Class Presentations 3

Heather Kelly

- Lapis (game about the female orgasm)
- Fabulous
- Gamma 01
- Kokoromi

Daan
- Smart Highway
- Sustainable Dance floor

Greyworld + Camille Utterback + Furtherfield + Marie Sester

Greyworld

• Creates work in urband, public spaces
• Work focuses on play
• Subtle projects, most of their work in the beginning was sound based
• Environmentally reflective projects
• Founded by Andrew Shoben, an English academic, broadcaster, and artist.
• Considered one of the world's leading practitioners of public art
• Given many lectures and broadcasts on art in public

"Railings" (1996)

• Railings tuned to play a song

"The Source" (2004)

• Moves up and down when according to the stock market going up and down

"Trace" (2005

• Sound oriented
• As you walk through, conversations, laugher, and other things can be heard

"Clockwork Forest"

• Key in tree
• Plays music

"Public Toilet"

• Public sculpture of a person squatting, pooing in public
• Strong message for World Toilet Day

"Trafalgar Sun" (2012)

• Bringing brightness and liveliness to England in a time of darkness

Camille Utterback

I can't understand what he's saying.

1. Camille is a Interactive Installation Artist and ___.
2. How does Camille engage participants to engage with her art?
1. She uses digital technologies as a medium for interaction.
3. What is Camille does to sense a users entire body to create a visceral connection between the real and the virtual?
1. She uses Video Tracking software to do this. 
4.  Why does Camille write her own software and design her own interfaces?
5. By creating ____ she hopes to engage people emotionally and viscerally.
6. Most people know Camille because of her most famous artwork known as ____.
7. What is the significance between the cave drawings and her artworks

Furtherfield

• Founded by Ruth Catlow and Marc Garett
• Believes Art and Technology play an essential role in how we see our culture and society
• Diversity and collectivity
• Involved in Net art, Media art, Art activism, "Hacktivism" 
• Ecological approaches to work a tte intersection of art

Feral Trade Cafe

• Art exhibition + working cafe selling food and drinks shared over social media.
• Provides opportunities for critical debate, exchange and participation in emerging ecological media art practices.

DIWO

• Do it With Others
• Mail Art projcet - corresponds with others across physical and digital mail networks
• Second DIWO project initiated by Furtherfield

A Crowded Apocalypse

• Crowd sourcing to create and simulate conspiracy theories
• Symbol > Them(entities) > Evidence > Plots > Streets
• Writing and protesting against conspiratory narratives

Marie Sester

"Tell Me the Truth" (2009-2010)

"Access" (2003)

"Beam" Narrative (2009)

David Rozin

Born in Jerusalem, Israel
Currently lives in New York, New York

How he became interested in Interactive Art
- Background in industrial design
- Came to ITP in NYU as a student
- After being introduced to physical computing and programming he felt a "huge surge of creativity"

Works of Art (categories):
- Mechanical Mirrors
They behave similarly. You put something in front of it and the mirror will reflect the object. "The piece has no content without the viewer".

"Weave Mirror" (2007)
"Trash Mirror"
"Angles Mirror" (2013

Software Mirrors
- Less physical oriented and more software oriented
- Camera + computer

"Shaking Time Mirror" (2005)
- Examining the notions of time, scanning, motion, and stagnation

"Mirror Number 5" (2001)

"Easel" (1998)
- Brushes reveals camera pixels
- Different "paints" choose different cameras

Blog Entry Class 2

It is difficult to compare happenings and cybernetics to each other because, in theory, they seem quite different. Happenings mostly involve performance art pieces that involve the audience and is conceptualized largely around the idea of the interaction between  the artwork and the spectator. Cybernetics on the other hand is more about the idea of testing what a machine can do and the limits and capabilities it can perform. The two areas deal with opposite subjects, humans and machines, and differ in many ways because of that. I think one of the core differences of the happenings and cybernetics is, in part, the idea of spontaneity. With happenings, while key elements are planned, because there is so much focus on audience interaction, an unpredictable move from the audience can change the artwork completely and such a thing cannot be predicted. However, with Cybernetics, artists work within the constraints of a man-made device that has every detail about it planned out.

