Artist: Artie Vierkant

The artist Artie Vierkant, found through the website rhizome.org, is a digital media artist working with various types of media, from text to interactive works to videos to altered images. Currently working on a masters in fine arts, Vierkant has been showing in several solo exhibitions since 2006. Although I was originally attracted to the artist because of a simple and serine altered video of a sunset, I became compelled to discuss another of his works; one that relates to recent subjects I have been studying and that I may pursue in my St. Mary’s project. Sifting through various videos, images, and installations, I came across Vierkant’s Live Sex Blog.


Created in 2008, the work was created using a live blog feed and eight individuals approaching and committing sexual acts. These eight people were asked to post to the blog in the style similar to Twitter or status updates, discussing the moments they were experiencing as they attempted and succeeded in getting their lovers to participate in sex and sexual acts. The gender of each individual is not identified, nor are names. This creates a level of ambiguity in the relationships at the beginning of discussion, continuing in some relations while others start introducing pro-nouns. Another interesting aspect of the art is the explanation of the actual acts occurring and how they vary from one another. We are shown several perspectives on how sex should be, some being more forceful, involving spanking, etc. and others showing more mutual relationships. The conversation begins rigid and awkward, typing their laughter as if they were all together, sharing how uncomfortable it was to start the process of sex while typing. They discuss how they are propositioning their lovers, revealing higher levels of willingness in some partners than in others. Going against gender stereotypes, the only individual identified as unwilling to participate at the blog’s start is the male partner of a female participant. It continues as they enter into foreplay, switching from talk of the act to the awkwardness of the project. As the sexual endeavors continue they begin to slur their typing, actually discussing with the rest of the group that the mistakes make it more realistic. Some struggle to get the act started, finding the presence of others, even via internet, interfering with the intimacy and the mood of their situation. Reaching the ending comments of our blogging experience, we also reach the climax of our story, some orgasming while typing, others waiting until after to discuss it, others falling behind and never posting a point of “success”.

Clip from Blog:
11:30

ec:

go time
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:30 ec
11:30

ti:

we begin by finishing our drinks
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:30 ti
11:30

ng:

bnmnjf

Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:30 ng
11:30

ro:

wait, we’re starting?
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:30 ro
11:31

ro:

is everyone here?
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:31 ro
11:31

ti:

it’s 11:30, so we begin
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:31 ti
11:31

ro:

i cannot stop laughing
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:31 ro
11:31

pk:

Girlfriend still in the shower, sitting here waiting for her. Not remotely horny ATM but hopefully her nakedness will fix this. Should probably turn lights off
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:31 pk
11:32

ng:

im goin

Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:32 ng
11:32

ti:

“lights on or off TELL ME THE ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS”
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:32 ti
11:32

ti:

putting on music
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:32 ti
11:32

ee:

the boy isn’t so sure about this anymore
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:32 ee
11:32

ro:

still laughing.
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:32 ro
11:33

ti:

so far clinical; weird
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:33 ti
11:33

pk:

Lights are off. She’s washing her hands? Still not horny.
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:33 pk
11:33

ro:

boy trying to figure out who everyone is
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:33 ro
11:33

ro:

not quite sure what’s going on. at all.
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:33 ro
11:33

ng:

shes touching my back caressingly
Wednesday December 3, 2008 11:33 ng
11:34

ti:

laughin


This project creates a sense of connectivity for the viewer. As they read the document, they see the relationships of others intruded upon and recreated to incorporate their outside spectators. The banter between characters creates room for comedy in the discussion of sex, something that is considered a taboo topic by many cultures. This comedy helps to comfort the viewer and ease the process of exposure to another’s sexual mind. The language used and the personal thought that are typed in this conversation engage us in reflection on our inner monologue of sex, finding similarities and differences in both topic and style of thought. By being introduced to the several styles of sexual preference we are confronted with our own bedroom choices, made to reflect upon similarities and differences between us and the strangers.
Along side this connectivity, finding ways to relate and rebel against the sexual deviances of others, we are also forced to relive and, in a way, experience the intimacy of others. When reading descriptions of almost any situation, many people find it difficult not to try and visualize the experiences we see. In this situation we are asked to feel the nibbling of the neck, the awkwardness of the computer during the sex, and the rise of intimacy and raw sex to the front of the mind as situations become more involved and intense. It is possible that the artist had hopes to put the reader of the blog into that situation, made to ask themselves: “Is this right? Can I feel this along side without being inappropriate?” We push the limits of our own sexuality by accepting what we are reading, understanding the origins of the words, and remembering throughout the conversation that this sexual description is not just a fabricated depiction of human connections, but an experience that occurred in reality.



