Review

"u19 freestyle computing"

Austria’s largest computer competition for children and youth, “u19 – freestyle computing”, is an interface between the creative spirit of the young generation and our future. All sorts of internet applications, computer animations, sounds and self-pro grammed software as well as hardware applications display the unconven tional and creative ways in which these young artists deal with our media society. In the eponymous exhibition, net.culture.space presents projects from ”u19” 2008 and, moreover, a selection of the best works since the competition has existed.

See the SLIDESHOW of the exhibition-opening: enter

Prize-winning ANIMATIONS
„u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
A round of applause is in order for the winners of this year’s “u19 – freestyle computing” competition from the film and animation realm: treasure-seeking LEGO animations, exploratory ultrasound images, elaborately shaped paper scenery, blue-orange color tones and snapshots from dream worlds – the new filmmakers bring manifold image worlds to life for visitors.

DER VERGESSENE SCHATZ by Max & Simon Menschhorn
Sachpreis für Kreative bis 10 Jahre, 2008
UTERUS = RAUM = UNIVERSUM by Susanne Legerer
Auszeichnung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
A BEAUTIFUL LIE by Chucky Fuchs und Nina Kutschera
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
MR. ORANGE by Tarek Khalifa
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
FISCHTRAUM:(A by Simon Groihofer
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008

Projects of journg media artists
Many young artists from Austria have participated in “u19 – freestyle computing” with several projects. Three of them present their works and show exemplarily how
the artistic picture language and programming complexity developed.

NANA SUSANNE THURNER
In her projects, Nana Susanne Thurner deals with serious topics such as ”conflict” and ”war”. In “Homesick,” her last work, photos of hand drawings were placed in front of a real background and subsequently merged into an animation.
WAR – Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2006
HOMESICK – Goldene Nica „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008

MANUEL EDER
Three works – three topics: Whether it’s fantasy adventure, travel to foreign worlds or a dusky evening ambience... Manual Eder frequently works with animation and music as expressive means.                                 

FANTASY X – Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2004
INCLINE – NEIGUNG NACH EXISTENZ – Auszeichnung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2007
OVERESTIMATED – 2008

MANUEL FALLMANN
In 2002, Carl Orff’s scoring of the “O Fortuna” text from Carmina Burana served Manuel Fallmann as a template for an animation. Five years later, he has created an experimental film; this time, his working materials are photos, x-rays and EEG images.                                

O FORTUNA – Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2002
SYSTEM INTERRUPTED – Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2003
GLANZSTOFF – 2007

Further projects:

KOYANGI by Selina Fanninger
Sachpreis für Kreative von 11 – 14 Jahren, 2008
“Koyangi,” the Korean word for cat, is the name of Selina Fanninger’s homepage. From this platform, the artist presents her imaginative works to a broad audience.

ROLLER COASTER 360
by Stefan Toller, Marc Heiss, Florian Reichelt
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
“Roller Coaster 360,” a computer game for the Xbox 360 and Windows, conjures up a roller coaster feeling on-screen.

LITTLERUNNER by Andreas Gerstmayr
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
Super Mario goes 2008 – This 2D Jump’n’Run game, including a game editor written by Andreas Gerstmayr, leans partly on the classic’s game-playing principle.

GEWAND UND GLAUBE
HBLA für künstlerische Gestaltung, Linz
Anerkennung „u19 – freestyle computing“, 2008
The goal of this knowledge portal is to illuminate the role of women in various religions – without hierarchies or rankings.

BEST OF „U19 – FREESTYLE COMPUTING”
We display the best of Austria’s largest computer competition! On the ”Wall of Fame” winners’ projects from all years are presented – visualizations, videos, animations and interesting information about all the creative young artists.

DFD-CREW, 2008
The DFD Crew concentrates primarily on murals and graffiti-like painting. net.culture.space brought the artists KARE and SPEK to Vienna and left them white, bare walls. The result: imaginative painting on a grand scale.

