Stranger than Beauty

Dome 360 Event

2009-04-30T22:49:00.006-04:00

This year the students in Digital Design at the University of Colorado created an amazing film for an event at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. A full dome film is a truly unique experience, it is not at all like IMAX, but is a totally immersive environment. Your entire field of vision and even things behind you are rendered, making an out of body experience truly possible.

The students worked on this film over the course of a semester, not just on the film itself but on promoting it as well. The event was a huge success, standing room only and their film turned out incredible. Hope to see it in other dome venues soon.

I've posted a link to a documentation of the project that the students create here.

Above are some stills from their movie: Greenit

All in all it was a really fun experience, a bit of work but well worth it to hear the reaction of the audience.

P.R. at 47th Ann Arbor Festival

2009-03-02T21:00:00.003-05:00

My short (very short) animation will be screened opening night at the 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival on March 24 in Ann Arbor Michigan. I'm looking forward to heading up for the festival, it looks like some amazing films and animations.

Low cost Transport

2009-02-13T20:21:00.001-05:00

Cool idea on Lowtech Magazine, a way to transport that is low cost, quiet and environmentally friendly.

Viral Marketing and Facebook

2009-01-31T17:29:00.002-05:00

Interesting article about Facebook in the NY Times. What do you do when you have too many Facebook friends? I thought it was interesting too because the BK ad was the thing that instigated the story, so not only did BK get time on Facebook they also get a feature in the NY TImes that becomes one of the most emailed articles. A double-whopper for sure!

Best use of Thermo-reactive ink

2009-01-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

An annual report that has to be baked to be read.

Sedona International Film Festival

2009-01-26T21:30:00.004-05:00

Big week this week, not only getting back to school but I had my film "drop" in the SIFF, best of all I get to use these cool laurels!

And, Jane Franklin Dance will perform Indistinct Boundaries this Saturday at the Burke Theater at the Navy Memorial Heritage Center in DC.

That Indistinct Edge

2009-01-05T08:27:00.002-05:00

This coming Saturday, Jan. 10 I will be premiering a new piece that I've been working on this fall with Jane Franklin Dance. We rehearsed the piece last Friday with the final animation and sound and I was really pleased with how it has turned out. The dancers and choreography is amazing when layered with video, I think it has a really nice feeling. Our goal with this piece is to blur the boundaries of the stage and the projection through layered imagery and the use of negative space.

The music is something I've been working on for a good amount of time and am very happy with how it sounds. The sound is highly processed, somewhat rhythmic and involves the use of low-frequency oscillators to drive panning, rhythm and white noise. This will be performed one night only, at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington DC.

Ancient Rome

2008-11-13T15:47:00.002-05:00

Google now has ancient Rome as a destination on Google Earth. Really interesting idea and it immediately brought to mind a story I heard about the movie Gladiator. The landscape was done in C4D and was initially a faithful reproduction of ancient Rome, much like Google Earth's version. But, even though the directors asked for that, when they saw the "reality" it wasn't good enough. So the artists had to make the buildings taller, the hills larger and basically fabricate a "real" image of Rome that was more real than the real thing...

Confused yet? It brings up the interesting paradox about what our current day memory or Rome will be. Will it be based off Gladiator or based off Google Earth?

Tokyo pics

2008-11-08T13:09:00.004-05:00

Just got some pictures of my entries that are on exhibit at the Art Center Tokyo as part of the Lemnos Design Clock competition. I was trying to subvert the viewers sense of space by depicting depth on a flat object.

Chicago Underground Film Festival

2008-10-21T15:27:00.001-04:00

Check out P.R. at next week's Chicago's Underground Film Festival, it will be screened on Saturday, Nov.1, 2008 at 5PM in the Viaduct Theater 3111 N Western Ave. Chicago, IL.

Looks like a great festival!

A heart full of Happy

2008-09-26T02:34:00.003-04:00

Well yesterday I took my mom to the airport for a very unusual trip. She has always been an adventurous sort, but I think even for her this trip will be something special. She's heading off to Ethiopia to visit the remote Suri tribe as part of the Ethiopia Reads project to bring books to the people of Ethiopia.

She has promised to blog about this when she can on her blog A Heart Full of Happy. The people she will meet do not have a written form of their language and the hope is to help them to develop this in order to protect themselves from the inevitable development that is heading their way. The Surma people have an incredibly rich cultural heritage of body ornamentation, decoration and culture.

I'm really inspired by mom and the fact that she is so willing to take on any new adventure. I've outfitted her with lots of advice, a digital camera and a really nice digital recorder for taking professional quality recordings while she is there. She seems to take to these new devices with ease, it's very cool. Can't wait to see what she comes back with and hear the stories she's going to tell.

Artcomplex Center, Tokyo

2008-09-22T17:55:00.004-04:00

Next month a clock design I submitted will be exhibited at the Artcomplex Center of Tokyo. It's all part of a Design competition sponsored by Lemnos. The winning design will be manufactured and licensed as part of their product line. I'm very excited to be exhibiting in such a nice gallery space and hope to be able to check it out in person sometime.

Pro Bono Design

2008-09-09T23:31:00.005-04:00

As part of a class I'm teaching this fall I asked my students to find examples of pro bono work in the design field and write up a "case study" of one the projects. I have to say, it was really one of the most inspiring assignments that I've given and I really enjoyed finding out what design firms around the world are doing. Its just an amazing testament to our creative field to see so many studios devoting a part of their practice to pro bono work. Donated works range from artwork for a cause to a donation of a years worth of design work in the case of Firebelly design.

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to talk to my students, it is much appreciated!

I'd like to post what they came up with, as I think anyone interested in design would find these profiles quite interesting:

Voices for Children/CASA

Arts-Street.org

Tribeca Film Festival

The Hurricane Poster Project

Firebelly Design/ Illinois Safe School Alliance

Earth Policy Institute

Design for Democracy

Denver Parade of Homes

Citizen Pictures - Annual NDAC show

girls ROCK and PETA2

San Francisco Film Night in the Park

Beauty in Times Square

Pro Bono Info

Scratch Design

Boys and Girls Club

3D Architecture

2008-09-06T12:16:00.003-04:00

I really like the way this was designed. Using 3D geometry as a starting point Kas Oosterhuis created a building from a computer built model. Usually, it's the other way around, a CAD program is used to figure out how to use industrially supplied geometric pieces to construct a building. This puts a lot of limits on the kinds of shapes that can be made.

