We learnt about this collective of multimedia artists based in Osaka, Japan when we saw them taking part in the Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF 2020) last year.

We were amazed by their fearless attitude to mix tradition, modern underground culture and technology, as we highlighted when we wrote about some art works of their audiovisual portfolio.


Here’s more about their past, present and future…

(Japanese below　日本語下記)

Audiovisual City: We would love to start the interview with you telling us a bit about Cosmic Lab and its origin…

Cosmic Lab: Cosmic Lab is a laboratory that pursues the expansion of cognition through unknown audio-visual experiences. It is a project that I (VJ Colo Muller) started, rooted in the activities within the underground culture scene of Osaka. While focusing on the live visuals system that we continue to develop independently and the content and live performances that are born from it, we are also engaged in artwork production, branding of companies and regions, and projects related to the live entertainment industry.

Especially recently, we are speeding up the development of the COSMIC LAB XR Live System to try to create a new live experience for this era.

AVC: The project Quasar really caught our attention. We are very interested in this innovative tool to produce audiovisual in a very intuitive way.
Can you share the creative process behind the development and design of the QUASAR machine?

CL: I have been wanting to play “video/visuals” in a musical and improvised way since those days where I started VJing using VHS and LaserDisc. I was amazed by the incredibly innovative live A/V performance of EBN (Emergency Broadcasting Network) I encountered in New York around 1998. Then a few years later in Japan, I went to a A/V live show of COLD CUT (Timber may be a referential song), who were strongly influenced by EBN, and this experience was crucial for the project. I think they (COLD CUT) were the first ones to extend hiphop’s sampling methods to AV.

Finally, meeting Hifana and Kireek, who had been evolving their AV performances in Japan in an original manner, was a decisive fact for QUASAR to be born. More specifically, Hifana’s “Skipless Loop” song with Locked Groove as a concept, and the marking tapes used by turntablists were a great inspiration in terms of logic. With Locked Groove, the loop length for 133 BPM will be 4 beats, that is, one round will be one bar (in the case of 33rpm). I wondered what kind of world we could get to create if we used this mechanism when composing a sequence with sampled one-shot and loop images. This is how QUASAR’s prototyping began and how it lead to today.

Regarding the creativity of Quasar, there is the word “chanpuruu” in the dialect of the Okinawa region of Japan, and the word “chanpuuru” which has a similar sound in Indonesian. They both mean the same: “to mix, blend in”. 

This example suggests that there can be similarities in things that seem unrelated and completely unconnected at first, but when you put them side by side, you may be able to see the bigger picture and discover a better outline that you couldn’t quite appreciate until then. By intuitively and visually mixing in various sound and image fragments using Quasar, new grooves can arise unexpectedly, or a mysterious ritual space might be created. I think that this is a futuristic and primitive sensation brought about by the high degree of freedom unique to the digital world.

AVC: We feel there is a connection with the Reactable machine. Did you get inspired by the machine developed in Barcelona back in 2003?

CL: I got to make great use of my knowledge of “reacTIVision” through the device created for the installation “Space Echo” that Cosmic Lab worked on before Quasar. The installation was a 360-degree omnidirectional projection mapping on a circular ancient tomb created nearly 1300 years ago. We made the device to continuously change sound and images, creating a reminiscent effect of the ancient world.

AVC: What is the future of Quasar in terms of applications and creative outputs?

CL: I would love to visit diverse cultural areas, record and film local sounds and dances of the people living there, do some field recordings of the natural and environmental sounds, and build on collaborations with local artists. We want to continue the audio-visual cross-breeding sessions within the world of QUASAR, and create an AV ritual space that evolves independently.

There are only two devices at the moment, but I think it would be interesting to release a design that allows an environment where everyone can play or to use it as a game.



AVC: Your artwork features limitless experimentation and fusion among different cultures. In “Magnetic” we can see a fusion with the hip-hop culture while in the Koyasan’s 1200th Anniversary, audiovisual meets the tradition of Japanese Buddhism.

How do you achieve a cohesive project narrative when approaching such different art forms?

CL: During my career as a VJ, I had the chance to come across different youth cultures and communities. As an artist expressing oneself as an outsider in a sense, I kept seeking the feelings and expressions on the spot where personal interests and the committing core converged. I believe pursuing your own personal interests without being trapped by common sense is important in the process of integrating different concepts in new ways.

LivePaintShowcase “MAGNETIC”

AVC: In “Magnetic”, what is the main artistic concept behind the implementation of projection mapping as an artistic layer for the live graffiti?

CL: Together with live paint duo Doppel, we have been aiming to establish a highly improvised showcase combining real-time video expression, live paint, and DJ / turntablist, all three as one. With the use of projection mapping we control the timescale and sequence until the mural painting is completed, and this way the process itself was constructed as a musical performance.

高野山1200年の光  | Koyasan 1200 Year Anniversary

AVC: In the Koyasan 1200th Anniversary, how did you orchestrate the entire performance involving buddhist chants, Japanese drums and Audiovisual?

CL: The mission given to COSMIC LAB for this project was just a visualization of the chanting, but I tried to imagine over and over what sorts of phenomena would happen in that space, and what kind of experiences the present people (audience) would share. When it actually happened, the amazing reality that I had in front of my eyes was beyond my imagination. 

We achieved to recreate a meditative and profound dance floor that I had not encountered too many times in my life before. 

Moreover, there was not a limited number of generations, but a wide variety of people, from the elderly likely to be over 80 years old to small children, who gathered and shared their experiences. After the performance, an old couple came up to us and told us: “Thank you, that was a good meido no miyage (literally: “a souvenir of the darkness*).
*something that makes you feel you can die in peace, such as a very pleasant memory to take to the afterlife.

That was the best compliment ever. 

It was incredibly respectful to see the monks’ ability to invite the thousands of women and men of all ages who were gathered there to a different dimension, and to return to reality and land their bodies and minds firmly at the end of the performance. The chanting has the meaning of a requiescat, and it is a prayer for the repose of a dead person. It was an experience that allowed us to feel closer to that afterlife world. I also believe it was a stage set to expand human cognition. You could get a glimpse of the boundary between this world and the other world, melting together at times, which would make you feel a bit strange. However, it was a spatial art that made you feel humble and positive after all.

Technically speaking, this performance was about 30 minutes long, but it was impossible to follow the fixed scale every time, and we presented improvisational fragments at key points. Therefore, we implemented some necessary functions in the VJ system built with a real-time rendering engine as the basis, such as 3D projection mapping, live operation on the timeline, or interaction with the lasers.

Although we had a few months to produce the performance, we only had one rehearsal at the place. The total number of monks who participated was about 100, and the pre-rehearsal with them was also only once, which was a hard condition. 

In order to make it happen even under such restrictions, we started visualising it with our own simulator at an early stage, and repeated the virtual run-through many times to make the necessary adjustments in advance.

I would say this project was a big step for COSMIC LAB towards establishing a live visual system.

Audiovisual City: When I met you online and we had our first chat regarding your work you mentioned you would like to keep growing internationally, too. How would you say you get inspired by other cultures, and how would you like to integrate it in your work?

Cosmic Lab: I am interested in sharing experiences that are born beyond the language barrier. COSMICLAB also has members with a cultural background that isn’t rooted in Japan, making it difficult to communicate with each other at times but we are enjoying this situation. The process of sharing concepts and images using non verbal means is dynamic. In fact, the Buddhist chanting at the Koyasan Anniversary was uttered in Sanskrit, and it was extremely mesmerizing despite the fact that many of us as modern Japanese could not understand the language at all.

It is actually very fresh to see that the reaction to our work varies from culture to culture. Quasar was presented in Kazakhstan and Reunion Island, but in the end, a scene that went beyond the image and concept of the creator appeared. I think the scale of QUASAR’s potential was expanded especially in Reunion Island, where there is a Creole culture.

We participated in Greek ADAF, which was an online event, so we would like to go there someday. I think Quasar is a piece of work that changes and grows with the reaction of the land and people that it interacts with.

AVC: What are you working on at the moment? Can you give us a preview of what we will see from you this year?

CL: Under the influence of the COVID-19 situation, at COSMIC LAB we are speeding up the process of developing the XR (Expanded Reality) Live System “Anti Matter” in order to explore how communities in this era should be. We aim to represent the area where the visible and invisible worlds are mixed.

COSMIC LAB will host a XR audiovisual showcase event on 7th February 2021 using this XR Live system, with the support of the grant we have received from the Agency of Cultural Affairs*. There will be a live stream from the augmented reality space that will be generated in the underground sanctuary of Osaka. The lineup includes QUASAR’s new XR performance, Japan’s leading artist EYE (BOREDOMS), and BackSpace Tokyo’s audiovisual showcase.
*a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology set up to promote Japanese arts and culture.

