Curated by Ted Hiebert and Doug Jarvis.
Richmond (BC) Canada.
November 26, 2010 - January 23, 2011
Noxious Sector Arts Collective invites submissions for MORE OFTEN THAN ALWAYS, LESS OFTEN THAN NEVER, a curated group exhibition scheduled to be presented at the Richmond Art Gallery (Richmond, BC, Canada) from November 26, 2010 to January 23, 2011. The project is conceived as an exploration of imaginary solutions to questions of improbability, inviting artists from around the world to engage with notions of impossibility, uncertainty and the imaginary.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: June 11, 2010
PROJECT STATEMENT
The French playwright, Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) is credited with the invention of 'pataphysics: the science of imaginary solutions. Among other demonstrations, Jarry's oeuvre included an instruction manual for building a time machine – a textual rendering that was convincing enough, at least, that scientists of his era took the time to disprove his proposition.
A century later, science has evolved, and the artistic imaginary has too. No more is science subject to the simple parameters of truth and falsity. Instead uncertainty is the name of the game: probability, multidimensional theories of resonance patterns, strings and branes and virtual anti-partner particles, imagined into existence for the simple reason that otherwise the theories themselves – the scientific explanations of the universe – would make no sense.
Despite the resultant uncertainties, there are plausible ways to extend such forms of inquiry. One method of this sort is that of probability – a calculated statistical placement of possibility that registers the likelihood of any given situation as a number between 0 and 1. A probability of greater than 1 invalidates a theory, for such a number indicates a statistical occurrence of MORE OFTEN THAN ALWAYS – not only a veritable impossibility but also an existential redundancy. With a probability of less than 0, the inverse occurs – a statistical occurrence of LESS OFTEN THAN NEVER – and a consequent illogic of imagined, nonsensical, constitution. And yet, as the evolved imaginary knows, sometimes things do happen this way – or if they don’t one might nevertheless imagine them to – brought into existence as an impossible probability itself. Importantly, while the scientific imagination frames the uncertainty of the real, it is the world of the imaginary to which such reality is accountable. Probability does not govern the world of the imagination – indeed the imagination alone has the potential to defy probability, creating impossible solutions to the uncertainties of improbable being.
CURATORIAL METHOD
MORE OFTEN THAN ALWAYS, LESS OFTEN THAN NEVER invites artists from around the world to engage with notions of impossibility, uncertainty and the imaginary. Situated on the impossible side of probability, the project invites renderings of improbability, of disregarded possibilities, phantom conjectures, plausible insanities of one sort or another, all of which challenge standardized formulations of what is allowed, acceptable, logical or feasible. This is a call for imaginary solutions to real questions, however artists define the respective places of the imagination and reality for themselves. The curatorial process for the exhibition will also engage these themes, mobilizing UNRESOLVED METHODOLOGIES to problematize its own conceptual framework. As an artistic engagement with solutions of the imaginary, the curators have decided to consult with the father of 'pataphysical solutions – Alfred Jarry himself – holding a series of séances in order to determine the final selection of exhibiting artists. The séance here is conceived as a tentative time-machine of sorts, used to complete the ‘pataphysical loop of imaginary and improbable renderings upon which this project is based.
SUBMISSIONS
Submissions should include the following:
Electronic submissions are encouraged. Text files should be sent as email attachments in PDF format. Images should be sent in JPG format (max. pixel dimensions 1024 x 768). Video and audio submissions, and any support material over 5 MB should be sent via a transfer service, or uploaded to a personal URL. Please do not send a general URL to your entire website. Submissions by regular mail will also be accepted -- please contact us for post coordinates.
SUBMISSIONS should be sent to: noxious@noxioussector.net with ATTN: MORE OFTEN THAN ALWAYS as the subject line.
DEADLINE: JUNE 11, 2010
ABOUT US
Noxious Sector is a formalized forum for informal inquiry. Dedicated to the exploration of questions of the imaginative, the paranormal and the absurd, Noxious Sector attempts to redefine the meaning of artistic possibility through extended propositions that challenge consensual norms while also provoking stimulating forums for dialogue and discourse. MORE OFTEN THAN ALWAYS, LESS OFTEN THAN NEVER is curated by Ted Hiebert and Doug Jarvis.
For a downloadable version of this Call for Participation click here
(PDF file, 136 kb)
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