edited by Rasa Smite, Armin Medosch and Raitis Smits – Techno-Ecologies II. Acoustic Space #12

techno-ecologies-2

RIXC, LiepU MPLab, ISBN-13: 978-9934843419, English, 312 pages, 2014, Latvia

In its journal format, Acoustic Space dedicates a second volume to “Techno-ecologies” continuing a strong ongoing interest in the relationships between art, technology and science. RIXC founders’ Smite and Smits are joined this time by curator Armin Medosch in the editing work. This issue is a selection of papers and materials from a few events held in Riga: the “Fields” exhibition (curated by the editors), the Media Art Histories “Renew” conference, and the “Art of Resilience” conference within the Art+Communication festival. Three main themes are investigated: the not-so-obvious ecology of art and science; the complex and dynamic relationship between locational space, Earth and networks; and the shift in paradigms between a technology-focused definition of art and the concept of post-media; what seems to connect the essays is a specific “critical complexity,” which involves a vast range of art practices affecting crucial social processes through sophisticated technologies. Nevertheless, elements like DIY apparatuses, manipulations of natural systems, and strategies connected to the obsolescence of media are taken into consideration both in the selection and in the last chapter, which hosts a catalogue of artworks that participated in “Art of Resilience.” This is just another chapter of a work whose perspective have been clearly developed by the editors, whose own specific perspective is also the result of international collaborations with an ample network of art and science institutions.