Friday, December 12, 2008

Brain analysis displays images from inside your mind


Image explaining a new technology that allows a computer to reconstruct images from blood flow in the brain. Source: ChunichiWEB

I just found a very interesting blog post on The Pink Tentacle. Apparently Japan based ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories announced on December 11th that they have developed a method of brain analysis that uses an MRI scanner to detect the flow of blood in the brain and in turn reconstruct images that are being seen by the brain.


The shapes on the top are the original images shown
to participants to establish a data set.
The letters on the bottom, previously unused,
were reconstructed from the blood flow
in the brain.
Source: ChunichiWEB

One of the exciting aspects of this research is that it does not seem to completely rely on 'parroting.' That is, subjects were shown 10x10 pixel images while being scanned which provided a data set based on the original images. But then the subjects were scanned while looking at previously unused 10x10 pixel images and the machine was able to decipher the new imagery in a recognizable way.

Apparently the researchers working on this recognize that the technology can be applied in the fields of art and design, which was my first thought. Just imagine if we could see into shapes and images running through Pollock's mind? Let alone the conceptual work that can be done with this type of interface. There is also the suggestion from the researchers that the technology might aid in the therapy of those who suffer hallucinations or other psychiatric disorders.

The researchers suggest that in around 10 years, with increased sensitivity in their sensors, this type of technology has the potential to allow a machine to read not only the imagery in our heads, but all of our senses and emotions into meaningful information that can be displayed on a computer screen. While the artistic applications this kind technology offer is exciting, it seems as though there are some serious privacy issues invovled with this as well. Indeed, what would it mean if waterboarding was replaced by forced brain analysis?

You can find the research article written by the people behind this technology in the December 10 issue of the US based science journal Nuron.


"Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased;
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow;
Raze out the written troubles of the brain;
And, with some sweet oblivious antidote,
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
"

Shakespeare, Macbeth - Act v. Sc. 3



Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Lev Manovich



I am working on part 3 of my notes on Youngblood, however I wandered upon some exciting news from Lev Manovich which I want to share. Manovich is a contemporary of Youngblood and he is now distributing his new book "Software Takes Command" under a Creative Commons license on his website. I find this exciting because it offers a detailed look into Software Studies which I feel is a very important emerging field.

As noted on Manovich's Software Studies Initiative page the first book to use the term Software Studies was in Software Studies: A Lexicon edited by Matthew Fuller and published by MIT Press.

Software Studies is a new field of research that focuses on the 'underlying engine' that is driving all aspects of the IT revolution. Manovich and his crew argue that:

"...if we continue to limit critical discussions to the notions of 'cyber,' 'digital,' 'new media,' or 'Internet,' we are in danger of always dealing only with effects rather then causes; the output that appears on a computer screen rather than the programs and social cultures that reduces these outputs."
From the description of Software Studies found here.

I can see this in my use of Isadora or even the interface I am using to post to this blog. I often describe Isadora, EyesWeb and programs in general as tools. However the very nature of the tools that I use, in turn define the realization of the concepts I work on with them. The interactive behavior that I desire to bring to the physical space of my performances is mediated through the options provided to me from my tools, and indeed the head of the nails I carefully place derive their form from the hammer made to drive them. Perhaps this hammer/nail metaphor is not the best, but I can directly see that to ignore the tool and focus on the final constructions is to be divorced from the matrix our constructions are filtered through.

So, how does one go about approaching software studies? How can I analize Isadora, or any of the other tools I am using in my art and performance studies in a meaningful way? Well, I guess it is time to start reading Lev's book...

"...'software studies' translates into two complementary research paradigms. On the one hand, we want to study software and cyberinfrastructure using approaches from humanities, cultural criticism, and social science. On the other had, we want to bring software-based research methods and cutting-edge cyberinfrastructure tools and resources or the study of the new domain where they have not been applied so far - large sets of cultural data."
From the description of Software Studies found here.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Gene Youngblood and Expanded Cinema: Part 2

Examples:

Expanded Cinema Performance:



"A 4:00 excerpt from two collaborative 20:00 performances by Joe Grimm and Ben Russell in Gotland and Umea, Sweden. Instruments involved include a 16mm projector, flicker loops, a light-sensitive analog synthesizer, voice, and a variety of prisms and lenses." Found here.

