technology | implicit art

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19 September 2009 by nathaniel

Winkleman Gallery: Editioned, Networked Video Art Objects

Eve Sussman & Rufus Corporation, along with the Edward Winkleman Gallery, have produced a large edition of an ongoing video art work that comes complete with a player and screen. As if this isn’t enough of a breakthrough in the commercial art gallery realm (and one Jessica and I have been admittedly contemplating for our Distill Life series for some time; we can attest to the fact that, as noted by Winkleman, it indeed is a lot of work and research – not to mention cash), the players can also go online to download latter parts of the artists’ ongoing series.

… Sussman selected the ARCHOS 5 player for this Compound Edition for its high-fidelity audio and video and internet capability. This last fact will allow collectors of this Compound Edition to continue along the White on White journey in the near future. As episodes of White on White become available fans of the work can collect them and have them streamed to their Archos player – thereby owning a limited edition film-in-progress and simultaneously becoming a co-producer of the final film noir.

It’s a big risk, but one that seems to be paying off already. Bravo to the artists and gallery for what looks to be a beautiful work – a wonderful hybrid of conceptual, new media, and object-based art.

Archives

24 July 2009 by nathaniel

More Compressionism, plus bonus life and art details (in short review)

Wow. I almost forgot I had a blog. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I’ve been working on a whole lot of art. Video-print-object things like this, scanner stuff like that, interactive installations like these (actually, mostly been updating a few of these pieces to new versions with openFrameworks, while brainstorming a new piece), and this new mixed reality installation. All will be premiering in various parts of the world, hopefully (some are booked, some are not), within the next year. I’m off to NYC for a few weeks (drop a line if you wanna meet up), but in the meanwhile, enjoy this new documentation image for Compressionism (photo and design by Jesse Egan).

Giverny of the Midwest (scanning lilies in Indiana, photo by Jesse Egan)

Compressionism is a digital performance and analog archive, where I strap a custom-made scanner appendage and battery pack to my body, and perform images into existence. I might scan in straight, long lines across tables, tie the scanner around my neck and swing over flowers, do pogo-like gestures over bricks, or just follow the wind over water lilies in a pond. The dynamism of my relationship to the landscape is transformed into beautiful and quirky renderings, which are re-stretched and colored on my laptop, then produced as archival art objects using photographic processes. The above image was taken in South Bend, Indiana, as part of an art camping trip: two days in tents, with lots of tech, working towards a large-scale and gridded work reminiscent of Monet’s MOMA-owned masterpiece. The final piece will be 12 meters wide by 2 meters tall, and completed some time in 2010.

Archives

08 July 2009 by nathaniel

reminders

This Friday, a collaborative talk at the Museum of Wisconsin Art.

This Sunday, Maria Bolivar and Nadav Assor at MOCT.

See ya there!

Archives

30 June 2009 by nathaniel

July 12 at MOCT: Upgrade! Milwaukee presents Nadav Assor (Israel) and Maria Bolivar (Venezuela)

More information: http://digiwaukee.net/upgrade

Upgrade! Milwaukee presents Nadav Assor and Maria Bolivar!
Sunday July 12, 7 – 9 PM
MOCT, 240 E Pittsburgh Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53204

Please come to the second Upgrade! Milwaukee, featuring Nadav Assor (Israel) and Maria Bolivar (Venezuela)!

Nadav Assor, Tunneling (performance)

On Nadav Assor (who was the founder of Upgrade! Tel Aviv):

“I am greatly interested in theories and explorations of urban architectural, emotional and ideological sub-structures. One tactic I use in exposing and reshaping the structures around me is digitization, in the sense of reduction to a primal, reconfigurable matter. The transformed digital matter is recast into its original context, physically manipulated in an ongoing live process that ranges from the absurd to the violent. The outcome often presents various transgressions or inversions of the technological, socio-political structures that served as a starting point. Many of the mechanisms inherent in my work require palpable, physical effort or struggle to manipulate, thus exposing the constant friction between body and media. I do not want my devices to ‘run smoothly’.

My work has been shown in Berlin, Chicago, and in many Israeli venues, including several showings at the Israeli Center for Digital Art, the C.Sides International electronic media festival, the Laptopia festival, the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel-Aviv, The Haifa and Bat Yam Museums and more. I have received a 2006 Leumi (the Israeli national bank) award for excellence in the arts.
I am currently pursuing my MFA with full fellowship in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.”

