Digital POPWhat is Pop in the digital era?*<\/p>\n
\nGene Swenson: “Is Pop a bad name?”
\nAndy Warhol: “The name sounds so awful.”
\nAbstract from an interview, Art News (1963)<\/p>\n
Over the last few years, we experience a culture of excess where on one
\nhand the overabundance of information has generated a wave of passive
\nconsumption and on the other has allowed many previously unseen trends and
\nvoices to emerge. Today, Pop may be as well defined by likes, shares,
\ntweets, views or followers showing in a way the power of the people to
\ndecide about trends and attitudes but also highlighting the ephemerality of
\nit, as the culture around us is changing at high speed. In that sense, we
\nmight as well say that what is considered Pop in 2015 might be outdated in
\n2016 and so on.<\/p>\n
Back in 1963, Andy Warhol said that \u201ceverybody should be a machine\u201d and
\nthat \u201ceverybody should like everybody\u201d. Acting like machines or liking
\nthings is almost typical behaviour and part of the everyday digital
\nroutine. Digital culture is omnipresent. It has changed our way of
\nthinking. It has changed our habits and behaviours. The techno-culture that
\nonce was odd and distant is now part of most human activities from
\nentertainment, lifestyle, business to art and politics.<\/p>\n
What is defined as Pop is characterised through the culture of here and
\nnow. The pleasure of sharing everyday life through online environments and
\ndigital devices manifests a new way of living where our collective
\nidentities and digital selves intersect. GIFs, memes, selfies, viral
\nvideos, the internet slang as well as sharing, posting, uploading,
\ncommenting are all practices that reflect the current cultural condition.<\/p>\n
What kind of digital content do we consume and what culture do we create?
\nHow are we \u201cfeeding\u201d today\u2019s digital markets? How ephemeral is digital Pop
\nculture? How has digital pop culture affected our daily lives? What kind of
\naesthetics have emerged? How do artists respond to the current condition?<\/p>\n
Through this call, the festival invites proposals to unravel the notion of
\nPop in the digital era.<\/p>\n