On the 22nd of January, we will be presenting an evolved version of the live paint showcase with DOPPEL at an art festival in Okinawa. It will be a virtual production and the platform that will be used for the online streaming has not been confirmed yet but please do check it out!

One of the orientations that COSMIC LAB’s works share is accessing and deciphering the memories and deep layers hidden in a particular place / land, and rebooting and revealing it by the fusion of art and technology.

We have two projects that we are currently working on following this idea:

One of them is a light and sound installation at a mysterious shrine where the torii gates* meet the stunning views of the Sea of Japan, in Yamaguchi/Motonosumi. It is planned to be open to the public in April.
*A traditional Japanese gate that is usually found at the entrance of a Shinto shrine.

The second one is a project set in Daishoin in Hiroshima / Miyajima, a temple whose deity is the Misen mountain (the sacred place of Shugendo), and keeps protecting the “fire that never goes out” that has been burning continuously for 1200 years. It will be a session with a musician who works with the inaudible, and we are planning an exhibition and online presentation around February.

Thank you! Finally, COSMIC LAB have a message to all readers of audiovisual culture… 

Please feel free to contact us if you are interested, let’s exchange information and chat! There are many experimental VJs and a big AV culture in Japan as well. Check out the activities of COSMIC LAB!

Thank you very much.

All images are courtesy of Cosmic Lab
Translation from Japanese to English by Sumire Moncholi

Original in Japanese 日本語

Audiovisual City: お時間ありがとうございます！

まずはCosmic Labの始まり、最近の活躍など自己紹介をお願いします。

Cosmic Lab: 僕（VJ Colo Muller）が発起人となって立ち上げた、未知なるオーディオ・ヴィジュアルの体験を通じて、認知の拡張を追及するラボラトリーです。源流には大阪のアンダーグラウンドカルチャーでの活動が存在します。

独自に開発を続けているライブヴィジュアルシステムとそれを駆使したコンテンツやライブパフォーマンスをコアにしながら、アート作品の制作や、企業・地域などのブランディング、ライブエンターテイメント業界に関わるプロジェクトを手掛けています。

特に最近は、COSMIC LAB XR Live Systemの開発を加速させて、この時代の新たなライブ体験の創出を試みています。

AVC:「映像」と「音」を同時に奏でる次世代の楽器、QUASAR。直感的にクリエイティブなオーディオビジュアルが生み出せると言う可能性にとても興味を持ちました。QUASAR のアイディアはどのようにして生まれ、デザインや創作を考える時の創造性について聞きたいです。

CL: VHSやLaserDiscを用いてVJを始めた時代からずっと「映像」を音楽的かつ即興的にプレイしたいという願望があります。９８年頃にN.Yで遭遇したEBN（Emergency Broadcasting Network）の斬新過ぎるA/Vライブに衝撃を受け、その数年後、EBNの影響を色濃く受けた COLD CUT（Timberなどが代表曲）のA/Vライブを日本で体験したのが決定打でした。彼らは、HIPHOPのサンプリング手法をいち早くA/Vまで拡張させたように思います。

その流れに呼応する形で、日本で独自にA/Vパフォーマンスを進化させたHifanaやKireekたちとの邂逅は、QUASAR誕生の大きなきっかけとなりました。特に、Locked GrooveをコンセプトにしたHifanaの「SkiplessLoop」という楽曲や、ターンテーブリストが使うマーキングテープはロジック面でも大いなるインスピレーションになりました。Locked Grooveだとループの長さは、33rpmの場合、BPM133で4拍、つまり一周が一小節になります。その仕組みを使って、サンプリングしたワンショットやループの映像でシーケンスを構成していけば、どんな世界が生まれるんだろうと。そこからQUASARのプロトタイピングが始まり、今に至ります。

<Quasar映像リンク>

次に、Quasarの持つ創造性についてですが、日本の沖縄地方の方言で「ちゃんぷるー」という言葉があり、インドネシアの言葉でも似た響きを持つ「チャンプール」という言葉があります。意味は同じ「混ぜ合わす」というものです。これが何の話かというと、全く別々で一見繋がりが無いような事柄にも相似律が存在し、それらを並べてみると、それまで見えてこなった輪郭や全体像を発見できることがあります。Quasarを使って様々な音とイメージの断片を、直感的かつ視覚的に異種交配していくことで、偶然新たなグルーブが誕生したり、得体の知れない祝祭空間が訪れることがあります。それはデジタルワールドならではの自由度の高さがもたらす、未来的でプリミティブな感覚だと思います。

AVC: 2003年、バルセロナで発表されたReactable machineとは何か関係してますか？インスピレーションを得たのでしょうか？ 

CL: Quasar以前にCosmicLabが取り組んだ「SpaceEcho」というインスタレーションで制作したデバイスでは「reacTIVision」の知見を大いに活用させて貰いました。

そのインスタレーションは、１３００年近く前に創られた円形古墳に３６０度全方位プロジェクションマッピングをして、そのデバイスで音と映像を変化させ続け、古の世界に想いを馳せるというものでした。

AVC: 今後QUASARはどのようにして使われて創造性を伸ばして行けると思っていますか？

CL: 様々な文化圏を訪れ、そこに住む人々特有の音や踊り、その場所の自然・環境音等のフィールドレコーディングをして、現地のアーティストとのコラボレーションも重ねていきたいです。QUASARの世界の中で異種交配のセッションは続けられ、独自に進化するA/V祝祭空間を創造したいです。

今は２台しか存在しないのですが、デザイン次第では、誰もが遊べるような環境やゲーム的なものとしてリリースしても面白いだろうなと思います。

AVC: COSMIC LABのプロジェクトには様々な文化の混ざりや実験的な遊び心があるような気がします。たとえば、Magnetic ではヒップホップカルチャーの影響。高野山の1200年の光では現代オーディオビジュアルが日本伝統文化・仏教と混じり合わせてあります。

これだけ幅広く違うカルチャーやアートを使いながら、うまく統一したプロジェクトを創り出す方法は？

CL: VJとしてのキャリアの中で、異なるユースカルチャーやコミュニティを横断する機会に恵まれました。ある意味で部外者である表現者として、その場でコミットすべきコアと個人的関心が重なる感覚や表現はどこにあるのか、というのを瞬間的に探り当てる作業の連続でした。個人的関心を究めることは、常識に囚われずに、異なるコンセプトを新たに統合していくプロセスで大事なことだと思います。

AVC: Magnetic ではどう言った目的でプロジェクションマッピングをライブグラフィティに重ねたのでしょうか？その芸術概念とは？

CL:ライブペイントデュオのDoppelとは、以前から、リアルタイムな映像表現とライブペイント、そして、DJ・ターンテーブリストが三位一体となった即興性の高いショウケースの確立を目指してきました。壁画の完成までのタイムスケールやシーケンスをプロジェクションマッピングで制御することで、そのプロセス自体を音楽的なパフォーマンスとして構築しました。

AVC: 高野山1200年の光ではどのようにして声明・映像・光をうまく取り入れたパフォーマンスを創り上げる事ができましたか？

CL: このプロジェクトでCOSMIC LABが与えられたミッションは声明の視覚化に他ならないのですが、その空間でどのような現象が起きて、居合わせた人々がどのような体験を共有するのかを何度もイメージしました。

本番は想像を遥かに超えたアメージングな現実が目の前に現れました。人生の中でもそう何度も遭遇したことのない、瞑想的で深遠なダンスフロアを彷彿させました。尚且つそこでは、限られた世代だけではなく、80歳は超えてそうなお年寄りから小さな子供まで、非常に多種多様な人々が集まり体験を共有出来ました。日本語に「冥途の土産」という言葉があるのですが、公演後に老夫婦が近づいてきて「ありがとう、いい冥途の土産になったわ。」と言って貰えたのは史上最高の賛辞でした。

そこに集まった何千人もの老若男女を異次元へと誘い、そして公演の最後には現実に帰還させてしっかりと身も心も着地させる僧侶の力量には脱帽ものでした。声明は鎮魂の意味を持ち、この世を去った存在に祈りを捧げるものであり、ぐっとその世界の気配を身近に感じることが出来る体験でした。人間の認知を拡張させる為の舞台装置だったとも思います。ある意味、この世とあの世の境界線がグニャグニャに溶けた際どい瞬間も垣間見ましたけれども、最終的には、謙虚でポジティブな気持ちになれる空間芸術でした。

