Author: Zoe

LO-11: How New Media Artists Bridge the Digital Divide

In “How Artists Can Bridge the Digital Divide and Reimagine Humanity,” Chavez addresses the importance of the role that new media artists play in closing the “digital divide” – that is, equipping people around the world with the necessary knowledge as well as skills to move from simply being consumers of digital media and content to being producers of it. As outlined by Chavez, the steps to achieve this goal are as follows: 

Closing the initial gap of access to digital technologies;

Harnessing wonder through creating fun, engaging projects that facilitate interest in participating in a new, digital society;

Creating shareable digital resources, otherwise known as public goods;

Addressing the STEMarts Model.

As it currently stands, an elite minority – those with proper access to new media technologies and the necessary skills to manipulate them – are responsible for creating the vast majority of new digital media content online. In bridging the gap between art and STEM, we expand our understanding of ourselves, our humanity, and our roles in society; as Chavez outlines in her article, by supporting artists who innovate by creating new digital tools and experiences, we encourage diverse communities across the globe to participate in the reimagination of humanity.

https://www.arts.gov/impact/media-arts/arts-technology-scan/essays/how-artists-can-bridge-digital-divide-and-reimagine-humanity

Project-09: ASCii Portrait

had a lot of fun w dis one

sketch
// Zoe Lin (ID: youlin)
// Section B

//please give it a couple seconds to load!
//press the mouse to invert the colors!
var density = '@Ñ#W$0985321!?=+-;:,._ ';
var r, g, b;
var img;

function preload() {
  img = loadImage("https://i.imgur.com/GBXXDnf.png"); //load image
}

function setup() {
  createCanvas(350, 450);
  //frameRate(10);
  textAlign(CENTER, CENTER); //ensures ascii text aligns with pixels
  noStroke();
}

function draw() {
  img.loadPixels(); //loads each individual pixel of img
  background(0);

  //var denShuffle = shuffle(density);
  var newWidth = width/img.width;
  var newHeight = height/img.height;
  for (var i = 0; i < img.width; i++) {
    for (var j = 0; j < img.height; j++) {
      var index = (i+j*img.width) * 4; //sets index to match image pixel
      r = img.pixels[index]; g = img.pixels[index+1]; b = img.pixels[index+2];
      var average = (r+g+b) / 3; //finds average rgb index
      textSize(newWidth);
      fill(255);

      //maps index of letter to image pixels
      var letterdex = floor(map(average,0,255,density.length,0));
      //draws ascii letters
      text(density.charAt(letterdex), i*newWidth, j*newHeight);
      
    }
  }  
}

//note: mousePressed also takes a few seconds to load!
function mousePressed() { //inverts colors when mouse is pressed
  density = density.split('').reverse().join(''); //reverses density string
}

The Game: The Game by Angela Washko

Angela Washko’s The Game: The Game is a feminist computational video game that explores the politics and tactics of the pick-up “artist” through the form of a dating simulator. As the player, you encounter several major “seduction coaches” who attempt to woo you through an array of techniques and practices taken from their instructional material – which range from cheesy and uncomfortable to out-right violent. In creating The Game: The Game, Washko essentially allows the player to understand and, in turn, expose and defuse the manipulative and disturbing practices of these pick-up artists. That’s also what I admire most about it; on the surface, it’s a strange, funny, and disorienting game; dig a little deeper, however, you’ll have a nuanced view of the social implications and power dynamics in the world of contemporary sex.

An associate professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, Angela Washko is a politically-active media artist working in a variety of mediums – namely, film, virtual environments, and interactive video games – with the aim of conveying unconventional stories from unusual perspectives in media. I’ve personally attended one of Washko’s lectures and, needless to say, I’m elated to have the opportunity to write about them.

https://angelawashko.com/section/437138-The%20Game%3a%20The%20Game.html

Angela Washko, The Game: The Game, 2016

Looking Outwards 08: Phazero

Christina “Phazero” Curlee is an anti-disciplinary game designer and artist specializing in conveying narratives through interactive environment and level design. They are a MFA candidate specializing in Game Design at the University of Los Angeles and possess a BFA in Digital Art from UT Austin. Currently based in Los Angeles, Christina’s passion for game creation originated from their background in fine arts; initially intending to create interactive installations but finding little success, they began shifting their practice to 3D arts and programming. Christina’s presentation at the EYEO Festival was, in short, eloquent and personable; according to them, what most attracted them to utilizing video games as an artistic medium is the element of play – through interactive, abstract environments and video media capable of evoking multiple sensory responses, they are able to effectively convey narratives that confront challenging topics in a non-explicit manner, taking the player through surreal yet personal experiences in the process. That’s also what I admire most about Christina’s work; not only are they visually captivating and fun to play, they are also narratively rich and artistically confrontational.

