Vancouver in Stereo - Channel One

Interactive Futures is a rad little festival/symposium in Vancouver. It?s theme this year was stereo. The dominant representation in that theme was stereoscopic video (3D glasses kind of stuff), but the symposium expanded the concept through into more intellectual considerations on the idea of stereo in creative technological practice. Day one IF had heavy representation from a wide variety of approaches in stereo, but day two veered off into the intellectual with presentations by Steve Dietz, Paula Levine and Ottawa's own Catherine Richards.

At first the tech loving side of me questioned the drift away from the purely stereoscopic presentations. Expanding the notions of stereo into our dual existence, divided between the technological mediated living and the un-plugged world seemed to be stretching the concept, but as each very intelligent presenter laid out their perspective I was engaged beyond my simple techno-fascination. In fact, I felt a little embarrassed at my simple boyish fetishization of the seductive left eye/right eye images. This was perhaps most pronounced when Catherine Richards pointed out the parallels between our reaction to stereo and the anecdote about the first witnesses to the power of cinema who leaped out of the way of the train on screen. My love of the stereo had been exposed for a kind of old world innocence. I felt naked without my 21^st century cynicism.

But despite the increased critical focus the academics brought to my binocular experience, I think that the fascination with the development of stereo video is warranted. The creation of culture within a critical and academic context heavily encourages the development of cerebral conceptual work, and there is much in the newly accessible stereo work that focuses on simple wonder. Wonder in art often reduces me to simplistic "Cool!" or "Awesome!" reviews of the experience, and while I try to be cautious of my own spectacle fetishism I worry about the schism in contemporary culture between spectacular and meaningful work. Few seem to be able to marry the two, but many of the artist at Interactive Futures, particularly Willy Lemaitre and Munro Ferguson, are able to create meaningful work that embraces the wonder of the technique.

Willy Lemaitre, Edia

Will follow up with more from Infteractive Futures, when I have caught up with all the work waiting for me at my desk back here at the engine.

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Stereolab - tricks for the eye from the NFB

Ottawa's Animation International Animation festival took place this past weekend, and although I was a little swamped with the coming Nite Ride I did manage to squeeze in the stereoscopic presentations from the National Film Board's StereoLab. The StereoLab has been around the NFB since the late 90's and one of it's central elements is the IMAX SANDDE system (Stereo Animation Drawing Device) which uses a wand and stereoscopic projection system to allow you to draw in three dimensional space. The OAIF presented a screening of the stereoscopic work and a panel presentation with animators Claire Blanchet, Munro Ferguson and Theodore Ushev as well as NFB Associate Producer Maral Mohammadian.

The screening was an interesting mix with some classic NFB product capping it off with Facing Champlain. It had the largest budget in the bunch, and although it was interesting to see the fruits of a more extensive team's engagement with the technology it suffered from the trappings of the NFB brand as it grappled with national identity in a suitable progressive educational context. The most endearing piece was from Winnipeg artists Matthew Rankin and Mike Maryniuk. Although far more DIY than the work from the Stereolab it's crafty style brought it to life in a more tactile way than some of the other works. Theodore Ushev's work was also very independent and DIY in terms of his approach to creating stereoscopic works using mainly After Effects. Parts of his piece where incredibly detailed and visually stunning. Claire Blanchet also mustered some incredible moments of visual mind-fuckery. Her work, which was a collaboration with a group of electro-acoustic musicians, really got wings when it delved into the more experimental stuff she was produced while working on the SANDDE system.

June, 2003 Munro Ferguon

Also in the show was work from animator Munro Ferguson who also gave a demonstration of the SANDDE system. This IMAX developed technology uses a wand and a stereoscopic screen set up to allow you to draw in three dimensional space. (Here is a link if you want to read a bit more about it.) Munro's work June was a really lovely illustration of how the tool works well with an animators sensibility. The abstract shapes that where layered and unfolded where neither typical 3D nor where there 2D animations given a layered treatment. They where something new and unique.

