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October 28, 2016 - No Comments!

Electronic Interactive Flamenco Dance

The Idea

Interactive electronic flamenco dance, music and video graphics.

I want to research various fields of interest while keeping within the objective of developing a creative product which uses C++. With this in mind I have given some thought to "How can I engage myself with the C++ programming language and continue as a live, acoustic musician / performer?"

Augmented instruments

I have already built a couple of patches in Max MSP which allow me to generate various synthesised sounds with percussion. Synthesised sound generation with acoustic instruments can be done quite competently using Max MSP and so the idea of using C++ to do similar things was not appealing.

'What can I use C++ for which will allow me to achieve something outside the scope of augmented instruments?'

I can combine sound synthesis in Max MSP with data generated from movement processed by C++. It is this idea which now drives research in my various chosen fields of interest. I list them below along with explanations of their importance and contribution to the main idea.

Flamenco Dance
I have decided to concentrate on flamenco movements for interaction with C++ as I feel it can be performed percussively (foot drilling) and with various arm and body gestures while remaining relatively static. This means exploring the body's movements and their relationship to the software as well as working with the percussive element of the feet while reducing the need to research too much into the body moving through a particular space and spatial relational mapping on a large scale. The boundaries of not having too many large spaces or access to very high end 3D mapping technology means that keeping the performance static is practical.

I will to need to examine and explore various movements, forms, styles and gestures within flamenco dance with a view to mapping them accordingly for data generation for use with sound and video. I will be looking at dancers such as Israel Galvan, Farruquito, Joaquin Grilo and Belen Amaya to name but a few.

Watch this video at 4.37 of Joaquin Grilo to get an idea of some the dance ideas.

Flamenco Music
I will have to further investigate, in depth, flamenco rhythms, scales and their variations and the various ways in which they can be combined to better understand how I will be able to generate synthesised sounds which adhere to the parameters of the traditional art form. I will be listening to the guitars of Diego del Morao, Vicente Amigo, Paco Cepero and Paco de Lucia and music by David Peña Dorantes as well as some more contemporary flamenco jazz and electronic music.

Some electro flamenco from Seville Spain

Devices
I will be looking into current devices used for human movement, computer interaction such as X-box Kinect and the mi.mu gloves from Imogen Heap. The Kinect is a cheap and simple solution to allowing me to interact gesturally with a computer while the mi.mu gloves strike me as a great design in terms of controlling sound parameters such as volume, frequency and timbre through various, intuitive hand movements while staying in one place. Leap motion is also an interesting device for gestural interaction.

Software

I plan on building this project mainly in C++ and Max MSP which will mean researching the languages, their respective libraries and patches and forums extensively as well as code already written for movement interaction. I will also be looking at code written specifically for kinect and the mi.mu glove as well as nueral networks and machine learning. Software such as 'Wekinator' might be an option.

Composition Techniques

The performer needs to generate and manipulate sound and graphics via movement in a real time live performance environment. Therefore the software written needs to be responsive and robust allowing the performer to perform freely and comfortably with the ability to improvise at all times. This will require not just good programming languages and libraries but also good code design which means mathematical modelling. Self-generative techniques, minimalism and serialsm are just examples of some of the composition techniques that potentially can be used in this peformance to allow the dancer to focus solely on the dance and have the computer calculate the best musical possibilities. Markov chains and weighted probability are two methods for developing responsiveness in software. I will be researching the techniques of composers such as Steve Reich, Edgard Varese, Arnold Schoenberg and Iannis Xenakis, founders and proponents of some of the afore-mentioned techniques.

At the end of the day I need to combine a well-choreographed dance with a coherent sound while at the same time adhering to certain flamenco rules via computing.

Electronic Music

I will also be looking into various styles of popular electronic music such a

s hip hop, grime, dub step, electro, dub and metal to better understand the types of electronic sounds I will be creating, their various elements and how to map certain movements to the various parameters which control them such as envelopes, oscillators, various types of synthesis (additive, subtractive, FM, granulation etc).

I will look at the styles of artists such as The Prodigy and lots of golden era hip hop. Sampling may be an aspect.

Other artists
I will also look into Harry Parch and Eastern scales. Seeing as my piece is a form of augmented instrument it makes sense to investigate other new / augmented instruments, tones, tunings and scales. Very Nervous Machine, Memo Akten, Frieder Weiss and Chunky Move.

Memo Akten's website.

Visuals
I will look into colour and form in terms of a visual aspect because of the visual aspect of this project. Japanese traditional art, colour and form will inform this.

