Category: Research

Issues in IM – Reading Reflections

The Four Practices?
Challenges for the Archaeology of the Screen
Erkki Huhtamo

A simple Google search of what a screen is defines it as “a fixed or movable upright partition used to divide a room, give shelter from draughts, heat, or light, or to provide concealment or privacy.” Nowadays, the idea of screens still remains the same – something that divides a space or provides privacy. From my perspective, I think the archaeology of the screen has modified our behaviour in more ways than we could have ever imagined.

In our society, it seems as though screens exist as a catalyst for certain social behaviours to take place. Our mobile phones are slowly becoming essential tools for surviving in public, they help us avoid unwanted conversations and uncomfortable eye contact. On our MRT trains, mobile phones are used as a tool for ignorance. “If you don’t see the old person you don’t have to give up your seat“. If this were to be the case, a pair of sunglasses too, can be seen as a screen. The darker the lenses the better, for some of the older generation ladies on the train. “If I can’t see you, you can’t see me“. Screens have evolved from something functional to becoming a tool that enables an escapist behaviour of sorts, providing us with the unsaid right to behave in a certain manner, or perhaps existing more as an excuse.

The Apple Smartwatch, for example, is a tool that on the surface, sounds like the perfect device. What  better way than to compact all your mobile essentials into a portable and wearable device that humans have owned for centuries? Despite the benefits of convenience, the watch as an artefact is something that in my opinion, should be taken with more consideration. At a glance, any band worn on the wrist would be immediately associated to the telling of time. Over the years, we have developed a behaviour to occasionally check our wrist watches, an action which could be read in many ways – an indication of the need to leave, to rush to someplace or to excuse oneself. With the existence of the Apple Smartwatch, which pushes the boundaries of what the initial function of a watch is to more than what the artefact was intended to perform essentially, the behaviour that it enhances is one in which comes across as unpleasant and rude. A friend which owns one of these Apple Smartwatches constantly comes across as a busy person with the need to rush off or leave, appearing to have something more important at hand than the time that we were spending together. In actual fact, it was just a vibration or light up from the screen of the watch from a notification that he received.

Huhtamo’s concept of what a screen is begins by looking/peeping through an optical device, or through means in which reality is altered or alternatively created. Due to the increasingly digital nature of screens, it appears inevitable that it would eventually evolve into something that we exploit, to create an alternative reality and barrier for ourselves in the real world. Screens should be designed to suit existing human behaviour/needs and not be considered an interference in the activities of daily life.

Issues in IM – Faces Places

“Each face has a story.”

Faces Places is a moving film that encourages us to contemplate our relationship with the people living in our community, as we witness the attempts of Agnes Varda and JR to preserve personal stories of the people in rural France through mural art.

What stood out to me was how simple and effective their work was in communicating the memories associated to these places through the faces of the people that live there. Their work serves as a constant reminder to the community about their collective past memories and can also serve to educate visitors of what the place was associated to in the past. In some cases, they also engage the community in their work, cultivating a stronger sense of belonging and support. It makes me ponder about the relationship between people and the places they live in, how these memories and stories that are hidden in the cracks of these places are what makes every place so unique.

The story that really hit me the hardest was from a 75-year old man named Pony. They met him while getting people to take photos in JR’s van and stick their own printed faces on a wall. After getting his photo taken, he invited them to his farm, which turned out to be a shed that he seems to have built himself. I respect that although he has a lot lesser than the normal standards of society, he is still optimistic and grateful for what he has.

There was one work that I felt was really meaningful, not only because of the story but also how the person portrayed and the nature of the work ties in with the location. It was the one of Agnes Varda’s old friend, Guy Bourdain. Varda & JR’s work appears to be some sort of a memorial for Bourdain, and emphasises the impermanence of life by contrasting it with the impermanence of the place that it is located in (a bunker that fell off the cliff on an abandoned beach). True enough, his mural was washed away by the tides of the ocean the day after they put it up.

I drew associations to the one of Wodiczko’s Polish Shoppers (maybe because they were both lone figures on a monumental structure + wearing striped shirts). There are some similarities in both Wodiczko, as well as Varda’s & JR’s work, where they bring these everyday characters to prominence through the scale of their works while revitalising “unused” spaces and surfaces. Their works communicate these stories from the people of the community that we live in, reminding us not to forget that these faces are what makes the place one that we connect and belong to.

I wonder if this can be applied in our local context, where the different neighbourhoods in Singapore each have a display of their own unique set of characteristics because of the people that make up these places (aside from the ones that already have very strong cultural associations). In a tiny country that has such a strong general local culture in the way that we behave and speak, it would be interesting to find out if there is anything else that distinguishes every neighbourhood and how or why they came to be.

