F18: Living Kitchen – Happy End of the 21st Century | SHIFT Electronic Arts Festival

Living Kitchen is an installation that plays with the notion of “allowing the objects familiar in an everyday kitchen to suddenly come to life in somewhat sinister fashion, almost as if ghosts, once raised, had made themselves comfortable in the exhibition hall’s own kitchen.” (excerpt from the press release).

F18 is the creative duo of Stefan Doepner and Jan Cummerow and was founded in 1996 in Hamburg. The F18Institute for Art, Information and Technology is primarily devoted to robotics and art.

Jenny Holzer | Foundation Beyeler

Fondation Beyeler in Riehen near Basel, Switzerland, is currently exhibiting Jenny Holzer’s first large scale exhibition in a Swiss museum. The focus is on recent works, some of which have never before been shown in Europe. On display are Holzer’s famous LED installations, combining poetic, socio-critical, political texts and visual effects, as well as paintings and sculptures.
Holzer is best known for her use of words and ideas in public space. In 1982 she publicised her statements and aphorisms (”truisms”) on one of Times Square’s gigantic LED billboards, in 2008 she created a site-specific light projection for the newly renovated facade of the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in New York.

On until January 24th 2010.

Video and information courtesy of Vernissage Art TV

Sudden Intake | Your mother ate my dog

Music video for the band The Black Dog
Selected for The International Festival of Cinema and Technology in Los Angeles Feb 09.
Interesting animation from a young freelance designer. Made using Cinema 4D and AfterEffects

Sudden Intake from YOUR MOTHER ATE MY DOG on Vimeo.

Fotofestival | Images Recalled

From September 5 until October 25, 2009, the third edition of Fotofestival takes place in the German cities Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. On display at Fotofestival(Images Recalled)are works by artists such as AES+F, Cao Fei, Thomas Hirschhorn, Peter Piller, Bettina Pousttchi, Sean Snyder, and VVORK. The festival has been curated by Esther Ruelfs, an art historian who specializes in photography, and Tobias Berger, an expert in Asian Pacific art.

Andreas Messerli | Baselworld 2009

An interesting one for students looking at exhibition design concepts and stand designs. An overview of Baselworld 2009 and Stands built by Andreas Messerli AG, Wetzikon, Switzerland.

Lake of Shimmer | Tokujin Yoshioka

"Lake of Shimmer" - Swarovski stand at Basel World 2009. Concept Design: Tokujin Yoshioka. Construction: Expomobilia

Module | Maxim Zhestkov

An extraordinary video from Maxim Zhestkov
At the age of six he was given his first computer, a ZX Spectrum, and devoted his time to drawing huge and very detailed illustrations. He was also a keen gamer, and believes his enthusiasm for design and CG effects can be traced back to those days. After high school Maxim undertook a degree in architecture, which he followed by studying graphic design, fine art, illustration and sculpture.
He says: “There are no limits in graphics - everything you can imagine is possible. But I have to say I still love architecture. It all started with 2d illustrations, that smoothly turned into 3d illustrations and spaces. Then I developed a passion for architecture and graphic design. Then I realized that the most important thing is video art!”

See More at http://www.zhestkov.com/

modul / zhestkov.com from Zhestkov on Vimeo.

Golan Levin makes art that looks back at you

"Golan Levin, an artist and engineer, uses modern tools -- robotics, new software, cognitive research -- to make artworks that surprise and delight. Watch as sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings, and a curious eye looks back at the curious viewer." TED
"Having worked as an academic at MIT and a researcher specializing in computer technology and software engineering, Golan Levin now spends most of his time working as a performance artist. Rest assured his education hasn't gone to waste, however, as Levin blends high tech and customized software programs to create his own extraordinary audio and visual compositions. The results are inordinately experimental sonic and visual extravaganzas from the furthest left of the field." TED

Waste not Want not | Song Dong at MOMA

This installation is part of Projects 90: Song Dong | June 24, 2009-September 7, 2009
Beijing-based artist Song Dong (b. 1966) explores notions of transience and impermanence with installations that combine aspects of performance, video, photography, and sculpture. Projects 90, his first solo U.S. museum show, presents his recent work Waste Not Want Not. A collaboration first conceived of with the artist's mother. Read more on this at In the Media @ http://rewired09.wordpress.com/

I'll go crazy if i don't go crazy tonight | U2 Video | David ORielly

David OReilly directs and animates new U2 Video. OReilly has won a string of awards and speaks extensively on the international design circuit.

