Day 14 - Back at it! NIMK, University of Amsterdam...Rotterdam bound

It's Monday and the football gods have spoken...your 2012 Super Bowl shall feature a rematch of the 2008 event with the New England Patriots squaring up against the New York Giants. Not exactly (or at all) the game I was looking for, but it'll be interesting to see if the Pats can with this time or whether Ely Manning will surpass his brother Peyton in SB rings. Either way, it's almost the end of the football season and that's probably a good thing since this semester is going to be hella busy!

Today we're off to NIMK, formerly known as Montevideo. They changed their name about a decade ago, but still seem to be stuck with the moniker. NIMK/Montevideo specialize in the exhibition and archiving of unstable media. What exactly is "unstable media" you might ask? Well, for starters, it's any kind of media with a definite shelf life, such as performance art or electronic multi media that is problematic in its archival properties. Say you're an artist and you created an installation in the mid-90's with video, sound and sculpture--now you can't exactly have that space you built your installation in for the unforeseeable future, so there should be some kind of documentation of it, right? That's exactly the type of thing they do.

Another form of unstable media would be considered any kind of performance art, which itself if ephemeral in nature. NIMK works to preserve documentation of performance by ensuring that the remnants of said events always remain viewable to interested audiences. This means archiving video and sound of performance art, then ensuring that the digital formats remain viewable throughout the future. With video and sound standards in a perpetual state of flux, this is extremely important for future generations to have access to what is now avant-garde work, but will be of historical performance in the future.

Is this making sense to you? If not, you can check out NIMK/Montevideo's site HERE for  more info.

Also on the agenda today is a visit to the University of Amsterdam and a brief look at what they're accomplishing in their fine arts department, particularly their Master of Arts Program, which is an English based study program for international students. There's a wealth of possibilities for study in the curriculum and we met a few students with former ties to SAIC as well. It's pretty cool to see what others are doing across the globe in the arts communities and even cooler when you see somewhat familiar faces doing so well with where they're headed.

And now...we're off on the train to Rotterdam, the pinnacle of the trip and the IFFR--or International Film Festival Rotterdam, which looks to be very promising, now the schedule for the festival is out. See you there!

Staircase at NIMK/Montevideo

Golden cassettes, part of an installation at NIMK

Another amazing sky in Amsterdam

View from the hostel room with reflection