WBNR: WHAT BURNS NEVER RETURNS BY ALESSANDRO CARBONI & RICCARDO MANTELLI

Friday, April 24, 2009 @ 9 PM @ DOX

GPS-driven dance performance

WBNR – What Burns Never Returns is a performance and research project exploring in particular the mediated relationship between the body and the urban environment. It has three main interrelated objects of research and it is developed through a creative dialogue between the relative practices: choreography, urban geography-visual art and communication technologies intertwined in an emergent disciplinary field dealing with the human body, the city and the generative code. In order to analyze these trajectories, Alessandro Carboni has started the research in Asia, were urban transformation are more visible: the region of Guangdong called “the Pearl Delta River” as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzen and also the regions of Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan,Tibet and the city of Beijing. The journey was focused on the exploration and study of the process of landscape transformation called: “high-speed urbanization” and on the most disarticulated forms of urban density. After the Chinese experience, he has involved in this project, through the creation of Platforms of research in Europe, a wide range of contributors, enriching his basic artistic and technical competencies with such figures as urban researchers, media artists and theorists and software programmers, in order to lead a both a performance production and a theoretical contribution.

The performance presented in Prague, is a development of a performative act between a steady cognitive practice exploring specific urban environments and choreography. On the one hand, the dance oriented practice is an investigation of the human body and its gesture facing the intense, dense and over-stimulated urban environment: a practice of exploration of a performance and choreography methodology, capturing gestures, tics and idiosyncrasy of modern metropolitan life as sign of deeper pressures and thrusts influencing everyday life behavior in public. On the other hand, an inquiry on specific urban environments using spatial assessments, GPS technology, drifts, aimed at developing a context-based knowledge of the densely built environment producing the emergent character of the city of Prague.

WBNR is the second phase of a three-year research project “From quad to zero”. a large crossing media research that includes social, anthropological, mathematical, geographical issues between tradition and heterodoxy. A project concentrated on the study of an original method of choreographic composition on the basis of mathematics and systems theory that the author has developed during years 2006-2008 through different journeys and residences in India, China, Iran and Europe. Each of them represents a geographic movement of the Zero from the east to the West. Following this trajectory in the contemporary east, the travel becomes an original modality of research and creation. A moment of self verification, a moment of re-discussion of our practice in order to construct new paths, new processes of creation and choreographic ideas. Part of the project has been already developed in India in 2006 and China 2007.

Credits: Concept, choreography and interpretation: Alessandro Carboni, Production: OOFFOURO/N.P.A Officina Ouroboros 09, Co-production: Moving_Movimento 08 – Fabbrica Europa – Ente promozione danza, (Italy); Festival Santarcangelo dei Teatri, Santarcangelo, (Italy); Giardino Chiuso / Teatro dei Leggieri, San Gimignano, (Italy); Officina Giovani / Cantieri Culturali ex Macelli, Prato, (Italy); Assessorato alla Cultura e alle Politiche Giovanili del Comune di Prato, (Italy). Support: Guangdong Modern Dance Company and Guangdong Modern Dance Festival; Riccardo Mantelli/NewbleepMediaLab; Festival Contemporanea 08 in collaboration with Guangdong Xinghai Performing Arts Group, China; XtendedLab/Master D3D _NABA – Milan (Italy); Central Saint Martin, University of Art London; LaDU, (Italy)

Alessandro Carboni is a multidisciplinary artist. He divides his practices in the exploration and the study of the body movement and the relation of it to the space. For several years, he has been working on the creation of a method for dance: VCCT, considering the relation with choreography, mathematics, generative code and system theory. Added to this, he is expanding his research coordinating the activities of “LaDU” MultimediaLABoratory of Urban Density” at the University of Architecture in Cagliari. He also teach “Methodology and Performance Practice” at the MA “Scenography for Performance”, Central Saint Martin’s in London; and “Digital Perfomance” at Master of Digital Environment Design at NABA in Milan. He performed in Europe as weel as China and India. He is choreographer and dancer with his group OOFFOURO resident in Sardinia, Italy.

Riccardo Mantelli is an Italian interactive media artist producing both public and private artworks for collectors, institutions and companies. His areas of expertise include: installations design, responsive environment and interaction design, crossmedia design, new media in architecture and public space. In his experimental activity, it manages to mix different languages and areas of expertise, from media communication to design, art and architecture, from Italian design and art tradition to new electronic aesthetics. Honored as the winner of Newstoday® Brand Promotion Contest (NYC) on 2002.

