New Media : Methods and Practices

Without preparing conference proceedings per se, Avatar chose to publish five essays of personal reflections. These texts take the reader to the heart of the issues raised during the presentations and performances of the New Media: Methods and Practices conference, held at the Salle Multi of the Coopérative Méduse on March 25 and 26, 2014. Two of the authors, Julie Faubert and Nathalie Bachand, agreed to participate in the conference as observers. Another contributor, Émile Morin, who also hosted the event’s presentations and meetings, summarized his own research on the notion of the dispositif (apparatus). Last but not least, Jocelyn Robert, Director of the École des arts visuels of the Université Laval and partner of the event, expressed a dual point of view: of both institution and artist. Organizing a conference on the current practices of “new media” with a vague theme certainly expands the parameters of discussion, but it also imposes the need to see and show, in different ways, the dynamics engendered by digital culture and media networks, as well as their ramifications for the methods and practices of artists. Starting from this premise, Avatar embarked on the adventure of a collective creation directly through the conference itself with a presentation of David Tudor’s Rainforest IV. As a contribution to this publication and in memory of this shared artistic project, I have attempted to outline the process that led to its recreation. In short, the observations made in this publication relate to the changes that have been occurring in artistic methods and practices as a counterpoint to digital and media art. To conclude, it should be noted that there is a direct resonance between these dynamics and the fields explored by Avatar.