(↑ Ralf Baecker – Mirage / An optical projection apparatus)
With The Subterranean theme FIBER Festival has a devised a metaphor to explore the politico-aesthetics of our digital world. The subtitle Networked Tools and Matter refers to the critical exploration by artists and designers in researching the possibilities and effects of the tools and systems that lay hidden behind our screens and interfaces. In an extensive programme covering two days, the visitor can immersive him or herself in the shadowy world of new aesthetics and interactive forms, created by artists whose toolboxes extend to online communities, dark patterns, data and algorithms.
HANDS-ON with Mio and vvvv on FRIDAY
On Friday it’s hands-on, with several workshops and a Creative Coding Amsterdam meetup. Christian ‘Mio’ Loclair, known for his undertakings in fusing code and choreography, will present a vvvv workshop. One of the goals of this workshop is to kickstart and fuel the Dutch vvvv community. FIBER asked Mio, what are the benefits of using vvvv?
Mio: I think vvvv is the most social and efficient tool for interdisciplinary work. Working with dance and code, I often feel a gap between the two worlds that is deeply rooted in the production. You interrupt the rehearsal – you interrupt the execution of the program – you write lines – no one understands – dancers feel unguided -muscles getting cold waiting. This separation between coding and performing doesn’t reflect my vision of interdisciplinary art. Therefore I believe that vvvv is the quickest tool for prototyping design decisions. It allows adjustments on the fly and its visual user interface invites people from other disciplines to follow the process.
During the workshop focused on intermediate coders, people will learn how to create interactive visuals. What are the artistic possibilities for merging visual worlds with physical bodies?
Mio: We see dance because there is light. No light – no bodies – no motion – no atmosphere. It’s fundamental to all visual arts. A machine that reads movements by the use of a camera and articulates light by the use of a projector offers endless possibilities to redefine the interplay of body, space and light. It can read movements, abstract movements, and translate movements to finally communicate 2.000.000 dots of light in real-time. We are able to define performances which dynamically hide the human body or emphasize the movement. We can create particles and fluids erupting from the moving body in space – or simply project a red hipster beard. The possibilities of light and motion are endless and allow new perspectives towards our body and digital entities.
For more information about the workshop visit the website and sign-up http://2015.fiberfestival.nl/festival/education/projecting-visual-worlds-with-vvvv/
SATURDAY CODED MATTER(S) SYMPOSIUM
Saturday entails a deeper exploration into the practices and artworks that have developed with the explosion of digital tools and creative coding languages. A selection of local and international artists will give artist talks, including Karina Smigla-Bobinski and Ralf Baecker (image top) among others, while media scholar Michael Dieter and Bits of Freedom director Hans de Zwart will critically review the nudging of interfaces and the privacy issues that result from our obsession with optimization.
Another highlight in the afternoon programme is the discussion panel Validating the Stream. In association with FRAMED, Filip Visnjic (CAN/HOLO) will lead the discussion about the influence of digital distribution on art and design. Confirmed panelists are Margriet Schavemaker (head of research at Het Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), Matthias Tarasiewicz and Matthew Plummer-Fernandez. Will the art world accept algorithms as conceptual art, or will blockchain encryption finally provide an acceptable manner of scarcity for digital art?
For more information about the symposium check out: http://2015.fiberfestival.nl/programme/#symposium
FIBER Festival is two days packed with an exhibition, workshops, talks, performances and electronic music. Tickets are still available so make sure to check out this programme, spread all over Amsterdam.
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