Introduction…

The Scale Electric workshop (19 & 20/07/2010) couples the power of the Atomic Force Microscope to touch the infinitesimally small with the potential of the Full Dome environment to immerse participants in visualisations of the incomprehensibly big.

Throughout the last Century we were reintroduced to the idea of an invisible world. The development of sensing technologies allowed us to sense things in the world that we were unaware of (or maybe things we had just forgotten about?). The Scale Electric - the invisible ‘hertzian’ landscape was made accessible through instruments that could measure, record and broadcast our fears and desires. These instruments endow us with powers that in previous centuries would have been deemed ‘occult’ or ‘magic’.

Our Twenty Fist Century magic instruments mark a dramatic shift from the hegemony of the eye to a reliance on technologies that do our seeing for us - things so big, small or invisible that it takes a leap of faith to believe they are really there. Our view of the ‘real world’ is increasingly understood through images made of data, things that are measured and felt rather than seen. What we know and what we see is not the same thing - if you see what I mean?

Our ability to shift scales, from the smallest thing to the largest thing has been described as the ‘transcalar imaginary. The workshop will enable participants to touch the nano level and then immerse themselves within it through visualisations and sonifications.

Context:

Scale Electric extends a series of collaborative projects orbiting i-DAT’s research agenda. It builds on:

practical workshops to explore the application of novel and innovative technologies to creative practice (http://www.i-dat.org/2006-slidingscale/, http://www.i-dat.org/far-away-so-close/, http://www.i-dat.org/ahobartletti-dat/, etc)

projects with the Immersive Vision Theatre (a 40 seat 9m Full Dome digital projection system) a transdisciplinary instrument for the manifestation of material, immaterial and imaginary worlds - modelling, visualization, sonification and simulation.

research projects such as Arch-OS and Ecoid’s which stream real time data to facilitate insights into complex temporal architectural and ecological systems (http://www.arch-os.com/)

and more recently nano technology projects in collaboration with the Wolfson Nanotechnology Laboratory and John Curtin Gallery, Perth, WA - Art in the age of nanotechnology, 5/02 – 30/04/2010 (http://johncurtingallery.curtin.edu.au/)

Output generated by this workshop will contribute to the Ubiquity Journal Published in 2011 by Intellect. (http://ubiquityjournal.net/, http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/index/).

Scale Electric explores some of the ‘transcalar” (http://www.elumenati.com/products/TInarrative.html) conundrums that are increasingly intruding into our daily consciousness.

Schedule…

Monday 19/07/2010

10.00-10.15: Introductions, Briefing: Location - Babbage 213

10.15-10.30: Presentation 1: Prof Mike Phillips.

10.35-10.50: Presentation 2: Dr Chris Speed.

10.55-11.10: Presentation 3: Prof Genhua Pan.

11.15-11.30: Presentation 4: Pete Carss.

12.00-12.30: Tour of the AFM & IVT

12.30-13.30: Lunch

13.30-14.30: Production Planning: Location - Babbage 213

14.30-17.30: AFM Scanning: Location - The Wolfson Nanotechnology Laboratory,

Tuesday 20/07/2010

10.00-10.30: Briefing: Location Babbage 213

10.30-12.30: Project development AFM & IVT

12.30-13.30: Lunch

13.30-15.30: Project development AFM & IVT

15.30-17.30: IVT Manifestations

Process…

A: Experiencing Atoms:

The first practical session will utilise the AFM in the Wolfson Nanotechnology Laboratory to produce data and images. The materials themselves will be defined during the morning session. Participants will be asked to propose matter and associated narratives for examination.

B: Modelling Experience

Software templates will allow the interpretation and visualisation of the data gathered by the AFM. These visualisations will be hacked, tweaked and ultimately experienced within the Immersive Vision Theatre.

