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News Release

Last modified: Monday, February 5, 2007

Unusual uses of technology to be showcased during ArtsWeek 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 5, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Whether stretching the boundaries of traditional craftsmanship through 3-D computer design and rapid prototyping or designing a computerized accompaniment system to enhance the musician's experience, Indiana University Bloomington and the city of Bloomington artists, performers and researchers increasingly are finding unusual ways to integrate new technologies into their creative works.

The creative melding of the arts and technology, which has impacted such traditional arts at IUB and the city of Bloomington as dance, fine arts, music and theatre, will be the focus of ArtsWeek 2007, the annual campus-community celebration of the arts. This year's celebration will be held from Feb. 21 to March 3.

"This year's ArtsWeek provided a unique challenge and opportunity to push the envelope, so to speak, and emphasize how various art forms are being influenced by new technologies," said Sherry Knighton-Schwandt, coordinator of ArtsWeek. "Based on the healthy response to the call for proposals last summer for new events that incorporate technology, the funding committee was pleasantly surprised to learn of the myriad ways in which artists on campus and in the community are utilizing technology to enhance the creative process and outcome.

"The 'special projects and events' are like none we've featured before," she added. "They are indeed representative of the enormous amount of creative energy going into combining arts and technology. Many involved in the planning process for ArtsWeek have been privileged once again to witness another ArtsWeek that is a premier campus-community collaboration in every respect."

Now in its 23rd year, ArtsWeek 2007 will feature a series of performances, exhibitions, workshops and other events developed around the theme "Technology and the Arts."

IU Interim Provost Michael McRobbie and Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan will officially kick off ArtsWeek at a celebration reception on Feb. 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center on the IUB campus. The reception will include a Bloomington High School North jazz combo, food and a few other special attractions.

Additionally, ArtsWeek 2007 will include the 2nd annual High School Art Competition. As part of the competition, high school students in Monroe County were asked to submit works of art offering interpretations on the theme of "Technology and the Arts." A panel of judges will award cash prizes to the top three students, and entries will be exhibited at Tutto Bene on 213 S. Rogers St. from Feb. 21 to March 15.

While past years' festivals celebrated IUB and its surrounding community as a place "where the arts are always in season," this year's celebration has been expanded to include a number of "special events" that received ArtsWeek funding to support their unusual uses of technology. Those events and special projects include:

• The Takes Two to Tango installation of 16 completed artworks that utilize the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol. The symbol represents the theme of technology (reason, literal, left brain) and art (intuition, figurative, right brain). It also exemplifies diversity (the forces within the circle) and community (the circle that encompasses the forces).

The artworks will be attached to existing light poles along Kirkwood Avenue at the intersections of Washington, Lincoln, Grant and Dunn streets and at arts locations on the Bloomington campus, including the School of Fine Arts (SoFA) Gallery, Musical Arts Center, IU Jacobs School of Music, Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and the IU Auditorium.

• The second part of a two-part exhibition, Human Nature II: Future Worlds, which addresses the social, political and ethical implications of recent advancements in the life sciences, Feb. 9 to March 9, at the School of Fine Arts (SoFA) Gallery.
• A musical installation that explores the relationship between people, location and music relative to technology. Sound Garden will be open Feb. 21 to March 3 at the IU Radio and TV Center.

• Stretching the Boundaries -- an exhibition and demonstration of artworks created in virtual space using 3-D software and produced through the IU Cyclotron Facility's rapid prototyping color 3-D printer, Feb. 21 to March 3, at the Wells Library, 1st floor, East Tower.
• An exhibit featuring well-known national potters who embrace ceramic technology in their art-making, Feb. 21 to March 31, at the Prima Gallery on 109 E. 6th St.

• A program of collaborative works in the performing arts and technology presented by the IU Contemporary Dance Program, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, and the Center for Electronic and Computer Music at the IU Jacobs School of Music, Feb. 22, at the historic Buskirk-Chumley Theater on 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
• A discussion of the various strategies and tools available for using the Internet for audience development by Suzanne Connor, director of programs and grants for the Arts and Business Council of Chicago, Feb. 22, at the John Waldron Arts Center on 122 S. Walnut St.

• A concert by acclaimed singer-songwriter and folk rock legend Richard Thompson, Feb. 23, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
• An explanation of and performances by the "Informatics Philharmonic," a computer-generated orchestra that is able to follow the subtleties of violin soloists in performance, Feb. 24, at Sweeney Hall of the Simon Music Library and Recital Center on 100 N. Jordan Ave.

• A performance by Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard and his quintet, Feb. 25, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
• A lecture, The Return of Grammars of Expression: Schematizing Nature and the Body, by art historian Barbara Maria Stafford, March 1, at the IU Radio and Television Center.

• A fully staged workshop presentation of a new musical in progress by the Cardinal Stage Company, March 2, at Great Hall, Trinity Episcopal Church on 111 S. Grant St.
• An evening of tribal and various styles of belly dancing featuring the Blue Lotus Tribe of Chicago and local belly dancing troupes and individuals, March 2, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

• The premiere of two short plays which incorporate video technology into the plot or set, March 2 to March 4, at the Bloomington Playwrights Project on 107 W. 9th St.
• A concert of crystal and Tibetan bowls with vocal toning by Janiece Jaffe, Syndee Eartheart and Jonathan Mills, March 3, at the IU Chemistry Building, room 122.

Sponsored in part by the IU Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the city of Bloomington, ArtsWeek has traditionally included more than 50 separate events and exhibitions, integrating works by prominent local and visiting artists and performers.

Most events are free and require no tickets. Tickets for other events may be purchased from individual venues. For a full schedule of all ArtsWeek events and information on participants, venues and parking, visit http://www.artsweek.indiana.edu.

The Web site also includes several podcasts and blog that include more information about this year's festival. To download the ArtsWeek podcasts, go to http://artsweek.indiana.edu/podcast.php.

For information about specific arts groups or programs, contact Sherry Knighton-Schwandt at 812-856-0504 or sks@indiana.edu.

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