Greg Bellerby is the new director of the Char- les H. Scott Gallery, a position which stood vacant after Willard Holmes left for the VAG. A native Vancouverite (born with a silver umbrella in his mouth), a graduate from the old Vancouver School of Art circa 1973, and a pioneer in the video me- dium - seems like an OK guy for our school. Greg began his foray into the harsh world of post-art-school financial reality by working in advertising. He didn’t like it. Lucking into a job in the VAG’s preparation department gave him the opportunity to work with artists, this interaction being the most memorable and enjoyable part of the job. Rising to the extension department he put together travelling exhibits that he displayed in small communities throughout B.C. Personally having to justify his choice of art to the audience rather than a board of directors gave him a sense of the unique responsibility a curator has towards the gallery’s general public. In 1980 he moved to Vancouver Island to occupy the position of curator at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Greg spent six years there and when the need for a change arrived, went travelling through Asia and California. (Yeah, I think they’re pretty opposite, too.) Two things really struck him in his travels: the sense of the continuous history and occupation that permeates Asia and the amount of money that American galleries have to spend on their collections. Next came a brief stint at the CAG and, then, onto the directorship of our own Charles H. Scott. The gallery's mandate is decided by a commit- tee composed of Greg, a member of the ECCAD Board, and the Associate Deans. As with any other area of the college, ultimate authority of decision rests with Alan Barkley. Greg has a very strong IeBuIg THORN personal sensibility of the gallery as a unique and important facility to ECCAD and Vancouver. He believes that the educational aspect of the gallery should be emphasized, and some component of art making must be addressed. He hopes to feature shows that apply to each of our departments over an eighteen month period and would like to tie in visiting artists with the exhibits. Two shows are currently in the works, with January displaying work by artists who use and/or critique television in their work. The show has its origins in New York and, as the catalogue states, “It is not that televi- sion shows only entertainment that is bad, but that everything is presented as entertainment.” So, watch out for ‘Acceptable Entertainment’ starting January 6th. Next is a drawing show by various local artists and then, tentatively, a historical display of Canadian and American sculpture from the late sixties. Politics - that dirty word in Zalmland. Upon being asked how he felt about political content in art and whether he would show art that might be considered controversial by the government and hence, the administration, he replied that he would not compromise the artists’ right to make art they felt was important. Furthermore, it is the curator’s duty to uphold the artist’s integrity. A couple of direct quotations: “You should be willing to put your job on the line, otherwise all we (curators) end up being is interior decorators.” “The gallery is here to serve and reflect all areas of the College.” Sounds like Mr. Bellerby has some interesting directions in mind for the gallery and I look for- ward to checking them out. Sayonara. Karen Opas Though this issue is devoted to the theme of “Power”, my column this month deals with communication and communication tools. It shouldn’t really take too much to convince you that communication, when handled properly, can be a power tool. Always handle your power tools properly. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to two computer artists from Germany, who are in residence at The Western Front. Their names are Rena Tangens and Padeluun, and they had been taking a tour through the computer rooms with another student. We got to talking about some Canadian telecommunications services like the Inter/Access Database in Toronto, a relatively large art-oriented bulletin board, which contains articles from various computer-art magazines, gallery information, and a graphics library. I felt at a loss at times, since they seemed to know so much about computer art here in Canada, but I knew nothing about what was going on over in Germany. (I would imagine they have travelled a lot - Padeluun was carrying a Toshiba Laptop portable computer, and takes it with him wherever he goes, I think.) Padeluun told me that the Atari ST, which he and Rena both use, is a very popular microcomputer in Germany and that practically every schoolboy runs a small computer bulletin board service over there. The two of them didn’t stop smiling the whole time. That night, I ran across a recent copy of the Western Front magazine which had an article on these two. From what I could see, they are heavily involved in telecommunications-art (electronic mail-art?), programming, and “hacking”, through the West German “KAOS Computer Club”. There seems to be more politics and freedom of information conflicts associated with the German computer scene than I'd thought. They’ve been involved in things like the “Online Party”, a long- distance tele-communications connection between computer users at a Canadian University and users in West Germany, which was stopped short by German officials (gov’t or some such) who then broke the line. Rena and Padeluun were also recently implicated in an alleged cracking of some NASA security code. While I respect the fact that it takes some pluck to get access to a system that complex, I just hope their purpose for doing it is a little loftier than “it was there”. Communication with