As digital media and communications technologies proliferate so have the cultural practices of artists, media makers, academics, activists, commercial enterprises and scientists that contribute so significantly to the determination of our futures. Empowered by the democratizing implications of these technologies, cultural producers are often working outside the realms of corporate sanction to broaden and distend media conventions with provocative hybrid projects.

AIM's continuing intent is to foster this hybridity and cross-fertilization by expanding discourse and positioning innovative projects within a specific critical frame. Thus, this year AIM II has selected time-based projects structured around conceptualizations and practices addressing notions of "The Vanishing Author?"

Throughout the late 20th century the concept of "The Author" as an individual "artist-genius" has been challenged. As we enter the 21st century, new technologies have multiplied access to authorship, thereby re-invigorating its potential. Simultaneously, these same technologies have ushered in an age of infinite reproducibility - the culture of the copy - where there is no "final cut", no definitive, authoritative voice.

In effect, notions of the "author" have been perpetually ravaged and reconfigured, forcing a rupture and reassessment of our perceptions of authority, self, meaning, value, and originality. How this has radically impacted our cultural, socio-economic, political, and legal interactions is yet to be realized.

However, with AIM II's receipt of well over 600 international entries, we hope to play a pivotal role in contributing to an ongoing transcultural discourse which establishes the multi-dimensionality, vocality and representation necessary to this realm of continuous reconfiguration and replay. The entries ranged from trans-global collaborations to intensely personal, uni-vocal projects, and grappled with issues as divergent as the sport of lying and the "vanishing" of individuals. The creativity, productivity and authenticity found in the entries proved extraordinary in their suggestion of unique forms of heterogeneity and disjunctive integrations.

Building upon the success of last year's inaugural festival, the USC School of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Santa Monica Museum of Art, is delighted to present AIM II - three days of exhibitions, performances, screenings, a symposium and an education outreach program hosted on both the USC campus and at the SMMoA.

We would like to say a warm 'thank you' to everyone involved in bringing AIM II to fruition - to our wonderfully committed sponsors; to Dean Ruth Weisberg, Dean Geoffrey Cowan, and all of the USC staff who gave so abundantly of their time and expertise; to Elsa Longhauser: Executive Director, Alena Williams: Assistant to the Executive Director, and all of the staff at SMMoA; to the AIM II Pre-Screening Committee and Jurors, specifically to Carole Ann Klonarides; to the AIM II interns; and with the deepest gratitude, to all of the artists who generously submitted work to this year's festival.