技術的な話に移ると、このパフォーマンスは約３０分の尺でしたが、毎回決まった尺通りに進行するのは不可能で、要所要所に即興的な演出を散りばめていました。その為、リアルタイムレンダリングエンジンをベースに構築したVJシステムに、３Dプロジェクションマッピング、タイムラインでのライブオペレーション、レーザーとのインタラクションなどの必要な機能を実装しました。

また、制作期間は数か月あったのですが、現地でのリハーサルは１回のみ、参加した僧侶の総勢は約１００名で、事前リハーサルも１回のみという厳しい条件下でした。

そういった制約においても実現可能にする為に、自作シュミレーターでいち早くヴィジュアライズし、何度もヴァーチャルランスルーを繰り返しながら想定される調整を事前に重ねました。

<高野山リンク>

このプロジェクトはCOSMIC LABのライブヴィジュアルシステム確立の大きな一歩となったと思います。

AVC: これから海外にも広めていきたいとお話ししましたが、海外の文化からどのようにインスピレーションをもらえてどのように取り入れたり混じり合っていきたいと思いますか？

CL: 言葉の壁を超えたところで生まれる体験の共有に興味があります。COSMICLABにも、日本とは違う文化的背景を持つメンバーが在籍していて、コミュニケーションに苦労することもありますが、その状況を楽しんでいます。非言語的にコンセプトやイメージを共有するプロセスはダイナミックです。実際、高野山での声明も全てサンスクリット語で唱えられて、現代の日本人である我々の多くは言語を理解出来ませんでしたが、物凄く揺さぶられるものがありました。

また、作品への反応が文化によって違うのもフレッシュです。Quasarはカザフスタンやリユニオン島で発表しましたが、最終的には作り手側のイメージやコンセプトを飛び越えた光景が現れました。特に、クレオール文化を持つリユニオン島ではQuasarの持つポテンシャルのスケールを拡げられたように思います。

ギリシャのADAFはOnlineでの発表でしたので、いずれは現地に行ってみたいですね。Quasarは訪れる土地や人々の反応と共に変化し成長する作品だと思っています。

AVC: 他に今までの活躍・これからの活動について聞かせていただけるお話しがありましたらお願いします。

CL: COVID-19の影響下、COSMIC LABは可視と不可視の世界が混ざる領域を表現し、この時代のコミュニティの在り方を模索する為に、 XR（エクスパンデッド・リアリティー） Live System “Anti Matter” の開発を加速させています。

最近のヴァーチャルプロダクション(映像)

2021年2月7日、文化庁の助成を受けて、COSMIC LABのXR Live Systemを駆使したXR オーディオ・ヴィジュアルのショウケースイベントを主催します。大阪のアンダーグラウンドの聖地で生成される拡張現実空間からライブストリーミングします。

QUASARの新作XRパフォーマンスや、日本を代表するアーティスト、EYE ( BOREDOMS ) 、BackSpaceTokyoのオーディオヴィジュアルショーケースというラインアップです。

1月22日には沖縄のアートフェスで、DOPPELとのライブペイントショーケースの進化版を行います。配信を前提としたヴァーチャルプロダクションになります。プラットフォーム等はまだ未定ですが是非ご覧下さい。

また、COSMIC LAB作品の特徴のひとつに、ある場所/土地に潜む記憶や深層にアクセスして解読し、アートとテクノロジーを融合した手法で、それをリブートし顕現させるという指向性があります。

その流れを汲む現在進行中のプロジェクトを2つご紹介します。

一つは、日本海の絶景に鳥居が立ち並ぶ神秘的な神社（山口・元乃隅）での光と音のインスタレーションです。来年4月には一般公開される予定です。

もう一つは、1200年間絶やすことなく燃え続ける「消えずの火」を守り、修験道の聖地・弥山を御神体とするお寺・大聖院（広島・宮島）を舞台としたプロジェクトです。不可聴領域を扱う音楽家とのセッションになります。来年2月頃に現地でのエキシビションとオンラインでの発表を予定しています。

世界のA/Vカルチャー読者へのメッセージがありましたらどうぞ！

もし興味持ってくれたら気軽に連絡ください。色々と情報交換などしましょう！

日本にもエクスペリメンタルなA/VカルチャーやVJが多く存在します。

COSMIC LABの活動も是非チェックしてみてください！

ありがとうございました。

The post COSMIC LAB interview appeared first on Audiovisualcity.

We asked a few questions to Elwira Wojtunik and Popesz Csaba Láng, respectively director and program manager of the audiovisual event based in Krakow.

The organizers pulled off an interesting hybrid edition, fully leveraging the latest generation digital tools. And here goes our interview to Patchlab Festival!

1. PATCHLAB FESTIVAL HAS BEEN FOUNDED BACK IN 2012. IT IS NOW A REFERENCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL GENERATIVE ARTS PANORAMA. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE CONCEPTS AND GOALS THAT DROVE YOU TO THE INCEPTION OF THE FESTIVAL?

E.W.: Indeed, Patchlab Festival has happened annually since 2012, after 2 years of organising Share:Krakow – a local unit of a global organisation dedicated to supporting collaboration and knowledge exchange in new media communities.

Those were crazy times full of passion! Organising space for experimenting with digital tools, gathering with people experimenting with digital instruments, plugging in and playing.

Then we organised the 1st and 2nd edition of the festival that happened under the name of Patch: audio_visual_lab with a great support of our partners from the AVnode network.

Back then, new technologies and digital art were quite underground issues in Poland, compared to now, so it wasn’t easy to convince institutions and partners to support such a unique, niche event.

But we made it happen! During these 9 years we managed to build an internationally recognised platform. We showcase and research on one of the most rapidly developing areas of contemporary art: digital art based on the latest technologies and creative coding.

Patchlab festival is a space for meetings and discussions with the creators, experts and public. We have focused on the roles and impact that digital technology has on our everyday lives.

We explored its future developments, its multi-dimensionality, its interrelations with the artistic processes. They change rapidly and bring new possibilities and challenges, as the technology evolves.

2. THIS YEAR YOU DECIDED TO PROPOSE A HYBRID EDITION AS A RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT PANDEMIC CRISIS. WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES OF UTILIZING DIGITAL TOOLS TO ALLOW THE AUDIENCE TO VIRTUALLY PARTICIPATE?

E.W.: Due to the pandemic we had to find an alternative format compared to the past festival years. Most of the cultural events moved to the internet. But after some time people got tired of the meetings and events provided online. Mostly via Zoom.

Moreover this form of social connection became so overwhelming in every aspect of our life. Therefore attracting the attention of the public online became quite a challenge.

We have decided to experiment and diversify the program to provide the festival content in hybrid form. The digital world of the internet is a natural environment for digital art. Hence it was obvious for us that it was an opportunity to use alternative ways to reach the public internationally.

We had the chance to bring art to the users at the time they chose. We incorporated the program in a different digital format. Anyone was able to participate live online simply by entering the webpage, but also in Augmented and Virtual Reality. Via mobile phones or VR goggles at any chosen time and space.

The festival webpage was specially designed for this purpose – the exhibition of over 28 artworks was (and still is until the end of 2020!) presented online in 5 virtual rooms.

Among them, the Salon AR hosted audiovisual artworks created by e.g. Ryoichi Kurokawa or Monocolor that could be experienced in Augmented Reality.

In the Salon Virtual Ambient you could experience interactive online installations, 360° animations and immerse in surreal VR video collages.

arc/sec Lab exhibition room, built in Mozilla Hub, allows you to choose your own avatar to explore four kinetic light installations in 1:1 scale created at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

We allocated two studios for the multimedia artworks created by students from the Multimedia Studio of the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw and the Intermedia Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow.

This edition aimed at connecting with artists in different places around the globe. That is why we presented a 2 hours live set from Berlin by German duo INSTANT, and a round-table discussion about the roles of the new technologies during the pandemic, and its impact on our everyday lives.

The audience participated also in a virtual narrative performance: Operation Jane Walk, a dystopian video game space, carried out live straight from Vienna.

Performers from the Total Refusal collective hijacked the digital wargame environment, exploring the possibilities (and impossibilities) of new media technologies, while walking around a digital representation of New York.

We also developed something out of the box to create art projects as mobile applications: the app SOL.AR.IS, inspired by the great sci-fi novel written by Stanislaw Lem and Krakow ARtour.

SOL.AR.IS is an extraordinary project that offers an interaction in real time through AR technology with ephemeral animated 3D objects. Those are inspired by the fantastic phenomena described in the book: creations of the cytoplasmic, intelligent ocean that covers the planet Solaris – mimoids, symmetries or asymmetries.

The project was created in cooperation with CGI artists from Japan, Hungary, New Zealand, Germany and Iran. It’s still accessible for everyone, despite the place and time – downloadable for free from the App Store and Google Play.

