Week 14: Final Presentation

Introduction
Gelap is derived from Malay it means darkness. Our walking installation only happens at night or during rainy weather so long the sky is dimmed.

Concept
To show that internally we are are the same, externally we are different as human beings by using cost effective materials. There is no way to accurately convey the experience other than to have it and can’t be photographed or filmed.

The Idea
Walking around the art district whilst portraying skeletons of different movements using waterproof LED lights on a transparent plastic from our umbrella.

• Using cost-effective materials to send our message
• Outsiders will give mixed reactions
• Approach us when they wonder what is it about
• Experience it for themselves

Using LED Strips:

• Showing the form of the skeletal movements  
• Message conveyed will be more powerful as compared to in the day.
• To switch on, at the umbrella handle

Programmes used: BLENDER.ORG

Two softwares, specially developed from Blender software (3D simulation) and Live/MaxForLive (light and sound creation programming) which are connected to the LED lights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY7nsMHpNFQ

The Launch

• 7pm - 11pm @ Chijmes GrassPatch

Why Chijmes? 

• CHIJMES at Victoria Street – entertainment, history, architecture and beauty in one complex that's in the heart of the city.

Artist Reference: Groupe LAPS (France)

The 3D simulations of kinetic animations + the modelling of the site deliver precise plans of the systems required to accurately fix the keyframes in space.

A jaw is clamped onto one of the

keyframe tubes. These jaws are then fixed to a metallic structure adapted to each building in an adjustable way respecting keyframes’ positions inspired from the 3D simulations.

Based in France, Groupe LAPS is a collective of artists who use light in urban environments to tell stories.

Image Ref: http://inhabitat.com/key-frames-dancing-figures-light-up-the-night-with-low-energy-leds/keyframes_groupelaps_light-stick-figures/

Image Ref: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/lumiere-2016-field-studio-discuss-their-audio-visual-sculpture-spectra-3-as-the-light-festival-arrives-in-london/

Through micro-stories weaved upon the stately National Museum of Singapore facade, KEYFRAMES offers narration in the city – urban stories where bodies and their movements play main roles. Part animation and part moving sculpture, the LED figures and their routine imbue static buildings with energy and excitement. This new installation – part of the KEYFRAMES series – brings glimmers of the past to life.

Comprising video-makers, artists, musicians and lighting experts, the group creates technical pieces that veer between reality and fiction.

Budget

• Umbrella: $15 - $25
• Waterproof LED Lights Strip: $60
• Black cloth: $15
• Transparency plastic: $20
• Blender.org software: FREE

Total: $110 - $120

Image Ref: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/lumiere-2016-field-studio-discuss-their-audio-visual-sculpture-spectra-3-as-the-light-festival-arrives-in-london/

Comments/Suggestions given:

Will people actually come up to us seeing what they see at Chijmes grasspatch?

Is Chijmes a good location to be doing this?

Will there only be 2 of us doing this?

Is it ridiculous to walk under the rain - how do people approach you?

I think it would be better if we were to think through on our 'performance' for this installation and could have been better at explaining our concept.

Week 13: Reflection on New Media Art

Initially when I signed up for this module, I thought I would be doing more on softwares and developing from there. I did not know what was in for me and this module took me by surprise. However, new media art was something I never thought I would be touching on since I'm less of a technology person.

Despite all that, I have to thank Joey for imparting us the knowledge of the world of technology especially in this ever changing and fast paced society. I have indeed learnt so much from this module thought sometimes I may not understand what the different terms are (I guess I do now).

I do find it interesting that so many artists are in the world of new media art and the kind of works they can produce and even those that have yet to be produced, the possibilities are endless.

Week 12: Identity, MOUCHETTE.ORG

Mouchette.org is an interactive website created in 1996 by a pseudonymous character, an Amsterdam-based artist who calls herself "Mouchette". With her innocent salutation and claims to be "nearly thirteen" greeting us from the introduction page, what initially appears as a personal website of a pre-pubescent female artist, evolves into darker themes in the subsequent pages.

Mouchette is loosely based on a 1937 book by Georges Bernanos and the 1967 Robert Bresson movie, Mouchette. The storyline is about a French teenager who commits suicide after she is raped. An online quiz comparing the "Neo-Mouchette" to the movie angered Bresson's widow, so she threatened a lawsuit against the artist behind the project. The quiz was taken down after that incident.

The creator of the website has been a closely guarded secret. While the use of taboo subject matters are what initially "provokes heated reactions", the manipulation of cyber identity and the ability of the creator to maintain anonymity for so long are the significant reasons this website has garnered its "international reputation" in the Internet art community.

