What occupies you other than art?

OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
22 Feb 2008, Hong Kong

Preoccupations: Things Artists Do Anyway
A bookwork

Conceived by Cornelia Erdmann & Michael Lee

Published by Studio Bibliothèque
Launched in Jul 2008 (tbc)
Launched at Studio Bibliothèque (tbc)

Concept
Preoccupations: Things Artists Do Anyway is a bookwork that explores the preoccupations of artists between, besides and beyond their main artistic practices. It is conceived and will be edited by artists Cornelia Erdmann and Michael Lee Hong Hwee, and will be published by Studio Bibliotheque in Jul 2008 (tbc) at a venue in Hong Kong (tbc), in conjunction with Hong Kong Book Fair during 23 – 29 Jul 2008.

By definition, a ‘preoccupation’ is an idea, thing, person, activity or event on which a person expends extended time and energy. For this proposed publication, preoccupation may be a full-time or part-time employment, a hobby, a collection or any particular area of interest. Obviously, just as womanizing was closely related to Picasso’s art, everything that an artist does, feels and thinks about is interrelated to the extent that any attempt to keep life and art separate, including to isolate things artists do in and outside art, is good only for analysis, if not futile or rhetorical.

The key question for the artist to ponder is: What drives or occupies you other than art?

The project is aimed at uncovering the range and roles of different ‘third terms’ that mediate between an artist and his or her art practice, particularly in ways that the terms interrelate, compliment or contest one another. This project is expected to offer insights into various relationships pertaining to the creative life: art / life, work / leisure, publicized practice / private preoccupations, to name a few. The key significance of this compilation is the culmination of an archive of autobiographical fragments that will engage existing discourses on identity politics, relational aesthetics, creative processes and reception studies.

Methodology
The collection of artists’ contributions is through a combination of open call and invitation. Each included contribution will be showcased on a spread, one page for text writeup and the other for image, both relating to the preoccupation.

The copyright of text and image in each included contribution will be retained by individual contributors.

The editors reserve the right to select contributions to compose a thematically diverse compilation.

The publisher regrets that no honorarium could be offered as all fund that are in the process of being sought will be channelled to the printing cost. However, each contributor will receive two copies of the publication when it is published.

Submission
Submission involves duly filling up the Submission Form (below) and emailing it with required attachments to studiobibliotheque@gmail.com by 31 Mar 2008.

Contact information
C: Michael Lee Hong Hwee or Cornelia Erdmann
T: (+852) 9249 7199
E: studiobibliotheque@gmail.com
W: www.studiobibliotheque.blogspot.com
A: #1812 Blk B Wah Luen Ind Ctr, 15-21 Wong Chuk Yeung St, Fo Tan, NT, HK

About the editors
Cornelia Erdmann was born and brought up in Frankfurt, Germany. She received a degree in architecture in 2002 and a MFA in Public Art in 2005 from Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany. Since 2002 Cornelia Erdmann is intensely involved in making art. In 2003 Cornelia Erdmann is a lecturer for «Mediatecture» at the Department of Architecture of the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland. At the same time she also teaches workshops at Bauhaus-University Weimar, and continues her work as a media-artist. In August 2006 Cornelia moves to Hong Kong. In her projects she is mainly interested in the interaction of space and society, scrutinising aspects of urbanity and life style – always bearing a small smile along the way. <http://www.corneliaerdmann.de/>

Michael Lee Hong Hwee is a Singapore-born artist currently based in Hong Kong and Singapore. Concerned with the relation between desire and space, he explores different forms and media, especially photographic installation, model-making, book-making, video, writing and curating. He was the recipient of Young Artist Award (Visual Arts) 2005, conferred by National Arts Council, Singapore. <http://www.michael.farm.sg/>

About Things Artists Do series
Things Artists Do is an exhibition / publication series addressing the gap amidst the onslaught of survey art projects focusing on theme or art form, by examining instead the action and being of artists. So far, two installments in the series have been completed (Autobiobliophiles: Artists who make or use books, in May/June 2007; and Eniminiminimos: Artists who make things small, Jan 2008, both held at Studio Bibliothèque) and one in the forthcoming (Hong Kong Anarchitecture Bananas: Artists respond to HKSZBUA, co-organised with and held at Artist Commune, Mar 2008).

About Studio Bibliothèque
Studio Bibliothèque facilitates experiments in making, writing, curating and learning. It is the workspace of artist Michael Lee Hong Hwee. The studio has been featured in the mass media including iSh, Sunday Morning Post, Ming Pao Daily, Ming Pao Weekly, Take Me Home and Weekend Weekly. <http://studiobibliotheque.blogspot.com/>

About Hong Kong Book Fair
The Hong Kong Book Fair is a fair organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council held usually in July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, selling and exhibiting books, printed matter, stationery, printing, compact discs and othe rmultimedia publishing. <http://hkbookfair.tdctrade.com/>

Submission Form
1. Artist
1.1 Name (English / Chinese):
1.2 Tel:
1.3 Email:
1.4 Url:
1.5 Mailing Address:
1.6 Biography (max. 200 words, or fill in filename):
1.7 Curriculum Vitae (or fill in filename):

2. Preoccupation
2.1 Writeup (max. 500 words, or fill in filename):
2.2 Image (hi-res, 300dpi, no less than 1Mb; please fill in filename):

Submission involves duly filling up this Submission Form and emailing it with required attachments to studiobibliotheque@gmail.com by 31 Mar 2008.