During the pandemic, walking has become the most popular physical activity. Thus we designed the mobile application Krakow ARtour for people in Krakow, using Augmented Reality technology.

The application turns a regular walk into a multi-layered journey following the trail of the 20th century architecture of the Krakow Old Town. It allows you to discover unknown stories set in the context of a sustainable future.

P.C.L. For these two applications we used the SDK – newest set of tools offered by Google and Apple – AR Core and AR Kit accordingly, which are compatible with the latest smartphones.

There are still more than 300 types of phones available, but hopefully sooner or later these technological gaps will disappear and these new solutions will be achievable for all spectators without limits.

AR is still a relatively new technology. Surprisingly, most of the artists we invited have never had any experience with it. Therefore they were all very satisfied to get acquainted with a new possibility of presenting their artworks.

In order to showcase AR artworks at the Salon AR we designed the third application – PatchlabAR, available for all phones and tablets. We wanted to create it as simple as possible, so everybody could present their artworks at the Salon AR and augment their reality.

E.W.: The pandemic showed the great potential of digital tools. The internet and technology pushed the digital revolution further.

The new situation also showed that Patchlab program might be available for a much wider audience around the world. And not only during the time of the festival, but for much longer.

That’s why we decided to give access to the online content until the end of 2020. This is one of the aspects that wouldn’t be possible to accomplish while organising it in a regular form, physically in Krakow.

3. NOWADAYS DATA HAS OVERWHELMINGLY PERMEATED EVERY ASPECTS OF OUR DAILY LIFE. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE ROLE OF CREATIVE CODING AND GENERATIVE AUDIOVISUAL ARTS IN THIS HYPER-DIGITALIZED SOCIETY WE LIVE IN?

E.W.: Creative coding translates the world of computers and code into everyday experience. It is one of the most comprehensive and dynamically developing disciplines of contemporary art.

Thus it results in a wide spectrum of artistic activities. The community of artists using code as their medium is constantly growing, expanding our sense of what is possible with digital tools.

That’s why creative coding has an amazing role in creativity that cannot be underestimate. It opens extraordinary possibilities of artistic expression.

Open source philosophy plays a very important role. The open source platforms encourage growth and experimentation. They support a rich community of creators that share their strategies and work with unprecedented openness.

That demonstrates how artists use technology in new ways, originating innovations and new experiences that actually influence the future, changing many aspects of our world. That fosters a greater awareness of the fast changing world that we live in, also regarding the means and directions of these changes.

P.C.L.: Nowadays big corporations continuously push their products to the global market. These hardware quite often have pre-installed software and firmware but usually producers do not have time to create something ad-hoc for them.

And here come the digital artists. They hack and crack these tools using their own codes to achieve something meaningful and eye glowing, out of the mass production.

Comparing the early 2000s, today these products are accessible almost to everyone. The only limit is often just our imagination. Two perfect examples are Raspberry Pi and Arduino.

Hardware are getting stronger and faster, while the price is getting lower. Both use open source systems as codes are shared online. I dare to say that’s the best way to start your experience with expressing yourself by code.

4. THE 9TH EDITION FEATURES THE THEME “CONNECTED”. CONNECTED BY THE INTERNET AND BY THE PANDEMIC. CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHTS ON THE DECISIONAL PROCESS YOU UNDERTOOK TO SELECT THIS PARTICULAR THEME?

E.W.: The theme CONNECTED refers mainly to two global aspects. The replacement of social contacts through the internet and the impulse to think about the common public spaces, cultural events and everyday life with and after the virus.

Due to the pandemic the world is undergoing an accelerated digital revolution. it is happening in front of our eyes. The Internet has become our primary channels of communication as never before.

Imagine the pandemic hit us 20 years ago. There wouldn’t have been such global access to the Internet or even no Internet at all! That situation would have been much more difficult for everybody. The pandemic appeared as a an external impulse. It made us develop pre-existing solutions and raise the digital competences, within the contemporary society.

There is also another aspect of this topic. The reliable connection we have with our partners, who we share common values with.

We joined forces with Athens Digital Art Festival, arc/sec Lab of the Auckland University in New Zealand or Digital Cultures among others, to create an intensive program, supporting each other in these difficult times for art and culture.

P.C.L.: A nice and positive example of how pandemic connected people is the Folding movement, which resulted in the creation of the most powerful supercomputer on the planet.

After installing the software you can share the free capacity of your computer’s processors to speed up the mapping process of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 DNA, causing COVID-19 illness.

Hundreds of thousands people around the world gave access to their computer processors. They connected and raised computing capacity, letting the researchers work faster towards the common goal, through this super globally connected power.

5. IN 2018 THE THEME WAS “ARTBOTS”, WHERE YOU REFLECTED ABOUT CREATIVITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. IN 2019 YOU CHOSE “REALITIES” AND YOU REFLECTED UPON THE DIGITAL WORLDS PARALLELY GROWING TO OUR ENDANGERED PLANET.


WHAT IS THE CONCEPTUAL LINK THAT CONNECTS THE LAST THREE YEARS EDITIONS? HOW DID THE SOCIETY AND ARTS SCENE EVOLVED ACCORDINGLY?

E.W.: Each edition focused on a certain topic of the wide spectrum of the artistic activities that explore the creative potential of machines, algorithms, programming. Therefore each edition of Patchlab festival incorporated key phenomena in contemporary culture and art, including VR, AR, AI, hacking and digital identities.

Artificial intelligence algorithms, reality and simulations, AR, VR, interaction and collaboration between human and machine, the technologies that have a strong impact on our lives and the world we live in now and in the near future. These have always been urging topics for us, since the beginning of the festival.

The world is changing very fast in front of our eyes. Every year there are new improvements, new fascinating technologies that are instantly taken over by creatives and artists.

New technologies play also important roles in enhancing productivity and raising sustainability, such as the efforts to use AI and carbon removal technologies to fight climate change.

Raising awareness of urgent climate issues and acting for significant prompt change should be highly important to every human being. Hence it’s natural for us to implement these topics into the program. We show that digital art as well can make us think about the complexity of the ecology and how to act in alternative ways.

6. THE AUDIOVISUAL EVENT REACHED ITS 9TH EDITION THIS YEAR. TO WRAP UP OUR INTERVIEW TO PATCHLAB FESTIVAL WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK:

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE 10TH EDITION NEXT YEAR? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE NEAREST TECHNOLOGICAL FUTURE?

P.C.L. So many aspects can change the future, that we can easily fantasize about the future of digital technologies. The forthcoming 5G and Elan Musk’s StarLink will change the internet in the next few years. In the same ways as it has evolved from the 70s until today.

The Internet of Things will create a better global network, expanding the playground for the digital artists. Big Data, Bioart, AI will become more common. Art as well will become more accessible to the audience.

We are going to leave our beloved friends, the smart phones, forever. We will be using HoloLens or similar Mixed Reality devices, where all the calculations will be made in cloud systems, on a supercomputer. The rest will be just displays and terminals to access the network.

E.W. The pandemic year showed enormous growth in the video games industry among others. In the previous editions we already considered some aspects of the valuable creations developed in this significant discipline of digital culture.

Next year we prepare for the 10th edition and we plan to dedicate part of the festival program to creative video games and the interventions in the virtual space. In 2021 Poland will celebrate the 100th birthday of the great sci-fi writer, Stanislaw Lem.

We would like to grace this year by continuing the development of the SOL.AR.IS art mobile app with new content inspired by the creatures of the intelligent ocean described in the Solaris novel. Additionally for this great occasion, we are preparing an interactive AR city game that will be designed together with invited artists.

In the hope that next year the restrictions will be lifted, we are also planning an on-line strategy. It worked great this year as it allowed us to reach a wide audience and to give access to the program for a much longer time.

I would like to emphasize that the Patchlab Festival remains CONNECTED until the end of the year. There is still time to dive into digital art programs online for those who missed it!

We hoped you enjoyed our interview to Patchlab Festival. We are definitely looking forward to the next year edition. As always, Stay Tuned!

Stay connected with Digital Arts Festival

Learn more about the 9th edition of the Patchlab Digital Art Festival

Read our interview to Athens Digital Arts Festival

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EXTRAsync is an inter-disciplinary platform that develops innovative projects and devices within the Audiovisual culture.

Of course when we found out about this new device we asked the developers Marco Monfardini, Gianluca Sibaldi and Amelie Duchow for an interview. And here you got it!

1. We were truly excited when you first showed us this new audiovisual projection tool you have developed. Can you tell us how you came up with the idea of the EXTRAscan?