Diagram explaining "How to Present 'Expanded Cinema' pieces by the Tape-Beatles:

Image from "Horror Film 1" by Malcolm Le Grice performed at Tate Modern:




Gene Youngblood and Expanded Cinema: Part 1



Mr. Youngblood, author of Expanded Cinema.

“Expanded cinema”, i.e. the expansion of the commonplace form of film on the open stage or within a space, through which the commercial-conventional sequence of filmmaking – shooting, editing (montage), and projection – is broken up, . . .the electronic, digital cinema, the simulation of space and time, the simulation of reality. . .an analysis carried out in order to discover and realize new forms of communication, the deconstruction of a dominant reality. . .The mission of the Futurists was fulfilled in the multimedia, intermedia activities of Expanded Cinema under the motto of the expanded concept of art."
Excerpts from a wonderful lecture by Valie Export at "The Essential Frame - Austrian Independent Film 1955 - 2003" program of screenings held in 2003.

"Expanded Cinema by Gene Youngblood (1970), the first book to consider video as an art form, was influential in establishing the field of media arts. In the book he argues that a new, expanded cinema is required for a new consciousness. He describes various types of filmmaking utilizing new technology, including film special effects, computer art, video art, multi-media environments and holography."
From the Article on Youngblood on Wikipedia (Dec 4th, 2008)

". . .the historical and theoretical premise of avant-garde artists being anti-narrative can be proved unfounded by simply reviewing the practice throughout history. This is not widely available, so similar to a review of the women’s avant-garde in relation to narrative, there is a need to determine a history for experimental interactive expanded cinema that is not guided by anti-illusion, material concerns, or single screen as categories to define it. After all categorization and definition are forms of censorship that have often found their way into institutional funding and exhibition curatorship. There is no doubt that ideologies take their toll on the continuation of certain artists practice. We need to understand how this has happened in the past to optimistically look forward to a climate for radical experimentation with moving-image in the future."
Excerpt from "Expanded Cinema: Some Reasons for a Review of the Avant-Garde Debates around Narrativity" by Jacki Hatfield author of "Experimental Film and Video: an anthology" and a founder of Rewind.

Zoetrope: Interacting with the Ephemeral Web

I found an amazingly illustrative video of Zoetrope, a tool being developed by Adobe through the University of Washington.

The idea behind Zoetrope is to provide a graphical tool that can track the changes of multiple websites and their elements through time. This allows for the quick cross-referencing of information across a large spectrum of data sources and quickly provide graphical analysis of the information. The user interface seems to be a patch programing UI associated with a 'sand box' type web viewer that allows multiple web pages to be rendered into a single working space.

I wonder if their Zoetrope can index video streams as well, so as to allow the association of security cameras or other video sources to the other data sets they are integrating. Can I attach a security camera recording of a years worth of action in a performance space and in turn analyze it through the lens of the daily headlines and weather patterns in the area?

While I am not immediately clear on how this type of tool might play out within a performance context, I can see the use of this type of emerging research tool changing the content creation and resource development for a performance as much as it would aid in journalism, academic research and other information based processes.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Monumental Video Projections




The video above comes from Easyweb.fr, a group in Europe that specializes in architectural projection performances and technologies.

These projections are similar to the large out door installations Frieder Weiss has implemented in his Wishing Well and a few other installations.

The use of 3D techniques and illusions to create virtual lighting and a sense of depth in accenting and animating a static space is particularly interesting to me. While none of the examples above include a live performer, I feel as though the techniques demonstrated can directly inform the use of projections in a live performance context. The vivid, realistic and intense transformation of architecture into a moving pallet, as well as the examples provided in smaller room sized spaces directly points towards a powerful and perhaps more classically informed use of projection as lighting within narrative live performances.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Interactive Dramaturgies

I have just added a new book to my reading shelf: Interactive Dramaturgies - New Approaches in Multimedia Content and Design, edited by Heide Hagebölling and published by Springer Press under the X.media.publishing brand.

