Ritual Union [iv]

Ritual Union: A Follow Up: The Past, Present, and Future: A Postmortem Blog Entry

After many a hectic week Rohan and myself (the group responsible for creating the upper half of the Ritual Union cumulating composition) have finally found some time to sit down and hammer out some means of production as it were.

Past: In recent weeks Rohan and myself have been working heavily with software aspects of the composition. This mainly consisted of working with code: Rohan with the Synapse Library for X-Box Kinect, and myself with some code graciously provided by and interactive artist, Niklas Roy. Ultimately after having not succeeded in getting the Synapse Library to work fluently with the Kinect we have decided to peruse using a webcam (hopefully relatively out of sight/out of mind) along with Processing and Niklas’ code. This will enable the interactive features of the project.

Present: Currently we are working on the main construction of all of the physical aspects of RU. After acquiring the necessary parts we have been tediously assembling the mechanics for the interactive aspects of the composition. However ambitious our previous efforts were to create a face with three moving eyes (as inspired via the sketch done by Rohan), we have since decided to scale down to two eyes. Much of this part of the process will deal with aesthetic design and artistic influence.

Future: In the up and coming weeks our focus will primarily be concentrated on connecting the two aforementioned aspects these being the communication between the software as well as the physical composition. A big obstacle will be translating a viewer’s movements into the turning of the motors ultimately alluding to the “viewer vs. viewed” conception.

While working on this project I feel that I’ve learned a fair deal about the software tools used to bring this project t life. Given my background in programming with Java, using processing was not a hard transition as Processing programming is very Java-like. Also given that I have somewhat a background working with Arduino, it was easy to connect it to the computer, load up the programs we were using and use it with Max. It was the first time encountering code such as Niklas’ code and took some time to understand.

If given another chance to take on a project such as this, time management would be a key factor to reconsider. As well the acquiring of materials sooner than having required them would have been a great help. I feel that this process assignment does not relate to the project so much as it is apart of the project itself. It is important to take a look from past, present and future. It is also important to realize the struggles you encountered and how you might tackle them in the future, this alone may be the most important tool learned on any project. 

Ritual Union [iii]

Ritual Union: Onwards, Upwards, and Outwards.

Here is where you will find a follow up presentation on the nitty gritty aspects of Ritual Union.

Ritual Union [ii]

Ritual Union: An Analytical Essay on Topics and Concepts

Below you will find a short essay on the themes presented in Ritual Union constructed by myself and my contemporaries at school. I hope you enjoy the read:


Rohan Likhite et al.
FACS 3936
David Han
Tuesday Oct 16th, 2012

An Analytical Essay on Ritual Union

Humans’ most dominant sense is that of sight, our species depends on it for everything from basic motor control to communication as well as a means of experiencing the world around us. It has only been in the last few centuries or so that studies on human perception via eyesight have come to light. Additionally, with the world being one of constant emerging new media forms, the topic of a computer’s ability to “look at” and “perceive” the world via external hardware is one in which experts have recently delved into. Within Ritual Union there is a challenging questions being presented in that, can there be an inversion of spectatorship between an interactive art installation and its audience? Subsequently, can the installation participant be made to feel that they are apart of the installation as a result of this inverted recursion of seeing one another?

The notion that computers and humans can interact solely based on visual communication requires a lot of primitive conceptual framework. For example, with Ritual Union, the software is required to detect human like shapes and interpret them accordingly. According to Sven J. Dickinson et al, “The human visual system harbors both raw (pixel-like) representations and a great variety of complex and structured ones, whereas a pedestrian detection system may only need the former; this is why a human is much better not only at seeing the visual world as a profusion of objects, but also as ‘just seing’…” (Dickinson, Sven J. 76). A complex human-like way of seeing can only be accomplished by programming cases and values into a computer’s systems. This is problematic as a computer that is programmed to visually understand certain objects may reject foreign, unknown objects thus rendering the software useless. It is because of this that Ritual Union utilizes library’s that have been developed for one specific task, which is to detect an adult human. Dickinson brings up the problem of “seeing” vs. “seeing as” and a main point within Ritual Union is upon “seeing” the pixels it is really “seeing them as” a human and acting accordingly based on pre-programmed behaviors.

