Posts tagged v and a
V&A Talk on the Digital Pioneers: ‘Chance V Control’
Feb 4th
The MA DMA students were treated to a talk at the new V&A Digital Pioneers Exhibition with Honor Beddard, last week. Digital Pioneers celebrates the impact of the computer in art in the last 50 or so years.
Digital Pioneers is one of the outcomes of The Computer Art and Technocultures Project, which is a major study of the history of Computer Art, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. As computers became more accessible after WW2, the scientists and programmers who had initially been the operators of computers have been joined by artists and designers in exploring the computers creative potential.
Homage a Paul Klee, 1965, Frieder Nake
What became apparent to me during our talk is that in the production of most digital artwork , there is a large aspect of chance vs control. Using programs, algorithms and random variables, these early pioneers were producing beautiful experimental imagery that, in my opinion, still looks fresh and quite stunning. The fascinating ‘Homage a Paul Klee’ by Frieder Nake, 1965 may look simplistic, but is one of the most elaborate pieces of algorithmic art for its day. Roman Verosko’s plotter drawings such as ‘Manchester Illuminated Turing Machine #1′, 1998, are just beautiful and well worth seeing in a gallery setting.
'Manchester Illuminated Universal Turing Machine, #1', Roman Verostko, 1998
What’s interesting is the geometric, minimal aesthetic defined initially by the limitations of the technology more than 50 years ago, is a preferred and proven aesthetic by many designers and artists working presently. A lot of work produced in Open Source programs such as Processing, or Nodebox, or simply using Photoshop alpha channels and transparency settings, features very delicate, subtle imagery.
I know in my own practice, using Photoshop I’ll have an idea of what I want to achieve but I’ll allow Photoshop to process my images in unexpected and interesting ways. Like traditional artistic methods it is the ‘happy accidents’ that can be the most exciting.
AARON Digital Print, Harold Cohen, 2003
Further more, another aspect I have enjoyed exploring the digital artists, past and present, is the link between digital and traditional art processes and ideas. Harold Cohen, a painter, began experimenting with computers in the 1960’s. He concentrated on developing a programme known as AARON to generate works of art, with very painterly results. AARON was Cohen’s way of exploring whether successful imagery, underpinned by a codified system
Artist James Faure Walker’s ‘Dark Filament’, 2007 uses a mixture of digital technology in conjunction with physically painting on the canvas. He will manipulate imagery digitally, project it onto canvas, paint, scan and rework the image. Walker’s uses this process to achieve a layered, somewhat chaotic but, again, painterly effect.
It is was really good to finally see a coherent exhibition describing the history of computer/digital art and putting it in context with today’s digital art practice. It has also whet my appetite to explore further the relationship between traditional and digital artistic processes as well as the development from art of the past and it’s influence on the digital and contemporary works of art, today.
Decode: The Importance of Interactivity
Dec 28th
As a Christmas treat I took my 7 year old son Zac to visit the Decode exhibition at the V & A in London. The V & A is one of my favourite museums and all the exhibitions I’ve seen there have always been really well executed. Kids go free and as a student the entrance fee was only £4 plus we received a beautifully designed exhibition brochure so I was pretty happy before we had even entered the exhibition space.
Decode, a collaboration between the V&A and onedotzero is showcasing the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from screen-based graphics to large-scale interactive installations. Work from familiar names in the digital field are there including Joshua Davis, John Maeda, Flight 404 and Golan Levin among many others. As Zac and I entered the darkened room and walked through a field of interactive lights that reacted to our footsteps there was much ooing and ahhing. As I stopped to admire the power and beauty of processing by artists such as Joshua Davis and CEB Reas, Zac was in his element…being able to touch things at an exhibition was obviously a huge novelty! From the touch screen ‘House of Cards’ by James Frost, to ‘Solar’ from Flight 404 which reacts to and visualises sound (not surprisingly this was particularly popular with the kids as they tried to outdo each other on the volume).
We made our way around completely engaged with the exhibits which were not only awe inspiring but beautiful too. My personal favourite is ‘Dandelion’ by Yoke which responds both visually and audibly to a hairdryer with an infrared beam installed, that you point at the screen to blow the petals away – delicate, smooth, gorgeous! In addition, ‘Oasis’ by Yunwoo Bang and Yunsil Heo inspired a playful element to the exhibition and was far more interesting than having a real fish tank (you’ll know what I mean when you visit the exhibition). In fact this exhibition was just that: ‘playful’ and as an MA Digital Media Arts student it was also ‘inspiring’ As a result Zac is now becoming quite knowledgeable in the art of Processing as I have returned home and plunged in my Processing books 
Perhaps my only, very small criticisms would be the exhibition could have been sightly larger. More importantly however some of the exhibits weren’t always working which was disappointing especially when you are paying to enter the exhibition. However I would highly recommend this exhibition to not only Digital Art enthusiasts but also to parents who want to introduce their children to the wonders of computer art and its possibilities. Watching my son other people of all ages at the Decode exhibition only cemented further my opinion that the digital environment and interactivity has a huge potential to encourage learning, experimentation, playfulness and the ability to enrich our overall daily experience.
Zac and I decided to continue our interactive adventure at the Science Museum, just around the corner from the V & A, in the ‘Launchpad‘ section, a permanent and free exhibition giving children the chance to explore concepts of science and technology with hands-on exhibits. We took advantage of the free demonstrations, including a bubble show and launching a water propelled rocket. During our day at the Science Museum and the V & A, we both found things that inspired us, we both learnt a lot and most importantly we had a huge amount of fun too!
A message to the curators of all future exhibitions: engage your audience with digital technology and interactive exhibits so we can inspire and educate young minds and finally say ‘Do Touch!’