I enjoy this project for its adventurous approach in presenting human sexuality. If I had to adjust an aspect of the work, I may try doing it again with all females to examine the discussion without the presence of the stereotypically dominating male voice. It would be interesting to see if women, when presented with a like audience, would feel more comfortable expressing deeper desires and acts of “deviance”. It could also be interesting to entirely remove the genders of every participant, leaving room for those reading to reach another level of personal exploration. Am I communicating with the same gender? Am I reading the relationship between two men and should I feel strange if I am aroused by this, if it is not my typical orientation?
This artist takes time to explore an issue that is not often discussed, as neither a positive nor a negative. Many people, when asked to talk about the topic of sex, would resist any association with the conversation. This blog allows these individuals who are uncomfortable with sex as a common topic, thought, and experience to come face to face with the sexuality of 16 other people, learning from the openness of others and exploring their own personal deviances and preferences through the awareness and arousal of others.


End of Blog:
2:20


ro:

pundinnng jinjito meib
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:20 ro
12:20

om:

goodnight

Thursday December 4, 2008 12:20 om
12:21

ng:

back on back

Thursday December 4, 2008 12:21 ng
12:21

ti:

harder.. came.. "sorry"
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:21 ti
12:21

ng:

i grab her shoulders

Thursday December 4, 2008 12:21 ng
12:21

ng:

clkoiasde

Thursday December 4, 2008 12:21 ng
12:21

ng:

coming almost

Thursday December 4, 2008 12:21 ng
12:22

ng:

fgofd
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:22 ng
12:22

ro:

am i a good student if i let myself be tied up anf fuckedr
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:22 ro
12:23

ng:

ok
were making macaroni bye
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:23 ng
12:26

ro:

ghh yg bgghyghchoking me and fucking me hard fuckc
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:26 ro
12:26

pk:

There's sex juices all over my keyboard. Going to clean up and maybe dry my carpet. "Stop writing a denouement and get in the shower" have fun kids, adios
Thursday December 4, 2008 12:26 pk
12:27

ee:

turn off


(to read the full script from that evening click HERE)

Artist: Christopher Baker

The artist Christopher Baker is a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota, reaching his Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Media Arts. Prior to his career as an artist Baker was a scientist working with to develop brain-computer interfaces at UCLA and the University of Minnesota. Applying knowledge of his history to the work he creates, one notices the application of his prior career to his new passion. Baker produces work that “engages the rich collection of social, technological, and ideological networks present in the urban landscape”. By combining aspects of these environments, Baker works to produces relationships within and between these networks. The work results in thought-filled and inspiring works that force thoughts of interconnection amongst differing regions and ideas.
The work that inspired me to read more about this artist is titled Hello World! Or: How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise, an overwhelming video installation composed of over 5000 video diaries collected by the artist from the web. This piece forces the viewer to immerse themselves into the thoughts, minds, and faces of others. Spanning the length of a seemingly never ending wall, the video diaries are arranged to be small format, touching on all sides with other diary entries. Each one is unique and shares a personal story of an entirely different individual. The appeal of this image is the variety of perspectives it presents. Each person’s frame is made up of a different color scheme, affected by their background and surroundings. They sit in kitchens, living rooms, offices, and in beds and range from all different styles, socioeconomic statuses, ages, and conversation topics. Although each is a distinct and different situation and story, they all blend together to make a sea of noise made to overwhelm the viewer just as the size of the installation does. The clatter of voices combined with the size of the structure forces the viewer to attempt to make distinctions between the individual stories, yet forces them back into the immensity of the project as a whole.
This piece forces the onlooker to confront the faces of so many unknown stories and ideas. Many of these subjects create their video diaries as a way of releasing their ideas and perspectives on major issue to the public everywhere. They believe that what they have to say is just as important and interesting, yet there is no way, no tool, for us to search for their stories. The work asks the viewer to see others out there for their voice and their generic and blended existence. It poses the thought of, “If all of these stories exist, untold and unrecognized, there must be many more which are never discussed”. We also make the realization that we are apart of a collective whole, experiencing similar situations but at different times and in different contexts.
I feel that this project is extremely successful in relating the individual to a conicopia of others under that same impression: that they are also a unique individual. By creating a fully presented arrangement of so many identities, the viewer becomes more aware of what has not been discovered and how large this world may be. If I went to change one aspect of the work, I could consider altering or playing with the coloring in the individual diaries to create some sort of subtle uniformity amongst those sharing similar topics of discussion, etc. Overall I felt that the artist captured his idea of the unheard voice amongst a sea of never seen faces and its relation to how we each experience the world as the individual.
As I watched the video of the display for the first time, I felt a sense of overwhelmed observation and overwhelming connectivity to the world yet discovered. It is strange to stand in front of a work of art such as this, as it is a discussion of ourselves and those we will never meet. We are granted the opportunity to connect with not just one but thousands of lives that we will never know, simultaneously being pushed back out of every smaller frame to experience the immensity of the faces as a whole. In this sea we find our comfort, realizing that each story, however unique it may feel, is connect to the other.

