sibi is an instructions generator to make potential artworks.
The original version of the game has been designed by Roberto Fassone in 2012, in the form of a manuscript, playable with dice.
In 2013 his uncle designed and installed on a TOSHIBA T-5200 a software inspired by the book.
In 2014 two mysterious coders developed an online version of sibi, that you can find here.
Since 2012, just after the first release of the sibi cybertext, the game has been tested in collaboration with universities, museums and art spaces in the form of workshops, group games and performances.

May 2017
> si*bi ma*ga demo, video, within the frame of Global Learning, curated by Alessandro Castiglioni, Francesca Chiara, Lorena Giuranna, Museo MA*GA, Gallarate.
> si*bi (how to make an artwork), lecture, within the frame of Global Learning, curated by Alessandro Castiglioni, Francesca Chiara, Lorena Giuranna, Museo MA*GA, Gallarate.
A demo version of the software, designed specifically for a workshop within the MA*GA museum and a lecture have been developed during the exhibition Global Learning.

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February 2017
> sibi [how to make a conceptual artwork], performance, within the frame of Abitare il Minerale, curated by a.titolo and Marianna Vecellio, Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Turin
sibi has been tested with three group of players, which received an identical set of instructions and within the time frame of one hour had to develop a solution. The following was the set they received:
[M] you have to shoot a photograph with three main elements. The photo should feature the color purple.
[A] your photo has to be about ugly and surprise.
[T] the title of the photo has to feature one word.
An improvised group of players from the audience sent me this photo of the performance as a meta-solution, higlightning the ugliness of my jumper.

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June 2016
> sibi jr, workshop at smART, Rome
27 kids, ranging from 6 to 12 years old, tested sibi jr, a gamebook inspired from the sibi software.
Here a photo in which we all look very thoughtful.

May 2016
> play sibi Generiere dein eigenes Kunstwerk!, workshop at BÄMlab, Zkm, Karlsruhe
Following a lecture about how to make an artwork, sibi has been tested with the visitors of the Zkm.



May 2016
> sibi, workshop at re:publica 10, in collaboration with Zkm, Berlin
sibi has been tested with the audience of re:publica 10, known as "The Most Exciting Festival for the Digital Society!". A very nice guy designed and built a weird space bunny in our stand following a set of rules generated by the game.



In that occasion we also learned that in Morrocan the word sibi is slang for the word vagina, reason why a nice Moroccan girl was laughing a lot when she saw our handmade sign.



April 2016
> Collections for a Creative Museum, workshop at IAAD with Francesca Comisso and Lisa Parola, IAAD, Turin
sibi has been tested in collaboration with the students of IAAD (a design school in Turin), during an intense week of workshop.
A group of students designed a structure composed by six transparent panels that, through anamorfosis process, displayed the word “oltre” (beyond). The structure was the response to the following set of instructions:
[M] you have to make a sculpture/writing. it has to be in a national language. the writing has to be a one word. the writing has to
be on a transparent surface.
[A] your work has to be about work and about flying.
[T] the title of the work has to be totally or in part in English.

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March 2016
> Play sibi – Generate your own Artwork Workshop in the context of ArtOnYourScreen (AOYS), Zkm, Karlsruhe,
More than 50 teams played sibi and documented their solutions within the space of ZKM in Karlsruhe.

January 2016
sibi was awarded the second prize of AOYS (ArtOnYourScreen), held by ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe (play sibi at AOYS)




May 2015
> Blank Arcade, curated by Lindsay Grace and Paolo Ruffino, Leuphana Centre for Digital Cultures, Lüneburg
An exhibition of experimental games and artworks that push the boundaries of game design and theory.

March 2015
sibi was awarded the First Prize of Arte Laguna Prize (Digital Section) in Venice

July 2015
sibi TOSHIBA T-5200 was awarded the First Prize of Local Art, promoted by Fondazione CRC, Cuneo

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> sibi eneRGETICO, La Ene, Buenos Aires
sibi has been tested for one month in Buenos Aires, at La Ene, Nuevo Museo Energía de Arte Contemporáneo. During one night we made a competition. The group with the best solution would have won an Italian treasure, featuring Fernet Branca, Nutella, pasta, mozzarella, etc... A very nice group of Mexicans won the prize, with a performative work, during which the performer described us the work, while walking away from the gallery.

May 2015
> sibi AGON, in collaboration with .dotventi, Campus Luigi Einaudi, Torino, (supported by Fondazione Pistoletto)
sibi AGON is a contest that took place in the campus of the Torino University. Four teams played sibi supported by a huge amount of materials, in order to create their own sculpture. I remember very well a flying dog.