Creatively this machine had my head spinning. I had trouble concentrating on what the panelist where saying because I just wanted to start jotting down all kinds of ideas and possibilities. I hope this is something we can connect to at Artengine, so if there are artists around who are interested in stereoscopy please drop us a line. This is the kind of thing we built the lab for!

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Nuit Blanche 09 - Toronto

On m'a demandé de faire un reportage sur Nuit Blanche à Toronto mais malheureusement j'ai fini par voir que 5-6 projets à cause des files d'attente et peut-être aussi par paresse. J'ai quand même durée jusqu'à 7 h du matin, mais même à cette heure là les files d'attentes étaient pas possibles. Anyway, c'était quand même fascinant de voir du monde en ligne à l'aube pour voir une installation de Geoffrey Farmer dans une église. C'est ça Nuit Blanche. C'est pas la chose la plus facile à rendre dans un blog... C'est une madane devant l'hotel de ville de Toronto avec son manteau Pepe Jeans en satin qui regarde le mot VICE en lettres géantes si bright que ça reste brûlé dans ta rétine, c'est le gros lapin argenté de Jeff Koons de la parade Macy's devant le Sears du Eaton Center qui flotte au dessus de la tête de mon père, c'est une ride qui a pour nom Avalanche installée sur la rue Bay en face de la banque Scotia opérée par des gens qui on perdu leurs emplois à cause de la crise économique, c'est un dégat de vodka dans le lobby du headquarter de la CIBC, c'est une installation de 10 grosses gosses dans lesquelles tu peux t'assoir pour te faire bercer à condition de passer le test de sobriété avant, et, c'est la tour du CN qui chante et qui danse comme un aurore boréale au beat de if then do et des JOTS et ma mère qui regarde la tour et écoute le broadcast avec son radio portatif pis des écouteurs et parle très fort pis trouve ça beau.

La saison des pommes est presque terminée,

Crystal Doré

ArtsStars* at Toronto Nuit Blanche

So if you are not lucky enough to head to Toronto for the countries biggest art party this Saturday October 3rd, you may get the chance to check out the all night roving reporting from Artstars*TV. Artstars* is hosted by the bold and beautiful Nadja Sayej and is co-produced with Artengine favorite Jeremy Bailey. If you have not had the chance to catch one of their art reports here is a sample from a very choice episode. Lots of hipster agro in this. I was so surprised to find that at VICE event . . .

All through the night, during the super power super party, these two will be roaming the three zones and broadcasting live onto a giant projection on the Art Gallery of Ontario. For the URL go to artstarstv.com on the night of excess in question. Then pretend like you are crowded in with loads of over tired intoxicated spectacle seeking "art" lovers. This may actually end up being more fun than actually going to Nuit Blanche. Enjoy!

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Du plus petit au plus grand

Faire de la vidéo avec des gens qui bougent, qui dansent, dans un labo de biologie, sur des pierres et dans un livre. Ça semble simple, mais pourtant, l'exposition de Michal Rovner Particules de réalité présentée au DHC/ART (Montréal), démontre à quel point cette artiste parvient avec subtilité à traiter de la délicatesse du vivant avec un dispositif médiatique très complexe.

L'artiste israélienne, d'abord formée en danse, chorégraphie des corps en mouvement dans des vidéos qui se fondent sur le support comme des motifs mouvants. Ramener le corps humain à sa plus petite expression, au point de confondre les gens avec des bactéries ou des hiéroglyphes, donne le vertige du caractère insaisissable du genre humain et une charge émotive qui demeure secrète. Tous les mouvements, opérés par ces petites formes qui bougent sans cesse, reprennent les tensions entre individus; les unions, les répulsions, les confrontations. Il est donc difficile de faire abstraction du contexte politique en Israël, bien que les oeuvres ne soient pas ouvertement "politique", avec en trame de fond des repères sociaux et conflictuels assez évidents. L'être humain, ainsi dépeint se voit revêtir un statut d'anonymat, dans une masse de monde en quête de sens.

