For the second event used the theme Open Traditions to emphasise the role of new media within the historical context of the moving image and the future perspectives. The new can only be build on the foundation of the old, but has to pass the thresholds of history as well to find its destination. The aim of the event is to focus on desires, expectations and failures, and to navigate through the traditions as open systems to search for new links, knots, dialogues and horizons. Traditions should meet advised technologies. The confrontation of the New Media with its own archaeology might stimulate discourses about the perception of a multiplicity and variety of different realities.

Open Traditions also means, to look for the traditions in Eastern Europe. Furthermore MEDIA-SCAPE 2 wants to point on the artistic developments in the former Eastern block countries that will add another dimension to the Western view be another important topic of the event. Throughout the days of MEDIA-SCAPE there will be opportunities to discuss and debate these concerns and issues. Each subsequent day will include a panel discussion preceded by related film and video screenings.

"Can there be themes without media?" Joseph Beuys asked. Stating the fact that media itself are one of the great themes of our the time, this question could be circled by the MEDIA-SCAPE event. On the basis of various international examples of different approaches and backgrounds an artistic potential will be shown, which accepts the challenge. The introduction of new electronic and digital media, the rapid development in the field of computer technology and the resulting changes in the working world, have led to changes in society over the past years, which go along with the process of fundamental changes in the structure of communication and which will have effects on our future life.

The main issue of the symposium will be the confrontation of the experiences in the field of the television /-video- media between some of the new formed Eastern European countries with the experiences of the Western European Countries. When Britain, France, Germany, Austria and others are ready to step into the new era of digital communication and interactive television, virtual reality and other multimedia environments, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and others are struggling to catch some information of the latest technological development. Croatia and especially Bosnia and Herzegovina through the war destruction's are even more endangered to stay behind the technological progress and to loose the last strings within the European media development. therefore, the task of the symposium would be to inform through video screenings and exhibitions about the existing art procedures as well as to find new roads through the conversation and presentations of the artists and theoreticians.

The participants will present projects and discuss issues in the field of the television today, multimedia systems, artistic video/film and virtual reality, the relation between expectations in the future, reflections on the present time and its relations to the past/traditions.