(This essay was commissioned by Centre national des arts plastiques for Graphisme en France 2012)

- Edited by Casey Reas and Chandler McWilliams -

Technical mastery and innovation are part of the rich history of visual design. The printing press is the quintessential example of how a shift in design technology can ripple through society. In the Twenty-First Century, innovation in design often means pushing the role of computers within the visual arts in new directions. Writing software is something that’s not typically associated with the work of a visual designer, but there’s a growing number of designers who write custom software as a component of their work. Over the last decade, through personal experience, We’ve learned many of the benefits and pitfalls of writing code as a component of a visual arts practice, but our experience doesn’t cover the full spectrum. Custom software is changing typography, photography, and composition and is the foundation for new categories of design practice that includes design for networked media (web browsers, mobile phones, tablets) and interactive installations. Most importantly, designers writing software are pushing design thinking into new areas. To cut to the core of the matter, we asked a group of exceptional designers two deceptively simple questions:

1. Why do you write your own software rather than only use existing software tools?

2. How does writing your own software affect your design process and also the visual qualities of the final work?

Continue reading.... Designing Programs [Theory]

Mitchell Whitelaw, #climatedata proposal (2009)

One of the most articulate and accessible voices within the generative art scene is undoubtedly the Canberra-based scholar/practitioner Mitchell Whitelaw. Given his relative (internet) silence over the last year, news of an interview—conducted by Paul Prudence, no less—published in the most recent issue of Neural magazine, is cause for minor celebration. Mitchell posted the transcript of this conversation to his blog last night and it is noteworthy for several reasons. First, the opening response about the utopian nature of software art acknowledges some ideological underpinnings that are seldom discussed – and Paul’s query as to “where is the dystopian software art?” is both provocative and on point. Secondly, the comments about look vs. process and how even the glossiest eye candy often embodies a “narrative of systems” is a useful means of considering the ‘performative’ capabilities of generative art. Finally, Mitchell’s description of algorithm popularity as ‘a memetic ecology unto itself’ is exactly the kind of meta-commentary that is desperately needed in (generally) uncritical software art circles.

A particularly sharp passage on system design and pedagogy:

The link there for me is a sense of “procedurality” or “processuality”. In Casey Reas’ work we can see a strong relationship between computational and non-computational procedures such as those of Sol LeWitt. In teaching programming to designers, I have students write and execute a LeWitt style procedure, with pencil and paper. Digital generative systems are just formal procedures, executed by machines. Treating processes as human-executable helps unpack the black boxes of generative systems mentioned earlier, and hopefully reveal them as contingent and hackable.

This notion of “human executable” procedures is a handy frame of reference in introducing agency into system design…

Otherwise: the joy of materiality. Generative art and design covets the lush tangibility of traditional media; and with the wave of interest in fabrication we are seeing ever more generative work realised in “off-screen” forms. The challenge then, for pasty code-artist types, is to match the craft skills of hands-on makers in realising the work.

…and serves as a perfect segue into Mitchell’s thinking about transmateriality (craft/making/material culture). Read the full conversation between Mitchell and Paul here.

We are happy to announce that after months of hard work, and even more to come, Resonate Festival has launched it’s full site and tickets are now available for purchase.

‘Resonate’ is an initiative by “Magnetic Field B” in collaboration with CreativeApplications.Net and Dom Omladine in Belgrade. It’s core aim is to set a new standard in the arts industry by creating a new event platform for inspiration, networking, information, knowledge sharing and education. It brings together distinguished, world class artists, with an opportunity of participating in a forward-looking debate on the position of technology in art and culture. But Resonate is also much more than just a festival, expert seminar or exhibition of visual arts. It is a project broad enough to encompass areas ranging from software engineering to visual arts theory, but also to create a bridge between culturally separated segments of the artistic and intellectual scene through a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach.

Taking place in Belgrade, Serbia from 16th – 17th March 2012, the event will give visitors an overview of current situation in the fields of music, visual arts and digital culture. Guest artists, lecturers and other participants have been chosen to represent the cutting edge of the contemporary creative industry in Europe. Interactivity is the key feature of contemporary communications and as a festival of new media, Resonate will be structured in such a way to reflect this fact on several levels. First of all, that means the interaction between audience and authors, or audience and art forms, as visitors of the festival will be active participants and will have contact with the authors through workshops, lectures, multimedia installations and the music program.

- 20 speakers from Europe, Asia and North America
- Collaborations with both national and international educational institutions
- Talks, workshops, panel discussions, performances and concerts
- Day and night programme (DJ Sets, Live Audio/Visual Performances and Concerts)
- In the heart of europe, city of history and culture – Belgrade

Featuring Nicholas Felton, Josh Nimoy, Jer Thorp, Greg J. Smith, Regine Debatty, Champagne Valentine, Niklas Roy, Benjamin Gaulon, Martial Geoffre-Rouland, Karsten Schmidt, FIELD, LAb[au], Rafaël Rozendaal, United Visual Artists, Written Images, Jürg Lehni, WARP, onedotzero and many more.

…and this is just the beginning. Yet to announce are night event details including 2 headlining acts, audio-visual performances, DJs, workshops, screenings, panels and more. You will not be disappointed!

Tickets are now on sale (Only €40.00). Book now and save 50% on the door price. Only available for few weeks and in limited numbers.

Dates: 16th – 17th March 2012
Location: Belgrade, Serbia 

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Versus is the latest installation David Letellier, combining the robot mechanics with David’s long time area of exploration - kinetic sound installations, beautifully made. Previously collaborated with Lab[au] on Tessel (see detailed post on CAN), Versus consisting of two kinetic sculptures placed face to face in a space. Each sculpture is made out of 12 triangular panels, hinged and powered by six linear actuators, controlled by a custom software. At the center of each corolla, a loudspeaker and a microphone allow to play and record sounds.