This simple and "deceptively innocent" introduction, which appears next to a portrait of a "sad eyed" adolescent girl on the main page with a floral background, is in stark contrast to the complexity of the rest of the site. Consisting "of various secret links, electronic interactive texts, and poems that reveal the multiple faces of the artist, along with her fears and obsessions", participants of the website are often left wondering whether "a website this sophisticated really be the work of a 13 year old girl".

References: 

http://www.liquisearch.com/mouchetteorg/summary_and_themes

http://www.liquisearch.com/mouchetteorg

https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=mouchette+art&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXvvPEnInQAhXLMo8KHdHFCmsQsAQILg&biw=1077&bih=617#imgdii=wh7i4JrATgP1PM%3A%3Bwh7i4JrATgP1PM%3A%3B_UzZtoNnN9ORTM%3A&imgrc=wh7i4JrATgP1PM%3A

Week 11: Hackathon/Hacktivism

Hactivism: Hacktivism is the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for a politically or socially motivated purpose. The individual who performs an act of hacktivism is said to be a hacktivist.

A hacktivist uses the same tools and techniques as a hacker, but does so in order to disrupt services and bring attention to a political or social cause. For example, one might leave a highly visible message on the home page of a Web site that gets a lot of traffic or which embodies a point-of-view that is being opposed. Or one might launch a denial-service-attack to disrupt traffic to a particular site.

Hacktivism involves many different levels of social intervention and engagement. Whether it is to do with direct action, self-referential geekiness, obscure networked antics, crtical gaming, or peer 2 peer and collective change. Hacktivists challenge defaults put in place by other people, usually the systems imposed upon them and the rest of us by authority. Even though the subjects themselves may be concerning serious matters, humour and playfulness are both essential ingredients.

Hackers: In computing, a hacker is any highly skilled computer expert capable of breaking into computer systems and networks using bugs and exploits. Depending on the field of computing it has slightly different meanings, and in some contexts has controversial moral and ethical connotations. In its original sense, the term refers to a person in any one of the communities and hacker subcultures

Image Courtesy of Google. 

1) Anonymous is a loosely associated international network of activist and hacktivist entities whose trademark is the Guy Fawkes mask. Some call them social justice awrriors that have attracted attention across the globe in 2011 after helping Arab Spring activists during blackout in Egpt with their SPeak2Tweet Campaign, attacking credit card companies after refusing to process payments to WikiLeaks. 

A hacker group claiming to be the notorious Anonymous collective has put up a YouTube video promising that it will declare war on the Singapore government if it does not stand down from an internet licensing framework that critics have said restricts freedom of speech.

The video, which surfaced online two days ago, was removed from YouTube just minutes after it went viral on Facebook and Twitter today with over 4,000 shares. The video, however, has been reposted on Facebook, other channels on YouTube, and various video platforms.

https://www.techinasia.com/youtube-anonymous-hacker-group-threatens-war-singapore-govt-video-removed-viral

2) Banksy

Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director of unverified identity. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. 

Without a doubt, the most popular graffiti artist in the world is Banksy, real identity unknown. His art can be traced back to the early 1990′s, but it wasn’t until the turn of the decade when he really started to establish himself as a popular artist. Aside from his tagging which can be found across the world; album covers, art exhibitions, and most recently a film, serve as catalysts for his fame.

http://thefindmag.com/art/art-banksys-fatal-flaw/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker

Week 10: Second Draft Presentation

Initially we wanted to use our idea of having an umbrella with the sole purpose to make someone's day brighter whether rain or shine however we thought that it was not a concrete idea.

Feedbacks and suggestions given from the previous presentation/proposal:

- no originality
- software being used in the product
- not much of a functuality 
- timeline

We decided to change the entire concept from "The Visualla" where designs and colours would appear upon rain touching the umbrella using a sensory technology. We intended to come up with an idea with the similar usage of umbrella.

Week 9 Research: MONGREL

Natural Selection

Natural Selection was a search engine specifically designed to find - and twist the results for - far right and racist sites on the net. According to Matthew Fuller, who produced this project for Mongrel along with Harwood:
"Along with porn, one of the twin spectres of 'evil' on the internet is access to neo-nazi and racist material on the web. Successive governments have tried censorship and failed. This is another approach.- ridicule."

It was formed round an elegant hack of one of mainstream technoculture's most popular search engines, Natural Selection was guaranteed to stop you smearing skin lightener on your computer.

Islam and Eugenics:

Hakim Bey is an anarcho-sufi. Author of many books including the classic of the 90's underground TAZ, here he looks at the history of eugenics from a series of heretical Islamic points of view.


