Concasts and Podversations

A podcast is a series of digital computer files, usually either digital audio or video, that is released periodically and made available for download by means of web syndication. It is also one of those internet mythologies, like blogging and Twitter, that validates the general euphoria over user-generated content. The happiness, progressiveness and usefulness of the web is symbolized by this invention (in fact, almost anything with the word ‘pod’ in it generates this feeling). However, like poetry, it is one of those things where there are more writers than readers. That is especially true in South Africa where RSS syndication is a bit of a myth itself (considering that in my group of friends alone, many people with Masters degrees, I’m the only one who uses feeds), and true broadband is something we are hoping will arrive when the SEACOM cable goes live. But like all these net things in SA, it starts small but will grow up in time.

My negativity aside, podcasts can be incredibly interesting, and it can be worth investing some time in them. A case in point is Bianca Baldi’s recent and continuing series of podcasts called Conversation. The project started as an element of a larger show called Studio Visit (curated by Baldi and Kirsty Cockerill at the AVA earlier this year), which was essentially a mixture between an open call show and a curated show. Artists submitted their names and the curators came for a visit to the studio, for a chat and to select work. Baldi then made an appointment for a second visit in which she asked specific questions about the artists practice and recorded them. The show was relatively good, considering the open call, the curatorial methodology allowed a certain formality that is often absent from submission shows. The Conversation aspect of the show was exhibited all together on a long, long loop in the gallery. This made it a bit difficult to access considering that there were probably more than ten hours of audio and identifying the speaker was tough. The solution was to make them available online in the form of podcasts. You can find the podcast page here. (getting this to work might take a little explaining for the uninitiated:  if you have iTunes on your computer, you can use it to receive updates by clicking on the “subscribe iTunes” link. If you have another podcast viewer, you can subscribe by clicking on the “subscribe RSS” link. If you have neither, but still want to dip in without subscribing, click on the “subscribe RSS” link which should allow you to access the actual files)

The interview has become an incredibly important part of contemporary art discourse, and it is well worth listening to people speak of how they view there own practice.