Week 10 Computational Art and Machine Seeing
To conclude the last week of official classes in the Computational Arts Research and Theory module I continued developing my multimedia report. After feeling lost within the vast expanse of my project proposal, I have found the tutorial sessions with Helen and Rachel Falconer extremely helpful in identifying relevant resources and sharpening my focus.
One such thread recommended by Helen, was the book Quantum Anthropologies Life at Large by renowned feminist theorist Vicki Kirby. To briefly summarise the text, she challenges deconstructionist ideas of thinkers such as Derrida, Freud and Merleau-Ponty by suggesting that unexplored fields, such as quantum psychics, are ripe for cultural reconstruction. Her materialist analysis of phenomenology, mathematics, language and the binaries between natureculture will certainly help to contextualise my report.
To further develop my theoretical perspective, this week I also watched the BBC television series adaptation of Ways of Seeing by John Berger and producer Mike Dibb. Despite being created back in the 1970s, I found the questions regarding hidden ideology of images to still be extremely relevant in the media saturated society of today.
Further investigating artist researcher Jol Thomson I uncovered more of his audio-visual work inspired by quantum phenomena. Reading e-fluxâs article Quantum Real - Art and Particles at the Liverpool Exhibition Research Lab, I noticed familiar names such as Karen Barad, Jol Thomson and John Berger begin to appear. It seems I am beginning to hone research interests and the next step would be identifying a specific quantum element to structure the report around.
It has recently come to my attention that Canning Townâs arebyte Gallery presented an audio-visual installation by Marios Athanasiou entitled Superposition which examines similar areas to my project. The work included a tank filled with green UV liquid which uses sensors to translate ripples into Max MSP/ JavaScript code which creates virtual waves. The parallels between quantum physics and virtual reality are evident here; so hopefully my artefact will also communicate these entanglements. Ultimately the past six months have been rewarding for my practise within the MA and have considerably helped me to find a position within the medium of computational art. Â
References ⢠Kirby, V., 2011. Quantum anthropologies : life at large, London: Duke University Press. ⢠Berger, J. & Dibb, M., 1973. Ways of seeing, BBC. ⢠https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/218867/quantum-real-art-and-particles/ ⢠https://www.arebyte.com/superposition ⢠https://www.creativeapplications.net/maxmsp/superposition-cybernetic-system-of-energy-exchange-between-the-physical-and-the-virtual/
Image from The Age of Autonomous Exploration by: Matthew C. Wilson https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/218867/quantum-real-art-and-particles/
Image from Superposition by: Marios Athanasiou https://www.arebyte.com/superposition