UPDATE! BY HONF COLLECTIVE

Friday, April 24, 2009 @ 6 & 7 PM @ DOX: Presentation and AV performance

The House of Natural Fiber (HONF) is a New Media art laboratory based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Founded in 1999, HONF concentrates on the principles of critique and innovation. Since the beginning, HONF has consistently focused on cultural development and New Media art, running numerous New Media art projects and workshops focused on education in art, science and technology. In every project HONF concentrates on interactivity with people and environments. Thinking forward, positive and creative is becoming a vision for this community. In the implementation of this vision, in every program, HONF works towards the development of art with technology. This desire to contemplate the future of art, science and technology is an important endeavor for the technology itself. At ENTER festival, HONF will give a presentation on Education Focus Program (EFP); a curriculum used by HONF in their community-based activities in Yogyakarta. EFP is a program initiated by HONF in forms of interdisciplinary workshops, presentations and discussions. It is developed to respond towards educational situations and conditions in a developing country of Indonesia. EFP directive is to build a modern mind of a future on technology, based on human uses, needs and knowledge, through interdisciplinary backgrounds using education as the core of every activity. In order to accelerate EFP impact to the society, Cellsbutton, Yogyakarta International Media Art Festival, was initiated. It is an annual public gathering of international artists, engineers and scientists to have mutual knowledge exchanges. In Cellsbutton, EFP implementation takes form of presentations, discussions, and workshops involving interdisciplinary dialogues, innovative ideas and critical analysis in technology applications thus allowing transdisciplinary responsive actions between individuals, communities and institutions. Presentation will be given by four HONF representatives: Tommy Surya, Irene Agrivine, Julian Abraham and Andreas Siagian.

There will be an AV performance starting right after the presentation. It will demonstrate subjects of the presentation including projects of VJ school and breakcore_LABS.

Tommy Surya (1976), male, Indonesian, 2001 graduated from graphic design faculty (BA), Indonesia Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. Focus on new media art since 2000, one of founder ‘the house of natural fiber, yogyakarta new media art laboratory’ (HONF) http://www.natural-fiber.com He intends and focuses in organize the community and projects in HONF, and also create and experimenting in visual or videos based medium. Active on vj gathering in community / young creative movement in the region that focus on how to explore many medium as a creative tools. He’s one of key person who intends to build Cellsbutton and YIVF forum for continuing/related projects. One of his project is vjnumberoneProject. It’s a video jockey project , an experimental live performance video jockey that develop in many medium as sources and performances. But in the other hand, its project also focused on video jockey artist’s education through workshops and discussion among vj community. (http://www.vjnumberone.wordpress.com) Also, Tommy is a project and technical manager for YIVF (Yogyakarta International Videowork Festival) and CELLSBUTTON (Yogyakarta International Media Art Festival), which produced and organized by HONF every year.

Irene Agrivina Widyaningrum, born in 1976, female, Indonesian, graduated from graphic design faculty (BA), Indonesia Institute of art (ISI) Yogyakarta at 2000. She is one of the founder of house of natural fiber (HONF), Yogyakarta new media art laboratory (www.natural-fiber.com) She is active on organizing the communities and projects at HONF, managing and bridging the communications and collaboration between young creative movements and HONF. Also she was founder of 10:05 Newsletter, an urban monthly newsletter, that issued on young creative communities, that influences the most electronic music movements in Yogyakarta. As media artist, she focused on society empowerments, for instance a project called CellsKid, a project that focus on children creativity. Most of her works influenced as well by fashion cultures and youth cultures. Also, Irene is a key person of YIVF (Yogyakarta International Videowork Festival) and CELLSBUTTON (Yogyakarta International Media Art Festival), which produced and organized by HONF every year.

Julian Abraham otherwise known as Togar was born in Medan, Indonesia, 1987. He is currently studying at Akindo University in Jogjakarta and participating in several art and music projects. Togar is a member of HONF (the house of natural fiber) which is a media art laboratory in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Julian Abraham is the founder and playing as the drummer of the band called diSko (Noise Rock), together with Anggito (Anggisluka) they decided to form diSko at the end of 2005. Then, in mid-2006, Irene ‘Ira’ Agrivine (Artist / Curator), go join the diSko, and involved in launch of their first album, called “Disko Matematis”. in the mid-year 2007, diSko break because of the pressure from various parties. In this void Julian Abraham still desire to continue exploring music, and try to combine all the music instruments to work it with a computer or electronic medium, Hardware or Software. At the start of Bians.cult, project exploration of digital sound analog to concentrate on the composition of the sound that was built by the sound spectrum and is issued through a digital analog converter to analog devices that unlimited amount. Depart from here, Julian Abraham continue the exploration to the tones composition, and sounds, to changed into a song, This is done to continue his desire on music, and technology. Julian Abraham also working with breakcore_LABS, Indonesia breakcore movement.

