Humans are tool users and the biggest tool that humans have ever used is ‘technology’. Technology today has shaped our lives in ways that were unimaginable thirty years ago and it will continue to shape our lives so that we cannot possibly predict what life will be like in thirty years’ time.
Cutting edge technology has had a big influence on art, and this crossover of technology into art is generating some very interesting work and blurring the lines between disciplines that were once considered very separate, computing, fashion, music, biotechnology and medical science.
Way back in 2003 there was a project called Whisper, an acronym for (wearable, handheld, intimate, sensory, personal, expressive, responsive system). This project integrated engineering, computer science, design and dance. It was a “participatory installation that uses small, custom-designed wearable computers and handheld devices. Focusing on body architecture, whisper aims to unearth physical data patterns of the body, mapping physiological data onto linked and networked devices worn on or close to the skin and in garments. In other words, it involves collecting data from the bodies of participants, and through visualisation and sonification techniques, interpreting that data.”
It was an extrapolation of how humans, clothing, computer technology and interactivity might mesh together and how it could interact with our lives.
Last night in New York Eyebeam Art and Technology Center had the opening for their latest show. Bio-rythm Music and the Body
Eyebeam's mission statement is
Eyebeam is an art and technology center that provides a fertile context and state-of-the-art tools for digital research and experimentation. It is a lively incubator of creativity and thought, where artists and technologists actively engage with culture, addressing the issues and concerns of our time. Eyebeam challenges convention, celebrates the hack, educates the next generation, encourages collaboration, freely offers its contributions to the community, and invites the public to share in a spirit of openness: open source, open content and open distribution.
This their latest show is in conjunction with Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin. It explores music through body interaction and participatory art works.
It was very interesting show but ultimately left me feeling a bit let down. Some of this let down was due to it being opening night and a huge amount of people descending on Eyebeam making it very difficult to see/hear the interactive exhibitions. There also seemed to be a degree of technical problems associated with some of the pieces, they were either turned of or not working correctly.
The live interactive performance part of the opening was really interesting, the 'linking' of music and body rhythm together. One violinist, one cellist, one human beat box who also played a specially designed electronic beat box, one dancer with EMG pickup on her arms and one huge projection of the EMG pickups on the wall. Did the music affect the dancer? Did the dancer affect the music? It seemed observational in nature rather that being truly interactive and I was left being reminded of WHISPER and wondering where the advances in science, discourse and art were that should have happened since 2003.
If you are in New York, go see the show and play with the interactivity because that is so much fun. It will make you think and maybe inspire you, but ultimately you may be left wondering where is the experimental push forward, where is the progression in this art/technology hybrid.A.MUse
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