Maria Bolivar @ UWM

Maria Bolivar was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She was significantly influenced by her father, Cesar Bolivar, who is a well-known film director in Latin America. After attending the most important design academy in Venezuela: El Instituto de DiseÃ±o de Caracas, Maria spent three years as a professional designer. Due to the violence and her involvement in the 2002 National Strike in Venezuela, Maria was forced to come to MilwaukeeÂ where she received her BFA in communication design from the Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) in 2006. Maria is currently pursuing a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee with an intermedia focus.

Hope to see you there!

–
Upgrade! Milwaukee is a regular gathering of digital creatives – artists, musicians, performers, writers, curators and the public – that fosters dialogue and creates opportunities for collaboration within the local new media community. It features 1-3 guest speakers at each event, held at a rotating venue: informal, free, and open to all. We welcome suggestions for speakers, panels or gatherings. Upgrade! Milwaukee will continue to grow as a local node within the global Upgrade! International (UI) network.

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Upgrade! is an international, emerging network of autonomous nodes united by art, technology, and a commitment to bridging cultural divides. Its decentralized, non-hierarchical structure ensures that Upgrade! (i) operates according to local interests and their available resources; and (ii) reflects current creative engagement with cutting edge technologies. While individual nodes present new media projects, engage in informal critique, and foster dialogue and collaboration between individual artists, Upgrade! International functions as an online, global network that gathers in different cities to meet one another, showcase local art, and work on the agenda for the following year. There are currently over 30 nodes in UI, across North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Second Life.

Archives

24 June 2009 by nathaniel

Great 3D animation post/job in South Africa

My old stomping ground (Wits School of the Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand) in Joburg has a 3D/animation post available. Great, small department in Africa’s coolest city. I’m happy to answer questions for anyone interested.

Digital Arts is advertising for a new post in 2010.
Please can you forward this to anyone you feel would be interested in teaching 3D Animation at the Digital Arts Division of the Wits School of Arts. Johannesburg, South Africa.

Please note that the closing date is the 17th July.

………………………………………………………………

POST OF LECTURER IN ANIMATION, WSOA DIGITAL ARTS
WITS SCHOOL OF ARTS
DIGITAL ARTS (ONE FULL-TIME TENURE-TRACK LECTURESHIP) IN COMPUTER ANIMATION

Digital Arts is a strongly interdisciplinary department which offers postgraduate programmes in Animation and Interactive Media and also undergraduate courses which link digital elements in Music, Fine Arts and Drama. Digital Arts also collaborates with Engineering and other Faculties at Wits. With strong links to both the contemporary arts scene, the creative industries in South Africa and the international context in both the theoretical and production fields, this is an exciting area of growth.
The successful candidate can expect to play a leadership role in determining future directions in the field of animation education in Africa. (For more
about the Department go to: http://www.wits.ac.za/Academic/Humanities/WSOA/DigitalArt/)

LECTURESHIP IN ANIMATION

The successful applicant will be an animator/animation artist with a firm grasp of the principles of animation and experience with 3D animation.

Qualifications: MA, MFA or equivalent qualification. Experienced in a 3D software package but also be able to teach the fundamentals of 2D animation and to supervise student animation projects employing a production pipeline.

Duties: Teach both production and theory to postgraduate and undergraduate classes. Supervise postgraduate research projects, collaborative projects and assist with course administration.

For further information contact Professor Christo Doherty, Head of Digital Arts, christo.doherty@wits.ac.za, tel: +27 11 7174682
For application forms contact Mrs Margaret Deyi, Faculty of Humanities, margaret.deyi@wits.ac.za, tel: +27 11 7171414

Archives

22 May 2009 by nathaniel

Jimmy Wales talks Art and Wikipedia

Nice to see Jimbo talk about Art and Wikipedia. It’s worth a read if only to hear how carefully Wikipedia’s figure-head thinks and speaks in relation to notability and possibilities with arts coverage on Wikipedia. I agree with all of what he says (although it’s admittedly very noncommittal – so hard to disagree with), and wish most of the Wikipedia editors were as even-handed as he seems to be in this interview.

Link to part 1; link to part 2.