Bit Babble

Historic Tactical Media Event

noreply@blogger.com (hypernatural) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:53:06 PST

Wow! This is a big one, perhaps the most significant tactical media event, ever.

The work of The Yes Men epitomizes tactical media art practice. They have done some of the most memorable work in this field, as is documented in their excellent movie. However, I cannot think of a project as complete and widespread as this one, which proclaims the end of the Iraq war in printed New York Times newspapers. 1.2 million of these fakes were reportedly distributed in New York and they were complete with tactical media style advertising (American Apparel "advertising" their newly unionized workers) and multiple stories reporting a more humanitarian future, such as, Torture, Rendition “Not Such Good Ideas After All" and High-Speed Internet Hits Fast Track to Appalachia. In addition to the print paper, they've made an internet version, which has been getting so much traffic it has been difficult to get onto. This morning I smiled as I ate breakfast and listened to the BBC reporting on this tactical media art performance (okay, they did not call it that, they like the word 'prank').

To generate all of the content and mobilize the teams of volunteers necessary, it must have required the cooperation/collaboration of many artists and organizations. I am very impressed with this, but I'm also in awe of the unusual tone in the content here. There is some of the traditional lashing out at the powers that be (Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge), but overall, this is a very hopeful effort, one which portends a future of our own making. Their press release email headline is, "SPECIAL" NEW YORK TIMES BLANKETS CITIES WITH MESSAGE OF HOPE AND CHANGE" and it goes on, "Is this true? I wish it were true!" said one reader. "It can be true, if we demand it."

The Interactive Dobpler LED Wall Turns Shadows Into Light

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Benson) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:03:24 PDT

I came by this while crawling across the web on Gizmodo.

Japanese Construct a Developing Space for Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Benson) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:34 PST

Klein Dytham architecture

Community based art projects for Columbus needs a bit of work. I saw this on-line and I thought that I should share. Part of me is super envious of Japan open embrace of all space having the possibility of being a space of expression. Construction site are inevitable, and any city that is growing in population or commerce is probably also growing in development. These construction sites have to be secured and the public has to be kept at a distance while these structures are being built. It is a marvel to see the build grow from skeletons, to nerves and muscle (wiring and walls), into a full body of a building. At time depending on the project this can take a while, and the sites protections for the public interrupt the natural flow that exist prior to the building inception. It becomes separated and disruptive to the community it is trying to become apart. These barriers are an annoyance to the members of the community. They are ugly, intrusive, obstacles, but in Japan they have become art. Yes the Japanese, are at it again and putting art in our everyday lives. These artworks still are obstacles, but no longer ugly or so intrusive. PingMag profiles Art on Tokyo's Construction Fences, and these artworks have a way of:

blending into the backgrounds of these communities

communicating the culture and history of the area

and even educate us about the construction process

and why this temporary interruption in our lives is worth it. Whatever the purpose of the building, it gives us something to reflect on other than how I had two feet of sidewalk to walk on for the last 30 weeks or how upset you are because you lost more parking spaces because of this site. Hopefully if enough thought went into the construction walls, imagine what the building inside the walls will be like. At least that is how I see it.

Interactive Video Art Cyclorama Installation in London

noreply@blogger.com (Aaron Benson) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:34 PST

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7355753.stm

Gabby Shawcross and Jason Bruges designed the memory project, which is touring the UK.

I found this to be an interesting installation of real-time recorded in an installation. It provides a level of interaction and a method of exploring time in a group as well as a separate individual experience for a different experience. It is this type of installation that the public could see a value in when it comes to community importance. The community sees a personal value to their own greater environment.

INBOX by Alex Dragulescu and Timothy Jaeger (Respam)

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:34 PST

RESPAM (premiered) their performance entitled Inbox, using custom made VJ tools that query and retrieve messages, images, and text from a database that contains over 50,000 spam messages.

RESPAM is a project started in April 2004 acting as a net art platform for the collection, implementation, and cultural integration of unwanted, abject data in the form of solicitous messages (heretofore referred to as spam) by artists Alex Dragulescu and Timothy Jaeger.