Project Team…

Pete Carss (http://www.i-dat.org/pete-carrs/)

Prof Genhua Pan (http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/gpan)

Prof Mike Phillips (http://www.i-dat.org/mike-phillips/)

Dr Chris Speed (http://fields.eca.ac.uk/?page_id=65)

Supported by…

The Institute of Digital Art & Technology: [http://www.i-dat.org/]

Manifest Research Group

The Wolfson Nanotechnology Laboratory

The Centre for Media Art & Design Research

Ubiquity Journal

Welcome to FULLDOME UK 2010. A celebration of the FullDome experience, we present a day of screenings, presentations, discussions and perhaps some realtime performance. The event takes place at the Immersive Vision Theatre (IVT) based at the University of Plymouth on Saturday 10th July 2010 and runs from mid-day until late evening.

The event is free, but numbers are limited so please let us know your interest via email or by using the online form. We will be updating this site with more information on a regular basis, with more details of the screenings and guest speakers coming shortly – go to:

http://www.fulldome.org.uk/

CALL FOR COLLABORATORS
The CO-OS community - www.co-os.org - has commissioned artists from Austria, Brazil, Greece/Spain and UK to develop new work. These artists have just posted their ideas on the CO-OS online platform www.co-os.org. Would you like to collaborate with them in developing their ideas?

Until the 20 May you can ‘bid’ some of your ‘time’ to work with them and get ‘time credit’ to get others to work with you.

Just register on the website and get started. You can also pitch your own ideas and see what the community thinks. If they like it, you can find people with whom you can collaborate and develop your ideas.

ABOUT
CO-OS – www.co-os.org - is a growing online community of creators and do-ers, all coming together to collaborate and exchange creative ideas, skills and resources in a cashless system based on the concept of timebanking. Here ideas can be shared, evaluated and developed collaboratively through trading units of time in exchange for skills and resources.

The project is part of ‘Creative Collaboration’, www.britishcouncil.org/creativecollaboration, a British Council arts initiative that builds networks for dialogue and debate across the arts communities of South East Europe and the UK. The programme aims to enrich the cultural life of Europe and its surrounding countries, as well as fostering understanding, skills development, trust and respect across borders.

The artists commissioned for CO-OS Ignite are:

AMMEBA: PABLO BERZAL & DAVID PASTOR (Greece/Spain)
TIM KNOWLES (UK)
CADU COSTA (Brazil)
EDUARDO BERLINER (Brazil)
FELIPE NORKUS (Brazil)
PAULO VIVACQUA (Brazil)
tat-ort: WOLFGANG FIEL (Austria)

The CO-OS Ignite commissions are developed in partnership with:

AMORPHY, Greece - www.amorphy.org
GALERIA VERMELHO, Brazil - www.galeriavermelho.com.br
i-DAT, UK - www.i-dat.org
PLYMOUTH ARTS CENTRE, UK - www.plymouthartscentre.org
SCAN, UK - www.scansite.org
tat ort, Austria - www.tat-ort.net

Lead Partner contact UK:

i-DAT
Institute of Digital Art and Technology
School of Art & Media
University of Plymouth,
Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, Devon, UK
Website: www.i-dat.org

Lead partner contact person
Birgitte (B) Aga, Creative Producer
Telephone: ++44-(0)1752 586201
E-mail: baga@plymouth.ac.uk

Festival International de la Vidéo d’Art de Casablanca.

Musaab Garghouti travels to Casablanca with the 5 meter inflatable dome to install Marc Fournel’s VOID (and other work) in the Festival International de la Vidéo d’Art de Casablanca.
VOID involves 3 wireless interfaces and live video manipulation. The invitation to Marc from the festival extends on Marc’s collaboration with i-DAT funded by the Canadian Council for the Arts research grant. The dome installation incorporated the Pure Data dome correction tool developed during Marc’s residency at i-DAT. Check out….
http://ciam.dyndns.org/~mfco/fr/?q=fisheye

More to follow….

DAGAFO and [Séquence] are pleased anounce the launch of The Playable Body, Marc Fournel, videos and installations at OBORO on March 26, 2010 from 5 to 7 pm, 2001 rue Berri, Montréal.