Hello World! or: How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise from Christopher Baker on Vimeo.

Artist Lecture: SMP Presentations I

Focusing the openings of presentations around the journey of the artist from childhood to today, Kelton, Mary, Lane, and Montse each presented St. Mary’s Projects working with abstract projections of their concepts. Lane took us through the growth of her relationship with the woods, expressing herself through abstract painting. This was then followed by Montse and her manipulations of paint on canvas and paper to create her narratives and convey her experiences. Continuing in narration, Mary asked us to see human emotions and relations portrayed through candle and match. Presentations were then concluded by Kelton, exposing us to new takes on photography, as he developed his understanding of the medium for the first time.
Out of the work displayed, I felt most connected to the works of Lane. Viewing her slide show allowed us to see where she had began her love of nature and how she incorporated it into her art, working with the space she has in the gallery to recreate perspectives of the outdoors. Her work in the gallery showed a move towards abstraction, blending the colors of the trees together to give a feeling of the rush through the brush, passing out of reality and into the thoughts and connections she experiences in nature. Her work uses a variety of values and hues with natural tones. The first of the pieces is 12 feet in length and envelopes you as you walk along its facing. Overwhelming when standing in front of it, taking the viewer through a sort of journey, transcending through the woods and entering the mind to take a new perspective on a familiar subject. The second is a series of longer, vertical panels arranged separated from one another and combining a wider range of hues and textures. When asked by an audience member if she had made theses parts to be hung in a specific order, Lane informed viewers that she had created each separate from the other and then, once entering her space, rearranged them to fit her impressions of the room. She hopes that viewers will see their own experiences in these panels.
After listening to the presentation by Lane my speculations of the meanings of the pieces were confirmed. She had been experiencing the local woods in a similar way that I recently have and thus I saw my most fond moments in her works. Although they are moments of enjoyments of friends, they are overall moments of personal reflection and escape from the anxieties of the college environment. Discussing Taoism in her presentations and the thoughts of meditation, I feel that Lane may be using the environment of her subject as a way of meditation and relaxation, releasing from the ties of her societal world and spending time to reflect on nature and inner needs. This process is confirmed by the stylistic choice to portray the shapes around her in their abstraction. If these trees had been made to seem exactly as she had seen them, in realist textures and forms, they would have lost their sense of drift into thought. A realistic approach would have also stripped the images of their intimacy, taking this private space of personal comfort away from the artist and exposing her safety to the public. The abstraction acts as a shield, keeping the thoughts in the foreground and allowing both the painting and the subject to remain intimate. This painting creates a sense of physical motion and escape into the natural environment, the abstraction and flow of the mind that is elevated by the surroundings, and a protection and expression of an intimate space for both the artist and potentially viewers.
Through both sets of presentations viewers may see the growth of the artist as a journey of life choices and personal reflection. This exhibit challenged us to look beyond what is shown and connect with what is expressed or felt from each piece. From seeing the St. Mary’s Art Presentations of 2010, I have gained a sense of terror for the work to be done, yet security in the year to come, ready to develop beyond where I comfortably rest.

