Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mobile Performance Group


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was DELETE Rich Farmbrough, 08:53 28 April 2007 (GMT).

Mobile Performance Group

 * – (View AfD) (View log)

Vanispamcruftisement. Contested prod. MER-C 04:20, 16 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Delete. No indication of notability outside small college town. Daniel Case 04:25, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Mobile Performance Group, though not widely popular or known, seems to have a niche in the electronic arts community. With a Google search I found a few people and groups interested enough in the group to write about it or post videos. Turbulence.org, A popular blog for network performance. A German University professor's curriculum. Besides these texts, there are videos on YouTube and some other video sites as well. Through another Google search I found the music director, Nathan Wolek, is a recognized part of the academic music community. Both founder Matt Roberts and Nathan Wolek have been collectively and individually invited to perform and/or speak at multifarious events in the United States and abroad. This is visible on their personal web pages, which are among the first links to appear Yahoo when one searches with their names.

According to the Notability (music) article if the group "Has gone on an international concert tour, or a national concert tour in at least one large or medium-sized country,3 " then it is "very likely that sufficient reliable information is available about a given group. . ." They have traveled to several locations within the U.S.

Though the interest may be primarily academic(besides the YouTube presence) there seems to be a notable interest from that community.

The group has performed at some of the most recognized international conferences in the new media arts field. International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2006) and International Symposium for Electronic Arts (ISEA2006). These are both highly competitive international events. In addition to that the group has performed in several new media festivals http://www.mattroberts.info/mpg/about.html, featured in important new media arts web sites http://www.turbulence.org/blog/archives/002865.html and featured in the press San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2006/08/11/mobile-performance-groups-parking-spaces/


 * &emsp; Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so that consensus may be reached  &emsp; Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Mailer Diablo 08:29, 22 April 2007 (UTC)


 * Delete: Turns of phrase like "there seems to be" or "seems to have" really hit WP:WEASEL hard; what independent evidence exists that they have a recognized niche or that the founders are as popular as they claim? There are zero reliable, independent, published sources about this group.  Of the "performance" links in the article, only half of them mention MPG at all, and then only in lists of performers in street festivals.  Only 45 Google hits, and it's a telling thing that this AfD discussion is actually in the top dozen hits the outfit has.  Fails WP:V, WP:BAND.    RGTraynor  17:22, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

I believe the groups entry should be reconsidered. The group has performed at some of the most recognized International Conferences in the field of new media arts. ISEA and ICMC are widely recognized International organizations dedicated to new media or computer arts. The group has also received legitimate press coverage. Please consider the following ISEA2006 ZeroOne San Jose: A Global Festival of Art on the Edge & the Thirteenth International Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA2006) The group was selected, from an international call to artist, to perform at this festival http://01sj.org/content/view/381/49/ Their participation was covered by San Jose's most popular news paper Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/ http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2006/08/11/mobile-performance-groups-parking-spaces/ ICMC 2006 International Computer Music Conference http://www.icmc2006.org/ The group was selected, from an international call to artist, to perform at this Conference https://attica2.tcs.tulane.edu/icmc2006/temp/Rehearsal-LateNight.htm and they were part of the subject of discussion in a panel at icmc2006 entitled The Laptop Ensemble as Pedagogical Tool http://www.nathanwolek.com/nathanwolek/papers/wolek_icmc2006panel.pdf this panel included faculty from University of Michigan, Princeton and Minnesota State University

Other international festivals they have participated in are University of Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival (15th annual) http://emu.music.ufl.edu/femf/fest15prg.html ConFlux 2006 (Conflux is the annual New York festival for contemporary psychogeography, the investigation of everyday urban life through emerging artistic, technological and social practice.) http://confluxfestival.org/projects.php?projectid=350 ProvFlux http://www.pipsworks.com/contact/projects/parking.html Ybor Festival of the Moving Image http://www.yborfilmfestival.com/2004/artists/mobile_performance_group.html

You can also find their work featured on the blog networked _performance http://www.turbulence.org/blog this blog is also highly regarded in the new media arts field http://www.turbulence.org/blog/archives/002865.html

I think it is clear that the group has been recognized by several important institution dedicated to the field of new media arts, and the entry should be reconsidered.
 * A local music festival doesn't magically become "international" just because the organizers claim it is. The purported "participation coverage" given by the Mercury News is, in fact, just a couple of photos on a website slideshow; the actual text article just lists the group with many others as having participated.  That one of the group's members mentioned the group in a lecture he gave himself (and for which the source is his own website) confers neither notability or verifiability ... and heck, I've been on panel discussions with some of the top science fiction authors around, but that doesn't make me notable.   There is not a single reliable, independent, published source which actually discusses this group or reviews their material, and no sources presented backing up the assertion that these "international" organizations and festivals are widely recognized or that they are competitively selective of the groups playing there.    RGTraynor  17:58, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

These clearly are not local music festivals I believe if you take a look at these organizations about pages you will see that they truly are international festivals, that take place in a different part of the world every year. They are also some of the oldest festivals dedicated to Electronic arts. I have provided some links for more information. ISEA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISEA http://www.isea-web.org/eng/about.html a link to the list of international artist for ISEA 2006 http://01sj.org/content/blogsection/13/48/ More than 150 artists from around the world will present contemporary art "on the edge" in more than a dozen exhibitions throughout San Jose and the surrounding Greater Bay Area. once again ISEA is a highly regarded international festival for electronic arts. ICMC International Computer Music Association http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Computer_Music_Conference http://www.computermusic.org/about_icma/about_master_frameset.html The ICMA cosponsors the annual ICMC, which, since its inception in 1974, has become the preeminent yearly gathering of computer music practitioners from around the world. The ICMC's unique interleaving of professional paper presentations and concerts of new computer music compositions—refereed by ICMA-approved international panels— creates a vital synthesis of science, technology, and the art of music. You can find a web page with more information regarding the last ICMC at http://www.icmc2006.org. Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival http://emu.music.ufl.edu/femf/index.html The festival features an international selection of contemporary electroacoustic art music. Concerts included juried presentations, curated concerts, and concerts of special interest or topics. Papers presentations, lecture demonstrations, and studio reports are also presented during the three day spring festival. This festival is organized by the University of Florida School of Music which is a well known and respected institution, this festival has a long history this year is the 16th annual festival. ConFlux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psy-Geo-Conflux http://confluxfestival.org/conflux2007/content/view/11/63/ Conflux is the annual New York festival for contemporary psychogeography, the investigation of everyday urban life through emerging artistic, technological and social practice. Although this festival is young it is highly regarded in the field of psychogeography, here is an article from the village voice about this festival http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0319,zimmerman,43875,1.html

Again I would ask that you reconsider calling these "local music festivals" calling themselves international. These festivals have a long and respected history and are truly international, they are highly competitive events featuring artist from around the world at the top of their field.
 * Delete per nom. Obvious SPAs and COIs involved here. &mdash; RevRagnarok  Talk Contrib 21:19, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.