John Croft 'Theses on Liveness'

I have read John Croft's 'Theses on Liveness' which explains his theories on how live electronic music should be performed. The ideas expressed in this essay appeal to me. This has lead me to think about how I wish to show the audience the relationship between the movement and the computer' analysis of that movement. Being a music computing student it would make sense to use sound for this.

October 28, 2016 - No Comments!

Golan Levin

Golan Levin is an American artist, born in 1972, he is a pioneer visual computing artist and has a particular interest in interaction based art engaging with the audience in playful ways.

Levin received a Bachelor’s degree in Art and Design as well as a Masters in Media Arts and Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His work spans over a wide and eclectic range of themes and techniques, from installations and performances to web experiments and clothes (see below).

Levin presenting the Glharf, a combination of glove, hat and scarf, which supposedly "simplifies dressing for cold weather"[sic].

Golan Levin often emulates with the computer elements of the natural world, he even profess to "get most of [his] inspiration from nature" [1]. Many of his works also explore the human body and it's interaction with technology (see the Augmented Hands Series or Interstitial Fragment Processor for exemple).

Because of the number and diversity of Levin's work I will only present here a non exhaustive and not particularly representative selection of his work.

Floccus(1999)

Floccus

Floccus is one of Levin’s first artwork, with this software he tries to “study the means by which dynamic graphical lines could convey a plausible sense of physicality” [2], giving a natural and realistic appearance to these otherwise very abstract lines.

From the simple Floccus software experiment he then creates the Floccular Portraits(1999), based on photographs. The dark filaments are attracted to the dark regions of the picture and the light ones to the bright regions of the underlying picture. This procedure creates portraits that almost look like they could have been hand drawn. Sometimes the subject is barely recognisable, the images practically look like abstract, existing in an interesting space between figurative and abstract art.

Floccular Portrait

Segmentation and Symptom (2000)

These images are based on photographs and were created using Voronoi diagrams, a pattern which can be seen in nature, for exemples in spider’s web or on leaves, and which gives an organic and slightly uncanny look to these pictures.Levin says “I applied the Voronoi algorithm to repurposed photographs of refugees, for whose fragile condition I felt the delicate filigree of the Voronoi diagram was a compelling match.” [3]

Re:FACE [Portrait Sequencer], Anchorage Version (2007-2010) Is a video based installation similar to the Exquiste Corpse game. The students of the school where it is installed record their face, which are sliced in three parts, the system then rearranges and displays their jumbled up faces. This artwork is intended as a commentary on identity and collective identity (the school at which it is exposed is particularly ethnically diverse).

I appreciate Levin's work because while he uses very diverse mediums and technologies his work never feels 'gimmicky', he does't use a new or flashy technology just for the sake of it. He doesn't push back the technical boundaries but uses sometimes simple means in new and inventive ways. Finally his artworks are never cryptic or scholarly but fun and accessible for anyone, as he says "the audience for my body-tracking artworks should be anyone with a body, and the audience for my eye-tracking artworks should be anyone with eyes."[4]

References

[1] interview by Emma Tilley for ZooWire http://flong.com/texts/interviews/interview_zoowire/

[2] http://flong.com/projects/floccus/

[3] http://flong.com/projects/zoo/

[4] http://flong.com/texts/essays/statement_art_2005/

October 27, 2016 - No Comments!

Wearable Technology

Haruna Sawai

Apple and Samsung were one of the first companies to introduce wearable technology known as Apple Watch and Galaxy Gear. Both products made our life style even more convenient by installing fitness tracking and easily receive notifications. Knowing those two products are bestseller of wearable technology, I was keen to research on other wearable technologies in the market.

Ringly Aries collection

Ringly treats its wearable tech products like fashion pieces. They are first organisation in jewellery industry to introduce smart tech inside the jewellery. The product is aimed for busy women and mothers to filter out which notifications they want to receive by paring with the smart phone with both IOS and Android. Aries collection is very similar to Apple watch or Galaxy Gear, it is connected with over 100 apps and it notifies with a vibration and colourful LED to choose from. The bracelet has the function to even use it as step tracker so when you reach your goal, it instantly notifies you. Inside contains battery that last up to 24-48 hours, motor with 4 vibration settings, LED light with 5 notification colours, accelerometer to track your steps and Antenna that holds 20-30 foot range from your phone. This product definitely make busy women's day smarter by always notifying them without constantly checking on their phone. I think Ringly effectively caught consumer's attention as the smart bracelet is still fashionable even though it's a tech. I personally think smart watch looks too futuristic and looks too much of gadget. Therefore, it is great to have gadgets but still looks pretty to wear.