The focus of RESPAM is multifold. The first is to create a repository of extremely large sets of spam data that aren’t filtered or organized but left in their natural, untouched state. This repository will be publicly available, for both cultural and technological probing. We encourage Internet users to participate in this endeavor and send us their spam to submit@respam.com. The second is to tap into this data to create visualizations, electronic music, multimedia performances, net.art projects and other artistic interventions. The third is to act as a portal for all spam-related information where one can find the latest in spam research, articles, legislation, tools and tutorials. (more)

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Microcinema International - online sales - distribution - exhibition

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db-db ♥ you - A whole new blogging experience!!

Your body moves the record

noreply@blogger.com (hypernatural) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:05:12 PDT

Vinyl Workout, by Theodore Watson is an audio/video floor projection piece that is interactive with how participants move on top of it. See Video of the piece in action. From the artist, "I designed this piece for the inaugural Rotterdam Electronic Music Festival. The idea is pretty simple. A giant record is projected on the floor and it can be played by running around its surface in the direction you want it to go. If you run slow the record plays slow, if you run fast the record goes fast etc.. Next version will have scratch mode." Additional interesting interactive works on the artist's website.

Multitasking

noreply@blogger.com (est) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:29:05 PDT

Multitasking has recently become a widely discussed term. The synchronicity of today's media-backed daily life means that the phenonemon multitasking penetrates into almost all spheres of life and has a particular influence on our perception, communication and interaction.

The NGBK Berlin, Germany organizes an exhbition and interdisciplinary symposium on "Multitasking – Synchronicity as cultural practice". The artistic positions focus on the cultural practice of simultaneous activity and reception.
Artists:

CORY ARCANGEL, PETER FISCHLI/DAVID WEISS, IRENE HUG, BERNADETTE KLAUSBERGER/JANA KRAUSE/HANNAH STRACKE, CONSTANTIN LUSER, WARREN NEIDICH, YVES NETZHAMMER, STEFAN PANHANS, ADRIAN PIPER, BILL SHACKELFORD, LARS SILTBERG, LARS TUNBJORK, MARIUS WATZ/CHRISTINE WOLFE

Exhibition: Sept. 1st – Oct. 7th, 2007
Symposium: October 5th and 6th, 2007

Mutant golden frogs and Dmitry Bulatov's fluorescent tadpoles

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:35 PST

Four mutant frogs with gold skin and red eyes, found by children in a grassy field in the town of Shimanto in Kochi prefecture, have gone on display at the nearby Shimanto River Gakuyukan science center. According to a center spokesperson who says the golden specimens are highly unusual, the 2.4-centimeter (almost 1-inch) amphibians appear to be black-spotted pond frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculata, a.k.a. Rana nigromaculata) whose skin turned gold because of an albino mutation that prevents the formation of pigment cells. (more)

From Pink Tentacle.

This story reminds my of the work being done by the Russian artist Dmitry Bulatov. I was fortunate to be in the RESURFACING Exhibition earlier in the year at Ohio State with him. He displayed at the exhibition his work on genetically engineering tadpole appearances by making them fluorescent colors.

Below is an example of one of his tadpoles:

Static form of chimerical design of Xenopus laevis tadpole.

Anti-Decision Machine by Ryan Ross

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:35 PST

Anti-Decision Machine functions by inviting a user seeking assistance to press a big red button on top of a grey box in front of the light installation. The installation then randomly lights up boxes providing answers to the user's question.

This is part of Ryan Ross' Decision Analysis Series.

Light Lunch Box by Craig Hickman

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:35 PST

Physical Computing art by Craig Hickman.

From Craig:

When left on its own the display randomly displays patterns and alphanumeric characters that dissolve by way of some random shenanigans...

... I am also using a QT113 Touch Sensor from Parallax. This ended up being an easy sensor to incorporate. You connect the QT113 to something metal and when it's touched it responds. In my project, it's hooked up to one of the alligator clips so anything metal put in the clips, when touched, makes the LED Matrix respond.