U2 - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Credits: Written, Directed, Edited & Characters Designed by David OReilly. Art Direction, Production Design, Concept art by Jon Klassen. Animation & Rigging by Chris Hutchison and Daniell Brown, with extra animation by Steve White. The video was produced by Colonel Blimp and made at Lumiere Studios in London.

Antony Gormley | One and Other

In this video Antony Gormley talks about his new work conceived for the Fourth Plinth on the northwest corner of Trafalgar Square. Antony Gormley invited 2,400 members of the public to spend one hour on the plinth. The project runs 100 consecutive days (until October 14, 2009).

Antony Gormley on the Fourth Plinth from One & Other on Vimeo.

Miwa Yanagi | Windswept Women | The Old Girls’ Troupe

Representing Japan at the 53rd Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy, is Miwa Yanagi, with her installation entitled Windswept Women: The Old Girls’ Troupe. For this work, Yanagi takes the Japanese Pavilion, built in 1956 and designed by Takamasa Yoshizaka and covers its exterior with a black, membrane-like tent. Inside, Yanagi installs giant 4m high photograph stands containing portraits of women of varied ages. The photographs are presented in ornate decorative frames. The women stand unmoved despite being surrounded by turbulent wind and surreal scenery. In addition to the photographs, Yanagi also presents new video work.
Previous works include "Elevator Girls" and "Grandmothers".

Zilvinas Kempinas: TUBE | Lithuanian Pavilion | Venice Biennale 2009

"TUBE" (created at the Atelier Calder, Saché, France) can best be described as a translucent tunnel of parallel lines, created with magnetic tape. TUBE “resonates with the environment of the floating city and creates a space where vision and movement are linked by means of the body. TUBE addresses the physical and optical experiences of the viewer, and the passage of time, while creating the feeling of being inside and outside simultaneously".
'Tube' by Zilvinas Kempinas is currently showing at the Lithuanian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale.



Exhibition footage courtesy of Vernissage Art TV.

Semi Permanent | Melbourne 2009

Semi Permanent announce their Melbourne conference to be held at the Melbourne convention & exhibition centre SOUTH WHARF, MELBOURNE October 9th and 10th. Speakers include Jasper Goodall, Jeff Soto, Grafik Magazine, Industrial Light and Magic, Three Drunk Monkeys, Luke Lucas and Tara McPherson

The following video montage shows you what you missed at the Sydney conference earlier this year. Video courtesy of Semi Permanent.

For more info visit Semi Permanent

Semi-Permanent Sydney 2009 Montage from Semi Permanent on Vimeo.

Nathaniel Kahn on "My Architect"

In this video Nathaniel Kahn shares clips from his documentary "My Architect," which is about his quest to understand his father, the legendary architect Louis Kahn. It's a film with meaning to anyone who seeks to understand the relationship between art and love.

Clay Shirky: How social media can make history

Clay Shirky shows how Facebook, Twitter and TXTs help citizens in repressive regimes to report on real news, bypassing censors (however briefly). The end of top-down control of news is changing the nature of politics.
As a prescient voice on the Internet’s effects, Shirky argues that emerging technologies enabling loose collaboration will change the way our society works.

Flickermood

This work was created in Adobe AfterEffects using motion presets, expressions and some manual keyframing. Music by Forss
Sebastian Lange is commuinications designer for qu-int.com and mynamewasgod.com

Flickermood 2.0 from Sebastian Lange on Vimeo.

Joseph Nechtaval | Terra incOgnitO

Joseph Nechtaval is a post-conceptual art digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom-created computer viruses.

In this interview at a recent exhibition he talks about the need for political vitality and currency in art practice.