Le travail de Michal Rovner démontre une grande maîtrise de l'utilisation de la vidéo dans des dispositifs d'installation très précis et d'une complexité technique évidente. L'artiste joue également avec le regardeur en lui offrant une expérience presque hypnotique et méditative. Ainsi, la série In stone (2004) et Stones (2006-2009) suscite un envoûtement par la présence de projections vidéo sur des pierres, à la manière d'une archéologie animée. Tranquillement, les signes apparaissent comme des êtres qui bougent très doucement sur une pierre d'une autre époque. Parvenir à décoder ces marques "numériques" sur fond rocheux semble tenir de l'impossible. Comment décrypter un regroupement humain où l'on perd toute identité?


Aussi, l'oeuvre Data Zone (2003), offre au regardeur de revêtir le statut de scientifique par l'observation de boîtes de culture intégrées dans des tables aseptisées. Comme un regard microscopique posée sur la réaction de l'humain dans un groupe, cette installation ramène l'individu au rang de bactéries et de micro-organismes. Regarder l'humanité de haut est un exercice vertigineux.

Cette exposition révèle le caractère insaisissable de la condition humaine et des mouvements de groupes, qu'ils soient politiques, physiques ou idéologiques. C'est en ramenant l'homme à sa plus petite expression que Rovner parvient à décrire l'infiniment plus grand par l'infiniment plus petit.

L'exposition se poursuit jusqu'au 27 septembre 2009.
http://www.dhc-art.org
http://www.michalrovner.com

Le signal et le bruit.

C'est entre les montagnes et l'océan Pacifique, à Vancouver, que le festival d'art médiatique Signal & Noise avait lieu, du 23 au 26 avril dernier. Organisé par VIVO Media Art Centre, ce festival a la qualité d'aller dans différentes directions disciplinaires, et l'édition 2009 était indéniablement portée vers la vidéo. Bien qu'une soirée sonore et quelques installations sur le site ont permis la rencontre, parfois gagnante, parfois douteuse, de thèmes et de médiums variés, il demeure que cet événement était davantage tourné cette année vers la vidéo et toutes ses déclinaisons.

Avant de faire ressortir quelques oeuvres et moments marquants de la programmation, il est important de souligner deux aspects bien spécifiques, mais oh! combien importants, qui font la singularité de ce festival. D'abord, un accueil sans pareil, malgré la fébrilité de chacun des membres de l'équipe durant la course effrénée d'un 4 jours intensif de coordination. Ensuite, l'aspect du discours critique sur les oeuvres présentées. La possibilité d'entendre l'artiste à propos de son oeuvre dans un contexte informel de présentation, c'est une formule intéressante qui constitue une part importante de ce festival.

Le signal.

Deux oeuvres de Sobhi al-Zobaidi, About the Sea et red green black and white Indians demeurent en mémoire, encore. Cet artiste palestinien qui vit à Vancouver, est un cinéaste indépendant qui traite des réalités et de la complexité de la vie contemporaine en Palestine. Allant plus loin que le discours politique ou le fait isolé d'une dure réalité, ces deux cours films ont la justesse d'un propos engagé intégré à une esthétique crue du pris-sur-le-vif.

Le film de John Greyson, 14.3 seconds, vient toucher la corde sensible de la conservation des oeuvres, mais voilà que l'artiste, par une manipulation agile, « fabrique des histoires » à partir de pellicules restantes du Iraq Film Archives, bombardé par les américains en 2003.

Autres moments forts du festival : La présentation de Chelsea girls (projection simultanée 16 mm) de l'artiste canadienne Althea Thauberger, l'installation vidéo de Scott Billings, Indefatiguable Bug ainsi que Hope and Prey (projection vidéo et performance sonore live) de Vanessa Renwick et Daniel Menche (USA).

Le bruit.

Installation sonore qui accueille les amateurs d'art médiatique sur le trottoir de la Main Street, Drumline de Stephan Shulz, artiste allemand vivant à Montréal, donnait le ton. Activées par le passage des automobilistes sur Main Street, les percussions accrochées au mur du bâtiment qui abrite VIVO offrait un passage rythmique aux passants et aux festivaliers.

