here - Leonardo Electronic Almanac

LEA is a publication of Leonardo/ISAST.
vol 18 no 3
Volume Editors Lanfranco Aceti, Janis Jefferies,
Irini Papadimitriou / Editors Jonathan Munro and Özden Şahin
Touch and Go is published in collaboration with Watermans and Goldsmiths
College in occasion of the Watermans’ International Festival of Digital Art,
2012, which coincides with the Olympics and Paralympics in London. The
issue explores the impact of technology in art as well as the meaning, possibilities and issues around human interaction and engagement. Touch and
Go investigates interactivity and participation, as well as light art and new
media approaches to the public space as tools that foster engagement and
shared forms of participation.
Touch and
Go
Copyright 2012 ISAST
Editorial Address
Leonardo Electronic Almanac
Leonardo Electronic Almanac
Volume 18 Issue 3
Sabanci University, Orhanli – Tuzla, 34956
August 2012
Istanbul, Turkey
ISSN 1071-4391
ISBN 978-1-906897-18-5
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The ISBN is provided by Goldsmiths, University of London.
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Web
Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Volume 18 Issue 3
» www.leoalmanac.org
Editor in Chief
» www.twitter.com/LEA_twitts
Lanfranco Aceti [email protected]
» www.flickr.com/photos/lea_gallery
Touch and Go
» www.facebook.com/pages/Leonardo-ElectronicCo-Editor
Almanac/209156896252
Özden Şahin [email protected]
Managing Editor
Copyright © 2012
John Francescutti [email protected]
Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts,
Sciences and Technology
Art Director
Deniz Cem Önduygu [email protected]
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The individual articles included in the issue are © 2012 ISAST.
2
LEONARDOELECTRONICALMANAC VOL 18 NO 3
ISSN 1071- 4391
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Volume Editors
Lanfranco Aceti, Janis Jefferies, Irini Papadimitriou
Editors
Jonathan Munro, Özden Şahin
E D I T O R I A L
E D I T O R I A L
Watermans International
Festival of Digital Art, 2012
Touch and Go is a title that I chose together with
and indeed extensive and in-depth taxonomy that
Irini Papadimitriou for this LEA special issue. On my
seemed to have as its main effect that of pushing
deliver a documentation of contemporary art research,
becomes the background to an experiential event that
thought and aesthetic able to stand on the interna-
is characterized by impermanence and memorization.
tional scene.
It is a process in which thousands of people engage,
capture data, memorize and at times memorialize the
For this reason I wish to thank Prof. Janis Jefferies
event and re-process, mash-up, re-disseminate and
and Irini Papadimitriou together with Jonathan Munro
re-contextualize the images within multiple media
and Özden Şahin for their efforts. The design is by
contexts.
Deniz Cem Önduygu who as LEA’s Art Director continues to deliver brilliantly designed issues.
The possibility of capturing, viewing and understand-
part with this title I wanted to stress several aspects
these experimental and innovative art forms – through
ing the entire mass of data produced by these aes-
Lanfranco Aceti
that characterize that branch of contemporary art in
the emphasis of their technological characterization –
thetic sensory experiences becomes an impossible
Editor in Chief, Leonardo Electronic Almanac
Director, Kasa Gallery
love with interaction, be it delivered by allowing the
away from the fine arts and into a ghetto of isolation
task due to easy access to an unprecedented amount
audience to touch the art object or by becoming part
and self-reference. Steve Dietz’s question – Why Have
of media and an unprecedented multiplication of data,
of a complex electronic sensory experience in which
There Been No Great Net Artists?
the artwork may somehow respond and touch back
swered, but I believe that there are changes that are
1 – remains unan-
as Lev Manovich argues.
2
1. “Nevertheless, there is this constant apparently inherent
happening – albeit slowly – that will see the sensorial
In Digital Baroque: New Media Art and Cinematic
need to try and categorize and classify. In Beyond Inter-
and technical elements become important parts of
Folds Timothy Murray writes that “the retrospective
face, an exhibition I organized in 1998, I ‘datamined’ ten
With the above statement, I wanted to deliberately
the aesthetic aspects of the art object as much as the
nature of repetition and digital coding—how initial im-
categories: net.art, storytelling, socio-cultural, biographical,
avoid the terminology ‘interactive art’ in order to not
brush technique of Vincent Willem van Gogh or the
ages, forms, and narratives are refigured through their
tools, performance, analog-hybrid, interactive art, interfac-
fall in the trap of characterizing art that has an ele-
sculptural fluidity of Henry Moore.
contemplative re-citation and re-presentation—con-
ers + artificers. David Ross, in his lecture here at the CAD-
sistently inscribes the new media in the memory and
RE Laboratory for New Media, suggested 21 characteris-
in return.
ment of interaction as principally defined by the word
3
interactive; as if this were the only way to describe
Hence the substitution in the title of this special issue
contemporary art that elicits interactions and re-
of the word interactivity with the word touch, with the
sponses between the artist, the audience and the art
desire of looking at the artwork as something that can
The difference between memorization and memori-
Rhizome has developed a list of dozens of keyword
objects.