In the preface Hagebölling lays out a set of general topics covered in the book. A few of the subjects covered in the book include:
  • Intelligent interfaces, hybrid environments and data spaces
  • Experiments with interactive films
  • Interactivity, communication between man and machine
  • Methods of conceptualizing interactive programs

Friday, November 28, 2008

Interactive Video Manipulation


Interactive Video Object Manipulation from Dan Goldman on Vimeo.

This is a very interesting video demonstration of a developing video analysis and manipulation tool rolling around in the Adobe research labs. I am particularly interested in the method being used to determine separate objects moving in a video. I am also impressed at the quality of detail pulled from the low contrast source video of the people walking through the forest.

The puppetry of the video through a point based interface, which allows for the creation of virtual sliders that attach themselves to points moving in the video seems like a prime candidate for integration into a Frieder Weiss type human-controlled interactive performance space.

Monday, November 24, 2008

EyeCon
















An image of the EyeCon interface.

From the EyeCon website: "Eyecon's main use has been to facilitate interactive performances and installations in which the motion of human bodies is used to trigger or control various other media (music, sounds, photos, films, lighting changes, etc.). EyeCon does this using a video feed from the performance or installation area (any normal video camera may be used)..."

Frieder Weiss, of Chunky Move and Glow fame, is also behind EyeCon a visual analysis and triggering software package meant specifically for performance. It seems like a more specialized and perhaps elegant system then offered by EyesWeb, an open source package that attempts to serve a similar audience.

Along with Processing (which just dumped the beta tag and has gone v 1.0) and Isadora I believe that EyeCon/EyesWeb may represent an early iteration of a new key 'dramaturgical software tool' or even stand as the realization of a potential 'new technological theater primitive'.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Robert LePage: Faust

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Marcello Giordani, left, as Faust, and John Relyea as Méphistophélès, with watery projections behind and below.

The above image is from Robert LePage's Faust currently being mounted at the New York Met.

Ever since I heard that Robert LePage will be directing Wagner's "Ring" cycle in 2010-2011 at the New York Metropolitan Oprah, I have been saving my pennies and counting the days.

LePage is the single most influential director and auteur to inspire and enliven my own theatrical life. His methods of performance, gesture creation, improvisation and his amazing aesthetics have constantly captivated me and informed my own work. From his film and stage productions such as "Tectonic Plates" and to his recent "Image Mill" LePage constantly asserts himself on the bleeding edge of performance technology while always developing and executing the art of story telling with excellence.

With LePage
's "Ring" still a ways off, he is currently staging "Faust" at the Met and it looks like his use of interactive media environments is continuing to evolve. In an interview with Daniel K. Waken of the New York Times, LePage hints that some of the elements he is using in "Faust" may find a home in his production of the "Ring."

"Faust" is a remounting of LePage's 1999 ExMachina production, however it has been further adapted (a hallmark of LePage is a constant evolution of his work, even between individual performances) and now includes a number of interactive set elements which is apparently a first for the Met. The piece now includes a number of microphone sensors which drive the parameters of live video effects and cinematic elements. Also in use in this production are a number of live video processing and projection effects creating the illusion of reflections in water and burning fire surrounds the performers and dancers. There are couple of accompanying videos that show these effects of in Times review.

As mentioned in the review LePage's "Faust" is serving as a introduction between LePage and the directors/staff of the Met. It is hinted in the review that some of the techniques from "Faust" may find a home in the "Ring" as well.

With LePage's performance production group named ExMachina, there is a commitment to advanced technology built into his approach to performance. However it is truly his ability to perform and unfold a story that allows his use of technology to not seem forced or take undue focus away from the worlds created in his pieces. His mastery as a director lies in his ability to braid his productions through performance as well as the complex sets and technology that enables the magic of theatre. Harvey O'brien describes this trait well in his review of LePage's "Far Side of the Moon."