Le programme de la fin de soirée sonore très éclectique du samedi, ayant pour titre Immortal noise, a débuté par la performance du drumer minimaliste Jeffrey Allport. Dans un silence (presque) total, l'utilisation qu'il a fait de différents objets sur les parties de son drum était impressionnante par sa simplicité, mais ingénieuse et proche d'un noise ambiant fort brillant.

Au final, une édition 2009 de Signal & Noise riche en découvertes, malgré quelques inégalités.
Ceci dit, le travail des programmeurs, Kika Thorne, Amy Lynn Kazymerchyk, Cheyanne Turions, Brady Marks et Gabriel Saloman était remarquable pour la diversité des oeuvres présentées, mais surtout pour certains moments forts en terme d'expérience artistique.

Sublte Technologies : Where art and science meet, hang out and catch up on things.

I was fortunate enough to visit Toronto for a festival that could be seen as the yin to the yang of Mutek and Elektra. Subtle Technologies focuses on the unique space where science and art meet. This year's theme was networks, and the presentations ranged from theoretical mathematicians presenting on collaborative problem solving, to TV writers exploring the story potential of social network sites, to second life based performance artists.

First off, big shout outs to Jim Ruxton for his continued efforts with this festival. It is unique and important in Canada, at a time when cross-disciplinary collaborations are constantly growing in numbers and fashion, Jim has been bringing together a very eclectic and diverse group of advanced practitioners for 12 years. That's some serious future forward thinking.

Second Life was on the brain and in full force at Subtle Tech this year. The whole festival actually had one foot in Second Life, with all the presentations simulcast into that universe, and many of the participants having [had] their laptops open to operate their avatars in the Second Life Subtle Tech space. I found many of the presentations complex enough in one world, never mind filtering it through another, but maybe they [the audience members] got to see everything twice and then it made more sense. I mean shit probably got really hectic when Scott Kidall and Victoria Scott started presenting their "No Matter" project about smuggling objects out of Second Life. We got dangerously close to creating some sort of postmodern reality vortex where we might have disappeared into a black hole of real-time 3D graphics and cardboard representations.

Schrödinger?s Cat, 2008, Scott Kidall and Victoria Scott

Artistically, there was a number of really interesting projects including Scott and Victoria with their dangerous self-referential work. Chris Chafe is working on real-time musical performance across fiber optic networks which gives rise to different considerations of the virtual. Instead of considering visual reference as the starting point for a virtual space, this kind of work really positions sound at the center as it create a kind of virtual room where musicians perform together. Alan Sondheim also deserves mention here for his oddly charismatic obsession with fucking up the "physical" laws of Second Life.

Finally, a special place is reserved for one of my favorite Canadian media artists, Jeremy Bailey and his WarMail performance. I love the way Jeremy's performance persona walks a line between condescension and affection for the audience and is a great mariage of skillful programming, clever aesthetics and digital criticism. What was hilarious about the performance was how passionate the audience of academics where about succeeding. Some expressed their frustration directly to Jeremy at the end of the performance. "We just needed more time!" I guess the grey area of the process was lost on some of the more structured minds in the audience, but those same people probably understood 50% more of the symposium than I did.

From the perspective of research, Michael Nielsen topped my list of exciting presentations. Nielsen has a background in theoretical physics and quantum computing, which is to say his butt is actually smarter than me. These days he is interested in the radical and transformative power of online collaborations around scientific problem solving. Nielson took us through the incredible narrative of the "Polymath Project" which originated from Tim Gower's blog (Gower is also super genius, just in case you where wondering...). Nielson traces the roots of this type of online collaboration to the massive coding project of Linux based operating systems and lends an incredible weight to the power of these open and transparent processes. Is it possible for these kinds of collaborations to be relevant to artistic creation? Projects like Pure Data focus on the creation and use of tools within an artistic context, but what are examples of collaborative artworks? What do they look like? and do they succeed? (Please leave me some comments if you have any ideas on this.)