BlackLash:

BlackLash is the game the streets have been waiting for! Choose between four black stereotype fighting characters, then slay your way to freedom through swarms of insectoid cops and nazis. Free to download from the above address. (Mac-only for now). Tasty. SFX from the Wu Tang Clan.

Aryan Nations:

Byju's site, is a journey through the english language in pictures. The history of words shows us that, the language of the Ôpure englishÕ was always already overrun with the language of the colonised. Critical Art Ensemble (Biotech) have produced a site featuring an internal diocument from genetic engineering consortium BioCom. In it we see how genetic engineering of children along racialised lines may be being prepared for release onto the consumer market.


Heritage Gold:

Another classic from the MongrelSoft empire. This piece of software is the standard heritage editor for all diversity professionals. Download it (for free) now and give your family tree a pruning.


Yardie's Immigration Advisor

Mervin Jarman's work shows, amongst other things, the fastest way for a Yardie to get past British immigration - a hilarious collision of officialese, Tel Aviv realism and pure criminal mindedness!

Save The Internet:

National Spiritual Internet Awakening. Some people think the internet is a Global Mind. It is, but one thatÕs gone nuts. We found this site dedicated to saving the internetÕs mental health and thought it was so crazy we copied it.


Skrewed:

Skrewed is a celebration of nationalism in music. You thought it was just military marching bands? Check how stupid it can get... This site is by author Stewart Home and musician Daniel Waugh.


Bombarded Images:

Dimela Yekwai is a powerful poet and story-teller. She considers herself to be in the tradition of village 'warner women', bringing words from beyond into the digital age for a celebration of the individual and collective self. The triple-consciousnessed Afrikan virus is in .





M.R.F.F.

GoldHorn is the net's hottest of hot tubs in the international dating love stakes. For you Miss!

Biocom memo


Critical Art Ensemble a site featuring an internal document from genetic engineering consortium BioCom. In it we see how genetic engineering of children along racialised lines may be being prepared for release onto the consumer market

Agent

...T h i n kMa t e ™ uses the science of anthropometry to seek the sites that suit your style

The brain is a universal information processor. Whether yours is a high or low bandwidth model, we can transfer its capabilities onto a
...T h i n kMa t e ™ intelligence quotient agent that will info-ecologically tailor any journey through the matrices of systematic knowledge exactly to the capabilities of your type.

Week 8: Research on Mongrel

Mongrel grew out of a series of powerful cultural and political exchanges at Artec in 1995 (The London Technology Centre) which was located in Islington London. Artec specialised in the arts, and training for the long term unemployed as well as taking on some commercial work).

Harwood was teaching a group of people on a one-year European Social Fund course at Artec skilling them up for a digital future. Harwood had just finished the installation version «Rehearsal of Memory» and needed help to create the CD-ROM version of the project. Students including Richard Pierre-Davis stayed on after the end of the course ended to help create the CD-ROM. «Rehearsal of Memory,» which went on to be very successful featuring at many festivals around the world.

During this time it became apparent that there was little critical attitude to the exclusive nature of the emerging technologies. Some of the black students were finding it hard to get a foothold in the industry while others students wanted to explore the technologies for their own social/experimental, artistic reasons.
Their appeared to be no space for this to happen within Artec or outside. Students discussed setting up a Mongrel organisation to explore their own ways of making things. Matthew Fuller and Graham Harwood were creating proposals for «Natural Selection.» Using the successes of previous projects, Harwood asked Richard Pierre-Davis and Matsuko Yokokoji to join him in a project looking at «National Heritage» this slowly cemented into Mongrel with Mervin, who was also on the course at Artec, joining sometime later.

Everything Mongrel does evolves around audience participation on a deep level. Their work fits both in the category of physical interface and software in this context, but I always have found their dedication to establishing connections with people through physical meetings and education the most intriguing. The Mongrel approach to social, cultural and political systems or structures is deconstructive and experimental. 



Matsuko Yokokoji

picture; Jamie Woodley, Yoha, Bristol City Council House

Graham Harwood and Matsuko Yokokoji : Coal Fired Computers (2010)

Matsuko Yokokoji co-founded the Mongrel group in 1995 with Graham Harwood. She graduated from Kuwazawa Design College in Tokyo in 1983. Two years prior to this she freelanced as a graphic designer and became the art director for Imperial Enterprise Inc. a company specialising in direct marketing, in 1984. Yokokoji first came to the UK in 1987 to study printmaking and computer graphics at Guildhall University where she first met Harwood (another founder member of Mongrel). From 1991-1995 she worke````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````d as a researcher/coordinator for Japanese TV companies. In 1994 Yokokoji worked for Harwood's ‘Rehearsal of Memory' which first showed at Video Positive 94' and later it became a CD-ROM of which the installation travelled to 12 cities and 9 countries. ‘Rehearsal of Memory' is part of The Centre Pompidou's permanent collection.