ARS ELECTRONICA ANIMATION FESTIVAL

4. September - 16. September 08

The latest from the fascinating cosmos of animations: As in 2007, net.culture.space celebrated the world`s best computer animations, presenting more than 100 animations concurrently with the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.

Program net.culture.space:

05./06./07. September 2008, Electronic Theatre:
All prize-winning animations of the "Prix Ars Electronica 2008" could be seen from 8.30 p.m. till 10.00 p.m. on the wall of the "Leopold-Museum" Hof 1, MuseumsQuartier - Free Entrance.

04. – 16. September 2008:
Among the classic categories - Computer Animation/Film/VFX, Digital Communities, Digital Musics, Interactive Art and Hybrid Art - Computer Animation drew the most entries with 586 submitted projects, barely edging out Digital Musics with 580. There were 75 theoretical works vying for the Media.Art.Research Award. All Entries of the Prix Ars Electronica category „Computer Animation / Film / VFX“  and the programm „Japanese Animation“ were shown in the net.culture.space from 10:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m. 

The full program "Ars Electronica Animation Festival 2008" can be downloaded:

Program download

See some pictures of the animations:

Slideshow

Magic Moments

2. July - 25. August 2008

All of Between the laws of our physical universe and the efficiency-oriented processes of digital space, there is enormous scope for creativity, an impressive domain where magic is at home. The door to this creative world is open: to experience its fascination, all we have to do is step inside.

GODMODE
by INDIANEN (Tim Knapen), 2007
Draw a figure and bring it to life! With the help of a converted copier and a lot of inventive programming, the Belgian media artist Tim Knapen makes it possible to realize one of the most beautiful childhood fantasies: creatures drawn on paper come to life and find their way into physical space.

SHADOW MONSTERS
by Philip Worthington, 2005
Hands, heads, legs, a light source and a white wall – and all at once, creatures of all kinds begin to cackle, squeak, flutter and hop around the room. Philip Worthington gives classical shadow play a new dimension: playing with a variety of body postures creates crazy narratives.

DELICATE BOUNDARIES
by Christine Sugrue, 2007
In everyday life, the borders between the real and the virtual world are becoming increasingly fuzzy. Delicate Boundaries creates the illusion that virtual beetles are creeping along our arms. In such a situation, it is easy to forget that in the background, virtual technologies are being brought into play which encroach upon our privacy (e.g. video surveillance).

REFACE (PORTRAIT SEQUENCER)
by TMEMA (Golan Levin & Zachary Lieberman), 2006-07
A human being has many faces – but with the Reface [Portrait Sequencer] the choice is infinite. Photographs of mouths, eyes and other parts of faces are combined so as to offer participants a surreal glimpse of their own appearance and identity.

LIGHTWRITING
by LICHTFAKTOR
The Cologne based group of artists LICHTFAKTOR express their creativity by using the light as a medium. In urban city nights LICHTFAKTOR experiments with the possibilities of longtime exposure, stop motion film and painting.

SECRET WORLDS
Prix Ars Electronica
Every year, Prix Ars Electronica awards prizes to outstanding works at the interface of art, technology and society. A selection of award-winning projects provides insights into worlds and phenomena that remain hidden to us in everyday life – from the formation of a cell through the visualization of mathematical formulas to the transformation of sound waves into delicate patterns of light.
MICROCOSM | by Joe Takayama, 2004
GESTALT | by Thorsten Fleisch, 2003
CAMERA LUCIDA: SONOCHEMICAL OBSERVATORY | by Evelina
Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand, 2007

URSONOGRAPHY
by Jaap Blonk & Golan Levin, 2005
Ursonography is an audiovisual interpretation of Kurt Schwitters’ “Ursonate” – a Dadaistic masterpiece of Sprechoper (spoken opera). While the Dutch vocalist and sound poet Jaap Blonk performs the Dada classic with eloquent facial expressions and gestures, Golan Levin generates the “score” of the piece in real time. net.culture.space shows the video recording of the composition.