From Make.

Oscar Pistorius and Stelarc

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:35 PST

Oscar Pistorius is a South African double amputee sprinter attempting to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing China. He has been drawing some controversy with some saying that he has an unfair advantage with his prosthetic legs over the other runners.

When I read this story I immediately thought about the work being done by Stelarc. Below is his "Exoskeleton".

Malawi Youth Builds Windmill to Power Village

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:35 PST

With all the sobering news lately about global warming and war, it’s important to remember all the positive things that are ALSO going on in the world at any given time. Case in point: the story of intrepid Malawi youth William Kamkwamba who, despite having no formal education or training, recently engineered and built a windmill to power his house. It’s certainly the most inspiring story we’ve read this month, and we think you’ll agree… (more)

From inhabitat.

ASCII-Code curtains

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

"Today our home rely on a network of cables, pipelines and connections. Most of the information we have access to is passing through these "roots." ASCII-Code curtains, by Dutch designer Nienke Sybrandy, visualize the information network in a tree, using the very codes that represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that work with text."

From We Make Money Not Art.

Mediated Hand by Kristi Wyatt

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

Watch the documentation video.

More from Kristi Wyatt.

Children Dish Up Street Art

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

A man watches from a balcony as satellite dishes are seen on buildings in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The project to 'pimp' the dishes is an initiative of a Dutch artist working with school children in an area of the city referred to as 'satellite city,' inhabited predominantly by first and second generation immigrants. The hooks on the roof are used all over the city to move furniture in and out of apartments using a rope and pulley, as the staircases are narrow.

From Fox News.

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Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:00:00 PDT

The Franklinton Arts District

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Geisha asobi blog

SPAMshredder

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:27:06 PDT

Forward your spam here:
spam@spam-shredder.de

Then watch it be shredded here live:
http://www.spam-shredder.de

SPAMshredder is a collaboration between Ulf Schmidt, Uwe Jakob, Dirk Neugebauer and myself. In a similar fashion as Spamtrap, SPAMshredder prints and shreds spam email. SPAMshredder is different in that people forward spam email from their inbox to the SPAMshredder and can then watch a live video stream of their spam email being destroyed.

Watch the video documentation

ISO-PHONE by James Auger

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

Watch the video documentation.

"The Iso-phone is a telecommunications concept providing a service that can be described simply as a meeting of the telephone and the floatation tank. By blocking out peripheral sensory stimulation and distraction, the Iso-phone creates a telephonic space of heightened purity and focus."

Chernobyl Household Nuclear Generator

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

Scanned '80s Japanese print ad for an imaginary device called the Chernobyl Household Nuclear Generator. It is unknown if this ad is from before or after the Chernobyl disaster. This ad is widely considered a fake.

Here is a loose translation of some of the text in the ad:

A gentle source of unlimited energy for the home.

Reduce your monthly electric bill by 80% and enjoy a constant, stable supply of energy free from the fluctuations in supply that affect the oil market.

A single, user-friendly activation switch makes the Chernobyl Household Nuclear Power Generator simple to operate, even for children and the elderly. One small nuclear fuel rod (about 15 cm long) generates enough electricity to support the average household for six months. To dispose of a spent fuel rod, simply insert it into its special shielded case and discard it along with ordinary non-combustible household waste.

Main unit: 1.31 million yen [$5,450 US*] (plus tax)

Set of 3 fuel rods: 137,000 yen [$570 US*] (plus tax)

Caution: When using the power generator with direct current, people near the device may on rare occasions experience dizziness or a tingling sensation in the hands or feet. If you experience such conditions, temporarily discontinue use and consult a physician.

Coming soon: Nuclear batteries (Types AA, C and D) 500x longer lifespan than conventional alkali batteries!

Safe, efficient nuclear power is now readily available for use in your home.

* Dollar figures based on early ’80s exchange rate of 240 yen/dollar.