The Playable Body, Marc Fournel, videos and installations is a publication about the artistic work of Marc Fournel from 1995 to 2009 that comprises texts in English and French by authors Fabrice Montal, Caroline Seck Langill, Jean Gagnon, and Mike Phillips. The monograph also includes a short text by the artist about the enigmatic titles of his works. The hardcover book is illustrated with color photos.

The Gallery [Séquence] in Chicoutimi and DAGAFO have collaborated for this publication. Volumes, essays, and critical articles on works of contemporary Quebecer artists whose approach is based on new media are rare. This edition makes us discover a particular figure in the landscape of media art, while at the same time contributing to the necessary documentation of these artistic practices.

Marc Fournel, after some videographic productions between 1995 and 1998, begins to more systematically explore the application of informatics and softwares, particularly open-source softwares. Since 2004, he has devoted himself full-time to his artistic research, which has allowed him to produce a number of works, but also to develop his informatics tools and instruments. His artistic work has been presented nationally and internationally, notably at OBORO in Montreal, [Séquence] in Chicoutimi, Interacess in Toronto, at the International Festival of Video Art of Casablanca, at L’IRCAM in Paris, and at the Foundation Telefonica in Buenos Aires.

DAGAFO is a non-profit organization founded in Montreal in 2007 by Ricardo Dal Farra, Jean Gagnon, and Marc Fournel. DAGAFO supports, develops, and produces projects—by means of exhibitions and publications —that foster cultural exchange and relations on a national or international level. DAGAFO thanks [Séquence], Chicoutimi (QC) and i-DAT, Faculty of Technology, University of Plymouth (UK) for their collaboration in this publication, as well as the Canada Counsel for the Arts for its financial support.

[Séquence] is an important regional center in Saguenay for the production and presentation as well as the development of media art and new media in Quebec. The center’s implication in the development of international relations has allowed it to put in place a strong network of exchange, presentation, and production of media art works. [Séquence] would like to thank: DAFAGO, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des Arts de Saguenay, and the city of Saguenay.
Available after book launch through the website of RCAAQ: http://rcaaq.org/librairie/

29th March 2009, Birmingham Conservatoire.

http://www.performingourselves.co.uk/

Image from: I Can’t Draw, Rosie Page: http://www.performingourselves.co.uk/about/i-cant-draw-rosie-page/

Taking risks and pushing boundaries; delivering excellence and professionalism in arts in healthcare and sharing innovation for performance and new media arts in health care. Focussing on service delivery for the most vulnerable and frail in our communities, this conference will address how the performing arts and healthcare can work together to offer sustainable community led practices.

www.rosettalife.org

art in the age of nanotechnology

A Perth International Arts Festival exhibition - 5 February - 30 April 2010
The unique works developed for art in the age of nanotechnology operate at the intersection of art, science and technology, demonstrating innovative examples of contemporary art and scientific collaboration.

The exhibition will comprise of a series of collaborative projects designed to challenge, explore and critique our understanding of the material world and will bring together artists and scientists from the around the world to present new ways of seeing, sensing and connecting with matter that’s miniscule and abstract.

art in the age of nanotechnology will feature internationally-recognised artists and scientists such as Christa Sommerer (Austria) & Laurent Mignonneau (France); Paul Thomas (Aus) & Kevin Raxworthy (Aus); Mike Philips (UK); Boo Chapple (Aus) and Victoria Vesna (USA) & James Gimzewski (Scotland).

http://johncurtingallery.curtin.edu.au/exhibitions/future.cfm

A Mote it is… (from the ‘art in the age of nano technology catalogue).

“A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye.” (1)

Words spoken by Horartio to describe Hamlet’s father’s ghost. In this Shakespearian play the ghost is seen but not believed and one is left to wonder if it is just the seeing of it that makes it real - its existence totally dependent on the desire of the viewer to see it.  The ‘mote’ or speck of dust in the eye of the mind of the beholder both creates the illusion and convinces us that what we see is real. Something just out of the corner of our minds eye, those little flecks magnified by our desire to see more clearly. Yet the harder we look the more blurred our vision becomes.

