Look Again. Jan 19 – 29, 2012 Park City, Utah

New Frontier

Highlighting work that pushes the boundaries of storytelling and the moving image, New Frontier celebrates the convergence of film, art, and new media technologies as a hotbed for cinematic innovation. New Frontier presents media installations, multimedia performances, transmedia experiences, panel discussions, feature films, and more.

New for 2012, New Frontier will move its location to The Yard (next to The Yard Park & Ride) as well as co-exhibit at Salt Lake Art Center, bringing the program to Salt Lake City for a second year. Learn more about visiting New Frontier venues here.

FUTURE NORMAL – The integration of humanity and media technology

Throughout human civilization, stories have organized the way we understand the world. Myths, dreams, histories, speculations about the future frame how we understand ourselves and our relationships with others. They make us human. They also define what we identify as “normal.”

Our storytelling culture evolves as we integrate media technology deeper into our lives. Rapidly advancing screen culture enables new modes of communication through the moving image. Our gadget-encrusted bodies plug us into a bioelectric architecture where cinematic stories inform and validate ideas, philosophies, and customs. Today’s media landscape is cyborgish—part human, part machine. Stories are collectively produced through interactive participation, and the boundaries among author/audience/artwork have become permeable and interchangeable. Normal is not what it used to be.

The 2012 New Frontier artists, filmmakers, journalists, game designers, and media scientists present cinematic works that integrate humanoids with the technosphere. While consumer culture hails technology as the key to transcending our biological limitations, the artists in New Frontier encourage a media environment that nourishes the fragile cornerstones of our humanity—our vulnerability, our social nature, and our creativity.

–Shari Frilot