I think they do share similarities though. One of the main similarities I have found between happenings and cybernetics is that they both orient around human interaction, whether with machines or with other people. Neither present art as one fixed object or piece but rather invite people to manipulate the art and experiment with it.l-50t=-6nh-ghj3``````

The level of interaction with humans differs slightly, however. Happenings invite audience members in to become a part of the art and from there, each spectator can more or less change the art from the inside. In cybernetics, the humans are encouraged to change the art and challenge the boundaries of the technology they are presented with.

Happenings, to me, are extremely interesting because they are similar to theatre in the sense that no two performances will ever be the same, even if the same key elements are used. Different reactions and interactions from the spectator change the work and make it unique every time. Based on environment, the amount of spectators, etc. you can have two of the same “shows” that are drastically different.

Cybernetics was interesting because of different machines that were shown to us and that could perform many interesting functions on their own.

Class 5

In this class, we were informed about and discussed about the various networks that link us together, the value of those networks, and who controls them. One of the controversial topics we came across was the the principle known as the "end to end" principle. This principle essentially explained the idea that it is the end user that keeps control over what is possible on the network. This principle affects the network and its user in a substantial way because it can potentially limit the user from using the net to its full potential. To some extent this may be justified, such as for setting boundaries to keep certain information. Say, however, end users abuse their power and limit users' freedom on the network for personal reasons, this raises the issue of denying the users of their freedom. In my opinion the network should be an open space in which people can express and indulge in their own interests and beliefs without having these things hindered by a biased end user. 

This brings us to the topic of network neutrality. Network neutrality is the freedom to do what you please on the internet without being restricted by institutions. I believe this is an important issue in many different ways. At the core of all these reasons, however, I think the most important reason is that the network should not be able to be defined in one certain way. Everyone has different uses and reasons for using the internet, to learn about current events, to keep in touch with people, to entertain themselves, etc. If network neutrality is demolished and the network becomes a place where all that is shown to us are the things people want us to see and not what we want, I think that defeats the purpose of the network. The network should reflect individuality and we should all be free as individuals to use the internet how we wish to use it (so long as it is not harming others). 

Class 4

Class 4 Blog Post:

In this class, we explored several new branches of interactive art mainly revolving around the concept of networked arts. This means, art that exists as a network, a system of communication that involves constant interaction among artists, artworks, and viewers. Examples of these arts are mail art and fluxus.

Mail Art is a concept that branched out from the fluxus movement in the 1950s. The system involved using the mailing system to distribute small works of art from artist to artist. Mail art involved a community of artists sending each other texts, stamps, collages, or materials. The main concept of mail art was essentially that art could be exchanged in a global network. It was a network in which art can be explored and shared. The fluxus movement encouraged this type of unconventional artwork.

The fluxus movement could abe considered an "anti-art" movement. It criticized modern art because of the strict set of rules and standards that define art. Fluxus art challenges this mindset, often displaying art that lacks proper technique, the kind of art produced would most likely not even be considered art according to the modern art standard. Fluxus art often included brief performances that were anti-commercial. The fluxus movement created a network of artists that want to prove that their art is what they make of it, and that the established standards of art should be broken down. The movement was about making art and having the freedom to define what art is for oneself.

Fluxus did not solely involve artists that wished to contribute to the movement, but also the audience that viewed these works. In many projects, such as Wolfgang Staehle's "The Thing", anybody could be a contributer to the art. This was extremely interesting because suddenly the community became a part of the art and the artwork itself was constantly changing.

As technology continues to advance, projects such as "Face to Facebook" arose which deeply involved audience participation. It was extremely interesting to see how so many people could suddenly become part of a project like this, it showed how connected we all are, especially at the present time. It is also frightening in another way because it goes to show how everything you put on the internet can be somehow be accessed by another person. Privacy is questionable on the internet especially so that was one frightening yet revealing aspect of "Face to Facebook".