Digital Technologies as a Medium

I had recently been pondering over different ideas and techniques that could be incorporated within my project space in order to make it more immersive and experiential for the participants. I started thinking along these lines when i came across some artists who work in digital mediums to create dialogue and environments through installations. This opened up the possibility of introducing a 'digital' element to the space and the fact that events, especially exhibition, festivals and live performance, have already started to move beyond the traditional and have extended to the new media mediums of projections, visual art and video installations to add further dimensions to audience experiences. 

With this in mind i decided to implement the incorporation of the participant within a 'virtual' activation space as a means of extending beyond the physical and encouraging greater engagement within the space. In order to further expand this idea i started to look into theory and works related to 'Digital' and 'Interactive' art as i had previously not been familiar with the workings of these branches of art on an academic level. Following is some of the information that i came across which has helped me immensely in terms of understanding how the whole process work in the world of art. 

DIGITAL ART: 

The term ‘Digital Art ‘ is a general term used for a broad range of artistic works and practices and hence does not describe one unified set of aesthetics. The employment of digital technologies as an artistic medium implies that the work exclusively uses the digital platform from production to presentation, and that it exhibits and explores this particular platform's inherent possibilities. The digital mediums distinguishing features certainly constitute a distinct form of aesthetics: it is interactive, participatory, dynamic and customizable. However, the art itself has multiple manifestations and is extremely hybrid. It can present itself as anything ranging from an interactive installation with or without network components, software art written by the artist, purely internet based art or any combination of the above.

One of the main characteristics of the digital medium is it's capacity to interact with audiences. However, considering the nature of art one may say that any experience of an artwork is interactive and relies on an interplay between the work and the perception of the recipient. Yet, this interaction remains a mental event in the viewers mind when it comes to experiencing traditional art forms; the physicality of a painting or a sculpture does not change in front of the participants eyes nor does it suggest any means of physical immersion. With regard to digital art, however, interactivity involves different forms of navigating possibilities which go beyond this purely mental event. Similar forms of participant involvements have also been explored in performance art, happenings and video art. With 'digital' or 'virtual' art the control over content, context and time is shifted to the respective recipient through interaction and can take numerous forms with varying degrees of control over their visual appearance by the artist or the audience. In some artworks, participants interact within the parameters that have been set by the artist, in others, they participants set the parameters themselves. 

DIGITAL ART INSTALLATIONS: 

Digital art installations are in and of themselves a broad field and come in a many forms. Some are reminiscent of large - scale video installations that include multiple projections or of video works that incorporate the viewer in the imagery through live captures. Many are aimed at creating 'environments' that can entail varying degrees of immersion, ranging from art works which envelop the audience in a projected environment to those that immerse them in a virtual world. 

The technique or concept of 'Immersion' has a long history and is closely connected with art, architecture and symbolic systems: cave paintings can be considered early immersive environments and medieval churches are equally aimed at creating a transformative enclosure for their visitors through a combination of architecture, light and symbolism. Digital installations are usually site specific and scalable establishing connections to physical spaces because of their lack of pre established dimensions. There is always an underlying spatial element involved which could or could not be important to the piece. In one way or another, all are concerned with possible relationships between the physical space and the virtual and what distinguishes them is the balance between these two realms and the methods employed to translate one space into the other. Some artworks try to translate the virtual world into the physical environment, others map the physical in the virtual but they are almost always aimed at fusing the two spaces. 

VIDEO INSTALLATION: 

Video installation is a contemporary art method that combines video technology with installation art. It is an art form that utilizes all aspects of its surrounding environment as a vehicle of affecting the audience. It originated in the 1970's but today it is found everywhere as digital video production has become increasingly accessible and can be seen in a range of environments from galleries and museums to site - specific works. Popular formats of video installations include monitor work, projection and performance. 

One of the main strategies used by video-installation artists is the incorporation of the space as a key element in the narrative structure. This way, the well-known linear cinematic narrative is spread throughout the space creating an immersive ambience. In this situation, the participant plays an active role as he/she creates the narrative sequence by evolving in the space. Sometimes, the idea of a participatory audience is stretched further in interactive video installation and at other times the video is displayed in such a way that the viewer becomes part of the plot as a character in a film.

The main difference between video art and theatrical cinema is that video art does not necessarily rely on many of the conventions that define cinema. Video art may not employ the use of actors, contain no dialogue, have no discernible narrative or plot or adhere to any of the other conventions that generally define motion pictures as entertainment. This distinction is important because it delineates video art not only from cinema but also from sub categories like avant garde cinema or short films. The intentions of video art, unlike the cinema, are not to entertain but are more varied in the sense that it could be based on anything from exploring the boundaries of the medium of video to a specific concept or it could be used to challenge audience perceptions about certain notions. 

Diana Thater, The Best Animals Are The Flat Animals, 1998 - Four channel video installation , two projectors and two monitors, DVD's, gelled lights, theatrical flats, colour, no sound.

Andy Warhol, Outer and Inner Space, 1965 - Two channel 16mm film projection, black and white, sound.

Bruce Nauman, Raw Material with Continuous Shift, 1991 - Four channel video installation, two video projectors and two video monitors, laser discs, colour, sound. 

REFERENCES:

PAUL, CHRISTIANE., 2003. Digital Art. 2003. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

The Art of Projection| Media Art By Students[online]. Available at: http://margaretnoble.net/educator/the-art-of-projection/ [Accessed:]

The Video Art History Archive[online]. Available at: http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/videoart/ [Accessed: ]

Audio Visual Performances

While researching various forms of audio visual techniques used in installations, performances and events, i came across the concept of  "Real Time Interaction" which is a name given to interactive installation art used in events. In real time interaction, moment, time and space define the work. Audio, visual and physical elements along with the public are involved in the event in different ways.