Elektra Part 1

Dispatch one from Elektra should fittingly start with FEED from Kurt Hentschlager. This is the third and finally year of the presentation of this sold out crowd pleaser. It's really an experience unlike any other. It starts with a piece of video music made of low pulses and writhing three dimensional polysexual beings which lasts maybe slightly longer than you think it should, and then the room fills with fog and you are plunged into completely immersive strobing sound and visual show. It is quite difficult to describe. I took some cell phone photos just to be able to, at least have a measurement of difference between how my brain translated the experience and how my brilliant 2mp cell phone would. Actually, I think it is the nicest photo my phone has ever taken, but still pails in comparison to the complex interplay of dissolving shapes and colors forced through my retinas and splattered onto the walls of my brain.

...and here is a cheap reference to what my brain perceived in color and form.


FEED is a fascinating work that exemplifies the current tendencies towards excessive spectacle in cultural production. It is an onslaught of pulsating sensation prefaced with even with legal wavers and warnings about epilepsy and heart conditions. What is a delightful counter point to it's excess is its simplicity. It is the most basic elements of vision tuned elegantly to a brutal volume where the process of perception is freed and you feel as if you crawled inside a 16 year olds first experiment with video feedback - complete with all it's raw and powerful innocence.

My first Elektra touch down however, was with Artengine's favorite electro-acoustic magician - Louis Dufort. The presentation was of a work from Louis, as well as Francisco Lopez and Felix-Antoin Morin. It was a very nice varied program of three works in a small multi-use space at the conservatory. To those who have not had the experience of such rich audio presentation as this, if you can imagine the richest of horror and action films with no visual, no dialog and no score, only foley . . . in complete darkness then this is close. A treat for the ears.

Articulating with Tom Sherman and friends

I had the opportunity to participate in The Ottawa Art Gallery's critical writing series called Articulation this past weekend. This edition was with artist and critic Tom Sherman, but it was really a value added experience as the workshop was full of very bright and insightful people. It was a rare group dynamic with enough tension between differing points of view to fuel engaging discussion, but never the less an adequate overlap of shared world views to prevent roadblock sized disagreements.

The basis of the workshop was discussion and exchange, however Tom started us with a singular writing exercise to give shape to the discussion of the day. We began with a description of our most persistent fears related to immanent technological change. This was a perfect intellectual icebreaker. As each of us focused the under currents of anxiety in our lives into more powerful and cohesive thoughts, we then pooled that concentrated energy into the shared social space so that it could fuel the days discussions.

My contribution concerned the wake of waste spanning out behind the crest of the constantly crashing wave of innovation. The market driven model of reward, which has fueled the rich breadth of technological development over the last century, seems to have such profound momentum behind it that to change its course seems unfathomable. Now, imagine 12 more people pissing into this cesspool of intellectual concerns. What's perverse of course, is that this was a great start to a really enjoyable day.


Tom had provided a number of readings ahead of time for everyone. They ranged from one of his earliest writings first published in 1974 to one of his most popular pieces from the last few years entitled Vernacular Video. This last text struck the deepest cord with me.

If I remember right, Vernacular Video was first published on the listserv nettime, and has now made it's way into a number of different publications. One of the interesting places it ended up was its unauthorized representation in Bruce Sterling's Wired blog, where he added some, let's say dude-ishly articulated comments. You can read that one here, but you may want to read a more legitimate version of the article here.

The text is at once a critique of the art worlds relationship to video and a positioning of it as the people's language, as he says with this perfectly direct sentence: "The technology of video is now as common as a pencil for the middle classes." I have taught many video editing workshops where I have tried crudely to express the ideas that Tom so eloquently spells out in this article.

From the perspective of a younger generation of media artists the text reads to me like a message from a cool uncle. It expresses disappointment at the unrealized potential of the kids I might hang out with, but simultaneously transmits faith in the possibility of my future.

