Reading

I found the article about Jackson Pollack very interesting. It was well detailed and was very well written. I like hearing pieces about artists and find what people have to say very fascinating.

The only problem I had was the picture links. Either the article was kind of old or the links themselves were broken it was sad not to get the full experience because of this tiny issue.

Buy one get one SOFA tickets!

Buy a ticket for SOFA, the Sculptural Objects and Functional Art show at Navy Pier November 6 - 8 and get a second ticket free with this coupon!

http://www.sofaexpo.com/readeroffer/

musique concrète

M. C. Schmidt was a great speaker, I really enjoyed the enthusiasm he had for what he does. The sounds they use in their compositions are brilliant. Its amazing how they can take sounds of surgeries, and a violin bow on a rat cage into obscurely beautiful sounding beats. I thought their visuals were really cool as well, they really had the same concept as their music. The camera that had shown close ups of their ears, nose, and hands were impossible to recognize until he told us what they were.

M.C. Schmit

The lecture we attended was a detailed introduction into the history of, noise music. The lecture was entertaining to say the least. A seldom, well marketed art form in the world of music, its elements of using unconventional sounds from unconventional sources, can be seen in a great deal of modern music from all genres. However, in its raw art form, this music is hard to see as music for it is not entirely pleasant to listen to. Although, it is a great method of combining noises into sequences. I admire the simplistic methods to create a large array of mixed sounds. It is not something I will listen to to relax or drive in my car, but it is a unique way of looking at the sounds the world makes. Even the ones we do not wish to hear. I can imagine that this art was spawned from creative struggle as do many art forms. I can expect to see this art form to continue to evolve from its French roots and continue to influence the ever changing musical genres.

A Hammer Fell in Space and Somewhere Two Worlds Collided

How can I describe what it was like to see Marshall Schmidt? - Its pretty near impossible. I was pretty blown away with not only his incredible conceptual musical ideas, but also his absolutely charming personality. He is such an entertainer and an absolute joy to be around. His lecture was probably the funnest I have ever attended, since he was not only showing us stuff that he was genuinely excited about, he was genuinely excited to be telling us about it.

I had heard Matmos in the past, but I was happy to be reintroduced and consequently fell in love. I am, in general, a fan of ideas and conceptual works, so I was very impressed with Schmidt's work. I, much like Bjork, have been telling everyone I know about Matmos for the past two days.

M.C. Schmidt

I thought the M.C. Schmidt lecture was very interesting and unique. I learned a lot about music concret such as the origin and the importance of timbre. The first piece he presented, I think it was called "Three Guitar," was really cool especially since I couldn't even tell he used guitars in it. It amazed me how he could get such a good sound from the nerve crayfish tissue. I like his idea of conceptual restriction, the use of one sound source, like the medical sounds and rat cage. Overall I had a really good experience with M.C. Schmidt, because he presented himself in a composed, yet comical way. I enjoyed his lecture and took a lot away from it.

Martin Schmidt

I LOOOOOVVEDDD it.

interesting, fun, the tracks sounded amazing!

-Steph

M.C. Schmidt

I really liked the panel. I thought it was informative and entertaining at the same time. Mr. Schmidt was an interesting character and I enjoyed that he was so laid back for the lecture. I thought his explanation on Music Conoet (is that spelled right?) and Pierre Shafer was very informative and expanded my knowledge on music itself. I also liked the pieces he showed in both his videos and music samples. My favorites had to be the song made with the crayfish nerve tissue and the song maid by the acupuncture device.

Interactive Art at Slick

This video is quick but interesting nonetheless. I like how you can interact with it and how the lights flow with your hand movement and nothing else. The visuals are really good for this peace and has wavy like motions using lights.

My heart isn't on my sleeve, but my jacket.

The creators of EroGear created some prototypes of combining LED panels with jackets and shirts, and they also show how it can be easily worn. I simply adore the heart one.

A Glow- Glow

other than human project

I stumbled across this video on Youtube, and found it pretty interesting. According to the video's title, it's called the "Other than Human Project," presumably because of the extra terrestrial feel to the lights used. Basically, a person enters a room, and light is projected at them, and responds to their movements. It's a pretty striking visual, clouds of piercing light mirroring the silhouette of the person operating the piece. I was unable to find the artist, location or any further information, but maybe one of you recognizes it? Maybe? Cause it's pretty awesome.

