AGAN HARAHAP

Agan Harahap has some surreal and fun images in his portfolio.



Links:
Agan Harahap (JPG Magazine)
Agan Harahap (Flickr)

SOURCE: Asian Photography Blog

GLEN MARSHALL's Digital Poetry

Glen Marshall has some interesting short films in his portfolio making use of autonomous programs of his own creation that are navigated by his specifications and sound. His first independent film for the Irish Film Board, Butterfly garnered a lot of attention following its creation in 2002.

Glen went onto create a video for Peter Gabriel in 2003 for his track "The Drop" and recently completed Music is Math which he describes as follows:

This is the HD and finished version of my video ‘Music Is Math’. I just let the program run till the end of the music, I felt reluctant to interfere too much by trying to sculpt an ending, and just let the code run its own natural course.

Music Is Math from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.


Butterfly from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

Links:
Butterfly: Glen Marshall Computer Art
Glen Marshall Vimeo
Glen Marshall MySpace
Music is Math. Cartoon Brew (Source)

Introducing AMANITA DESIGN

Established in 2003 by Jakub Dvorsky and expanded in 2005 with Vaclav Blin, Amanita Design are creators of gentle and organic interactive works. With a team of seven collaborators, their work is full of heart and stridently individual.

For a small studio, they have garnered considerable attention holding exhibitions of their work and receiving numerous awards. Their latest work for the BBC Questionaut, is a masterful piece that shows how far they've come in recent years. Later this year, Amanita will be releasing their first full-scale game, Machinarium.

Here are some samples of their work(click to play):

In March 2005, Jakub and Vaclav were gracious enough to take part in a brief interview.

Would you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
Amanita Design is me - Jakub Dvorský and Václav Blín, both from the Czech Republic (me from Brno, Václav from Prague). We are focused on creating on-line Flash games, animations and websites.

Where do you get your ideas from and how do you approach the creative process?
My inspiration comes mainly from nature, but also from music, literature etc. The creative process is simple: at first we are thinking about what to do for some time and then follow a lot of work:)

What software do you use?
Photoshop for creating backgrounds and other bitmaps and Flash for animations, interactivity etc.

Where did you learn the skills you use today?
We both studied Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague in the department of Graphics Design and Visual Communication (prof. Jiří Barta).

How would you describe the design scene in the Czech Republic at the moment?
I thing here is many talented designers, but only few of them are working for the web.


Can you tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on now?
We are working on a sequel to Samorost now, it should be longer and with original music from Floex (Tomáš Dvořák, www.floex.cz).

Why is there a link of your to "In Pursuit of Tea" (Chai)?
They promised to send me some tea which I like:)

Outside the digital world, do have skills in any other forms of art?
I Like painting, writing, video, etc. I'm drawing time to time.


How long did it take you to create the games and animations on your site?
As an example, The Quest For The Rest took me 2 months of hard work.

Who are your favourite Czech animators?
Břetislav Pojar, Jan Švankmajer, Karel Zeman and Vlasta Pospíšilová.

Who are your favourite artists in other fields?
Hieronimus Bosch, Francisco de Goya, Max Ernst, Douglas Adams, Stanislaw Lem, Amon Tobin, Squarepusher, Björk, Terry Gilliam, Jurij Norštejn, Woody Allen and many others:)

What advice would you give to a freelance artist in your field?
Well I'm not sure, perhaps don't be afraid of experimenting.

Where would you like to see Amanita Design in 10 years?
It's pretty far:) I'd like to keep Amanita Design alive and also still small company (2-10 people) and I hope to produce high quality projects no matter what it'll be.

Thank you.


Links:
Amanita Design
Machinarium
Interview (Indie Games)
Interview (Adventure Gamers)

Introducing Gabríela Fríðriksdóttir

Living and working in Reykjavik, Gabríela Fríðriksdóttir is yet another Icelandic artist that has caught my attention.

Gabriela graduated from the Icelandic College of Art & Crafts in 1997. She works in a variety of media including sculpture, drawing, media, sound, and music. Creating her own mythology, exploring borders of dream and reality, she has quickly become a prominent figure in the Icelandic art world. In 2005, she was Iceland's representative at the Venice Biennale.



Links:
Gabriela.is
Gabriela (POL Oxygen)
Gabriela (Unit - Bjork.com)
Gabríela Friðriksdóttir - Versations Tetralogia (cia.is)
Gabríela Friðriksdóttir at Venice Biennial (cia.is)
Salt of the Earth (cia.is)

Through the chambers of the heart: VISIBLE BODY

Visible Body is a human anatomy software tool with detailed models of the various systems of the human body. Those of you working on figurative modelling should find the muscle diagrams quite useful. It's a fascinating and compelling way to learn and it's free.