Spectacles by Snapchat

Snapchat will be releasing a product called Spectacles that allows you to record 10-second clips that can be sent via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to your smartphones. The camera has wider lens than normal smartphones, with a 115-degree angle that is more like to human vision. Spectacles have a single button that you press to begin recording your snap. The beauty of this product is that because they are just sunglasses, it will be inexpensive compared to Google's Glasses. Spectacles is great way to record quality snaps however, there are many consequences such as it will only record quality snaps if you have decent lightening. On the other hand, price performance is good at only £100 where as Google Glass was sold at £1000 so it will be an easy stretch for consumers.

CAD Designers

CAD designers are important people when it comes to designing 3D modelling. There are various job roles such as architecture, creating furniture and jewellery modelling. They usually start with simple sketches to first visualise the product then they test it out and make the actual 3D piece. Rhino software is popular as it is ideal to set the shapes of 3D piece. The main advantage of the software is the representation of precise elements, sizes, curves and surfaces during CAD design process. Many jewellery CAD designers prefer to use Rhino as it helps to create very difficult and detailed model. 3D modelling is often conveniently used as designers desires to see many samples of jewellery before selling on the market.

Henry Sergerman

Henry Sergerman is an artist, which he turns complex mathematical three- dimensional geometry his areas of expertise in sculpture form. Henry Sergerman also uses the software Rhino to construct 3D shapes. Not only he makes sculptures through 3D modelling but produces lampshades that create beautiful shadows. He delightfully uses the 3D modelling software to create something artistic especially using mathematical geometry.

My main project

For my main project I am very interested to make wearable technology but still stylish to wear. I am keen to use 3D modelling software to design the jewellery. After creating the 3D modelling, it will be moulded and then will pick whatever metal desired. Inside the jewellery, I maybe will be using Particle Io so that it will be connected to Internet and users can receive notifications for example text messages. It will also be connected to twitter thus when somebody mentions about you, you will instantly be informed. I will have to build a simple app to pair with the phone via either Bluetooth or Internet. I am excited to build something smart and futuristic yet intimacy for audience of this generation.

Ringly Aries collections https://ringly.com/aries
Article about Aries http://www.wareable.com/smart-jewellery/ringly-aries-smart-bracelet-price-specs-release-date
snapchat Spectacles https://www.spectacles.com/
Rhino for CAD https://www.rhino3d.com/
Jewellery CAD designers http://www.stuller.com/matrix
Henry Sergerman http://www.segerman.org/

October 27, 2016 - No Comments!

Bilal and John

Adventure games are a wide and varied genre filled with many different titles and many different types of mechanics. One main feature of adventure games is world exploration. And the specific mechanic that we focused in on as a group was the use of text and prose as a narrative device. In our studies we also looked at Ryoji Ikeda an audiovisual artist as part of our aesthetic research.

EXAMPLES OF NOVEL, TEXT BASED GAMES

"DIGITAL- A Love Story" by Christine Love

Click the Image to play the game

DIGITAL is a visual novel or interactive fiction game. This game is played using text. The user plays as the protagonist who has just purchased a computer. The game is displayed as a computer from the late 80's, in which the player can then check their emails and messages to the point where the mysterious love story begins when they come across a phone number.

With notions of love, enigma and intensity, this specific game is very engaging, the plot consists of the player sending emails and messages to an unknown person leading to a smart twist at the end. The games mechanics help draw the player into the narrative through " roughly simulating a system that we’re aware of, we gain information – and so create an internal narrative – in the same way we would do in real life."[1]. This creates a sense of verisimilitude which helps to ground the fantasy of the game within our reality.

"Queers In Love At The End Of The World" by Anna Anthropy

Click the Image to play the game

Queers in Love at the end of the world is a very unique game we came across during our creative research. This is a simple text based game with a very intense twist. The player is given 10 seconds to decipher the fate of these two lovers. The game requires speed and wit, where the players choice of decisions can alter the environment of this fictional world. The speed of the game is it's interesting trait as it keeps the player on the edge of their seat. We thoroughly enjoyed playing this game multiple times to see what the different endings were.

