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April 11 Student projects: Wild Watches and xBlocksWild Watches http://milano.interaction-ivrea.it/mattel/projects/wildwatches/ This is a fascinating project that was sponsored by Mattel. It involves gathering information from the environment and communicating within the social netowork of a child's game xBlocks Project http://milano.interaction-ivrea.it/?p=49 Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/blese/112033217/in/photostream/ xBlocks is a convergence between video games & sculpture — liberating play from the screen. It is a mixed reality installation inspired by traditional platform games of the late 1980s such as Super Mario Brothers or Pitfall. Using standard game controllers, two opposing players must help their characters navigate in and around a three dimensional maze. The real challenge comes, not from traditional game mechanics but rather from moving with your character as he sprints around corners and jumps between the installation’s two play surfaces. April 08 LED ThrowiesDeveloped by the Graffiti Research Lab a division of the Eyebeam R&D OpenLab, LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials. http://www.instructables.com/ex/i/7DBB34EAEDFF1028A1FC001143E7E506/ thanks mark January 22 Computational Art: Mateuz Herczkahttp://www.westerplatte.net/main/main_fs.html Title: 44\13 Date: 2005 Dim: 4096 x 576 pixels, projection 12 x 2 meters or larger Media: digital video, custom softwareInfo:
44\13 is based December 31 Book: Interrogation Machine : Laibach and NSKAlexei Monroe Interrogation Machine : Laibach and NSK The MIT Press ISBN 0262633159 Book Review From Amazon: NSK is considered by many to be the last true avant-garde of the twentieth century and the most consistently challenging artistic force in Eastern Europe today. The acronym refers to Neue Slowenische Kunst, a Slovene collective that emerged in the wake of Tito's death and was shaped by the breakup of Yugoslavia. Its complex and disturbing work -- in fields including experimental music and theater, painting, philosophy, writing, performance, and design -- has an international following but a powerful and specific cultural context. Within the NSK organization are a number of divisions, the best-known of which is Laibach, an alternative music group known for its blending of popular culture with subversive politics, high art with underground provocation -- reflecting the political and cultural chaos of its time. In Interrogation Machine, Alexei Monroe offers the first critical appraisal of the entire NSK phenomenon, from its elaborate organizational structure and its internal logics to its controversial public actions. The result is a fascinating portrait not only of NSK but of the complex political and cultural context within which it operates. Monroe analyzes the paradoxes, perplexities, and traumas of NSK's work at its deepest levels. His investigation of the relationships between conceptual content, stylistic method, and ideological subtext demonstrates the relevance of NSK in general and Laibach in particular to current debates about culture, power, war, politics, globalization, the marketplace, and life itself. As Slavoj Zizek writes in his foreword, "Today, the lesson of Laibach is more pertinent than ever." Monroe uses a variety of theoretical and historical approaches, as is appropriate to the shifting and elusive nature of his subject. The use of theory reflects NSK's own theoretical engagement; it is also a valuable way to read the issues raised by the work. Neither oversimplifying nor uncritically mystifying, Monroe leaves intact the "gaps, contradictions, and shadows" inherent in his subject, demonstrating that "it should still be possible to appreciate the work as art that moves, confuses, agitates, or fascinates." My comments: Laibach was one of the first Industrial groups on the scene in the early 80s. They didn't know how to play their instruments, creating sove very experimental noise. Sort of like Einster on a drunken rampage. NSK creates political art for lack of a better term. They use government (specificaly neo-fascism) and it's poltical behaviors as a canvas. June 19 Art Entertainment Interfaces-GermanySeems the lunatics at AEI have a new art installation, the "Furminator". Less painful than the Painstations. Fun art experiments with gaming technology. FURMINATOR: http://www.fursr.com/mov/furminator.html
PAINSTATION: June 10 Porftfolio: Marius WatzMarius Watz... He is 32..like me and had i been born in europe and actually finished learning java... it is scary how similar we are. The"Designer of the moment". I can't wait to talk to CMU. I found out about VVVV from his bio. Reminds me, i need to dump my alpha version of proce55ing and hook up the beta :)
May 31 New Media Installations: Walker Art Centerhttp://blogs.walkerart.org/newmedia/index.php?p=44 The Table has been installed since 2002, it appears to simply be a draggable interface that captures movement with video cameras. You wave your hand over an object allowing you to grab it, open it and view it. The Dolphin looks like a simple avitar hooked into a rudimentary AI. I like the idea of using cell phones for audio tours but am wondering how successful that is going to be with user costs. Wouldn't it be great if they handed out web enabled PDA phones? The new building is open, we didn't go to to Walker when we were in Minneapolis a few years ago but thinking this nessescitates a weekend trip. |
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