See more of his work at http://post.thing.net/

Joseph Nechvatal Interview from Anthony-Masterson on Vimeo.

Node Box

If you have the time to learn it, and have students who are interested in experimenting with code based art, Node Box is an exceptionally user friendly application that can produce extraordinary images.

NodeBox is a Mac OS X application that lets you create 2D visuals (static, animated or interactive) using Python programming code and export them as a PDF or a QuickTime movie. NodeBox is free and well-documented.
NodeBox allows you to create visual output with programming code. The application targets an audience of designers, with an easy set of state commands that is both intuitive and creative. It is essentially a learning environment and an automation tool.
You can also run scripts that automatically search images from the web and assemble them as stills or animations.

Download the application at http://nodebox.net/code/index.php/Home

Tivon Rice

Tivon Rice is a new media artist that explores how traditional methods of learning are influenced by mass media and digital technology. His videos and sculptures create a dialogue between the distanced, purely optical domain of the tele-visual and a sensual awareness held in the body and mind. The artist embraces digital media as a vehicle for modern communication while experimenting with both video and sculptural objects that examine visual perception and temporal awareness.

Rice is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Washington, Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media in Seattle. Recently, he had solo exhibitions at the 911 Media Center and Lawrimore Project in Seattle, as well as a solo show with the Portland Art Academy. In 2006, the artist received a Trust Fellowship from the Joan Mitchell Foundation for his sculpture The History of Television: 1974-2006.

Anthony Auerbach 'Index'

Artist Anthony Auerbach talks about his work “Index (The State of New York)”, presented at Scope New York 2007 art fair by Marc de Puechredon Gallery.

Index is an inventory of the photographs resulting from the aerial survey The State of New York. The survey recorded the ruined state of the terrazzo map of the ‘Empire State’ which was installed in the floor of the New York State pavilion for the 1964 World’s Fair. Scope New York 2007, February 27, 2007.

Shot in the back of the head

Shot In The Back Of The Head from Moby on Vimeo.

Moby has teamed up with director/producer David Lynch; best known for Elephant Man, Mulholand Drive, Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks etc to produce this very quirky animation.

Big Bambu

Named so after the infamous Cheech and Chong Album, this extraordinary two year undertaking by the Starn brothers has to be seen to be believed. Using (currently 2000) bamboo poles the artists and their team of assistants have assembled a continuously morphing structure that moves, envelopes and evolves along the length of their enormous studio. The entire process which involves deconstructing the trailing edge and reconstructing the leading edge, is documented, and the resulting photographic montage will show an image of a construction that never existed in its exhibited state.
See the first part of the interview with the artists at
http://vernissage.tv/blog/2009/04/09/mike-doug-starn-big-bambu-talk-part-12/
and see more at
http://www.starnstudio.com/

Oasis

OASIS (HD) - sand from yunsil heo on Vimeo.

A surface covered with black sand turns into a pool full of life when people grab and remove a handful of sand away. In this micro-world, virtual creatures are born, live and perish.They recognize their spatial boundaries and obstacles of living and respond to peoples' touch in various ways.
A real-time computer vision engine has been developed to interpret the physical status of diverse materials of the installation. The program populates creatures with various characteristics and controls their behaviors in real-time. A swarm intelligence has been implemented to simulate the flocking behaviors of the creatures and their life-like motions.

'Oasis I' used various natural materials: sand, pebbles, water & leaves.
The major interaction people can enjoy with is shaping a pond and watching creatures staying in it. People enjoyed shaping complicated territories, making canals between large ponds or trapping creatues in small areas. Also, creatures are designed to avoid pebbles that people placed inside the pond area and get surprised when people make a loud noise by dropping pebbles.

American Streamlined Design

A time warp exhibition of the best of classic product design from the Wolfsonian Museum.

My Secret Heart

A taster video of the debut launch of this amazing operatic performance which took place at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday 3rd December 2008.