"Artists must embrace, but move beyond, the vernacular forms of video. Artists must identify, categorize and sort through the layers of vernacular video, using appropriate video language to interact with the world effectively and with a degree of elegance. Video artists must recognize that they are part of a global, collective enterprise. They are part of a gift economy in an economy of abundance. Video artists must have something to say and be able to say it in sophisticated, innovative, attractive ways. Video artists must introduce their brand of video aesthetics into the vernacular torrents. They must earn their audiences through content-driven messages."

I will do my best Uncle Sherman!

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PS For a predecessor to the Video Vernacular article read Tom's 2005 article in Canadian Art. It contains this fantastic sentences "Video, when served straight up (neat), is so direct and raw and explicit, it's almost embarrassing." But like a great ingredient the quality of this sentence is exponentially improved when taken as part of the whole meal. Read and enjoy.

http://www.canadianart.ca/art/features/2005/04/03/332/

PPS For more on the wake of waste read up about the Pacific Garbage Patch in the more enthralling prose of this 2007 Harper's story, the open source fact finding of Wikipedia, the research center doing its best to bring this to light or simply watch this VBS TV hipsters go to sea doc.

Let's all go to Daïmõn!!!!!

I made a little field trip to Daïmõn to check out Bertrand R. Pitt's Horizons incertains installation presented in their studio space, but also had the pleasure of spending some time with Tim Dallett as he told me about the performance project he is currently working on while in residence.

The energy at La Filature (the space housing both Daïmõn and Axe Néo 7) is really great these days. Jonathan Demers and Marie-Hélène Leblanc have been great new additions to the region. Big ups for everything they are bringing to their work and to their centers!

I saw the work at the recent dual Axe/Daïmõn vernisage, but it's always worth going back to take another look. The work is a single projection with a series of panels laid on the floor. The panels are switches that affect the installation when stepped on. The video projection is a series of plan-fix wide shots where there is little to no movement. Each single shot lasts maybe a minute and another disconnected scene loads. When a panel is stepped on, the video projection flutters like a film running through a broken gate in sync with a synthesized heart beat sound. When only one panel is on the heart rate is comfortable, but as others step on the remaining panels the heart rate is raised to a more and more frantic rate. The image processing also mounts in intensity with the heart rate.


On the whole I quite like Pitt's piece. When many people are standing on the panels the visual effect is quite beautiful. The still landscapes leave delicate traces over themselves as they bounce frantically. Those clips with fall colors leave deep rich streaks made deeper by the stress of the sounds of the raised heart rate and collective coordination it takes to achieve this effect.

The presentation and construction is also very nicely executed. It is clean and tight and the programming seems stable and elegant. You don't have to guess whether the technology underneath is working right. It's solid execution removes some of the awkward tension that often occurs as audiences try and figure out what exactly they are supposed to do with an interactive piece. The pads simple beckon you to step on them.


One of the key elements of the piece is that the more people stand on the switches the more the video and sound become affected. It requires at least 4 or 5 or more people to push the piece into a more frantic state. During a vernisage this is not that difficult a feat, but on my return visit it required much greater coordination. My first instinct is to criticize this element of the work as a single viewer can easily leave with a very limited experience of the work.

However, I think there is an interesting social off shoot to the presentation of this work. Gallery staff will almost always bring themselves into the process of demonstration as they coordinate standing on the switches to bring the work to a heightened state. This can lead to a deeper engagement with the work, and between gallery staff and the public. This consequence of the programming (intended or unintended) is fantastic!


On the other hand what it suggests about the meaning of the work is different than it's (un)intended social off-shoots. The fact that a single viewer is incapable of pushing the projected landscape into a frantic state suggests that solitary interactions with the environment are the only ones which maintain tranquility, and that frantic, hectic and beautiful destruction is the result of our communal experience with the landscapes Pitt depicts. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but it's true that most of the things we do together that are really fun are just not very good for the world around us....