With ONL's design, the 3D model was used to guide the construction process. No two panels are the same, but are easily made using laser controlled machinery. Nice!

I'm hoping to start a 3D rapid prototype sculpture that is a similar concept, the computer creates the object through gravity and dynamic simulation, becoming a co-creator.

Sustainability and windmills

2008-09-03T22:11:00.004-04:00

One of the most interesting aspects of sustainable developments to me is the complexity of the equations involved. My recent post about sailing ships implies that the wind may be the answer to all of our energy problems, but that's not always the case. Take for example the Energy Ball. If only everyone would install a windmill on their house we could ween ourselves off of oil, right?

Well read on, you have to take into account the placement and energy produced compared with the price to make the windmill to get the full picture. In this case, windmills could be harming the environment!

Wind Powered Container shipping

2008-08-26T11:55:00.003-04:00

I have lately been very interesting in combining archaic technologies with new ones, this story is about the return of tall sailing ships to the oceans as a commercial shipping alternative. Originally developed as a "green" way to transport, these sailing ships have become commercially viable with the high price of diesel. The company is shipping wine now, and the cost is only 5% more than standard shipping. When their new high-tech sailboats are constructed, they believe it will be less expensive.

Another interesting story is about the amateur builder of some of the best early submarines in Barcelona. Narcís Monturiol i Estarrol wooden submarine built these as a utopian vision of providing a safer way to dive for coral. Many of his innovations were not replicated until the modern era of nuclear submarines, such as an engine whose by-product is oxygen.

Interesting new game

2008-08-25T14:12:00.001-04:00

How about a game that reforms the landscape as you play?

Visual Noise

2008-06-09T12:37:00.003-04:00

An animation that I did for Steven Antosca's such a pure force is included as part of the 86 Collective digital art project that is on view at The Lab at Belmar from June 18th to July 20th.

RUCKUS, REPEAT, RUCKUS: Visual Noise is a video art exhibition that explores the spectacular and dynamic dimensions of the digital art medium. Meaning to suggest an urban environment, the metaphor of noise is an aesthetic experience that is neither contemplative nor decorative, but continually draws attention. Works will be more abstract than narrative and more sensory-based than conceptual with compelling visual and audio effects and imagery.

Located at 404 S. Upham Street in Lakewood, RUCKUS, REPEAT, RUCKUS will be open to the public from June 18th – July 20th. The hours of operation are Tuesday – Saturday 12-6pm; Sunday 12-5pm; Closed Monday.

P.R. Jumps the pond

2008-06-09T11:57:00.002-04:00

P.R. will be screened as part of the Globians Shorts Reel for the Globian Documentary Film Festival in Potsdam and Berlin. Globians is an annual international documentary film festival focusing on world cultures, urban issues, world religions, cultural identities, gender issues, sub-cultures and many other timely topics.

The Globians Shorts Reel will be presented on Saturday August 16th, 2008 at the festival house Old City Hall in Potsdam and on Saturday September 7th during the Berlin festival rerun at Babylon:Mitte. The Babylon:Mitte is Berlin's preeminent art-house facility with a long tradition since the silent era of movies.

P.R. and Drop Screenings in New York and Atlanta

2008-04-11T14:18:00.005-04:00

If you missed PR at last weeks 15th New York Underground Film Festival, don't despair. Two films will be screened later this month in New York as part of the Brooklyn Arts Council's 42nd Film Festival. My film P.R. will be screened on May 1st, 2008 at the Long Island University Kumble Theater as part of the A Contemplation of Violence program. And my film drop will be screened on May 8th, 2008 at the Long Island University Spike Lee Screening Room as part of the The Power of Art program.

If you are in NYC, hope you can make it!

Also, this week Drop is showing at the Atlanta Film Festival which looks like a great event, I wish I could be there!

Temporal Interference Performances

2008-03-31T00:27:00.002-04:00

I will be staging Temporal Interference once again at a dance festival - Performatica in Pueblas, Mexico this week - April 3, 7-10 PM.

On the way back from Mexico Jane Franklin Dance has agreed to a performance here in Denver as well.

The Denver performance will be a free concert at the King Center, University of Colorado Denver on April 5, 7:30 PM, 2008 (download the press release with King Center performance details.

Looking forward to it and hope to see everyone there!

Dorkbot Denver

2008-03-22T12:33:00.003-04:00

Finally! Went to my first Dorkbot since moving to Denver, it was great! Saw a local developer from Cycling74, Darwin Grosse, gave brief intro to Max/MSP/Jitter. Looks like Cycling74 will release the much anticipated Max 5 sometime in April, can't wait for that. John English showed his highly efficient electric bike and a great set by Ate Bitten, a guy using 8-bit sound and video, really cool stuff.

Nice to see such a good crowd, it reminded me of DC's very active Dorkbot chapter. Looking forward to meeting more noise musicians, programmers and people doing strange things with electricity.

Second Prize in Black Maria

2008-02-20T01:23:00.005-05:00

I am very happy to report that an animation I did "P.R." has been accepted into the Black Maria Film Festival. This is a great festival, they feature very good cutting edge work and have long been a champion of independent film. The film won a second juried prize- I like how they summarized my work on their site:

"This biting work is a conceptual deconstruction of an ill-considered pronouncement by a noted televangelist. The artist “metamorphizes” one icon into another as he turns media-driven culture against itself. P.R. is a compact, yet effective protest against right-wing reactionary thinking."

What a great commentary! What I liked about the piece is that I felt like I didn't have to really do anything at all, I just let the subject speak for himself and it all just fell into place.

This Monday, Feb. 25th the Black Maria will be right down the street in Boulder, CO, I may have to skip out of class early to go see it on the big screen.