HERINNERDINGEN – THINGS TO REMEMBER
by Jongens van de Wit, Achter de Regenboog
& Villa Achterwerk
Herinnerdingen is an interactive website on which young people can create an audiovisual memorial to relatives who have died. The platform is a new (self) therapy instrument for dealing with loss and grief.

"net culture lab - make your own thing"

28. May - 24. June 08

The triumph of the desk-top computer gave the “do-it-yourself” (DIY) movement new significance. All of a sudden, specialists were no longer needed for every single stage of production; it was now possible to develop a project from beginning to end oneself, on the computer. Now, in the Web 2.0 age, a similar development is in process in the fields of fashion, 3D design and at the microprocessor level. Expensive, complex production steps are no longer necessary; affordable technologies facilitate uncomplicated prototyping and quick results.

In the full spirit of the do-it-yourself movement, developers are realizing their projects and ideas in the net culture labs, an innovation initiative by Telekom Austria. The exhibition “net culture lab – make your own thing” at net.culture.space reviewed innovative processes that have emerged in the past year, showing a selection of exemplary projects. The most important factor in creating and developing new ideas is communication. That is why a DIY event always serves as a forum for exchanging ideas and working together. In the context of this exhibition, participants can solder, program and construct their projects in an open do-it-yourself workshop, developing new forms of cooperation and exchange.

Do-It-Yourself Workshops
For two weeks,participants had the opportunity to work on their projects in open do-it-yourself workshops.


Lectures and Exercises
Projects developed in the net culture labs were presented in the “Lectures and Exercises“.
May 29, 2008 | 7 p.m.
Radical Chic and Guerilla Jogging
at net.culture.space
Radical Chic
In the old days, punched tape was used for storing embroidery pattern data; now digital codes are used. Thanks to open sourcing, it is now possible to develop new embroidery patterns, make them public, and modify existing patterns.

Guerilla Jogging
Guerrilla Jogging is a GPS location based sport game for smartphones and PDAs. In this virtual scavenger hunt, the object is to reach positions on a virtual radar screen as quickly as possible by finding the locations of the corresponding GPS coordinates in the real world.

June 5, 2008 | 7 p.m.
SlumTV and Graffiti Research Labs Vienna
at net.culture.space

SlumTV
SlumTV has taken on the task of documenting life on the edge in Mathare. The DIY strategies that function there might possibly serve as a model for a culture of self-acquisition in the so-called “first world”.

Graffiti Research Labs
“Every person an artist”, proclaimed Beuys. The activities of the Graffiti Research Labs Vienna use open source technology to effect subversive changes of urban spaces.

Also at the Exhibition:
scionic Primes – Industrial Design/scionic (Kunstuniversität Linz)
From a sketch to an object, from an object to an animated virtual game figure – the installation by students of the Industrial Design/scionic program at Kunstuniversität Linz illuminates the interface between real and virtual game development.

Stencilboard
Stefan Eibelwimmer, Günter Kolar: Prix Ars Electronica 2006, Honorary Mention Digital Communities
Stencilboard.at provides a world-wide archive and presentation forum for stensil graffitis, also known as “Stencils” – sprayed pictures in public spaces, produced by using stensils.

Media Space Navigator
Media Space Navigator is a program guide for aonTV developed by Telekom Austria. Based on the preferences and tastes of users, it provides specific recommendations.

 

Picture Gallery

THE SECRET LIFE OF...  DAS LEBEN DER ALLTÄGLICHEN DINGE

19. March - 06. May 2008

The net.culture.space exhibition put the spotlight on artistic works by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. In the interdisciplinary landscape of art, technology and the natural sciences, the works of these two internationally renowned media artists consistently revolve around innovative interfaces, artificial life and generative systems. “Life Writer“ and “Interactive Plant Growing” give visitors surprising opportunities to create virtual worlds and interact with them. “The Sheep Market” by Aaron Koblin, on the other hand, focuses on the chain of command between humans and computers, with the computer drawing on manpower in order to solve small, everyday problems.

