===== foam meeting 20061027 =====

present: cocky, lina, jack, pix, theun, maja, nik

notes edited by nik, based on notes from nik & jack


==== dec. openlab proposal ====

Open Lab - Presentations, talks, etc...

  * open lab, as part of funding requirements
  * talks, presentations, etc+ to show what foam is doing & interested in
  * foton doing a festival in recylceart, showcasing bxl werkplaatsen
  * 8-16th dec.
  * proposed  
    * setup temporary studio
    * work on newsletter ->  "publication as performance"
    * presentations of research projects, in whatever formats
    * talks, discussions
    * films/projectsions/etc when no-one is there


==== research updates ====

jack -> foam valuator
  * summary of research into commercial art world mechanics.
  * traditional art dealer model
    * buy low, promote artist, sell high
    * difficult with newmedia, due to production costs, probably requires new financing schemes
  * proposed 'IPO' style
    * dealers as investors or an investment bank
    * prefinacing of works -> guaranteed interest/attention
  * perspectives on philanthropy
    * motivations -> how have these changed w/ contemporary arts / new media


lina -> materials library update
  * classification system
    * still trying to work out categories & reference numbers
    * how does cross referencing work?
  * will meet with karen next week to continue discussions & summarise
  * importance of being able to locate materials from reference numbers
  * data entry for 'information' about materials
  * should there be someone involved to work with developing database models?
    * -> not really necessary at this stage
  * any ideas about barcoding, rfid etc ?+
    * -> not really yet, possibly type in & connect to database for more info

cocky -> inflatables
  * summary of timeless way of building ~14pp
  * visual overview of inflatables survey
    * got boring trying to be comprehensive, so just looking for things she likes now
    * what is it that she finds interesting?
      * -> alive/playful/something happening -> collection
  * will put documentation on the libarynth

pix -> strange attractors
  * more motivated, but still feeling a bit burnt out
  * mechanics of embeddings renderer in app framework for attractor explorer
  * future directions
    * 3 distinct 1d attractors in 3space
    * decoupling 3d iterators from x->y->z->x loops

theun -> Tsunami Pants
  * collecting pictures of protective gear / armour/ sports/plague/ rescue
  * pictures of shelters build by homeless ppl around ams.


maja & nik -> climate change
  * conferences - ICCAS & festo
  * after the 'stomach cringing discussion on the previous res-gat, looked for positive and inspiring projects
  * presentation at festo - opportunities and challenges for communicating about sustainable cultures
  * move from consumerist -> participatory culture
    * mike longhurst's talk at festo - similar perspective from within the marketing industry-> http://www.uneptie.org/sustain/reports/advertising/article_longhurst_admap.pdf
    * climate change as a symptom of other more fundamental problems
  * interesting projects
    *  canary project http://www.canary-project.org/
    *  worldchanging http://www.worldchanging.com
    *  camper (http://www.camper.com/), banyan tree (http://www.banyantree.com/), minergie (http://www.minergie.ch/index.php), ekkovikki (http://www.kolumbus.fi/solpros/ekoviikki.htm)
    *  c20 project -> cites playing essential roles in moving toward carbon neutral/ sustainability
    *  centre for ecoliteracy -> http://www.ecoliteracy.org/
    *  role of finance -> calpers, ecoLogic finance
    *  politics necessary to codify previously voluntary efforts, provide longer term stability
      *  Iceland's move to complete geothermal energy, attempt to become first carbon neutral country
    *  commercial campaign examples -> BP, ecomagination [GE], climate group
  * authenticity -> reaction to increasing virtualisation, greeenwashing, marketing hype etc+
  * extending the visualisation of lifestyle choices, carbon footprints, etc+
    * connection between ideas from last meeting and andrey/shai's math models