This year I have also had another animated film "drop" accepted into both the Byron Bay Film Festival in Australia and the 30th annual Big Muddy in Carbondale, IL. I'm really happy to see this work getting out there in such fantastic venues. I feel I've been quite fortunate and it's really motivating me to finish up some other animations I've been working on.

Transparency in Design

2008-02-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

I had not heard of this system before, but it's a clever visualization solution to show the public the quality and conditions of their environment in an easy to read format. A colored glow indicates what the Ph balance is of NYC's water at any given time. Cool!

New York City Ballet

2008-01-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

Paula Scher has designed a new logo for the NYC Ballet company that is very clean and classic. Great design!

DIY Government

2007-12-04T00:35:00.000-05:00

Two articles caught my eye this weekend, artists are taking government into their own hands and improving cities themselves. Why not? If we wait for our governments to actually fix anything we could be waiting a long time.... But, on the other hand, what if the artists are not that good at fixing things either?

Second is a cure for famine - stop listening to advice from developing countries! According to the NYTimes, Malawi found that it's better to look at what developed countries actually do (namely subsidize farming) rather than what they tell others to do. Malawis suffered a devastating famine several years ago and not wanting a repeat invested in fertilizers. It's a great read and I think it questions conventional wisdom in the west over the last 20 years or so.

Find yourself

2007-12-02T12:16:00.000-05:00

Google has invented another cool way to track your movements and thoughts, it's the Google phone locator. What's interesting about this is that it doesn't rely on GPS data, instead it locates your phone based on the cel towers that you are utilizing when calling up the Google page.

I also like the information graphic that is being used to demonstrate how it works. It's a sort of low-tech, high-tech hybrid that is very informative and clear, but not as dry as a typical infographic.

DIY furniture

2007-11-30T13:40:00.000-05:00

This article has two things that I find interesting, one is the ability to print out your own manufactured designs using 3D printing technology and machinery. Second, is that this is the Provisions Gallery blog. Provisions is a gallery dedicated to art as a force for social change. They have had many amazing shows over the past few years.

Information Visualization Winners

2007-10-03T00:22:00.000-04:00

The National Science Foundation has announced it's winners for the 2007 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. I love the winning image by Kai-hung Fung, not so much for what it is but for what it isn't, a picture of a nose.

MAP show coming up

2007-08-15T23:33:00.000-04:00

In addition to my relocation, I've been busily working as a co-curator on a new show that will be at the Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, MD. It's part of their Curator's Incubator program which allows new curators to get their feet wet creating an exhibition.

Susan Serafin is my partner in this, and we're real happy with how it's all turning out. As soon as I have a link to the invite I will post it, but to save the date the opening will be September 28th, along with an artist talk. The show itself will open Sept. 13.

Denver is nice!

2007-08-15T23:20:00.000-04:00

And I'm not just saying that 'cuz it's my new home. Denver is a really cool city. It's a lot more "urban" than I would have imagined before I moved here, and at the same time it's very down to earth. A great mix of brew pubs and world class museums.

It's been quite a busy summer as we relocated both our studios to Denver, and preparing for the start of classes this fall at UCD. I've met some great artists here in Denver and with all that's going on in the city it should be a lot of fun getting to know the area better.

Kennedy Center Performance

2007-05-20T07:29:00.000-04:00

Temporal Interference was presented at the Kennedy Center last week, just search for Leister in the Millenium stage archives. The description says that I "played" the Theremin, but that's not really true. I basically hit a start button, and the software starts a 23 minute sequence of programs, the dancers themselves are playing the Theremin through their motions. The sounds are only marginally controlled by me, as you watch the dancers move you can see that they are triggering the sound and video live.

My wife had her animation used in the next piece called In Hiding, both of these were choreographed by Jane Franklin. We were both really happy that it all worked without a hitch and the audience reaction was great.

Concert this Sunday!

2007-05-02T07:50:00.000-04:00

This is one of the "rare" chances to see the Theremin in action before we move to Denver, where I'll be teaching new media. It's called Electric Possible and I'll be performing with artist Edgar Endress.

Should be fun, electricity, noise and video, what could be better for a Sunday night?

Busy Weekend!

2007-04-18T13:47:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have been slow in posting, I've been extremely busy preparing for several events going on this weekend. First, my wife Becky Heavner is presenting at Gunston Hall in Arlington. Her contribution to this dance performance, "In Hiding" is 16 minutes of animation that are projected onto panels allowing the dancers to interact with her imagery and Gina Biver's composition. The choreography is by Jane Franklin Dance. It's being performed on Thursday, April 19 and again on Saturday April 21.

Second, I will be part of The Floating Lab Collective's Protest on Demand DC-based performance. If you want to participate you can log into the Floating Lab website and make your request for this coming Friday, April 20 and Saturday April 21.

Third, I will be performing a new piece as part of Multimediale called Proximity Politico. It takes place at Provisions Gallery on Saturday, April 21 starting at 8 pm. There will be a number of performances and installations at Provisions, really nice work being featured so check it out.

Fourth, on Sunday, April 24th I will be presenting a 19 minute animation to accompany Steve Antosca's composition such a pure force for cmf iv, the Contemporary Music Forum which will be presented at the Corcoran Gallery in DC.

So... there's a good chance I won't be posting much on my blog this weekend! If you come downtown to see some of this, be sure to check out a great new media installation: Alberto Gaitan's Remembrancer installation at the Curator's Office on 14th street. It grows and changes everyday, looked great at the opening but should be much more interesting as time goes on.

What does it mean to be an artist in DC?

2007-04-10T17:29:00.000-04:00

Or a curator for that matter. Check out the latest video from MultimedialeDC.

Also, do you have an issue that you care about? But, don't have the time/energy or resources to come to DC and protest? We can help! The Floating Lab

Show Opening today

2007-03-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

My wife, Becky Heavner, is well known as an illustrator, but she is also a passionate quilter. A new show of her quilts is opening today at the 233-One gallery, 301 King Street in Alexandria (Enter through Room 2300). She is showing among other things, a fabulous bear claw quilt and several mixed media quilts.

It's really fascinating to see how she 'draws' with fabric, keeping some elements of her painting but also with an interest in the tradition of quilting. The show opens at 3 PM and will be up for about a month.