Artist Lecture: Mark Iwinsky

The artist presented in the lecture, Mark Iwinsky, is a multidisciplinary artist who presented works focused around the concept of time and the past images of our world in relation to the present. The artist presented works done in the form of prints, in nature work, and photographs connecting past images with the present day.
Iwinsky explained that his work was inspired by the wonders of the original woods of the New World and examining the old giants of today, or at least what remains. He described the former landscape, with large American Chestnuts, the Redwoods of the east coast and the canopy that used to exist. Wandering into the woods, the artist brings his paints and paper and creates prints of the rings of the stumps left behind. The prints pick up the cuts made by the chain saws that took the old giants down. Although you could see the rings and how old and beautiful it was, it was all tainted by the displayed connection to the ending of its life and the greed of expansion. He also created impressions of the stumps and their characteristics of times effects made out of paper. Taking back the beauty of what was lost, Mark Iwinsky would cover the cut surface with gold leaf, leaving behind a glow in the middle of the forest. I enjoyed his approach to cover specific stumps with the gold leaf, as it leaves quite the impression on others who may find it in the future. Stumbling upon something such as this in the woods may cause one to stop and think about what was once there that we, the human race, must take responsibility for removing. He also compelled this thought process by taking photos of older images of the trees while they are still standing and overlapping them with either similarly oriented remains or the landscape of today.
The artist also created another series finding older photos of various landscapes and cityscapes and then holding them in the forefront, on glass plates, of image locations today. These also held a strong presence in the mind, creating ties between traditions of our past and the development today. Seeing these images not only points thought to the development from the past to today, but also to the progression that will occur between now and the future.
The work of this artist points the viewers mind to connections between the past and the present, critiquing the development of civilization and its effects on the nature that was here before us. Often we develop in order to meet the growing needs of our population and the growth of technology, etc without thinking of its effects on other areas of world. The work of Mark Iwinsky is highlighting some of the major areas we, as the human population, have affected and forces one to think what might be done in the future. I really enjoyed the work of the artist. This is a topic that I have always found uch interest in, being known as a tree hugger and often wishing that more of the ancient east coast forests were still here. The way Iwinsky chooses to highlight this message is both simplistic and powerful. The improvement that I would note would be only to include photos that better highlight the works. Out of the lectures I have seen at this school, this artist has been one of my preferred, displaying nature and this developing world as it once was and causes thoughts of what may be.