A ‘mote’ is both a noun and a verb. Middle English with Indo-European roots, its early Christian origins and Masonic overtones describe the smallest thing possible and empower it with the ability to conjure something into being (so mote it be…). This dual state of becoming and being (even if infinitesimally tiny) render it a powerful talisman in the context of nano technology.

Throughout the last Century we were reintroduced to the idea of an invisible world. The development of sensing technologies allowed us to sense things in the world that we were unaware of (or maybe things we had just forgotten about?). The invisible ‘Hertzian’ landscape was made accessible through instruments that could measure, record and broadcast our fears and desires. Our radios, televisions and mobile phones revealed a parallel world that surrounds us. These instruments endow us with powers that in previous centuries would have been deemed occult or magic.

Our Twenty First Century magic instruments mark a dramatic shift from the hegemony of the eye to a reliance on technologies that do our seeing for us - things so big, small or invisible that it takes a leap of faith to believe they are really there. Our view of the ‘real world’ is increasingly understood through images made of data, things that are measured and felt rather than seen. What we know and what we see is not the same thing - if you see what I mean? The worrying thing is that for a long time we thought the invisible world was made of layers of transparent electromagnetic fields, now through technologies such as the Atomic Force Microscope we are faced with the reality that the ‘invisible’ is actually what constitutes our material world, we can reach out and touch it!

It is our relationship with these technologies that troubles the mind’s eye. Our ability to shift scales, from the smallest thing to the largest thing has been described as the ‘transcalar imaginary’ (2). In this context astronomer Carl Sagan described the Earth as a “mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.” (3) The famous image taken from Voyager 1 in 1990 shows the planet suspended in an infinite Universe. A mote that seems so large to us, but which is in fact so cosmologically small, disturbs our sensibilities and desire for order in our world.

About A Mote it is…:

A Mote it is… is constructed from data captured by an AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) from a ‘mote’ or piece of dust extracted from the artist’s eye. The whirlwind of data projected within the gallery is rendered invisible by the gaze of the viewer. The more we look the more invisible it becomes - look away and it re-emerges from the maelstrom of data. A ghost of the mote can be seen in viewers peripheral vision but never head on. – if you see what I mean?

Notes:

1: Shakespeare, W. Hamlet. Act 1, Scene 1, Line 129.

2: http://www.twine.com/twine/12vx9k6qs-2zp/transcalar-imaginary

3: Sagan, C. 1994,Pale Blue Dot, Random House. p6

Many thanks to:

Lee Nutbean and Justin Roberts at i-DAT.

Professor Genhua Pan and Yuqing Du at the Wolfson Nanotechnology Laboratory at University of Plymouth.

More images:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Mike.Phillips.net/AFMAMoteItIs#

Aggregator v1.0 builds on a suite of creative ‘tools’ or ‘operating systems’ that dynamically manifest ‘data’ as an abstract and invisible material, forming a mirror image of our world and reflecting, in sharp contrast and high resolution, our biological, ecological and social activities.

Aggregator v1.0 generates an audio/visual immersive experience of data feeds from web 2.0 platforms, news feeds, networks, buildings, and satellites all orchestrated through subtle audience interaction.

Aggregator v1.0 is a evolving generative performane and the audience is able drop in and out during the session.

Aggregator v1.0 coding and composition by Pete Carss.

Aggregators: Pete Carss and Mike Phillips.

Aggregator v1.0 is a component of the Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival 2010

Date: Saturday 27 February.

Venue: Immersive Vision Theatre.

Time: 12:00pm - 4:00pm.