MultimedialeDC

2007-03-12T18:58:00.000-04:00

MultimedialeDC is a new art festival that is coming to DC in April. It has a mission to create discourse in the DC arts community regarding art, society and politics. Niels Van Tomme and Randall Packer are organizing it and I am happy to be doing a performance piece as part of the festival.

It's an interesting idea, and you would think that DC is already heavily focused on art, but that would be more in politics, not as much in the arts. I've seen much more political work outside of DC than inside the beltway, so hopefully events like this will change that.

Much of the event takes place at Provisions Library, a really nice reading room/library that focuses on art with a social purpose. Provisions also has been quite generous by hosting our local dorkbotDC meetings. Dork meets Politics, now there's a nice visual...

Happenings

2007-03-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy few weeks here in the studio and with my recent installation/performance. I'm happy to report that the show was a success and we had NO technical mishaps... that's a biggie when you're dealing with new media! I was able to write up a max patch that automated the whole performance, launching each of the 5 pieces automatically and it worked great.

I really appreciate everyone over at the Warehouse Theater, it's a great venue, very active and the people who run it are great supporters of the arts. It's wonderful to find a place like that in DC.

In the next couple of weeks I will be posting an update, it looks like we're going to perform Temporal Interference on a much larger scale, it should be quite interesting seeing how that affects the piece.

I just got back from Denver, a lovely city and some great schools out that way. All in all a very productive trip... Becky is working on a new piece, that will be projected and feature Flash animation of her new cut-out shape style, I'll post updates as I get them!

Performance photos

2007-02-26T10:34:00.000-05:00

Finally got some good photos (thanks Becky!) from opening weekend of Temporal Interference, we had a great turnout Saturday, and the dancers were amazing. Everything went smoothly from my point of view, basically checking to make sure that the interactivity was there with the sensor responding appropriately.

It was really fun working on this installation/performance, I am looking forward to future collaborations. This coming weekend is the last chance to see this particular piece though, so if you're interested, go here. It's at the Warehouse Theater in DC and features Gina Biver's compositions along with dancers and choreography from the Jane Franklin Dance Company.

Dorkbot Demo

2007-02-20T09:49:00.000-05:00

Dorkbot's tonight at Provision Gallery in Dupont Circle, I plan to be there to do a brief demo of the Max/Jitter patch that is running the installation through my Theremin. If you haven't been to dorkbot, and you're into electricity/performance and art, it's worth checking out. Last month's was SRO.

Interactive performance screen shots

2007-02-19T23:39:00.000-05:00

People have been asking me to describe this performance in more detail, just what exactly is going to happen during Temporal Interference? Well tonight we had a full dress rehearsal and here are some screen shots of the video elements. It's hard to depict in still images, but basically three dancers move throughout the room and their proximity effects the video and sound. I'm really happy with how the sound came out, Gina Biver's work is excellent. The choreography is complex and I think it goes well with the piece in general. It's really cool to see what people can do with their movements to activate a space and it's a pleasure working with the dancers at Jane Franklin Dance company.
It's been a busy few weeks or I would be posting more, just got back from NYC and saw the Alex Katz show at the Jewish Museum. As an illustrator I really like Katz's work, is somewhat decorative but with a real presence. As usual, the Cooper Hewitt had a terrific show of design-oriented work, including Nicholas Blechman's Nozone Magazine.

I'd like to say that I will post more regularly, but I've got quite a few projects coming up, so who knows!

Toyz Machine

2007-02-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while I find a site that really stands out, toyzmachin.com is one of them. It's all in French, so I can't be 100% sure what it's about, but I'm pretty sure it's an illustrator/animator's portfolio of work. Pretty fun stuff.

I love the character designs and Flash animations, as well as the general "game" quality, all things that I find interesting right now.

Modern Dance/Interactive Performance Installation at the Warehouse

2007-01-23T17:57:00.000-05:00

Temporal Interference is new installation/performance piece that I have been working on with the Jane Franklin Dance company at The Warehouse Theater . The concept is to explore aspects of space and memory, and how it can effect those around us.

I will again be using a Theremin as a proximity sensor, but this time there is the added dimension of music written by composer Gina Biver. Her music will form a framework, in many cases the dancers motions will trigger new compositional elements to create a completely new work for each performance.

There will be three performances each day, and will feature several dancers, live video, sound and interactive sculptural elements. Jane's work is amazing, based on her company's recent performance at Dance Place in DC. It's been a lot of fun working with her and with Gina, am looking forward to a really fun event.

Where & When:

The Warehouse Theater
1021 7th Street, NW

Feb 24 & 25 and March 3 & 4, 2007
SATURDAY at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 pm
SUNDAY at 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 pm
advance tickets

press release

New Animation

2007-01-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

I just completed an animation to accompany composer Gina Biver's piece Skating Still. You can view the video in her 'news' section.

Her composition was chosen to be part of the 2006 International 60X60 Project, a concert series to promote new music from modern composers. It will be show all over the world and was an exciting project to work on.

The animation is driven by the music, in that each instrument drives a particular movement of the central object. The object leaves a trail based on it's movement and I think relates to Gina's concept of the elasticity of time.

Local Review

2007-01-03T00:44:00.001-05:00

Cool! Our local paper, The Alexandria Times, wrote up a nice review of my latest show, you can read it in print or online here.

ICON is off and running

2006-12-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

I just noticed that the new ICON board has put up a blog to keep everyone updated with the next illustration conference. If you haven't heard of ICON, it's a non-profit conference devoted to the illustration profession. About 500 illustrators fly in from all over the world to attend, it's a total blast!

I was on the board for a couple of years and really enjoyed the process, it's not always neat and clean, but the profession deserves a conference where important issues can be raised and discussed. You can check out their website to find out more about the next conference July of 2008.

Gallery 233-One Solo show

2006-12-19T11:09:00.000-05:00

Busy couple of weeks here, tomorrow I will have a small solo show opening at a new exhibition space in Alexandria's City Hall. This will be the inaugural show for the space, which should be a great place to see artists that are working in Northern Virginia.

