technology | implicit art

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30 March 2008 by nathaniel

DATA 29 at Hop House this Wednesday the 2nd (correction!): Dr. Sarah Cook, Rob Costello, Alan Butler, K Bear Koss

Event: D.A.T.A. No. 29
Speakers: Dr. Sarah Cook, Rob Costello, Alan Butler, K Bear Koss.
Date: Wednesday April 2nd, 2008, 7.30-9pm
Venue: Hop House, 160 Parnell St., Dublin 1
Admission: FREE!!!

The Dublin Arts and Technology Association is proud to present D.A.T.A. No. 29, taking place at the now legendary Hop House, Korean Bar and Restaraunt, 160 Parnell St.

D.A.T.A. No. 29 will be, as usual, an informal gathering of interested parties, open to the public, where a group of invited speakers will present their art/technology practice and work-in progress.

Sarah Cook
Dr. Sarah Cook is a curator of media art and co-founder of CRUMB, an international website and mailing list for media art curators (http://www.crumbweb.org). She also holds a post-doctoral research position at the University of Sunderland (Leverhulme Early Career fellowship 2006-2008), where she has been working with Professor BerylGraham; they have co-authored a book on curatorial practice and new media art, forthcoming from MIT Press. In 2008, Sarah will be an AHRC-funded Curatorial Fellow at EYEBEAM in New York. Sarah’s recent curatorial projects include “Broadcast Yourself” (http://www.broadcastyourself.net with Kathy Rae Huffman) for the AV Festival 2008, Hatton Gallery and Cornerhouse Gallery (UK) and “My Own Private Reality” 2007 (http://myownprivatereality.wordpress.com with Sabine Himmelsbach) for the Edith Russ Site for Media Art (Oldenburg, Germany).

As part of her longstandin relationship with the Banff Centre’s New Media Institute and the Walter Phillips Gallery, she co-curated “Database Imaginary” (2004) with Steve Dietz and Anthony Kiendl (http://databaseimaginary.banff.org) and “The Art Formerly Known As New Media” (also with Steve Dietz) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of new media art research at Banff. Sarah will talk about the background curatorial processes of these exhibitions, and the issues surrounding the installation and documentation of new media art.

Rob Costello
Robert Costello is a recent graduate of NCAD and performs live electronic music under the name Sounds of System Breakdown. For D.A.T.A. he will be talking about his practice including his new work ‘?XY?’ which is a synesthetic artwork that relates physical position to automatically generated audio. The participant can explore the effects created by musical parameters such as pitch, tone, harmony and phase by walking around the gallery space while wearing a set of headphones.

Alan Butler
Alan Butler is an artist living and working in Dublin. His work has been exhibited internationally and he has curated exhibitions for the Dublin Fringe Festival, Monster Truck Gallery and Studios and Temple Bar Gallery & Studios. For D.A.T.A he will be talking about his own art practice and various projects he has worked on. www.newmediaart.co.uk

K Bear Koss
Whether it is paintings or interactive sculptures, Koss’ body of work is influenced by, and comments upon, over a decade of research into physiological and psychological growth and development. Recent projects have focused on creating dialogue on the increasing intimacy between biological and technological systems. He has lectured at Vincennes University and DePauw University in the USA, and The National College of Art and Design in Dublin, and is currently the director of Moxie Studios in Dublin.

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24 March 2008 by nathaniel

Clare Greene, The Figure in Colour, Irish Pop-Art Nudes opening March 27th at Haydn Shaughnessy

The Figure in Colour
Clare Greene, Irish Pop-Art Nudes
Opening 6.00pm – 8.00pm Thursday 27th March
Haydn Shaughnessy Gallery

Clare Greene, one of Ireland’s best known ceramicists returns to her first love, painting, in her show, The Figure in Colour, opening March 27th at the Haydn Shaughnessy Gallery in Kinsale. The exhibition comprises 20 pop-art nudes that evoke eroticism and restraint in equal measure.

In Clare’s work thin pencil-like lines of the female body are set against startling atonal colours to create an altogether novel effect. These unusual images were created by sketching a live model using the computer software programme Paintbox as the initial drafting tool. The atonal digital sketches she created then act as a prototype for her acrylic on canvas paintings. We will be showing both the paintings and the digital originals.

She is one of a small number of Irish artists experimenting with pop art techniques and tones, and along with Paul La Rocque the only one we are aware of that uses new media technologies to create this type of work.

