Rich Streitmatter-Tran will talk about his practice and n.e.w.s.
hello, Rich here. He is improvising, he is based in Ho ChiMinh City, background: school for interrelated media. Hybrid background, the critique would be seen as the rejects from the school. The programme gravitated t new media performance and sound art.
We had no intense art curriculum, so I did much of my studies at MIT, new media lab. Visual arts department was kinda my thing but new media, i realised was not my thing. Couldn't do math, so I would up doing performance. I started experimenting with my body, though love design and technology...
Moved to Ho Chi Minh city and they formed Project 1, the performance group, a 'dumb type', dreaming of a merging of mediums. Two became pregnant. But now defunct. 2005, Mogas station, was first founded in Singapore, and created art magazine.
'Real places are almost never
'Real places are almost never found on maps.'
Herman Melville.
They made aflotation device off the coast of Vietnam, for Migration Addicts, curator was Biljana.
Now Jekyl and Hyde, tecahing during the day and making performance by night. Most students are going into the field of media, web design, introducing non-commerical and encouraging students not to become artists. But showing the arts as a practice to contextualise their lives in society.
Then I get fired.
after getting fired
tecahing students how to use and be creative with software, mobile phones, content from devices.
Weng: could you talk about the reserach grant?
Yes, The AAA manages the Martell grant where I am looking as the Mekong region:
Myamar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand
Infrastructure of each nation, how they relate and their diversity in the way it would continue on. 2006
Next year, Asia PAcific Triennale with Russell Storrer from the Queenslands Museum
why am I doing n.e.w.s.?
My reasons are personal...
Bad education by Almodovar? any body see it?
Guy gets up every morning, sees his breakfast and a pile of newspapers, tabloid news... then he has scissors, then he cuts out clips... creates stacks of papers, these clippings.
'That's my next movie'
Aggregating content, getting together information and finding their own connections.
Through n.e.w.s. I interpret my world, mediating informations.
I am a news addict!
So this offers new possiblities: wulu, artists site, Saatchi, but all those art sites have no personality, they are self promo sites. I am hoping this site is not that, but may be utopian... there might me a possiblity of creating new projects.
Like a new drink.
'September sweetness' is my project in Singapore... please come, a temple made out of sugar.