Here are the details:

Wednesday, December 20 from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m.
Please join Mayor Euille in his Office for the opening of Gallery 233-One (The Mayor’s Conference Room, 2331) as we celebrate the first of a series of exhibits by individual Alexandria artists. The work of Bryan Leister, a noted Del Ray artist, will initiate this program. Join the Mayor in welcoming Mr. Leister and in celebrating the work of one of the City’s own. Light refreshments will be served.

City Hall
Room 2331 (Enter through Room 2300)
301 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

I will be showing my digital encaustic work, along with several oil paintings and pastels. Feel free to drop by for the opening or any time during business hours in the next month or so.

Digital Expo

2006-12-19T11:02:00.000-05:00

Today will be a presentation of George Washington University's digital media class and demos of digital tools for use in the interactive arts. We'll be showing examples of character animation the students have created with Maya.

The demos will include live performance media using Max and Jitter, an example of realistic fluid particle simulation and new pieces using motion capture data. GW has a lab for capturing motion using sensors, it should prove quite useful in quickly creating animation based on movement.

Should be a lot of fun, and free pizza!

Smith Center opening

2006-11-05T11:58:00.000-05:00

Had a busy few days while family was in town, we went to my friend's opening Some Kind of Truth at the Smith Center for the Healing Arts. Nice work and very interesting talking with the artists, worth a trip to U street to see the show.

Also saw Cirque Soleil in downtown DC. Visually stunning, although the Washington Post didn't seem to agree.

Speaking of the Post, what a scathing review for the Hirshhorn's 'Recent Sculpture' exhibition. I have yet to see the art, but I personally love the direction the work looks to be taking. I'm not sure the critics quite 'get it' but it seems obvious to me: the building is more important than it's contents...

Processing Beauty

2006-10-20T11:52:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to my earlier posts on the Dove Ads, beauty and perception I have to say this Dove commercial continues to raise interesting questions about our perception of beauty. The fact that a company in the 'beauty' industry is raising it and making it part of their promotional campaign is also interesting. Is it like politicians who make it a point to run against Washington, but whose job if they win makes them part of Washington or is this about corporations becoming more socially responsible?

Illustration Symposium

2006-10-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

Steve Guranaccia is putting together a terrific event at Parson's, Illustration Today that highlights what is new in illustration. The lineup looks great, definitely worth the trip, especially since it's coinciding with the American Illustration party on the 9th.

Speaking of symposiums, it's been a busy fall for me after the thesis show. I went to the University of Victoria's interarts event in September. Saw some great speakers, and some creative installations. I particularly liked Jamie Jewett's presentation of Restless, a poem interpreted into dance that he choreographed.

Just a few days after getting back from that, I headed off to Vienna for Scope II, Sites and Subjects, a symposium on cultural heritage. Homi Bhabha and Peter Weibel were wonderful as keynotes, and had a very interesting follow up discussion. Churchill Madikida from South Africa had a very interesting talk about the Constitution Hill Museum. He talked about the meaning of place historically, and how buildings carry with them the events and cultures of the past, which are not something people want to remember. What do you do with monuments that are left behind by colonial occupations?

Beyond the Uncanny Valley

2006-10-15T11:18:00.000-04:00

Today's NYTimes article Cyberface talked about a new technology for facial motion capture. Importantly, the system created by Image Metrics does not rely on sensors attached to the face, or phosphorescent paint, which can make actors uncomfortable. This system simply uses the video image of the actor's performance to drive expressions.

I think this is an important step forward, it seems able to leap Masahiro Mori's Uncanny Valley by capturing truly life-like movement. As 3D approaches photorealism, the movement itself becomes increasingly important so that we believe we are watching a real human, and not a pseudo human or zombie-like creature. The previous strategies of making sure that characters remain in the 'art' portion of our brain, may give way to characters that can be seen as truly human.

The show is up!

2006-09-08T11:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much to everyone that turned out for my opening on Wednesday. It was a phenomenal response, not just from the many art students, but also dance and music people that had heard about the show. It was amazing to see the space I designed filled with a couple hundred people and the exhibit reacting to their presence with it's various sounds and visuals. The dancers in particular seemed to be quite interested in how it all worked and changed with their movements.

I was happy to see some artist/creators from dorkbotdc made the trek to Fairfax, as well as many friends and family coming from all over to see what I've been up to.

Here are a few images of the show, unfortunately I was too busy talking to take pictures during the opening. The installation is only up through next Thursday so those who didn't get a chance to come to the opening can still see it. Tomorrow (Saturday) it will be open from 11-5.

It's really impossible to photograph the true feeling of being in the space.... the photos are OK. Here's a short video that shows how the sensor are interacting (thanks Becky!).

A couple of things that surprised me:

1. The way that the streaming video altered behaviour. Some people were not wanting to see themselves on screen, while others discovered the way it worked and moved their body in unusual ways to effect the sensors.

2. A huge mass of people had no ill effects on the sensors, it just dealt with the mass as if it were a large moving body.

3. The 'memory' feature creates a sort of human graffiti, where people would leave a trace of themselves on screen, sometimes during the day, the image can remain for minutes or hours, until someone else approached the correct sensor.

4. Drilling holes in the gallery wall had an interesting effect on people trying to figure out what they were looking at. Walls are supposed to be solid, right? Very low tech, but in the context of the exhibit people assumed it was some kind of high tech LCD device...

Thanks again to all who made it! Now, if I can get just half the number to come out for my "repainting" of the space next Friday...that would be really nice. :-)

EXHIBITIONspace opening

2006-08-27T15:09:00.000-04:00

Next week is the opening of my new installation piece titled: 'EXHIBITIONspace'. Through the use of sensors, projection, sound, a prehistoric lithic artifact and other media I will be focusing on the existence of the gallery space itself. I have spent the summer working on an interactive system that will detect and respond to the location of the viewer, allowing the audience to 'perform' the work even as they experience it.

The opening is Wednesday, September 6 from 7-9, you can download a press release here. It will be in the Fine Arts Gallery, downstairs in the Fine Arts Building, directions to GMU in Fairfax can be found here. After the opening, I will upload photos and video clips to my website.