“This current body of work represents a new departure for me as an artist,” says Clare. “To date, I have worked mostly in the medium of clay. This previous work increasingly veered towards the representation of the figure. From there it was an easy and fruitful progression to the painted figure – to the portrayal of the figure in a medium that was always very special to me.”

“We’re excited to have Clare in the gallery,” said owner Haydn Shaughnessy. “And this is a very fruitful line of work for her and Irish art. It’s very honest and very risky with its openness. New yet somehow familiar, modern and innovative, simple and pared down yet still vibrant.”

The gallery, which promotes innovative artists from around the world, can be found in the centre of Kinsale next to the Yacht Club on the marina.

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18 March 2008 by nathaniel

DATA 28: Charlie von Metzradt, Michael Szpakowski, Joan Healy and Sven Anderson

Last Thursday saw DATA – the Dublin Art and Technology Association – # 28 at our temporary venue, Dublin’s Science Gallery. It was a great and energetic night with a diverse crowd and lots of dialogue, plus a few beers afterwards just down the road. Thanks to everyone for coming! All photos by Ralph Borland unless otherwise noted.

ipod tiltphones

A recent graduate from DCU, Charlie von Metzradt is a software engineer by day and electronics tinkerer by night. He is irked by human-computer interface annoyances and any piece of technology that doesn’t read his mind. At DATA, Charlie presented a motion-sensitive iPod remote control, built into a set of headphones. The ‘Tiltphones’ measure what way your head is oriented and your iPod reacts accordingly. Charlie talked about his motivation for building it, how the system works and what you’d need to make your own. The audience tested them on various models, triggering music, video and photo iPods.

michael szpakowski

We flew in Michael Szpakowski – an artist, composer & educator â€“ from London, to talk about his practice over the last few years. His music has been performed all over the UK, in Russia & the USA. He has exhibited work in galleries in the UK, mainland Europe & the USA. His short films have been shown throughout the world. He is a composer & video artist for Tell Tale Hearts Theatre Company & a joint editor of the online video resource DVblog. At DATA Michael showed some recent & not so recent work and talked about how it has not always had apparent roots in technology and the web. Pictured, he is in classic Michael excitement style, alongside a snap of a lovely video work about his father.

dancing meat

Joan Healy’s work is a playful interpretation of interactive technology and the objectification of the body in performance art. Her most recent work attempts to grotesquely imitate current scientific trends in bio-mimetics, using human body hair as a instrument to uncannily create sound and creating performances that parody computer touch-screen interface technology. The technological commodification of the individual/body is examined in her performances using props made from low-tech, DIY and found materials. The performer’s body becomes a tool or automaton used by indiscriminate audience members to be touched and played with. This invasive form of interaction is a transgression of social norms of respecting personal space and it toys with the feeling of embarrassment that is inherent in any performative activity. Video documentation on: http://www.vimeo.com/724001
Pictured above is the most popular of what she presented at DATA: dancing meat (powered by servo motors and activated through music).

(images from ciaraomalley.com)

Sven Anderson has been working with installation and performance art in Dublin since 2002.Â His projects focus on integrating sound and video within specific architectural sites and public spaces.Â His work has been installed and performed in Ireland, England, Germany, and the US.

At DATA, he spoke about ‘Streets: Past, Present, and Future,’ a community artwork realized as a collaboration with artist Ciara O’Malley, Fire Station Artists’ Studios, RPA (Railway Procurement Agency), and a collection of individuals and community groups in North Inner City Dublin.Â Combining video, text, and sound within two large-scale video projections and a multi-channel sound system installed within the Luas terminus at Connolly station, this project explores the relationships that exist between specific communities and the changing urban space that surrounds them. The artwork is currently in its final stages of installation. Sven discussed its design and technical setup, his experiences working in the community, larger issues concerning the project’s themes, and obstacles encountered bringing the project to its completion.Â HeÂ also addressed the dynamics that the project creates between the communities that it represents, the institutions that support it, and the public space in which it is experienced.

Great night – thanks again to all who came and participated!

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06 March 2008 by nathaniel

@ Nova Straaf Gallery on the SS Galaxy, Second Life

Ireland: Figure, Face, Home
Group show curated by Haydn Shaughnessy
Nova Straaf Gallery on the SS Galaxy, Second Life
opens Saturday 8th March 1- 3 pm SLT
til 31 March

For those not in the know: Nova Straaf Gallery is a gallery on a virtual cruise ship in SL!