Picture Gallery

Discussion

21. April  2008 I 7 p.m.

Christa Sommerer discussed the sociopolitical relevance of digital art with members of the jury of Prix Ars Electronica 2008. Numerous projects force us to creatively explore the reciprocal dependencies of humans and computers, challenge the encroachment of “intelligent systems” on our private lives or use rebellious forms of self-determination – even “hacking” – to question the significance of the individual in a mass society. Are we really listening to these questions or is interactive art just a game to us? Can art change the world?

Panel members:

_Gerfried Stocker, artist director of Ars Electronica

_Christa Sommerer, media artist

_Michael Naimark, media artist and researcher

_Sonia Cillari, media artist and architect

LIFE WRITER
by Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, 2006

“Life Writer” is an interactive typewriter that creates “artificial life”. When a visitor types a text into this machine, the text acts like a genetic code – it is transformed into visible creatures that “come to life”, begin to move wildly around, reproduce and finally scatter. “Life Writer” thus connects seminal, innovative technologies with sculptural, creative action. Out of this fusion of artificial life forms with art, a whole new “living art form” emerges.

INTERACTIVE PLANT GROWING
by Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, 2006

The current net.culture.space exhibition puts the spotlight on artistic works by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. In the interdisciplinary landscape of art, technology and the natural sciences, the works of these two internationally renowned media artists consistently revolve around innovative interfaces, artificial life and generative systems. “Life Writer“ and “Interactive Plant Growing” give visitors surprising opportunities to create virtual worlds and interact with them. “The Sheep Market” by Aaron Koblin, on the other hand, focuses on the chain of command between humans and computers, with the computer drawing on manpower in order to solve small, everyday problems.

THE SHEEP MARKET
by Aaron Koblin, 2006

“Draw a left-facing sheep and you will earn $ 0.02” was the task assigned by the artist. The “Sheep Market” consists of about 10,000 drawings of sheep contributed by online workers via Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), Amazon’s Web service through which people are hired online by a computer system to solve problems that are not easy for a computer to accomplish or where human intelligence is required – in return for the payment of a certain sum. Fascinated by the challenge of solving these everyday problems, the human workers remain completely in the dark about the overall significance of what they are doing. The project reflects Aaron Koblin’s intensive interest in the issue of industrialization and the theories of Karl Marx, and also includes a written paper.

Flick_r Board
by Ars Electronica Futurelab | Flick_r Board

The media installation lives from the contributions of its users and serves as a dynamic communication platform for the general public. The messages and photos appear as post-its and polaroids on digital bulletin boards.

WIKIMAP WIEN
by Ars Electronica Futurelab | www.wikimap.at/ncs 

 
A city map can provide more than just an overview of streets
and buildings. It can reflect the lives of the people who walk
through those streets and live in those buildings. The WikiMap
of Vienna is that kind of map. At www.wikimap.at/ncs, anyone
can contribute to the WikiMap by adding texts, pictures or
sounds to the various buildings, streets and squares.

E-MOTION

“We bring your body in!” today’s popular game consoles all promise.  What game developers are now concentrating on has been  a major focus of media artists for quite some time: intuitive
interfaces that involve our bodies and our senses instead of a  mouse and a keyboard. And these artists are now developing this  type of interaction even further. In “E-MOTION”, net.culture.space
presents prototypic projects that draw on thoughts and feelings  to pilot interactive creations.

Projects:

_Brainball - Entspannt zum Sieg! by Interactive Institutue Smart Studio

_Colors by h.o

_Spacequatica by The Sancho Plan

_Interaktion Mensch & Maschine: www.robocup.org  www.strandbeest.com

Slideshow of the Opening

Slideshow of the Artists Interview

„FUNKY PIXELS“

14. December 2007 - 23. January 2008

 

The times when a computer was a clunky grey box are over.  In the digital world of tomorrow, everything is networked and  interactive. Not only technicians have this dream; so do  artists, and they are working on visions of their very own.  The exhibition “Funky Pixels” involves all the senses in a playful  and creative way: experiment and experience, rolled into one. Suitable for ages 3 and over. Bring the whole family!