Issue in IM – Motion Capture Workshop

This workshop got me thinking about the possibilities of projection mapping using motion capture technology and also gave me a clearer understanding of the technologies involved.

In order to understand how motion capture projection can be achieved, we first have to look at the various components and what their functions are. The two main & most important ones are the camera and the projector. As we’re familiar with, one detects the position of the object to be projected, and the other to project the content. In a camera, the lens that is used depends on the distance of the subject. The smaller the focal length of the lens, the wider the field of view. For example, a 35mm lens would be used to capture landscapes, whereas a 60mm lens would be used to capture portraits. In a projector, the function is reversed. Since projectors project light in a conical shape, the nearer the subject, the smaller the projection will be.

With this in mind, Prof Biju demonstrated that despite moving the board nearer and further away from the projector, the size of the image on the projector never changes. The magic lies in the translation of the digital to the physical and vice versa. The camera is actually fixed at a standard position in the digital software. Since the camera and projection work in the opposite manner, they cancel each other out.

Throughout the workshop, my mind was constantly wandering to applications in which this could be used in. I found some examples which made use of some kind of motion capture in projection mapping.

 

 

Issues in IM – Week 05

7 Stories from 700 Years – 

As part of the Light to Night festival’s Bicentennial edition, 7 Stories from 700 Years is a series of projection mapping works displayed around the Civic District area on 4 iconic buildings – National Gallery, The Arts House, Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall, as well as the Asian Civilisations Museum. The site-specific content of the works showcase the significance of these places in the course of Singapore’s history, which has now been converted into places for arts and culture.

01 THROUGH HER EYES @ National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing (By Didier Mathieu, Gema Putra, Brandon Tay)

Location: Although it was located at a prime spot, it was difficult to see the overall projection in its entirety due to the limited amount of space for spectators. The only viewing point directly in front of the projection was a pathway by the roadside. There was no space to stand at a further distance as the Singapore Cricket’s Club building and facilities were located just across the road. There were also bright lights from the cricket pitch across the road shining directly at the building, making it even harder to decipher what was projected at the start of the piece. However, I did appreciate that there was an interesting juxtaposition to show how the use of the building has transformed and evolved over time, displayed on the very facade that witnessed it.

Content: I personally felt that the architectural details of the building could have been better used instead of seeing the facade as a flat surface. It would have added some dimension to the work, and made it even more unique and relevant to the site. However, due to the significance of the work which was already tied in quite strongly with the history relating to the location, perhaps the artists felt that it was not necessary for these details to be incorporated. The splash of colours used with the graphic elements were difficult to see and hence harder to make out what the storyline was. Overall, I felt that the use of the canvas was not utilised to its full potential, and it seemed more visual-focused than one that was aiming to communicate the intended storyline.

Spectatorship: This was a silent piece, probably due the music coming from the other two pieces that were around it. Hence, the attention was only brought to it when there were sudden splashes of colours on it. When I was there on Tuesday night, there were no audiences directly in front of the building, but I did catch a few people watching from other spots from various points across the road. From the angle at which they were looking at the work, it seemed impossible for them to be able to see and appreciate the piece in its entirety.

02 SECRETS OF THE SANDS, WRITTEN IN THE STARS, SNAPSHOTS IN TIME @ National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing  (By Machineast, Don Richmond, Brandon Tay, TMRRW)

Location: I felt that this piece had one of the better viewing locations, with a vast field in front of it so that audiences are able to move further back to get a better view of the entire work.

Content: The  architecture was just not ideal for projecting and showcasing the details that came with the found photos that they were using. The overall image became more complex and harder to digest due to the number of windows and pillars that were splitting the image. There was a light installation placed directly in front of the steps to the National Gallery. It seemed to be an additional part to the projection mapping piece as the lights appeared to move along with what was projected at the start of the piece. Personally, I felt that it was quite distracting and seemed to be fighting for attention with the projection.

Spectatorship: The lights and sound coming from the piece were enough to draw attention to it. There were groups of people sitting down on the field, as well as passersby who stopped to watch the projection. However, due to the width of the building, it was difficult for the spectator to capture the entire work visually. I also noticed that there were some patrons at the outdoor seating space of a restaurant in the National Gallery looking at the light projecting on the wall from where they were seated, but they did not seem to have much reaction to it otherwise.

03 THE RESIDENT @ National Gallery Singapore, Supreme Court Wing facing The Arts House (By Louis Quek, SOAK, Speak Cryptic)



Location: This piece had quite a good viewing location, as the work itself wasn’t too tall or wide to be viewed. The environment was also rather conducive There was also quite a huge amount of space for spectators to watch and admire the work from.

Content: Similar to the first piece, I felt that this work could have played more with the architectural details of the facade and given it more dimension. The work didn’t seem to be site specific, as it was simply projected onto the facade, and could have worked just as well in any other location. One aspect of the work that I really liked was the kaleidoscopic and hypnotic motion of the order of nature, which gave me the impression of literally being absorbed into the work.