This behavior, stemming from Ritual Union’s ability to follow users with its eyes relates to author David Benyon and his text on interactive systems. He outlines brief details on the ergonomics of these systems stating, “Ergonomics. This is primarily concerned with fitting the machine to the person. It draws upon psychology, anatomy, anthropometrics and lots of environmental sciences,” he then moves further to say, “The design of interactive system which recognizes the role and importance of the body – which includes the discipline of ergonomics – may be described as embodied interaction” (Benyon, David 185). Ritual Union is a form of this “interaction” that Benyon describes as it provides the user with feedback at they test and experiment with it. Similarly by recognizing the user’s entire body as a means of evoking an action out of Ritual Union there is a general concept of embodying the user.

The aforementioned concepts of “seeing vs. seeing as” and “embodied interaction” both lead up to the final notion of Ritual Union being an interactive installation, one in which is able to convince the user that it watching him/her. In this Ritual Union tries to go beyond the traditional experience of viewing a composition in a gallery setting where everything is static and the composition is solely being viewed by the audience member. This is best described by Aviva Dove- Viebahn from the University of Rochester, who in the article “Looking for Pleasure: Art, Spectatorship, and Desire in a Televisual Age” states:

Mechanical reproduction allows the viewer to encounter an object or performance under variable and numerous circumstances, distorting and dispersing the ‘authentic’ apsects of the object’s physical presence in a specific space and time (i.e. the controlled environment of the museum, the acoustic resonance of a music hall, or the sobering sanctity of a cathedral’s grounds). (Dove-Viebahn, Aviva Chantal Tamu).

       This one sided experience is what Ritual Union tries to avoid, uniting both the viewer as well as the composition by creating an recursion of spectatorship involving both parties. One artists who exemplifies this is Lygia Clark who explains in her essay “We Refuse…”,

What’s happening around me? A whole group of people clearly sees that modern art doesn’t communicate, is increasingly becoming an elitist issue. So they turn to popular art, hoping to fill the gulf that separates them from the majority… For myself, I belong to a third group that tries to elicit the public’s participation. This totally changes the meaning of art as one has understood it up to now. (Clark, Lygia)

       Other artists that exemplify this kind of work are Golan Levin and Eric Corriel. Both artists deal in part with active user interaction as well as the inversion of sight between the user and composition.

In conclusion Ritual Union is an art installation set out to reverse the roles of observer vs. observed. It will do this between itself and a user who interacts with it. Therefore, it may redefine the relationship between itself and a user, strengthening it by creating a symbiosis instead of a removed environment between itself and a user.

Works Cited:

Dickinson, Sven J. Object Categorization: Computer and Human Vision Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2009. Print.

Benyon, David. Designing Interactive Systems: Peoples, Activities, Contexts, Technologies. Harlow: Pearson Educated Limited, 2005. Print.

Dove-Viebahn, Aviva Chantal Tamu. "Looking for Pleasure: Art, Spectatorship, and Desire in a Televisual Age." Looking for Pleasure : Art, Spectatorship, and Desire in a Televisual Age. University of Rochester, 11th June 2010. Web. 14th Oct. 2012.

Clark, Lygia. "We Refuse..." O Mundo de Lygia Clark. Associação Cultural, 1966. Web. 14th Oct. 2012.

Ritual Union [i]

Ritual Union I: The conception

Please follow the link here to view the earliest conceptions of the project I am working on entitled Ritual Union.

Zello, is anybody out there?

Hey so recently I was tipped off (by a friend) about this awesome app called Zello or Zello. Live Conversation.