To see more of Christina’s work, visit her website: http://www.christinazero.com/

Gameplay footage of Artifacts II by Christina “Phazero” Curlee

Project-07-Curves

A modified hypotrochoid on top of a modified epitrochoid! I reversed x and y in the second vertex function to create the double layered effect.

sketch
// Zoe Lin (ID: youlin)
// Section B

var nPoints = 80;
var angle;
var x, y, theta;
var r, g, b;

function setup() {
  createCanvas(480, 480);
}

function draw() {
  r = map(mouseX, 0, width, 0, 20); //draws bg color based on mouse pos
  g = map(mouseY, 0, height, 0, 20);
  b = map(mouseX, 0, height, 0, 20);
  background(r, g, b);
  noFill();
  stroke(130);
  translate(width/2, height/2);
  moddedeEpitrochoid(); //draws first geometry at center
  rotate(HALF_PI); //draws second at an angle
  moddedeEpitrochoid();
  hypotrochoid(); 
  rotate(PI / 3); //repeat at third angle
  moddedeEpitrochoid();
  hypotrochoid();

function moddedeEpitrochoid() {
    var a = 85; //angle
    var h = constrain(mouseY / 10, 0, 100); //limits geometry size
    var mouse = mouseX / 70;
    
    beginShape();
    for (var i = 0; i < nPoints; i++) {
        theta = map(i, 0, nPoints, 0, TWO_PI);
        //modified formula for epitrochoid
        x = (a+a/2) * sin(theta) - cos(mouse + theta * (a + a/2) / a/2) * h;
        y = (a+a/2) * cos(theta) - sin(mouse + theta * (a + a/2) / a/2) * h;
        vertex(x, y);
        vertex(y, x); //layers vertexes, draws 2d geometry
    }
    endShape();
 }
  strokeWeight(0.25);
}

function hypotrochoid() { 
    var h = constrain(mouseX / 100, 205, height); //contrains geometry size
    var a = map(mouseX, 0, width, 25, 15); //maps mouse pos to desired angle
    var b = map(mouseY, 0, height, 0, 15);
    beginShape();
      for (var i = 0; i < nPoints-15; i ++) {
        var theta2 = map(i, 0, width/2, 0, 50);
        //hypotrochoid formula
        x = (a - b) * cos(theta2) + h * sin((a - b) * theta2);
        y = (a - b) * sin(theta2) - h * cos((a - b) * theta2);
        vertex(x, y);
      }
    endShape();
}

LO-07: All Streets (2006)

All Streets (2006) is a data visualization map of all streets in the lower 48 United States created by Ben Fry, a new media program developer and computational designer. The project is an image that drew 26 million individual road segments, mapping out all major points of population and transportation. As the co-developer of Processing – an open source programming platform for computational design and interactive media software, Ben Fry’s work often revolved around using creative data visualization as a tool to understand information in both practical and aesthetic ways. In analyzing the image, I believe Fry used an algorithm that drew information from a database record containing the geographical location of all streets in the lower 48, which then mapped said data to the canvas and, in turn, drew curved lines corresponding to each street. All Streets is not only straightforward and effective in its visualization of transportation in the U.S., but it succeeds from a design perspective in its aesthetic layout and composition as well. Computational works like Fry’s All Streets that are practical and pleasing to the eye are a huge part of why I’m taking 15104; afterall, data can be beautiful.

All Streets (2006), Ben Fry

https://benfry.com/allstreets/

LO-05: The Dante Quartet

The Dante Quartet (1987) is an 8-minute experimental short film by Stan Brakhage. Produced over the course of six years, Brakhage hand-painted random but organized images on top of film with the aim of capturing various stages of hell. The Dante Quartet is divided into four sections: Hell Itself, Hell Spit Flexion, Purgation, and existence is song, comprising thousands of paintings – all of which can be characterized as emotive and intentional yet utterly random in their framing and order. As Brakhage splotches thick paint across his film, frames them, orders them, and edits them in a way that subverts the audience’s expectations (namely, the expectation that film must be explicitly narrative & played at consistent frame rates), he creates an experimental masterpiece that transcends both the canvas and the screen. The randomness within The Dante Quartet is visceral; watching the film as a spectator feels like witnessing a sort of organized chaos, taking us through the various stages of descension as Brakhage mapped out. That’s exactly what I admire about Brakhage’s work- through manipulating the random and rearranging them in a harmonious manner, Brakhage conveys emotion in an artful way that cannot be championed.

