Intermedia
286918
224071436
2008-07-07T04:44:09Z
Lightbot
7178666
Units/dates/other
{{refimprove|date=September 2007}}
{{for|the hypertext system|Intermedia (hypertext)}}
{{for|the film studio|Intermedia (production company)}}
'''Intermedia''' was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by [[Fluxus]] artist [[Dick Higgins]] to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting and theater could be described as '''intermedia'''. With repeated occurrences, these new genres between genres could develop their own names (e.g. [[visual poetry]] or [[performance art]].)
Higgins described the tendency of the most interesting and best in the new art to cross the boundaries of recognized media or even to fuse the boundaries of art with media that had not previously been considered art forms, including computers.
{{Quote|"Part of the reason that [[Duchamp]]'s objects are fascinating while [[Picasso]]'s voice is fading is that the Duchamp pieces are truly between media, between sculpture and something else, while a Picasso is readily classifiable as a painted ornament. Similarly, by invading the land between [[collage]] and [[photography]], the German [[John Heartfield]] produced the what are probably the greatest graphics of our century..."|Higgins|Intermedia, 1966)}}
With characteristic modesty, he often noted that [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] had first used the term.
In 1968, Hans Breder founded the first university program in the United States to offer an M.F.A. in intermedia. The [http://www.uiowa.edu/~interart/ Intermedia Area] at [[The University of Iowa]] graduated artists such as [[Ana Mendieta]] and Charles Ray. In addition, the program developed a substantial visiting artist tradition, bringing artists such as [[Dick Higgins]], [[Vito Acconci]], [[Allan Kaprow]], [[Karen Finley]], [[Robert Wilson (dramatist)|Robert Wilson]] and others to work directly with Intermedia students. The program is currently headed by Jon Winet ([[Xerox PARC]] [[Artist]] in Residence in the 1990s). The technical supervisor, and also an integral part of the culture of the Intermedia Area and graduate of the program himself, is Steven Strait.
Over the years, especially on the Iowa campus, "Intermedia" has been used interchangeably with "[[Multi-media]]." However, recently the latter term has become identified with mixed-media in the [[arts]] and [[electronic media]] in [[pop-culture]]. While Intermedia values both disciplines, the term "Intermedia" has become the preferred term for [[interdisciplinary]] practice.
[http://www.intermedia.org.pk '''Intermedia'''] is also a non-profit NGO based in Pakistan that aims at promoting an informed, democratic and tolerant society by supporting and strengthening free media as an effective tool for social progress.
==References==
*[[Dick Higgins]], ''Intermedia'', [[Something Else Press|Something Else Newsletter]] 1, 1966
==See also==
* [[Sound art]]
* [[Sound sculpture]]
* [[Sound installation]]
* [[Fine Art]]
* [[Conceptual Art]]
* [[Internews]]
* [[Classificatory disputes about art]]
* [[Interdisciplinarity]]
* [[Syncretism]]
* [[Media convergence]]
* [[Expanded Cinema]]
==External links==
*[http://dreher.netzliteratur.net/ Website "Thomas Dreher: Intermedia Art"]
[[Category:Contemporary art]]
[[Category:Visual music]]
[[de:Intermedialität]]
[[pl:Intermedia]]