be touched in material and immaterial ways, interfered
alization may be one of the further aspects in which
categories for its ArtBase. Lev Manovich, in his Computing
with, interacted with and ‘touched and reprocessed’
the interaction evolves – beyond the artwork but still
Culture: Defining New Media Genres symposium focused
with the help of media tools but that can also ‘touch’
linked to it. The memory of the event with its happen-
on the categories of database, interface, spatialization,
writing a paper on the sub-distinctions within con-
us back in return, both individually and collectively. I
ing and performative elements, its traces and records
and navigation. To my mind, there is no question that such
temporary media arts and tracing the debates that
also wanted to stress the fast interrelation between
both official and unofficial, the re-processing and
categorization is useful, especially in a distributed system
distinguished between electronic art, robotic art, new
the art object and the consumer in a commodified
mash-ups; all of these elements become part of and
like the Internet. But, in truth, to paraphrase Barnett New-
media art, digital art, computer art, computer based
relationship that is based on immediate engagement
contribute to a collective narrative and pattern of en-
man, “ornithology is for the birds what categorization is
art, internet art, web art… At some point of that analy-
and fast disengagement, touch and go. But a fast food
gagement and interaction.
for the artist.” Perhaps especially at a time of rapid change
sis and argument I realized that the common thread
approach is perhaps incorrect if we consider as part of
that characterized all of these sub-genres of aesthetic
the interactivity equation the viewers’ mediated pro-
These are issues and problems that the artists and
toolsets, it is critical that description follow practice and
representations was the word art and it did not matter
cesses of consumption and memorization of both the
writers of this LEA special issue have analyzed from a
not vice versa.” Steve Dietz, Why Have There Been No
(at least not that much in my opinion) if the manifesta-
image and the public experience.
variety of perspectives and backgrounds, offering to
Great Net Artists? Web Walker Daily 28, April 4, 2000,
I remember when I was at Central Saint Martins
electronic or painterly, analogue or digital.
memorization of its antecedents, cinema and video.”
tics of net art. Stephen Wilson, a pioneering practitioner,
has a virtual – albeit well-ordered – jungle of categories.
and explosive growth of the underlying infrastructure and
the reader the opportunity of a glimpse into the com-
tion was material or immaterial, conceptual or physical,
4
generate public shows in which the space of the city
Nevertheless, the problems and issues that interactiv-
plexity of today’s art interactions within the contem-
ity and its multiple definitions and interpretations in
porary social and cultural media landscapes.
http://bit.ly/QjEWlY (accessed July 1, 2012).
2. This link to a Google+ conversation is an example of this
argument on massive data and multiple media engage-
I increasingly felt that this rejection of the technical
the 20th and 21st century raise cannot be overlooked,
component would be necessary in order for the elec-
as much as cannot be dismissed the complex set of
tronic-robotic-new-media-digital-computer-based-
emotive and digital interactions that can be set in mo-
Touch and Go is one of those issues that are truly
internet art object to re-gain entry within the field of
tion by artworks that reach and engage large groups
born from a collaborative effort and in which all edi-
Cinematic Folds (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
fine art. Mine was a reaction to an hyper-fragmented
of people within the public space. These interactions
tors have contributed and worked hard in order to
Press, 2008), 138.
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ments across diverse platforms: http://bit.ly/pGgDsS
(accessed July 1, 2012).
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3. Timothy Murray, Digital Baroque: New Media Art and
5
E D I T O R I A L
E D I T O R I A L
Touch and Go:
The Magic Touch Of
Contemporary Art
Audiences are invited to become a living pendulum.
elsewhere, what are the expectations of the audience,
The apparatus itself can create geometric images to
the viewer, the spectator, and the engager? How do
represent harmonies and intervals in musical scales.
exhibitions and festival celebrations revisit the tradi-
Finally, Joseph Farbrook’s Strata-caster explores the
tional roles of performer/artist and audiences? Can
topography of power, prestige, and position through
they facilitate collaborative approaches to creativity?
an art installation, which exists in the virtual world of
How do sound works get curated in exhibitions that
Second Life, a place populated by over 50,000 people
include interactive objects, physical performances and
at any given moment.
screens? What are the issues around technical sup-
Goldsmiths, as the leading academic partner, has been
cluding collaboration and social networking, affecting
working closely with Watermans in developing a se-
physical forms of display and publishing?
port? How are the ways of working online and off, in-
ries of seminars and events to coincide with the 2012
Festival. I am the artistic director of Goldsmiths Digital
Some, like Gail Pearce’s Going with the Flow was
Studios (GDS), which is dedicated to multi-disciplinary
South Wales summer for 50 years, I want to end with
to Watermans International Festival of Digital Art,
made because rowing at the 2012 Olympics will be
research and practice across arts, technologies and
a quote used by the Australia, Sydney based conjurers
2012. It has been a monumental achievement by the
held near Egham and it was an opportunity to respond
cultural studies. GDS engages in a number of research
Michele Barker and Anna Munster
curator Irini Papadimitriou to pull together 6 ground-
and create an installation offering the public a more
projects and provides its own postgraduate teaching
breaking installations exploring interactivity, viewer
interactive way of rowing, while remaining on dry land,
through the PhD in Arts and Computational Technol-
Illusions occur when the physical reality does not
participation, collaboration and the use or importance
not only watching but also participating and having
ogy, the MFA in Computational Studio Arts and the
match the perception.
of new and emerging technologies in Media and Digi-
an effect on the images by their actions. On the other
MA in Computational Art. Irini is also an alumni of the
tal Art.
