Fundraising for Controlling_Connectivity the book:
http://www.indiegogo.com/ControllingConnectivity-Publication

The Project
Controlling_Connectivity was an art project by artist Gretta Louw, which used the pervasiveness of internet-based social networking, and the obligation as well as the opportunity for constant connection with these platforms as a paradigm for a severe and systematic disruption of normal, socially accepted patterns of life and interpersonal interaction during a self-documented performance. Taking to its natural extreme the notion that new technologies are increasingly dictating our social interaction, professional life, and have a far reaching effect on many other aspects of daily life, Louw completed a durational performance as she lived in the gallery space in complete isolation except for contact through various social networking sites on the internet.

For 10 days the artist was available 24 hr/day for discussions, emails, comments, or interviews - of both private and professional nature - for any internet user wishing to take part in the project. All necessary supplies were stored within the gallery and the windows were blacked out to ensure that the environment was not normalised by natural light or the social rhythms outside, but defined purely by the internet connection to external participants."
(Text from Art Laboratory Berlin)

Following the conclusion of the performance a solo exhibition in the gallery space, Art Laboratory Berlin, curated by Christian de Lutz and Regine Rapp, was installed. The new video, sound, and installation works are based on documentation from the performance and examine issues around societal and cultural change as a result of the development of internet technologies, as well as the increasing psychological pressure on individuals that result.

The Publication
The book brings together documentation of the project - images from the performance and the exhibition, as well as text contributions from participants and discussions with the artist - in a comprehensive analogue overview. The project is contextualised by critical essays from the curators Christian de Lutz and Regine Rapp, who examine the art historical context and contribution. Interviews with the artist provide insight into the internal, mental changes brought about by the project, as well as highlighting some of the most memorable experiences. Theoretical texts from art and media theorists, such as Dr Leon Tan, expand the relevance of the book as a significant assessment of where we as a society stand in relation to the internet and how these radical technological advancements are silently shaping us. Printed on high quality semi gloss paper (170 gsm), the limited edition book comes with a DVD video piece comprising edited screen recordings from conversations, interviews, and discussions recorded during the performance. Addressing topics from Performance Art to internet addiction, the potential of technological advancement to alter our perception of time and reality, and the ways in which the internet affects communication, relationships, and thereby even perhaps identity itself, the video piece is a fascinating record of current thoughts around the internet and its psychological, cultural, and sociological consequences.

Funding Needed
Funding is required primarily for the material and printing costs to produce the book and DVD. However it is also important to me to offer some remuneration to the writers for their efforts and skill.

'I would greatly appreciate your support to get this record of the Controlling_Connectivity project published. I believe this is not only an important conclusion to this project, in order to have a comprehensive, analogue record of a predominantly digital project, but also that it is a significant document of many different perspectives and theories around the dramatic impact of internet technologies - something that is at the very crux of the Information Age zeitgeist.'
- Gretta Louw

Pre-order the limited edition, signed and numbered artist's book incl. DVD and shipping with a donation of US$30. Or, even better, become a sponsor of the publication, or order yourself a high quality digital print from the project. Go to http://www.indiegogo.com/ControllingConnectivity-Publication

Further Details

For more information about the project and to see some existing documentation, visit: http://controllingconnectivity.tumblr.com/
More video documentation from the performance can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/user7570190


The performance and exhibition part of the project was made possible by the generous support of the Karin Abt-Straubinger Stiftung.

Opening of Gretta Louw's Exhibition Controlling_Connectivity on 25 November, 2011






















all photos courtesy Art Laboratory Berlin

Art Laboratory Berlin recommends:


THIS IS US! - Local and Global
(Fundraising event, 16:00 to 20:00, 4th December 2011)
A Fundraising event organised by Norma Wright with the able Assistance of Floyd Brothers in co-operation with:

Protestant Faith Fellowship - Pentecostal Church of Berlin e.V
Clear Blue Water e.V
Institute for Cultural Diplomacy e.V
Reachout e.V
StreetuniverCity e.V


Fund Concept

The situation in Berlin has lingered for too long and as such our treasured artists and entertainers are now at the point in which they required structured financial assistance in its various forms.