Artist: Mel Alexenberg

After reviewing several artists, which displayed works of movement to the future, expansion, and innovation, Mel Alexenberg becomes a refreshing perspective on the new and evolving art world. An artist, educator, writer, and blogger, Alexenberg focuses his work on interfacing between art, science, technology, and culture. He explores interrelationships between “digital age art and Jewish consciousness, space-time systems, electronic technologies, participatory art and community values, high tech and high touch experiences, and responsive art in cyberspace and real space.” Aiming to bridge gaps, the artist works with the idea of community, attempting to bring together individuals into the whole existence by creating group participation activities, culturally relevant art, and even spiritually interactive and aware art. Reviewing through his work, I found it most refreshing to review the work of the artist which attempted to combine religious tones with the digital art age.
Alexenberg has been able to create, with the help of computer programmer Yisroel Cohen, a dialogic artwork, or Torah Spectorograph, which allows people to see the patterns of the Torah as “related to their own lives”. In this program, the artist has created correlations between color/color patterns and the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. By paring these colors with letter, Alexenberg has been able to “write” out passages of the Torah via stain glass, paint, etc. for others to view and enjoy. His website explains the associations between the colors and letters, placing the first letter of the alphabet, a letter known for being the “all inclusive one” as a single pixel of white light. The second, he adds, is two pixels of red light and is followed by the third letter’s three pixels of orange. Skipping through the letters to help identify the pattern, the eighth letter, het, is represented by eight violet pixels. This spectrum of color is then repeated, while increasing its ban of pixel length with each letter, until the final letter, tav, is seen represented by 22 pixels of violet. An example of his work is a Hoopa , or wedding canopy, he created in the courtyard of a Miami synagogue, writing out Psalm 146 “from generation to generation” in bands of stained glass. Light then passes through the panes of glass and onto those standing underneath, in this case the couple to be wed, symbolizing the transitioning of life from one generation to the next. The work has also been created by painting wooden blocks with the “words” of the creation story from Genesis, which lies in the desert in the Negev Mountains.
This artist is known for wanting to create connections between individuals. The work that he has produced both creates a connection between the present generation, the past, and the future by applying well-known Torah verses to “projecting” surfaces. Not only is this connection made between the individuals of this plane, but also of the human and heavenly connection. It is made obvious by Alexenberg that the materials with which he works are based around religious connections or beliefs. This piece and the idea behind it represents the connections and similarities seen throughout generations, represented by the words it attempts to depict and reinforced by the repetition of the common spectrum and its pixel length, always keeping a consistent base color while just expanding in its length, meaning, and time.
This piece is very successful in creating connections between the Jewish community and the word of the Torah. By creating visual representations of the Torah, individuals are able to find the patterns in the old scriptures that make up the beliefs onto which they cling. I have yet to see visual representations in such abstract ways of “western” religions. Looking at the traditional work of Islamic communities, it is forbidden to have visual representations of holy individuals or of the human figure what so ever. Seeing an interpretation of the Torah in the most simplistic of artistic tools removes the specified religion and allows for personal experience and interpretation. If I were to improve on one thing about this project of the artist, I would have to see if the artist could create works and patterns to represent Arabic for the Qur’an and the letters of the New Testament in order to identify patterns for other religions, seeing if there are any patterns within the three texts. There has always been major conflict between these three religions. To represent these texts side by side, without labels and without identification for the individual to cling to, Alexenberg may be able to create a piece that not only allows the individual to experience the spiritual, but forces them to relate to and experience the spiritual connections between the religions.

Artist: Gratuitous Art Films

The film titled “Primitive Earth Part 1: Volcanoes” is a piece created by the group Gratuitous Art Films and is a combined visual and audio experience. This group consists of two individuals, filmmaker Jeff Burns and artist Cat Gilbert, and is set out to do nothing in particular but to be the evil twin of Andy Warhol, “mocking him every step of the way”, or at least that is how their website tells it. After researching the group Gratuitous Art Films, this is about the most I could find on them. Their website consists of film works and images with an artist statement that describes the journey of art and its emotions separate from the artist and viewers, speaking as if it is from its own perspective. This, however difficult to write about, says much about the artists and their journey to create audio/visual films that inspire and provoke its viewers.

PRIMITIVE EARTH PART 1: VOLCANOES from Gratuitous Art Films on Vimeo.