6
As I write this in Wollongong during the wettest New
It is with some excitement that I write this preface
1
hand, Michele Barker and Anna Munster’s collabora-
MFA in Curating (Goldsmiths, University of London)
tive Hocus Pocus will be a 3-screen interactive art-
and it has been an exceptional pleasure working with
The world is upside down in so many alarming ways
but perhaps 2012 at Watermans will offer some mo-
From an initial call in December 2010 over 500 sub-
work that uses illusionistic and performative aspects
her generating ideas and platforms that can form an
mentary ideas of unity in diversity that the Games
missions arrived in our inboxes in March 2011. It was
of magical tricks to explore human perception, senses
artistic legacy long after the Games and the Festival
signify and UNITY proposes. Such anticipation and
rather an overwhelming and daunting task to review,
and movement. As they have suggested, “Magic – like
have ended. The catalogue and detailed blogging/
such promise!
look and encounter a diverse range of submissions
interactivity – relies on shifting the perceptual rela-
documentation and social networking will be one of
that were additionally asked to reflect on the London
tions between vision and movement, focusing and
our responsibilities but another of mine is to is to en-
Janis Jefferies
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Submissions
diverting attention at key moments. Participants will
sure that the next generation of practitioners test the
Professor of Visual Arts
came from all over the world, from Africa and Korea,
become aware of this relation as their perception
conventions of the white cube gallery, reconsider and
Goldsmiths
Austria and Australia, China and the UK, Latvia and
catches up with the audiovisual illusion(s)” (artists
revaluate artistic productions, their information struc-
University of London, UK
Canada and ranged from the spectacularly compli-
statement, February 2011). Ugochukwu-Smooth
ture and significance; engage in the museum sector
cated to the imaginatively humorous. Of course each
Nzewi and Emeka Ogboh are artists who also work
whilst at the same time challenging the spaces for the
selector, me, onedotzero, London’s leading digital
collaboratively and working under name of One-
reception of ‘public’ art. In addition those who wish to
media innovation organization, the curatorial team at
Room Shack. UNITY is built like a navigable labyrinth
increase an audience‘s interaction and enjoyment of
Athens Video Art Festival and Irini herself, had particu-
to reflect the idea of unity in diversity that the Games
their work have a firm grounding in artistic practice
lar favorites and attachments but the final grouping
signify. In an increasingly globalized world they are
and computing skills.
I believe does reflect a sense of the challenges and
interested in the ways in which the discourse of glo-
23rd Dec 2011, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
opportunities that such an open competition offers. It
balization opens up and closes off discursive space
Consequently, I am particularly excited that the
is though a significant move on behalf of the curator
whereas Suguru Goto is a musician who creates
2012 Festival Watermans will introduce a mentor-
that each work is given the Watermans space for 6
real spaces that are both metaphysical and spiritual.
ing scheme for students interested in participatory
weeks which enables people to take part in the cul-
Cymatics is a kinetic sculpture and sound installa-
interactive digital / new media work. The mentoring
tural activities surrounding each installation, fulfilling,
tion. Wave patterns are created on liquid as a result
scheme involves video interviews with the 6 selected
promoting and incorporating the Cultural Olympiad
of sound vibrations generated by visitors. Another
artists and their work, briefly introduced earlier in this
Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about our
themes and values ‘inspiration, participation and cre-
sound work is Phoebe Hui’s Granular Graph, a sound
preface, and discussions initiated by the student. As
Everyday Deceptions (New York: Henry Holt and Company,
ativity.’
instrument about musical gesture and its notation.
so often debated in our seminars at Goldsmiths and
2010), 8.
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1. Stephen L. Malnik and Susana Martinez-Conde, Sleights of
7
C O N T E N T S
C O N T E N T S
Leonardo Electronic Almanac
Volume 18 Issue 3
4
EDITORIAL Lanfranco Aceti
6
INTRODUCTION Janis Jefferies
10
122
FÉLICIE D’ESTIENNE D’ORVES in conversation with Claire Le Gouellec
130
44
SUGURU GOTO, CYMATICS, 2011 – AN ACTION SHARING
PRODUCTION Simona Lodi & Luca Barbeni
140
154
INTERACTIVITY, PLAY AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT Tine Bech
UNITY: IN PURSUIT OF THE HUMANISTIC SPIRIT One-Room Shack
164
176
AS IF BY MAGIC Anna Gibbs
60
BLACK BOXES AND GOD-TRICKS: AN ACCOUNT OF USING
MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEMS TO PHOTOGRAPH CONSCIOUSNESS
IN THE CONTEXT OF A DIGITAL ARTS PRACTICE Eleanor Dare
102
190
200
CO-AUTHORED NARRATIVE EXPERIENCE: AFFECTIVE, EMBODIED
INTERACTION THROUGH COMBINING THE DIACHRONIC WITH THE
SYNCHRONISTIC Carol MacGillivray & Bruno Mathez
212
UNTITLED Phoebe Hui
8
IN SEARCH OF A DIGITAL MASTERPIECE (OR TWO): STANZA
TELEMATIC TOUCH AND GO
Ellen Pearlman, Newman Lau & Kenny Lozowski
224
GOING WITH THE FLOW
HAPTIC UNCONSCIOUS: A PREHISTORY OF AFFECTIVITY IN
MOHOLY-NAGY’S PEDAGOGY AT THE NEW BAUHAUS
GAIL PEARCE in conversation with Jonathan Munro