In short, my goal with this installation was to make the viewer aware of the physical space of the gallery and how that space is reconfigured to create specific responses in a viewer. Museums have been referred to as a liminal space, a place of transition from one state of mind to another and it is the transitional nature of the room itself that I find interesting. To create this installation, I decided to focus on exposing what exists or has existed in the geographic space of the gallery, tweaking it to be sure, but also using the space as raw material and inspiration.

The installation is open 9-6 M-F, through September 14. On Saturday, September 9th it will be open from 11-5.

Exhibition and Narrative

2006-08-25T22:18:00.000-04:00

I just found out that the Scope II conference being held in Vienna this fall is dedicated to 'the context of sites and subjects which produces history and narrations', which is basically the story behind cultural heritage. I think this will be an interesting topic and very related to my upcomine Thesis show; Exhibition SPACE. More on that soon!

Scope will feature talks by Peter Weibel and Homi K. Bhabha amongst others.

Another festival on my radar for it's inclusion of interactive media work is the Collision 2006 symposium. There are several works included that reference the performative aspect of digital arts.

Relationship of Museum to audience

2006-08-18T09:50:00.000-04:00

I'm always interested in how space and transitional spaces effect our behavior, Ulla-Maaria Mutanen has written an interesting take on this in her blog entry Web 2.0.

Dorkbots DC

2006-08-14T09:58:00.000-04:00

I just found out that DC has it's very own chapter of Dorkbots. That's an international organization dedicated to interactive art and robotics. Looking forward to meeting all the other dorks out there!

Theremin update

2006-08-08T19:28:00.000-04:00

Still working on converting my Theremin to a people proximity sensor. Couple of notes:

1. Theremins do not work when resting on the ground.... I had no idea about this and it took forever to figure out, turns out that the ground must act as a ground or something for the volume antennae...

2. It's hard tuning a giant Theremin antannae, mainly because while tuning it you are also in range. Trying to attach a cable to move the antannae away creates a sort of shadow sound....

Maybe I should stick to Legos...

William Kentridge installation

2006-07-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

Just saw a fantastic installation by William Kentridge, Preparing the Flute at the Marian Goodman gallery in Paris. His work wonderfully combines the object with new media, using everything from hand-drawn animation, film, stage and set lighting techniques and sound. Upstairs he also displayed prints and drawings relating to the film.

Other highlights from our trip included Claude Leveque's Valstar Barbie, which used simple materials to create a soothing all-pink environment. Very restful during the summer heat wave!

Science and art

2006-07-18T14:33:00.000-04:00

One of the most fun aspects of working in new media is the cross-pollination of science and art. Anyone who's ever built things with Lego's as a kid has got to love the new sensor-driven robots- Mindstorm NXT from Lego. I can't wait to figure out how to hotwire one of these for my installations.

The Washington Post ran a story Saturday about the community that is helping to promote the new Mindstorm.

I've been gradually turning my Theremin into a MIDI interface for detecting motion in a space. Jitter is performing extremely well and I hope to have some details up soon to help others who are working with heterodyne oscillation devices that can be feed proximity data into Max.

Our French cousins...

2006-07-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

This last week we had a wonderful time hosting a french singer from Caen, France. Caen is Alexandria's sister city and so Alexandria hosted the Caen University Choir for a week. They were amazing singers (and dancers), as you can see from their performance at the Kennedy Center.

Our guest introduced me to a really cool experimental group called Bumcello. At some point we hope to visit her hometown in the Normandy area of France, hopefully our French will be better by then!

Now she is off to NYC, Boston and Montreal, we are sad to see them go but wish them the best.

My homemade Theremin

2006-07-05T16:07:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the Theremin that I made using PAIA's Theremax kit. It's a really cool instrument, it can sound violin-like but it's usually heard in old sci-fi movies. It's actually quite hard to play it well, it's activated by sensing the distance of your body to the antenae.

It's ability to sense proximity makes it ideal for use in interactive art work. In the next month or so, I will attempt to modify this so that it's range is extended to 10 feet or more, so that it will be affected by how close people in the room are to it. Rather than using sound, I'm going to use the 1-5 volt output to feed into an interface and then into the mac to work with for my project.

There's not much information on the web about this, but this article was helpful.

What's up with the blog?

2006-07-01T09:02:00.000-04:00

You may notice that there was quite a pause in my blog from January through June. Well, I tried to create back-dated entries, but I guess that contradicts the whole point of a blog, so I'll just summarize what I've been up to since then:

Jan-May, pretty busy taking 3 grad classes at GMU, one of which involved creating installations for each project. Also, taught 2 courses in digital arts at GMU. That was a lot of fun, the students are pretty talented these days, had to pull out obscure stuff from my bag of Photoshop tricks to keep up with them. Spent most every weeked in Lynchburg visiting family.

May-June, built a Theremin! What's a Theremin, more on that in a future post, in the meantime: Be Happy ... Also submitted some proposals for shows, and finished my new web site.

Already got a friend interested in blogging, check out James Yang's Yangblogworld. Mostly about the World Cup, but Art is mixed in, along with finance and I'm sure golf at some point... pretty funny stuff though, he's a good writer.

New Media show

2006-07-01T08:51:00.000-04:00

Went to a great opening for a show called 'displacement' at Pyramid Atlantic, some cool installations. I talked with Jenna Thwing for a while about her installation, which used grass, old trunks, old windows and projections of the landscape. Symmes Gardner did an installation in the 'vault' which is a great space for video work.

Worth the trip if you want to see some really good experimental art.

LCD Graffiti

2006-06-28T10:13:00.000-04:00

Very interesting work being done by the Graffiti Research Lab in NY, they had a write up in the Times on Sunday. I love the LCD idea and using paint to conduct electricity. Also, just the general clashing of low-tech and high-tech that is going on. Electricity is your friend :-)

New Site launched

2006-06-23T10:54:00.000-04:00

I finally have my new web site up with all of my latest artwork, I'm especially pleased that I was able to incorporate my blog onto the home page. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Opening at AAC

2006-06-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

You can see my "Implied Milk" installation at the New Art Examined show, which is a juried show of recent MFA grads in the mid-Atlantic region. The show opens tomorrow and will run through August 5 at the Arlington Arts Center.