Marco: My initial idea dates back to a few years ago, when I wanted to create an instrument that could generate sounds and visuals by using video projection on any given surface.

I wanted to experiment a new way of both visual and sound composition. After a long time of fruitless research I was almost on the verge of giving up.

However I told Gianluca about my idea, knowing him as a soundtrack composer and ever since a “computer alchemist”. Combining these two types of experiences, we began to transform our imagination into reality.

The first steps were exhilarating and pushed us to completely immerse ourselves in creating this new “device”.

2. Technically speaking, how does the audiovisual scan work? What kind of technological set up does it require?

Gianluca: this is a “slow” version of a structured light projection, a technique commonly used to perform 3D scans. We project lines on the scanned object by using a video projector. It then detects shapes and colors through 4 specially modified cameras.

The collected data information is processed in real time via a network of 5 computers. We use a mix of standard visualization algorithms and others we developed ourselves. Each computer has a specific task and contributes to the final audio and video output.

3. This cutting-edge tool is designed for live performances. Can you describe how the live manipulation works, once receiving the data parameters from the projector scanner?

We designed this tool to be independent, playing sound and generate images based on what it “reads”.

During a live performance we use a basic structure created ad hoc for the hosting venue. We modify the parameters according to the evolution of the performance while also modifying the structure itself in real-time. Both the audio and the video elements undergo a continuous elaboration.

4. In terms of artistic expression, what are the creative possibilities you discovered by utilizing this tool as audiovisual artists?

It is a tool for exploring and reading reality. It extracts features that are usually undetectable through a cross-contamination between visual elements that generate sound and sound elements that have visual correspondences.

This transports us into an additional dimension that becomes itself an object of stimulation and creation.

5. Could you share with us the audiovisual projects you have been working on thanks to this technology, both in the artistic and corporate world?

We have developed several projects with EXTRAscan in collaboration with both corporate and artistic entities.

Porsche recently commissioned us a live scanning for the launch of the new electric Taycan 4S. We presented a performance at the Scuola Holden in Torino in collaboration with Garofalo & Idee Associate.

For the Bonotto Foundation we developed a study for an audiovisual installation. For the LEV Festival 2019 we have developed the site specific live performance SCANAUDIENCE.

6. You have showcased the EXTRAscan at LEV festival 2019, by delivering an audiovisual representation of the audience called SCANAUDIENCE. Can you tell us about this remarkable performance?

SCANAUDIENCE was born from the study of the human figure and the idea of reversing the roles of a common performance. The audience itself is the protagonist of the performance. They are the subject of the scan and thus directly determining the audio and video result.

In order to develop SCANAUDIENCE at LEV Festival we built a scale model of the Laboral theater. The model included an audience made of small paper dolls that we used to fine-tune the performance.

The technical realization of SCANAUDIENCE is a fairly complex operation. Therefore we had to foresee the characteristics of both the venue and the array of the people to optimize timings for the sound check.

The result greatly exceeded our expectations, thanks to a large number of visitors and excellent technical support from the LEV organization.

Before our premiere set at LEV we did not have the opportunity to do a rehearsal with about 1000 people at the same time.

We had a rough idea of the outcome thanks to our model construction, but actually the real result was far more exciting and surprising for both us and the audience.

SCANAUDIENCE at the Laboral theater revealed a further dimension in addition to the sound generation and video output represented on the screen.

The scan lines projected onto the audience became themselves an additional spectacle inside the main show: an evocative feedback of the action of the “machine”.

7. Can you give us some insights about any further developments you are planning for the EXTRAscan?

We are currently studying the development for large scale scanning of buildings, monuments and architectural elements. We have worked on a draft of “innerVoices”. It is project that “gives voice” to historic buildings and other elements within the context of urban development.

Another area of development is the contemporary design. We aim to carry out the scanning of design objects in a more “chamber music” dimension, as they were generative elements of a small ensemble of voices and instruments.

From a technical standpoint, we are designing a new software that is even more advanced and offers a more immediate way of work.

We have recently started the development of new cameras for EXTRAscan. By integrating many functions directly into the camera software, we are automating many delicate calibration operations that had to be done manually.

We are also designing a new device that will use some of the EXTRAscan technology. The device will allow other artists, performers, VJ’s, DJ’s, etc. to have a customizable graphics engine. It will be driven directly by the sound and programmable through a touch interface.

Contact

Website

SCANAudience

LEV Festival

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Flightgraf have been showcasing beautifully crafted projection mapping works, all around the globe since 2013. Their approach hinges upon the creative use of the core elements of audio-visualization.

RHYTHM AND LINE strikes immediately for its intrinsic aesthetic quality and the perfect synchronization between sounds and images.

The architectonical elements of the façade are constantly revealed and concealed again by the delicate luminous lines shooting across the space, during this mesmerizing audiovisual hide and seek.

The Altenburg building is the home of the Liszt School of Music Weimar. Like the symphonic poetry advocated by Franz Liszt in the 19th Century, the primary means of audiovisual expression are utilized to communicate extra-audiovisual content.

Not a pure formal exercise: a story is unravelling before our senses, through each sound element and its own visual doppelganger.

A story that is subjective to each one of us, in this virtuous expressive circle created among the architecture, the audiovisual language and the viewer.

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2020 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked Flightgraf about their creative process and how they approached the audiovisual event open call.

This artwork brings us back to the origins of experimental animation thanks to the conscious use of the root elements of visual creation.

1. Can you share with us your particular methodology to develop abstract content from a conceptual starting point?

Instead of unraveling Liszt as that famous super-elaborate musician, we started reading about his social and historical background.

Moreover we read up on the important influence he exerted on the next generation and society.  So we focused on on his qualities as an educator and researcher.

We became particularly interested about his passion for breaking out of fixed forms and given routines. 

Thus we tackled our artwork as one of his students. We attempted to convey the complexity of the chords, compositions and constructions he wanted to express in reverse and simplicity.

2. What kind of emotions and thoughts does this projection aim to evoke and which tools have you used?

We want the audience to experience the sound and pictures without following a pre-established harmony. 

We mainly used Cinema4D and After Effect for the production. We also used Cakewalk for music production.

When creating sound effects we use a lot of natural sounds and very often we actually record in various fields. We recorded and used a variety of natural sound effects from our last appearance in Genius Loci Weimar in 2017.

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

There is no right answer, but we think that a competition is very similar to working for a client. You have to think about what the organizer wants above everything else.

This means that it’s not what you do, but what you don’t do that matters. GLW is a very special competition. It’s very artistic, very creative.

The jury is looking at all of us. We concentrated on showing our work as it is, without lying. In the end, we believe that the Genius Loci Weimar competition asks us questions about who we truly are.

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2020 – Marstall Building

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2020 – Goethe & Schiller Archiv

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2019

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Animation artists Soheil Seraji and Nadira Madreimova have approached a building façade for the first time. The result? A uniquely intriguing piece of projection mapping!

The audiovisual narrative is complex and it requires more than one take to be truly understood.

Nevertheless the stunning aesthetic and elegant storytelling have an immediate impact on the spectator.

The conversation between east and west is explored by leveraging the cultural differences in the sound and visual expressions. A powerful immersive narrative takes us by hand on this wonderful oneiric journey.

I believe sometimes projection mappers can get a bit sidetracked by the spectacle and the technical realization. That is why is so inspiring to have a fresh take from “outsiders”. Something that Genius Loci Weimar knows really well.

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2020 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked the creators about their creative process and how they approached the audiovisual event open call.

1. Can you give us insights about your creative process to build the visual narrative, and how the sound is conceptually connected to the images?

Goethe had a special relationship with the east, in particular with the most prominent Persian poet, Hafiz. We are from the east, so we decided to work on the Goethe Und Schiller Archiv building.

We started to read Goethe’s poems thoroughly and…. wow! He speaks about something we live everyday! So the journey began for us. We found out that there is a close relationship between his thoughts and our culture, our background.

We understood that we could easily make our visual world based on his poems. Therefore we decided to use the concept of “journey to east” for the artwork, which was explicited in Goethe’s poems. As you can gauge from the first verses of West-östlicher Divan.

We are eastern artists so we know the way that east has been represented to the west world. Mainly from a biased and unrealistic point of view.

So, we understood that the journey should represent east as it is and how we live it, not as it has been represented.

Goethe had a realistic view of the east and paid tribute to it, in spite of being from the west.

Hence we felt Goethe could be the point of unity between east and west. We had to build a perspective that depicted a realistic east and, at the same time, as it is expressed by a western man.

We paid our tribute to Goethe and his most important book and started the “west-east conversation”. We decided to portray a journey to the conceptual east, somehow a dreamy journey.