Having seen a few interactive projections show up in KA, LePage's recent collaboration with Cirque Du Sole , where rippling pools of light expand out from numerous performers flying along a fifty foot wall flooded with projected light. It is exciting to see how his use of interactive projections and environments continues and will continue to evolve.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Frieder Weiss: Algorithm Conductor

Picture from Glow by Chunky Move


In my research of the Recoil Performance Group, I found that their Body Navigation performance was inspired and received technical guidance from Berlin based computer engineer and musician Frieder Weiss. Weiss's work is amazing and very much in line with my own interests. I am only just beginning to discover his work, but I can tell already that he will be a guide and inspiration for my own work as I prepare for graduate school.

In an article at theage.com.eu he is described as a "algorithm conductor" and a creator of 'intelegent stage' environments. A similar concept to the 'interactive environments' that I have been describing in my own work.

Weiss has produced a number of works including his recent line up of Mordake, Glow, Wishing Well and Mortal Engine.

Glow and Mortal Engine were created in collaboration between Weiss and Gideon Orbazanek of Chunky Move. These pieces, and Wishing Well to an extent, are dance based, however I am very intrigued by his work Mordake. Weiss describes the work as "...a multi-disciplinary work that fuses opera, multi-media computer technology, poetry and electronic music." This work is more in line with my own in terms of content, and form. A well written review of the piece can be found here.

Weiss is also apparently the developer of EyeCon an advanced video motion sensing software and hardware product compatible with Processing and Isadora through OSC.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Isadora: [R]evolutions



This is a video from a 2006 video of [R]evolution by Trokia Ranch.

A beautiful example of an interactive performance environment. I would really love an opportunity to talk with Dawn Stoppiello and Mark Conigilio about their performance creation processes and their integration of Isadora.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Recoil Performance Group


Body Navigation by Recoil Performance Group from ole kristensen

This is a wonderful example of an interactive performance space. Here the connection between the performer and interactive environment is immediate and fluid. This represents exactly the kind of convergence between technology, architecture and performance that I am most interested in. This environment was developed with Processing and Isadora. At the moment I am hampered in using Processing by a lack of knowledge in programing methods and structures. Looks like it's time for CS classes!

There are a couple of examples in this video of what I interpret as the use of Video as Lighting. While working on Oblivion with Penumbra Theatre, I found that by considering the video a lighting instrument as well as a cinematic element that the Resource of video, within the creation process, was evolved into a more fluid tool with greater collaborative function.

Check out these links to see more of the splendid interactive works of Ole Kristensen and the Recoil Performance Group.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Does the World Need Another Multimedia Show?


Laurie Anderson - interview Swedish TV 2007

In the above video, Lori Anderson asks if the world needs another Multimedia Show. I am very intrigued by the conversation this question highlights.

There is a certain mysticism around technology. After the novelty of video camera and wireless sensors as a concept for interaction has been played out, what more content is there in the technology? How far can one hone the concept into meaningful and new work? Is the next step for realized invention? The technology surrounding software such as Isadora is, I believe, beyond it's conceptual value to the creator. Isadora and the interactive possibilities it offers are a resource that can be incorporated into existing performance creation processes. I feel that it requires a conscious stripping of the mysticism surrounding the novelty of the possibilities and a forced focus on their actual interplay with the full range of resources in a creation.

I see the utility of Isadora and similar technologies easily finding a home in the theatre as an exciting if somewhat mundane evolution of the CD/Mini-Disc, DVD and lighting board "GO" buttons of the world.
Perhaps I am recognizing that Multimedia for Multimedia's sake is not as noble, or at least sustainable as Art for Art's sake. What of it then? What more is there? How do these new technologies and emerging tools serve creators and their creations today now that the concepts have been invented, introduced and played out? How will I as a director/creator escape the trap of using and focusing on these new tools simply because they are there and seem magical in their own right?

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Isadora: Drawing Out a Program


What and How

I found this nifty video of an Isadora patch being built. It opens with a demonstration of the final patch, and then goes back and shows the patch being built. Even if you don't understand Italian, this video offers a good 'feel' for the development of a patch and its output regardless of if you can read the explanations. I like how the video shows the patch creation process unfolding.

This patch seems to use both a camera and a microphone as sensors to effect how the projection performs.

