"The Art and Politics of Netporn"

September 30 & October 1 2005

De Badcuyp, Amsterdam

www.networkcultures.org/netporn

For more information: nieke@networkcultures.org/ 020 5951866

Supported by: Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis and Interactive Media, Hogeschool van Amsterdam.

In the weekend of September 30 and October 1, the ‘Badcuyp’ in
Amsterdam will host the first conference on Internet pornography, entitled ‘The Art & Politcs of Netporn’. This international event, organized by the Institute of Network Cultures, will include
presentations from a broad selection of artists and researchers from all over the world. All of them have been researching the subject of Internet pornography in their own individual ways. The event’s grand finale will be a ‘porn pour porn soiree’, a festive night with
various performances and screenings. The party will kick off with a presentation of Katrien Jacobs’ new book ‘Libidoc’, about her quest for sex artists all around the world.

Even in this modern age, Internet pornography is a subject that makes most people uncomfortable. The common image isn’t pretty, since the subject is mostly related to raunchiness, exploitation, ‘strange people’ with awkward sexual preferences, and dubious networks and practices. The Art and Politics of Netporn wants to draw attention to the other side of this phenomenon by focusing on the political and economical implications of netporn, as well as to the ethical and aesthetic aspects of digital communities (i.e. weblogs, chat groups, mailing lists and webzines). These relatively new forms of
communication enable people to meet up anonymously, form communities, or present themselves while having creative control over the process of communciation.To provide us with an alternative view on netporn, the conference organization has also invited artists whose work
reflects different ideas on sexuality and who have appropriated the language or specific qualities of Internet pornography. The Art and Politics of Netporn challenges the visitors to discuss the current social climate of heightened control over information processes and the power of censorship. Who gets to decide what we are allowed to see, and what are the limits to our freedom?Five different themes will be presented during the two days of the conference, with contributions by artists, researchers and
journalists. ‘Sex Workers of the Net World’ is centered round the political and economical values of netporn and online sex workers. And what is the importance of porn for E-commerce? In ‘The Rise of the Netporn Society’ the focus is on the individual use of Internet by for example bloggers and producers of so-called indieporn.
Dominant images and concepts about netporn and the possibility of creating a ‘history of netporn’ are some of the concepts of the theme ‘Porn meets Brain: Netporn Theory’. ‘Porn as a Technology of the Self’ is about the possibilities of the use netporn by minority
groups like queers and transgenders. How do they use elements of pornography to create their own sexual identity? An open debate about censorship will give the visitor a chance to share their opinions about this subject with the participants. The conference closes with Porn pour Porn, a soiree mixte with dj’s and vj’s live performance, screenings and all else that pours into it..

The program is available at www.networkcultures.org/netporn.

Practical Information

The Art and Politics of Netporn, September 30 – October 1, 2005

De Badcuyp, Amsterdam

Eerste Sweelinckstraat 10 (corner Albert Cuypstraat), 1073 CM Amsterdam

Tel: +31 (0) 20 6759669, Email: info@badcuyp.nl
Website: www.badcuyp.nl
Conference registration:
netporn@networkcultures.org
For more information: nieke@networkcultures.org/
sabine@networkcultures.org

Entrance fees:

Allround ticket (2 days + party): 50 euro, students 25 euro

Day ticket, Friday or Saturday: 30 euro, students 15 euro

Party ticket (Saturday night): 8 euro, students 5 euro

Please check www.networkcultures.org/netporn for all practical

information.

The organization

Katrien Jacobs: Guest Scholar/Curator Art and Politics of Netporn

Jacobs works as an assistant professor at City University of Hong Kong. She is a scholar, writer and activist in the field of digital art and culture who has published widely on netporn, sex art, and censorship. She has a Ph.D. degree in comparative literature and media, with a thesis on dismemberment myths and rituals in 1960s/ 1970s body art and performance media. She recently finished her book ‘Libidoc: Journeys in the Performance of Sex Art.’ (Maska
Publications), a grand-scale emotive and illuminated travelogue into the work of 27 artists, with tales and commentaries by the double- narrator ‘Libidot’ and ‘dr jacobs’.

Geert Lovink: Founder of the Institute of Network Cultures, co-
initiator of The Art and Politics of Netporn
Geert Lovink is a Dutch-Australian media theorist and activist. Since January 2004 appointed as senior researcher/associated professor at Amsterdam University (HvA/UvA). He is organizer of conferences,
festivals and (online) publications and the founder of numerous
Internet projects such as www.nettime.org and www.fibreculture.org . He recently published Dark Fiber (2002), Uncanny Networks (2002) and My First Recession (2003).

Matteo Pasquinelli: Stimulator and co-curator of the Art and Politics of Netporn
After participating in a number of media projects (from Luther
Bissett to Telestreet) Matteo Pasquinelli momentarily works in London as a freelance curator and critic with a focus on media philosophy. He is the author of ‘Media Activism’ (Derive Approdi, Rome 2002) and editor of Rekombinant (www.rekombinant.org), an influential Italian webzine and forum about media activism, culture jamming and radical philosophy.

Sabine Niederer: producer of The Art and Politics of Netporn
Sabine works as a producer and researcher Institute of Network
Cultures. She graduated as an art historian (MA) at Utrecht
University. She has produced and (co-)curated several screenings, shows and events in the field of visual arts and digital culture and has recently taught courses in media theory. Sabine is one of the editors of the bimonthly film and video program ‘Cinematiek’ and reviews music videos for the Dutch broadcaster’s NPS short film website.

Nieke Kempen: production assistent of The Art and Politics of Netporn Nieke Kempen is a fourth year student of Communication and
Information Science at the University of Utrecht. Within these three years she also took a minor in Justice and Society, and courses in womenstudies. This way she got in contact with legal and social
gender aspects. After graduating her Bachelor this summer and a
successful execution of her function as production assistant for The Art and Politics of Netporn, Nieke wants to obtain her Master in Communication, Policy and Management.

Marije Janssen: research assistent of The Art and Politics of Netporn Marije is a fifth year student at the Faculty of Arts of the
University of Utrecht. In 2004 she graduated as Bachelor in the Arts, with a specialization in Mediastudies. As part of the master’s
program New Media & Digital Culture she works as an intern at the Institute for Network Cultures for the conference ‘The Art & Politics of Netporn’. At the INC she will start her research for her Master’s thesis on the cyberfeminist perspective on the representation of the female sexual identity in online communities. Marije has a broad interest in everything related to new media, from the art of
computergames to digital copyrights. But after completing several courses at the faculty of Women’s Studies, she has specialized in cyberfeminist views on the relationship between new media and identity.