Charissa N. Terranova
THE SWEET SPOT Graeme Crowley in collaboration with The Mustard and
STRATA-CASTER: AN EXPLORATION INTO THE TOPOGRAPHY OF
POWER, PRESTIGE, AND POSITION Joseph Farbrook
+ JOSEPH FARBROOK in conversation with Emilie Giles
114
INTERACTION’S ROLE AS CATALYST OF SYNTHESIZED
INTELLIGENCE IN ART Judson Wright
Maria Chatzichristodoulou [aka Maria X]
236
THE GESTALT OF STREET TEAM: GUERRILLA TACTICS, GIFS, AND
THE MUSEUM Charissa N. Terranova
240
BIOGRAPHIES
250
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Blood Orchestra
108
THE STORY OF PARCIVAL: DESIGNING INTERACTION FOR AN
INTERDISCIPLINARY DANCE PERFORMANCE Gesa Friederichs-Büttner
& Benjamin Walther-Franks
+ PHOEBE HUI in conversation with Jonathan Munro
98
INCARNATED SOUND IN MUSIC FOR FLESH II: DEFINING GESTURE
IN BIOLOGICALLY INFORMED MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Marco Donnarumma
HOKUSPOKUS Michele Barker & Anna Munster
58
84
LIGHT, DATA, AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Dave Colangelo & Patricio Davila
+ ONE-ROOM SHACK COLLECTIVE in conversation with Evelyn Owen
72
SCENOCOSME: BODY AND CLOUDS
Grégory Lasserre & Anaïs met den Ancxt
Collective
52
THE EMPOWERING POTENTIAL OF RE-STAGING Birgitta Cappelen &
Anders-Petter Andersson
+ SUGURU GOTO in conversation with Paul Squires
30
GEOMETRY
WHERE IS LOURENÇO MARQUES?: A MOSAIC OF VOICES IN A 3D
VIRTUAL WORLD Rui Filipe Antunes
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A R T I C L E
A R T I C L E
SUGURU GOTO
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CYMATICS, 2011
An Action Sharing production
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A R T I C L E
A R T I C L E
THE WORK
S im o na Lo d i &
Luca B a rben i
Simona Lodi
Co-founder and art director of Share Festival, Share
Prize and Action Sharing
Luca Barbeni
Curator, Share Festival and Action Sharing
Suguru is a composer/performer, an inventor and
The sound created is not only audible, but is also per-
research. Action Sharing has created a programme
a multimedia artist from Japan. Now based in Paris,
ceived by visitors through their bodies as a subsonic
‘shared’ with the local Turin territory to create a mul-
he is highly connected to technical experimentation
frequency. The physical perception of the rooms is
tidisciplinary platform that is also interdisciplinary at
in the artistic field and to the extension of the existing
presented as a natural effect of the material elements.
potentialities in the human-machine relation. In his
the same time. The goal is to build a bridge between
art and science and technology, as an opportunity for
works, new technologies are mixed up in interactive
Thus, visitors’ experience of the works is both visual
installations and experimental performances.
and acoustic, but also extra sensorial at the same time,
knowledge growth and artistic creation.
at the subconscious level.
The idea of Cymatics was inspired by the earthquake
and tsunami disaster in Japan, on March 11, 2011.
THE CONCEPT
The installation makes use of cymatic, a young scientific discipline with very old roots, which explores how
The heuristic model used is that of assigning a specific role to artists, scientists and technicians within
Cymatics is an interactive kinetic sculpture which
vibration, and hence sound, can influence matter; that
conveys a holistic view of nature by bringing together
is it studies the morphological effects generated by
the laboratory, so as to promote critical analysis and
symbolic elements to create harmonies in a techno-
sound waves on matter.
contribute to the art-technology debate by building
logical context.
on a cultural experience that is unique in Italy. It is
Sound is transmitted to the human ear by air vibra-
an occasion for direct dialogue between knowledge,
The sculpture consists of two distinct, cube-shaped
tions from a speaker. Electric signals are changed via
perception, aesthetics, technology, science and com-
rooms, dedicated to two different material elements.
the speaker’s magnet into physical vibration, and this
munication.
Each work is created by a liquid – water and non-
oscillating part makes it change into air vibration. By
Newtonian fluid – and the vibration of sound. The
acting on a liquid in the oscillating part, vibrations that
sculpture raises a question about the casual connec-
usually cannot be seen are actually seen as a physical
The specific field of study of the Action Sharing
platform is focused on the relationship between
tion between the visual and aural senses.
reaction. For a periodic motion, the liquid produces a
art, science and technology. As that relationship has
periodic pattern. If sound is simple, it will generate a
gradually emerged and been accepted in each of the
Cymatics creates diverse perceptual effects through
clear pattern. A pattern will become complicated, if a
respective fields, remediation has taken place,
the vibrations of different materials, which are placed
sound is complicated. Sound and sound waves change
ing within the same aesthetic framework comprising
on a plane surface activated by a vibrating motor. The
the vibration, while the pattern changes with the
other forms of artistic expression tied to computers,
vibrations are created by sound waves, with different
vibration in the natural environment. Spectators can
such as digital art, net art, multimedia and electronic
patterns formed depending on the liquid state of the
hear sound, but can also feel the vibration with their
art, all of which are closely tied to representation,
water or non-Newtonian fluid.
bodies.