Pretty much what it does is it can turn your mobile device into a walkie-talkie between you and other people who have this app. You press the big black button in the center of the screen, wait until it turns red, speak and then wait for your friends on the other frequencies to reply. This thing works in real time, live, with no delays. It saves your history of conversation so incase you miss a conversation, you're able to go back and listen/reply at your leisure.

Other features allow you to subscribe to "channels" around the world and have live conversations with up to 100 other people on the same channel. You can also create your won channel and add your friends to it too making it your own exclusive communication hub. It user-interface (UI) is really beautiful in its simplicity and its super user friendly. Not only is it easy to use,  but its convenient and fun too. It is available in 11 languages and works over Wi-Fi connection or 3G network.

Look you might think that walkie-talkie-ing is silly and really 90's or whatever. However it is perfect for planning a convoy with your friends or meeting up downtown. It is easier and more simple than texting due to its use of the "speech-to-text" features on your device. Plus, there is no ambiguity (like in text messaging) and it makes effortless communication.

Wanna hear the best part?!

Zello is available for Android, BlackBerry, iOS devices as well as PC!!

But wait there's more....

Zello is completely FREE to download off of their  website, or the app store/app world that your mobile device belongs too.

Here's a link...zello.com

Passing the Time

Here is some fun cell art my friends and I did on the homepage for our course website.

More coming soon.

Ritual Union

Coming soon...

Stay tuned...!

Zombies and the like..

In light of the new season of the Walking Dead having started just this passed Sunday, I've decided to share with you all one of my favourite Zombie flicks.

Based off of Tony Burgess' novel Pontypool Changes Everything, the movie Pontypool (2009) (Canadinan director Bruce McDonald's adaptation of the book) is in my opinion a great movie. Set and filmed in Pontypool, Ontario this movie has its own twists on the classic horror genre.

What I love about this movie is:

• A) It's a Canadian production through and through (and its one that doesn't suck). 
• B) I love the modesty of the movie (which is a notable trait among most Canadian films).
• C) It genuinely a good thriller with aspects of horror.

It's also won some awards which include:

• Official Selection: Toronto Film Festival 2008.
• Official Selection: SXSW 2008.
• Official Selection: MOMA Canadian Front.
• Genie Nominee: Chloturdis Awards 2010. 
• Best Director.
• Best Adapted Screenplay.
• Best Actor.

In the movie:

A virus has infected the town of Pontypool and it (unlike many zombie movies) is not the result of genetic experimentation via a Corporate Agenda gone awry. Rather this virus has infected the English language and there exist certain trigger words that can set off a reaction in people. Each person has a different word that may set them off. Bruce McDonald describes these infected people not as "zombies" per say but rather what he likes to call "conversationalists". Here he is quoted saying,

"There are three stages to this virus. The first stage is you might begin to repeat a word. Something gets stuck. And usually it's words that are terms of endearment like 'sweetheart' or 'honey'. The second stage is your language becomes scrambled and you can't express yourself properly. The third stage you become so distraught at your condition that the only way out of the situation you feel, as an infected person, is to try and chew your way through the mouth of another person."

Pretty gruesome eh? 

Most of the film takes place in the local radio station home to shock jock dj Grant Mazzy. As his co-workers become infected via their own language, the clostrophobia of the studio really makes a great setting for the ambiance of the film. Furthermore, with little to no scenes of the movie taking place outside of the studio, you really get a sense of the hysteria the characters go through. There's such a lack of information presented to the characters (for most of the movie) that it seems realistic enough and immerses you in the experience. 

If you're a fan of the zombie genre as I am or just horror, hell even if you don't like zombies at all, I would recommend you give this movie a look. 

Brief post on "quasi-stellar radio source" (Quasar)

After viewing a composition presented at Nuit Blanche Toronto by one of my old professors I had to do some research on his project...actual research. The project was showcased in a parking garage in Nathan Phillips Square. It was entitled: Quasar 2.0: Star Incubator (Q2:SI).

(Q2:SI) at Nuit Blanche Toronto.