a real purpose is more credible than communication just for communication’s sake. No doubt you’ve all heard of fourteen year-olds diverting (eighties term for stealing) hundreds of thousands of dollars from large corporations, etc. mainly because “it was there”. That’s a type of power that fourteen year-olds didn’t have fourteen years ago. No more threatening to “run away and join the circus” nowadays. I don’t want you to think ['m a raving paranoid when it comes to the information society, but I want you to think about the fact that this is an information society. The Age of Information. How much of that information are you passively receiving through television, radio, and print, and how much are you actively transmitting through your own channels - vocal, written and artistic? Communication is a power tool. | And since we're still on the subject, a new student Computer Message System has been started in room 229 using one of the Amiga computers, for all interested students to use. It’s all on a little 3.5 inch disk called “The ECCAD Communication Base”, which is in a black box on the wall near the door. Follow the instructions above the box, and you can sign-on to this new electronic “bulletin board”. It’s presently got a user-base of six, but there’s room for at least 100 more, So... Computer animation students: For your interest, there is a fairly large collection of issues of the “Pixel” computer animation newsletter behind the counter in the print library. “Pixel”, edited and published in Toronto by Robi Roncarelli, is a monthly newsletter devoted to computer animation news, and usually includes reports from animation festivals and computer conferences (like Siggraph), as well as the occasional interview with a computer animator or graphic artist. It is a simple eight page, type-written newsletter, except that each issue has a colour insert, showing graphics, or stills from animated works. I have seen little coverage of micro-computer animation news in PIXEL however, with the prime focus at professional-level animation done by animation houses and students using large computer systems. Some announcements: “The Computer Animation Club” meets every Monday at noon in room 229. This group’s focus is, surprisingly enough, Computer Animation. The “Graphic Expressions and Experimental Komputing” (G.E.E.K.!) club meets every Wednesday at 12:20 in room 229. This group’s focus is just about everything else dealing with computers and art. And finally... Ron Barron will be staying on as the resident computer technician until the end of the fall semester, and he has been given a “probably” from the college regarding the security of his position for the spring term. It’s stilla waiting game to see if the college can allocate money for Ron’s wages. E. John Love He knows that trouser cuffs are fine on tweed and herringbone suits (but not on pinstripe or dark suits). Planet of the Arts, vol.4, no.3 Greg Belleby i the new director ofthe Char- les H. Scott Gallery, a position which stood vacant after Willard Holmes left for the VAG. A native Vancowverite (born with a silver umbrella in his mouth), a graduate from the old Vancouver School of Art circa 1973, and a pioneer in the video me- dium - seems like an OK guy for our schoo. ‘Greg began his foray into the harsh world of post-artschool financial reality by working in Advertising. He didn’ ike it. Lucking into a job in the VAG's preparation department gave him the opportunity to work with artists, this interaction being the most memorable and enjoyable part of the job. Rising tothe extension department he put together traveling exhibita that he displayed in small communities throughout B.C. Personally having to justify his choice of art to the audience rather than a board of directors gave him a sense of the unique responsibility a curator has towards the gallery's general publi 1h 1980 he moved to Vancouver Island to accupy the position of curator atthe Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Greg spent six years there and when the need for a change arrived, went travelling through Asia and California. Yeah, think theyre pretty opposite, too) Two things really struck him inhis travels: the sense of the continuous history and oceapation that permeates Asia and the ‘amount of money that American galleries have to spend on their eollections. Next came a brief stint atthe CAG and, then, onto the directorship of oar own Charles H. Scot ‘The gallery's mandate is decided by a commit- tee composed of Greg, a member of the ECCAD Board, andthe Associate Deans. As with any other area ofthe cllege ultimate authority of decision rests with Alan Barkley. Grog has a very strong HONORAB: ME 1g HOE personal sensibility ofthe gallery as a unique and important facility to ECCAD and Vancouver. He believes that the educational aspect of the gallery should be emphasized, and some component of art making must be addressed. He hopes to feature shows that apply to each of our departments over an eighteen month period and would like to tie in visiting artists with the exhibits. Two shows are currently in the works, with January displaying work by artists who use and/or critique television in their work. The show has its origins in New York and, as the catalogue states, “It is not that televi- sion shows only entertainment that is bad, but that everything is presented as entertainment.” So, watch out for ‘Acceptable Entertainment’ starting, ‘January 6th. Next is a drawing show by various Jocal artists and then, tentatively, a historical display of Canadian and American sculpture from the late sixties. Politics - that dirty word in Zalmland. Upon being asked how he felt about politieal content in art and whether he would show art that might be