1 fall-
though they use completely different approaches to
expression and different tools. By straddling the line
Two different rooms house the water and non-Newtonian fluid installations, which the public visit in suc-
between various disciplines and making use of living,
ACTION SHARING
organic matter, computerized tools, and mechatronic
second is pure white, lit by a strong bright light. In the
Cymatics is the second project to be produced by the
precise categorization, as they fall within a specific
middle of each room is a cube containing the vibration
Action Sharing platform. First launched in 2007, the
artistic theoretical framework that embraces both art
system and the liquid element.
aim of Action Sharing is to connect and bring together
and technology. From a critical point of view, Action
representatives from the field of scientific experimen-
Sharing takes its inspiration from an aesthetic move-
cession. The first room is completely dark, while the
12
robots, the projects developed by Action Sharing defy
Visitors can personally create their own visual patterns
tation, from the world of art and creativity, and from
ment that ever since the end of the 1960s has focused
Photos by Pablo Balbontin.
in each room by interacting with an interface on a
the education sector, to produce complex works of art
on the idea of developing collaborations between art-
Shoot at Camera di commercio di Torino, 2011.
tablet.
that are also an opportunity for technical and scientific
ists and engineers. The movement reached its highest
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A R T I C L E
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A R T I C L E
A R T I C L E
how he can confront technology, while remaining
The Torino Chamber of Commerce has embraced
aware of its dangers. Technology itself does not cre-
Action Sharing as a channel for investment in this new
ate a new sensibility, but the interaction between
vision of culture, where art is not confined within the
humans and machines can do so. Once we accept the
walls of art galleries and museums. In this vision, art is
notion of interaction, we can exploit the new possibili-
opened to the business world and to scientific-tech-
level of practical expression in Experiments in Art and
Such an approach concentrates on the social front,
ties it offers better. The artist will no longer express
nological research.
Technology (E.A.T.), an association founded to foster
focusing on artistic practices and on the very role of
his traditional thoughts and emotions, but interact
such collaborations, established by the extraordinary
art in the historic, economic and technological context,
with the machine.”
The first project produced as a pilot by Action Sharing
Bill Klüver, an engineer who in 1960 had worked on a
instead of art in isolation (as in the Romantic myth).
was the Orchestra Meccanica Marinetti (Marinetti Me-
project by Jean Tinguely, and Robert Rauschenberg
Towards the end of the 1960s, however, an anti-
chanical Orchestra) by artist Angelo Comino–Motor in
in 1967 after the enthusiasm generated by 9 Evenings:
technology ideological stance came to the fore, as the
Theatre and Engineering, a series of performance art
fear emerged that technology would do away with
presentations that united artists and engineers in New
SOME BACKGROUND
art. The aim was to create a mechanical orchestra, in
which mechatronic technologies played a dual role: as
the creative act of the artist. This leads us to question
Action Sharing was founded in 2007 by Simona Lodi
whether there might be limits and tools or methods
and Chiara Garibaldi. The platform responded to the
both the business and academic research worlds to
and processes that are acceptable, and others that are
need to create a productive arm of Piemonte Share,
explore new solutions which could then be re-sold to
It would be a nightmare to attempt to taxonomize
off-limits due to a fear that they overstep the line of
which for seven years now has produced the Piemon-
the market. A secondary objective that was achieved
such art, as Jens Hauser puts it, as can be seen from
technical-scientific dissemination, thus losing sight of
te Share Festival, dedicated to art in the digital age.
the critical debates and texts of curators, scholars and
the proper aims of art.
York City.
2
a language of creative expression, and as a stimulus for
was that of creating a broad, interdisciplinary creative
community – something of great long-term value for
artists of the calibre of Jens Hauser, Roy Ascott, Peter
The conditions for the project’s development came
the local territory itself.
Weibel, Gerfried Stocker, Franco Torriani, Piero Gilardi,
Art inspires and is inspired by the technologies of its
Jill Scott, and Edward A. Shanken, to name but a few.
time. It makes use of them with the greatest cultural
that the project was established in Turin, a city whose
But is it more important to give a label or to promote
freedom, maintaining a critical and political distance,
system is changing profoundly, as a completely new
percussionist robots that played steel drums ‘live,’
an art that goes beyond the boundaries of disciplinary
as well as a poetical divide. Rather than being enslaved
approach is taken to the expertise of the past, such as
under the direction of a performer. The orchestra,
fields and experiments in a syncretic way with differ-
by technology, art questions and shapes its potential
in the automotive sector, for which the city as an eco-
whose name pays tribute to the futurist poet Filippo
ent forms of artistic expression? This is the issue that
prospects, developments and paradoxes. As Suguru
nomic unit has now become a global player.
Tommaso Marinetti, represents a bridge between the
interests us. Collaboration between the worlds of
Goto says, “Today, the relationship between art and
city of Turin’s industrial past, and its future as a city
science and technology and art, and hence between
technology is a much closer one than it ever was in
of knowledge, driven by transformations currently
very different disciplines, opens up new opportuni-
the past. Likewise, technology is generally regarded as
underway.
ties, which by becoming integrated and hybrid enrich
something that enriches our lives, but this does not al-
knowledge and research, and hence provide new tools
ways apply in the case of art. However, in some cases,
for art.
from the local context. It is no coincidence, in fact,
The Orchestra Meccanica Marinetti consisted of two
technological developments can trigger new artistic
genres. For instance, technological progress has led to
The issues raised and tackled by each Action Shar-
the creation of multimedia art and interactive art, and
ing project are more ingenious, and at the same time
artists have been able to profit from this development.
subtler, in both an artistic and scientific-technological
In recent times, this interaction has been increas-
sense, than in other approaches used in the contem-
ingly apparent in music. Although technology does
porary art industry. Artists that normally perform on
not invent a new art form by itself, it offers musicians
stage and exhibit in museums and art galleries can
many new choices. In this sense, the artist’s function
now find here in Italy, thanks to Action Sharing, new
is no longer that of conveying traditional values and
space for creative work in the research centers of cor-
thoughts. The artist is an intermediary who offers his
porations and universities, where together with engi-
audience new values and perceptions based on his
neers and computer scientists they can open up new,
interaction with technology.
Rather than being enslaved by
technology, art questions and shapes its
potential prospects, developments and
paradoxes.
innovative approaches that are based on the intersection between art, science and technology.
