Category: SectionD

Sammie Kim – Looking Outwards 09

Looking into the Looking Outwards 8 report by CJ Walsh, I was intrigued by Meow Wolf, which an artist collective. Consisting of more than 400 employees with various artistic and digital backgrounds, Meow Wolf is known for creating interactive installation projects. The project that was analyzed is called the “House of Eternal Return,” which is a large immersive space (20,000 square foot art exhibit) in Santa Fe. Once a visitor enters the space that resembles the lawn of a Victorian House, he or she is then able to explore and discover portals into other worlds. Likewise, this space contains dozens of rooms, secret passages, and even musical objects that the visitors can interact with to unfold the mystery of the Selig family, who mysteriously disappeared after conducting a forbidden experiment. This maximalist art showcase engages guests of all ages, letting them walk, climb, and crawl through fantastic and unexpected environments within a particular narrative. 

Personally, I agreed with most of my peer’s assessment, as I appreciated not only the resultative project, but also the strenuous process that was involved. In the lecture video, the way the group presented a lot of visuals like progress videos really showed how they were able to overcome challenges, particularly in establishing themselves as a productive artist group. Moreover, I wanted to add to how Meow Wolf really strives to challenge social norms and radical inclusions through community based art projects.

Image of the House of Eternal Return (Eye catching visuals that engage with the narrative)
Interactive objects that visitors can play around with

Link to Meow Wolf website: https://meowwolf.com

CJ Walsh – Looking Outwards 08 – Meow Wolf
Looking Outwards about Meow Wolf

Lanna Lang – Project 09 – Portrait

sketch

//Lanna Lang
//Section D
//lannal@andrew.cmu.edu
//Project 09 - Computational Portrait

var px = [];
var py = [];

//load the underlying image
function preload() {
    var imgURL = "https://i.imgur.com/mSgPk6o.jpg";
    underlyingImage = loadImage(imgURL);
}

function setup() {
    createCanvas(480, 480);
    background(0);
    underlyingImage.loadPixels();
    frameRate(10);
}

function draw() {

    //for loop to draw the random lines that draw
    //when the new frame is displayed
    for (var i = 0; i < frameCount; i++) {

        //the x and y array is
        //drawn randomly
        px[i] = random(width);
        py[i] = random(height);
        
        //get the color of the underlying image
        //at the specific x, y location
        var ix = constrain(floor(px[i]), 0, width-1);
        var iy = constrain(floor(py[i]), 0, height-1);
        var theColorAtLocationXY = underlyingImage.get(ix, iy);

        //the person is drawn with smaller lines = more detail
        //this if statement is for the head
        if (px[i] >= 230 & px[i] <= 400 && 
            py[i] >= 70 && py[i] <= 300) {
            strokeWeight(1);
            //the line drawn is the same color as the 
            //underlying image at its location
            stroke(theColorAtLocationXY);
            //the lines drawn is at a random angle
            line(px[i] + random(5), py[i] + random(5), 
                px[i] + random(10), py[i] + random(10));

        //this if statement is for the chest
        } else if (px[i] >= 30 & px[i] <= width && 
            py[i] >= 270 && py[i] <= 450) {
            strokeWeight(1);
            stroke(theColorAtLocationXY);
            line(px[i] + random(5), py[i] + random(5), 
                px[i] + random(10), py[i] + random(10));

        //this if statement is for the left hand & the sun
        } else if (px[i] >= 50 && px[i] <= 200 && 
            py[i] >= 90 && py[i] <= 220) {
            strokeWeight(1);
            stroke(theColorAtLocationXY);
            line(px[i] + random(5), py[i] + random(5), 
                px[i] + random(10), py[i] + random(10));

        //this if statement is for the left arm
        } else if (px[i] >= 10 & px[i] <= 120 && 
            py[i] >= 220 && py[i] <= 350) {
            strokeWeight(1);
            stroke(theColorAtLocationXY);
            line(px[i] + random(5), py[i] + random(5), 
                px[i] + random(10), py[i] + random(10));

        //the background is drawn with thicker lines = less detail
        } else {
            strokeWeight(4);
            stroke(theColorAtLocationXY);
            line(px[i] + random(10), py[i] + random(10), 
                px[i] + random(50), py[i] + random(50));
        }
    }
    
}

Process
Finished product
Original Photo (of my friend)

I struggled creating this code because I was very adamant about using random lines as my custom pixel and I couldn’t find out how to exactly execute it, but after using frameCount, I finally got it. I had a lot of fun writing my code, and this is one of my favorite photos I’ve taken so I am very satisfied with my final result.