After Googling the term to see if anything interesting came up, I found that a Quasar is actually a phenomenon in space studied by astronomers and astrophysicists. I briefly researched them and had to stop before my mind exploded by the sheer magnitude of this oddity.

So to give you just a little back story on what Quasars are and what they do I present:

Fun facts about Quasars:

• A quasi-stellar radio source or Quasar is a high concentration of electromagnetic energy in space.
• Forms in young galaxies.
• Is the result of the expansion of the universe.
• Is a compact region in the center of a massive galaxy that surrounds a central “supermassive black hole".
• i.e. Supermassice black holes sit at the center of quasars feeding them energy from a "host galaxy".
• Emits 1000x more energy than that of our own Milky Way galaxy.
• Is a "galactic nucleus".
• Centrifuge for possible galaxy creation. 
• Are comparatively small compared to our own galaxy.
• Are as far as 28 billion light years away. 

ULAS J1120+0641 Quasar. It shown as the smal red dot in the center of the picture.
It is the farthest know Quasar residing at 28.81 billion light years away from Earth.

An artist's rendering of ULAS J1120 Quasar.

Hubble Space Telescope image of Quasar 3C 273.

X-ray image of 3C 273 with its "jet" fuelled by a
supermassive black hole.

An artist's rendering of Quasar 3C 279.

Image of Quasar 3C 175. Shown as the small dot in the center
we can see its jet emitting particles via a supermassive
black hole. 

An artist's rendering of Quasar 3C 120.

Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night) Toronto

 Since 2006 Socitabank’s Nuit Blanche has taken Toronto by storm, transforming the entire city into a colossal showcasing from hundreds of contemporary artists around the world. The annual event, lasting from sunset to sunrise, has drawn in 1, 000, 000+ audience members in a single night and on Sept 29th, 2012 there was no exception made.


My personal experience with Nuit Blanche happened between Dundas and Queen Street West in the heart of the GTA where Toronto City Hall resides at Nathan Phillips Square. At an underground parking garage The End of the World exhibition took place, including works from a dozen of various artists.

One project in particular was created by a professor of mine, Mark-David Hosale, who taught me last year at York University. Wandering in a little more than half way through the parking garage exhibition, Quasar 2.0: Star Incubator (Q2:SI) was laid out on the floor in all of its abstract audible fragments and luminosity.

Q2:SI laid out on at Nuit Blanche

Aside: (See following blog post for more information on what a Quasar is...)

A screen interface depicting data streaming
from Antarctica.

Reading up on his work I found Mark-David best describes his piece as an interactive sound and light installation. It a spacial experience and a reflection of a non-linear narrative meant to connect the observer, "with the systems of the universe unfolding beyond out senses, collapsing scale and time into he immediacies of the experience of new beginnings". Here there is a focus on an ever-changing renewal of "life cycles" in and around the world.

A representation of the data input
streaming live .

This aspect of non-linear narrative is much in line with Mark-David's work. Converging simultaneous data from all over the world Quasar brings itself to life via: local electromagnetic fields, Muon Neutrino (a neutrino being a small weak elementary subatomic particle) data from the Antarctic IceCube Neutrino Observatory as well as weather data from automated weather stations from the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center.  The data was represented on a panel of three screens, visually representing the input data from around the Antarctic.

Given this data, Quasar would augment itself constantly in new ways and forms. Emitting light and sounds this domestic and foreign data would influence Quasar in different ways.

For further reading please visit www.mdhosale.com

Sounds of the Underground

So I'm starting to get all "green-eyed" about this local Toronto band called The Envy. Why? Because they've really got a good sound. It has been two long years since they've been on the "scene" due to a battle between their interests and need as a band and the music industry's agenda. However, according to a post on their website (found through the link above) they've addressed the fans reassuring them that, although this has set them back for a time they are ready to get back on schedule.

Moreover they are working their asses off trying to get their music recognized as it should be. They have now decided to "take hold of the reigns" as it were and become their own producers, taking their music back to its roots and ensuring that they have nobody to thank but themselves for their accomplishments from here on out.

