Roadtrip 2011

Processing Workshops

Friday and Saturday the roadtrip had the privilege of learningabout Processing from Christian Riekoff, a freelance computational designer. Based in Berlin, he works primarily on interactive installations, generative systems, and physical computing. I'd like to include a link to an absolutely incredible piece of his work that he showed us, but unfortunately it is so new there are not videos on-line yet, so I will try to describe it to illustrate what exactly it means to work on generative systems and physical computing. The piece consisted of many triangles cut out of a special lightweight material suspended by strings connected to motors in the ceiling. The triangles formed a membrane of sorts that moved in a synchronized fashion controlled a program Christian wrote in Processing. Light is then projected onto these moving triangles from above, with such precision so that the light covers the triangles exactly but doesn't hit the floor. [Video to follow eventually]. If that was too confusing or you'd just like to see more, you can find some of his other work here.

On Friday our workshop focused on simple photo manipulation to help us get the basics of programming down and the possibilities for animation and other creative programming. On Saturday, the first part of our workshop again focused on photo manipulation, but this time on more complex photo manipulation to make changes not easily possible in photoshop. Finally, for the second part of our processing workshop on Saturday, Christian showed us some other web resources for finding out more about Processing and other creative programming. 

Find out more about Christian and see his work at his website here.

– Yoni Blumberg

‘Massaging the Medium’ with Joachim Schmid

On Tuesday, Joachim Schmid started his lecture with a short introduction. An artist both formally-educated and self-taught, Schmid— born in Balingen and now based in Berlin— is a conceptual artist/photographer, but eschews any formal label or movement to his work. Since his school days, Schmid has done work cultivated by his own self-education—fueled by his interest in photographic culture and what he has observed to be the unaddressed, unobserved facets of the medium as a phenomenon.

Schmid has made it his life work to address these gaps. His projects are diverse and fascinating, a thread of endeavors that chart his own interests and queries into visual media. Rather than focus on the craftsmanship of photography or the formal qualities of the art, his work explores the conceptual (while being relatable)— through the selection, accumulation, organization and presentation of other people’s work. One of his earlier projects, entitled “Pictures From the Street”, was based entirely around found photographs— memories meant to be thrown away or destroyed. These photos, some burned, others torn-up and disintegrating, not only serve as pieces of artwork in themselves, but contained another element not seen in formal works meant for exhibition. This new layer of information (the grime, the tears in the paper, the materiality and human touch of the photographs) speaks to the road of photography in everyday life. Stories and personal relationships are projected onto the photograph and the factors of time, subjectivity and the elements that alter or enhance its narrative are highlighted.

Schmid has continued his work in projects such as ‘Collective Portrait of a City’, in which he found and gathered the negatives of photos from street portrait photographers in Brazil. In more recent years, as photography has changed from an analogue to a predominately digital medium, Schmid has found equally absorbing material. In his ‘Sex Cam Project’, Schmid has photographed the spaces created by cyber sex workers— without the physical presence of the workers themselves. It is a meditation on the intimacy and the sterility of cyberspace, revealing the taste and fantasies of the contemporary audience being catered to. Other projects, such as “The Coach House: An Inventory” and ‘Nine Errors’, highlight the subtle way in which public space, and ‘objective’ resources are coopted and influenced/manipulated despite their innocuous reputation. In each of his works, it is clear that Schmidt is a meticulous observer— highlighting the humorous and surprising way that we relate to images and the nuances of visual culture.

Joachim Schmid's visit was thorough, fascinating, and exciting. Hearing about his thought process behind each investigation-- and his take on the postmodern state of the image in society-- was a breath of fresh air to the student preparing his/herself for a career in the arts. It is clear that Schmid’s work is an honest account of the artistic process of realizing curiosity—destabilizing the pretension of the art world and the elitism that has come from fetishizing the photo.

You can learn more about Joachim Schmid and his work here.

–Chisa Hughes  [Above: a photo from Schmid's 'Pictures from the Street' Project]

Aer Studio Visit

Friday the 15th the group visited Aer Studio, an interaction design and new media firm and got to sit down with José Hernández, the Creative Director and founder of the firm, and Héctor Sánchez-Pajares, the Interaction R+D Director. The studio is located in a neighborhood that previously housed industrial buildings and is transitioning to a hub of creative workers. Aer has a very large loft with a completely open floor layout (complete with a ping pong table and video games, used strictly for research). 

José, who started Aer Studio with a classmate from a Masters program in Interaction Design in Barcelona, spent nearly two hours with us answering our questions about what interaction design is, what Aer does, the background of the people who work there, the culture of the industry, and what skills are most important for us to have. One theme of the discussion was the relatively seamless blend of personal interests and work. José mentioned that he is passionate about his work and his passions relate to his work (something many of us hope will eventually hold true for us as well). Their work is split between projects that they do for fun (and for free) and contacted work (which is a mix of subcontracted work and work for which they are hired directly).

Their work covers a wide range, from physical installations integrating audio and visual to interactive projects that are entirely digital. As music is a passion of theirs, it is present in much of their work. 

We also discussed the culture of openness and sharing among interaction designers and in the digital world in general, as well as how it runs into corporate stonewalls with non-disclosure agreements. Finally, we discussed skills that are important in interface design, especially programming.

Their work is very impressive and fun; check it out for yourself here.  – Yoni Blumberg

New Media at Centre d'Art Santa Mònica

The Roadtrip today visited Centre d'Art Santa Mònica. Thanks to help from curator Manuel Guerrero, we were able to have a tour of their new exhibition in English. On the top floor of the Centre we found a collection of new media projects organized by the Swiss government, entitled Think Art — Act Science: Swiss Artists-in-Residence. The curatorial conceit was to pair a wide range of of artists with scientists or science labs. The outcomes are the result of artists exploring and creatively responding to what they found.

As exhibition notes suggest, the project is arranged around three main research themes addressed by artistic investigations: Ecology and Environment, Spatial Awareness and Emotions, and Exploration of New Technologies. Within these themes, the fields of scientific inquiry from environmental science and bio-technology to artificial intelligence are reinterpreted.

For example, in the image above, our guide and Roadtripper Kaitlin Randolph [right] consider Hina Strüver and Mätti Wütrich's Regrowing Eden [2010], which examines the consequences of genetic engineering by creating genetically modified organisms.

At the bottom, Christian Gonzenbach's QUARK Quantum Art Crystal [2010] is a mechanical random generator. When the neo tubes of the crystal switch on and off, they resemble a Newtonian motion that creates a quantum-situation.

Although the spectacular main exhibition space was closed for installation of a new show, Santa Monica is one of the most impressive venues for new media works in all of Europe. – John Schott