Therefore we avoided overused cliché and we tried to show the eastern soul through a video lead by a western poet.

Then we struck up a conversation between west and east. We depicted the calmness, softness, elegance and pleasance of east through movements and connections between forms.

As you can see, there is no cut between the scenes and shots, everything is part of a continuous flow. Everything is in a calm and pleasant state.

At the same time we didn’t represent any form or scenario unfamiliar to our western audience.

He/she hears Goethe’s poem in an eastern environment simultaneously watching some familiar objects and forms like the train, the lighthouse and the car. In the overview, she/ he encounters the flowing concept and spirit of the east.

In addition, we thought about the different tasks we had to carry out for this project, being our first mapping projection.

We asked ourselves: what if we consider the building as a screen that is different from all the screens we had till now? So we decided to activate the volume of the building and started to consider the different architectural features as a tool for creativity.

We followed the conversation in music too. For a deeper perception of the visual image, we used the sound represented by voice, music and noises of natural objects. 

Projection mapping usually only uses music and noise.  We found a more original solution: we made the image more visible with the help of a voice that recites Goethe’s verses. 

Inspired by Goethe’s and eastern poetry, someone dreams of visiting the East where life is simple and wise. 

Music and visual images are not tied to specific frames.  We didn’t try to show the eastern lands, but the true concept of the east. 

Our task is to evoke emotional, figurative and spatial sensations of the concept of the East through the music of Sepehr Seraji. Inspired by western classical composers, we knew that would be familiar to our audience.

2. Can you tell us about the challenges and creative opportunities of working with projection mapping, coming from an animation background?

[Soheil Seraji] That’s a really good question! I have worked with this painting-like animation style over the last few years.

What I find interesting about this particular style is the depiction of figurative, realistic pictures and concepts in a generalized and abstract point of view.

For example, you can recognize the touches of brush but simultaneously you can see the sea wave illustrated by the brush.

Projection mapping allows us to show our point of view very explicitly because of the size of the building façade.

The coexistence between figurative and abstract of this animation style can be expressed and emphasized through the projection mapping.

As we explained above, another creative opportunity in this project in relation to my animation background was to consider the building as a screen.

I thought what can I do with this new and different type of screen? I can consider the building as a sketching notebook in front of me. Hence I started to freely sketching on it.

Finally I realized that I can activate different aspects and volumes of the building. I have set the shots and forms according to these aspects of the building, like the windows and columns.

Of course, there are challenges and limits, like the special aspect ratio for the video, the huge number of frames and layers to manage for an appropriate representation.

It is clear that these problems are not important at all in this project, since we have a limitless creative environment in front of us!  

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

Yes, of course! It is not as simple as taking a fixed approach to every festival and event.

We prepare different projects for different types of events and our approach changes according to the type of event.

For example, lots of film and animation festivals accept diverse films in style, length and subject. The works we submit to these events are based on a personal idea that don’t pay attention to the uniqueness of the festival and its subject.

Another kind of festivals are the video and art festivals. When submitting to the events if our works are not matching the open call we start working on a new project.

Each project is based on our previously brainstormed ideas (and of course, we have an “ideas bank”!). We then grow the idea in a way that fits the open call’s guidelines.

What we have done for Genius loci Weimar is a totally different approach. As we haven’t done anything like this before!

We started our project from scratch, in order to create a truly original artwork from the first concept, with no preconceptions based on previous ideas.

Eventually, the approach depends on the conditions of the festival and the time we have to prepare our work to meet the deadline.

In this case the COVID outbreak helped us a lot! The day we found out about the event it was literally the deadline day! Fortunately, Genius Loci Weimar extended the deadline due to the pandemic.

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2020 – Marstall Building

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2019

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The audiovisual duo cleverly uses light and darkness to engender a majestic and ominous atmosphere. The audiovisual contrasts are a mirror of the antithetical historic times the building has been through.

From its renaissance foundations, through the misery of Socialist Germany and the rise of the National-Socialism, until becoming an important German cultural centre.

Through powerful content and excellent technical implementation, Emanuele Musca and Vincenzo Gagliardi managed to give a voice to the building itself.

INSIDE profound storytelling speaks directly to our collective memory, showing us the importance of remembrance for building a brighter future.

As part of our series about the Genius Loci Weimar 2020 winners, our young journalist Marta Minguell asked the creators about their creative process and how they approached the audiovisual event open call.

We are very interested to know more about how you achieved the mysterious atmosphere that pervades the mapping projection.

1. Can you describe how you leveraged the contrast between light and darkness in your artwork to create such a unique atmosphere?

The contrast is at the core of this project. The combination of elements of light and darkness represents the troubled existence of the Marstall, victim of the political changes during the history.

Fascinated by the baroque still life paintings and the interplay of the shadows in the architecture, we focused on recreating that atmosphere in 3D, which emerged in an aseptic but very detailed result in terms of realism and textures.

The robust facade extrusions stretch out the structural elements to grasp the last rays of light when the dying sun leaves the space to the cold night (“endarkment” of reason), to be reborn, after the darkness, in a rejuvenated light (positivity for the future).

We want to highlight that the Marstall reminds us how hate and rage can twist something as harmless as a riding stable into something as brutal as a prison.

2. Could you explain to us the concept behind the sound design, especially mentioning the incorporation of voices?

The goal of our sound design will be to drag the audience away into a spiral of memories, fears and smashed dreams. We want the listener to feel the realities that the building experienced from his foundation.

Sound has always had a key role in our life. We create music. At the same time we are both involved in the Berlin electronic music scene organizing events and working with the labels: Modern Bön and Vu-Mantra Records.

We are particularly fond of experimental electronics and living in Berlin is obviously a constant source of inspiration.

Music can also be a mirror of the times, which is why we are planning to mix small samples of meaningful music, heavily treated and broken with effects and granular synthesis, with sounds produced through hardware samplers and modular synthesizers.

The vocal sound in the submission is a sample from the 1936 Olympics Opening Anthem by Richard Strauss which fades in some notes of the No. 3: Nocturne in A-Flat Major by Franz Liszt.

Both sounds have the incredible power to instantly grab the attention and trigger strong emotional memories.

The first one recalling the illusion of greatness of the rising National-Socialism and the other one, reminding the beauty that the wounded city of Weimar holds in its spirit.

3. Can you share with us your creative approach when submitting an artwork to an open call?

That was our very first submission to this kind of contest. We are very good friends but also collaborate together for different projects.

We work together, share opinions, learn from each other, so that our artistic chemistry has already consolidated.

When we decided to apply for this contest, it was a usual after work dinner.

We started brainstorming and preparing the material, one more focused on the 3d animations and the other on the sound design, but still working in parallel and sharing the results of the job.

It took a couple of additional nights to finally find the right direction but as soon as we did it, it was really exciting and we started immediately to work on it. We went through difficult moments, also stressful ones but it was worth it.

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2020 – Goethe & Schiller Archiv

Genius Loci Weimar Winners 2019

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The organizers decided to go virtual this year as a bold response to the Covid crisis.

The festival took place online, entirely free for everyone over a time span of two months. It featured an impressive array of 700 artists from over 100 countries.

1. The Athens Digital Arts Festival was founded back in 2005. It is the main reference for digital arts and audiovisual culture in Greece. Can you tell us about the concepts and goals that drove you to the inception of the festival?

I was once myself a Video Art creator. I was sending my artwork in several Festivals in Greece, but I was getting no response. Soon I started applying in International Festivals, and they actually admired my work. Due to this situation, I started thinking why there’s not a Video Art scene in Greece.

So I decided to create the Athens Video Art Festival of Greece in 2005 in order to introduce Video Art to the Greek audience and give the opportunity to Video Artists to show their work!

As the years went by and the technology was getting more and more inside our everyday lives and in the art field, the ADAF team decided to open up to new categories and become more “Digital”.

This is how the festival’s name changed in “Athens Digital Arts Festival”.

2. Every year ADAF runs an international open call gathering more than 5000 proposals. The range of projects is incredibly wide.

Can you please share with us the creative process behind the selection of the artworks and the relative categories within the new media arts?

Well the festival has started as a video art platform and over the years evolved in adding more categories with VR and Games the most recent additions.

At the moment we are hosting 11 categories that range from Video Art Animation, Installations, Webart, Digital Image, Games, Kids, Virtual Reality, Workshops, Talks, AV Performances. The process is very difficult and requires a lot of time and effort on our behalf.

We announce every year the theme with an open call and we collect applications for a period of approx 2-3 months.

We have a very active team of curators who review each category very carefully and work together cross disciplinary in order to choose the best pieces that fit the theme while maintain exhibition coherency and after a while we have our first shortlists.