They have written a lot of material over the two year hiatus and are now preparing to release it. Collecting what they have written so far they are taking all of the tracks and diving the music into a two-EP-release. The first EP "Deception" was released not to long ago and the second EP "Conception" is set to be released in the not-so-distant-future.

 According to the band, "...Deception is a collection of songs that we wrote during some of the darker times over the past year. We really had lost our voice, and our connection to the outside world." From what I can tell with the first release "Bones" off of Deception it is going to be one hell of a record. This brings me to the purpose of the post in the first place, the music video. Not only is the track one of my favorite songs to listen to but it is ascetically beautiful to look at. I really like the art direction and filmography of the video.

Here's the video...

It seems to me that their going for this dichotomy between the two EP's, where Deception is the darkness of the band and Conception is (as the band puts it) "the rebirth of The Envy". I just love this theme of duality. They even incorporated it into their website which I can admire.

Anyways I'm sort of a sucker for "home grown music" in Toronto and Canada in general I have nothing but respect for this band and back them fully.

Follow them on Twitter @TheEnvy

Cheers.

(Feedback on FEEDBACK) or (I'm So Punny).

Although the reading on FEEDBACK (available here) presented by Christiane Paul seemed daunting and redundant, if only in the aspect of saying "Here's this work...it does this," and "Here's another work...it does that," the overall concept of the exhibition I thought to be interesting.

Therefore, the focus of this post will not be in advocating certain works that spoke to me or stuck with me but rather to talk about the concepts and driving forces behind it. The aspect of dealing with two modern deviations of "Responsive art" being "Al-gore-rhythmic art"....Ooops sorry, "Algorithmic art" or art "Op art" was interesting. I found that the concept of having a sort of autonomous art work changing or "modulating" itself via its own output to create new derivates of the original piece both complex and elegant.

It seems to me  that algorithmic art is slowly becoming popular in newer media circles. I think there is something to be said about giving (and we are talking about an art work here, not a computer program but actually artistic compositions) a piece a set of "instructions" whatever they may be and then having your piece augment itself based upon that. Now we have almost transcended the entire experience of was was to be know as simply "viewing art". There is now a kind of symbiotic relationship between the viewer or (as they are now being called)"user" in that, the piece relies on some interaction from you directed towards it and then provides you with its own "feedback" for a personalized and lasting enjoyment.

With that being said, I have always been a fan of Op art, ever since I was a kid I liked looking at optical illusions and couldn't help but wonder why or how or who or whatever....This form of art is not too too old but is finding ways of reinventing itself. In the reading Paul brings up the relation between Op art and Kinetic art based on the way they move and might react depending on the different intake of data in their environment. Here we see simple pictures transforming themselves into kinetic images and then even further into movies. Again we have a transition from a sort of static image and a triditionional viewer of the art, into an "almost living" work. One that responds to a user making the user as much apart of the experience as the work itself. This is a really radical approach to art considering art's traditional relationship between the elitest artist, the composition and the viewer.

Food For Thought...

If animals weren't ment to be eaten...then why are they made out of food?

Regular People: 1

Vegetarians/Vegans: 0

The Sounds of Toronto

In the never-ending pursuit of finding new music I feel it my obligation to link up one of my favorite Indie bands, Elos Arma. Not only are these guys super fun to listen to but I also had the pleasure of working with the one of the members, Chris @chrislarox, who is on keyboards & vocals. That crazy summ bitch. They recently (this passed summer) released a new EP, MOTHER/FATHER which you can purchase on their site here @ www.elosarma.com via tweeting about it. It's a pretty cool deal man. Check out their video below for the song "San Diego" off of MOTHER/FATHER.

Follow them on twitter @elosarma 

They always have new shows coming. 