An attitude of naive optimism towards technology is
no longer possible. Rather, the artist should consider
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THE FORMAT: COMPETITION AND JUDGES
CYMATICS: THE PROJECT CONCEPT
The Action Sharing 2 competition was launched in
Materials such as water and non-Newtonian fluid are
Chladni published his “Discoveries in the Theory of
relationships, the feedback of that outcome into the
2010, organized by Simona Lodi, artistic director, Chi-
brought together into spaces where they are trans-
Sound.” He and other thinkers laid the foundations for
system generates communication, while at the same
ara Garibaldi, general director, and Luca Barbeni, in
formed by sound waves into shapes and forms.
the field of physics that later would come to be called
time creating a viewpoint for observing communica-
acoustics, the science of sound.
tion.
production.
From a formal point of view, the project was found to
Attracting entries from artists all around the world, the
be complete and consistent, and capable of conveying
Chladni’s greatest achievement was that of devis-
ideas competition was an open call for art projects
its message tied to a harmonic vision of the elements
ing a way of rendering the effects that sound waves
that make syncretic use of mechatronic elements,
of nature, demonstrating the morphogenic effect of
have on physical matter visible, and discovering their
building connections between the various areas of
sound waves (cymatic).
tendency to create geometrical patterns, thus establishing the science of cymatics. Two hundred years on,
Suguru originally started testing this by himself alone.
Suguru imagines a process that expresses a height-
Suguru Goto has created an interactive kinetic sculp-
It took about one year to get sufficient results, before
ened awareness of the problems of environmental
ture based on his theories.
interest focused on by Action Sharing – art, music,
drama, performance and dance.
The panel of judges, consisting of Guido Bolatto, Mas-
disharmony, presenting us with a vision rooted in
he then started working with Action Sharing and the
Polytechnic of Turin. Work got underway in February
simo Banzi, Federico De Sario, Bruce Sterling, Pietro
Japanese philosophy, where elements representing
This field of study based on vibrations sensationally
2011 when the artist Suguru Goto came to Turin for an
Terna and Andrea Tonoli, declared the Japanese artist
nature and technology do not contrast or conflict, but
demonstrates the relationship between form and
initial encounter with the engineers Andrea Tonoli and
Suguru Goto and his project Cymatics winner of the
instead coexist in mutual harmony.
frequency – the relationship that lies at the heart of
Andrea Festini from the Polytechnic of Turin’s Inter-
all existence. Sound generates shape. Recent stud-
disciplinary Mechatronics Laboratory (LIM). In that first
2010 Action Sharing Prize.
The project shows the presence of syncretism in its
ies of wave movement confirm that there is a nexus
meeting they looked at the feasibility studies for the
The open call format was chosen to make participa-
ability to use different media and languages in recon-
between waves, substance and form, which affects all
project and the first testing stages that would be car-
tion in the competition as open and directly accessible
ciling elements belonging to different disciplines and
living organisms.
as possible for artists, without setting a specific theme.
styles.
ried out over the following nine months, while identifying the equipment and costs needed to produce the
Instead, focus was placed on the use of certain technologies, as identified by the Polytechnic of Turin.
Research and experiments involving wave frequenWater: When medium-frequency sound is produced,
cies all confirm, without exception, the studies and
cubes for the two stage works.
concentric circles are formed in water at regular inter-
experiences of ancient civilizationss, which believed
The next step involved launching production of pro-
Suguru Goto proved to be the right artist for the com-
vals. The interval between circles becomes shorter as
that every sound, and hence every vibrating wave, was
totypes on the basis of Suguru Goto’s blueprints, with
petitive production initiative because he imagines a
the frequency increases.
connected with a spatial form, which it generated and
the specialist craftsman Silvano Bauducco engaged for
kept alive and in movement.
the production of wood and iron stage elements. The
process that expresses a heightened awareness of the
20
PRODUCTION AND INNOVATION: APPLIED RESEARCH REPORT.
problems of environmental disharmony, presenting
Non-Newtonian fluid: A specific feature of non-New-
us with a vision rooted in Japanese philosophy, where
tonian fluid is that is has variable viscosity depending
The rooms designed by Suguru are spaces for com-
elements representing nature and technology do not
on the shear force applied. To create non-Newtonian
munication experience. Each room, like nature it-
began calculating the specifications for the project,
contrast or conflict, but instead coexist in mutual har-
fluid, substances such as corn starch and water need
self, conveys a message; it is when communication
and laboratory trials were run on the basis of test data.
mony. His project made use of the technical applied
to be mixed. Form gives rise to unpredictable struc-
matches the environment that the environment can
research elements requested by the Interdisciplinary
tures when sound (vibration) is loud and at a low fre-
communicate in a non-verbal way, through movement,
Manufacture of the two cubes for the stage works
Mechatronics Lab (LIM) of the Polytechnic of Turin.
quency, generating patterns akin to monstrous beings.
gestures, positions, smells and visions of the place of
was then begun. Chiara Garibaldi, as director of works,
The spectator is taken by surprise when the strange
interaction. Even if we cannot understand the intrinsic
and Luca Barbeni, as production co-ordinator, su-
form takes on extravagant shapes.
essence of the relationship between sound, matter
pervised the activities of the LIM and the craftsman
and human interaction, the reaction to interaction can
Silvano Bauducco, as they jointly worked on the initial
Tracing a thread from Pythagoras’ famous statement
be analyzed. The spectator’s interaction with sound
mechatronic assembly of the water cube.
that geometry is solidified music takes us to 1787,
and matter provides us with the tools for this analysis.
when the German jurist, musician and physicist Ernst
Once an outcome is obtained from the observation of
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In the meantime, testing was conducted for the second element chosen, the non-Newtonian fluid, for
endNotes
which further specifications and feasibility studies
were needed. The result was a positive outcome for
the prototype used.