The piece I focused on while viewing the site, “Primitive Earth Part I: Volcanoes” shows clips of island beauty and slowly overlaps other visuals, transitioning from one in the dominant foreground to the other. It starts with a book, on which is written “Aloha”, the traditional Hawaiian greeting and goodbye. This sets the scene for from where these videos are taken. All of the images have altered colors in some form or another and, on occasion, become unrecognizable, whether because of coloring, shape, or placement over the paired images. The island’s landscape transitions into erupting volcanoes to forests to animals, and even showing the occasional man made object, such as the car. This visuals contrast the destruction of the volcanoes and the beauty in its surroundings, showing homes and forests burning paired with animals and beach views, as well as flowing lava and volcanic sprays with full spectrum rainbows. As the footage continues, we see the explosion of the volcano, displayed in bright pinks, blues, purples, and gold. The audio that is played over top of the images is that of jungle sounds, ambient noises, and strings of electronic notes. We watch the smoke rise, the ash fall, the wild life set on fire, and then finally, we end with the closing of the book with which we started, reading “Aloha”, yet backwards.
“Primitive Earth Part I: Volcanoes” is a commentary on the beauty that originates and is ended by the Volcanoes’ force, utilizing the perfect example of the setting of Hawaii. As the piece begins, with its impressionist like blending of the image, making it almost unrecognizable, abstract video, we are transitioned from the beauty of the island-scape and taken into the power of the volcano’s eruption. Throughout the whole video we hear the same audio, the sound of wildlife, ambient noises, and the abstract note changes. This consistent audio helps to create a smooth change in the video from the beauty to the disaster, decreasing the intensity of the visual of destruction and creating a tangible visual of the transitions of nature. This ease of change is also aided by the coloring of the clips. By altering the image, reducing the intensity of the overall picture and focusing our attention to certain elements by the use of bright outlining/highlighting, reduction of the image content, and darkening of specific areas, the artist presents the viewer with an abstract of disaster. The pleasing colors combined with the fireworks display of nature unify the more frenetic images with that of the original beach views. This keeps the mind in the same frequency, allowing for thought of what the images may be and what the implications are by creating such a change. The artists are asking the viewer to think about how things have come to be and where things are going, highlighting the necessity and inevitability of destruction in order to lead to creation.
I find this work appealing in both its artistic qualities and its intellectual qualities, causing the mind of the viewer to not only focus on the interesting visual created but also putting thought in the mind of the cycle of nature, life, and destruction. The brightening and blurring of the colors reinforces the beauty of the scenery, while emphasizing and adding this same beauty to the disastrous eruptions portrayed. The audio of the animal life keeps the persistent thought of the existence of the living in this tropical wild land, and the life that once lived where the destruction was occurring. To improve upon the film, smoother transitions between the book image and the island images could be made, possibly guiding us into the contents of the page and becoming the blurred colors of the video. The array of colors, combined with interesting and ambient audio, push the video into a beautiful, yet forceful display of what this Earth is capable of, asking the viewer to consider not only what is, but what came before it and what is yet to come.

Artist: Sara Ludy.

Sara Ludy is a multimedia artist and musician based out of Los Angeles. Graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago with a focus in video and sound art, she has continued on to co-found an organization called Tremblexy, an experimental audio/visual collaborative that creates “immersive sensory experiences through the use of sound collage, electronic manipulation, repetition, projections, and improvisation”. Ludy creates both single and multichannel video installation, sound, electronic instrument construction, digital collage, drawing, and painting. Her goal, as an artist, is to attempt to transcend the traditional audio and visual experiences through experimentation with medium and structure to create unique worlds of experience, allowing her opportunities to perform or present in places spanning from high end retail locations to museums and established galleries. Reviewing her work, I came across an array of audio/video projects for which I felt mixed emotions, some catching my attention as new with a great perspective, and others I found strange and/or dull.


After searching through her work, there was one piece that I found most interesting and another that I did not appreciate as much. The first is titled “Colored Morphed Clouds” and is a combination of a visual of moving clouds and an audio of electronic like sounds, both of which change in intensity, varying in color of the visual and tone and volume of the sounds. The image, only showing slight movements, goes through an array of stages of color, changing from one solid color to multiple hues and intensities. As these colors shift, the audio divides itself into different layers, one a background, base tone, another which fluxuates with the flickering of the colors, and then occasionally additional others which emphasize certain sections of color shifts by creating shifts in the music. The volume and intensity of the sound can, at times be overwhelming, hitting pitches that create harsh feelings to the body, shaking the skin. These quick shifts in both elements make the work very abstract, removing most identifying visuals and audios, yet occasionally surprising the listener with familiar background noises of everyday activities or ringing phones and reducing the intensity of the color change, allowing for recognition of the skyline. By creating the abstract elements, the artist allows the viewer to experience an overload of the senses, stimulating audio and visual instability at a fast rate and causing the mind to question what it sees, with both pleasing hues and shaking imagery, while the audio of the clip creates distraction and irratic thought and concentration within the viewer. Inserting the familiar allows one to focus and identify just before being taken back into the confusion of the work. Overall, I enjoyed this video “Colored Morphed Clouds” for its stimulating, varying hues and intense overwhelming music.
The second work is titled “Snokel” and is of an unidentifiable figure, most likely constructed by the artist, that is made to twist about as the color and audio changes in the piece. It seems to have eyes and a trunk, causing one to see the figure of an elephant, but it is too abstract to be able to identify it as one specific thing. The audio is more melodic than the first, moving up and down the scale and in series’ of notes more pleasing to the body. I did not like this work as much as the first because of images that were chosen to display this “creature”. Toward the end there are a series of close shots into the “eye” structure of the figure, preceded by a sort of thrashing about of the subject. Although this is not a formal critique, this piece made me more uncomfortable and uninterested in the work of Ludy.

