Me gustas pixelad_ 2018
A celebration of living art that transcends the sensory body and physical space. Performances geared towards computer screens, the internet and video games.
For some time now, people have been talking about pixels more than cells. We’ve been fed a diet of low-resolution images over the last thirty years or so. We’ve grown accustomed to recognising our pixelated bodies, learning to make out their outlines even when they blend in with the background or other bodies.
The body seems to disappear when we share pixels through screens—images depleted by constant downloads, copy-and-paste or slow connection speeds—but in fact the high-resolution body is right there, in front of the computer, with a performativity far greater than anything cookies can store.
Over the course of three days, the Me gustas pixelad_ [I Like You Pixelated] festival, curated by Matías Daporta, will explore different themes to shed some light on ways of understanding the performative body in the digital age.
Andrés Galeano’s performance 1, 2, 3 will kick off the festival at La Casa Encendida with a kind of countdown: a fast, steady stream of audio and video clips drives three performers on elliptical bikes to the point of exhaustion, inviting us to reflect on the dependent relationship between the screen and our bodies.
At 11 am on Wednesday the 28th, to introduce the Variable Play workshop, Claire L. Evans—in conversation with Gema F.B. Martín—will present her upcoming book, Broad Band, at ESNE (University School of Design). In this work, Claire rewrites the history of computers, the internet and video games by focusing exclusively on the discoveries and contributions of women. It is radical exercise in professional acknowledgement that attempts to make up for years of silence.
After the presentation, the intensive two-day workshop will begin. The evolution and results of this activity will be shown on 2 March in the Cinema at La Casa Encendida.