Visit Visible Body for more information.

Links:
Visible Body

Interview: MICHEL LEMIEUX of 4D Art

In line with the ethos that SiouxWIRE advocates, Michel Lemieux's creations merge media and span class. Founding Lemieux.Pilon 4D Art in 1983, directors Michel Lemiux and Victor Pilon combine performing arts with new media to create a hybrid show merging performance, scenography, cinema, video, dance, poetry, visual arts, lighting design, music and sound. The results are striking and coherent.

Here is an example from their latest performance. Note that this clip has no post production. The visuals were filmed as they were on stage.

Presenting more than 300 performances since its creation, Lemiux.Pilon 4D Art has worked internationally and in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. Their latest project, Norman is a tribute to Norman McLaren and the history of art animation.

Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon are currently working on the opera version of Starmania by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger that will be presented during the festivities of the 400th anniversary of Quebec City with performances on the 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, and 26 of May 2008.

As well as introducing their work to South America in Bogota, Columbia, Lemieux.Pilon 4D Art will also be taking Norman on tour this year.

Michel very kindly agreed to be interviewed in Fall 2007, but due to some technical difficulties it has taken some time to release this interview. Enjoy.

What was the inspiration and purpose of your establishment of 4d Art in 1983?
The inspiration was to merge different forms of expression, such as visual arts, dance, theater, cinema, music, in the context of performing arts. One can say that Opera is doing so for centuries, I think in fact ancient Greek theater was quite multi-disciplinarian. Specialisation came later and confined the different mediums to a highly specialized form. All mediums of representation represent in fact a possible way to approach creativity. In our times, I think we are ready to put things in relation, in interpenetration with each other.

And how did your collaboration with Victor Pilon begin? And how do you feel the two of you compliment each other?
Victor has been in visual fine arts for a while when we met. I have studied in theater, so our interest and competences were so compatible that we started to work together in a very natural way. We could say that this more than 20 years collaboration is a based on a very strong friendship that helped us to become what we are as humans and artists.

In general, we do all concepts and direction together, Vic would more specialised in space elements such as artistic direction, visual arts, and I would be more focused on «time» elements, such as music , editing, timing but in fact we share all the aspects of the creation in consensual way.

Continue reading the interview & see more images
by clicking here

Introducing MIRCEA CANTOR

A wolf and a deer in an immaculate closed gallery are the basis for Mircea Cantor's Deeparture. Having read several interpretations of the meaning of this short film, I was surprised at the variation in the reactions and how far they diverged from my own feelings about this piece.

For me, the idea that the wolf will attack the deer is only an extreme unlikelihood but the tension is there. Between the two, there is a relationship that is palpable and easy to identify in the stark environment. The feeling that it evokes for me is that of being a stranger, a foreigner, an outsider with an indefinable unease that I feel is evoked with Deeparture. They both have fears of the environment in which they are placed while at the same time holding the mantles of hunter and hunted; or do these even matter anymore?

It's an interesting work. You can view it below. I am curious to hear what you think...

Deeparture, 2005 - 16mm transfer to beta / silent

Born in Cluj, Romania in 1977, Mircea Cantor left home in 1999, hitch-hiking across Europe until settling in France. Despite this, a high proportion of his works continue to have strong ties to Romania. He is co-editor of the artist-run magazine, Version. Living and working in Paris and Cluj, Mircea is represented by Galerie Yvon Lambert in Paris & New York, and Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv.

Starting today (2 April 2008), an unusual exhibition at Modern Art Oxford exhibits Mircea's work together with Ansel Adams and Katie Paterson. Entry is free and the exhibition continues until 1 June, 2008.

Links:
Mircea Cantor Channel (YouTube)
Version Magazine
Mircea Cantor (Frieze Magazine)
Galerie Yvon Lambert
Dvir Gallery
Modern Art Oxford

Featurette: MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO

click image to go to the interactive panoramic

Michelangelo Pistoletto has from the beginning of his career to his latest installation worked with mirrors. From his paintings on mirrors (see below) to infinite environments (see above), he has engaged with communities and experimented with a broad range of means and methods.

It's also refreshing to find an established artist who actually has a website. Follow the links below for more.

