[Metalab] [Fwd: EYBEAM ALUM DETAINED IN BEIJING]

[marius schebella]

hi,
sorry, falls ihr das schon gelesen habt. ist gerade über den eyebeam 
press release verteiler gekommen. die geschichte ist mir dann doch 
irgendwie nahe gegangen.
marius.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	EYBEAM ALUM DETAINED IN BEIJING
Date: 	Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:40:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: 	Press <press at eyebeam.org>
Reply-To: 	press at eyebeam.org
To: 	marius.schebella at gmail.com



*
For Immediate Release*

Media Contact:
Joanna Raczkiewicz
212.937.6580 x233
press at eyebeam.org
www.eyebeam.org
*
EYEBEAM ALUM JAMES POWDERLY DETAINED IN BEIJING *
No word from the American artist 24 hours after being taken into Chinese
custody
Powderly was in Beijing to unveil a project made with pro-Tibet activist
group

New York City, August 19, 2008, 7:30PM EST- Artist and Eyebeam alum
James Powderly was detained by Chinese authorities in Beijing early
Wednesday,  according to a message received by Students for a Free Tibet
around 5PM Beijing Standard Time, said an SFT spokesperson. The message,
sent through the social networking site Twitter, read "held since 3AM",
said friend and SFT board member Nathan Dorjee. Powderly has not been
heard from since-more than 24 hours later-and his whereabouts remain
unknown, he said.

"Freedom of speech has always been central to James' practice, and we
support this commitment. Most importantly, we hope for his quick
release," said Eyebeam Executive Director Amanda McDonald Crowley.
Powderly was a fellow in Eyebeam's R&D OpenLab in 2005-2006, and a
senior fellow in the OpenLab from 2006-2007.

Powderly is also co-founder of the Grafitti Research Lab, a project
developed during his fellowship at Eyebeam. He was in Beijing
collaborating with the activists to project messages onto the facades of
prominent Beijing buildings using a laser beam and stencils. The artist
was detained before the planned launch of the project-dubbed the "Green
Chinese Lantern"-in which a beam of light would be used to display
graphics and text on structures up to two stories high, said Dorjee. It
is unclear how Chinese authorities learned of the plan.

Also today, five activists with Students for a Free Tibet were detained
after displaying a banner that spelled out "Free Tibet" in LED Throwies,
the open source technology pioneered by the Grafitti Research Lab and
popularized online and worldwide. This brings the number of SFT
protestors detained in Beijing to 42. In the majority of these cases,
the individuals were heard from and deported within 6-12 hours of their
arrest, said Dorjee.

Upon learning of the detention, fellow artist, collaborator, and current
Eyebeam senior fellow Steve Lambert said, "He's an amazing,
entertaining, brilliant, and committed person.  Not all of us have the
courage to travel to China to make such a statement at a key time like
this. He's a great friend and obviously, like so many others, I'm
concerned about his well-being. I hope he's allowed to return home as
soon as possible."

The L.A.S.E.R. Stencil technology is a modification of the GRL's
L.A.S.E.R. Tag, which was featured in the 2007 Eyebeam exhibition /Open
City/. This portable, updated version is the size of a flashlight,
requires one person to operate, and is intended for use with homemade
micro-stencils.

Students for a Free Tibet, a group with more than 700 chapters
worldwide, has been staging protests in Beijing over the course of the
past two weeks. According to Dorjee, who is also the group's technical
advisor, GRL technology was an ideal fit for the spectacle of the
Olympics, and called the GRL the "go-to group for open source urban
expression".

For the latest information and images, please visit the website of
Students for a Free Tibet: http://freetibet2008.org/
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=T332UKA%2BDq3UC%2F%2BFWBbah%2Bt5hb7EgkyY>

Additional images for download:

The Grafitti Research Lab, with images made using the L.A.S.E.R. Stencil
(in the US): www.grafittiresearchlab.com
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=aPZOGswVyGHbQwbIEv8MWOt5hb7EgkyY>

LED Throwies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urban_data/tags/ledthrowies/
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=BtrLt%2Bx6N3LbPCXC3KTc1et5hb7EgkyY>

Additional coverage:

Boing Boing:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/beijing-activists-de.html
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=uk%2FpliAOPal0zYZW8FggfOt5hb7EgkyY>

The Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/19/AR2008081901287.html 

<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8xW2sInkkoKpsA5bMH2Vget5hb7EgkyY>

###

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