10 August 2003

video feature
Tabor
Violence Online Festival
2002

Tabor

After the 9/11 terror attacks in New York & Washington, Wilfried’s art activities were focussed on the topic of violence – too much he was identfying himself as a victim of terror. So, it was no coincidence that one day in November 2001, after Wilfried had recovered from terror impact on him personally, he was contacted by Violens Festival Tabor – a small place in Czech Republic – planning for 2002 the next festival dedicated to the topic of violence. Wilfried’s fame of his Internet based art activities were spreading globalwide, and he was invited by the physical festival in Tabor to create an online part. Typically for Wilfried, he did not hesitate one second and accepted this invitation, not knowing yet, how he might manage Violens Festival in virtual space. So, he did what he had done several times before, he released on open call, and additionally he activited the expanding network of artists, he had started in 2000.

As a primarily visually, but not ideologically, dognmatically orientated person, he found again in the multi-media software “Flash” his ideal creation tool. Like before and after, Wilfried was taking an enourmous risk, because again everything was based on experimenting- the particular challenge in creating “Violence Online Festival” was combining completely new artistic and curatorial concepts – resulting the idea of the Violence Media Publishing House – which was offering Wilfried all options for expanding the project and keep it on running for longer than just the few days of the physical festival.

That’s still the misunderstanding when physical events launch an online part, as well, because the virtual existence is following completely different rules – transferring the limitations from physical to virtual space does not make sense, it is not sustainable – so one criterium for considering an online part additionally to a physical part – has to be sustainability. In terms of Violence Online Festival this sustainability was manifesting itself in that way, that the physical Violens Festival was just the starting point for a continuously expaning project until 2005, when Violence Online Festival was fusioning with The RRF Project- and this was running until 2007 actively. So, only in 2007 also Violence Online Festival was completed as an art project .
In 2003, on the same day when the Iraq war was starting, Violence Online Festival released its “War” edition”, so Violence Online Festival was predestined to react immediately on all forms of violence which were present anywhere after the 9/11 atacks for the next following years.
Expanding and growing in substance was also meaning to involve increasingly more and more artists, and, as another way of reflecting- to present Violence Online Festival in most different virtual and physical art contexts.

Especially the fusion with The RRF Project made Violence Online Festival one of the most successful art projects on the net, at all.
Yes, what had been artisically a challenge by using a commercially orientated Flash software, the existience of Violence Online Festival, as well all other Flash baed projects Wilfried was creating between 2000-2007 – at the end of 2020, ADOBE, owner of Flash decided to discontinue the support for Flash, and then – Wilfried’s work online, perfectly documented since 2000, will not exist any longer due to certain commercial interests.
This is really tragic for the entire genre of netart, because due to their intuitive use as artistic tools – Flash & Shockwave were very popular software applications. Most artists are affected but not all were using the software – once developped by Macromedia – it is already now like that, that the entire oevres of artists vanish from the net, and this way the artists, as well. So, the way, how Adobe is following the commercial company’s interests – is representing a gigantic killing machine of art & artists. These killings happen without any publicity – again, nobody cares about the victims – the artists – and the doors are wide open – for falsifying history, art history and art, that’s just incredible!

Violens Festival Tabor

Violence Online Film Festival

Concept

Violence // Violence Online Festival – http://violence.newmediafest.org
(Text by Agricola de Cologne. Copyright © 2002-2005. All rights reserved)
Short note: Violence Online Festival was active between 2002 and 2004, starting in August 2002 as online part of Violens Festival Tabor/Czech Republic, since March 2004, Violence Online Festival is complete and became an integral part of the global networking project [R][R][F] 200X environment, currently at http://rrf200x.newmediafest.org

Summary:

“Violence” is a New Media art project in form of an online festival reflecting the phenomenon of “Violence”, curated, organized and created in Flash by Agricola de Cologne, curator and media artist operating from Cologne/Germany. As an ongoing project Violence Online Festival is developed for being presented in future in the framework of physical and virtual media festivals and exhibitions. For each event a new project version will be created adjusted to the actual needs including additions of new artists/works and other changes.