From Pink Tentacle.

Inversion by Dan Havel and Dean Ruck

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:36 PST

From the Press Release:

”Houston, TX - April 26, 2005 During the next couple of months, Houston sculptors Dan Havel and Dean Ruck will sculpturally alter two buildings in a Montrose neighborhood.

The project Inversion will transform two Art League houses on the corner of Montrose Boulevard and Willard Street. The Art League offered Havel and Ruck the old studio buildings before they are demolished this spring making way for a new Art League building.

The adjacent houses have been used for exhibition space and art classes for over thirty years. Havel and Ruck will create a large funnel-like vortex beginning from the west wall adjacent to Montrose Blvd. The exterior skin of the houses will be peeled off and used to create the narrowing spiral as it progresses eastward through the small central hallway connecting the two buildings and exiting through a small hole into an adjacent courtyard.”

More pictures here. From 102kflight.

Ascent From Influence by Zerek Kempf

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:37 PST

Watch the Video.

More from Zerek Kempf.

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>space of='communication'/< index

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Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 PDT

How to solve a maze with Photoshop

BioArt Pioneer

noreply@blogger.com (hypernatural) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:11:32 PDT

Joe Davis was making bioart before the rest of us knew what it was. A current article/slideshow in Slate, called "Fishing for Paramecia" discusses his practice and profiles several of his inventive projects, including the Audiomicroscope, which makes audible the sounds of microscopic creatures using a laser and a solar cell receiver and Microvenus, in which an image is genetically encoded into ecoli bacteria.

DNAgraphy are images Joe Davis made of nudes which use DNA as a photographic emulsion.

To learn more about Joe Davis' art/science practice, check out this earlier article in Scientific American "Art as a Form of Life".

MakerFaire by EbOY

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:33:42 PDT

New MakerFaire poster by EbOY.

BLENDER by Stelarc and Nina Sellars

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:37 PST

"BLENDER is the first collaborative installation produced by Stelarc and Nina Sellars. Both artists undertook liposuction operations specifically for the purpose of this new work and have succeeded in securing the sanitised isolation and, most importantly, the legal ownership of the remnants of the procedures. The bio-materials are now housed within BLENDER's industrial casing, which was on exhibition at the Meat Market Gallery B in North Melbourne until August 18, 2005.

The installation itself stands at just over 1.6 metres high and is anthropormorphic in scale and structure. Every few minutes BLENDER automatically circulates or "blends" its contents via a system of compressed air pumps and a pneumatic actuator. The mixture includes 4.6 litres of subcutaneous fat taken from Stelarc's torso and Nina Sellars' limbs, zylocain (local anaesthetic), adrenalin, O+ blood, sodium bicarbonate, peripheral nerves, saline solutions and connective tissue. Installed under a single, dramatic spotlight, BLENDER is also wired for sound. Rainer Linz's sound design subtly amplifies, distorts and delays the audio produced by the blending mechanism itself." more...

The Sound Of by Katie Paterson

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:37 PST

"The creaking and splashing sounds of Europe's largest glacier slipping into an ocean grave are just a phone call away now that an artist has installed a microphone in its surrounding waters.

Glaswegian artist Katie Paterson was moved to set up the line after hallucinating about Iceland's giant Vatnajokull glacier during a bout of fever.

The link encourages people to connect emotionally with the glacier, she told Reuters from her tent on the Icelandic shoreline."

From Reuters.

The Spoon Box by Nick Zammuto

noreply@blogger.com (bshack) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:32:37 PST

Watch the documentation video.

From Nick Zammuto:

"I built this prototype of the Spoonbox out of wood, plexiglass, zinc plates, measuring spoons, and closeout radioshack parts. It hooks up to a CD player and small amplifier which cause the spoons to dance. There are small speakers behind the spoons that move in response to the sounds on the CD which I carefully composed using low frequency sine waves and kitchen sounds. The speakers, in turn, blow small puffs of air into the spoons which cause them to bounce/vibrate in rhythmic patterns." more...