Martin Rieser Artist and Writer Index
In 1989, curated the first International survey exhibition of Digital Printmaking: the Electronic Print at the Arnolfini in Bristol. He was also a consultant in the Art and Computers exhibition in Computer Art held in Cleveland that year and wrote the catalogue introduction. He also has experience of curation and judging through number of other international exhibitions in electronic art, including Arcade 2- 1997, Arcade 3 2000, the Electronic Eye at Watershed in 1986.
In 1988, he exhibited at the First International Society of Electronic Artists (FISEA) conference held in Utrecht. In 1990, created an interactive exhibition utilising giant digital panels and interactive sound installations with an accompanying multimedia program on the theme of the Electronic Forest. This was one of the first such installations of its type and prototyped the connection of such exhibitions to the internet. In 1990 he began experimenting with permanent digital ceramic printing for Public Art. Since then, he has regularly participated in ISEA.In 1992, he delivered a paper on Digital public art at ISEA Minneapolis. At ISEA1995, gave a paper and chaired the panel on interactive narrative in Montreal. At ISEA1996 in Rotterdam, he gave another paper on interaction and narrative and at ISEA1997 in Chicago, he delivered a paper on interactive public art and architecture. Later commissions were Understanding Echo, funded by the DA2 Open Commission. An interactive video drama,it was shown at the Cheltenham literary festival, Watershed Bristol and at ISEA2002 in Nagoya Japan.
In 1996-7 he collaborated with Inscape Arcitects on an ambitious Millennium project for Bristol called Orbit
He helped to make a successful lottery bid to fund a national digital arts initiative Imag@nation transformed into DA2: a major arts initiative promoting digital art practice nationally, and internationally.
Residencies include: Watershed/Cambridge Darkroom residency which involved constructing a self-curating web site and multimedia piece called Screening the Virus, based around publicly submitted artwork on HIV/Aids related themes. This was later short listed for a Wellcome Trust Sci-Art award.
He also directed the Media Myth and Mania section of the joint Watershed/Artec exhibition and CD publication From Silver to Silicon. The latter piece has been shown at many venues around the world including Milia in Cannes; Paris; ICA and the Photographer’s Gallery, London and at ISEA Montreal.
Other visual research projects included the direction of a collaboration involving five other artists (collectively known as Ship of Fools) using the subject of mythologies to explore the full range of narrative and visual interfaces in interactive media in a piece called Labyrinth.
This work involved drama, digital image, virtual environments, and interactive video at F-Stop Gallery in Bath and as part of the Cheltenham Literary Festival. It has been previewed at a number of venues including the Oberhausen Short Film festival in Germany and at ISEA in Montreal.His recent research project Triple Echo won an AHRB award and involves a three screen interactive video depicting a love triangle based on the Orpheus legends.
Recently edited: New Screen Media: Cinema/ Art/Narrative (BFI/ZKM, 2002)- which combines a DVD of current research and practice in this area together with critical essays .
He took AHRB research leave in 2004-5 creating a new locative work for Bath called Hosts which uses mobile and positional technologies combined with interactive sound and video and authored a book on locative technology called The Mobile Audience. in 2011 (Rodopi) documenting the rise of Locative and Mobile Media Art.
Recent art projects include:Secret Garden (virtual reality Opera /Ballet; Codes of Disobedience (Locative trail and exhibition in Athens; Exodus(Locative trail and installation in Leicester); Riverains-a locative experience for Manchester and London; The Third Woman -an interactive mobile film game for the emobiLArt european scheme; The Street-an interactive video wall addressing climate change in Australia and Secret Door: a site specific work for a Milanese hotel.
He is currently employed by De Montfort University at The Institute of Creative Technologies as Professor of Digital Creativity , he was Professor of Digital Arts and Senior Teaching Fellow at Bath Spa University 2000-2007, was Principal Lecturer in Digital Media at Napier University in Edinburgh at the Department of Photography, Film, and Television 1997-2000. in post as Senior Lecturer in Electronic Media at UWE Bristol between 1986 - 1998 He set up one of the first post-graduate courses in the country in Digital Art and Imaging at the City of London Polytechnic, now London Metriopolitan University 1980-85
His teaching and practice centres on new types of interactive art which use non-linear narrative in new media through CD-ROM, interactive installations, networked art projects and collaborations with architects. He has acted as consultant to bodies such as Cardiff Bay Arts Trust and the Photographers Gallery London.