On the Record Workshop with Bengler & NODE Berlin Oslo

On the Record: Broadcasting Practices is a series of discussions and workshops presented by MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), the Department of Architecture and the Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT) focusing on the work of publication, broadly defined, today. Artists, designers and publishers lead discussions and workshops on publication and exhibition and examine the different speeds, scales, and methods of production as well as existing and possible models, mediums and forms. These conversations aim to look at the history of design and publishing at MIT, to understand the limitations and possibilities of publication, and to project new shared forms and avenues for broadcasting work. The series takes place in Spring 2016 and Fall 2016.

The first event will be led by Bengler and NODE Berlin Oslo, a software design practice and graphic design practice, respectively. Bengler and NODE are working with ACT to consider the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) archive, which is maintained by ACT. CAVS was founded in 1967 by Professor Gyorgy Kepes; the Center hosted a wide range of innovators in the visual arts, environmental arts, dance, and new media. CAVS Fellows included Otto Piene, Maryanne Amacher, Stan van der Beek, Lowry Burgess, Peter Campus, Muriel Cooper, Juan Downey, Charlotte Moorman, Nam June Paik, Yvonne Rainer, Alan Sonfist and many others. In 2009, CAVS merged with the Visual Arts Program to form ACT.

Bengler/NODE use the source material of the archive as a subject and point of departure to develop a publishing concept that could unfold in the space of print, physical domain, and digital domain as publication and exhibition. Their work will contribute to the ongoing inquiry, interpretation, and actualization of archival methodologies and publication.

Bengler/NODE proposed two distinct modes of wayfinding the collection: rational drill down and associative exploration. Situated within a broader engagement with ACT and MIT, this workshop invites students to learn about the collection and experiment with the latter notion of associative exploration. How might relations in the work of CAVS fellows and in the institution be visually represented and interpreted? Students will be joined by scholars and affiliates of CAST and ACT for the day-long workshop.