2nd Pictoplasma Conference
contemporary character design

11. - 14. October 2006
Berlin, Haus der Berliner Festspiele

In recent years, a new kind of "character design" has been making its mark
on the visual world - in media, art and urban landscapes across the globe.
From Hello Kitty to Obey Giant, Emily the Strange to Takashi Murakami's DOB
- contemporary character design, abstract and reduced to the essentials,
playfully samples and remixes visual codes, making a beeline for our
emotional attention.

It is Pictoplasma's aim to foster an understanding of this phenomenon as a
new era of figurative expression. Based in Berlin, the project has
functioned as a global network for heterogeneous "character-related"
activities since 1999. Through pictorial encyclopaedias, exhibitions, online
archives, conferences and film festivals, Pictoplasma brings together
artists and designers from all over the world, encouraging experimentation
and pushing the development of this new visual language. In the run-up to
the 2nd Pictoplasma Conference in October 2006 in Berlin, Pictoplasma is
keen to collect theoretical reflections along the lines of: Body, Narration
and Communication.

A detailed outline of these aspects are available at the website:
http://www.pictoplasma.com/conference/2006/contact/call_for_papers/

All proposals should be submitted via email to
lars AT pictoplasma.de

by July 31st, 2006.

They should be in English or German and not longer than two pages. The
chosen submissions will be a contribution to the 2nd Pictoplasma Conference,
taking place from October 11-14th at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in
Berlin. The conference focuses on the presentations of artists and
designers. Additionally, we will stage panel discussions and theoretical
talks, in which we would like to invite you to participate. All chosen
results of the submissions and discussions will be published in a volume in
2007.

Lars Denicke
http://www.pictoplasma.com