My piece shares the room with an exquisite tower made from Raman noodles. Very cool!

More evidence of symmetry in attraction

2005-12-22T11:31:00.000-05:00

Researchers have found in the past that symmetrical traits are evidence of good health, and therefore both humans and other animals have a preference for symmetry when choosing potential mates. Now they have found evidence that symmetry is also important in dance, with more symmetrical bodies capable of better dancing, which in turn makes them more attractive.

Interesting theory, and I think it holds true in the a"real world", I'm not sure sure if it has any effect in pictorial images of beauty though. I've found that symmetry is not important in paintings when trying to create images of beautiful figures...

Wikipedia, etc.

2005-12-11T14:05:00.000-05:00

Just last night I considered Wikipedia as a safe place to get information, today I read this NYTimes article about a fake entry in Wikipedia: Wikipedia Prank. This exposes the perils of trusting online sources, but in the same paper there is an article about vblogs, and how this person's daily report audience is higher than CNN's Crossfire.

Wikipedia changes are finally made

2005-12-10T18:10:00.000-05:00

It took me a while to get back to this project as I've been so busy this semester. I changed the description for Encaustic painting to get rid of a toxic description and give a more accurate recipe for making encaustic medium. Also, I clarified how metal tools are actually used, the old definition implied a single way of working with these tools.

Secondly, I added the common name, Damar Varnish, to the Dammar Gum entry. Making it easier for people to find out what Damar Varnish is.

Finally, I did add to the Casein definition as I felt the existing definition was sketchy and could use some further explanation.

I find myself using Wikipedia quite a bit lately. It seems like it's actually more useful than many commercial encyclopedias because the information is much more current. The fact that each page usually has a lot of links also helps to verify the information that is on the pages are accurate. The mere number of people that check this site out and add to it seems like it will in the long run be more accurate than any private company could hope to do.

Maybe it is all in our heads

2005-11-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

Interesting story about cognition and the way we perceive, in the New York Times this week. It talks about how people under hypnosis see a different reality than as a result of suggestions.

More on Copyright and Beauty

2005-10-16T22:56:00.000-04:00

Interesting story this week about John Galliano's runway show called Citizen Models which featured models of all sizes and proportions. The audience seemed to be extremely uncomfortable, not knowing whether to laugh or applaud, which seems strange in itself. Couture seems to be constantly in pursuit of the most exotic and extreme, yet something real is over the top?

This story caught my eye, The Hidden Cost of Documentaries as I was making my "found art film" about Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture book for my Research Methodologies class. The story goes into great detail about the cost and problems associated with obtaining copyright from filmakers when copyrighted work appears in their work.

Latest goings on

2005-10-14T07:39:00.000-04:00

There was a nice story about my artwork in Elan Magazine this month and I suppose this blog is the best place for me to put up some of my new digital/encaustic work that was mentioned. Last spring I began working on images where I would try to distort the figure as much as possible in terms of proportion, and then by careful rendering bring the surface quality back up to something pleasing. Here's my initial sketch, and then the finished digital painting. Surface quality is important to me as rendered visually, but also as a physical surface.

My oil paintings have always been very smooth, but over the years I've tried to get more surface quality to my work by painting alla prima whenever possible. I wanted my new digital work to also have texture, and I also wanted to rework the art physically if there were areas that I felt needed more development. What I ended up doing was using encaustic medium to completely cover the print, and then using a combination of oil paint and encaustic, I proceeded to paint various areas. This resulted in a nice complex surface, with a luminosity that is not possible in a straight digital print. It's pretty hard to tell what was painted and what is digital. I also built various boxes to contain the artwork and various items that I felt were important to the subjects.

As an illustrator...

2005-10-04T21:01:00.000-04:00

Today we had a lively discussion about Lawrence Lessig's book Free Culture in Kari Kraus's Research Methodologies class and I was asked how has the internet impacted illustrators? One common experience that most illustrators have had in the last few years is when people find our art work and post it on their site. I have had the honor of being included on the Unicorn Art web site with a scan of a book cover I did about ten years ago. The webmaster contacted me and I was happy to oblige, as long as credit and copyright was given. I did turn down a request to have my Brunhilde image (to the right) used as an avatar on a Wicca discussion forum...

Another fairly recent development for illustrators was the increasing use of stock and royalty free illustration as an alternative to commissioned work. The efficiency of the internet made it possible for instant searching and delivery of art which in turn made the market much bigger for stock illustration. Existing work had more value and a few large companies started buying up rights to illustrators work. Artists are not traditionally the most savvy negotiators, and not unlike early musical recording artists many illustrators signed contracts that put them at a competitive disadvantage. Finally, in 1999 illustrators got together and organized the first ever national Illustration Conference (ICON) held in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The conference was a huge hit, and a new trade group was formed that promotes the rights of illustrators- The Illustrators Partnership. I wrote an article for the IPA called Protecting your images on the Web which allows artists to prevent spiders from archiving their images, if that's their desire. One quality that I did like about Lessig's book was his emphasis on "balance" in the debate, and I believe that to the greatest extent possible artists should decide how their work is used. The Graphic Artist Guild is another non-profit that has worked hard over the years to protect illustrators copyrights.

Inspired by ICON, my friend Randy Lyhus and I launched Folioplanet.com in March of 2000. Our site has provided illustrators a way to market secondary usage of their work on their own, with no middle man. A lot of artists liked the idea and in a way it has helped to prevent large corporations from dominating the stock illustration market. Again, Lessig has it right when he talks about the negative aspects of having a few large corporations supplying content.

Ultimately, I think the core of Lessig's argument is that culture is damaged when access is not clearly spelled out, and people are not able to re-purpose older artwork. The real problem comes when he tries to design a system that's better than the current one. The idea that a new technology requires that our laws be rewritten seems to me a bit like rewriting assault and battery laws to take into account a new weapon. Isn't the real issue not what caused the harm, but is the result of the action harmful?