Spectatorship: The sounds and attractive visuals of this work did draw quite a significant amount of attention to it. I thought it would have been interesting if this piece was placed at the spectator’s eye level, giving them the feeling of being drawn into another dimension.

04 SAYANG DI SAYANG @ National Gallery Singapore, Padang Atrium (By Gema Putra, Brandon Tay, Julian Wong)

I couldn’t find this piece 🙁

05 STRONGHEARTS @ The Arts House (By Lab Six Five, Safuan Johari, TMRRW)

Location: In my opinion, this work was one of the most site-specific in terms of the context of the work in relation to the location, as well as utilising the architectural features as a supporting element of the artwork.

Context: Compared to the previous work that also made use of found images, this piece definitely did a much better job. The focus was not really on whether the found images were clear and visible. Rather, the use of the images set the stage for the illustrated elements and tied everything together.

Spectatorship: There were quite a few passersby who stopped to watch the work. But because of the speed at which the display changes, not many of them stayed throughout.

06 PORTRAITS OF PERFORMERS FROM THE PAST @ Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall (By Eric Foenander, Machineast)

Location: This projection had the best viewing conditions among all the works, as there was a large grass patch in front of it where people could sit/stand. As this work played with more verticality as compared to the other works, viewers could admire the show from a comfortable distance.

Context: This work made good use of space on the architecture of the building, specifically the clock tower. The content was also extremely relevant to the history of the building and provided a clear timeline into the history of events that once took place here.

Spectatorship: The height and verticality, as well as the motion of the accompanying elements (starting from the bottom and leading the viewer’s eyes to the top), brought out the importance of the figures that were represented. I personally really liked the aesthetic of the piece as there was some kind of “uncanny valley” effect to the figures portrayed and how they interacted with audiences (E.g. Looking directly at them, etc.)

07 INTERSECTIONS @ Asian Civilisations Museum (By Reza Hasni, Kiat, Muhammad Izdi)

Location: This work was located at a prime area where people passing by along and across the river, as well as tourists on the junk boats, could look and admire the work. The installations around the area also helped in drawing attention and eventually leading to the projection work.

Context: It made good use of the overall architecture of the building as part of its content. The work was definitely relevant to the location of ACM (especially since it sits along the Singapore River) and was the connecting point for a lot of cultures in past, particularly in terms of trade.

Spectatorship: There was an artwork directly in front of the projection, which may have been quite distracting or even wrongly associated with the projection work, as with the first exhibit at National Gallery. Despite this, many spectators were still attracted to the projection and stood there to watch. The drawing factor could have been the bright light and colour, as well as the audio aspect that was attached to the work.

Issues in IM – Week 01

Examples of projects that addresses the notion of place, mobility or interactive environments in an innovative or thought-provoking way.

(Question: What defines space and place?
Place – specific position? Space – empty & vast?)

Image result for anish kapoor cloud gate

Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor
Kapoor’s work is a site-specific, giant, reflective, bean-shaped sculpture that seeks to alter our perception of the world around us. Its reflective surface provides a wider view of the environment that surrounds the sculpture, allowing us to see it through the skewed and distorted image presented to us. The work attempts to nurture an appreciation of our surroundings, and through its very existence and significance, contributes to the idea and definition of “place” by filling the void of where it now stands.

Overdeepening by Olafur Eliasson
Eliasson’s work consists of two half-rings that appear completed when seen through their reflections – one seen from a mirror and the other from a water surface. The illusions create an impression that the ‘space’ created from the reflections is an extension of the physical space that the viewer is in. The layering of reflections – from the mirror, back to the water surface and back to the mirror again, etc. – creates an infinite chain of rings that challenges one’s idea of continuity and limitations of space.



We Live in an Ocean of Air by Marshmallow Laser Feast
The work is a multi-sensory immersive installation highlighting the connections between us and nature through virtual reality. The work is ironic in many aspects, particularly in its attempt to portray a realistic presentation of nature through virtual means. The use of virtual reality also contradicts the idea of mobility, by only allowing us to freely navigate a space virtually (based on what we see) but restricting our physical movements in reality.

Hoshi by Nonotak
Nonotak’s work uses the simple and effective combination of mirrors and lights, multiplying them to create an infinite space. It plays with the viewer’s perception of depth and motion by utilising the illusion of reflections and movement of light.

MCM x Christopher Raeburn by Universal Everything
This work merges the physical and digital almost seamlessly. “The multi-sensory installation was created through the unique combination of radial architecture, large-scale CGI video, atmospheric lighting design and the inventive screen format hologauze – a super-fine projection material that creates a holographic illusion.”