Student Area
starry – AugmentedBody
My project utilized the limbs and body to control the movement of a forest. I wanted to explore movement in inanimate objects, not just a single tree, and I think with natural subjects it’s easier to build complexity visually since I could copy paste the trees to create a forest. By moving the arms back and forth, the user can simulate movement of branches, and their distance from the camera determines the size of the sun / visibility of the ground.
I liked how it turned out visually but I didn’t like the user interaction since the frame rate was pretty bad and it caused the movement to look very laggy. I also wanted to process the user’s movement somehow to create smoother looking movement, similar to wind moving through trees, but couldn’t figure out how to do so.
bumble_b-VQGAN+CLIP
I feel really stupid for how long I spent trying to get Colab to work. If I wasn’t making this assignment up a few weeks later, I would’ve just headed over to office hours, but since I’m so late already, I just used Pixray instead.
My prompt was: “friendly elves frolicking in a meadow, strawberry picking with baskets, with a giant rainbow in the sky”
It was fun seeing the photo slowly develop through iterations. Here are some of the first ones:
Compared to the end product, it’s so much different! Anyway, I really love the picture, especially how cute the elves are! I just kind of wish the rainbow was there!
bumble_b-TextSynthesis
Narrative Device seemed to be down, so these are both from InferKit:
“I really want to get my nails done tomorrow. I wonder what color and design I’ll get… I’m thinking pink, of course. Now, to sleep so I can get up early for work tomorrow.
I’ve had a headache all day. I went to work, ate my lunch, and went back to my desk.
It has just kept on hurting. I am tired and I’m hungry. But mostly, I’m in pain. I took Tylenol and my left arm has a numb feeling. I’m just hoping it goes away soon… Otherwise I’m going to call in sick.
The worst part is, I’d rather get my nails done and feel pretty than lay on my bed and cry. (And be bored.) (I have work to do, too.)
Today, I got up at 5: 30, had breakfast, and left at 6: 30.
I was out of there by 7: 45.
I got to work at 8: 15.
I don’t usually get to work that early.
I had to leave at 4, but I got a lot done today.”
I gotta say, I was really disappointed that the nails weren’t talked about again after the first generated sentence, so I was thrilled when they made a reappearance!
“I just turned 21, and I’m going to a trivia night at a bar for Friends (the TV show). I LOVE the TV show Friends!
I know most people who love the show don’t do that whole nostalgia thing.
But I do.
I think it’s hilarious how much they’re all still together.
They’re practically cousins.
On the show, every episode begins with them thinking they’re the last people on Earth.
And they find out the opposite is true.
They can’t believe they’re still friends after so many years.”
I tried giving it something very specific, like a TV show that already exists, to see if it knew anything about it. Clearly it did not! Lol
bumble_b-ArtBreeder
Since I’ve already used ArtBreeder, I tried out ProsePainter. I actually really hated ArtBreeder last year, so I’m excited that I really enjoyed this one!
Here was the starting image I used (one of their defaults):
And here is the final image:
These are the prompts I used and where I used them to make it look like this:
“radiant fireworks of diamonds” on the background
“red demon eyes” on her eyes
“long black hair” on her headscarf
“blue lips” on her lips
“dark brown unibrow” on the gap between her eyebrows
“gross green boogers” under her nostrils
“big flowers” on her forehead
Again, I am absolutely too tame when it comes to these projects and only ever find myself interested in altering the features that are already there with things that could be there, like “red eyes” on eyes and “blue lips” on lips. I tried branching out a little with the flowers on her forehead and really enjoyed that result.
bumble_b-Pix2Pix
I’m very much a rule follower, so it honestly didn’t occur to me until just now to do funny stuff and see what it generates. I really focused on trying to make them as realistic as possible, and I’m honestly really happy with how they turned out, especially the shoes.
bumble_b-LookingOutwards03
Last year, I chose the Simpsons vs. Family Guy project (which I wrote about here) that I still maintain is the coolest freaking thing ever! But in the interest of variety and learning, of course, I found another project that I really enjoyed, which is Max Braun’s StyleGAN trained on eBoy’s database of pixel art.
Basically, he fed a bunch of images to a machine, then told the machine to make its own of them! Since I’m a sucker for all things pixel art, this really stuck out to me artistically. You can read his documentation here.
I really enjoy old Flash games, and this reminded me of them a lot! I just love the old/2000s pixel art style. If I ever get the chance to make a video game, I want it to look just like this!
CrispySalmon-LookingOutwards04
Domestic Tension by Wafaa Bilal, 2007
This is a networked durational performance. The artist confined himself to a gallery space and broadcasted himself to the internet. The audience can view, chat with him, and is also given the power to control the pinball gun to shit him. Through this work, Bilal intended to highlight the violence and racism of US culture after 9/11.
This work is different from many other net arts in that it’s using ‘network’ to portray violence, disconnect, contradiction and the BAD. This work reminds me a lot about Marina Abramovic’s Rhythm 0, 1974. In both works, the artists themselves serve as the medium/net to provoke audience interaction and reveal the underlying BAD.
starry – LookingOutwards04
How Do You See the Disappeared? A Warm Database (Mariam Ghani, Chitra Ganesh, 2004)
This project was developed in response to the U.S. government detaining immigrants, most of whom were Muslim, following 9/11; many others were also subject to questioning. The “warm data” in the project’s title stands in opposition to the data generated from such questioning; it is “deeply personal but non-identifying”, as opposed to common forms of data categorization such as place of origin or birthday. The project is currently inaccessible, but is separated into 4 parts; I liked the 3rd and 4th parts, which was the questionnaire that collected the “warm data” and the interface for viewing such responses. I thought this project was really interesting because of how it utilized databases and data that focused on humanizing and turned its focus away from categorization, and how it can evoke an emotional response from the viewer despite the fact that there is nothing known about the person who submitted the response.
kong-LookingOutwards04
IMAGE OBJECTS by ARTIE VIERKANT
Image Objects responds to the shift in art-making practices and the definition of the work of art, where contemporary art began focusing on its online representation. It is composed of sculptural works placed in between the physical objects and the digital image in order to place emphasis on the fluid boundary between them. The digital images were created by printing image-based works on aluminum composite panels so that they would appear three-dimensional. Then, the altered digital documentation of them was circulated online, which means that each documentation is a unique work of its own.
At first, I was drawn to this artwork because of its appealing visual qualities with simple yet vibrant colors. Yet, as I got to know more about the idea behind it, I was intrigued by its focus on the online circulation of the artwork. As my artwork in the future could also be digitally circulated, it led me to consider the interactions of my artwork through the audience’s lens (ex. phone camera).