Andreas Siagian – HONF [the house of natural fiber – yogyakarta new media art laboratory]: started his activities as an editor of a sub-culture and rave culture magazine called 10:05 News where he was then actively involved in community development with The House of Natural Fiber [HONF] – Yogyakarta New Media Art Laboratory since 2004 until present day. By the curriculum of Education Focus Program from HONF, he involved in the producing and organizing of 2 annual community-base organized festivals called YIVF – Yogyakarta International Videowork Festival and Cellsbutton – Yogyakarta International Media Art Festival. As for his involvement in HONF community-base organized projects as organizer, facilitator and artist, he uses his civil engineer background discipline in his art works such as scientific researches, software programming and construction knowledge. His current work on progress is an expansion research in 2001, Environmental Engineering for Civil Engineer on hydro purification installation for housing and industries.

REDENTITY BY LARS GRAUGAARD

Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 9 PM @ DOX

Computer-vision technology to manage sonic and spatial evolution in sound

When sufficient tension exists between a shape and its identity, the spectators’ preconceptions of the shape’s meaning is challenged. The tight conspiracy between perception and language is broken, and perception becomes biased and fallible. This forces us to modify, adjust, convert, and redesign our assumption causing us to acclimatise, accommodate, attune, and orient ourselves with the purpose to cultivate and acculturate to the changing conditions. The impact is potentially unbounded, in which case it may threaten to dissolve our singularity into an atomic cloud of profuse reality. Procedure: Slowly evolving tracing the contour of the author’s almost motionless hands transforms silence into a sonic shapes and subsequent musical frames of meaning.

Lars Graugaard is a composer, flautist, and lecturer with a PhD in the artistic and technological challenges of interactive music and multimedia from Oxford Brookes University. He has more than 160 compositions in all genres to his credit, regularly performed in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. He has composed works for stage and cinema, and participates as composer and/or flautist on over 40 CDs for dacapo/Marco Polo, Classico, Centaur, EMI, SONY Classical, CBS, and others. Lars regularly publishes peer-reviewed papers. Consequently, his artistic vision and musical understanding lets him move freely between sophisticated surroundings and popular culture, and his production therefore comprises digital experiments into the latest trends of interactive music, installations and cross-modal forms, as well as popular projects and compositions in the modernistic European tradition from large-scale orchestral pieces to chamber music. Recent endeavours have brought him the vicinity of experimental real-time electronica, with a variety of international projects.

SLICES BY JACOB SELLO & STEFAN WEINZIERL

Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 8 PM @ DOX

Real-time composition for drums and percussion, live-electronics & live-video

The drummer, Stefan Weinzierl, hits a foot-pedal and four bars of the score are generated in real-time – slice by slice – new and unique. Different parameters, set in a graphical score by the composer, define properties of each bar (such as density, instrument-range, dynamic or random-factor). The note propagation varies from strict deterministic to fully aleatoric behaviour. The score-data is automatically transcribed using real-time notation-software and is displayed to the drummer. A copy of the performers view is sent via lan-connection to another machine and is used as input for the generation of video-animations that are projected for the audience. The projections react to sonic input as well as to a pair of infrared-sensors mounted in front of the drummer. These are used for controlling digital audio-processing calculated on a third computer that is connected to the other machines in the network. All sound-effects are generated out of acoustic material played during the performance. Interaction, real-time-processing of score, audio and video were in focus while developing the piece. But the main goal was to connect these processes meaningful to each other.