"A DARK ROOM" by Michal Townsend

Click the Image to play the game

A Dark Room is a long, standardly structured, web based text game. It requires a lot of patience from the player with the slow start and a lot of waiting, however it gradually builds up to an intense and vigorous plot. The player starts of in a fire lit room where they can stoke the fire. This then leads to the player gathering wood, to build huts which entice visitors and can ultimately lead to creating a village. The fictional world has beasts and fires break out, killing residents and the user has to patch things up and get to the bottom of the attacks by beasts.

It is a very addictive game, keeping the user to consistently commit an action (gathering wood, checking traps etc). It possesses the common text game trait of the player having the power to change the environment and ending. It has an almost never ending plot and can get very stressful at some points nevertheless it is a great example of a game we wish to somehow implement to our idea.

"With Those We Love Alive" by Porpentine

Click the Image to play the game

With Those we Love alive is a solemn, ambiguous game seen through the themes of love, and despair. The structure and length of this game, alongside A Dark Room are very alike with the patient pauses and extensive storyline. The player is allocated a career path based on their birth month and the element they feel represents them. The story is very vivid, using sounds and soft colours to give it a calming ambience. The most interesting innovation that this game makes is in asking the player to do a "particularly-intimate task: to draw symbols on your own skin while playing."[2]. This aspect of the game helps to ground it in the real world which makes it very intimate for the player and creates a physical connection between the player and the game.

AV ARTIST CREATIVE STUDY

Ryoji Ikeda

Infosphere

Ryoji Ikeda is a Japanese Audio Visual artist that we have taken an interest towards. He is an artist who plays with auditory perception by using high frequencies on the edge of human hearing to keep people on edge. He is meticulous with editing, and often likes to use simplistic monochrome visuals to keep focus on sound. We looked at two of his pieces, The Transfinite and Infosphere which display strobe lighting and and rapid, hasty transitions.

He creates jittery and tech sounds with harsh, abrupt visuals which have the viewers immediately drawn to his work which often taps into a "primitive sensation, obliterating the potential for alienation by appealing to the most instinctive means of bodily connection."[3] . Ikeda is very good at tapping into the primal side of technology through use of sound and visuals.

VISUAL/GAME EXAMPLE

LSD by by Asmik Ace Entertainment

This game was created for the Play Station 1 in 1998. On the surface the game seems to reference drug use due to its title, but looking at the games content there is no reference to drugs and instead it is very much an exploration of the subconscious. It is known for it's saturated colours, eccentric nature and random encounters which change on every play of the game. We were drawn to this game because the visuals stood out to us as a weird, psychedelic world.

In the game the textures get progressively more creepy and absurd the more you play and there are many randomised encounters which provide a large difference in kind in subsequent playthroughs. The underlying game mechanics are kept secret from the player which makes every new discovery more impactful "I’ve been playing for a week and I feel like I don’t know the first thing about how this game works and the mystery of it is perhaps the most rewarding part."[4]. This makes the game more personal and user generated as every player's experience of the dreamscape will be different.

Interacting and exploring worlds are something that interactive media such as games are very good at doing, and all of these examples minus the Ryoji Ikeda case study are examples of this. Meticulously choreographed linear media experiences have their time and place but giving the audience control of the experience (or the illusion of control), can create a more memorable and intimate experience.

References:

[1] Kieron Gillen - Wot I Think: Digital: A Love Story

[2]Leigh Alexander - The Joy of Text - The Fall and Rise of Interactive Fiction

[3]Raster Noton - Review: Ryoji Ikeda - Supercodex

[4]Nathaniel Edwards - PSONE Review: LSD: Dream Emulator

October 27, 2016 - No Comments!

Mangarise

Creative Research

by Elliot Greenfield & Ahmed Mohamed

Through this research we would like to explore Manga and the different ways we can implement it into our project. Manga are comics created in Japan and have their own unique style that differentiates itself from other works created in Europe and America. It is read by people all over the world spanning many different age groups.One of the things that make manga so unique is that it can have a very dark(tone) story line and involve adult-themes.

We would like to create an app that would be able to 'Mangarise' real life, this could entail manipulating the user face or a background. So instead of being engulfed in the Mangaka's world(which by itself is satisfying enough) you'll be able to bring it to you.

Snapchat

Snapchat uses a sophisticated facial tracking software from Looksery a ukrainian company for £150 million. It has many different features which allow the use to put said filters in realtime. It starts by mapping the face using an algorithm then allows you input filters on your face. These include a face Swap that allows you to put to swap faces with someone you know. Filters that involve movement from the user such as raising an eyebrow or opening a mouth to get and effect or face manipulation. Snapchat also has the ability to purchase more effects and lenses. Its very simple to use and has great output making it fun. The below image showcases the face swapping effect.