Hans Verhaegen and Jean Delouvroy's "Deus Digitalis"

While searching through rhizome.org, I came across the art piece “Deus Digitalis”, an audio visual installation created by visual artist Hans Verhaegen and composer Jean Delouvroy, which spans the second floor of the Orpheus Institute concert hall.

Hans Verhaegen is a visual artist who studied both graphic arts and art history and since 1994 has been invited by several groups for both group and solo exhibitions. Regardless of the medium in which he is working, whether creating a painting, collage, installation, or drawing, his work seems to contain the connected element of the human figure. Coming together with Jean Delouvroy for the first time, the musician also explores different styles of music, including jazz, contemporary, electronic sounds, and the recycled use of his own acoustic material. Delouvroy composed music for the piece “Deus Digitalis” to create an installation, which stimulates two senses of the body.

The pattern in the visual is similar to that of a quilt, with detailed squares of moving bodies (25 each), using different colors, separated by bars of black. The colors are the default colors found in almost any graphics program and do well to simulate the “typical” gothic colors of the glass windows The animation is made using Flash and is inspired by another work of Verhaegen’s that was inspired by his approaching trip to see the new stain glass windows of the Cathedral in Koln titled “Gotiek”. That animation is a proposal of Hans’ for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart’s window, using a flat screen rather than windowpanes. The music is a 23-minute “looped soundscape” set to a very low frequency range. Finding little video or clips of the sound used, one site described it as sounding as if it were “a group of giants singing in slow-motion with an endless breath like they are frozen in time”. There is also a layer of crackling in the sound that appears and disappears, queuing the visuals to change.

By creating repetition in the shapes and using similar basic colors, the artist connects the quilt like squares to form the work as a whole. The use of the human form promotes a feeling of the collective whole and, when the music is added, a sense of the collective whole’s connection and/or sensitivity to the vibrations and awareness presented by music. The concept of the low hum of the music reminds me of religious and spiritual traditions of the chants of the Tibetan monks, something used to connect the individual to the collective energy and to focus the mind away from the self and towards an understanding of the community. The hum of the “giants” combined with the ever-moving human forms suggests the subliminal energy of the human connections that occur every day without ever being discussed. It is like the Taos Hum, a rumored low humming sound said to only be heard by young males who live in or come to the Taos region of New Mexico—realizing such a sound is as if to be presented with the idea that, although we are all moving separately, divided by space and time (black bars and movement qued by sound), the collective thought and energy of humankind may be heard or felt if one listens.

I find this artwork to be very successful, connecting the individual, community, and modern experiences of the digital with the commonality and shared connections of the human race. By using the digital media, specifically the older technology of Flash, I feel the artist connects not just the collective whole through visual and space but also through time, inferring the motions of the modern world, developing in technology and predictable patterns of the work world while also pin-pointing the starts of the digital arts beginnings.

Self Portrait: Image Options.