March-June 2015
> sibi a Workshow II, Politecnico di Milano
sibi a Workshow II is a workshop that took place at the Politecnico di Milano in the spring of 2014, during the course of User And Social Innovation, held by Rebecca Pera. The students were divided into 10 groups. Each of them received the same set of instructions generated by sibi and produced a solution/work. The set was the following:
(M) you have to shoot a photo in black and white. it has to be shot in an open space and measure 20x25cm.
(A) your work has to be about names and about strength.
(T) the title of the work has to feature simple present verbs.
A group delivered an awesome solution, entitled That's Not My Name. The photo shows three girls waiting, outside of the railway station, for famous people. What strikes me the most about the work is that, without knowing, the group developed a solution that was pretty much identical to an existing artwork made by Jonathan Monk in 1998 and entitled Waiting For Famous People.

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The following was the photo that was more appreciated by the students, entitled "Where is Soledad?". Soledad is a very common name between the Spanish speaker countries that means loneliness, the picture shows an open space, without boundaries or doors, accessible to everybody and easy to go through and to escape, unfinished and an unoccupied with a chair for Soledad, which is not there, but there’s the loneliness instead. It’s not a presence, is the absence, the presence of an absent.

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May 2014
> MA*GA SI*BI, MA*GA, Gallarate
sibi had been played by a group of teenager students with a focus on performative works. In this occasion the sibi software had been modified. The workshop took place at MA*GA, the museum of contemporary art of Gallarate (VA). A group of them had to perform a work following these instructions:
(M) you have to make a performance using only the upper part of your body. the performance should feature a precious object. the object has to be always in contact with the performers.
(A) the performance has to be about make-believe and elements.
(T) the title of the performance has to feature an unit of measurement.
The students came up with an idea of staying for one hour in contact with the air, undoubtely a precious element.

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January 2014
sibi was shortlisted for the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo




September-December 2013
> sibiNVIAFARINI, Viafarini, Milan
A workshop of 3 months, testing sibi, took place in Viafarini, non profit organization for contemporary art founded in 1991 in Milan. 12 groups of players played the game, brainstorming ideas.

October 2014
> Six Coups De Dés, curated by Resò Meet Up, Barriera, Turin
A collective exhibition in which sibi has been exhibited on a TOSHIBA T-5200 along with some statistic related to the game and a solution of the game.

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September 2012
> sibi the Playroom, Palazzo Ottolenghi, Asti
sibi the Playroom has been a laboratory for creative experimentation. Organized in three rooms it gave the opportunity to the Asti citizens, for one month, to play sibi.

March-June 2012
> sibi a Workshow, Politecnico di Milano, Milan
sibi a Workshow is a workshop that took place at the Politecnico di Milano in the spring of 2012, during the course of User and Social Innovation, held by Rebecca Pera. The students were divided into 21 groups. Each of them received a set of instructions generated by sibi and sent me an email with images documenting the work and a text explaining it.
A student received the following instructions:
[M] You have to make a series of three photographies. The same person has to be present in the three photos and the photos have to be shot in different places.
[A] The series has to be about mistery and equilibrium.
[T] The title of the series has to be in Spanish.
And sent me these three photos with no explanations, entitled Sin Titulo.

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(1) Roberto Fassone, sibi ma*ga demo, still, 2017
(2) Carlo Cavedon, Asè, 2017
(3) Valeria Marzano/Hèctor Sànchez/Francesca Plassio/Carmen Carugno/Giulia La Ganga, Another Way, 2016
(4) Roberto Fassone/Guglielmo Bogetti, sibi TOSHIBA T-5200, 2014
(5) Mary Kon Giraud/Deborah Fumolo/Ida Aronsson, That's not my name, 2014
(6) Jonathan Monk, Waiting For Famous People, 1995
(7) Karen Avellaneda, Where's Soledad?, 2014
(8) Pretenders, Un’ora d’aria (One hour air conditioning), 2014
(9) R.Fassone/L.Tutino, sibi (shiva night fever), installation, 2012 (ph. Alessandro Talpo)
(10) Tiziana Desideri, Sin Titulo, 2012
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Press:
Generatori d’arte. Roberto Fassone e la sua sibi on Artribune (ITA)
sibi, la macchina dell'arte on Exibart (ITA)
Quando la critica d'arte è generativa on Artribune (ITA)

*
Publications:
The title of the work has to contain only words taken from the song ‘‘What’s Going On’’ by Marvin Gaye. L’esperienza di SIBI: The Playroomin 2. Play the aesthetics. Video game between art and media, curated by Mauro Salvador and Elena Di Raddo.
*
sibi has been supported by:
a.titolo, Fondazione CRC, Fondazione CRT, Fondazione Pistoletto, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, MA*GA, Museo La Ene, Movin'up, Viafarini, ZKM
*
A very special thanks to:
Riccardo Fassone, Rebecca Pera, Francesca Comisso, Lisa Parola, Guglielmo Bogetti, Anita Bogetti, Antonio Fassone, Gabriele Cavoto, Simone Frangi, Paolo Novarese, .dotventi, Samuele Cherubini, Valeria Mancinelli, Massimo Bartolini, Lindsay Benedict, Isaias Vena, Domenico Quaranta, Gail Cochrane, Cesare Pietroiusti, Mauro Miceli, Eleonora Torchio, Serena Trapani.