Another that uses filters and facial tracking is MSQRD, looking at this it is more sophisticated facial tracking allows users to record a lot longer as in snapchat you can only record up to 10 seconds of video. The choices of filters within MSQRD are abundant. This app also features paid and sponsored filters. These include The Joker from batman, President Obama and a face swapping feature. Overall trying out the apps i found that MSQRD is the more advanced in its facial recognition as snapchat can be temperamental at points. But when it comes to the social platform behind snapchat it wins hands down as it has millions of users whereas MSQRD only allows the user to export videos to your camera roll.

Gif Art

As we are incorporating gifs as our final output for the program we have had a look at various gif artists. The one on the picture below is by the Gif Connoisseur which features a man standing in front of various animated backgrounds. This would work well for us as we could have the final picture placed in front of backgrounds by the users choice.

Yoshi Sodeoka, who creates both prints and videos, was born in Hiroshima and grew up in Yokohama. In 1989, he moved to NYC to study at the Pratt Institute, armed with years of art education. In fact, his childhood art mentor introduced him to bands like the Rolling Stones and Sex Pistols. Both a musician and visual artist, Sodeoka attributes his loose, psychedelic style to his taste in '70s progressive rock—traces of which can also be found in his GIFs. His videos and prints work can be found in the permanent collection at the Museum of the Moving Image and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Evan Roth is another gif artists that has seen a lot of success on the internet and in real life having his work featured in the museum of modern art. He creates sculptures and prints based off hacker culture and pop culture.

Manga Artists

There are many different magakas out there with different styles, theses mangaka create manga that fit into specific categories. for example ‘Shounen’ and ‘Seinen’. Manga's that are categorised as shounen are more light at heart and are aimed at the teenage demographic.In contrast manga that are categorised as seinen are more gory, have a deeper story and are aimed at adults. These distinctions play a role in how their art turns out. The following images are panels from popular mangaka’s,i have chosen to research these artists particularly because of their unique art styles and success.

Takehiko inoue is best known for ‘Slam Dunk’ and ‘Vagabond'. Both very popular manga.Takehiko inoue’s style is very complex and has a strong realism that's not very common in other mangas.He places extra emphasis in the 3 dimensional aspect of his drawing. This allows the reader to better connect with the story on a deeper level.

Oda eiichiro has a very simple style when drawing faces but takes extra care in his backgrounds. Due to this he excels in world-building, being able to create beautiful and detailed sceneries. His manga ‘one piece’ is the most popular shounen manga of all time with over 345 million copies in circulation worldwide.

Yasuhisa Hara Is a relatively new mangaka but has gained great success due to his intriguing story and brilliant art style.The manga ‘Kingdom’ is loosely based on china and the wars they were involved in in the past. Yasuhisa Hara pays great attention to detail and this is most noted in his gigantic battle arcs.

Genetic Algorithms

We are also interested in a generative process of creating many variation of one image. The idea is for the user to upload an image, for example of themselves, and from there ‘Mangarise’ it.An artist that uses genetic algorithms particularly well is kate compton(also know as galaxy Kate).She builds algorithms to create many variations of something that is both random and controlled. An example is her Flower Evolving app.she explains her method as “.. a way to guide that generator towards more constraint-fulfilling and desirable-property-producing content". This technique can play a significant role for our mangarising project.

Conclusion

Through the different avenues we have chosen to research, we have built a better understanding of what it is we would like to create. Our project will involve a user uploading feature, have facial recognition and if possible background recognition also and genetic algorisms for the many variations. All so our users will have the ability to 'Mangarise' their world.

References:

http://www.galaxykate.com/
http://galaxykate0.tumblr.com/post/139774965871/so-you-want-to-build-a-generator
http://www.evan-roth.com/work/one-gif-compositions/
http://thegifconnoisseur.tumblr.com/
http://www.sodeoka.com/

October 24, 2016 - No Comments!

Surrealism

This post is an exploration of the Surrealism movement through both traditional and contemporary mediums. In exploring this topic, we have aimed to develop the aesthetics for a three dimensional virtual environment that is both navigational and manipulatable by the user's choice of audio input.

The flow of our creative research began by wanting to look at how aspects of nature are visually incorporated into technology however we realised that this is a very broad subject. From this we quickly found ourselves onto the topic of art movements that take worldly subjects and how they visually convey these matters, which in turn led us to the movement of Surrealism specifically.

