Introduction to Computational Arts is a course provided by State University of New York on Coursera.
I decided to do
it as my Photoshop and Gimp skills were not too great and I was
intrigued about the arts aspect of it. Initially I thought it was a
basic course and it took me a couple of weeks before I started paying
attention. They invited us to use things like Pinterest to start marking
things of interest to us and realise our own aesthetic style. I didn't
do it but I thought maybe they were right.
The second cool
thing they did was share spreadsheets of artists and movements they
wanted us to check out. I suddenly became exposed to some pretty cool
artworks and concepts. At the same time, I began to appreciate the
homework which was about honing techniques I could actually see value in
(and began to use in other things) so I was becoming a bit more
proficient at this.
I won't share all the artists (you should do the course) but examples included Nancy Burson whose work is impressive and Marina Abramovic (whom I knew about and who is appearing at the Serpentine this summer)
The first 'creative' exercise was a collage of my own photos
I was asked to
"use the newly acquired skills to create a composition incorporating
both image and text" - here's what I came up with when staring at the
ads on the London Underground and the free papers that are strewn across
the sites.
All
the exercises over four weeks were to get me to a stage where I could
do one creative Project that was doing my head in for the last two weeks
(they extended the deadline just as I got very frustrated with how to
convey all the materials I suddenly acquired).
"Imagine
you have been invited to participate in an exhibition titled "Language
Games" at the New Museum in New York City. The theme of this exhibition
is the impact globalization may have on contemporary life. Is there a
new artistic language of the global? What is the relationship between an
individual’s local existence and his or her social environment, which
is less and less locally determined and may include collaborators,
partners, and friends working in other parts of the world?..."
Not
only did I have to produce an image (which was manipulated using Gimp)
but also produce an artist statement. Here's a summary of my submission
(yes I can see all the bits I need to tweak but the deadline loomed!).
I
am using technology to collate the sources of materials as well as to
manipulate them. I want to convey to use new technology and consider the
impact this has on our global lives.
In my work, I try to share and see patterns and
invite you to do the same.
'Your local is global' is my current focus.
In this work I am exploring how information and
ideas can be collated and spread rapidly worldwide. I appealed on
forums and social networks for photos of local flowers and plants on
5th April from Reading, UK. These plants are not necessarily native
to where they are photographed. Sometimes, nor are the people who
took the photos. Within a few minutes of launching an appeal, I
started receiving photos from various parts of the world. Strangers
and friends were willing to participate.
Plants, flowers and people have been travelling
for centuries and people have spread these by collecting them and
bringing them back to their homes. People and the internet helped me
identify the origins of the plants within minutes – all from the
comfort of our own locales – this information would have taken
weeks or months to ask for and receive in the olden days. Now we can
all share and play together within minutes with strangers and friends
using the technology at our fingertips.
My work is influenced by botanists who recorded
nature of yesteryear as well as by digital artists and the
participants of this piece.
I have taken a source photo of the New Museum and
added some of the contributions so you can see what the ideal
installation would look like. Individually manipulating the photos to
make a map or a collage seemed to lose some of the focus of this
exhibit hence my submission of what the exhibition would look like.
The map on the floor ties the photos to the places without making it
seem like a school lesson. Hopefully, visitors would contemplate and
look again at their local flowers and plants.
Source images
These
include all the images sent to me (including my own) over that one
weekend and I was gutted not to be able to use these - I considered
making a map (but figured it has been done before). I thought of doing a
collage (or a 'quilt') but figured this would lose the beauty of the
images sent to me for no real reason. I wanted to manipulate each one in
the style of botanist drawings but thought it was hard to convey this
in my work.
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| Andrea Osbourne - Norfolk, UK |
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| Anna McNay, London, UK |
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| Bernadette Vydra, Melbourne, Australia |
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| Canuck, Toronto |
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| Canuck, Toronto, Canada |
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| Felicity Wallis, Docklow, UK |
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| Felicity Wallis, Docklow, UK |
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| Felicity Wallis, Docklow, UK |
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| Felicity Wallis, Docklow, UK |
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| JV, Lisbon, Portugal |
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| Kavitha Nadarajah, KL, Malaysia |
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| Laura Morgan, Cambridge, UK |
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| Lisa van Gelder, New York |
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| Manuela Zavattaro Alameda, CA, USA |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Mehul Khimasia, Singapore |
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| Nova Arnachellum, Perth, Australia |
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| Nova Arnachellum, Perth, Australia |
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| Noor Fatima, Karachi, Pakistan |
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| Preetha Nadarajah, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
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| Ralf Paudex, Switzerland |
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| Yolande Riley, Missouri, USA |
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| Yolande Riley, Missouri, USA |
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| Yolande Riley, Missouri, USA |
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| YoonKit, Malaysia |
Also, thanks to Tania D, Talia A, Michelle E, Yolande GC, Adrienne C and Jana P for their offers of help (from Stockholm, Sutton, Portland, Barcelona and various other places)
Photo of the New Museum - William Veerbeck
Photo of a blank world map