The art of VJing i.e. the action of mixing visuals in a live/performance environment is one form of real time interaction where the creation or manipulation of imagery though technological mediation is synchronized for an audience. It deals with the experience of vision and sound along with music to create an experience during events. The projection and mapping techniques used during these events are extremely influential and have the capacity to create emotions in participants which add to the collective mass experience of the event.

Such audio visual practices deal with everything from the production to the more complex ideas of process and concept revolving around themes such as identity and persona (collective and individual), the moment as art, audience participation, collaboration and narrative. I came across some videos from the Mapping Festival which is a festival dedicated to the art of VJing which involves the techniques of creating moving visual art of large display, screens and sometimes bodies. The audio visual elements used in these performances are just mind blowing.



"Loss Layers" by A.lter S.essio @ Mapping Festival 2010 from mappingfestival on Vimeo.



A story of light from mappingfestival on Vimeo.




"INJECT" by Herman Kolgen from mappingfestival on Vimeo.



REFERENCES:

VJ Theory.net[online]. Available at: http://www.vjtheory.net/ [Accessed: ]

The Story of Light[online]. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15872540 [Accessed: ]

Loss Layers[online]. Available at: http://vimeo.com/16719342 [Accessed: ]

Inject[online]. Available at: http://vimeo.com/15948891 [Accessed: ]

Event Design and the Nature of Experiences

Developing idea's by building a narrative around your concept or ideology is HARD !!, something i discovered through much deliberation and personal struggle. After three months of thinking, researching and numerous considerations, i came to the conclusion that in the field that i am specializing in i.e. event design, being able to create ‘Experiences’ counts more than finding the right audience for them especially on an academic level. It is the capacity of developing concepts in such a way that they are able to build an environment and reach out to an audience within a space in an interactive way is what is to be studied and understood rather than limiting the experience by defining audiences. Events are inherently designed to re create moments or define new ones for particular purposes; sometimes the audiences are targeted, sometimes they are not but that should not hinder the process of design development. 

Event design is a branch of ‘Experience or Experiential Design’, which focuses on the relationship between the event and the experience of its participants. It explores and analyses the event experience of the individual and how it can be controlled or enhanced through design. It is the art of designing a memory, of enhancing or developing perception. In events, experiences are designed with real and measurable consequences using time and space as a medium. The mission being; to persuade, stimulate, inform, envision, entertain and forecast through influencing senses, meaning and modifying human behavior. In a way it is similar to installation art, the difference being that an installation can be a part of an event or an event can be based around an installation. 

There is an ongoing debate in the field of art and design which argues that when experience designers describe people only as customers, consumers and users, they risk diminishing their ability to create environments that are true to not only their aesthetics but also to the spirit of experience. However, experiences are to a large extent affective and subjective. Hence, there is a strong element of a personal process involved in an abstract and subliminal way. Thus, designing an experience whether it be through an event, an installation, a space, theatre or film is rather a more narrative and transformative area of design that a deliberate one. Every designer who caters to the creation of experiences, for groups and individuals alike, is living the experience through his or her reactions and thus to him or her the approach is merely semantic rather than specific. 

The initial purpose of my project was to create a space that gets a reaction or a response from someone who decides to enter it and thus the space being an experience for the person. Whether the reaction is positive or negative is not as important as the relevance or relation of the experiential space with the participant. The ideology being that the space is like a window into something; an idea, an emotion, a thought or a combination of all three. This notion is based on the fact that every once in a while we disappear or need to shift into a different pocket of time in order to either confirm or change our perspective. Keeping the above in mind, I decided that I, myself should be my audience and develop a space through a narrative based on a personal experience. 

All human beings have certain experiences in common e.g. the feelings and emotions one experiences when going through a particularly hard or challenging phase in life. The stages of denial, anger, acceptance and the eventual breakthrough or evolution are patterns which most of us have experienced in our lives.  These are the pattens that i will explore for my project because the basic aim of my research is to study the relationship of audience and experience rather than designing an experience for a defined audience. Therefore, I will contextualize a personal experience in order to create a mass experience that could or could not be common to people entering the space but in both scenarios the experience would aim at developing greater engagement between the environment and the participant by incorporating audio/visual and design techniques which enhance the intensity of their experience. 

Creating through personal narrative is an extremely powerful tool of communication as far as designing a memory or experience is concerned. Stories vary from person to person as far as the specifics are concerned but collective experiences are something that hold evocative power as they claims a new place in the memory of each listener or participant, becoming one more subconscious association – a new fiction that holds it’s own truth because time in relation to experience is just another kind of space. You can step into an experience like you would in a dimension and come out with a different perspective or emotion to define it.

Over time a story, though or experience continues to hold its evocative power as it claims a new place in the memory of each observer or participant, becoming one more subconscious association - a new fiction that holds its own truth. Hence, suggesting that time in relation to experience is just another kind of space. My research is an attempt to understand the relationship between space and audience through the power of narrative and experience.

Procrastination and Other Dilemmas

I am back !!, after the longest sabbatical ever. In my defense, i spent a whole lot of the last two months alternating between thinking, researching, pondering, battling mental numbness and creative blocks with a little bit of day dreaming sprinkled here and there. In short, a whole lot of procrastinating !!. Much to my surprise, the physically stagnant yet mentally active existence that i was leading had led to some breakthroughs, hallelujah !!. So before i begin reflecting and documenting again, a little bit of comic relief :).

Outside the Box from Yep on Vimeo.