Project ONE: Los Desaparecidos

Artist Post: Simon Kanavagh

While researching through the web for a digital artist, I came across an artist who caught my attention by combining his interests to create works of art that were both intellectually and artistically stimulating. Simon Kavanagh is a digital media artist who began his art career after receiving his degree in Graphics and Fine Arts, along side with art history, sociology, philosophy, and psychology of education, eventually combining his extra specialties and integrating them into his art. Working under then name/group name “mediarts”, Kavanagh creates art which embraces modern technology, while also fearing it and its “close association with science”, through paintings, sculpture, and installations. He states in his manifesto that Mediart is not to create personal, exclusive art, but to encourage the viewer or recipient to become active, creating a dialogue of thoughts and common creation, cooperation and shared experience, what I enjoy most about the artist.
Encouraging the theme of interaction, the artist pushes viewers to think more thoroughly about what they are seeing, compelling personal opinions and ideas about the images and their meanings. Looking at his most recent work, “Minds Eye”, Kavanagh creates a piece which combines randomly selected adjectives with specific nouns, combined at random together and with images to ensue thought into the mind of the recipient. It explores the instant associations made between images and words through areas of phonetics/words. He feels that the world has become jaded by the media and its overwhelming imagery of the terrible and shocking, removing the surprise that should come with the graphic scenes: “Has this become the new barometer of our senses”, states the artist, “What this piece tries to show, through random text, images, video & news, is the uncertainty of life, and how one image or word or story does not fit all people the same.”
Kavanagh works also include the incorporation of other electronic devices that humans may depend on, including instant messaging. “Colour Box” is an interactive installation which exhibits a shape molding into various colors and forms, depending on the amount of messages sent between individuals. He combines the technology of the program with the basic elements of color, the simplest form of art, and adds to the depth of the art playing on the emotions, expressions, and creative thought presented by specific color.
Overall, I really enjoy the work created by Simon Kanavagh, involving the digital media and the human thought and perception. Often it seems hard to combine ones interests with fluidity, while still compelling intellectual though of the viewers, not just personal intent. I often find myself thinking of ways to combine my interests with the art I create; seeing it successfully done within the digital media opens up more possibilities of success in a form of art that I had originally presented with feelings of frustration and anxiety.

Images and Scans

Here are some images that I took. I have scans in mind, I just need to figure out how/when to load them. Tomorrow after work







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First Artist: Mehmet Atkins

Reincarnation from Memo Akten on Vimeo.

Reading about the works of Mehmet Akten, it was the description of his work that kept my attention and interest, usually being deterred from digital artists. A source states that Akten’s work “focuses on creating emotional and memorable experiences”. I had never before thought of a digital artist being emotionally compelling, leading me to look further into the works of Atken. Growing up in Istanbul Turkey, the artist was fascinated by the “hack demo-scene” of the 80s. It was this that inspired his interest in programming music and graphics demos. After collecting a Bachelors of Science in Engineering, Atken moved to London where, after a five-year run working for the video gaming industry, created his own studio, the Mega Super Awesome Visuals Company. Mehmet Akten is currently working on personal projects, collaborations, research and commercial projects. The artist “designs and develops tools to explore new forms of interaction and pursue natural approaches to artistic expression via digital domain”. He displays his work through large-scale interactive installations, also broadening his creation from personal art to mobile applications.

"Body Paint" Installation at "Clicks or Mortar", March 2009 from Memo Akten on Vimeo.

The artist creates several different styles of work using digital media. Many of the pieces he creates are interactive, involving the movement of a human to trigger the image of the piece. His work is about creating connections and involving performance art in visual art through a developing form of art: digital media. The programs Akten makes wonderfully display the connections between each motion of the dancer and each beat of the songs with a unique and colorful visual.

Amoeba Dance from Memo Akten on Vimeo.

I enjoy the concept of the artists work. Community art and interactive art ha always been very impressive to me, but things such as video games have always been a poor representations of interactive “art”. To involve those coming into an exhibit featuring his work gives the viewer a chance to be the artist and to experience a part of Akten’s creative mind. All of his works contain a good aesthetic appeal to them. Examining his piece “Body Paint”, specifically “Clicks or Mortar”, one can see the movements of the dancer projected onto the screen. It creates a flow of paint on the canvas that lingers, creating the impression of the dancer. The visual of the body pose that lingers as the dancer creates the next movement inspires an interest in the art and the artist that I had not yet experienced in digital media.

Gold demo from Memo Akten on Vimeo.

Overall, I really enjoy the work of Mehmet Akten. Although I took issue with some music choices and the attire of the dancer, as I feel it distracts from the wall itself, the overall ideas behind his programs are interesting and appeal to not only those interested in digital media, but also those in performance art, community art, and painters themselves.

Makin a Post. mah weekend.

Helm's Deep and a Dance Pratty.