The show is a mixture of disciplines and to my mind some of it erred on the interactive for the sake of it side, sort of pretty and funny but not much to it and then there was work that was truly impressive. The winner of the Prix Ars Electronica in the music and sound art category, Ryoichi Kurokawa was one of the most satisfying digital works I have ever seen.

A beautiful installation of 5 vertical screens, described as a time-based sculpture Rheo: 5 Horizons from the Greek meaning river, it showed landscapes which were broken into digital analyses with corresponding audio tracks. It was so beautifully realised in every way that I would of happily spent 4 days looking at it.

One of the big surprises for me came on the last morning, I’d been recommended to seek out an installation in one of the basements called ‘Song for Earth’, a truly woeful title but by all accounts a lovely piece. I finally found the right corner of the complex and found a low basement space with a single electric guitar on a stand plugged into a small practice amp, there was an electric screwdriver attached to a mic stand which rotated a piece of cord against the frets of the guitar creating a nice sustained drone, as you moved through the space other guitars were placed throughout creating a shifting phased drone that followed you. A really simple piece that was really effective. It was made more impressive by the fact that it turned out to be the work of an 8 year old boy. Sort of demystifying both modern sound art as well as the avant music scene. Nice work.

It’s impossible to adequately describe the scope of the work due to the sheer amount going on but some highlights for me were Merrick by Daan van den Berg, 216 prepared dc-motors / filler wire 1.0mm, 2009 by Zimoun, Chapter I: The Discovery by Félix Luque Sánchez and Earth by Finnbogi Pétursson. There were also some great performances going on over the weekend, notably the Braun Tube Jazz Band by Japanese artist Ei Wada, I don’t know how he did it but he managed to make a collection of old CRT televisions behave like bastardised Theremins and he gave a really joyous demo of what he was capable of, a weird mix of Taiko drumming and Gabba.

On the other hand Telenoid was massively disturbing and it made me feel a bit funny. Why the flipper arms?

Ars Electronica has been running in Linz for 31 years and is testament to the forward looking nature of the city, I will hopefully return next year for another showcase of great work.

dl

Related posts:

1. 20three generative work 2002

The general process for these generative experiments was that of using a single image, and then manipulating that image by rotating, stretching, skewing and duplication.

The real goal was to use as simple an algorithm as possible, and then from this set of simple rules allow complexity to emerge.

At the time we were using Flash and ActionScript 2 for the development of the images, this was chosen as it’s a nice simple language, and allows for rapid development.

Screenshots:

All the above examples can be seen live by clicking here

After experimenting with generative images that move and rotate, we decided to experiment with images that just create instances of static images.  The reasoning behind this was so images could be generated that then could be translated into a palette for design.

As well as being featured in the 6th Generative art Conference in Milan (organized by the Generative Design Lab) we also managed to use these generative experiments for several commercial projects. The most successful application was a collaboration with React snowboards. We created a set of visuals based on our generative programming and one design went into production – the results of which can be seen below. We also used the same generative programming to create downloadable screensavers and graphic assets for Adam Freeland’s 2002 version of the Marine Parade record label (no longer live).

React Snowboards, 2002

React Snowboards, 2002

React Snowboards, 2002

gh & op

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1. Degree Show: University of Brighton
2. Wiring ::
3. Typographic Brighton