Jacob Sello (*1976 Hamburg/Germany) began to play violin with the age of four, then switched to different flutes, trumpet and finally guitar. He played in various ensembles and bands or performed as soloist. In the mid 90´s he got introduced to electronic music and began to experiment with the new possibilities given by the computer-technology. After absolving a school for audio-engineering (SAE) in 1998 he started to study Systematic Musicology at the Hamburg University and graduated in 2008 (writing his final thesis on sonic installation art). Since 2007 he is student in Georg Hajdu´s master class for Multimedia Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. He played with different Hamburg-based Jazz-combos, enriching the instrumental music with electronic atmospheres wand digital sound-effects and samples. He produced several radio-plays and wrote music for theatre-productions. Though focussing on electronic sound creation and production for more than 10 years, he is highly interested in the exiting possibilities that arise from the conjunction of traditional acoustic instruments and state-of-the-art technology. These days he experiments with techniques of algorithmic composition, digital signal-processing and 3d-video-animation. He loves to develop his very own interfaces and controllers for interactive computer-music and multimedia-performances.

Stefan Weinzierl (*1985, Günzburg/Germany) unwillingly thinks in stereotypes in regid categories! Thus, as a Drummer and Multi-Percussionist he is invariably challenged by all kinds of compositions beyond every type, form and genre borders. He is a Timpanist and Drummer in classical ensembles and orchestras (Orchester Junge Symphonie Regensburg, Bayerisches Auswahlorchester zur EXPO 2000 Hannover) as well as in Jazz- and Rock/Pop bands (University Jazz Orchestra Regensburg). Since 2008 Stefan Weinzierl has increasingly centred on the soloistic sheet music and the contemporary chamber music (Hamburger Klangwerktage 2008). On this account he studies in the artistic master course of Percussion and Timpani at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. In addition to the improvement of his technical drummer skills he cares about pedagogic work. Therefore, with 23 years he already concluded his study of the educational sciences, music sciences and music educational theory with the first state examination at the University of Regensburg and the Hochschule für katholische Kirchenmusik und Musikpädagogik Regensburg. Beside his work as an instrumental teacher (Sing- und Musikschule Regensburg, private Musiklehrer Institute Ostbayern) and instructor in drums- and percussion workshops Stefan Weinzierl is a freelance collaborator of the neue musikzeitung, ConBrio Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (Educational information center PIZ).

GOLEM BY IMMEDIATE COLLECTIVE

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 @ 8 PM @ DOX

Rich-media dance performance

GOLEM is a 30 minutes dance performance telling the story of artificial man. It is based on the use of advanced audiovisual technologies such as granular sound synthesis, real-time 3D environments and computer systems for capturing movement. The dancer becomes both on-the-fly choreographer and co-author of the sound composition. Through the dance movements he pilots the sound part as well as influences the virtual projected scenography.

Credits: PAVEL SMETANA (CZ) – artistic director, LUKA PRINCIC (SI) – original electronic music, JURIJ KONJAR (SI) – dancer & musical performer, MICHAL MÁŠA (CZ) – motion capture & 3D, STEPHANE KYLES (FR/USA) – production & light design, ROMAIN SENATORE (FR) & QUENTIN DESTIEU (FR) – video creation, JAN ŠEBEK (CZ) – technical production.

Since the early 1990s Pavel Smetana has been artistically experimenting in the field of digital interactive media, creating installations “The Room of Desires”, “The Mirror”, “ The Cyber-Portrait of Dorian Gray” and “Lilith”. Since 2003 he directed several multimedia performances, interconnecting computer science, contemporary dance and game technologies. During the past ten years he served as a Professor of 3D, VR and Art at the arts academy in Aix-en-Provence, France, and the director of international festival ENTERmultimediale (2000, 2005) and ENTER (2007, 2009) held in Prague. He is director of CIANT, presently involved in brain-computer interface technology research, development and experimentation.

Luka Prinčič (SI) is a musician, sound designer and media artist. He has participated in a number of sound-music and multimedia projects. In addition to publishing web albums, he has been active in Ljudmila and Kiberpipa and is the administrator of skylined.org, an art-server/community. Prinčič is the author of audio-visual and electro-acoustic performances and multimedia actions in physical and mental-emotional spaces (Music for Hard Disks; Retrospections: MayaDeren; Waves in public: Squares). As a sound designer and adviser, he collaborates with artists, activists and producers of festivals and conferences at home and abroad (Eclipse, Neven Korda, Jodi Rose, Borut Savski, Luka Dekleva, Galerija Kapelica, MFRU, Netmage08, EMAF07, Device_art, Moderna galerija…). His work focuses on personally reflective and socially critical use of new technologies within contemporary audio-visual contexts. Most of his work is based on hacker ethics and DIY philosophy. Currently, he is most interested in the intersection of subjectivity, techno-science, net culture, AV-media and sound.