Links:
Michelangelo Pistoletto (Official)
Cittadelarte - Fondazione Pistoletto
Guggenheim Biography
Pistoletto - A Reflected World (Walker Art Center)
Pistoletto (La Scultura Italiana) - Italian
Pistoletto article (ArtForum)
Pistoletto RadioBooks (deBuren.eu)
Michelangelo Pistoletto Wiki (Italian)
Interactive Panoramic

Featurette: TOKYO PLASTIC

Tokyo Plastic will soon be premiering their new short, The Electric Koi soon. If you haven't seen their work or recently explored their site, I highly recommend that you do so. The studio was founded by Sam Lanyon Jones and Drew Cope and excels in the innovative and odd.

Despite many of their animations being available on YouTube, the interactive element involved is so vital to the effect that I've simply left them out of this post with the exception of what you see below. Click on any of the pictures or the link below to visit and explore their site.

Short clip for Zune

Links:
Tokyo Plastic
Tokyo Plastic (BBC Film Network)
My Plastic Heart (TP merchandise)
Interview (Jaded Expressions)
Interview (Swiftdev)
D&AD Interview (YouTube)
Tokyo Plastic Toys (Tokyo Cube)
Sam Lanyon Jones
Nick Faber, music

Introducing MATTHEW BARNEY

Matthew Barney has described his motivation for his Drawing Restraint series as a means of exploring the concept that “resistance as a prerequisite for development and a vehicle for creativity.” As the series has progressed, it has become increasingly fascinating, unpredictable and at times frustrating.

On entering Yale University, his original intention was to study medicine but his interests turned toward art and in 1989, he received his B.A.. His work would quickly garner Barney considerable amounts of praise and controversy.

Working with film, video, installations, sculpture, photography, drawing and performance art, his approach is equally diverse and often times incorporates an element of resistance both in terms of physical impediments on himself and more subtle challenges to the viewer.

The following is an introduction to and interview with Matthew Barney filmed during the preparation of his exhibition for The Cremaster Cycle at Astrup Fearney Museum of Modern Art in Oslo.

Links:
The Cremaster Cycle
Drawing Restraint
Matthew Barney Wiki

Featurette: JOCHEM HENDRICKS

Jochem Hendricks highly conceptual pieces have a playful quality reminiscent of compatriot Rebecca Horn. Jochem has used a wide variety of media and methods including painting, sculpture, eye drawings using a specially designed interface, taxidermy, performance, and lawbreaking.

Exploring the boundaries of society, testing them and crossing them, he seems to be asking us to question societal paradigms as well as hisself. For example, his work 3,281,579 grains of sand is based on his affirmation that he has counted the individual grains of sand. Did he really? Can it be proven? Does it really matter?




Links:
JochemHenricks.de (English)
Guardian Unlimited article (2 September 2007)
Media Art Net (Eye Drawings)
Interview with Jochem Hendricks (Yuki Aruga)

Interview: KLAUS OBERMAIER

Klaus Obermaier is a media artist, director, composer, and lecturer. Working in dance, music, theatre, new media and creating interactive installations, video art, web projects, computer music, radio plays, and large scale outdoor performances, his work has innovated, inspired, and has been well received by critics and spectators.

On Tuesday(26.6.07), Klaus with conductor Marin Alsop and the London Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a 21st century rendition of Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring'(Le Sacre du Printemps) at the Southbank Centre, London. Dancer Julia Mach will perform within the virtual spaces created by Obermaier and interactive designers from the Ars Electronica Futurelab. Wearing 3D glasses, the audience will see Julia within the virtual world and her body itself will expand beyond reality.

I am extremely grateful to Klaus for sparing some time in the run up to this performance to answer my questions.

You have found ways to fuse and extend performers bodies. First, how do the performers themselves approach these fusions and how much control do they maintain in their performance? Second, is it important to you that the result looks natural(organic) and/or is an aesthetic of artifice an important part of the interpretation?
Both questions depend on each particular piece, as there is a big difference in the approach of for instance VIVISECTOR, APPARITION or Le Sacre du Printemps.


In Le Sacre du Printemps, I was doing the choreography and therefore was able to create my own kind of balance between real body (natural) and virtual. I was going for an aesthetic, where the human can interact with the realtime generated digital environment in a very natural way. The dance should work by its own, but also seamless fuse and interact with the digital environment. There is plenty of space for improvisation, but also the more strictly choreographed parts don't restrict the dancer regarding her performance, not more than in any conventional piece - Julia Mach keeps control.

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW BY CLICKING HERE