Invisible Airs & Endless War

One of their attractive works in our opinion is:

Telephone Trottoire

Pilot March 27th to May 8th, 2006

The aim of the “Telephone Trottoire” project was to engage the London based Congolese community in issues that affect our day-to-day lives. “Telephone Trottoire” is based on a new form of “contagious” telephone application developed by Mongrel and named after the Congolese practice of “pavement radio” or the passing around of news and gossip between individuals on street corners.

In Central Africa people defy media censorship by sharing news and gossip using 'radio trottoire' or 'pavement radio'. Built in collaboration with the radio programmes “Nostalgie Ya Mboka” and “Londres Na Biso” (www.nostalgieyamboka.net), "Telephone Trottoire" encourages London's Congolese community to pass around news stories and discuss them using a unique system of sharing content over the phone.

What deemed as interesting here is that the used an everyday thing and implemented technology into it. They even have introductory message users hear when they answer the call.

References 

http://research.gold.ac.uk/949/

http://yoha.co.uk/node/639

Week 7: Art HACKATHON

Art Hackathon

Fifty artists-hackers and hacker-artists got together over a weekend in a big space to create an art exhibition from scratch and demonstrate the expressive potential of new technology and the power of radical collaboration in art. In my opinion it is amazing what they are doing instead of using hacking for bad purposes. They make exhibitions from scratch after spending hours on hacking and collaborate with one another with their ideas. 

One of the works created: Museum of Lies

Team: James Green, Maia Smith, Jodi Crisp, Catherine Jones, Mike Alger, Tom Flynn

Description:

The Museum of Lies is an exploration of how the stories of historical objects can be told, retold ... and falsified.

Their creation grew from the premise that Museums (capital M) don’t always tell the whole truth - think of replica masterpieces or conjecture in object descriptions - or leave out parts of an objects story that are considered incompatible with the ‘official’ narrative (e.g. the ‘Elgin Marbles’).

Their team ended up creating two ways to present such concepts through interactive experience:

• A VR museum that presented 3D scans of objects in a replica of the actual space the user was in (we 3D scanned the Ravensbourne college foyer!) and pulled in an infinite stream of altered and falsified Wikipedia articles related to them, displaying the text in realtime in the 3D environment.
• An Arduino based physical interface that used 3D printed artefacts to trigger an information display pulling in the same edited Wikipedia descriptions, complete with rotary controllers to ‘turn up the lies’.

References: 
http://arthackathon.co.uk/artworks.html#museumoflies
http://arthackathon.co.uk/artworks.html
http://hackingarts.com/

Week 6: Group Proposal

Introduction: 

‘The Visualla’ (the walking canvas) is technologically savvy equipped with moods when temperature changes. With various designs in place, we aim to brighten up your day rain or shine.

Temperaments: 

Our umbrella reacts accordingly to the temperature of the weather so users can use it whenever and wherever. Apart from shielding rain, it will come in handy when the sun rays get too tough.

Thermochromic pigment

• Activation temperatures : -15C ~ 70C
• Heat resistant: Max anti-temperature can go up to 280 degree

Mobile App:

Choose presets or “moods” beforehand so users don’t have to meddle with their phones upon using the umbrella.

DIY own designs on top of presets/moods

weather prediction: app connected to The Weather Channel

“moods”

Easy accessibility:

Users can simply switch on the activation button at the handle of the umbrella or the app on their phones upon downloading it.

Layout Examples

Ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed0TwULyl6o

Materials Needed

• Thermochromic pigment: changing color by its activation temperature (eg. mood rings)
• Hydrochromic Screen Printing Ink: white when dry and clear when wet, once the hydrochromic ink dries it goes white again  - to hide messages, colours and text. (for DIY)
• Motion sensor

Reference:

PILEUS - The Internet Umbrella

Image Ref: http://www.coin-operated.com/2010/05/04/umbrella-net-2004/

Main Functions:

Photo-sharing and 3D Map Navigation

Umbrellas > Connected via Bluetooth > Miniature PCs > Public Performance Art How does the umbrella work?

Encompasses of:

large screen on the top surface

a built-in camera

a motion sensor

digital compass

GPS

connected to a major web service: Flickr API

user can take photo with a camera on the umbrella, and pictures are uploaded to Flickr in two minutes with context tags via a wireless Internet connection

+

watch photo-streams downloaded from Flickr with simple operation of wrist snapping

shows a 3D bird view around the user. User can walk-through a city comparing the 3D views and real sights, and the map is always updated by GPS and a digital compass

*provides social local-navigations and real-time in-place communications