I also got the chance to chat with Tim Dallett during my little field trip. Tim is working for two separate stints of two weeks at Daïmõn and will return in the fall to present what he is working on. Tim has a great passion for creative experimentation with technology, and his current project seems really amazing. I don't think I will say too much about it until I can get my own head around exactly what is going on, but he took me on an adventure underneath the building to show where he was working with his modified security cameras. I felt like an older kid was taking me into a weird cave where he was building a rocket from some crazy shit he had stolen from a calculator factory. Seriously, this electro-magic man is gonna be doing some funky stuff with his little army of CCD security cameras, like an electronic performance art version of Blair Witch meets Back to the Future and Clerks. I'll stop now before this gets weird....

Field Trip - Mois Multi 10

Thanks to SAW Video I took a little trip to Quebec City as part of an exchange between SAW Video and La Bande Video. It was a very brief stay, but I did get the chance to take in some of the tenth edition of Mois Multi. MM is a multi-disciplinary electronic art festival with an interesting cross-section of technology-based performance and installation work. Unfortunately, there where no performances for me to take in during my short visit so I quickly visited the installation/interactive part of the festival.

There where five in total. Level head from Julian Oliver (Montréal, Canada); Looploop by Patrick Bergeron (Montréal, Canada); ReacTable by Sergi Jordà (Barcelone, Espagne); Mécanisme de réanimation_no. 5 by Manon Labrecque (Montréal, Canada) and Marqueurs d?incertitude et Instants angulaires by Jean-Pierre Gauthier.

Of the five I was most taken with the pieces from Jean-Pierre Gauthier and Patrick Bergeron. Jean-Pierre Gauthier's work consisted of two pairs of kinetic sculptures while Patrick Bergeron's was video loop ... as one might guess from the title. They are the most simple and straight forward of the five works presented. Although I'm certain that both works have laborious and complex production processes behind them, the end results are elegant works that I'm delighted to have seen.

Marqueurs d?incertitude et Instants angulaires, Jean-Pierre Gauthier

Marqueurs d?incertitude et Instants angulaires, Jean-Pierre Gauthier

Looploop, Patrick Bergeron


Simple however, would not be a word I would use for Manon Labrecque's Mécanisme de réanimation_no. 5. It wears its complexity on the outside with an interesting and impressive wooden sculpture which drives an array of mirrors reflecting a projected image from the ceiling onto a semi-transparent screen. As the array is disassembled and reassembled by the machine the reflected image is exploded is slow motion to become a kind of starry night over a pastoral landscape. The intricacy of the sculpture is quite incredible, and the concept holding the projection and the sculpture together is full of the right kind of drama. However, for me the aesthetic balance was a bit overpowered by the sculpture itself and the projected image was somewhat dwarfed. I would love to see how it would look in a larger space that could reflect the intricacy of the machine in the projection itself.

Mécanisme de réanimation_no. 5, Mannon Labrecque

I was excited to see the ReacTable in the real life. Having seen it I am left with all kinds of different opinions. The quality of the design is quite incredible. The shape recognition and the visual feedback projected on the play surface is truly amazing. Check out their demo videos on YouTube to see the depth of the design. It's worth a look for sure.

There is lots to be said about the ReacTable, both good and bad. In interacting with the object/instrument I was underwhelmed by what I might be able to do with it, and kind of annoyed by other users who come along and interfere with my experience. (Like someone plucking your guitar strings while you try to learn chords.) It is however, an new kind of instrument and I would never expect it to make me more musically inclined than I already am (that should probably read: I wouldn't expect it to make up for my lack of musical ability...).

I thought I might be able to find a nice couple of articles about the ReacTable that might show some different perspectives, but mostly searchs reveal a flurry of gadget and music blogs with giant geek crushes on the unique interface. Here is one interesting perspective, and the Wired article for some good general info about its role in Bjork's tour.

ReacTable, Sergi Jordà

I did enjoy Julian Oliver's Level head as well. It's incredibly cute. I hope they don't find that insulting, but I can't imagine anyone who designs a tiny little maze of virtual buildings for a tiny little man to walk around in would find it a slight against the work.

Level head, Julian Oliver