The video was posted by Edoardo Rebecchi.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Anne Bogart: Monster Acting

Performance image from "Bob" directed by Anne Bogart.
I just came across an interesting review of Anne Bogart's shows Bob and Room. They focused on Robert Wilson and Virginia Wolf respectively. In the review Anne Bogart was interviewed and describes her performers as "Monster Actors."

From the article by Kenn Watt:

"We might define monster acting as the current high-water mark of the art form, which Bogart's Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI) has done perhaps more than any other group in the United States.

To be a monster actor, one must possess a modern dancer's contact-improvisation responsiveness, an uncanny strength in stillness, an over-arching critical intelligence brought to bear on the written word, a vocal instrument equal to the body's strength and no fear."

You can find the full article here.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Anne Bogart: Viewpoints

Anne Bogart

For many years now I have been enamored by the creative methods laid out by Robert LePage. His and improvisational directing and performance creation styles have inspired me continuously through out my education, performance and directing experiences.

It makes sense to me then that I have recently found myself more and more interested in Anne Bogart and her development of the 'Viewpoints' technique.

Viewpoints was developed and evolved by Bogart at the Saratoga International Theatre Institute from a process pioneered by Mary Overlie called the Six Viewpoints. These systems are deconstructive in nature and guide the performer in first dissecting and then reconstructing their understanding of Space, Story, Shape, Time, Emotion and Movement as it relates to the development of their performance.

Their are so many connections and synergies between these techniques and those of LePage and even John Flax, another of my inspirational guides, that my head is spinning as I try to integrate my understanding of Viewpoints into my own concepts of performance processes.

I find myself considering the implications Isadora brings to the Viewpoints method. My current investigations seem to directly speak to Space and the question: How can Isadora can provide a performers body with something to listen too within the performance Space? And even more intriguingly to me: How can Isadora provide the performance Space with an ability to listen to the performer?

Space, in the context of Viewpoints, refers to the architecture/spacial relationship to objects and floor pattern a performer exists within while performing.

I am currently adding a few of her books to my reading list:
  • Bogart, Anne and Tina Landau. 2005. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. New York: Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 1-55936-241-3.
  • Dixon, Michael Bigelow and Joel A. Smith, eds. 1995. Anne Bogart:Viewpoints. Career Development Ser. Lyme, NH: Smith and Kraus. ISBN 1 880399 94 6.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Resting in the Peace of His Hands



The images in this piece are comprised of the works of artist Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz, her drawings, paintings and sculptures. KolIwitz lived through the first and second world wars and her work is a monument to the suffering sustained by the victims of war and poverty.

The opening image is of Kollwitz in her youth, the second a self portrait of the artist later in life. I also explore "Mothers" and "Mother with Dead Child" interspersed with a few other photographs and self portraits of the artist. I also include an image of her youngest son Peter, whose death in the first world war was a defining inspiration to Kollwitz's work. The final image in the piece is of the the sculpture "Resting in the Peace of His Hands" which is also the name sake of the John Gibson composition this video is meant to accompany.

This video was produced in collaboration with Dr. Joe Martin and the University of Denver's Lamont Wind Ensemble.

*UPDATE*

I am happy to announce that this piece is finding another venue. I was contacted by Dr. Carol Hayward a Professor at Bowling Green State University who will be using the video in their performance of Gibson's composition.

Alex

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Isadora: Four Column Video Analizer

Video Capture of the Patch

The Video Analyzer

Application of the Sensor Data
(The analyzer is inserted here as a user actor.)

I am currently trying to wrap my head around the possibilities presented by software/hardware tools such as Isadora and the EyesWeb Open Platform. I am specifically interested in finding practical methods of integrating this technology into realized performances. At the moment I am studying methods to use a basic camera as a sensor and develop a number of interactive environments that in turn can be used as a improvisational resource in the production of a performance.

To this end I wrote/drew the above Isadora patch this morning. The patch splits a camera input into four columns, each of which is separately analyzed for movement. I am currently trying to envision methods in which this type of sensor input can be used in conjunction with a video projector to create a reactive light environment that would be appropriate for a small black box theatre space.