My Secret Heart is a new commission by Streetwise Opera (www.streetwiseopera.org) of a music and film installation written by electronic composer and Warp artist Mira Calix, video artists Flat-e and sound designer Dave Sheppard.
The have worked with around 80-100 Streetwise performers from across the UK to create a unique work that will be shown around the world.
The new piece is inspired by the Allegris 17th-century choral work Miserere Mei, a piece so protected by the Vatican that they put an embargo on it. Mira Calix and Flat-e have used the theme of secrecy to explore movements and singing with Streetwise's participants to create this new century-leaping work.
The installation will also tour to galleries and festivals across the world through 2009.
For more visit http://mysecretheart.co.uk

Road Movie

Looking for an interesting approach to collaborative work for your students?......

Frieze Film 2008: Road Movie is a four-part film created by artists and film-makers that was produced on YouTube. An experiment in film-making, the final result was a film made in an entirely new way: the first multi-authored fractal film assembled by the artists and curator out of the sum of the submitted parts.

Inspired by Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel The Road, the project used the road as a leitmotif for a non-linear journey through the post-apocalyptic landscape.

Delicate Boundaries

Just when you thought code based art couldn't get any closer to the edge; check out the following from Christine Sugrue. 'Delicate Boundaries' is an interactive work where small bug like lights move out from the computer screen onto the bodies of the viewer.


Delicate Boundaries from csugrue on Vimeo.

The State of Play

Although a little off topic, I found this quite an extraordinary viewing experience. It's essentially centered around a recent initiative focused on music education in Britain. Some very salient points are made that could apply to a number of educational scenarios. Once again with Ken Robinson center stage.

Wayne Martin Belger

While many pinhole cameras are simple boxes, Wayne Martin Belger, artist, machinist and photographer, designs and manufactures pinhole cameras that are functional photographic instruments, created with a specific subject in mind and at the same time are sculptured works of art.

Belger is a man who knows his own heart and who intends to express that knowledge regardless of outside commentary. Swimming against the powerful stream of popular notions, he brings his personal visions to reality.

He states on his website http://boyofblue.com, “The creation of a camera comes from my desire to relate to a subject. When I choose a subject I spend time studying it. Then I start visualizing how I would like a photo of the subject to look. When that’s figured out, I start on the camera stage of the project by collecting parts, artifacts and relics that relate to the subject.”

Some of the materials that go into the creation of his cameras may include, “…aluminum, titanium, copper, brass, bronze, steel, silver, gold, mercury, wood, acrylic, glass, horn, ivory, bone, human bone, human skulls, human organs, formaldehyde, HIV+ blood… all designed to be the sacred bridge of a communion offering between myself and the subject.”...........

Double Exposure

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types…

Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. Robinson's TEDTalk has been distributed widely around the Web since its release in June 2006. The most popular words framing blog posts on his talk? "Everyone should watch this."

Matthew Ritchie: The Morning Line

The Morning Line is a new experimental project by Matthew Richie, designed in collaboration with architects Aranda / Lasch and Daniel Bosia of Arup Advanced Geometry Unit. The Morning Line explores the interdisciplinary interplays betweeen art, architecture, mathematics, cosmology, music, and science. The Morning Line was presented at biacs3: youniverse, the 3rd Sevilla Biennial (Bienal de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla).

Matthew Ritchie was born in London in 1964. He began exhibiting in New York in 1995 with Basilico Fine Arts, after many years working as a building superintendent. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions worldwide including the Whitney Biennial, the Sao Paulo Bienal and the Sydney Biennial. He lives and works in New York.

Matthew Ritchie: The Morning Line at Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo Sevilla, Spain. February 14, 2009.