Jurij Konjar (SI) is a contemporary dancer who regularly practices various aspects of the profession. Besides moving and performing continuously, he directs his own work and is involved in other independent creations as a freelance artist. He gives classes and workshops of contemporary dance techniques for professionals, as well as non-professional youth and adults in a frame of various education projects.

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The performance was created, presented, and documented in the framework of IMMEDIATE, CO-ME-DI-A and CASPAR co-production projects and initiatives.

IMMEDIATE

Immersive Media Dance Integrating in Telematic Environments

http://www.immediate-project.eu/

The IMMEDIATE project reflects the current situation of a cultural divide between the world of contemporary dance and the world of digital art. When we look closely at the dance forms today, we think of necessary evolution, of integrating immersive media technologies, dance and telematic environments. What comes out of a human gesture captured and transferred into digital audiovisual content? What advantage does the tele-immersive interaction represent? What can be achieved via choreographing collaboration of real and virtual dancers, some on a real stage, some other in virtual online environments? In IMMEDIATE we aim to encourage creativity and innovation in the field of dance performances intersecting with digital arts through delivering high-quality interdisciplinary exchange between communities of dancers and choreographers on the one side and new media artists and technology experts on the other side. We work to explore novel possibilities of performances combining real and virtual dancers in mixed-reality environments through deployment of digital real-time performance tools, three-dimensional motion-capture facilities and systems supporting on-line “intelligent stages”. As a result we are delivering collaborative tele-immersive experiments that combine technical excellence in dancers’ own bodies with creative excellence in virtual computer technologies. An example of such an experiment is the GOLEM performance. The project is co-financed by Culture 2007 Programme of the European Union for the period 2007-2009.

Partners:

A4 | Association for Contemporary Culture (SK)

AMBER (TU)

CIANT | International Centre for Art and New Technologies (CZ)

LMR | Laboratory for Mixed Realities (DE)

M2F (FR)

ZAVOD PROJECT ATOL (SI)

Cooperation and Mediation in Digital Arts

http://www.comedia.eu.org/

CO-ME-DI-A initiative supports the development of networked collaborations between European venues and institutions active in the domain of digital performing arts. The partners work to establish a robust platform for networked artistic and cultural interactions. We experiment with different network configurations for various artistic and cultural activities leading to the production of distributed events and artworks. The project specifically aims to encourage artists to create collaborative works and engage in cultural exchange within the CO-ME-DI-A infrastructure. The activities include interdisciplinary research, quality trans-national training sessions and workshops for professionals, residences particularly aimed at young professionals, and last but not least distributed networked performances and installations presented to general public, all of which use the network as a core for cultural interactions. Under the leadership of IRCAM, CO-ME-DI-A is a Europe-wide initiative to implement a set of experimental cultural activities focused on networked interactions. In order to support innovative distributed production of artworks and to enable more efficient formats of circulation of artistic and cultural products, we address creative use of existing advanced technologies such as broadband telecommunication networks and powerful digital processing tools. The project is co-financed by Culture 2007 Programme of the European Union for the period 2007-2010.

Partners:

CIANT | International Centre for Art and New Technologies (CZ)

HCMF | Hungarian Computer Music Foundation (HU)

HFMT | Hochschule für Musik und Theater (DE)

IEM | Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (AT)

IRCAM | Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musique (FR)

UNIGE | Università degli Studi di Genova (IT)

SARC | Sonic Arts Research Center SARC (GB)

Cultural, Artistic and Scientific knowledge for Preservation, Access and Retrieval

http://www.casparpreserves.eu/

How can digitally encoded information still be understood and used in the future when the software, systems, and everyday knowledge will have changed? This is the challenge of CASPAR project running through 2009 within the 6^th Framework Programme of the EU for research and technological development. While the digital information innervates modern civilization, it is extremely vulnerable. A huge amount of precious digital information created and stored all over the world becomes inaccessible every few years at a very fast pace. Think of losing official records, a museum archive, irreplaceable scientific data, or even a collection of family photos, and we realize digital preservation is affecting us all. The fundamental outline for CASPAR is the OAIS reference model (ISO:14721:2002): a very powerful framework, because it is both organisational and technical. OAIS describes all the functions of a digital repository: how digital objects can be prepared, submitted to an archive, stored for long periods, maintained, and retrieved as needed.