Cool Stuff Around the Block

Hey I just fell in love with a new magazine called Juxtapoz this month's issue is a Halloween special "Curated by Alex Pardee" who's generally known for being commissioned to create album artwork for alternative bands like, The Used, In Flames, Aiden etc etc etc. He also has a short career as a music video director. Anyways here's the front cover of this month's issue which is the reason I picked up the mag in the first place:

I then went on their website and it turns out they feature a bunch of cool upcoming artists in a wide array of genres and mediums not to mention articles on music, tattoo, videos and more.

Hit up their website provided here.

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Man, when you're tired, you're tired. These are a couple of my friends who looked as if they were having as much fun as I was in class this afternoon.

Video Games as Art?

That is a good question, one which has stirred up quite a lot of controversy among the circles that discuss such things. After reading Brian Moriarty's Apology for Roger Ebert and Jason VandenBerghe's Performance of Play I can see why.

Initially I was shocked at Ebert's stance on art saying, "video games can never be art." I was further taken aback upon reading Moriarty's convoluted defence of him and furthermore on reading VandenBerghe's response to Moriarty. Ebert further comments stating, "Hardly any movies are art," but I believe that to ba a feeble attempt at saving himself from the initial retaliation of the gaming community. Admittedly these reflex feelings of disagreement and irritation came up because I consider myself somewhat of a gamer. I was especially critical upon learning that Ebert has not nor wishes to ever play a video game. How can one simply label and analyze one medium or another without even so much as experiencing that medium? Sounds to me like Ebert was judging one of his beloved books its cover or a movie by its title.

In this case I view Ebert as an elitest who, upon sitting in his ivory tower, decides for himself what can be considered art without being questioned. I am more apt to disregard his stance as someone who is in the true sense of the word "ignorant" in that he lacks knowledge in the experience of any video games and so, in my opinion, cannot make a decision on them one way or another. However that being said, although I disagree with Moriarty's position I am much more inclined to agree with him solely based on his background as a game developer.

My first disagreement with Moriarty comes from his definition of what he calls "sublime art", "Great art, fine art, or the term I prefer, sublime art. Art that deeply rewards a lifetime of contemplation. Art as cultural monument. Art that's good for you. The kind of art that, in Ebert's words, makes us 'more cultured, civilized and empathetic'." Using this definition it is easy to dispel video games as art, I would too if I were of this particular opinion. Were we to accept this as defining a form of art, I would be able to firmly state that I have yet to experience any form of art of any kind. This definition reads too much into some transcendance that, for the most part, does not need to be experienced to be regarded as art.

Secondly considering Moriarty, I cannot condone personifying the problem of "video games as art" into Chess Players by James Northcote. I can hardly see how you can take such a contemporary question and try to work it into a separate composition that hardly addresses the issue. This leads me to my next disagreement with Moriarty which comes from his conclusion that video games are like the dog in Chess Players because they both are exampled of "Kitsch Art". Moriarty dismisses kitsch art as merely "commercial"and therefore not a form of true "sublime" art. I strongly disagree with the piece give below:

To Moriarty this would be the most kitsch form of art, but to me this may be reguarded as a very sublime example of art as well as the start of a new and prominent art movement, "Pop Art".

Finally I must say that I disagree on his assumption that choice liberates a particular work from becoming art. I believe in the contrary, that choice not only creates a work of art but it personalizes it for the user. To me a personalized experience of a work of art is as important as a directive imposed by an artist.

I must close with saying that in part I am inclined to agree with VandenBerghe. I do believe that people attract other users to an art piece. However, I believe that "attraction," as VandenBerghe puts it, is only part of the puzzle. Experience and intention are also apart of it. I must criticize his standpoint though, on sublime art as a "...performance of play." In this he is saying that not the work itself is sublime art but the playing or interacting with the work is. Is that to say that Beethoven's Symphonies (which would vary well fit into Mortiarty's and Ebert's definition of art) would not itself be considered art but rather Beethoven playing his symphonies would?

Food for thought.

Brian Moriarty's Apology for Roger Ebert is available here.
Jason VandenBerghe's Performance of Play is available here.