At regular intervals, each sculpture produces a sound, simultaneously recorded and analyzed by the opposite sculpture, which then moves according to the frequencies of this sound. Like a feedback loop, it then plays back the recorded sound, with the errors and disturbances caused by the reverberating space and the visitors.

Continue reading.... Versus [c++, Objects]

Lost in Lace is the name of new exhibition at the Gas Hall, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. It is a collection of “New approaches by UK and international artists” featuring 20 names including Nils Völker, Reiko Sudo, Chiharu Shiota, Suzumi Noda, Atelier Manferdini, Naomi Kobayashi, Diana Harrison, Michael Brennand-Wood, Annie Bascoul and many more.

Step into a world of lace like you’ve never seen before. See how the patterns, materials and cultural traditions of lace are represented through radical new approaches by UK and international artists. Featuring large-scale, theatrical and visually spectacular work, this exhibition challenges perceptions of what lace can be, involving the visitor in an environment where spaces become fluid and thread creates entirely new boundaries. Many of the international artists are showing in the UK for the first time and artworks will be breaking out beyond the bounds of the gallery, into public spaces.

As a part of the exhibition, and produced by Nexus Interactive Arts, Sembler have created a free iPhone application that allows you not only convert photos into lace but also interact with pieces at the exhibition. Included as a bonus features, which only unlocks when your GPS coordinates are matched to location, allows you to “explore the digital space these sculptures inhabit via your phone and body movements” – video below.

Continue reading.... Lost in Lace [iPhone, openFrameworks, Events]

Our friends at Interactive Things and authors of Datavisualization.ch have just told us about their new pet project, called Substratum. It’s a series of inspirational interviews with some of today’s most influential designers and artists. 10 questions per interview, 2 interviews per issue, 1 issue per week until Christmas.

They started yesterday with the first issue titled “Space” containing interviews by Marius Watz and Theo Watson & Emily Gobeille. There is a total of 14 interviews in the pipeline with release on weekly basis. The complete list of names featured in Substratum remains secret, but includes people like Ben Fry, Nicholas Felton and Golan Levin.

Continue reading.... Substratum Interview Series [News]

“New Art/Science Affinities” is a new publication focusing on artists working right now at the intersection of art, science and technology. Co-published by The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University and the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, this 190-page book was written and designed in one week by four authors (Andrea Grover, Régine Debatty, Claire Evans and Pablo Garcia) and two designers (Thumb) in a collaborative authoring process known as a “book sprint” (derived from “code sprinting” for open source projects).

Continue reading.... New Art/Science Affinities [News, Books]

“Someone” pointed out recently that we have never blogged Marius Watz. Although referred to in a number of posts and having blogged himself on CAN here, Marius is one of those people that doesn’t need special mentioning. He has exhibited worldwide, spoke at many events and conferences and continues to influence status and direction of generative art. Here we have collected few recent and not so recent works; his ElectroPlastique, a time-based visual homage to the Op artist Victor Vasarely, and his talk from the Eyeo Festival earlier this year.

ElectroPlastique, also know as ”Grid distortion” are grids distorted through a gradual transformation, causing lines to crack and bend. Under pressure, two two dimensions become three, the lattice looking like bubbles as they emerge towards the viewer. There have been a number of iterations of the work, ElectroPlastique #1 [2005], Grid distortion (2008), EXTRUSION (2011) and most recently ElectroPlastique #1 as seen on Vimeo and exhibited at the San Francisco Film Society.

Continue reading.... ElectroPlastique and Grid Distortions [Processing]

From October 21-23, the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University will conduct the third episode in its conference series, “ART && CODE”, dedicated to the promotion of computational thinking in and through the arts. This time, our theme is “DIY 3D Sensing and Visualization” in plastic and performance media — “Kinect hacking”.

Organized by Golan Levin (@golan), this is the first “kinect-hacking” conference. It celebrates arts-oriented and tinkering-based approaches to interaction research. Also interesting to note that scholarships for women are available, described on the event main page. Speakers include some stars well known to CAN readers, such as Zachary Lieberman (oF), Kyle McDonald, Elliot Woods, Joel Gethin Lewis (ex-UVA) with also a diverse array of workshops utilising popular programming toolkits (P5, oF, Ard, MM/J ,Pd, etc.). Erkki Huhtamo, media arts historian (“media archaeologist”), will provide some historical perspective.

Continue reading.... Art && Code [Events]

I recently had pleasure of meeting and talking to Tyler Flynn of the A.N.D project about my CAN adventures. Likewise Scott Snibbe and James Alliban reveal what inspires them and how they got involved with doing what they do. It’s a long read and definitely a worthy one…

What’s being created today for the iPhone and iPad is mind-blowing. It’s a glorious realization that we are now in a place where digital technology and art together are so inclusive and generative. But who creates apps, what are they, how do they happen? The three minds below are no strangers to this glowing new phenomenon. Follow A.N.D as we converse with all three of them, tracing the expansion of this field, spotlighting the aspects that make it charged and, perhaps, the greatest recent addition to our digital world.

Here are few extracts:

There are a number of publications and online media that emphasize this concept of visual culture, which drives me up the wall. It says “it’s okay to be drawn to something visually without questioning theirposition of reference or how they’ve come about.” - Filip Vsnjic

I hope to get to the stage where people are building constructs, leaving trails in the cities they wander, where people could use the city as a generated art gallery. - James Alliban

Writing has always been my favorite medium because it’s the least encumbered by any limits. Programming is probably second because you’re still just only limited by your technical ability and imagination. But writing is even more unfettered and I think more difficult than programming. - Scott Snibbe

Read more on the A.N.D project.