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<nettime-ann> Call for artists/designers to produce four banners to be exhibited as part of an exhibition titled "A Total Spectacle" in Winnipeg, Canada


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++Summary++

Seeking artists/designers to create four banners that will be digitally printed in Winnipeg (Canada) for presentation as part of an exhibition titled “A Total Spectacle” opening May 17, 2013.


++Background++

“La dottrina del fascismo” (“The Doctrine of Fascism”), written by Giovanni Gentile in 1932 and attributed to Benito Mussolini in 1933, describes fascism as the harmonization of business and labour in the interest of the State. Appreciating Mussolini's commitment to reduced taxation and union busting, wealthy business owners granted him their support before realizing he aimed to personally control Italy's various industries by means of a dictatorship. As the self-declared undisputed head of state, Mussolini detested bourgeois luxury and ultimately dismissed the authority of business owners as subordinate to his own. Business owners in Germany experienced similar difficulty controlling Adolph Hitler, the dictator they funded as a way to control striking workers by proxy.

Through the course of events associated with World War II, Mussolini's Fascism and Hitler's Nazism were dismantled. Around this time, wealthy business owners and other members of the global elite figured something out: why buy social control via individual, charismatic leaders when you can buy the whole system instead? Representing what became known as the Austrian school of Economics, Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises co-organized a meeting in 1947 at Hôtel du Parc, near Vevey, Switzerland, that established a European economic federation called The Mont Pelerin Society. Designed to promote aggressive liberal/anti-socialist ideology through a decentralized network, the Society facilitated the development and funding of think tanks, policy makers, and lobby groups, as well as the grooming of politicians and backing of favourable candidates. Simultaneously, through concentrated ownership of the media producing an increasingly narrow spectrum of discourse, corporatist ideologues have compelled large segments of society into willingly surrender many of the human and environmental rights gained since the end of World War II. Seduce 'em with consumer goods. Distract 'em with vapid entertainment. Control 'em with fear. That is how to harmonize the workers and the state in the interests of business.


++Exhibition concept++

“A Total Spectacle” will be an exhibition of interdisciplinary work by contemporary artists presented with photos, videos, and other items culled from mass culture in a format that takes cues from blockbuster exhibitions throughout history from Mussolini's 1932 “Mostra della rivoluzione fascista” (“Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution”) to contemporary for-profit infotainment exhibitions-in-a-box type productions. Playing humourously on notions of authority, this “homemade” spectacle about spectacle will address everyday neoliberal practices intended to cultivate social control through seduction, diversion, and fear.

Since no exhibition about totalitarianism and spectacle would be complete without banners, this project seeks an artist/designer to create a series of four banners that will hang from the ceiling of the exhibition space to frame four sub-topics: power, sex, consumption, and fear.


++Submission requirements and deadline++

Please submit low resolution concept drawings (.eps, .jpg., .pdf, or .tif) for four banners in a mock corporate style to represent each of the following four “values”: power, sex, consumption, and fear.

A design concept that references the way corporate values are presented in promotional material such as shareholder reports and/or print advertising is ideal. Any range of colours may be used, but less ink means better affordability; please create an image that makes ample use of white space, especially if you would like your completed banners mailed to you at the end of the exhibition.

Submissions should be accompanied by:
-- a brief artist statement
-- a few examples of past work (i.e. links to projects)

Please send submissions to contact@shintai-z.com by Saturday, February 23, 2013. Late submissions will not be considered. The selected artist/designer will be notified within one week, and all others will be notified shortly thereafter.


++Specifications for selected work++

Four banners will be digitally printed at Martha Street Studios (Manitoba Printmakers Association) for presentation as part of the exhibition mentioned above. The banners will hang from the ceiling. The file specifications are as follows:

-- One banner per file to represent each of the following “values”: power, sex, consumption, fear -- Any range of colours may be used, but less ink means better affordability; please create an image that makes ample use of white space, especially if you would like your completed banners mailed to you at the end of the exhibition -- Finished dimensions of each banner must be: 36” (91 cm) wide x 72” (182 cm) long
-- 360 dpi preferred; 300 dpi acceptable
-- .tif or .eps preferred; .jpg acceptable
-- print-ready files must be provided by Monday, April 22, 2013


++Compensation++

The selected artist/designer will receive an exhibition fee exceeding the minimum recommendations set forth by CARFAC Canadian Artists' Representation / Le Front des artistes canadiens for 2013 in the category applying to group shows featuring 6 -10 artists (Category I). The artist fee will be payable in Canadian dollars via electronic means for automatic currency conversion where applicable. The banners will be printed at Martha Street Studios (Manitoba Printmakers Association) in Winnipeg. Every effort will be made to ship the finished work to the artist following the exhibition, budget permitting.


Thank you so much! I look forward to your submissions!

With all best regards,
Milena Placentile, Curator

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