Ali Hossaini

Ali Hossaini (b. West Virginia) is an American artist, philosopher and media executive. His work includes contributions in creative writing, political commentary, avant-garde film, photography and television, including the launch of several channels. Common themes include a commitment to freedom and innovation in the arts and business that breaks disciplinary boundaries.

The son of an Iraqi father and American mother [1], Hossaini came of age during the Reagan Era, when he became a producer for Alternative Views, a television program that offered progressive news, commentary and interviews. [2] He also produced short films that were distributed by Deep Dish Television. He went on to write for the Village Voice and other publications.[3] In 1994 he received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin, then became involved with academic publishing and the Internet. He launched The Surrealist Revolution at the University of Texas Press, a book series whose inaugural volume, Surrealist Woman, revealed the suppressed histories of female artists. He also published one of the first electronic books, Istanbul Boy, in 1996,[4] and produced one of the first public webcasts, Come to Me, that same year. [5]

Hossaini left Texas to join the staff of The Site, a San Francisco-based television newsmagazine on MSNBC, as a producer and commentator. His focus was on involving audiences in television broadcasts. He moved to ZDTV where he continued to develop interactive projects that integrated audience tools like chat and webcams into television programs.[6] As vice president for community at Oxygen Media, he developed applications that anticipated many trends in social networking, including video sharing and managed presence.[7]

As executive producer of LAB HD, Hossaini fostered the creation of several dozen films in avant-garde and experimental genres, including the Voom Portraits Robert Wilson, a project that became well known after Vanity Fair [8] featured one of its subjects, actor Brad Pitt, on its cover.[9] The series of HDTV videos feature performances by Hollywood stars, European and Persian royalty and notable artists. [10] The Voom Portraits Robert Wilson exhibition opened in 2007 at Paula Cooper Gallery and Philips de Pury Gallery in New York City. [11] His productions have also been featured in the Whitney Biennial [12], the Tribeca Film Festival [13] and other venues.

Hossaini served as executive producer and director of programming for Equator HD, high-definition television channel devoted to travel, culture and natural history until 2009.[14] After leaving he has joined the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology and works as an artist and producer working in the United States and Europe.[15]

Contents

Reviews

New York Times, April, 2010
XXXX Magazine, August, 2010
KDVR Denver
Cool Hunting, April, 2010
Flavorpill, March, 2010
Reality Sandwich, March, 2010
Fast Company, October, 2009

Screenings and Installations

Fading Civilizations, SoundRes Festival, Lecce, Italy, August, 2011
Executive Privilege, White Box, New York city, June, 2011
Ouroboros, The Museum of Outdoor Arts, Denver, Colorado, June, 2011
Memory Begins, Mediamorfosi 2.0, Milan, Italy, April, 2011
The Aging Magician, interdisciplinary theater, director, The Kitchen, New York City, April, 2011
Memory Begins, SudLab, Naples, Italy, February, 2011
Memory Begins, White Box, New York, September, 2010
The Big Bang, Bowdoin Festival, Maine, August, 2010
Oceanic Verses, New York City Opera VOX series, New York, April, 2010
Caro Ben Mio, Galapagos Art Space, New York, April, 2010
Ouroboros, Ise Cultural Foundation, New York, March - April, 2010
Baghdad Transcendental, The Drop, New York, October, 2009
Prints from Epiphany, Gallery 8 & The Kaufman Arcade, New York, October, 2009
Hackney Empire, London, UK, December, 2008
American Museum of the Moving Image, Feb - April, 2008
Montreal Festival of Film on Art, March, 2008
Janos Gat Gallery, December, 2007
Pacific Film Archive, October, 2007
SF Cinemateque October, 2007
Scanners Film Festival, July, 2007
Orchard 47 Gallery, April, 2007
Anthology Film Archive, June & November, 2006

Selected writing

Don't Kill Your Television!
Merging Art with Television (p 14)
Vision of the Gods
Beyond the Multicultural Ghetto
The Nasty Truth About the Noble Lie
Stop the downward spiral in digital TV!
Interview with the Dalai Lama

Filmography

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2002

1995

1989:1994

1986