At the same time, spectators could also hear the
Nature can be heard and listened to, but the sound it
1. Jay D. Bolter and Richard Grusin, Remediation, Under-
sound produced through the water and, via a camera
emits can also be heard by the body as vibrations, and
The LIM identified the need for four voice coil actua-
positioned on the wall, observe the oscillating pat-
seen through video screenings, as in the case of the
tors to make the water cube work; they were posi-
terns from different perspectives, as they were cap-
sculptures. The complexity of human perception thus
tioned beneath the steel basin located at the top of
tured and reproduced on a screen on the wall in front
finds sensorial acknowledgement in the interactive
ogy and Conceptual Art,” Leonardo 35, no. 4 (2002):
the cube.
of them.
installation, as the artist reflects on and explores just
433–438.
standing New Media (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press,
1999).
2. Edward A. Shanken, “Art in the Information Age: Technol-
what it is that sparks the encounter/clash of the visual
To achieve the outcomes desired by the artist, a coni-
The room housing the kinetic non-Newtonian fluid
cal structure proved necessary, instead of the circular
sculpture was instead painted all white, with spotlights
bibliography
and aural senses.
basin designed for the water cube. A subwoofer cone
placed on the ceiling so that spectators would be daz-
Introducing artists to technical-scientific contexts
was found to be the best conical structure for trans-
zled by the glare of the light.
is always a great challenge, especially considering
mitting the sound waves required for the project.
that there is no standard model, and in Italy not even
On the top of the cube in the room, four subwoofer
a precedent, to call on to foster co-operation, en-
Feasibility studies and tests confirmed the need to
cones were filled with a mixture of water and corn
counter and dialogue. If we compare the difficulties
use four conical elements, positioned at the top of the
starch.
faced, however, to the benefits obtained, what clearly
non-Newtonian fluid cube.
emerges is how the process enables artists to acquire
Sound and vibration were transmitted to speakers po-
knowledge and, in this case, produce a work of art,
Once the specifications were completed for both
sitioned on the front wall, thus amplifying the sound
while forging a great occasion for opening science and
cubes, the next, final stage of the project was begun,
effects produced by the non-Newtonian fluid moving
technology up to a much broader horizon of potential,
involving the composition of music. The artist used
inside the cones.
for the future of knowledge sharing. ■
Max/MSP/Jitter software to compose music for the
Roy Ascott (Edward A. Shanken, ed.), Telematic Embrace:
Visionary Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003).
Jay D. Bolter and Richard Grusin, Remediation, Understanding
New Media (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999).
Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Aesthetics (Dijon: Les Presses du
Réel, 1997).
Oliver Grau, Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2004).
Oliver Grau, ed., Media Art Histories (Cambridge, MA: The MIT
Press, 2007).
Jens Hauser, ed., L’Art Biotech (Nantes: Filigranes Éditions,
inaugural exhibition of Cymatics, held at Palazzo Bi-
2003).
rago di Borgaro in Turin.
CONCLUSIONS
Christiane Paul, Digital Art (London: Thames & Hudson,
The architect Chiara Garibaldi was in charge of design-
The work raises a question about the casual connec-
Frank Popper, Art of the Electronic Age (London: Thames and
ing the exhibition spaces and overseeing their produc-
tion between the visual and aural senses.
2003).
Hudson, 2003).
tion. Taking into consideration the artist’s description
Edward A. Shanken, “Art in the Information Age: Technology
of the rooms housing the water and non-Newtonian
In Japan, where the artist was born, it is believed that
and Conceptual Art,” in Conceptual Art: Theory, Myth and
fluid cubes, she identified the best scenic, structural
aesthetics and ancient philosophy seek harmony with
Practice, ed. Michael Corris (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
and chromatic solutions to create the two rooms for
nature. This belief is still alive and strong today.
versity Press, 2004).
the kinetic, multimedia sculptures.
Edward A. Shanken, “Art in the Information Age: Technology
On the other hand, as industrialization and technol-
and Conceptual Art,” Leonardo 35, no. 4 (2002): 433 –
ogy march forward in contemporary society, there
LINKS
painted all black so as to create a completely dark
is much debate over the need to think more about
http://www toshare.it
room, inviting the spectator to concentrate exclusively
ecology. The concept used by the artist for Cymatics
http://www.toshare.it/?page_id=328&lang=en
on the water’s surface.
revolves around the idea of “music to be seen and
http://www.toshare.it/cymatics/
visibility to be heard.” In other words, the underlying
http://www.toshare.it/OMM/
The room housing the kinetic water sculpture was
438.
Jill Scott, ed., Artist in Labs, Processes of Inquiry, Pap/DVD,
Via tablets contained in a console near the cube, the
idea on which the entire project is built focuses on the
public could interact with the work by choosing a
relationship between hearing nature and giving visual
track, and then stand back to watch the original geo-
form to its elements, and the effects of such percep-
credits
metric patterns generated in the water.
tion on people who interact with the work.
Photos by Pablo Balbontin. Shoot at Camera di Commercio di
(Wien, Springer-Verlag and Zürich, HGK, 2006).
Peter Weibel and Jeffrey Shaw, Future Cinema (Cambridge,
MA: The MIT Press, 2003).
