Reading Assignment : Information Arts – Intersections of Arts, Science and Technology

I read the chapter named <Artificial Life and Genetic Art>.


As a computer science major, i was interested in artificial intelligence and artificial ecosystems. But I have always dealt with these topics only with the eyes of a scientist. This was my limit, which was always far from art. But that wasn’t the case in my reading. There is an article like this at the end of the book.

A-Life (and other research areas) cannot be considered just a minor technical niche. Its meaning to the culture is larger than that, and the discourse must include that from outside the research field. Artists have begun that work; audiences and interpreters must continue it.

The ecosystems that interact with humans and the ever-changing artificial organisms in them are too interesting to be treated only with the curiosity of scientists.


The most impressive piece was Karl Sims’s work called <Panspermia> based on genetic art ideas.

His work was based on computer technology and fractal techniques, interacting with the viewer by selecting the desired image among graphic images with various parameter values. And this is reflected in the next generation.

After, Sims created another version of this work, called Galapagos. Below is Images of Galapagos from the website. The address is at the end of the article.

Sims notes like this.

“Perhaps someday the value of simulated examples of evolution such as the one presented in this exhibit will be comparable to the value that Darwin found in the mystical creatures of the Galapagos Islands.”

This is very interesting point. Galapagos and Panspermia have a lot to compare. Galapagos was discovered by scientists, and Panspermia was created by animators. Galapagos is the result of choice for survival, and Panspermia is the result of artistic choice. The selection criteria for Galapagos is “Nature” and the selection criteria for Panspermia is “viewer”. But neither selector has control over the world. It is the product of the change of numerous parameters that reflect constant choice, and no one can accurately predict the outcome. He describes to audiences their role as breeders:

The process in this exhibit is a collaboration between human and machine. (…) But the results can potentially surpass what either human or machine could produce alone. (…) Since the genetic codes and complexity of the results are managed by the computer, the results are not constrained by the limits of human design ability or understanding.

It is also interesting to note that both are revealed to the world by curiosity about human life and ecosystems. In comparing these points, I think, as he said, this work really has the same value as the Galapagos.


After reading the article, I was curious about the result of various works that changed not only the way humans interact with the artificial ecosystem but also the position of the interactions. For example, I would like to see is what will result if a group of people with specific human characteristics interact with each ecosystem in an ecosystem that gives parameters and selection criteria that have nothing to do with human characteristics? Another example is that, if computer algorithms make choices and humans exist in one space as organisms, then I wonder what the ecosystem would look like.


https://www.karlsims.com

INTER-MISSION | The Lapse Project

Who is INTER-MISSION?

INTER-MISSION is an art collective works with variety technologies such as VR, video technology, drone and so on.They are started with Singaporean artist, but collaborate on various projects both locally and abroad. They are focusing on interdisciplinary and collaborative works in video art, audiovisual, performance, installation and interactive art.

INTER-MISSION web site : https://inter-mission.art


The Lapse Project

The project took place at the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2018 held at the Art House Gallery. A short article describing this exhibit on their web page begins like this.

“Does technology help us to remember, or forget?”

This sentence impressed me and made me interested in this work. This is because this topic is constantly debated among scientists and engineers.

The Lapse Project consists of five components.

  • VR LAPSE
  • PARTICLE LAPSE
  • 24HR LAPSE
  • PANORAMA LAPSE
  • JOURNAL LAPSE

It takes a multi-dimensional approach to question memory, space and legacy through lapses in structure, time, particle, text and image. Visitors are invited to embody these lapses, contemplating the presence and absence of sights and sites.


1. VR LAPSE

How do we feel when a local landmark is suddenly disappear? In VR Lapse, Singapore’s oldest colonial building, presently known as The Arts House, is digitally erased. It could be possible through collaboration with Benjamin Khan1. Photogrammetry is used to remove the familiar landmark, allowing for the viewers to experience the simulated reality of The Arts House’s disappearance.

2. PARTICLE LAPSE

It talks about particle’s quick movement, vibration. Through contact microphones, sounds are collected and amplified as feedback directly to the viewer, confusing the experience of a singular reality through spectral sounds that suggest. Albert Einstein says “Everything in Life is Vibration”. The artist also think that sound, thoughts, and life is all vibration.

3. 24HR LAPSE

The gallery has a CRT monitor and viewers can see themselves on the monitor. What matters is not exactly what you are, but exactly 24 hours ago. Therefore users can’t strictly distinguish past and present. Journal says it is ‘time collapse’. also it says that these apparitions are also suggestive of the seemingly obsolete technology of CCTV surveillance that is being rapidly replaced by data mining.

4. PANORAMA LAPSE

The National Museum of Singapore, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore Art Museum are erased digitally from their respective locations in the
city, as though they were never extant within the Singaporean landscape. Panorama Lapse is presented as a video projection triptych that shows the surrounding street views from various vantage points in the vicinity of the three major cultural institutions.

5. JOURNAL LAPSE

Integral to our collective’s collaborative approach, The Lapse Journal expands the work beyond the experiential to the essayic, featuring the writings of Steve Dixon , Seng Yu Jin and Christina J. Chua.


Controlled “LAPSE”

LAPSE is very natural stream. It usually refers to natural changes in situations, memories, states, etc. However technology allows us to experience ‘lapse’ intentionally controlled and manipulated. I think that the strangeness and new thoughts and emotions that come from these works all come from this. The technology was amazing and the various attempts to interpret the subject were impressive. Above all, I admire this fundamental idea of manipulating the most natural flow for humans through technology and then providing it as a new flow to the audience.

BREAKFAST’s works – Pool & Point

BREAKFAST is an arts organization located in the Dumbo area of ​​Brooklyn, New York. They explore digital and real information and content through athletic media. Let me introduce.

BREAKFAST WEB – https://breakfastny.com/


  1. Pool

They produced several works through the media they developed, called Brick cell, and also suggested a number of future uses. Brick cells are pieces of reflective material that look like bricks. The most memorable work is Pool. The bricks, listed at the height of the desk, react and move whenever a person’s hand passes over them. At this time, the movements of the bricks and the light reflected by them really look like the surface and the light reflected on the surface.


  1. Point

A point is a mark that displays place information using three panels. If the user speaks out of necessity, such as a shopping place or a famous view, then three panels are driving the land show information. The design of this work follows the traditional signboard design. This allows the user to use the work intuitively.


I think interactive art show a vision of how new technologies can be used by people and what new value they create. So, I was curious how the process of moving from art to commodity is done in interactive art. I think the works introduced above show it. “Pool”, one of the “Brick cell works”, was inspired by the material features of Brick cell to represent water interacting with humans. Furthermore, Breakfast show how it would be look like when Brick cells meet real-world. Also, Point, the most commercial of their works, gave a glimpse of what interactive art would look like when it met the real-world.