As members of the developed world we are awash in information systems. Families, friends, neighbours, co-workers, classmates, communities, virtual communities, web forums, newsgroups, newspapers, books, movies, blogs, twitters, google searches, facebook friends. Networks all, containing data lobbying for our attention and engagement.

A mind can only be open to so much information before conflicts emerge: whether in values or logical contradictions. Psychologists call this cognitive dissonance. Intersubjectivity and social normalization can provide hints and exit points, but a mind must ultimately be consistent with itself.

Necessarily, we develop strategies of engagement: positive limitations in the type and amount of information we approach or allow to approach us.

Artists employ, perhaps, the most liberal of these strategies -- allowing very disparate types of information in, to rattle around and confuse until made consistent in new, surprising and often beautiful ways. In this way, we can see the role of contemporary artists as formulating and investigating new strategies for sustained engagement with disparate informations. By evaluating and engaging with their products and processes we can evaluate and learn new strategies to apply in our own, personal, journey through information systems.

Art Pop 2010 is interested in exhibiting works by artists whose practice can be seen to employ these strategies in their engagement with communities and ideas.  Submission is open to artists working in all media.

The exhibition will be held between September 29 and October 3 as part of the Pop Montreal festival.

Deadline for submission is 17:00, Friday, July 30, 2010.

Successful applicants will be chosen by jury and will receive substantial publicity, a small honorarium and/or the opportunity to sell their work.

Please send submissions to artpop@popmontreal.com with the subject line "Art Pop 2010 Artist Submission from (Your Name)"

Please include:

• Name, email, telephone
   
• A project description / artist statement (max 200 words)
   
• A maximum of 5 documentation images and/or 2 minutes of video (in-progress and conceptual images welcome)

• A CV of past / future exhibitions