Stephen Wilson, Information Arts: Intersections of Art, Science
and Technology (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2002).
Torino (2011).
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I N T E R V I E W
SUGURU GOTO
I N T E R V I E W
the viewer to explore what is essentially a natural phe-
to all. The computer may be regarded as the symbol
is rarely encountered.
of our democratic society, inasmuch as it is a product
In the work, sound waves transform water into
Pau l Squires
“We are living in a time when technology is accessible
nomenon – though accentuated by technology – that
geometric shapes. The result is something of an orchestration of nature; hence, ‘Cymatics.’ Goto started
development by considering music that could be seen,
and images that could be heard, creating a performance that both challenges and immerses the senses.
The sound is generated by a user-controlled computer,
with the output – speaker vibration – expressed as a
wave motion as it is transmitted to a liquid. The liquid
In a gallery is a massive, almost overwhelming, box
makes a pattern which vibrates; the pattern itself
with an inviting little door. Stepping into this room
is determined by the configuration of the software
gives the guest the ability to control nature – to move
at the time. By contacting a liquid during oscilla-
liquid simply through controlling sounds that the liquid
The complexity
of perception is
recognised anew here,
and it is re-expressed
on this work as an
interactive installation.
be an instrument of power and authority.” Goto cites
the changing relationship between artist and technology as being most evident in music, where technology
has offered musicians many new possibilities. In surrendering the limit of possibility to the machine, the
artist becomes “... an intermediary who offers their
audience new values and perceptions based on their
interaction with technology. Artists should rather consider how they can confront technology, while remaining aware of its dangers.”
Next for Goto is further work with robots, where he
tion, vibration becomes visible as a physical reaction
has been building a robot orchestra, as well as creat-
‘hears.’ While this may seem to be the preserve of sci-
to sound. This results in a simple pattern for simple
ing an interface for a project where sound and video
ence and fiction – if not science fiction – it isn’t. The
sounds, and a complex pattern for complex sounds. As
are controlled by virtual music instruments in real time.
room holds Suguru Goto’s work Cymatics.
Goto confirms, the results can be staggering to watch.
Goto’s RoboticMusic, shown at the 2009 Venice Bien-
“It is interesting to closely observe this natural phenomCymatics is an installation which plays carefully with
nale, firmly positioned the artist in this area. Goto’s
enon which is artificially made. The complexity of per-
ability to connect the natural and the artificial across
nature. While this play is overtly natural, the way in
ception is recognised anew here, and it is re-expressed
institutions equip themselves with larger computers
physical and sensory experiences is something to
which nature is manipulated in the work, through a
on this work as an interactive installation.”
in accordance with their administrative requirements.
sample, particularly if it opens up an understanding of
computer, is highly covert.
Yet these commercially-produced devices are aimed
the sensory perceptions that often lay dormant within
In developing Cymatics, Goto spent a year on his
at the mass market, rather than at the individual art-
us. ■
Suguru Goto is, in his own words, “... a composer, a
own, testing the system to deliver the right results,
ist who wishes to develop original ideas based on an
performer, an inventor and a multimedia artist and
before winning the Turin Chamber of Commerce Ac-
imaginary world of their own making. Even if the artist
a Japanese artist.” Now based in Paris, a common
tion Sharing project award, which led him to finish
knows how to program a computer, their possibilities
thread running through his work is an experimen-
the work in conjunction with the city’s Polytechnic
are limited by the computer’s operating system and by
tal use of technology in art, and the pushing of the
University. This enabled him to fully test the system
the power of the machine. [The artist] might create
boundaries that define the relationship between man
with the University’s mechanics department. Such is
a controller using sensors and a circuit of their own
and machine. These ideas surface in work which mix
the delicate, intricate nature of the work that galleries
design, but these signals end up being treated by the
installation and performance.
are usually requested to build a space specifically for
computer. The artist has to be aware of the fact that
Paul Squires is the Managing Director of Perini, an integrated
it, in order for the elements to work correctly and for
creativity is always reliant on commercial considera-
digital business based in Oxford. It comprises of three brands,
A kinetic sculpture and sound installation, Cymatics
the audience to truly appreciate the experience. Goto
tions.”
Perera (an agency covering digital, mobile and social media);
expresses Goto’s vision of nature through symbolic
is adamant that producing Cymatics required as much
elements within a technological context; the work
knowledge of computing as it did of mechanics and
creates a space that is, as Goto says, “... metaphysi-
sound design.
cal and spiritual at the same time. A place where art
is a bridge between the material and the spiritual,
28
that is available world-wide. At the same time, it can
“The problem confronting artists who work with in-
Xpeso (an online display advertising solution for publishers),
“Likewise, we have to be selective with regard to the
but is perhaps most well-known for Imperica, an online maga-
overwhelming mass of information surrounding us.
zine covering the intersection of art, brands, advertising, and
Otherwise, we will succumb to the totalitarianism
digital culture.
of the media. If we are to retain a certain amount of
between technology and nature, and between the
teractive media is the use of commercially-produced
individuality, we have to be aware of these manipula-
With its long-form editorial proposition that puts people first
humanities and science.” As Goto’s homeland of Japan
computers. Very few of them build their machines
tive processes. This is not the case with many artists,
and is not afraid to be controversial, Imperica has covered
has a strong history of combining ecology and tech-
from scratch. Individuals tend to purchase computers
which is why many artistic creations are banal and
topics including automata, dubstep, Facebook, photography,
nology in a harmonious co-existence, Cymatics invites
that have evolved from marketing strategies, while
conformist.”
and cats with thumbs. www.imperica.com
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