The Dante Quartet (1987), Stan Brakhage
Across the Universe: Stan Brakhage’s The Dante Quartet

Project-05-Wallpaper

cybergoth dragon recursion!!!

sketch 

// Zoe Lin (ID: youlin)
// Section B

function setup() {
  createCanvas(400, 600);
  noLoop();
  strokeWeight(0.025);
}

function draw() {
  callDragon(5, 5, width/1.5, height/2.5, 40);

function callDragon(x, y, width, height, d){
    background(255);
    d = map(40, 0, 60, 10, 16);

    push(); //dragon1
    drawDragon(x + width/3, y-2, width, height, d);
    pop();

    push(); //dragon2
    drawDragon(x + width/3, y+height+2, width, height, d);
    pop();
  
    push(); //dragon3
    drawDragon(x + width/3, y+height*2+2, width, height, d);
    pop();
  
    //push(); //dragon4
    //drawDragon(x + width/4.5, y+height*2.5, width, height, d);
    //pop();
}

function drawDragon(x, y, width, height, d){
    
    //draw
    triangle(x , y+height/2.5, x+width/2, y, x+width, y+height/2);
    translate(x, y+height/2);
  
    push();
    dragon(width, d);
    pop();
}

function dragon(len, d) {
    if (d <= 0) {
        return;
    }

    fill(255);
    triangle(0, 0, len/2, -(len/2), len/2.5, 0);
    push();

    var newLen = len/1.4;
    rotate(- PI/4);
    fill(0);
    triangle(0, 0, newLen, 0, newLen/2.5, -(newLen/2));
    dragon(newLen, d - 1); //recursion
    pop();

    push();
    translate(len, 1.4);
    rotate(-3 * PI/4);
    fill(0);
    triangle(0, 0, newLen, 0, newLen/2.5, -(newLen/3));
    dragon(newLen, d - 1);
    pop();  
}
}

LO-05: Human After All

Human After All is a series of photographs that depict everyday people through their circulatory systems. A collaboration between photographer Jan Kriwol and Markos Kay – a digital 3D graphics bio-artist and programmer, these photographs not only explore the interaction between the fragile human body and its rigid environment but also challenge our exterior differences (ie. our skin color) by stripping the subject down to the barebones of human anatomy. This very subject matter is exactly what I admire about this series of work- deep inside, our bodies are so simple and similar, yet so complex. To generate this work, Markos Kay implemented an algorithm that generated 3D circulatory veins and arteries within the constraints of the human body as well as the given environment – this likely involved the use of 3D interactive programming software such as unreal engine and, on the backend, code that mimicked the way our veins spread within our bodies, repeating itself as it generated random patterns that simulated the flow of blood. Markos Kay’s works often blur the lines between art and functional science; Human After All demonstrates this very skill.

Human After All, Jan Kriwol & Markos Kay, 2017

Ryoji Ikeda – Test Pattern (2008)

Test Pattern (2008) is an audiovisual installation created by Japanese sound artist Ryoji Ikeda in collaboration with Tomonaga Tokuyama. The program behind Test Pattern picks up real-time audio signals and converts their sound waveforms into eight synchronized barcode patterns. Its results are then displayed on LCD screens accompanying 16ch sound systems that projected Ikeda’s futuristic, data-driven tunes. Flashing across the screen at speeds that peak at hundreds of frames per second, Ikeda’s installation is one that challenges the boundaries of human perception. While Test Pattern’s soundscape was originally composed by Ikeda, the installation was able to exist thanks to the work of Tokuyama, whose algorithm mapped sixteen channel sound signals onto a grid matrix, turning into blindingly hypnotic strobe flashes. In an article from Hero Magazine, Ikeda was described as a “cosmic polymath,” sonic scientist,” and “matrix shaman.” I can’t help but agree- As an artist, I’ve always been mesmerized by the idea of subliminal audio and creating work that exceeded human sensory limitations. Ryoji Ikeda’s Test Pattern is a direct testament of this– a direct testament to the possibility of a paradoxically serene audiovisual experience that brought its audience into fleeting moments of sensory transcendence.

https://www.ryojiikeda.com/project/testpattern/

Ryoji Ikeda, Test Pattern (2008)