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

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.

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

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.

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.

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' .