My plan is to next use this basic patch in conjunction with a video projector casting light in the same space as the movement that is being sensed. As the patch is currently set to detect movement I am anticipating the need for some creativity in dealing with the potential feedback this setup will produce.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Graduate School Research Mind Map


This is a partly expanded view of my current research on graduate schools. The large clouds represent four programs which I feel may be ideal for my academic aspirations.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Isadora: Body and Technology




I am currently working on a presentation on Isadora I am tentatively titling: "Technology and The Body." I will be presenting at Fort Lewis College this week for a "Interactive Media" class in their communications Dept.

The above image is of a very quickly thrown together Isadora patch which creates a 'target' and a 'pointer'. The 'target' moves around the screen randomly and a 'pointer.' When the two elements meet the 'target' explodes. I am trying to identify an easy and quick to build patch that highlights Isadora's capabilities, is fairly easy to reproduce by someone who understand the basics of the software, AND gives an example of using an interaction method that can directly correlate to using Isadora with the body.

(If you look closely you'll notice that the above image is set to use a mouse as input. I have subsequently upgraded this patch to take visual input and recognize a hand held laser which in turn controls the 'pointer'. I also addressed an issue with the implementation/accuracy of the boundary detection of the two elements.)

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Isadora Workshop


March 15th and 22nd

Isadora Workshop
When designing or implementing audio for a performance have you ever felt limited by what can be achieved with a pair of CD players? Have you considered using digital video in your performances but been held back because of clumsy interfaces or the limitations of Power Point? Have you ever dreamed of having a single operator able to run the audio, video and even lighting elements from one system? If so this workshop is for you.

Developed by Mark Coniglio, Isadora is a flexible graphic environment that provides interactive control over digital media, with special emphasis on audio and the real-time manipulation of digital video. Isadora is being used by hundreds of artists worldwide including the Royal Shakespear Company, Mort Subotnick, Rosemary Lee, Maya Ciarrocchi (for Bebe Miller and Merce Cunningham), VJ Solu, Lingo Dance Theater, Gretchen Schiller, and others.

Participants in the workshop will learn key skills required for using Isadora to design and run the audio and video elements for multimedia performances. The workshop begins at the University of Denver with an in-depth exploration of the software, providing an emphasis on basic approaches to utilizing Isadora as an audio and video solution within a theatre environment. We will then meet at the Bindery Space where participants will apply their new skills within a working theatre.

When:

March 15th 9:00 am - 1:00 pm @ the University of Denver

March 22nd 9:00 am - 6 pm starting @ the University of Denver and ending @ the Bindery | Space


Where:

University of Denver
2000 E. Asbury
Sturm Hall, Room 354

Bindery | Space
2180 Stout St, Denver, CO

Cost for the workshop is $50. Please make checks out to: The LIDA Project

Presented by:
Brian Freeland, Alex Oliszewski, and Stacey Sotosky

Brian has designed sound for The LIDA Project, Paragon Theatre Company, Modern Muse, Shadow Theatre Company, and Curious Theatre Company where he is resident sound designer. He is a 2-time Henry Award nominee and 3-time Denver Post Ovation Award nominee for his sound designs. Brian is also the artistic director of both The LIDA Project and the new political theatre collective Countdown to Zero.

Alex has been working professionally in the theatre as a sound operator and designer for six years. Alex is also the founder of Penumbra Theatre Company. Through his work with Penumbra he has developed a wide range of skills integrating technology and theatrical performance.

Stacey Sotosky is a performance cinema artist and is finishing up her MFA in electronic media arts at the University of Denver. She is currently in development of her thesis production which will utilize Isadora as a performance tool.


Applicants should have a basic understanding of using a computer, (i.e., opening and saving files, copying and pasting information, basic navigational skills, etc.) Computers will be provided for the workshop however you are welcome to bring your own laptop.*

The application form is due by March 14th. Payment is due on or before March 15th.

*Laptop requirements:

If you can provide your own laptop be sure it meets these requirements:
Macintosh: G5 or Intel based computer with bus speed of 1.5 Ghz and 1.0 GB of RAM; Mac OS X 10.3.9 or greater; QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed.

Windows laptop with bus speed of at least 1.8 Ghz and 1.0 GB of RAM; windows XP:
QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed.