01SJ Biennial: San Jose futuristic marriage of art and tech
Art and technology, once considered separate realms, are increasingly merging in dynamic ways. There is no better place to showcase this fusion than San Jose, with its tech roots blending with the Bay Area’s rich art scene. Thus the 01SJ Biennial, which takes over downtown San Jose for the third time on Sept. 16-19.
This is not your grandfather’s art festival. Featured are more than 100 nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists, engineers, designers, data miners and architects from 21 countries, augmented by exhibits by numerous Bay Area museums, galleries, cultural centers and corporations.
Among them will be fine artist Amy Franceschini and photographer Monica Haller, both 2010 Guggenheim Fellows, and dozens of artists who specialize in interactive and performance art. The festival curator is Steve Dietz, a new media pioneer at the Walker Art Center and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Typical of the 20 free, cutting-edge art installations will be “Plug-in-Play.” When “visual maestro” David Rockwell flips a switch at City Hall Plaza each day of the festival at dusk, plaza features like streetlamps and picnic tables will not only light up, they’ll be wired to “respond” in real time to the actions of the people clustered around them. Say the organizers: “The idea is to blur the boundaries between the physical and virtual…and challenge what a connected city of the future might look like.”
Whether the medium is robotics, storytelling or interactive signs, the festival will showcase the fusion of art and technology, with an emphasis on creating a better world. There will also be live music, films and workshops, some of it free and some covered by festival admission.
The focal point will be the San Jose Convention Center’s South Hall, along with the nearby San Jose Museum of Art, The Tech Museum and the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. But many other venues will be used throughout downtown San Jose, elsewhere in San Jose, and even in Cupertino, San Francisco and Berkeley. Among the more popular events are the Friday evening DIY street festival called AbsoluteZERO and the Saturday Green Prix, a day-long, downtown parade of non-fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Many events are free, but tickets that give festival-goers access to most downtown San Jose exhibits and events are $24 for one day or $45 for all three days.
HelloSanJose Tip: The wide variety of exhibits, events and venues make this festival complex, but it also means there’s sure to be something that appeals to you. Check the website for the full schedule.
Posted by Bob Cooper
