Roles or Agendas of the New Media Artist/Technologist/Scientist

I've referenced some of the roles of the new media artist in past posts often enough that for reference and for the sake of completeness, I would post the entire list here.

As stated by Professor Doug Gast at WSU Tri-Cities, the 6 roles or agendas of the new media artist/technologist/scientist are as follows:

• Invent new technologies with no utilitarian function or market value
• Instead, for play, curiosity and/or provocation
• Engage in science/technology research at different moments in process
• Identify questions least likely to be asked or tackled
• Invent new ways of investigating themes that arise from research where the tools or concepts turn into installations or performances
• Invent new ways to visualize data and make the results public
• Act as inventors inventing or refining technology and making use of emerging science
• Deconstruct hidden narratives in science and technology as cultural commentary

Cloud Gate: An analysis of design choices

Cloud Gate in Chicago (above left) is a fascinating sculpture, employing multiple unusual design choices. First, the form. In the shape of a kidney bean (Cloud Gate is even called "The Bean" by locals), it is what Mary Stewart describes in Launching the Imagination as an organic form--one that suggests nature or natural forces (181). Second, it has an unusual texture. It is a three-dimensional, curved form whose exterior is entirely composed of a seamless mirror. Mirrors are not typically used in this way, and as Stewart describes, because the material is used in an unexpected way, we reconsider the form and the material (205). Finally, the use of activated space. As Stewart notes, the upper half reflects the city around it, while the lower half pulls viewers into a reflective interior space (201). I've been to Cloud Gate before, and hadn't considered this division in the space. The interior, however, is a fascinating sight. The above right photo is an example of what the viewer may see if they stand inside the interior space and look up. When I took such a picture (not the one above) I found myself reflected in the mirror 4 or 5 times.

Interstellar: Simulating a black hole for the silver screen

So Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie Interstellar includes what consulting physicist Kip Thorne calls the most accurate simulation of a black hole ever created (source article). Simulating the relativistic effects that the black hole has on light is exceptionally involved. Reportedly, some of the individual frames took up to 100 hours to render. Overall, the movie entails 800 terabytes of data (32000 to 40000x the size of average Bluray movie: 20-25 gigabytes). This simulation is an example of new media art because it fulfills multiple roles/agendas of new media art by not only inventing a new way to visualize data and making the results public, but it can also be considered engaging in science research because it led to a discovery about black holes by Kip Thorne.

Propaganda Poster

Digital Photomontages that make M.C. Escher Look Quaint

(Note: The title of this post is a paraphrase of the title of this Wired.com article)

Filip Dujardin is an architectural photographer that takes photos of real buildings and then digitally manipulates them into photomontages of impossible buildings. The results are quite impressive:

Critical Thinking Regarding Color

In Launching the Imagination, Stewart says that critical thinking regarding form, including color choice, can enhance a design and strengthen communication. I was reminded of this while reading an article about the work of a cartographer, Cindy Brewer, who created a website to help map makers improve the readability of their maps through color schemes that are a good fit for the data. Some of the guidelines she provides regarding different types of data:

• Sequential data (values go from low to high, like population density or temperature): Color scheme that progresses from light to dark. Never use rainbow colors for this!
• Deviation from an average: A diverging color scheme, with for example reds at one end and blues at the other
• Different categories (like religions or ethnicities): Up to 12 colors that are easily distinguishable, fewer is better. After about 7, it can get really hard to tell them apart

Triptych

EDS stands for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic disorder where the body creates faulty collagen, the basic building block of the body. There are different types of EDS with differing symptoms, but the joints are the most commonly affected part of the body. Some of the symptoms of the Classical Type, represented in this triptych, include unstable, overly flexible joints--sometimes bad enough that the person is uncontrollable double-jointed and has to wear braces on each finger to keep the fingers from bending backwards--frequent joint dislocation, easily bruised and torn skin, and chronic pain. The colors used represent the colors of various EDS awareness ribbons.

Monolitt

Monolitt is a really interesting data visualization piece. It's a waist-high monument that oozes paint according the general sentiment of the tweets made in the Oslo, Norway area where the monument is located (using the spectra of calm vs excited and positive vs negative). As is said in a recent Wired article, in represents social media, a new phenomenon, with paint, one of art's most enduring materials.

Interdisciplinary art

Mary Stewart says that a creative person can make more connections if they have a wide range of interests. This definitely applies to me! When I took a interest evaluation as part of a career assessment, the counselor interpreting the results said he had never seen results quite like mine, because I had very high scores in multiple of the six interest areas. (One result that stands out head and shoulders above the rest is more typical).
Something I'd love to do, but less the ability/resources to do, would be to create a piece of art based on a genetic algorithm. Genetic algorithms--a process also created by interdisciplinary interest--combines computer coding with a form of evolution. It creates possible solutions to a problem as a string of characters, similar to DNA, tests each one regarding how good a solution it is, and then mates usually the two best results, recombining them and allowing random mutation. This is usually used for designing things such as antennas, mirrors for solar collectors, scheduling software.