Admission: FREE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDyk9rj6QGo

Live coding application - Fluxus (care of Dave Griffiths):

http://www.pawfal.org/fluxus/

Audio feeds:

PALAOA Audio Observatory (microphone under ice)

http://icecast.awi.de:8000/PALAOA.MP3

Air Traffic Control:

http://mso.liveatc.net:80/khnd1

http://aus.liveatc.net:80/sbbr_acc

Calm noises:

http://www.whitenoise247.com/Sounds/CalmSeaWaves.wav

http://www.whitenoise247.com/Sounds/river_full.wav

Natural Radio:

http://mp3.nasa-us.speedera.net:8000/mp3.nasa-us/florida1

http://67.207.143.181:80/vlf1

http://67.207.143.181:80/vlf3

http://67.207.143.181:80/vlf9

http://67.207.143.181:80/vlf15

http://194.116.73.37:8000/pontese124.m3u

http://icecast.nis.nasa.gov:8000/florida1

http://picasso.astro.ufl.edu:8000/icy_1

Radio Astronomy:

http://28.72.128.252:8000/radast

Fluxus sample code:

;(require fluxus-016/drflux)

(require fluxus-017/planetarium)

;(set-dome-mode! #t)

(smoothing-bias 2)

(clear)

;(clear-colour 0)

;(blur 0.1)

;(fog (vector 0.1 0.1 0.1) 0.2 0.01 0.1)

(ortho)

(define dome (dome-build 10 180 2048))

; buffersize and samplerate need to match jack’s

(start-audio  “MPlayer” 1024 48000)

(define (render count)

(cond

((not (zero? count))

(translate (vector 0.1 0.1 (* 10 (gh 4))))

(scale (vector 2 2 1))

(rotate (vector (gh 4) (gh 5) (gh 6) ))

(colour (vector (* 0.5 (gh 4)) 0.2 (* 0.5 (gh 10))

0.3))

(opacity 0.3)

(draw-torus)

(render (- count 1)))))

;(with-state

;(rotate (vector 0 -25 0))

;(render (- count 1))

;(draw-cube)

;set the view of the camera

(dome-setup-main-camera 1400 1050)

(every-frame

(with-pixels-renderer (dome-pixels)

(with-state

;(rotate (vector 0 0  (* 90  (cos(/ (time) 10)))))

(translate (vector 0 0 -100)) ; move it into view

(render 10)))

Thinking and making on time, place and relationship

A arts/science practical symposium organised by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Hamer Dodds and the Ubiquity Journal. A weekend of talks, conversations and making, to explore the concept of phylogenetics and its relevance to cultural art and design practice.

Ecoid demonstration in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Follow the link to Ubiquity…

http://ubiquityjournal.net/

Remote Sensing: Ecoid Workshop.

The Ecoid Workshop will be delivered by Luis Girao with support from Mike Phillips, Chris Saunders, Pete Carss, Musaab Garghouti.

“Idly, he wondered what these geometric forms really represented - he knew that only a few seconds earlier they had constituted an immediately familiar part of his everyday existence - but however he rearranged them spatially in his mind, or sought their associations, they still remained a random assembly of geometric forms.”

(Ballard, JG)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

i-DAT is developing a range of ‘Operating Systems’ which dynamically manifest data as experience and extend human perception. Arch-OS [www.arch-os.com], an ‘Operating System’ for contemporary architecture (’software for buildings’) was the first i-DAT ‘OS’, developed to manifest the life of a building (currently being installed as the i-500 (www.i-500.org) in Perth Western Australia. More recently S-OS was released (Social Operating System) and follow up with Eco-OS, an ecological operating system.

Eco-OS explores ecologies. Eco-OS further develops the sensor model embedded in the Arch-OS system through the manufacture and distribution of networked environmental sensor devices. Intended as an enhancement of the Arch-OS system Eco-OS provides a new networked architecture for internal and external environments. Networked and location aware data gathered from within an environment can be transmitted within the system or to the Eco-OS server for processing.

Eco-OS.

Eco-OS collects data from an environment through the network of ecoids and provides the public, artists, engineers and scientists with a real time model of the environment. Eco-OS provides a range of networked environmental sensors (ecoids) for rural, urban, work and domestic environments. They extend the concept developed through the Arch-OS and i-500 projects by implementing specific sensors that transmit data to the Operating Systems Core Database. Eco-OS also enables the transmission of data back to the Eco-OS ecoids to support interaction with the environment (such as light shows and the transmission of audio/music in response to the network activity).