Then a period af artist communications begins where we need to find out about feasibility of projects, because except from ready projects we also receive and welcome ideas about project to be created.

Many of the pre existing artworks need to adapt to our spatial specifications so there is another cycle of exploration there for installations and performance and in many cases digital image or webart.

Each category really has it own management to be made in order to conclude to the perfect program for every year. Thank our skilled curatorial team and their very strong chemistry that they work alongside for the very neat outcome we achieve every year.

3. This year theme “Technotribalism” reflects upon our primitive status as human beings in front of the Almighty data-flux. At the dawn of the hyper-informational era we are witnessing.


In your opinion, what is the role of new media art and art events in this pre-dystopic scenario?

I do not think that this year edition is posing the future scenario as dystopic hence I do not agree with the pre dystopian term.

In my opinion, although the Covid situation emerged and tinted as dystopian our manifest, Technotribalism is more about utopia rather than dystopia.

Going event further is about the way we can collaborate with each other, and use our prior knowledge on system building to escape a possible dystopia.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m aware of the possible hazards in the future outcome. After all our previous edition was about Singularity that supported a lot of ambiguity on the subject.

Nevertheless our initial interpretation here is that we are the raw material in this civilization phase shift.

If we realise that, then we can all together set the right foundation for a bright future where data, or the data flux, is a valuable variable working as a tool rather than an oppressor.

New media art in this circumstance is essential. Is one of the mediums through which we can see the shift. It is a pioneering art form that reflects a big part of our current culture as humankind, the technological evolution.

By interpreting it, giving new use or essence is the best medium to use as a wakeup call for humans that are absorbed in their everyday cycle.

The out of the box way of use of technology, the marvels created by the collaboration between artists and scientists and the vulgarization (in a good way) of technological and scientific achievements.

All of this brings cutting edge evolution closer to the everyday person who can think and debunk theories on technology without the necessary scientific background.

That does not only help the average person to familiarize with technology and science. It also broadens their horizon and perception about the new cosmos technology science and data open to humanity.

4. As other audiovisual events, ADAF took the decision to go online in response to the Covid19 crisis. In your festival statement you announce that “… ADAF, always seeking physical contact with the public, has found the way to connect with safety the physical and the digital space, with the aid of cutting edge technology.”


Can you give some insights about the “phygital” experience your are offering in this year edition?

Due to the Covid19 circumstances we decided to make ADAF ONLINE, in order to give the opportunity to the audience to experience ADAF 2020, from the safety of their space.

We tried to make the ONLINE edition as interactive as possible, by hosting Workshops, Talks, Games in which the audience was participating.

Soon, we will host many physical events in the city of Athens, in the context of ADAF 2020, always considering the circumstances of our era.

Thankfully, the new technologies help us implement these ideas. Unfortunately I cannot give you yet more information about this project as it is still under process.

5. This year the festival reaches its 16 th edition. How do you see ADAF in the next 10 years?

It has been a very interesting and exciting journey all these years. ADAF has the tendency to adjust in the circumstances of the era, always following the new technologies.

At the same time, ADAF doesn’t forget it’s history and all the people who helped the festival grow!

In ten years, as I understand the evolution of technology, we will do our best to promote art through technology, and make it even more interactive. VR has already made a revolution in the artistic field.

Soon new technologies will be introduced and we’re willing to get more and more creative with them and help artists explore their possibilities through art!

Αt the same time we want to maintain the classic line of the festival and continue to promote artists who still follow simple, tangible artistic methods.

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At Audiovisual City, we are always interested to know more about audiovisual artists balancing their career, between sales-driven corporate events and artistic experimentation.

INTUS approach to audiovisual is wide open. They are constantly on the lookout for new tools and experiments. Nevertheless their forte is definitely the creation of immersive and interactive environments.

We asked a few questions to dig deeper into their background, techniques and what’s cooking up in the near future.

1. Can you tell us about the history and concept behind the foundation of the audiovisual studio INTUS?

INTUS means “intuition” in Latin, inner search and it is related to thought as self-knowledge. Since its inception INTUS has been interested in the positive development of intuition and self-knowledge through new technologies.

We need to seek in art and technology the way to bring ourselves back to our inner cosmos, utilizing technology for the positive development of human values. 

2. INTUS is internationally renowned for its immersive and interactive audiovisual experiences. Can you give us some insights about your creative process when approaching a client’s brief?

Hey thank you very much. Generally the first thing we do is ask a lot of questions, most of the time the client himself does not know what he wants as a final outcome and it is important to discover it through questions. 

We carry out a process similar to Socrates mayeutica, both towards ourselves and the client in order to arrive at an idea that we intuit will be successful.

For us, the creative process must be linked to intuition and feeling. Brainstorming should always take us to a pleasant place. 

When we find a place where the client and us feel good, that is where we carry out a process of architecture of the experience.

We tried from the beginning to incorporate real-time tools for prototypes and pre-visualization to have software architectures that will work for us in the final installation.

3. During the years, INTUS has built an impressive portfolio of both artistic and corporate projects. In your opinion, which are the main differences in the approach and realization between corporate and artistic projects? 

Thanks so much, we appreciate your feedback a lot.  Creatively there are many differences. Commercial projects will always be tied to the same discourse that is to sell, but in terms of selling the projects or executing them I think they are quite similar.

I think it helps a lot to have knowledge of commercial projects to be able to sell and better execute your artistic works.

4. In addition to the audiovisual installation work, you have developed innovative softwares for Natural User Interfaces. Can you tell us a bit more about this type of work and what you have achieved so far?

We develop our own systems for immersive or interactive installations. For example we have developed our own multi-gpu system for immersive projections, calibration systems for Lidars, laser mapping calibration systems and many other custom projects we have for private clients.

5. Your works feature a high complexity and impeccable technical development. What are your preferred tools to work with and why?

Thank you very much. Our main tools in the studio are TouchDesigner for systems development, Notch for real-time visuals development, Unreal for virtual and augmented reality application and Unity for game development. 

6. What do you consider is the biggest achievement in your career? What are you most proud of?

Good question, I had not thought of it.  Perhaps it is the experience we have acquired through the years. I think that our experience combined with our mistakes is what brought us where we are today, by teaching us to constantly improve ourselves. 

7. What shall we expect from your future projects? Are you currently working on something you would like to share?

We are adding a new service to our portfolio that we are calling InSpace. InSpace is a multidisciplinary space dedicated to audiovisual communication.

It specializes in multimedia installations and interactive spaces for hybrid encounters with comprehensive support in production, programming and design. Here more info.

Also we released a new platform for workshops where we are offering teaching activities related to the industry.

Despite the current situation, we consider ourselves lucky as we have more projects coming up on our radar, but we cannot talk much about them.

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The studio creates immersive multidisciplinary AV shows, especially focusing on the fusion between projection mapping and dance performance.

We asked Paco a few questions about his background and creative career and also about the new projects he has been cooking up during the quarantine period.

1. When did you start working on the interaction between audiovisual and dance performance, and how did you get involved? What are the aspects that are more appealing to you about working in this interdisciplinary field?

It all begun in 2009. After quitting my job as an engineer I moved to Madrid to study a Master in Motion Graphics while making my first experiences in the world of video art. 

In 2010 I started up several collaborations with art organizations in Madrid and they proposed to me to shoot a dance performance by the choreographer Iratche Ansa.

The performance was going to be held at the Matadero in Madrid. From that recording I put together my first video dance “Comunicación Interpretación Automática” which had a very good reception.

I had discovered the potential of dance from an audiovisual perspective and the inner revelation of what I wanted to do in the next few years.

A few months later I made my first dance pieces with live visuals with choreographer Barbara Fritsche.

Thanks to those projects I was able to work on the musical “Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar” in 2013. In 2014 I directed my first proper theatre show: “Girasomnis”.

2. You are the creator of “Girasomnis”, an itinerant project that has been traveling around the world. Can you tell us about the creative process behind the inception of this innovative project?

I try to “connect” the visuals with the dancers. Sometimes I encourage the dancers to “connect” or follow my visuals.

In this project I also composed the music. This is very useful as I have better control of the creative process. With this project I tried to evoke feelings in the audience without words: just images, dance and instrumental music.

3. Paco Gramaje Studio recently launched the “Dance Mapping Virtual Tour 2020” which it’s fundraising on Gumroad. This is in preparation for a new cutting-edge AV dance project in 2021 involving a 360 immersive environment . Can you give us some insights about the whole project?

This quarantine caused an abrupt stop in my job, but also gave me time to start imagining something new.

The idea was born during the first week of confinement. At the start, It was simple: I just wanted to publish some of our best projects and make them public. But I also felt a need for a change.

