Author: Zac

Game Designer | Interactive Artist | Web Designer

Phantom Landscape, yang yong liang

Yang Yong Lian – Artist research

January 21, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Yang is a media media artist from China .

http://www.yangyongliang.com/

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I first saw his works in ArtStage and was very impressed by this huge landscape painting that clearly took reference from Chinese painting. However when taking a closer look, it became obvious that this was a photo composite made from images of modern buildings. Perhaps the most interesting thing is how Yang hides things in plain sight. Having had 10 years of experience in calligraphy and Chinese painting, Yang shows obvious mastery in his composition. From far, it is almost difficult to realize that this isnt painted but made from images that he has collected over the years from his travels as well as where he lived in.

 

UNDERSTANDING THE ARTIST

This picture is imitating the old traditional Chinese landscape painting, what we called Shan Shui. Like a typical Shan Shui painting, there are mainly mountains in the painting. It is in black and white color; also, it is compose in wide and horizon. We can also see there are many red stamps sealed on the painting. These all are the features that show the style of Chinese painting a lot. When we look closer, the audiences will discover that the jagged surface of the rocky mountains are actually composed of densely-stacked concrete buildings. Besides, in the foot of the mountain, there are some cranes. Also, it uses a lot of blank especially and this shows a great mood and emulate Chinese-style vintage.

Growing up in Shanghai, I was surrounded by lots of traditional architecture – and saw a lot of it removed. China has changed so much, dismantling its heritage in the pursuit of urbanisation. I want to ask questions about these things, about consumerism and how we live today. The rate of change is a major concern. To catch up with western economies, a lot of local customs are being lost – even the way we eat, the way we talk. It is the same with contemporary art. It feels like great traditions are being given up, at least partially, as we switch to the western idea of not only making art, but marketing and selling it.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/oct/01/yang-yongliang-best-photograph-china-landscape-digital-art

I think what captivates me about these works is a combination of both the sense of connection to Chinese art I feel and the modernization of it. It is tr

ying to hold on to what makes us who we are while adjusting to the new world. He’s art reflects the multiple layers of what defines us and he uses it to give emphasis to his statement, which I truly believe has more impact.

Traditional Shan Shui Hua

 

 

INSPIRATION

 

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I love the serenity of Chinese painting and Yang has opened my eyes to how an old dying art form can be brought back to life through new media and new technology.

 

For me Art is something that is constantly evolving and constantly changing to reflect the society.

Screen shot of Portal 2, 2011 first-person puzzle-platform video game developed

WORKS THAT INSPIRE ME

January 17, 2017 / / 0 Comments

 

PORTAL 2

CREATED BY APERTURE SCIENCE

One of the games that inspire me is a first person puzzle platform called Portal.

Portal and Portal 2 is one of the most amazing level design in game. Every level, every room, is trying to teach you something while trying to kill you. Each room has a puzzle that helps you to either enhance what you learned, or shift your perspective on a problem and think out of the box.

 

Story is also pretty amazing. The character motivations are really clear and concise, allowing us to feel connected to each character in the game.

 

She is bitch

She is a bitch

 

She will try to kill you but she is program to test you constantly.

 

 

 

FUTURE WORLD | TEAM LAB

April 21, 2016 / / 0 Comments

TEAM LAB|FUTURE WORLDSpeople-flowers-1920x595

Our visit to Future Worlds was, without a doubt, an eye opener. My favorite would be the first part of the exhibition, Nature.

As an Interactive Media student, I was taken away by the level of immersion one can experience with the space. A few of us started looking up and around , searching for hidden projectors and cameras, wondering at how they managed to achieve such a feat.

As an audience, I was no less breath-taken. It is hard to put together the sense of awe one has for the piece, even when understanding how it works.

What intrigued me beyond the level of tech that was needed for the piece was the art itself.

Flowers and People, Cannot be Controlled but Live Together – A Whole Year per Year | Ever Blossoming Life II – A Whole Year per Year; Dark | Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders

This installation was actually made up of three works put together in a seamless space.

“Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders” was a screen where the Butterflies would fly in and out of the installation. When existing other of the screen, they can be touched and can die. When in the screen, they are protected.

“Ever Blossoming life ” covered the wall and the floors with flowers.  As we moved around the room and step on them, they wither .When we leave things untouched, they grow back.

Team lab basically created a space where the interaction mattered beyond just pushing buttons or waving hands. There was actually some meaning in the way we interacted with the space. Our interactions was hurting nature.

I thought that that was beautiful and very powerful. Having our actions reflect a kind of destruction and showing how our absence can allow things to be beautiful as they are felt like a stronger point and more provoking than the thousands of articles that people have post about global warming.

There’s something very special about the works that Team Lab has done.

Firstly, using mechanics as a kind of metaphor helps us to make a statement clearer and such metaphors more weight.

It allows us to better understand and learn the effects of what we do. The nature of the works by Team Lab are very engaging and when given deeper thought, we began to understand better the weight of what they are trying to say.

However, one might argue that this level of engagement causes people to lose sight of what the project is about.

The interactive nature of the works draws us in and one can get carried away with it just because it is fun.

In fact, while we were there, it is no surprise to see kids stepping on the flowers and butterflies on purpose just to get a kind of feedback. We ourselves get carried away with the interaction simply because we want to see things happening in that space. They presented us a paradox that reflected not just the nature we are destroying, but the nature of men.

After a few moments inside, it felt like it was alright to just destroy everything since it was going to grow again, and upon knowing that the visuals change the seasons, I could not help but wonder if the meaning of this work was lost some where in it’s own beauty.

Would I want to come back to an installation that was as beautiful as it was in a different season despite being constantly trampled on. Or would the work be more powerful if one day we return to the space only to find a desolated waste land.

For me, I do understand that the nature of the work and the space has to attract tourists to visit and that there is a lot less appeal in a waste land as compared to a garden. Yet I cannot help but wonder if the meaning of the work was lost in the ludic nature of the work…

 

One day more…

April 17, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Creating a sound that was… nicer?

 

 

 

 

 

Instead of using a Sine curve as I did, I used a ‘switch’ statement and a sound modulator to create a kind of instrument based off manipulating some sample sounds.

 

The objective was to get a range of harmonizing sounds that felt like the installation was actually an instrument instead of some weird machine.

Some issues is that the LED doesn’t always get detected. Also, I accidentally fried some LED cause it got shorted when the balloon landed on the wires.

Removing the wires and using battery to power the led to gain a bit more freedom and variation in the music.