Haydn Shaughnessy / traveler Auer views Nathaniel Stern’s work at the Nova Straaf Gallery

Ireland: Figure, Face, Home is a virtual exhibition of works on display at Haydn Shaughnessy Gallery based in Kinsale, Co Cork. (www.galleryica.com). This group show is running at the Nova Straaf Gallery on the SS Galaxy, one of the most highly trafficked areas of Second Life, from Saturday 8th March to the end of the month.

Clare Greene uses the software programme paintbox to capture the fine outlines of her nudes against the background of atonal colour typical of paint programmes. In the process she has created a particularly Irish pop art, focused on the country’s recent quite public rejection of repressed sexuality.

Nathaniel Stern is an interactive installation artist who has created these performance scans of the Irish landscape especially for our gallery. Here you have new technology, the desktop scanner, giving us access to new images of the most painted landscape on earth. Stern’s performative scans and prints are attracting growing attention from serious collectors in Ireland.

Home is the theme of Dearbhail Connon’s oil on canvas work. We normally don’t work artists whose metier is traditional media. Our reasoning is simply that other galleries cater well for this work. In Dearbhail’s case we wanted to exhibit her spiritual search for home. IT fits well with the diversity of work around her.

EJ Carr is an internationally renowned photographer who has been living in Ireland since 2007. His Avalon series is a provocative attempt to capture an important part of history, the Arthurian Legends. In EJ’s work you see the faces of everyday people in and around Bantry, set against the backdrop of mythical Avalon, here in Ireland.

Claire Keating plays tricks with your perceptions For her Illusion series she worked with make-up artists to paint the faces of six models in the style of well known artists. We know from visitors to our gallery that people are often confused over whether they are really paintings or photographs..

Paul La Rocque is our second Irish pop art artist. Paul trawls the Internet for iconic images from around the world and combines them with images he captures from the streets of Cork. This series of icons combines Irish emblems with iconography from China and the USA and signals the arrival of Ireland on the world economic and cultural stage.
– Show quoted text –

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04 March 2008 by nathaniel

Turbulent Works

getawayexperiment.net, a work of mine with Marcus Neustetter, is part of the first net.art exhibit by Greylock Arts in Massachusetts, in collaboration with turbulence.org:

A group exhibition of net art commissioned by New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc. for its Turbulence web site.

Turbulent Works features a selection of Turbulence commissions which represent the broad spectrum that is net art. In these works you will experience new interfaces for sound expression, art created within virtual worlds, art which is politically and socially motivated, video performances, photographic explorations, and websites re-interpreted through painting.

Now celebrating 12 years, Turbulence has commissioned over 150 works of net art and exhibited and promoted artistsâ€™ work through its Artists Studios, Guest Curator, and Spotlight sections. As networking technologies have developed wireless capabilities and become mobile, Turbulence has remained at the forefront of the field by commissioning, exhibiting, and archiving the new hybrid networked art forms that have emerged. Turbulence works have been included in the Whitney Museum of American Artâ€™s Biennial (â€˜00, â€™02, â€™04), and its Bit Streams and Data Dynamics exhibitions; Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea; C-Theory, Cornell University; Ars Electronica, Austria; International Festival of New Cinema and New Media, Montreal; European Media Arts Festival, Germany; and the Sundance Film Festival, among others.

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04 March 2008 by nathaniel

openframeworks: i am adopted

joel and dave playing with openframeworks and arduino

Joel and Dave playing with openframeworks and arduino

This weekend I went and took a 2-day workshop on openframeworks with Zach Lieberman and Theo Watson – the class was mostly a bunch of cool designers and artists from London – orgnanized by tinker.it at the Paddington Arts Center.

These are two great guys, trying to make Computer Vision and interactive art programming (and C++ more generally) easier to start with and use for everyday folks. openframeworks’ speed and open-source-ness make it an invaluable tool, potentially far superior to its non-free competitors. Zach and Theo are wonderful artists, astute thinkers and generous teachers and coders, and I consider the workshop to be a huge success – I will definitely be using openframeworks in the future, and I hope to be teaching it, too. I may even steal their line from the beginning of the class: “you are all officially adopted; we take teaching very seriously, and promise to help you in your work from here on out.”

Thanks everybody! Check out the openframeworks wiki if you want to read a bit more about it.