Descriptor:

Eco-OS: Eco-OS consists of: the Core database, which collects, stores and makes available data and the sensors - ecoids.

Eco-OS Core Database: is an extension of the established Arch-OS Core database. The Eco-OS Core collects the data transmitted to it by the ecoids. The data is parsed up and published through a range of flexible tools (flash, Max MSP, Processing, Java, etc), feeds (xml, rss) and web 2.0 streams, such as Twitter and Facebook, which allow artists, engineers and scientists to develop visualisations, sonifications (music) and interactive projects. Eco-OS can operate in passive mode, simply collecting data from the environment or interactive mode, feeding back recursively through the environment.

Ecoids: are sensor devices (small pods) that can be distributed through an environment (work place, domestic, urban or rural). The sensors allow environmental data to be collected from the immediate vicinity. The sensors can be connected together through the formation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WNS) that enable the coverage of an extensive territory (several kilometres). Each ecoid has a unique id and its location within a network can be triangulated giving its exact location. Consequently locative content can be tailored to a specific geographical area.

Ecoids consist of programmable (Processing, Java, etc) embedded technologies (Arduino, etc) and network technologies (Zigbee/Xbee, GPRS and Bluetooth). Designed to be attached to objects (architecture, trees, rocks, etc), free form (water-based, balloons, free standing) or as mobile sensors. They can be powered or draw power from the environment (solar).

Ecoids can also be used to produce content be receiving instructions from Eco-OS. Distributed performance can then be orchestrated across a large territory through light displays or acoustic renditions.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Timetable:

SMB302 is free from 11.00 to 17.00 on Friday 22nd, smb302 is free again on Monday 25th from 09.00 until 13.00 and SMB 303A if free on Tuesday from 09.00 until 17.00 hrs.

Friday 22/01/2010:

11.00 - 17.00: Introduction and Hardware Workshop. Smeaton 302.

Saturday 23/01/2010:

Team design work.

Monday 25/01/2010:

09.00-13.00 Further Hardware development. Smeaton 302

09.00-17.00 Software tools and packaging design. Software Babbage 213/221

Tuesday 26/01/2010:

Software and visualisation

Smeaton302 is available all day.

Wednesday: 27/01/2010

10-12. Final production and cleaning up. Babbage213

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Teams:

Teams will consist of 4-5 people. A mix of hardware, software, visualisation and product design skills is encouraged. Ideally PhD, Masters, MPT and DAT students should constitute these teams.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Construction: The Smeaton labs will support the electronics development.

Kits consist of: Xbee Pro, Sensors (Humidity Sensor, Light Sensor, Temperature Sensor, Stretch sensor), Batteries, and connectors.

Please bring your laptops to allow better connectivity with the systems (University ports/restrictions etc can cause problems).

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Software/plugins:

Xbee interface, php, Processing, Java, Flesh, VVVV, Quartz Composer, www.nodebox.net

http://www.arch-os.com/downloads.html

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Construction: electronics workshop developing the xbee hardware systems.

Interface: connecting the xbee to a PC.

Network: Mesh network of xbee ecoids.

Broadcast: xml feeds from the xbee network to the internet.

Visualisation: generatibg visualisations from the xbee feed.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Tools:

Mobile: rss feeds, java apps, pachube for iPhone.

Dome: 3D Studio max, Blender, Unity 3D, Quartz Composer (and audio).

GreenScreen. Greenscreen templates.

Web: Pachube.com, etc…

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Collaborators:

These individuals and organisations will be building on this Far Away So Close workshop. There are of opportunities for involvement in these collaborations if you would like to taker this work further.

1: Dr Chris Speed: Edinburgh College of Art: http://ubiquityjournal.net/

Check out the PHYLOGENY WORKSHOP. SAT 20 - SUN 21 FEB 2010

2: Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World. www.ccanw.co.uk

3: North Devon Biosphere Reserve. http://www.northdevonbiosphere.org.uk/

4: James Moore. University College Falmouth. http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/

5: Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music, Nagoya, Japan. And festival: http://setouchi-artfest.jp/

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..