VJ-BOOK.COM launched
(VJ-BOOK is a project by Timothy Jaeger, who together with Alex Draculescu presented the Respam:inbox performance at PixelACHE 2005 )
**********PRESS RELEASE ***********************
**** please forward to all interested parties ******
5/9/05
VJ-BOOK.COM Launched
IT’S OFFICIAL. VJ-BOOK is one of the first books to be published on VJ culture,
and potentially the first to theorize VJing in a way that breaks down the
practice and reception of live visuals in a systematic, structured way.
VJ-BOOK: Jockeying and Post-Cinema (tentative title) begins its inquiry where
Godard and Peter Greenaway leave theirs in proclaiming that ‘cinema is dead’.
The cinematic language is a rich, engrossing one that remains unexplored in
traditional Hollywood-style narratives. Contemporary VJs (video-jockeys) are
the first group in the 21st century to seriously engage and question the
potentials and limitations of the cinematic medium in a wide variety of formats
and contexts.
The central claim in VJ-BOOK is that ‘jockeying’ is a behavior, role, and
activity that facilitates a radically new kind of post-cinematic experience.
This experience can only be articulated in relation to traditional film syntax.
In doing some, the similarities and differences between this new type of cinema
and the older one flesh out new possibilities for producers of the moving
image, the audience, and the spaces in which cinema can not only be seen, but happen as events.
By breaking apart these elements, and exploring them in depth, a new kind of
language can emerge, one that shapes and is equally shaped by the current
discourse around the moving image. For instance, the relationship between the
image and screen is often neglected by traditional filmmakers, but VJs consider
it with a heightened awarness when preparing for a gig. VJing is one of the
first new art movements to be uniquely democratic in its production, as well as
distribution models, and its influences and effects (ranging from motion
graphics, design, Internet, etc.) are hashed out. Further, it is a global
movement, and encompasses a wide variety of scenes. VJing in the era of
globalization becomes a hotly contested them. And the cutting edge / periphery
of VJ culture, festivals and events that showcase new ways of producing and
receiving cinema (such as database performance) are highlighted.
A semi ‘open-source’ Image Gallery of everything from screengrabs, performance
shots, as well as glimpses into the lifestyle of contemporary VJing will
provide the lush background imagery for the full-color book, which will be
heavily designed and conceptually laid-out in print form. Beta-Readers will
also offer running commentary of VJ-BOOK, illuminating a threaded-conversation
mode of response that will appeal naturally to multi-taskers of the Internet
generation. Capsules and directed interviews with leading VJs will delve into
both the history and current trends and concerns (such as videoblogs, the much
maligned ‘wallpaper VJ’ label, festivals vs. clubs) that shape the discourse in
our globalized, connected world.
The tentative release date for VJ-BOOK is December 2005/January 2006 in a
limited edition print format.
VJ-BOOK is currently seeking a publisher of glossy art/design books. To this
end, we are sending out manuscripts and maquettes of the finished product. If
you or someone you know is affiliated with a publishing house that is
interested in learning more about VJ-BOOK, please direct inquiries to info at vj-book
dot com.
VJ-BOOK has already been offered tentative distribution in Finland, and is also
looking for translators to translate the forthcoming book into Spanish,
Chinese, German, etc.
info at vj-book dot com
-
VJ-BOOK is proudly hosted at THING.NET