Research and Theory: Week 5

This week saw the introduction of our final research project for the term, where we discussed the themes we would be interested in developing.

At the start of the week we were tasked to find an essay online related to our particular interests. I decided to read the article ‘Expanded Architecture’ by Sarah Breen Lovett. It explores how moving image installation can be used to explore our relationship with architecture, and how this relationship can be altered or changed. This is a topic that I have had a longstanding interest in and have explored within my own artistic practise, particularly during my time at the Arts University Bournemouth.

During my time at AUB I became very interested in experimenting with techniques such as circuit bending and video feedback, creating psychedelic imagery that I would across different surfaces and buildings. I was particularly intrigued as to how I could use these projections to facilitate reactions from passersby. The buildings at my university were used daily and designed for a specific purpose; by casting psychedelic imagery across them I was able to create environments that affected how people would interact with the space.

This is a theme that is covered by Lovett in the essay. She mentions how the pairing of moving image and architecture operates in contradiction:

Architecture is normally experienced in a state of distraction, while art work, whereas film is experienced in a state of awe. By reframing the architecture back on itself, this inherent contradiction leads to an interesting wavering of consciousness between the moving image installation, and the architecture. By using one to explore our relationship to the other, a third entity is formed. One is not totally ignorant of the architecture, nor in awe of the moving image, but sits in tension between these elements. Lovett, 2011

Lovett goes on to explain how these contradictions creates a certain tension between self and space, as the architecture that we have grown accustomed to suddenly becomes unfamiliar. It reminds me of a piece by Rachel Ara, displayed at the Barbican in late 2018:

The piece uses a mixture of film and CGI to create a mirror image of the Barbicans iconic architecture, making references to film history, utopian architecture and contemporary politics. It acts as a glitch, a window through which the observer might catch a glimpse of the future. (Ara, 1018).

Towards the end of our session we split into various groups and discussed potential research topics. I mentioned my interests in architecture and the notion of utopia, particularly how visions of the future from the 20th century are viewed differently today. I am interested in how a vision of utopia can change and become dystopian over time; an example of this can be seen in the work of Le Corbusier and his plans for a city of the future:

This design was originally intended as a utopia; however in retrospect I feel the identical, repetitive buildings look distinctly dystopian. I feel if I am to work on this theme I need to consider how I can implement computation; in the past I have been interested in how generative art can be used within the construction of buildings - this is a topic related closely to my current research, with potential to be developed into an interesting project if explored further.

Bibliography

• https://www.2ra.co/amerianbeauty.html

• https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/11076/11077

Research and Theory: Week 4

This week we covered the topics of linearity and recursivity, alongside our initial themes of interest.

One piece of reading that we were given this week was ‘Preface: the Time of Execution’ by Yuk Hui. It starts off by discussing how the meaning of the word execution has changed over time, expanding from associations with administration and bureaucracy into the operation of machinery and weapons. It relates back to last week’s lecture where we discussed the inseparability of humans and machines; this was also covered in a piece by the artist Theo Jansen, titled Strandbeast. In this series, Jansen produces as series of sculptures made up of tubes that act as pumps, the movement of which is affected by the wind. The intention is to create pieces that move on their own accord, acting as if they are living, sentient beings.

At the end of the session we discussed our interests regarding the themes we will pick for our upcoming group projects. I mentioned my interests in the theme of ‘nature culture’, a topic explored in last week’s lecture. I related this back to architecture theory, particularly organic architecture and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. A topic that Mattia brought up was the theme of ‘utopia’; I have an existing interest in this topic, particularly architects visions from the 20th century and the futures they would fabricate:

I have been interested in looking at the visions of architects from the 20th century and comparing it to today. What did they get right? What was the intention behind their concepts? How different were their predictions from our reality? How could I create my own utopian visions of the future?

I first became interested in this subject when I visited the future homes exhibition at the Design Museum last year, exploring a variety of work by architects/interior designers from the 20th century. Architecture collectives such as Archigram, Superstudio and UFO would often present the public with installations, collages and videos depicting experimental, radical possibilities of the future. For them, this was a way of responding to the current state of the architecture industry that they felt had become too elitist. An example of this can be seen in a piece by Alessandro Poli of Superstudio, who developed a concept depicting an imaginary motorway connecting the Earth and the Moon.

This theme was also explored by Archigram, an architecture firm that operated in the late 1960’s. They drew inspiration from technology to create hypothetical visions of new realities and environments, creating concepts that envisioned how cities in the future could adapt and change.