Preface:

Violence is an expression of speechlessness, of lack of communication. The best solution to eliminate violence and confrontation is looking for communicating, dialogue and networking, starting already in the smallest cell of society family, which lead in consequence to openness against the different, tolerance. A good example on the way to that represents the net based art project – http://www.a-virtual-memorial.org – Memorial project against the Forgetting and for Humanity.” (by Agricola de Cologne, published as Article20 in – Covenant of the Articles of Artistic Mediation on World Mediation Summit Washington 2002 )

Introduction
The human character contains both a light and a dark side, good and bad, individually manifested. Deeply rooted is a dark-sided element: Violence. In happy surroundings, it becomes hardly visible and in less happy surroundings – either of a physical, psychological, environmental, ideological, economic or political nature – nearly automatically a kind of survival strategy with all the known consequences we see manifested in conflicts on a small or large scale. Violence is present anywhere, hidden or sleeping, hesitating, waiting or in action, starting from simple mobbing via verbal or physical attacks, the bandwidth has no end. Nowadays, globalization, social injustice, unemployment, increasing wealth on one side and on the opposite increasing poverty (without mentioning some causes) produce a climate where violence has a fertile soil. From the attack on 9/11 in the USA, people from the Western civilization became painfully aware that security of any kind is a mere illusion; not only the internal, but also the external enemy is present anywhere. Artists are said to be the consciousness of a nation or society as they reflect the actual state of the psychological and physical environment. When this state is penetrated by violence, nobody is surprised that violence becomes a universal subject for artistic reflection, the difference may only be the view on it and its perception depending on the respective cultural background. ‘Art and violence both seem to stem from the abstract: that place beyond logic, the realm of the emotion. When they intersect we are simultaneously repelled and attracted, frightened and excited. Historically this meeting has been wrought with complexity, and as cultural violence in every society increases, we are prevented by paranoia, censorship and ethical demands from asking, and sometimes even posing, some of the most important questions violence and art together and separately produce: how is violence represented, and what or how much of it do we need to resist the cultivation of fear and the encouragement of dependency? Is violence a tool, a process or a result? When are artistic portrayals of violence justifiable? As intellectual exercise, ritual, or spiritual enhancement? For other purposes? Or are they never justifiable? Is violence in art an action, reaction, or reflection? ‘ (quotation: festival statement).

How different the results of an artistic reflection can be is shown through the Violence Online Festival including more than 300 artists from 42 countries presenting their work. It forms a dynamic collaborative art work presenting very individual visions and use of media.
The relevance of violence becomes visible also through the high quality standard of all the included works. Each of them represents another aspect of violence – caught in textual poetry, running as a video or embedded in an interactive environment of a net-based art work.
In reaction to the key role (mass) media plays by displaying and even promoting violence, a ew environment (interface) has been created for Violence Online Festival, which houses and
hosts the art works within a virtual media company named “Violence Media Incorporated”.
By dividing the company into different departments (eg. “Violence for Happiness” , Violence Marketing” or “Violence Broadcasting”), it becomes clear that their meaning has a rather ironic or sarcastic character, which gives the embedded art works a new meaning.
While surfing through this environment, the visitor is forced to ask and give answers, and becomes slowly a part of this network of art through his reflections and changes of
perception.

Press

La Biennale // Blogwork – the network is the Art Work
presenting Wilfried’s Violence Online Ferstival
http://violence.newmediafest.org

The artists

Germany: Agricola de Cologne, Roland Schappert, Knut Eckstein, Jcrgen Bysard Adams, Ilse Hilpert, Sabine Scholz, Wittwulf Y Malik, Ruediger Axel Westphal, Matze Schmidt, Johannes Finke, Tolya Glaukos, Irene Marx, Per Pegelow, Joerg Gruenberg, Markus Christian Koch, Home Team Croatia: Tony Mestrovic, Maya Kalogera, Luther Blisset, Ivana Ozetski/Jadranko Pongratz UK: Jess Loseby, x mac dunlop, Marc Garrett, jen, Nick Barker Nitin Shroff, Sarah Savage Japan: Kenji Siratori Finland/UK: Tjader-Knight Inc. Portugal: Susana Mendes Silva Argentina: Rachel Partnoy, Alicia Partnoy, Ruth Irupe Sanabria, Gabriel Otero, Anahi Caceres, Jose Cuckier, Irene Coremberg, Andres Ingoglia ALEJANDRO GOMEZ TOLOSA, Judith Villamayor, David Vegezzi, Miguel Carlos Labra Belgium: Tamara Lai, Luc Fierens, otium, Michel Cleempoel Colombia: Andres Yepes, Eduardo Angel, Claudia Tribin, Alejandro Jaimes-Larrarte Brazil: Brocolis VHS, Wilton Azevedo, Giacomo Picca, re:combo Australia: Francesca da Rimini, Michael Grimm, Andrew Francois, Bruce Petty, Mason Petrie, Jane Fenton Keane, Jason Sweeney, Peter John Sprenkeler, Gaby Bila-Günther, Atanas Djonov Poland: Loy Estonia: Dagmar Kase Sweden: Mike Haskett Romania: Mona Vtamanu, Floe Florin, Cesar Lazarescu Greece: Maria Papadimitriou France: Valery Grancher, name diffusion, Nicolas Clauss, Xavier Leton, Emilie Pitoiset, Antoine Schmitt, jimpunk, Michael Sellam, Hugues Rochette, Guillaume Dimanche, Bluescreen, Cendres Lavy, Robert Labor, ED Mole, Stephane Tomora, Fred Fennollabate Turkey: Bulent Bas, Genco Gulan Lithuania: gintas K, Tautvydas Bajarkevicius Uruguay: Clemente Padin Chile: Isabel Aranda Yto Italy: UsineDeBoutons (Lionello Borean+Chiara Grandesso), ego, Casaluce/Geiger, Caterina Davinio, Antonio Sassu, Marcello Mercado, Chiara Passa, Lucia Leuci, Patrizia Alemanno, Luca di Gregorio, Carla Della Beffa, user (ctrl), dlsan, Luigia Cardarelli, Lorenzo Taiuti Serbia: Marko Stamenkovic, Igor Marinkovic, Ksenija Kovacevic, Vladimir Todorovic, Paula Miiklosevic Puerto Rico: Richard Monge Korea: Bang-Geul Han, Joon-Yong Jung Egypt: Noya Abdelaziz Canada: Craig Poirier, Davida Kidd, Eva Lewarne, Jeremy Owen Turner, Babel, Jo Cook, David Cheung, David Fujino, panoptica, Katie Bush, Daniel Hanequand Bulgaria: Ventsislav Zankov, Dyian Anguelov Ireland: Feargal O Malley Romania/Germany: Peter Jacobi Spain: Juan Del Gado, Julian Alvarez Finland: Janne Vanhanen Sweden: Sachiko Hayashi The Netherlands: Dylan Graham Cuba: Ivan Abreu Israel: Igor Ulanowsky, Shira z. Carmel, Shay Kun Austria: Klaus Schrefler, Medea, Renee Kellner, Joerg Piringer, Andre Zogholy Russia: Sergej Jakovlev, Sergej Teterin USA: David Crawford, Edward Marszewski, Bill Berry, Mark Palmer, Pighed, Lewis LaCook, Doron Golan, Gerald Schwartz, Seth Lew, Eric Parnes, Nancy Jane Moore, Joy Garnett, Yevgeniy Fiks, anonymous, Restate, Todd Jokl, Moya Devine, Sharon Harper, Coco Gordon, Brody Condon, Rika Ohara, Mike Salmond, Steve Bradley/Timothy Nohe, Alison Cole, Craig Macneill, Eric Wennermark, Brian Judy, Humberto Ramirez, Deb King, Robert Dohrmann, Judson Wright, Jeff Gurecka, Anne Bray and Molly Cleator, John Kannenberg, Katrinka Moore, Johanna Thompson, G.H. Hovagimyan, Jody Zellen, Jerzy Kolasinski, Lucky Pierre, Nikki Johnson, Christina McPhee, Raphael Lyon, Nicolas Economos, Adam Beebe-Infanticide, Danielle E. Lee, Robert Kendall, Sadiq Bey, Geoffrey Thomas, Aland Sondheim, LISA HUTTON AND MARK POLISHOOK, Timothy Bowen, Tigran Tovmeysyan, Scott Becker, Michael Crane, Jon Burgerman, Mara Infidelious, Josh McPhee, Team of Get Carded, Andy Deck, Bruce Eves, Ryan Griffis, Jo-Anne Green, Helen Thorington Mexico: Fran Ilich, Cindy Gabriela Flores Nicaragua: Franck de las Mercedes
Philippines: Fatima Lasay and her classes: VC36 CLASS John Michael Acevedo, Mark Anthony Alvarado, Carlo Ahillion, Rikki Carmelo Baranda, Criselda Cac, Alexander John Castro II, Nathaniel, Chua, Eric Flores, Gimo Lanot, Sabrina De Leon, Merwin De Mesa, Jr., Marielle Nadal, Lizamae Orola, Francis Rafael Sanbuenabuentura, Rogelio Santos, Jr., Lea Segarra, Zoltan Pabon, Vincent Paul Samson, Don Juan Paolo Torres, Alfred Mark Trajeco, Sheryl Valencia, Archie Yumul SFA192 CLASS Gerard Baja, Anna Teresa Cabardo, Uriel Colomo, Niko Loren Dela Cruz, John Ervin General, Michael Angelo Lampayan, Olivia Lopez, Deodato Pairez, Jerusalem Pimentel, Alfred Anton Po, Joseph Raz, Jr., Ruth Kathryn Santiago, Brian Oliver Sergio, Cherry Ann Tolentino FA100 CLASS Eleanor Alfante, Carlito Amalla, Maysa Arabit, Ry Sedrick Bolodo, Joey Claronino, Monica Delgado, Katrina De Dios, Amiel Lapuebla, Catherine Rose Lasam, Michael Sagcal, Mary Grace Tenorio, Gem Alexandria Tuano, Winchell Saludares, Camilla Tabagan, Paulo Vinluan

Venues

All Violence Online Festival presentations:

2002 – 2003

* Version 1.0 : Online part of Violens Festival Tábor (Czech Republic) 17 – 31 August 2002
* Version 1.1 : Featured on A Virtual Memorial www.a-virtual-memorial.org Sept. 2003
* Version 2.0: Computer Space Festival 2002 Sofia (Bulgaria) (18-21 Oct 2002) and
Liberarti Festival /Liverpool Biennale 2002 (10 Oct – 01 Dec 2002)
*Award: Special Prize of Computer Space Festival Sofia (Bg)
*Version 3.0: “e-magic_cybermedia events”
43th International Film Festival Thessaloniki (Greece) 12 – 16 November 2002
*Version 4.0 “New Media Nation – Festival of Festivals, Bratislava (SK) 20-22 Feb. 2003
*Version 4.1 Spotlight: TURBULENCE/New York launch on 4 March 2003
*Version 5.0 “Videoformes – 20-23 March 2003
18th International Video &Multimedia Festival Clermont-Ferrand (France)
*Version 6.0 1st New Media Art Festival Chiang Mai (Thailand) 4-15 April 2003
*Version 6.1 Net Art Open 2003 – Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Dublin
*Version 7.0 PEAM 2003 – Pescara Electonic Art Festival
*Version 7.1 Web Biennial 2003 Istanbul Museum (Turkey)
*Version 7.2 Fibreculture Conference – Digital Literacies – Brisbane/Australia (11-13 July)
*Version 8.0 //Open-air at Royal Gardens (Copenhagen/DK)
curated by Pio Diaz and Eva Sjuve (10-31 August 2003)
// File 2003 – Electronic Language Festival Sao Paulo (Brazil )14-27 August
// Nonetart Festival – Arte Digital Rosario 2003 (Arentina) 15-27 August
Version 9.1 at “Globalization” on Wigged.net – January-December 2004
*Version 10.0P part of [R][R][F] 2005-XP

2004

presented as [R][R][F] 2004 —>XP —>

17. University of Bremen/Germany –
[R][R][F]2004—>XP – New Media event – 18/19 December

16. 404 New Media Art Festival Rosario/Argentina (7-15 December)

15. FILE –
Electronic Language Festival Sao Paulo/Brazil (23 November-12 December)

14. 1st International Exhibition of Digital Art – Orilla’04 –
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Fe/Argentina (04 November – 04 December)

13. 24h of Nuremberg/Germany – VideoChannel
International Shortfilm Festival 15/16 October

12. Biennale of Electronic Art Perth (Australia)
1 September – 7 November

11. West Coast Numusic & Electronic Arts Festival
Stavanger/Norway 17-22 August

10. public_space_festival Yerewan/Armenia
23 July – 03 August

09. International Festival of New Film and New Media
Split/Croatia (26 June-2 July)

08. VI SALON Y COLOQUIO INTERNACIONAL DE ARTE DIGITAL
Havanna (Cuba) 21-24 June

07. BASICS Festival
Salzburg/Austria – 8-16 May 2004

06. Electronic Art Meeting
PEAM 2004 – Pescara (Italy) 19-23 May

05. Version’04 Festival –
Invisible Networks – Chicago/USA – 16 April-01 May

04. Now Music Streaming Festival Berlin (Germany)- – 7 April

03. New Media Art Festival Bangkok (Thailand) (20-28 March)

02. Bergen Electronic Arts Centre
Bergen/Norway (5 March – 28 March)

01. National Museum of Contemporary Art
Bucaresti/Romania (5 March – 30 April)

2005

presented as [R][R][F]2005—>XP —>

47. Biennale of Video and New Media– Santiago/Chile
18-28 November

46. State University – Rio de Janeiro/Brazil
presentation 7 November

45. Univercidade – IAV (Institute of Visual Arts)– Rio de Janeiro/Brazil
presentation 7 November

44. Select Media 4 Festival– Chicago/USA
20 October – 13 November

43. Finis Terrae University– Santiago/Chile
presentation 25 October

42. MAC – Museum of Contemporary Art– Santa Fe/Argentina
presentation 21 October

41. National University/Art Department– Rosario/Argentina
presentation 18 October

40. MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art– Rosario/Argentina
presentation 17 October

39. Recoleta Cultural Centre– Buenos Aires/Argentina
presentation 11 October

38. National Library– Buenos Aires/Argentina
presentation 12 October

37. Interferencias – University of North West of Buenos Aires– Junin/Argentina
presentation 14 October

36. PI Five Video Festival– National Museum Szczecin/Poland , Aktionsbank Berlin
VideoChannel – 9/10 – 17/10

35. “Groundworks” – Regina Gouger Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University– Pittsburgh/USA-
14/10 – 11/12

34. FILE – Hipersonica Festival– Sao Paulo Brazil –
SoundLab Channel – 05 November

33. FILE – Electronic Language Festival– Sao Paulo Brazil – 31 October – 05 November

32. prog:ME – 1st Electronic Art Festival– Rio de Janeiro/Brazil – 18 July – 28 August – VideoChannel

31. EAST’05 – Norwich Gallery Norwich/UK – 02 July – 20 August

30. Salon Arte Digital – Maracaibo/Venezuela –
“Women: Memory of Repression in Argentina” – 20 June – 03 July

29. MAF05 – New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand – 25-29 June

28. Hic et Nunc – San Vito a/Tagliamenti Italy –
VideoChannel – 11 June – 17 July

27. Israeli Digital ArtLab Holon/Israel 16 April – 16 July 2005

26. Version’05 Festival Chicago/USA
“Women: Memory of Repression in Argentina” – 22 April – 01 May

25. Images Festival Toronto/Canada – 7 – 13 April

24. ZKM Karlsruhe/G – Making Thinks Public –
“Women: Memory of repression Argentina” – 20 March – 08 August

23. Camera Obscura Academy Tel-Aviv/Israel – lecture – 02 March

22. MAF05 – New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Thailand – 25-29 February

21. Musrara Media Art Academy Jerusalem/Israel – lecture – 22 February

20. Bethlehem International Center – presentation as lecture – 19 February

19. Bethlehem University – presentation as lecture – 17 February

18. CAVE Gallery at ICB Bethlehem/Palestine – solo exhibition 17 February – 14 March

2006

presented as [R][R][F]2006—>XP —>

58. CROMA – 8th Audiovisual Festival Guadalajarra/Mexico
11-17 November 2006

57. Festival Arte Digital Rosario/Argenina
16-18 November 2006

56. PI 5 Intermedia Festival Szczecin/Poland
20-22 October 2006

55. Officyna Art Space Szczecin/Poland
20 Oct – 20 Nov 2006

54. Play IV VideoFestival Buenos Aires/Argentina
24-27 August 2006

53. Al Kahf Art Gallery Bethlehem Palestine 1-30 July 2007

52. VIII SALON Y COLOQUIO INTERNACIONAL DE ARTE DIGITAL
Havanna/Cuba – 17/06-17/07 2006

51. MAF’06 -New Media Art Festival Bangkok/Th
02/05-04/05 2006

50. FILE – Electronic Language Festival RIO–
Telemar Cultural Center Rio de Janeiro/Brazil
–> Internet based works from [R][R][F]200x—>XP
20 March – 20 April

49. India International Center New Dehli/India–
CeC & CaC – The Carnival of e-Creativity & Change-agents Conclave
–> VideoChannel –> SELECTION’03
27-28-29 January

48. The Art Gallery of Knoxville/USA–
Global Groove (Nation Building as Art) –> VideoChannel
01-25 January