Wikipedia entries

2005-09-26T17:47:00.000-04:00

I've been browsing through Wikipedia and find that it is amazingly accurate in many areas, and less so in others. I had hoped to add something about Hans Memling, a flemish painter, but find that the entry is so knowledgeable and thorough I would have nothing to add. On the other hand, it seems to me that the entries for "Encaustic" needs much improvement. The suggestion to add "Damar Varnish" to beeswax could actually be toxic, since Damar varnish contains turpentine solvent it should never be heated as it would release toxic fumes. I'll plan to change that to the more correct "Damar Resin" or Damar Gum, which is the pure form of this tree sap.

There is no entry on Damar Varnish or Resin, perhaps that explains the confusion on the entry. Perhaps I'll introduce one as a stub, I'm certainly no chemist, but it seems like I could get something started on this.

Also, there is a confusing line about metal tools being used with the wax medium before it cools. You can use the tools whenever, even after it cools, but a more common technique is to heat the metal and use it to manipulate the cooled wax while the tool is still hot. Semantics, maybe, but seems like that could be improved.

Also, the description of Casein paint as "glue-like" is curious. I think of glue as Elmer's consistency and the casein paint that I use is more like guache, or even oils. Should probably research this a bit to see if there is a glue-like variety available.

Coincidence?

2005-09-18T10:16:00.000-04:00

Isn't it strange how whenever you are thinking about something, things just start showing up at your door? Friday, not one day after I decided I was going to start experimenting with sounds in my art, the Washington Post Weekend cover story Sound Ideas is all about local experiemental sound bands, where to see and hear them and who they are. Becky and I went to hear The Caution Curves at the Black Cat in DC that night. They also interviewed my sound instructor Steven Antosca whose Contemporary Music Forum I'm planning to see today performing at the Corcoran.

In Sunday's NY TImes there was also a story about MFA art-metal bands, it's about technology and the way heavy metal bands are experimenting with sounds combined with an almost classical aesthetic.

Also of interest to me in today Times was a story about traditional vs. computer animators at Disney. The advantages/disadvantages of using computers to create artwork has long been part of my career in art. It seems like it can be a divisive issue among artists, we're typically not the type to want to sit in front of a computer all day... but then again, it's so much fun all the stuff you can do digitally :-)

Defining Beauty Through Avedon caught my eye as well because of it's interesting undertone. It seemed to be attempting to counter the idea of fashion photographers representing the embodiment of the male "gaze". Avedon definitely sought to portray the beautiful, but he also found beauty in unlikely places, like the portrait of Debbie McClendon.

This summer I read Wendy Steiner's "Venus in Exile" and it was a fascinating take on the male "gaze" and the subsequent banishment of feminine beauty from art for much of the last century. The Kantian sublime, in her view is a male disinterest in all that is decorative and human. When you look at a Picasso or De Kooning nude, you don't see a figure, you see Picasso and his virtuoso brushwork. To think about the woman who posed would be a distraction...

Steiner equates the decorative as a feminine virtue, "decorative" is a quality which Kant specifically singles out as beneath beauty. Perhaps that explains why I had trouble finding the Avedon story online, turns out it was in the Fashion section, not the Arts...

A little about my work

2005-09-16T10:29:00.000-04:00

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about the strange path that my artwork has taken through the years, from painting to digital and now painterly-looking digital work with a little 3D thrown in. Yesterday I bought some sound recording equipment to help me add sounds to video work, yet another path I'm taking.

Talking with other artists at GMU it seems like my story is not so strange after all. In fact everyone in our program is doing all kinds of things. Lisa Diaz is teaching Digital Printmaking, where we create plates digitally and then print using a traditional etching press. My other studio class is taught by Steve Antosca, a music teacher and composer who is teaching us how to use traditional tools to add music to our video and animations. It seems like in the fine arts today there is so much crossover between mediums that it gets harder and harder to break artists into different classifications.

For example, I worked on a piece of artwork this summer which combines photography, digital printing and encaustic. I "paint" in Photoshop so in the end, what is my medium? I'll post a picture above. Feel free to comment on what I should call this sort of work. "Mixed media" is a common term, but I find that usually implies collage or found objects. I feel like I painted this, in fact it was "painted" digitally, but what you see as the finished work was partially printed. Adding to the confusion, I glazed and painted encaustic onto the print.

Encaustic is a wonderful medium, it consists of bees wax, damar resin and pigment. Damar is clear tree sap from Indonesia that is commonly used as a varnish for oil paintings, it hardens the wax and gives colors luminosity and depth. I find it really adds interest to the print and gives me a workable surface that I can manipulate as I wish. By using it I've replaced the smell of oil paints and turpentine in my studio with that of honey and bees wax.

Encaustic is one of the oldest mediums still in use for painting. Some of the only examples of early rendered paintings are egyptian portraits like the Faiyum mummy portraits. The colors are so perfectly preserved and fresh that they look as if they were painted just minutes ago rather than 2200 years ago. It's an incredibly stable medium that can be reworked hours or years later by simply heating the surface again.

I think it's interesting how the lines between the disciplines have blurred so much over the years. Here I am working on a Digital Fine Art MFA, working with the one of the oldest mediums around, plus music, photography and video. I'm really glad that the GMU has so much cross-pollination between the departments, to the extent that we have to have different departments at all!

2005-09-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's the best I could come up with on short notice for my first blog. At least it's better than BeautyKRX90001 or whatever "beauty" derivative is still available on blogspot.com. Why beauty at all? Well, as luck would have it I have an intense interest in things beautiful, in fact it's been a main goal of mine throughout my life as an artist and illustrator, to create beautiful images I mean.

Years ago, I chose to study illustration because it seemed to me the most direct way to produce work that I enjoyed, particularly figurative realism, and make my living as an artist. Today I am enrolled as a MFA student in the Digital Fine Art program at George Mason University.

Today it seems like there is no shortage of readings and debate about beauty and I hope to use this blog as a place to gather my thoughts and write down what I have found in my research. I would also like to share some of the artwork I have been developing which explores various conditions and the limits of what we consider as beautiful.