ICC Biennale '99
Preliminary Screening

October 14 and 15, 1998

The NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] founded the ICC Biennale to explore possibilities of new expressions in media art and to discover, develop, and support outstanding new artists. For the second Biennale, an international panel of nine specialists recommended 28 artists from 14 countries to propose plans for works on the idea of "Interaction," the '99 theme of the Biennale. In the preliminary screening of their plans, held on October 14 and 15, 1998, the judges selected ten artists to participate in this yearŐs exhibition.

As in the first Biennale (ICC Biennale '97), the plans selected include many that skillfully incorporate leading-edge technology. Viewers will find that this body of work is richly varied, addressing not only the other and society but also natural phenomena such as seismic waves and fictional constructs such as stories that unfold according to the viewer's reactions. The ICC is delighted to unveil these works, which will open up new possibilities in media art, and, with the second of the series, looks forward to exciting new possibilities for the Biennale itself.

The participating artists are:

Maurice BENAYOUN (France)

CHIKAMORI Motoshi (Japan)

Jean-Marie DALLET (France)

Ken GOLDBERG and Randall PACKER and Wojciech MATUSIK (U.S.A.)

Perry HOBERMAN (U.S.A.)

Eduardo KAC (Brazil)

Martin RICHES (U.K.)

Douglas Edric STANLEY (U.S.A.)

Studio Azzurro (Italy)

Grahame WEINBREN (U.K.)

Their works will be shown in Galleries A and D of the ICC from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, November 28, 1999.

During the exhibition, one artist will be selected to receive the Grand Prix, which carries an award of 5 million yen, and two artists will be awarded runner-up prizes of 1 million yen each.

The judges are Roy ASCOTT, Louise DOMPIERRE, Anne-Marie DUGUET, John G. HANHARDT, Jeffrey SHAW, ASADA Akira, ITOH Toshiharu, YAMAGUCHI Katsuhiro, and NAKAMURA Keiji.

[KAWAI Haruko]