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The artwork described in the reading by Fiala seems to describe using a material that was recently possible in the 1930s. Electricity, electric lights, and flourscent lights most likely felt very ‘magical’ to the general public. As electricity swept across Czechoslovakia, so did the innovation of Pesanek. He chose a medium in the ‘newly possible’ which is how ITP has been described. The fact all of his work has been lost is upsetting, however, he was able to achieve acclaim within his lifetime. In a way, his work installed on electrical transofrmers further generated excitment to usher in new technology. Perhaps this is a tenet to be considered in my future work.

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The Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting explains what Futurists strive for and what they loathe. Some key pieces, such as their interest in technology as subject and excitement to create new ideas, influenced their work for the better. However, some of their ideas about gender, violence, and hatred contributed to the movement’s short life. With great power comes great responsibility.

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The work of Tokihiro Sato resonated with me, especially his use of the body as negative space in his photographs. They represent what is possible when an artist fully understands and manipulates his medium. His work is also concerned with outdoor space and human presence(or lack of) within it. His sculpture skews and alters viewers’ perception of their immediate surroundings. This, I imagine, causes a dissonant effect within the viewer allowing for a contemplative moment. Dissonance is also a feeling I am after in much of my work.

Assignment: Create a light sculpture or light installation in the style of the constructivists, futurists, cubists or kinetic artists using “non video” materials. Bring this sculpture to Class 2 and be ready to explain your influences and how light is used as the primary medium for this sculpture.

This sculpture/helmet is inspired by the Cubist idea of experimenting with multiple perspectives. The wearer is confronted with all sides of themselves which is enhanced by the brightness of the lighting. Our main goal was to design a helmet that generates an intense physical and emotional response for the wearer.

The first step was to build a frame for the helmet. We chose to use as many reflective materials as possible in the project which is why we used aluminum foil. It is a cheap and quick way to create 3d shapes and structures. Duct tape assisted.

This was followed by securing reflective mylar to create the shell.

We finished each large section and then added in the ‘planes’. These are assorted reflective materials in the style of the planes of color found in Cubist work.

We tried it on multiple times throughout the process to ensure a balanced and comfortable fit.

The final project from outside:

The view from the left and right inside.

My partner, Nara’s, blog post.

For this final project about identity, I chose to explore the phenomenon of feeling outside one’s self when engaging with online identities. The piece explores questions about authenticity, self-exploration, and reality.

The visuals represent the reduction/representation of self online. The colors are determined based on a hue of each pixel. For example, a red shirt will look red, but a maroon or pink shirt will also be red or a light blue wall will be blue but a a navy blue wall will also be blue.

I chose the composition of the piece to reflect video conferencing because it was important for me to encourage viewers to have a dialogue with themselves. The larger image is a reflection while the smaller image is not. Here I am asking questions about what is reality, which is really ‘you’? Are any of the images you? Are you in the real world truly you? What is the potential to become a different you?

The rapidly changing numbers on the top and bottom of the screen change depending on the scene the camera sees. Technically, they are the pixel counts of each color being displayed so depending on the time of day and the colors a person is wearing, they will be different. I did not envision a viewer necessarily knowing how these numbers are generated but rather my intent was for them to represent the most basic information about a space or person that the camera, and therefore technology, can see. They were inspired by the number clock/time measurer found in Union Square of NYC.

I envision this work in a public space such as a plaza, a storefront window, a restaurant, or in a gallery. The color choice is meant to be engaging/eye catching and the movement of people in public spaces helps bring the piece to life. Alternatively, it also could work well in someone’s home if they find it to be transformative or inspirational.

I was influenced by the writings of Turkel, Marx, and Haraway. All three of these author’s discuss identity play/creation, the reduction of self online, and the leakage or publicity of information about ourselves due to the proliferation of technology.

THE PROCESS:

I made a project titled ‘You’ a little while ago.

I wanted to continue exploring using the viewer as subject for this project but with the intent of making the overall asthetic a bit more vibrant.

From here I determined the entire piece needed another dimension.

And finally, I finished the piece by focusing in on the self-dialogue component.

Kody A. Trauger
Artful Explorations of Self

Kody Trauger is an interactive media artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He aims to present the multi-faceted sides of humanity and human identity by using viewers as his subject. His work is an artful expression of self and is influenced by the aesthetics of the Bauhaus movement and science fiction.

Kody holds a BA from New York University in Gender and Sexual Identity Development. He is currently enrolled in the Interactive Telecommunications Program of the same institution as a graduate student. His work has been featured in the bi-annual shows of ITP and he is currently seeking new venues to display his creations.

Website

Jingle

For this work I am using the Kinect. Every 2nd pixel from the IR camera is being drawn according to it’s x,y, coordinate at various positions. The color is being controlled using an algorithm based on the position of the closest object to the camera, in most cases, my hand.

Here is an early version:

I decided I wanted to control the box with my hand and was able to accomplish this. However, that seemed to interfere with the aesthetic of the piece and almost became a distraction. So instead I decided to control something not so literally with my hand, that being the pixel color. The music is a track from the group A-Bee called Sakana.

The final piece:

If I continue further with this project, I would like to explore creating music using MIDI as sound is a medium I have yet to explore.

Examples:
Lots in this vid. Particularly inspired by the example of the ‘invisible man’.

More pixel mapping.

Laying out a UI anywhere:

The above examples are more advanced then I was able to achieve with the Kinect over the past two weeks. I struggled with managing and utilizing the Z axis data from the camera.

I used sample code for tracking the closest object to the camera and inserted more visuals.

The squares are randomly colored with about a 60 percent alpha value. Based upon the closest object, the squares turn black and solid. I kept the RGB image barely there so it is clearer what is happening in this demo.

In thinking about a next step for the project, I would like to shrink and grow the squares based upon distance.

I was able to install Eclipse after some struggle importing all the Processing jar files in their correct locations. But alas, things are working!

I spent a lot of time trying to merge tracking motion with color identification which led me to studying all of the various tracking examples I could find. This is an important step towards creating You 2.0, a piece I am working on for a plaza. Unfortunately I was not successful in getting what I wanted to work and am currently seeking assistance from others.

In this exercise below, I tried out the lerp function and focused on learning it’s syntax. I also wanted to create something visual that was in the vein of my asthetic but didn’t rely too much on my own code creation.

I thought for awhile about what identities or activities I participate in that would not be documented or in a database anywhere. This proved to be pretty difficult as everything I do is tracked. Being a student, my employment, my birth, my residence, even what I buy and eat is recorded through banks and credit companies. Everywhere I’ve been has been recorded by travel agencies, airlines, and car rentals.

The only thing I could think of is my participation in illegal or underground economies. For everyone’s protection I cannot be specific about these but they fall outside the usual system and therefore are not documented. In fact, their strength and persistence comes from being undocumented.

I am intrigued that basically everything that is legal requires identity confirmation and tracking… big brother theory? I take some comfort that all of this information is not centralized and if someone were to truly try and trace me, they would need to take time to research and look into all the areas of my life to determine who I am and how I spend my time…. luckily I don’t think I’m a person of interest… yet.