Mari Kubota- Looking Outwards- 09

The blog post I looked at was Ankitha Vasudev’s post on a time lapse animation called Flight Pattern (2011) by Aaron Koblin. Flight Pattern displays a 24 hour time period of American air traffic patterns and densities, by following the routes of around 140,000 American planes crossing the United States. I found this project interesting because the time lapse animation visually shows how widespread and frequent travel inside of America is. Aaron Koblin’s use of  color and patterns to illustrate a wide range of data including aircraft type, no-fly zones, weather patterns and alteration to routes helps to visualize large amounts of data into one concise animation. I also agree with Ankitha’s opinion that uses the time lapse animation and the data gathered for it in order to show the intertwining of humans and technology. The animation shows that human movement is synonymous to the movement of technology. 

Shannon Ha – Looking Outwards 08

Mimi Son is a Korean Interaction Designer who studied at Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and Landsdown Centre of Middlesex University in London. She currently teaches Interactive Storytelling at Kaywon School of Art and Design and is the director of her own studio, Kimchi and Chips alongside Elliot Woods. Their studio focuses on novel interactions involving people and media materials, discovering new technical and artistic paradigms. Coming from an artistic background she enjoys observing her surroundings and uses her observations as inspiration for creating something interactive and funny.  

Link (2010)
Photo taken from kimchiandchips.com
Line Segment Space (2013)
Photo taken from kimchiandchips.com

Her current work studies the emotional and tangible interaction for future life and the effects of technology from creative approach. In particular, she creates speculative visual objects that has unpredictable reactions when touched with technology. She mentions in her talk that she is quite experimental in the way she works and there is not that much ‘meaning’  behind her artistic choices and I think I can definitely relate to her in a way that my own creative process is also more random and less technical. I think it’s interesting to compare the balance between storytelling and randomness in her variety of work. In her work Link (2010), the installation is a lot more about user interaction as it invites users to record their stories into a city scape of cardboard boxes (see image) and it explores the agency that individuals have over technology. In contrast, her piece called Line Segment Space (2013) is a lot more abstract and undefined and it focuses more on on the viewers emotional with the space that is filled with with dynamic forms created by light and lines. 

I used a grace day for this project.

Kristine Kim-08-Looking Outward

As I was researching through the speakers for the eye of festival 2019, artist Refik Anadol capture most of my attention. He is a media artist from Istanbul, Turkey but currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in Media arts master of fine arts degree from Istanbul Bilgi University in Visual Communication Design as well as bachelors of arts degree with summa cum laude in Photography and Video.  He is working in the fields of site-specific public art with an approach of parametric data sculpture and live audio/visual performances. He is famous for his immersive installation approach and he particularly explores space among digital and physical entities by creating a hybrid relationship between architecture and media arts with machine intelligence. 

WDCH Dreams, Refik Anadol, http://refikanadol.com/works/wdch-dreams/
Melting Memories, Refik Anadol, 2018

Refik Anadol is intrigued by the transformation of the subject of contemporary culture requires rethinking of the new aesthetic, technique and dynamic perception of space. Anadol builds his works on the nomadic subject’s reaction to and interactions with unconventional spatial orientations with data and machine intelligence. Embedding media arts into architecture, he questions the possibility of a post digital architectural future in which there are no more non-digital realities. He invites his audience to visualize alternative realities by presenting them the possibility of re-defining the functionalities of both interior and exterior architectural forms.. Anadol’s work suggests that all spaces and facades have potentials to be utilized as the media artists’ canvases. I was super inspired by this artist because of his usage of space and technology and how it creates just a vast atmosphere and incorporates nature and digital and media art altogether so successfully.

The “Infinity Room”, Refik Anadol, 12 minute installation, 2016

Lanna Lang – Looking Outwards – 09

Jenny Sabin’s “PolyMorph” // 2013

As I was looking through previous Looking Outwards responses, I was very intrigued with Ilona’s post about Sabin’s work because, in my own scope of work, I am very interested in the interaction between the natural and the digital, and “PolyMorph” caught my eye as it perfectly sits in that spot. I totally agree with Ilona when she said that this project – although the structure mimics natural forms– it could not have been created without the use of technology, but it also could not have been created without the use of the human hands that cast, fire, and glaze the ceramic pieces joined with the robot arms in her lab studio that were used for 3D printing.

What I love about this project is how intricate it is: the structure is made up of 1400 pieces with 1300 different connection combinations and then built into a geometric structure that simulates geometry in nature. I personally love the intertwining of organic designs with technology and digital fabrication. Sabin uses her knowledge in architecture, design, biology, and mathematics to design material structures that are made of traditional art mediums as well as digital art mediums.

A few combinations of the individual components that make up “PolyMorph”
How the individual components fit together with each other to create the whole structure
“PolyMorph”: After all 1400 individual pieces are structured

CJ Walsh – Looking Outwards 08 – Meow Wolf

Eyeo 2019 – Meow Wolf Talk – Your Own Multiverse

The artist that I chose to focus on this week is Meow Wolf, which is an artist collective, not just a singular artist. With over 400 employees with skills in a variety of media, Meow Wolf is known for creating immersive and interactive artistic experiences. I have heard of their work before in other classes, but had never done much research into what the collective actually is. I was intrigued to choose them for this assignment because the work that they do is what I hope to do in my design career and they are an organization that I would dream to work for.

