March meeting featuring Susana Mendes Silva

Lisboa 20 Arte Contemporânea welcomes next Thursday, March 30th @19:30, The Upgrade! Lisbon monthly gathering featuring Susana Mendes Silva who will present her online performances artphone and art_room.

Susana Mendes SilvaÂ’s work is about the human beingÂ’s condition, in its intimate, relational and even political aspects. some of her projects have a more
participative and gift-like dimension, questioning several times the contemporary art universe. Silva has freely used and experimented with drawing, photography, installation, performance, video, new media, aware of the specificities of projects and spaces.

“The Portuguese artist Susana Mendes Silva proposed the artphone. The idea is quite simple, she provides her address so we can talk to her through a microphone and headphones from the computer about contemporary art, using the computer as a telephone. I have talked many times with Susana, never about art, always about technical issues and always presenting one other artist that appeared while talking to her. Actually talking to an unknown person on the phone gives you a certain degree of intimacy that I always felt terrified about. As a matter of fact, I have always felt a certain compulsion to confessing things to this unknown voice. My first thought is always about the history of sexuality of M. Foucault, about this fear of confessing in intimate moments. She says, have no fear, ask me what you’ve always wanted to know about contemporary art, and all I felt was fear. The simple presence of a voice that talks about contemporary art has the ability to inspire disturbing or great situations for whoever contacts it. We may think it is a reflection on intimacy on the internet.
The work is not only a proposition, but the result of this chat that can never be
completely predictable”.

The Upgrade! Lisbon is a monthly gathering of new media artists, curators and
general public that fosters dialogue and creates opportunities for collaboration
within the new media art community. At each meeting one artist/curator present work in progress, past work or a concept and participate in a discussion with those attending the presentation. We would be delighted if you could come - whether you are an artist, a techie or simply someone who is interested in new media art!

For more information or project submission, please go to
The Upgrade! Lisbon
or
The Upgrade!