““We are in pursuits of an idea, a new vernacular, something to stand alongside the space capsules, computers and throw-away packages of an atomic/ electronic age””

— Superstudio, 1966

An example of this can be seen in their piece ‘Walking Cities’. It depicts a future after a nuclear war where cities are based inside large mechanical structures that can move from place to place. I believe you can see some parallels with some of the themes explored in the text by Yuk Hui, as well as the movement in the sculptures of Theo Jansen. I would be interested in exploring this topic further in the subsequent weeks of this term, perhaps combining it with topics already covered such as nature culture, artificial intelligence and techno-science.

Bibliography

• http://architecturewithoutarchitecture.blogspot.com/2012/12/notable-archigram-quotes.html

• https://somethingcurated.com/2020/05/06/what-archigram-taught-us/

• https://www.strandbeest.com/agenda

• https://www.detail-online.com/article/architecture-as-political-vision-the-utopias-of-the-1960s-and-1970s-32242/

Physical Computing: Chain Reaction

For this week’s assignment, I was tasked to create a device that produces a chain reaction…

Research and Theory: Week 3

This week’s session discussed the nature of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, looking in particular at the essay ‘Human Machine Reconfigurations’ by Lucy Suchman.

The essay addresses the criteria of humanness (for example tool use, language ability and symbolic representation) and how these same kinds of criteria have been applied to artificially intelligent machines. It mentions the notion of applying humanness to machines and how we project and perceive machine behaviour as the behaviour of a human. An example of this would be if a printer or computer were to crash, we treat it as if it were a living entity. The essay details how the boundary between physical/non-physical is unprecise, and how we should stop viewing humans and machines as separate beings. It also addresses the earliest examples of robotics and how the human and the machine have always served as a model for each other. An example can be found in the “lady musician”, a device built in the 1700’s, as well as the Jacquard Machine:

The Loom like many other forms of industrial machinery, established a new hybrid combining the perfectly accurate machine with its still necessary, but more limited human operator. (Suchman, 2007)

We also discussed the notion of agency; the ability of an individual to think independently and make their own choices. The essay raises the question of what we should constitute as agency; the traditional Euro-American view accepts that “to be human is to possess agency”, but how could this be attributed or extended to non-human entities? If a machine were to be trained to act like a human, would that give it agency? Suchman also describes how the act of observation gives an object purpose and forms a relationship:

A found object like a stone, placed on a mantlepiece, becomes an art object and an artefact, indexing the agency of its findings and placement. At the same time, the enchanted object’s effects are crucially tied to the indecipherability of prior social action in the resulting artefact. (Suchman, 2007)

Another topic discussed in this weeks session that I found particularly interesting was the theory of ‘Nature Culture’. This belief involves the synthesis of nature and culture, recognising their inseparability. It reminded me of the thinking behind the ‘Organic Architecture’ movement of the mid-20th century, pioneered by architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright. This philosophy promotes the belief that human habitation and nature should be harmonious, designing buildings to blend in with their surroundings. This belief is perhaps most widely recognised in ‘Fallingwater’, a building designed by Wright in 1935:

It is widely regarded as one of Wright’s best works, due to the way the design integrates with its natural surroundings. It reminded me of the points raised in the lecture, particularly when we discussed the uncertainty around what one accepts as 'nature'; we often still see it as something to observe, rather than something we should live in and be a part of. The idea of synthesizing nature within our culture can be best summarised in a quote from Wright himself:

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other.” (Wright, 1932)

Bibliography

https://www.brittonmdg.com/blog/frank-lloyd-wrights-organic-architecture-green-design-before-its-time/

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cqxnnywc3dnsnko/Suchman13-15.pdf?dl=0

Physical Computing: Making the World a Better Place

For the first assignment of the Physical Computing module on my MA, I was tasked to create a device that ‘makes the world a better place’:

Computational Arts-Based Research & Theory: Week 2

This weeks topic covered the nature and meaning of the algorithm.

In regards to algorithmic processes, I have always been interested in the work of John Cage and his approach to ‘Aleatoric Music’. He is seen as the pioneer of ‘Indeterminacy’; the creation of systems that allow you to perform a piece of music in substantially different ways. Cage was a student under the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, who remarked that he was “not so much a composer as an experimenter, but an experimenter of genius”. He frequently composed music using the ‘I-Ching’; an ancient Chinese text commonly used as a divination system. His process was algorithmic in the sense that he would create systems that determined the structure and scales of his music, allowing him to create pieces that varied each time it was performed. An example of this can be seen in his landmark piece ‘Music of Changes’. Cage has described this piece as “an object more inhuman than human, since chance operations brought it into being.” (Cage, 1961). It allowed the creation of sound to be free from the composers will:

“This psychological turning leads to the world of nature, where, gradually or suddenly, one sees that humanity and nature, not separate, are in this world together; that nothing was lost when everything was given away. In fact, everything is gained. In musical terms, sounds may occur in any combination and in any continuity. (Cage, 1961)”

In regards to the writing exercise, I became interested in creating a piece following one of Cages processes. After reading through his book Silence, I came across one of his poems titled ‘122 Words on Music and Dance’. Cage described his writing process that you can read below:

“This piece appeared in Dance Magazine, November 1957. The two pages were given to me in dummy form by the editors. The number of words was given by chance operations. Imperfections in the sheets of paper upon which I worked gave the position in space of the fragments of text. (Cage, 1961)”

I started by using an online generator to create a random word count. I then gathered a series of phrases and sentences from a variety of books, which I cut up and picked at random from a bag. I placed each one onto a sheet of creased paper, which dictated the spacing and placement of each phrase. This produced the outcome that you can see below.

Bibliography

• Cage, J., 1961. Silence: Lectures and Writings. Wesleyan University Press.

• https://liliesofpur-i-ty.tumblr.com/post/177703326317/john-cage-2-pages-122-words-on-music-and-dance

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?ab_channel=WelleszTheatre.&v=B_8-B2rNw7s

Computational Arts-Based Research & Theory: Week 1

This week was the first session of the research and theory module of MA Computational Arts, where we were introduced to the themes surrounding computational art as well as the work we will be undertaking.

Our first assignment was to study the essay ‘A fish can’t judge the water’ by Femke Snelting. It discusses how software has become ingrained into our lives, creating parallels with the title of the text. A fish is born in and surrounded by water; if it were to be taken out of its surroundings it would not survive. If that is the case, then how could a fish grow to judge the environment that is essential to its survival? This theme is prevalent in the essay, as it examines how we have become reliant on technology to work, socialise and communicate. This is something that I believe becomes more ingrained with each passing generation, with children growing up surrounded by technology such as tablets, phones and laptops.

An example of how software influenced my life was my usage of apps like Zoom and Discord during the height of the lockdown back in March. It became my primary tool for socialising with friends and family, as well as my main source of networking to find work and make contacts. It provided me, along with others, a useful tool to stay in contact with people outside of my household. I feel that as the situation with the Covid-19 pandemic progresses it will become harder to shift away from this, for better or worse. It reminded me of this quote from the text:

Could we understand what software does to our work and working patterns without being able to step away from it? What if our work is not only made with, but also through software? What if our work IS software? (Snelting, 2006)

It has affected peoples working patterns irreparably, as employees and companies around the globe have made the shift to working from home, potential seeing the end to the office as we know it. As a result of this, it could become harder to fully understand the extent that software will have on our working lives, as it becomes the primary tool for communication within our peers.

We were also tasked to bring in a literary text related to the topics of the course. I decided to bring in the book ‘All Messed Up’, written by the Art Director and Graphic Designer Anna Gerber. The text examines areas of graphic design that utilise randomness, along with the background context regarding why an artist would use a process that produces an unpredictable outcome. It contains examples of work that have been created using computational processes (such as programming), as well as more handmade examples. It also explores the historical context of chance within art, examining the work of artists such as John Cage and Brian Eno. This is a topic that I have had a longstanding fascination with; my background is in Graphic Design, and I have been interested in creating systems that lead to unforeseen outcomes. For me, and other artists in this field, the idea of letting go from subjective involvement is the best way to produce work that is entirely unpredictable. Going back to the essay, there was a section that I felt was particularly similar to the points raised in the book:

We are ultimately interested in making differences, glitches, misunderstandings and hick ups productive. Our work is, as much as the software we use and produce, “work in progress” and this means it’s cut-off points are not necessarily concealed. (Snelting, 2006)

Exploring the faults and unpredictability of technology not only provides you with unpredictable outcomes, but it can also be a useful tool for learning a piece of software. I discussed this in a previous talk with the New-Media Artist Nick Briz, who raised the following points:

The internet is something we don't just use, we live in it. I have read a lot about it, and I’ve studied it academically in more traditional ways, but then I also love to try and break the internet, to break networks, to break the browser and see what happens. I do this to see what I learn and the perspective I gain on those tools as a result. So that unpredictability, that chance, that experimental approach to media, is an incredibly valid way to gain perspective on technology.

Deliberately tampering with technology is a useful way to learn, but it can also yield interesting results conceptually and aesthetically. Alternatively, it could come out in ways you didn’t anticipate, but ended up liking more than what was intended; in this aspect that surprise can be very rewarding.