Video displaying the House of Eternal Return

The talk from Eyeo 2019 features two collaborators of Meow Wolf that have been working with the collective from the early days. I appreciate the talk because it’s not just about what they made, but how and why they make it. Their message is really about informing the audience about how a collective exists and operates. It was really interesting to learn about the way that the group progressed through the difficulty of establishing themselves as a productive artist group. I think a strong aspect of their presentation was including progress videos showing how the work and team was structured. It’s a fun and informative way to have more visuals than just photos and diagrams.

The group is known mainly for their project the House of Eternal Return, which is a large immersive experience in Sante Fe. The space that they occupy was bought for them by George R.R. Martin, and he then leased it to them to begin the installation. The visitor enters the space and the experience begins on the lawn of a Victorian house. The house looks normal, until the audience begins to explore and finds portals into other worlds. The artists wanted to create a space where the multiverse is present, somewhere where different dimensions are crashing into each other. Meow Wolf is beginning the process to install these spaces in other cities.

I think that Meow Wolf is an amazing group that is doing extraordinary work that I would very much want to be a part of. I chose to focus on them because their artistic interests really align with me own, and I think the talk they gave spoke a lot to the strides they have made to create a supportive and productive artist collective.

Lauren Park – Looking Outwards – 08

Jake barton is the founder of a media design company called Local Projects, that is based in New York. Jake Barton  had attended college for performance studies. He focuses on making work that tells a story to wide audiences through an technological and emotional connection. 


What I really admire about Local Projects and when it comes to howJake Barton envisions the world through his works, is how he uses the technololgy around us and coding language to solve not only systematic issues that the world faces, but also allow for emotional satisfaction by allowing humans to interact with his projects. He helps produce designs that are not just visually appealing for commercial purposes, but emphasize emotional appeal. The designs seem to have a another layer that significantly helps give people a voice. I specifically admire the project called “A Museum of Collective Memory” because of how this piece has opened my mind in imaging solutions that algorithms can help build. This project used an algorithm that arranged names through personal relationships with the victims.

An effective strategy they use to present work is by prototyping products first before finalizing an idea. They test multiple times to make necessary improvements for a better product. I learned that before making a final submission, it is important to run and go through trials to factor out any problems when it comes to working with coding and design. One solution, small or big, can make a huge difference in the product. 

http://eyeofestival.com/2012/speaker/jake-barton/

https://localprojects.com/about

Cathy Dong-Looking Outwards-08

Kyle McDonald Presentation

Person: Kyle McDonald

Kyle McDonald is a Los Angeles-based media artist, who works with codes. Even though his presentation is informal and rather casual, I found his work appealing and amazing. With skills such as computation, 3D sensing, interactive media installation, and so on, he utilizes codes into art and creates something that the traditional media could not. He collaborates with other professionals and learn from their experience. In the presentation, he shared the work-in-progress and the insight information on the projects. It reveals how he learn and build skills to assist his career and art. In the project called “Missing,” he explores the concepts of Coexist and the relationship between human and machine.

“Leaking Lights” by Kyle McDonald

Sarah Choi – Looking Outwards – 08

Jake Barton is a designer based in the United States. He is known for being the founder of Local Projects which is an experience design firm for different brands, museums, and public spaces in New York City. He majored in Performace Studies at Northwestern and continued to graduate school at New York University for Interactive Telecommunications. However, in between his Bachelor’s degree and graduate school, he first worked on Broadway for set design and later interned at Ralph Appelbaum Associates, a museum design firm. While in graduate school, he launched Local Projects as an inspiration from his internship. Jake Barton describes himself as someone who values storytelling and people. 

His video from the Eyeo Festival in 2012 talked about “Like Falling in Love” and how he truly believes people are more interesting than technology. He talked a lot about this interactive game called “Urbanology” he and his team made where people could choose from five different tokens of affordability, livability,  transportation, sustainability, and wealth. His players would then argue with one another on who is more right. Furthermore, he talked about “How Bodies Inspire Art” where he centered interactive interfaces to the middle of the exhibit. I admire his work because he wants the audience to experience more from just the art. He thinks of composition and perception when thinking about how to present his art to other people. 

Jake Barton shows a lot of media to show his work. He makes his talks very lighthearted to engage more with the audience. He also talks about doubts in his work which was really interesting. He talked about how he was unsure of using guiding principles as his work was shown to his audience, but talking about themes every person in the audience could relate to was definitely something that engaged me in his work.

https://localprojects.com/