The mission of the fund is to support artists (in all genres) in financially difficult situations:

Death of family member/s, illness, inability to work, pay insurances, security deposit of apartment, key deposits etc.

It is hoped that this fund will develop into a ‘credit union’ that will empower, support and advise artists further to open businesses and create self-employment.

The fund raising event is to get a fund started on a good footing.

OUR STARTING GLOBAL TARGET IS 5.000€


Event Program

Some of the finest poets and musicians will be performing during a most interesting; thought stimulating; conversational; musical and last and not least a convivial atmosphere - radiating good vibes.

So please join us in this very practical endeavour on the 4th December 2011 (16:00 to 20:00) and please, please, please bring a friend.

ALL FOOD AND DRINK IS FREE WE SEEK ONLY DONATIONS TO HELP START THIS FUND!
Artists performing:

Eb Davis. Lenjes Robinson. Kat Baloun, Moses, Jeannine Mayani, Dr Drob, Jerome Gammon, David Dibiah, Allistair Noon, Ben Porter Lewis, Darnell Summers, Gordon Gatherer. Rasidii Graffiti,Anthony Baggette,Alex Rapp, Gary Wiggns,Phil Henderson, Mike Watt, Mc Jabber, Joe Di Carlo lionel Haas, Delia Miles, Constance Gertig, Gee, Aliya Williams (11 years) and more

Hour: 16:00 to 20:00

Date: 4th December 2011

Venue: Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Kurfürstendamm 207-8, Ku'damm (3rd floor Hochhaus)

Contact: Norma Wright - normw57 @googlemail .com

Gretta Louw: Controlling_Connectivity
Exhibition following the online performance of 2-12 November,2011

Opening: 25 November, 2011, 8PM
Exhibition: 26 November, 2011 - 15 January, 2012
(winter break: 19 December, 2011 - 5 January, 2012)
Fri - Sun 2-6PM and by appointment

Artist talk with Gretta Louw: 14 January, 2012, 4PM


Screen shot: Controlling_Connectivity Remote Digital Performance: Berlin - New York, Gretta Louw in collaboration with Douglas Paulson, 2011

Screen shot: Controlling_Connectivity Remote Digital Performance: Berlin - New York, Gretta Louw in collaboration with Douglas Paulson, 2011

Photo still from the performance Controlling_Connectivity at Art Laboratory Berlin


Screen shot: Controlling_Connectivity

Art Laboratory Berlin would like to announce the exhibition project Controlling_Connectivity by the Australian artist Gretta Louw reflecting use of the latest forms of digital communication. Her 10-day online performance (2- 12 November 2011) has laid the basis for an exhibition which will include screen capture footage, photographs and an installation.

Controlling_Connectivity uses the pervasiveness of internet-based social networking, as well as the obligation and opportunity for constant connection with these platforms as a paradigm for a severe and systematic disruption of normal, socially accepted patterns of life and interpersonal interaction during a self-documented performance.

In her work Louw seeks to explore to what extent an extreme use of the Internet and our belief in the online connectivity can have psychological consequences. Her inquiry questions self-censorship and socially acceptable forms of behavior in the face of the constant pressure put in place by society's inexorable increasing need for connectivity.
(More information)

Controlling_Connectivity Day 6, Art Clinic from Gretta Louw on Vimeo.

Gretta Louw - online interview at WerkStadt Kulturverein in Berlin - 7 November,2011

Controlling_Connectivity Day 4 from Gretta Louw on Vimeo.

Conversation between artist Gretta Louw and Matilde Hoffman on the 4th day of the durational performance, Controlling_Connectivity.

The project takes place at Art Laboratory Berlin and is made possible through generous support from the Karin Abt Straubinger Stiftung.

Interview by Hernan Cortes Gonzales, a participant from Argentina, on the first day of the Controlling_Connectivity durational performance.
More information at http://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-event-12.htm

Controlling_Connectivity Day 1

Gretta Louw at 12.55PM,just before the start of the performance



An online google+ hangout (viewed from the bar at c-base)

Controlling_Connectivity Day 1 from Gretta Louw on Vimeo.

Controlling_Connectivity uses the pervasiveness of internet-based social networking, as well asthe obligation and opportunity for constant connection with these platforms as a paradigm for a severe and systematic disruption of normal, socially accepted patterns of life and interpersonal interaction during a self-documented performance. Taking to its natural extreme the notion that new technologies are increasingly dictating our social interaction, professional life, and have a far reaching effect on many other aspects of daily life, Gretta Louw will complete a durational performance, living in the gallery space in complete isolation except for contact through various social networking sites and the internet.

For 10 days the artist will be available 24 hr/day for discussions, emails, comments, or interviews of both private and professional nature for any internet user wishing to take part in the project. All necessary supplies will be stored within the gallery and the windows will be blacked out to ensure that the environment is not normalised by natural light or social rhythms outside, but defined purely by the internet connection to external participants. A number of planned online events (the artist's 30th birthday, live talks with partners in New York, interviews with press) will be scheduled at intervals throughout the performance, with these social and professional pressures becoming progressively more difficult to fulfill as sleep deprivation and isolation take effect.

During the performance the artist will create and install the subsequent exhibition at Art Laboratory Berlin, with the aim of examining how extreme internet use and our reliance on online connectivity could affect psychological functioning; our ability to censor ourselves and continue to behave in a socially acceptable and comprehensible way under the constant pressure of inexorably increasing connectivity. (more at:http://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-event-12.htm)

Selected events during the performance (CET= Berlin time):

02.11. 2011 - 12-13 hrs GMT (13-14 CET): google + hang out to mark the start of the performance.
03.11. 2011 - 19-21 hrs, CET: 30th birthday party online (google + hangout, twitter, facebook, skype)
04.11. 2011 - TBA: live skype chat with audience at Grace Exhibition Space performance art exhibition, Brooklyn. http://www.grace-exhibition-space.com/
10.11. 2011 - 21.30-23 hrs (3.30-5 CET): live skype chat with Flux Factory's monthly salon evening event, Flux Thursday.
11.11. 2011 - 22.30 hrs (4.30 CET): live discussion with Panoply Lab during their Conference of Work: Operations and Participations series on performance art. http://www.panoplylab.org/conference.html
12.11.2011 - 11-12 hrs Greenwich mean time(12-13 CET): google + hang out to mark the end of the performance..

Selected online venues:

http://controllingconnectivity.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/GrettaLouw
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gretta-Louw-Controlling_Connectivity/232846076767283
https://plus.google.com/111051021342350315664/posts
skype: controlling_connectivity

With the generous support of:

An Article about Gretta Louw and Controlling_Connectivity on rhizome.org:

http://rhizome.org/editorial/2011/oct/18/performance-public-and-online-presence-gretta-louw/

Gretta Louw - Controlling Connectivity
Performance and exhibition

Online performance 2-12 November, 2011
http://controllingconnectivity.tumblr.com/

Exhibition: 26 November, 2011 - 15 January, 2012
Fri - Sun 2-6PM (closed from 19 December, 2011 -5 January, 2012 )
Opening: 25 November, 2011, 8PM

In many ways participation in the elaborate communication networks that now underlie social interaction is no longer a matter of choice, since failure to participate is, in many demographics, akin to social withdrawal. Our decision to connect with and perform within online networks also plays an increasingly large role in determining professional success. The question, however, is what are the other effects of our growing reliance on online communication and community on our lives, culture, and society?

With the opportunity for connectivity and limitless access to information, comes the obligation to be increasingly available to receive and transmit; to be perpetually connected. The consequent erosion of true leisure time, the blurring of the traditional professional / personal, public / private dichotomies, and an information overload are creating hitherto unknown levels of psychological pressure.

Controlling_Connectivity uses the pervasiveness of internet-based social networking, as well asthe obligation and opportunity for constant connection with these platforms as a paradigm for a severe and systematic disruption of normal, socially accepted patterns of life and interpersonal interaction during a self-documented performance. Taking to its natural extreme the notion that new technologies are increasingly dictating our social interaction, professional life, and have a far reaching effect on many other aspects of daily life, Gretta Louw will complete a durational performance, living in the gallery space in complete isolation except for contact through various social networking sites and the internet.

For 10 days the artist will be available 24 hr/day for discussions, emails, comments, or interviews of both private and professional nature for any internet user wishing to take part in the project. All necessary supplies will be stored within the gallery and the windows will be blacked out to ensure that the environment is not normalised by natural light or social rhythms outside, but defined purely by the internet connection to external participants. A number of planned online events (the artist's 30th birthday, live talks with partners in New York, interviews with press) will be scheduled at intervals throughout the performance, with these social and professional pressures becoming progressively more difficult to fulfill as sleep deprivation and isolation take effect.

During the performance the artist will create and install the subsequent exhibition at Art Laboratory Berlin, with the aim of examining how extreme internet use and our reliance on online connectivity could affect psychological functioning; our ability to censor ourselves and continue to behave in a socially acceptable and comprehensible way under the constant pressure of inexorably increasing connectivity.

Selected events during the performance (CET= Berlin time):

02.11. 2011 - 12-13 hrs GMT (13-14 CET): google + hang out to mark the start of the performance.
03.11. 2011 - 19-21 hrs, CET: 30th birthday party online (google + hangout, twitter, facebook, skype)
04.11. 2011 - TBA: live skype chat with audience at Grace Exhibition Space performance art exhibition, Brooklyn. http://www.grace-exhibition-space.com/
10.11. 2011 - 21.30-23 hrs (3.30-5 CET): live skype chat with Flux Factory's monthly salon evening event, Flux Thursday..
11.11. 2011 - TBA: live discussion with Panoply Lab during their Conference of Work: Operations and Participations series on performance art. http://www.panoplylab.org/conference.html
12.11.2011 - 11-12 hrs Greenwich mean time(12-13 CET): google + hang out to mark the end of the performance.

Selected online venues:

http://controllingconnectivity.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/GrettaLouw
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gretta-Louw-Controlling_Connectivity/232846076767283
https://plus.google.com/111051021342350315664/posts
skype: controlling_connectivity

With the generous support of:

VISIONS NYC afterthoughts by Bärbel Möllmann
10 September - 16 October, 2011














© 2011 Bärbel Möllmann

Book Release Party - VISIONS NYC by Bärbel Möllmann:
30 September, 2011 from 8PM

In context of the ongoing show VISIONS NYC – afterthoughts,

Bärbel Möllmann: VISIONS NYC.
Portraits and Interviews from New York. Berlin 2011
272 pages, 136 color photographs
30 x 25 cm (closed), 30 x 50 cm (open)
Hardcover, 4-color images
Essay: Regine Rapp (German and English)
48 interviews (each 4 – 15 min.), 4 CDs


In the project VISIONS NYC the Berlin-based artist and photographer Bärbel Möllmann has gathered a series of amazing portraits and interviews with New Yorkers from Summer 2001, recording their individual plans, goals and dreams, and from Summer 2002 recording their reactions to the events of the previous year.

More information at : http://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-events-archive.htm

VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts

Exhibition introduction and Podium discussion "9/11… Ten Years Later"
Participants: Mark Donfried (director of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy),
Howard McCalebb (artist and director of Dada Post),
Bärbel Möllmann (artist and photographer);
moderation: Christian de Lutz (Art Laboratory Berlin).
http://artlaboratory-berlin.org/html/eng-exh-archive.htm


Bärbel Möllman gives a tour of the exhibition



(from left Christian de Lutz, Bärbel Möllman, Mark Donfried, Howard McCalebb)



all photos by Filipa Rolaça ©Art Laboratory Berlin 2011

US Ambassador to Germany Philip D. Murphy visits Art Laboratory Berlin

Ambassador Murphy speaks with Bärbel Möllmann about her exhibition VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts
all photos by Filipa Rolaça ©Art Laboratory Berlin 2011

Vernissage of VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts
An audiovisual project by Bärbel Möllmann

On September 9, 2011








Bärbel Möllmann (center) all photos by Filipa Rolaça ©Art Laboratory Berlin 2011

Bärbel Möllmann - VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts
10 September - 16 October, 2011
Opening: 9 September, 2011 8PM

Exhibition intro and podium discussion: Sunday, September 11, 2011
5PM: Exhibition Introduction
The artist Bärbel Möllmann and Regine Rapp (Art Laboratory Berlin) will give a tour of the exhibition

6PM: Podium discussion "9/11… Ten Years Later"
Participants: Mark Donfried (director of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy), Howard McCalebb (artist and director of Dada Post), Bärbel Möllmann (artist and photographer); moderation: Christian de Lutz (Art Laboratory Berlin).

Bärbel Möllmann, View over NYC, 2002

In connection with the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011, Art Laboratory Berlin invites you to the opening of the exhibition project VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts on 9 September, 2011 at 8PM.

In VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts the Berliner artist and photographer Bärbel Möllmann brings together her portraits of and interviews with various New Yorkers from Summer 2001 as well as additional portraits and interviews taken a year later.

In July and August 2001 Möllmann realized her project VISIONS NYC in the boroughs of New York. The original project dealt with the myth of New York as the city of dreams. Möllmann spoke to various New Yorkers about why they came to the metropolis and about the dreams they hoped to realize there: former editor of fashion magazine »Glamour« Estelle Ellis explained why New York is the city where it is possible to realize ones dreams; Matthew Gordon from Baltimore spoke of his career in New York as a filmmaker; and performance artist Michelle Carlo reflected on her dream to realize her own TV show.

At this point, Möllmann could not, of course, foresee the attack on the Twin Towers. Therefore, the terrible events of 9/11 can not be perceived directly in this project, whose theme is more about the visions and destinies of individuals. In VISIONS NYC - afterthoughts the events of 9/11 are marked as a historic turning point in interviews and photos produced both before and after September 11. The destruction of the World Trade Center spurred on the artist to return a year later and continue her project, to interview some of her subjects a second time, and to make new portraits and interviews.

For her visual implementation Möllmann chose a special form of photography - the camera obscura (pinhole camera). An extremely long exposure time creates a soft focus that places the portrayed and their environment at a certain poetic distance. The voices of the interviewees, heard over headphones, bring the viewer closer to those portrayed. Only voice and image together, in the words of Bärbel Möllmann, can create such a personal portrait.

The resulting works show quite personally and authentically how much the city of New York and its residents changed between 2001 and 2002; the previously expressed visions and dreams appear in a new, far more complex light.

In the exhibition selected positions from the project can be seen and listened to. A photo book, specifically designed by the artist as artist book, will appear in the Fall of 2011 parallel to the exhibition and provide an overview of more than forty portraits and interviews.

Bärbel Möllmann (born on 4 July, 1970 in Bocholt, Germany) is an artist and photographer. She has lived in Berlin since 2002.

Wedding Present 2011
Art Laboratory Berlin and 7 other project spaces and a number of clubs will be open in this festival of culture and nightlife in Berlin's hippest district - http://koloniewedding.de/pdfs/flyer/wedding_presents2011.pdf?PHPSESSID=8f5ae92567ce61d9913d867104c14c98#zoom=150

At Art Laboratory Berlin: Artists in Dialog - Al Fadhil & Aissa Deebi -
My Dreams Have Destroyed My Life. Some Thoughts on Pain open through 26 June 2011
More information here

Images from the exhibition My Dreams Have Destroyed My Life. Some thoughts on Pain
By Al Fadhil & Aissa Deebi. Running through 26 June, 2011
Open on Friday May 27 until 10PM as part of the late night of Wedding Art Spaces
















© 2011 by Rola Khayyat, courtesy Art Laboratory Berlin