 

Projects:

Projekte der Ausstellung „Funky Pixels":

SPACEQUATICA by The Sancho Plan | www.thesanchoplan.com

LA PÂTE À SON by LeCielEstBleu | www.lecielestbleu.com/html/pateason.html

SUR LA TABLE by Osman Khan | www.osmankhan.com

PERFECT TIME by h.o | www.howeb.org

NOISE & VOICE by Golan Levin, Zachary Lieberman

COMPUTERANIMATION UND VISUAL EFFECTS

Slideshow

 

DIGITAL CANVAS – Art for Screens

14. November– 9. December 2007

Digital Canvas – Art for Screens transforms net.culture.space  into a gallery of digital image worlds. The focus is on artistic works  from the fields of virtual reality, generative graphic design and  music visualization – works that break out of the two-dimensionality  of monitor and screen.

Even in the monochrome early computer era, artists played with  the idea of using the computer not only as a new surface on which  to project images but as an instrument for generating them. Now,  with computers an ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, this idea  has recaptured artists’ interest.  Software has become the pigment and brushes of our time and, like  every new instrument, it brings with it new aesthetics and new  forms of expression. Mathematics and geometry become movement  in space and time. Systems are being designed in which control  over events oscillates between the artist, the machine, and the  user: from object to process, from document to event. These works  unite two basic defining criteria of digital media art – interactivity  and processuality.

Projects:

_Cave by Peter Kogler, Franz Pomassl & Ars Electronica Futurelab

_ItIsBlackItIsWhite | Mira by Lia

_Images 4 Music by Dietmar Offenhuber, Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Lotte Schreiber und Casey Reas

_Perfect time by h.o.

Slideshow

u19 – freestyle computing

3. October – 28. October 2007

Presentation of the winning projects of u19 – freestyle computing,
Austria’s largest computer competition for children
and young people, as well as Wikimap Österreich.

Live Streaming

Slideshow

Digital Communities

Digital Communities

14. September – 26. September 2007

In addition to a real-scale Second Life projection, the prizewinners of the Second Life architecture competition will be presented and best practice examples of digital communities will be shown.Projects

3D Panorama Screen für SL by Ars Electronica Futurelab
Preisträger des SL Architektur Wettbewerbes
Best Practice Beispiele von Digital Communities
Flick_rBoard by Ars Electronica Futurelab

 

Slideshow

Ars Electronica Animation Festival

6. September – 11. September 2007

 

The best computer animations in the world will be presented
isochronously by Ars Electronica, in net.culture.space
and in Kiev – supplemented by live streams from Ars
Electronica in Linz.

 

Slideshow

The Second Life Experience

10. August– 2. September 2007

 

A 3D stereo panorama projection enables you to take a walk  through Second Life in real scale. The other installations, too,  focus on current developments relating to Web2.0 and digital  communities.

 

Slideshow

 

net.culture.21

4. July - 5. August 2007

Networked with one another, within the system, between the  real and the virtual worlds – net.culture.21 kickstarts the  category Web 2.0 – Digital Communities and outlines the  significance of the emerging and developing network culture.  net.culture.21 presents the G-Player, which transforms the  earth back into a “disc”. Like a needle on a record, each  satellite accessed by the G-Player follows the earth’s surface  and interprets the topographic data as audio data. The interactive  system Shared Design Space presents forward-looking  forms of interaction in a multi-user design workspace. The  installation Noise & Voice shows you what your voice looks  like. Other projects include the interactive map WikiMap and Flick_rBoard.

 

PROJECTS:
G-Player by Jens Brand (D)
Shared Design Space by FH OÖ, Hagenberg Digitale Medien (A)
Noise & Voice by Golan Levin (USA), Zachary Lieberman (USA)
WikiMap by Ars Electronica Futurelab
Flick_rBoard by Ars Electronica Futurelab

 

Slideshow