The last 3 years I was quite disconnected from my artistic side due to working mostly on commercial projects. 

I was just focusing on making money to pay my bills and trying to have a stable team for audiovisual production. The outbreak of the Covid-19  has been an absolute shift in our work. We started questioning the possibility of doing our shows as we did before.

Therefore I needed to devise another type of format for the new normal awaiting us: a fully immersive virtual Dance Mapping Show.

As my previous theatre production, without the pressure of a client and using the Girasomnis music.

So, in April I started to visualize and write a synopsis of this new project. I then decided to publish “Dance Mapping Virtual Tour 2020” as a memorandum of all these years of physical shows. 

Now it’s time to go further. I want to gather all the knowledge I gained during the last 10 years and apply it to a virtual reality show, where I can break the limits and make an immersive 360º visual performance with dancers.

This new production is planned to be released in VR and physical 360 projection format in late 2021.

4. When working on a project how do you pick your collaborators? What are the main roles you look for in your team? 

When I have the budget I can work with some powerful audiovisual freelancers from my network of collaborators. Failing that I work alone.

I also work with very talented dancers/choreographers from Barcelona. During the years they started to understand my ideas and transform them in beautiful choreographies. 

5. Can you describe your general creative approach when starting on a new project?

I have mostly 2 ways of work. I compose a music draft and then I work on the visuals and choreography or vice versa: I make a draft of visual content with a draft choreography and I try to match the sounds and music.

Sometimes I give leeway to the dancer, so they can create their own choreography and then I create the visual content following their movements.

In the last few years I also worked with some talented musicians for a faster audiovisual production.

6. In 2015, Paco Gramaje Studio won an award at the International Mapping Festival in Girona for the Micro-mapping category. Could you share with us your thoughts about the concept of “Micro-mapping”? 

This was a concept from Roman Torre. In 2015 I shared a space with him and we collaborated together on a video mapping of a rotating stone. It was a nice project called Liquid Series.

In the video mapping area I also tried to develop innovative concepts, differing from the typical big projection on a building facade. 2 Years ago I started to develop the concept of “Holomapping”. I am planning to finish it next year as well.

7. We are aware you regularly teach courses and masterclasses of video mapping applied to performing arts, in Spain and Latin America.


What specific training would you recommend for digital artists who have just started their career and why? Which are the countries with more opportunities for audiovisual arts, in your opinion?

Nowadays, it is possible to learn a lot following digital online courses, but it is always better if somebody guides you. As with everything in life the best way to learn is practice, making mistakes and improving. 

Spain is not the best country for arts, I would say. As far as I know French artists or from other European countries have more grants and support from their governments, but everything is possible if you are passionate about your work.

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We have never hidden the fact we particularly love the playfulness and delicacy of their AV style. Their street art itinerant approach open the door to a myriad of creative opportunities.

Throughout the years (while keeping fit cycling their AV bikes) they have been engaging with audience of all ages and backgrounds. Here our interview to VJ Suave: enjoy it!

0. How did you meet and decide to work together on this beautiful project?

We met in 2009 in Buenos Aires, and we’ve decided to work together. Cecilia comes from animation and Ygor from painting and drawing. We mixed our best and created VJ Suave.

1. How have your techniques advanced since the beginning of your career? What specific technological tools have enabled you to express yourself in a different way because of this?

In the beginning, we took a class on how to use Modul8 and it blew our minds. Cecilia came up with the idea to animate Ygor’s drawings and. Using a small projector, we’ve projected the animations from the window on the street outside.

At that time, we used Adobe Flash, After Effects and Photoshop for animation. Later on we met Maki, and he introduced us to Tagtool, a tool to draw and animate in real time.

The first version of Tagtool was a DIY thing, you needed to have a wacom, arduino, knobs and sliders, ps2 controller, all connected to a computer and a controller box.

You needed to build it yourself, it was a bit complicated. Later on Maki and his crew started to develop Tagtool for iPads and we fell in love with it.

Most of our animations are made frame by frame, using Flash, and this takes time and people to work. Tagtool is easier. It’s a tool that allows us to create drawings and animation by ourselves in a short amount of time.

We also started to investigate virtual reality. In 2017 we’ve created Floresta Encantada / “Enchanted Forest”, an interactive VR experience.

The VR is a very immersive solo experience. You actually believe you are inside a different reality. In Floresta Encantada, together with our crew, we’ve created an experience where participants are teleported to a magical forest where they can interact with both characters and the scenery.

They can play instruments near a bonfire and even drink medicine from a shaman. Each experience is unique as the map is very big. Some people say that they saw a spaceship, others say they had a trip on mushrooms, experiences which are rare in the map. At thee end of the journey all travelers come back to reality with a big smile.

2. Your work with the Suaveciclo is possibly the one thing that you are most well known for in Europe. What was the original thought behind the idea and did you realise how successful the concept would be when it first occurred to you?

In 2011 we created 2 short movies, Run and Homeless. They were very experimental because it was our first time trying to move the projections. The videos have been showcased by MTV and received a great response.

We were happy and we wanted to keep doing moving projections. Instead of keeping on creating videos we wanted to try the performance format, so people on the streets could see it live. 

Instead of a car, we thought of a way that could be affordable to us, first a bicycle, and then finally the tricycle as our moving base to project from.

Suaveciclo was created to be able to move our animations throughout the city, bringing joy to everyone who happens to be around. As we don’t use background in the projection the characters look more alive, with a digital graffiti style.

The idea was to take the characters out of the TV screen and make this colorful universe that was inside our heads to merge it with the real world.

When we started VJ Suave back in 2009, we did a lot of research into the VJ world and, at that time, it seemed to us there was no character animation in the VJing scene.

It felt like a perfect gap for us to fit in. From then till now, we keep on doing what we love, what is true for us and we believe anything made like that will always be successful.

3. What technical issues did you encounter when you first came up with the suaveciclo setup? How do you feel about other artists using this idea in their performances?

There have been a lot of adaptations till we got to the actual version of Suaveciclo. First version was very heavy, had small sound speakers and an overall flimsy structure for the projector.

We also had issues as we bought the wrong batteries (now we only use deep cycle batteries). We now have 2 tricycles in São Paulo, one for Ygor and one for Cecilia. What we use now is actually the 5th version.

A few months ago we finally installed an electric battery to help us doing the cycling. It’s also equipped with great sound speakers and a tripod head adapted for the projector.

We like the idea of more visual artists working with images in movement throughout the city. We encourage and help people around the world to build an audiovisual tricycle to express themselves. 

4. Do you remember what first drew you to the audiovisual world? What do you think you would be doing now if you hadn’t discovered the art of video projection?

Ygor: VJ Suave was the starting point for me. Thanks to that I developed my career in animation, creative technology, virtual reality and music. If it wasn’t for it I would still be doing graffiti on the city walls, or maybe working in the forest.

Ceci: I would be applying technology to some other area, maybe holistic health.

5. How is the world of video art in Brazil? Is there a big scene, or is it something quite unusual? Is there anything about your artistic context that you feel influences your work?

Nowadays it is blooming. During the isolation, many audiovisual artists from all over Brazil started to project videos on building walls outside their windows. They have come together and created a group called Projetemos. Thanks to this group, we can share our animations to be projected in different cities. 

Great artists have come out of Brazil like VJ Spetto, VJ Vigas, United VJs, and there’s definitely a scene for vjing and videomapping!

6. What has been the most exhilarating experience or biggest achievement for you? What are you most proud of?

We are proud of having been able to show our art in more than 20 countries at different kinds of audiovisual events: film, street art, animation, music, bike, art technology and light festivals.

If VJ Suave had a little bit of each event, we would be defined by this mix which is something new with technology, animation and movement. 

With Suaveciclo we can create magical moments. We gather people to see the city in a different way, more imaginative. We colour the path with light, expressing love. We think this can open people’s hearts, at least for a second. 

7. A lot of your animation work has an infantil theme with bright colours, organic shapes and friendly faces. Would you say that children are your main audience, or at least, that they are who you most have in mind when you come up with the narratives for your work?

We don’t have a specific audience in mind. We create what we are able to express. Sometimes it is naive with simple forms, sometimes it can be more complex. 

Regarding the colours, we have the limitation of the projector. For Suaveciclo performances we carry a 5.500 lumen projector, which is very bright and powerful for a tricycle. However darker colours can be difficult to project. That’s why our colour pallet is always bright, with high contrast and saturation. 

Kids are essential for our performances, because they appreciate magical beings. They want to play with the characters. When they do, adults start to believe in that magical moment too: when kids are yelling and chasing our enchanted characters. 

VJ Suave on Audiovisual City

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