considered controversial by the government and hence, the administration, he replied that he would not compromise the artists’ right to make art they felt was important, Furthermore, itis the curator’s duty to uphold the artist's integrity. A couple of direct quotations: “You should be willing to put your job on the line, otherwise all we (curators) end up being is interior decorators.” “Tho gallery is here to serve and reflect all areas of the College.” ‘Sounds like Mr. Bellerby has some interesting directions in mind for the gallery and look for- ‘ward to checking them out. Sayonara. Karen Opas data-1 ‘Though this issue is devoted to the theme of “Power”, my column this month deals with ‘communication and communication tools. It shouldn't really take too much to convince you that ‘communication, when handled properly, ean be a power tool. Always handle your power tools properly. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be {introduced to two computer artists from Germany, who are in residence at The Western Front. Their ‘names are Rena Tangens and Padeluun, and they hhad been taking a tour through the computer rooms with another student. We got to talking about some Canadian telecommunications services like the Inter/Access Database in Toronto, a relatively large artoriented bulletin board, which contains articles from various computer-art magazines, gallery information, and a graphies library. I felt ‘ata loss at times, since they seemed to know so ‘much about computer art here in Canada, but I ‘knew nothing about what was going on over in Germany. (would imagine they have travelled a lot Padeluun was carrying a Toshiba Laptop portable computer, and takes it with him wherever hho goes, I think.) Padeluun told me that the Atari ST, which he and Rena both use, isa very popular ‘microcomputer in Germany and that practically every schoolboy runs a small computer bulletin ‘board service aver there. The two of them didn't stop smiling the whole time. ‘That night, Iran across a recent copy of the ‘Western Front magazine which had an article on ‘these two. From what I could see, they are heavily involved in telecommunications-art (electronic ‘mail-art?), programming, and “hacking”, through the West German “KAOS Computer Club”. There ‘seems to be more polities and freedom of information conflicts associated with the German. computer scene than P'd thought. They've been involved in things like the “Online Party’, a long- distance tele-communieations connection between computer users at a Canadian University and users in West Germany, which was stopped short by German officials (gov't or some such) who then broke the line. Rena and Padeluun were also recently implicated in an alleged cracking of some NASA security code. While I respect the fact that it takes some pluck to get access to a system that complex, I just hope their purpose for doing: little loftier than “it was there". Communication with a real purpose is more credible than communication just for communieation’s sake. No doubt you've all heard of fourteen year-olds diverting (eighties term for stealing) hundreds of thousands of dollars from large corporations, ete. mainly because “it was there”. That's a type of power that fourteen year-olds didn’t have fourteen, ‘years ago. No more threatening to “run away and join the circus” nowadays. I don't want you to think I'm a raving paranoid when it comes to the {information society, but I want you to think about the fact that this is an information society. ‘The ‘Age of Information. ‘How much of that information are you passively receiving through television, radio, and print, and how much are you actively transmitting ‘through your own channels - voeal, written and artistic? ‘Communication is @ power tool. ‘And since we're still on the subject, a new student Computer Message System has been started in room 229 using one of the Amiga ‘computers, forall interested students to use. It’s all on a litle 8.5 inch disk ealled “The ECCAD ‘Communication Base”, which isin a black box on ‘the wall near the door. Follow the instructions above the box, and you can sign-on to this new ‘lectronic “bulletin board”. It’s presently got a ‘user-baso of six, but there's room for atleast 100 ‘Computer animation students: For your intarest, there is a fairly large collection of issues of the “Pixel” computer animation newsletter behind the counter in the print library. “Pixel”, edited and published in Toronto by Robi Ronearell is a monthly newsletter devoted to computer animation ‘news, and usually includes reports from animation festivals and computer conferences (ike Siggraph), ‘as well as the oceasional interview with a computer ‘animator or graphic artist. Itis a simple eight page, type-written newsletter, excopt that each {sue hes a colour insert, showing graphics, or stills from animated works. [have seen litte coverage of micro-computer animation news in PIXEL however, with the prime focus at professional-level ‘animation done by animation houses and students using large computer systems. Some announcements: “The Computer ‘Animation Club" meets every Monday at noon in room 229. This groups focus is, surprisingly ‘enough, Computer Animation. ‘The “Graphic Expressions and Experimental Komputing” (GEEK) club meets every Wednesday at 12:20 in room 229, ‘This groups fous is just about everything else dealing with computers and art ‘And finally... Ron Barron will be staying on as the resident computer technician until the end of the fall semester, and he has been given a “protaly fom th allege regarding he scrty position for the spring term. Its still a Soe eres money for Ron's wages. E, John Love He knows hat trouser cu ae fin on tweed an heringhone mts at ton pewtrps or dark wi,