Video courtesy of Vernissage TV

Copyright

A new section has been added to the links bar on the right that provides access to the websites of most of the copyright information providers in Australia. This should be particularly useful for teachers of students preparing bodies of work for the HSC/Visual Arts where students are considering using copyright protected soundtracks to accompany film/video or animation, or where students might consider appropriating segments from copyrighted video or clips from the internet. Whilst copyright issues do not affect HSC Visual Art assessment as such, once a submitted video work reaches preselection, awareness of issues surrounding copyright clearance become important. If a work in that media is selected for exhibition, the Board of Studies require copyright clearance before the work can be placed in the public arena. Know also, that if your student's film/video work is selected for ArtExpress you will need to have a copy of the work printed to mini-dv tape, so source out soon how you/they are; or who is, going to do that. For mac users iMovie HD can print to tape, but iMovie o8 and iMovie 09 do not have the capability. Final Cut Express HD has the capability but it's a hit and miss affair as to whether it works. Final Cut Studio is fine and so is Sony Vegas Pro 8. There are apparently problems with Adobe Premier Pro and OHCI compliant IEEE1349 drivers? Problems have been reported when using proprietry firewire drivers with Premier such as those supplied by Texas Instruments. If you know of any others post a reply.

Nef du Grande Palais. Paris

Some great images from the recent festival of European Digital and Visual Art held in Paris during December 2008, courtesy of Vernissage TV.

Goshka Macuga : Kunsthalle Basel

“I Am Become Death investigates the aesthetic form as a weapon deployed in conflicts between political powers and the impact of official ideologies on the production of art that still aspires to autonomy. At the same time, the exhibition puts forward the possibility that aesthetic potential can be used to opposite ends, as a means of taking a critical look at the present day.” (PR Kunsthalle Basel).
Goshka Macuga was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1967. She lives and works in London. In 2008, she was one of the four nominees for the Turner Prize.

Yin Gao

Ying Gao studied fashion in Geneva and Montréal and earned a Masters Degree in Multimedia at Université du Québec (UQAM). Since 2003 she is a professor at UQAM’s fashion school.
In this video, Ying Gao talks about the works on show at plug.in, her background, and future projects. The exhibition is running until the 1st March, 2009. Plug.in, Basel / Switzerland, January 16, 2009.

Enricho David in Basel

Enrico David’s solo show at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Basel bears the cryptical title How do You Love Dzzzzt by Mammy? The exhibition circles around just a few elements: Two photographs showing two small boys occupied with a piano – one of them the artist himself – and a portrait of a man. A second installation presents a room with a scene based on the Surrealist photo collage 'Vielle femme et enfant' (ca. 1935) by Dora Maar.

Brian Eno - 77 Million Paintings

77 Million Paintings project by Brian Eno has been around for some years now and is still attracting significant attention primarily due to the way it subverts the notion of a singular art work. This instead is a work that perpetually grows and gives the viewer a rare visual and aural experience. About it's inception Eno says..

“I walked passed a rather posh house in my area with a great big huge screen on the wall and a dinner party going on,” he says. “The screen on the wall was black because nobody’s going to watch television when they’re having a dinner party. Here we have this wonderful, fantastic opportunity for having something really beautiful going on, but instead there’s just a big dead black hole on the wall. That was when I determined that I was somehow going to occupy that piece of territory.”

This edited video opens some interesting areas for discussion about the nature of art experience and the relationship of the audience to the repeatable experience of singular artworks.

Design in Australia

AustralianInFront is a site worth looking at for the heads up on new design in Australia

"Australian INfront is a collaborative project space and launch pad to Australia's best online designers, artists, companies and other design related web sites. INfront is also a growing community of like minded individuals who meet up face to face at INfront gatherings to inspire and motivate each other, lean on each other at times, bend the rules and help; when there's a need for a freelancer, a brainstorm, an opinion or some constructive criticism."
Some very good interviews here.

View more @ http://www.australianinfront.com.au/

weAREtheIMAGEmakers

Looking to give your students access to the latest contemporary practice in art, design and photography?........this site displays work from young Australian artists outside the mainstream.

"[weAREtheIMAGEmakers] (WATIM) is a not for profit online publication which promotes australian artists, illustrators, designers and photographers. WATIM provides a platform for both established and emerging australian creatives to show their work to a worldwide audience online.

