 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The École Européenne Supérieure de l’Image (ÉESI) is organising the second edition of the international Biennial "Figures of Interactivity" in partnership with the University of Poitiers et the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM).
The title of this second Biennial is Memory(Memories). What happens to memory when, after the book, its place seems to be taken by the computer? Is this really so important, after all, and does not the computer free the memory of its obligations to learn "by heart" and to restore the function it had in Antiquity and the Middle ages, that of being a "matrix of cogitation in which memories are moved and gathered in a scheme with random access, a memorial architecture, a library where man spends his time building with the express intention of using it inventively" (Mary Carruthers, Machina memorialis, Gallimard, 2002).
These thoughts immediately raise several questions:
- What is memory? And memories?
- -How do we access these memories, these reminiscences?
- What architectures should we now build in order to access the information stored on hard discs and on servers?
- What figures must be invented to "display" information?
- Are we developing new forms of memory or are we privileging certain kinds of memory over others? Is episodic memory used more than semantic memory, for example?
- What are the effects of the general increase of work with and on memory on our modes of representation? What is the effect on mimesis?
In order to explore this theme of memory, the Biennial "Figures of Interactivity" will present a series of artistic performances, concerts, masterclasses and an international symposium. Given the sheer scope and fascination of the subject, we are already planning to explore it over two editions of the Biennial.
The vocation of this Biennial is to be accessible to a wide audience while maintaining a high level of quality. That is why, in November 2010, we are inviting scientists and artists internationally renowned for their eminence in their respective fields to Poitiers. This policy of openness to the public is also manifest in the idea of visual and aural performances around the city of Poitiers and in the holding of masterclasses at ÉESI open to everyone from the region.
In the same spirit of openness, other events in Poitiers linked to digital practices are being put on over the same dates as the Biennial, some of them in association with it. For example, in 2010 the festival titled "Le souffle de l'équinoxe" will explore the use of technological innovations in live performance. This will also be the case with a Steve Reich concert organised by Ars Nova ensemble on the theme of memory.
The Biennial’s long-standing university partners, the guarantors of its scholarly quality, will again be at our side for this second edition. The University of Poitiers will be represented by various research groups working on the questions of description, indexation and storing in memory, notably the XLIM/SIC laboratory, the Medical and Pharmaceutical Faculty of Poitiers, and the FoReLL laboratory.
Likewise UQÀM, with which ÉESI has developed a very close relationship, and the universities of Quebec generally, will feature prominently in this edition of Biennial, just as they did in 2008.