As a brief introduction to Surrealism, it is a movement that developed from Dadaism [1] in the early 1920s. Dadaism itself is a movement which emerged during the First World War in an attempt to restructure social order after the destruction caused by the technological advances in weaponry, communications, and transportation systems. Surrealism stems from this approach and aims to express the creativity of the unconscious self in its own illogical manic way and also to force you to question reality and the potential of the unconscious mind through various mediums.

Yves Tanguy

Yves Tanguy was a Surrealist painter in the early twentieth century who referenced artists such as Salvador Dali and Mark Rothko. He is best known for his abstract biomorphic shapes and paints hyper-realistic worlds. His work reflects his obsession with childhood memory, dreams, hallucinations, and psychotic episodes and as a result his landscapes become a blend of fact and fiction. Objects hover in midair or drift towards the sky. His manipulation of perspective of keen observations of the natural world contributes to the hallucinatory effect he creates in his work.

David Brian Smith

Smith takes reference from both Surrealist and Impressionist movements. He attempts to capture feelings and experiences through his work by creating life-sized pieces so that he feels that he can be connected with the world he is creating.
David Brian Smith has a farming background and from this he creates an autobiographical link to his work. This series of his work is based off of a singular photo that his mother showed him of a shepherd tending to a flock in a newspaper from the 1930s, and for each piece he states that he "reinvents the space, light, and palette within the picture"[2] to create a drastically different interpretation.

Another way he incorporates a surrealistic approach is through the use of recursion in the landscapes. However he includes a primary solitary figure, which is the shepherd and the dog in this series of work, to become the focal point of the piece. His use of colours consists of superimposing three primary colours to produce a final print.

Hans Henningkorb - The Score

Hans Henningkorb's piece, "The Score" [3], consists of a virtual space that interacts with the user's behaviour in a one-to-one experience. There is a complex musical logic that is described by four individual systems that generate an orchestral piece of microtonal clusters. Microtones are intervals that are smaller than semitones that are not commonly used in Western tuning which features twelve equal intervals per octave. The piece characterises and understands the instrumentation of this musical system as a huge virtual two-dimensional environment as sound-colours, systems, and dynamics. With a dextrous use of colour and shapes, Henningkorb creates visuals that are simultaneously realistic and unearthly through the depiction of intricate textures and great depth. Through the systems circuitous relationship, it has given us the idea to develop a somewhat esoteric and hyper-realistic environment that translates and interprets audio data in an ambiguous manner.

SVBLM - The Bends

SVBLM [4] is a group that specialise in creating small browser-based games using Unity. The Bends is a walking simulation with its environment as a small valley in which you can wander. Throughout the valley there are large black pillars that you can walk to and "select", when selecting a pillar it adds a layer to a song that is synchronised to a preset time phrase. Walking away from a selected pillar makes the corresponding sound seem further away which gives us a sense of depth through elements other than the visuals. This virtual environment seemed to bring forth a feeling of alienation and a solitary existence, which is something we would like to recreate.

HeyApathy - City of Gears

The ‘Virtual Metropolis’ [5] is an interactive installation created by artist Mike Parsons and graphics visualisation specialist Michael Peters. The installation investigates mankind’s connection and responsibilities regarding nature, technology, and progress. The piece features cities, factories, forests, war torn landscapes, metaphysical interiors, and mechanised mass production.

These are imaginary environments that the audience can move seamlessly between using a standard video game controller to explore and manipulate their surroundings. It combines interactive video projections with 2D works on canvas, using multiple screens periodically placed among several 2D paintings. The idea is to create an all-encompassing environment in which the audience becomes completely immersed in this dystopian mechanical world. The installation takes place usually within a twenty by twenty foot enclosed cube with projections and digital paintings covering all six walls. This environment explores some of the fundamental concepts of Dadaism by focusing on the consequences caused by abuse of technology and social advancements.

All of the projects above incorporate properties of surrealism that we wish to absorb into the aesthetics of our project in some way. From the element of recursion featured in Smith's, SVBLM's and HeyApathy's work to the abstract biomorphic shapes present in Tanguy's pieces. We hope to be able to create a visually stimulating three-dimensional world that pays homage to surrealism's testimony.

Reference:

[1] - Dadaism and Surrealism

[2] - David Brian Smith

[3] - Hans Henningkorb

[4] - SVBLM

[5] - City Of Gears

October 17, 2016 - No Comments!