Since WATIM was launched in 2005, they have showcased the work of over 150 australian creatives and published a new issue every couple of months, each featuring interviews with some of australia’s most talented artists and photographers. The site now also acts as an online database of creative aussies, providing great exposure and support for local artists, projects, exhibitions and events."

http://www.watim.com/information.php

Silent Giants

The Silent Giants are a new three-man design team from Michigan, and though they’ve only done a few posters so far, they are already garnering a lot of praise and attention. They have been lucky enough to work with notable acts like Xiu Xiu, Wolf Parade, The National, Bon Iver, etc.
Read more at
http://omgposters.com/2008/08/06/introducing-the-silent-giants/

Data Processing Video

The Nest That Sailed The Sky

Another video from Glen Marshall using his animation system and programmed in the Processing language.

Music by Peter Gabriel, from his album OVO - The Millennium Show (Millennium Dome, London). Marshall used the image on the album cover for the sprites in the animation.

Glen Marshall Landscapes

"This is a test film I made a few years ago, using one of my favourite software apps ever - Terragen. Music by Ligeti.

It’s just a study of natural landscapes and rock formations, with care for composition, lighting and camera, inspired by Kubrick and Koyaanisqatsi cinematography.

Terragen uses height-field maps (flat grayscale images) to create its land forms, but another wonderful piece of shareware software called World Machine makes the creation of heightfield maps an artistic, mathematical and geological pre-production stage before rendering these in environments through Terragen." Glen Marshall

Roland Flexner

Roland Flexner evokes otherworldly landscapes, frozen lakes and deep space implosions in his Sumi Drawings. Using a set of process-based techniques, filaments, flows, reflections, stratifications and geological formations arise from techniques applied to the tradition of Sumigashi – a process where Sumi ink is floated on layers of gelatine and water.

See more at http://www.rolandflexner.com

Craig Ward and 'Processing'

Craig Ward uses open source programming to 'grow' designs that allow for true random elements to enter the projects he works on with Sean and Karl Freeman.
See more at http://www.thereis.co.uk/

Wacom Community

Illustrators and tablet users. Wacom Community have an extensive site full of artist profiles, galleries and tutorials. Featured artist is currently Vofan (anime artist) whose use of light and soft colours breaks with the traditions associated with this genre of illustration. See more at http://www.wacom-asia.com/community/procorner/

Data Aesthetics

Interested in data aesthetics (the visual or aural representation/interpretation of data). If so you should look at the work of Corby and Bailey .This is an fascinating and quickly burgeoning area of digital art practice. View more at http://reconnoitre.net/index.html

Video on a Shoestring

Anyone looking to make good quality video without having to run into big dollars might take a look at the work of Cesar Kuriyama who produced/directed the clip "Long Gone" for Fat City Reprise.....................All the footage was shot on a Nikon D200 DSLR.

45,00 stills later, a mac laptop, iphoto (to organise stills), Eyeon Fusion (for the look) and Final Cut (editing); Kuriyama had a work that broke all the rules for video production.

Get the directors own take at http://vimeo.com/cesarkuriyama

Clicking on the image for the video takes you to a new page where you can read all the specs, watch the clip (again if you wish) and afterwards scroll down to a nice posting by Hunter S Thompson.

And further down for the tech heads a nice bit of enlightenment from Kuriyama in a reply to a post by Thomas Fransden.

If you have the time have a look at "What Else is There?" and "Khoda". Links are provided under 'recent activity' .

Art Forum

Anyone looking for an expansive forum dealing with networking, art industry, art market, arteducation, art events, art competitions, employment opportunities, peer critique, regional and international forums plus a listing of extensive links check out www.artforum.com.au

Note that I have not checked the above site out thoroughly, don't go expecting to do the meet and greet with artists at the top of the tree, but; trawling the postings produces some interesting insights.

Good opportunities for allowing students to peer review work and gain access to feedback from a broader art community could be accessed through www.redbubble.com

On a more serious note the Association for Temporary Art offers access to art dealing with contemporary issues (check out their archive) and online seminars. Find this at www.temporaryart.org

Loking to find what's on the galleries, visit www.artwhatson.com.au

Beginnings

It's underway but don't hold your breath, this is going to take some time to put together. But if you are looking for something different, for something you can't find, don't have, but want....need to bounce some ideas around, share thoughts, inspire or be inspired, you may have come to the right place.