Screen capture of hacked front page for Code & Form.
It seems that this blog was hacked earlier today. Someone got access to write a new index.html, which took precedence over the index.php file. It doesn’t look like any data was deleted, I guess they just wanted to waste my time a little.
I don’t whether the site was hacked through FTP or via WordPress. I’ve changed all my passwords and backed up the database and all files related to the blog, hopefully that will help.
I have a new exhibition coming up in Akron, Ohio as part of an artist in residence stay at the Myers School of Art. Titled "ElectroPlastiques", it is my first ever solo show. Interesting that it would take a show in the US for that to happen, although not really so surprising given that the European media art scene is geared towards festivals. The exceptions are the few European media artists who have found gallery representation, a process that seems to be going even slower in Europe than in the US.
I’m using this show to highlight some of the existing topics of my work with realtime animation, as well as a new direction dealing with physical output. I will screen a series of my generative animations, such as Neon Organic, ElectroPlastique #1 & #2 and Illuminations A. These pieces explore the plastic qualities of parametric software processes, where a single set of rules gives rise to an infinite sequence of possible configurations. The title of the show is intended to refer to the plasticity of digital media.
As a counter-point, I will be showing manifestations of my work in physical formats, where animation gives way to other qualities. My rapid prototyping pieces Object #1 - #3 and new work like the Grid distortion laser cuts explore the tactile possibilities of digital fabrication, while prints like the Packing series go beyond the limited resolution of the screen to explore issues of graphic detail.
The Generator.x 2.0: Beyond the Screen workshop and exhibition kicks off in Berlin this Thursday. In addition to the workshop there will be two evenings of presentations open to the general public, intended to bring the topics of the workshop to a larger audience.
The presentations will take place at the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, which is also the venue for the workshop. If you’re in Berlin I hope to see you there!
Generator.x 2.0: Presentations #1 - Thu 24 Jan, 19:00 - 21:00
Generator.x 2.0: Presentations #2 - Mon 28 Jan, 19:00 - 21:00
See the Club Transmediale site for a full list of Generator.x 2.0 events. Documentation of the event will be posted on the Generator.x blog and Flickr group as it becomes available.
Spiegel Online has just published a feature on generative art: Kunst aus dem Computer: Malen nach Zahlen (in German). It features work by myself, Neil Banas (who was blogged on Generator.x a while back) and San Base.
The opening paragraph strangely proclaims that “Marius Watz is always afraid.” (Marius Watz hat ständig Angst.) That seems to be a slighthly overenthusiastic interpretation of a comment I made about the importance of backup and having access to data while travelling. It also states that I’ve exhibited in Los Angeles, which I haven’t.
The rest of the article seems ok, if a tad superficial. In particular, I think the issue of whether or not generative art can be sold is a bit more resolved than it comes across in the article. The answer is yes, of course it can. The main challenges here are reaching collectors and museums, as well as to make sure the work is collected in a form that can be maintained for posterity.
See the following two articles at Artinfo for some pointers on the subject of selling and collecting media art:
Thanks to Christina Vassallo for providing me with these links in the first place.
The School of Interactive and Algorithmic Art (SIAA) is organizing a Digital Summer School in Sheffield this August. They will be having two-day workshops in VVVV (taught by Sebastian Gregor), Javascript in Max (taught by Jeremy Bernstein) and Processing (taught by me).
The workshops will cost £50 each and are intended for people with a working understanding of code and creative practices. The two-day format should be perfect for diving a little deeper into the field or learn a new coding platform. The number of workshop participants will be limited, so interested applicants should submit a short description of their practice and why they would like to attend.
More information on the SIAA site.
I’ve promised to post this to a few people over the last few months, but somehow never got around to it. But here it is: My blogroll.
I use Google Reader to follow about 80 feeds, which seems managable except for during very busy periods. The blogs I read cover design, art and architecture, as well as some technical subjects. Not surprisingly, the focus is towards computational work, but I also follow some more general interest design and art blogs.
This list was generated by exporting my feed subscriptions as an OPML file, then writing a quick Processing hack to output it as HTML. For those who want the actual OPML file for easy importing, here it is: mariuswatz_bloglist_070213.opml.
Illuminations 1.1 is a new version of the Illuminations piece I created for the AV.06 festival in Newcastle. It has only been shown once, and so it seemed like a good starting point when Jan Rohlf from Club Transmediale asked me to do the graphics for the festival’s printed materials.
First I tweaked the system, changing the color scheme and modifying parameter presets. Then I used Processing’s PDF output to generate one hundred vector originals for free use by the festival designers (Tine Gundelach & Chrish Klose). Daniel Shiffman’s Moviemaker library was used to generate prerendered videos for use on monitors.
Finally the system was updated for realtime projection using a dual-screen setup (2048×768 resolution, OpenGL). The projection setup at Maria am Ostbahnhof is impressive, featuring 12 projectors covering the entire main hall. The piece was shown running for two nights, except when the performing acts had their own video.
See more documentation on Unlekker (including animation) and Flickr.
I’m participating in a workshop on Site Specific Architecture and Emergent Design at Snøhetta architects, Oslo. There have been presentations by myself, Søren Sørensen (AHO), Terje Johnsen (IFE), Andreas Eggertsen (Snøhetta) and Alexander Hellervik (Snøhetta).
Søren and Terje presented some interesting projects using Augmented Reality (AR) in architectural visualization. See architect.no for more information and images.
Relevant links / inspiration
This marks the launch of the workshop.evolutionzone.com blog, which is intended as a supporting tool for use in workshops and as a place to put all code-related materials I produce. My old workshop site is still online, but has been moved to workshop.evolutionzone.com/old. Sorry for the inconvenience.
So far there is little here, expect more next week in connection with the EXTEND: Advanced Processing Workshop in Barcelona. I will be looking at using Processing to produce high-res work for print, as well as possible uses of Processing for VJ’ing.