China's Next Great Wall

GreenPix: China’s Next Great Wall - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

This innovative and "green" wall is located in China, and was the first time a full scale wall this size was made any where in the world. The great green wall is located in Bejing, and is many LED lights and is low resoulution, and as we talked about in class, it is an old knowlegge but "reinvented" by new technology. Plus, this is a completely sustainable new media artwork---it runs on solar engergy! I think that this is an interesting mix of architecture and new media art.

-Emily Racine

Kinetic Lights

This piece is called "Kinetic Lights". Each LED light module is attached to remote controllable cable winch. Using a computer and a software designed to control the piece the controller can adjust the height and luminosity of the light module creating an amazing site or view for the customers of the cafe below. -Deonte Welton

Interactive LED wall

Moment Factory, created this permanent installation for La Vitrine Culturelle, (The Cultural Window) a ticket booth located in Montréal. The wall is made of 35,000 LED bulbs and a tracking device so people can interact with the wall as they pass by.

Motion Sensored Coffee Table

I thought this was a nicely done project of a coffee table with LED lights. It is sensors motion and gets brighter as you get closer to the table. A conventional way of making using LED lights and sensors.

-Katreena Dyrek

Norman McLaren - a true pioneer

Norman McLaren was a Canadian artist, animator and filmmaker who made this musical visualization "Dots" in 1940 and short film "Neighbors" in 1952.
I thought that his visualizations to music were very ahead of the time and reminded me of visualizations made with PD. He made them without using a camera, by directly drawing with pen ink on film. The short film "Neighbors" also won many awards around the world. All his work is very innovative and fun, and there's many more of his videos on youtube if you want to check out more.

~Veronika T.

The Fun Theory

http://www.rolighetsteorin.se/en/

I found an initiative put together and funded by the Volkswagen motor company called The Fun Theory. This initiative most likely derived from a marketing aspect uses new media to convey strong ideas of "forced behavior."

The projects or installations presented by this company pose an interesting question that is rooted in human behavior and routine, and pushes those behaviors to new boundaries using interactive installations. The question is how can we make people make better, or more efficient/health friendly decisions using new media. I believe this company succeeded greatly in their efforts or so it seems.

The installations give a passerby a suitable "better" alternative to routine behavior. Much like the staircase or the trash can, simple circuits are used to make a healthier decision more appealing. To which many of the subjects chose as the more interesting or interactive option thus making a healthier decision.

I enjoyed the "behind the scenes" look at how these circuits were constructed and how the installations were put in. I think this offers a very simplistic view and solution to every decisions and how media can be a very strong driving force.

It's no mystery that the more interesting decision is the one most choose. Much like our reading on Augmented Space, the use of interactive media in these installations was used to change behavioral routines. I think this is something that we will definitely be seeing more in the future as western culture attempts to be more health and environmentally conscious. Speaking in terms of behavior not necessarily associated with health it would be interesting to see how far interactive media can persuade the masses...or maybe not. Case in point, media can be a very strong driving force for culture.
JJerik

TWIT 3D?!

We all know the fast growing networking status update site called Twitter. This artist has turned it into a 3D interface as you clicked on your desired friends icons their status pops out. It does not say the artist name but he's a 28 yr old male from the U.S. go ahead a head and take a peak of his work!

Beijing, China "The Place" Shopping Mall

After reading the Augmented Space essay I was interested in looking for examples of the data dimension overlayed over the physical world. I thought this was an interesting installation in Beijing China. Although I couldn't find very much information about this installation, also the worlds largest LED TV screen, I found it quite fascinating. The overhead space of a shopping plaza is filled with numerous different themes and sequences of video. From a projection of the sky, satelites and stars, to ocean scenes, this installation creates a bridge between the physical space in which we interact and takes us part of the way to that new phenomenon dimension of Augmented Space. There is a similar installation on Freemont street in the old main strip of Las Vegas which fills the space with audio visual shows and advertisements alike. This installation, I think, goes fittingly with the Augmented Space essay and challenges the conventional reality of the physical world versus the alter-reality of data space.
JJerik

