Blue Flower/Flor Azul this Friday @ George Pearl Hall

UNM is pleased to welcome international artist Frederico Muelas to discuss his work and begin identifying collaborators for his Blue Flower/ Flor Azul public art piece at UNM's George Pearl hall:

What: Frederic Muelas / Flor Azul
When: MARCH 27, 2009, 12:00 PM
Where: GEORGE PEARL HALL AUDITORIUM (School of Architecture and Planning, Central and Cornell)

“Blue Flower/ Flor Azul” is a Public Art piece designed for the George Pearl Hall building, School of Architecture and Planning at UNM. The project is commissioned by the Art in Public Places Program (AIPP) of New Mexico Arts and the UNM. It is scheduled to be installed on November 2009.

On the piece, the image of a small drop of blue ink expanding into water is optically enlarged and projected against a 900 Sq Feet custom-made LCD screen to be placed on the projection wall that is located on the west entry of the building.

The display is made of 3,740 large monochromatic pixels that render the image of the ink during the daylight and work as a projecting screen when turned off at night. This large-scale outdoor display uses a LCD technology several times more energy efficient than LED displays.

The “ink projector”, installed on the amphitheater facing the screen, accommodates the automatic system to maintain the endless water/ ink cycle and the optical and light technology to generate the bright and infinite resolution image of the ink on the screen.

This colloquium seeks to introduce the project to the University community in order to bring collaborators into the project. Due to the number of different technologies that the piece incorporates, this project offers the perfect platform for a rich collaborative experience where students from diverse disciplines will merge in a cooperative environment of open knowledge.

On this lecture the software and hardware technology that has been so far developed for the project will be introduced through an audiovisual presentation and functional prototypes. A series of “open collaboration calls” will happen along the lecture as we go over different aspects of the project. Computer Science, Electrical and Computing Engineering, Advanced Electronics, Optical Science, Digital Media Technology, Music and Fine Arts are just few of the fields related to this project. But most important of all is the craving from the student of being part of a team that will bring to life a never seen before kind of audiovisual technology.

Please, find further information of the project at http://www.federicomuelas.com/blue_flower

BIO

Federico Muelas, New Media / Public Art. BFA, UCLM, Spain: MFA, School of Visual Arts.

Professor of Physical Computing at the Master in Computer Arts and Bachelor in Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts, NY.

Exhibitions include: Stuttgart Filmwinter Festival, Germany;Katzen Museum, Washington;Ars Electronica 2005, Austria; -XV Ibero-American Art Salon, Katzen Arts Center, Mass.; Gallery Affero, NJ; Japan Media Festival, Tokyo; ARCO 2005, Madrid; Cervantes institute, New York; Location One, NY; MONA Museum, Detroit; Museum of Art, Colombia; Electrohype Biennial, Sweden; PikseliACHE Festival, Helsinki; New Jersey Film Festival; V and VI Cuban Digital salon, La Havana; SIMO 2000,Spain; ARCO 99, Spain.

Awards include: New York Foundation for the Arts 2003, Finishing Fund 2005 grant, Life 7.0 award, SGAE Award, La Caixa Grant, Spanish Cultural Council grant, UNESCO Award.

Publication include; WANDS, BRUCE. Art in the Digital Age; NYARTS magazine; Neo2 Magazine; TENTACIONES magazine; El PAIS newspaper; RHIZOME DIGEST; METRO newspaper; EL CIBERPAIS magazine; untitled art magazine. Leonardo Magazine, Art & Artificial Life International Competition; WILSON, Robert, Border Patrol: Artists Working at the Frontiers of Science and Technology.

Interaction Design Update

(and thanks, Zemanta, for F#$*ing this up!)

We had a nice visit last week from the local IxDA group -- and saw some great talks and presentations from Interaction '09 including keynote Robert Fabricant. Visit the IxDA library site for that and more as they're released.

Robert Fabricant - Behavior is our Medium
Sun, 03/15/2009 - 17:05 — Nasir Barday
Robert Fabricant talks about Interaction Design as a practice beyond just computing technology. He gives examples of Interaction Design as far back as ancient history, all the way to a humanitarian project underway today. He shows that Interaction Design's primary medium is behavior, extending far past the high technology world into the realm of human behavior and relationships.

Want to know more about the Interaction Design Association and their annual conference? You might check out the following from Interaction '08:


Interaction '08 Recap Video from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

Ecotone & IxDA up Next!

First of all, Ecotone is tonight (Friday) and Saturday here at ARTS Lab (more info below). Second, we're pleased to welcome the NM chapter of IxDA this coming Tuesday...

What's IxDA?
IxDA is the Interaction Design Association, a network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design. They believe that the human condition is increasingly challenged by poor experiences. IxDA intends to improve the human condition by advancing the discipline of Interaction Design.

The IxDA New Mexico chapter will meet here at ARTS Lab next Thursday to review IxDA Interaction 09 (recently held in Vancouver) with some cool highlight videos and more

WHAT: NM IxDA Meeting

WHEN: Tuesday, March 17th; 6:00 PM

WHERE: ARTS Lab Garage, 131 Pine NE, one block west of University and one block north of Central

HOW MUCH: FREE

But... starting tonight,

Ecotone Physical Theatre performs "Falling Apart - An Evening in Three Acts"
We at the ARTS Lab are very pleased to welcome back Ecotone Physical Theatre Company!

WHAT: Ecotone Physical Theatre performs "Falling Apart - An Evening in Three Acts"

WHEN: Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, 8pm

WHERE: ARTS Lab Garage, 131 Pine NE, one block west of University and one block north of Central

HOW MUCH: $10 at the door only. Seating is limited.

Ecotone Physical Theatre is pleased to announce two performances only, March 13-14 at the ARTS Lab Garage. The ARTS Lab Garage is located near the main campus of the University of New Mexico, and co-located with UNM's High Performance Computing Center. It is a research center for investigations into the connections between the arts, technology and science.

Veering from the abstract to the comic, "Falling Apart - An Evening in Three Acts" is a fully improvised work. It is the framework in which the performers invent character, gesture, movement, dialogue in response to the environment and to each other. The performances will
feature collaborations with students in 3D Design, Video and Computer Animation, who will work to create environments for performers. The performances will also feature collaborations with UNM dance students.

Ecotone Physical Theatre is an Albuquerque-based performance ensemble of dancers, actors and musicians who mine the rich veins of improvisation: sonic, kinesthetic, textual, visual. Each performance is unique, a blend of slapstick dramedy, angular sound and gesture, rife with potential for hap and mishap. Ecotone Physical Theatre makes extensive use of computers, video and digital technology, random props and costumery, and a variety of dance techniques. The company was formed in the spring of 2006 when Jewell and Company Dance Theatre joined forces with the experimental music group Incus to collaborate on a series of improvised performances called Ecotone. The collaboration was so fruitful and well received, they decided to merge, taking the name of the performance as the name of the company. Its members are directors Donna Jewell and Kevin Paul with Lisa Nevada, Jessica Searer, Bill Clark, Mary Margaret Moore, Susan Skeele, Rufus Cohen, along with costume designer Stacia Smith.

Making Digital Magic Happen w/ the John Lennon Education Bus

Last week, just before Film and Digital Media Day at the state capitol, we were lucky to have a visit from the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus -- and eight aspiring film students from some nearby high schools.

We lucked out with a beautiful day, the creative minds of these motivated students, the great staff on the bus (and a very talented driver). Many thanks to Sony Electronics, the John Lennon Educational Bus organization, Bernalillo High School, DATA Charter School, the Public Academy of the Performing Arts and West Valley High
School for making it happen.