Augmented Space

Augmented Space Response

I had many thoughts while reading through this very intriguing essay. Many to which made me think outside the box and think of information as we perceive it and data as its own entity of space in the physical world we live in. It’s no surprise that in the era we live in technology is moving at a rapid pace that we can hardly keep up with. Daily there are new innovations that change the way we think, interactive, and quite basically live. I am reminded of this with my recent purchase of an Iphone. The fact that a device now used by the masses literally has changed the way I live. The instant access to any and all information has taken my daily routine and molded it into a wealth of knowledge and then additionally has “improved” my life for the most part. I now can wirelessly accomplish most of any tasks through a GUI that is smaller than my hand with a couple touches on a screen. Through the over abundance of applications I can find any answer to any question I may seek and solve any problem that I face. However this is not a new idea as Manovich so eloquently stated. The general dynamic between spatial form and how information functions has been a problem faced throughout generations. The difference now is this concept of overlaying digital data space over an already existing physical space in through which we interact in a daily basis. Artists of past have tried to enhance this physical space through numerous means and attempts via 2d art and architecture basically trying to improve on or “augment’ the already living world. Thus far these artists of past have been successful in there attempts but with the information age quickly and at an exponential rate embracing us and passing us in our era, artists are now posed with a new phenomenon with the idea of how far can we stretch the boundaries of this new dimension. Well before reading this article I started to realize that the space through which I interacted was rapidly changing. From the simple concept that I used to own a collection of encyclopedias that took up a significant amount of physical space and to some extent were limited, to now being able to access any and all of that information plus an infinite amount surpassing that on a device smaller than my hand and with more efficiency. It is a phenomena that I never had to think twice about, I just naturally adapted to the culture that was being created around me. I could go on for great lengths about these revelations I have had. But the real question and proposed quandary of today’s day and age is does the culture drive the augmented space or vice versa, and how can we as artists begin to combine the new functioning of these spaces to augment the already existing physical. This is a difficult problem to assess and then eventually resolve. Because of the fact that information is personalized for each individual, and the fact that this can change dynamically over time poses a complex task at hand. Although I have never considered Data as its own space or dimension, even though I am immersed in it on a daily basis, mainly due to natural cultural adaptation, I am realizing that this data precisely takes on an identity of its own. Because of this revelation it is only fitting to begin to think of the augmented space in a new light and not only be immersed and adapt accordingly, but to begin to process how this information and space can be improved upon. Thinking outside the box is most assuredly the way to begin to think when contemplating augmented space. We can learn from artists past and more importantly the experimental aspect of the arts. It is through this experimental process and hypothesis that these great artists breached many gaps of the past. Through removing oneself from the information and culture presented and “consider the invisible space of electronic data flow as substance rather than a void,” we can begin to expound upon not only the architectural and aesthetic aspects of our informational lives, but we can begin to change the way the world works. We as artists can continue, like many past, to give this ever changing phenomena of augmented space, “a structure, a politics, and a poetics,” and continue to move through this information age with the intent on making an impact on culture in the physical and non-physical dimensions and alter or “improve” reality as we know it.
JJerik

You can make this noise box yourself!

a-gig-in-tokyo

Woah! This was soo fun, the things people are able to create in pure data never cease to amaze me. I played on this for quite sometime, and I really enjoyed the sounds that were included already. On the bottom of the readme it says the 'audioloops' folder is autoloaded on startup, put any loops you want to use in there... where is that folder? It might be cool to add some of our own sounds to make it a little more interesting.

patchPlay

I thought the patch, a-gig-in-tokyo, was very interesting and produced some really good sounds that blended well together. I think the easy step by step on what buttons do what when pressed was very helpful and easy to learn how it works. I think this really shows how pure data allows you to do anything you want as long as you have to the necessary tools to do so.

As for the first help reference we were given in the e-mail, it looks like a pretty useful tool, but i haven't quite grasped the concept of it. I understand it can "smooth out the dead spot in the middle," which I can see by scrolling the slider. Yet, I dont think I will be able to fully understand it's purpose until I see it used in a piece effectively.