George Berlin is leading the design and the construction in collaboration with Tashan native villagers.

What a story! When George Berlin got in touch with us we couldn’t quite grasp the impact of this social-artistic sculpture.

A 6 weeks trip to Taiwan to send a powerful, selfless and reconciliating artistic message. During the pandemic of course. Why not!

Let’s give some background to this (crazy) artistic trip. Typhoon Morakot (The August 8th Flood) hit Taiwan from August 6th to August 10th, 2009.

The typhoon destroyed some people’s home and lands, but spared others. The hearts of the villagers were hit and wounded, and mistrust between people gradually appeared due to many practical factors.

In Laiji Village the pace of reconstruction is slowly progressing. Nevertheless finding a sustainable natural way of development without losing the cultural heritage of Tashan is crucial.

Lighting up the Tashan Tree of Light and a Heart of Love belonging to the Cou tribe will let a bright light shine at the foot of Tashan. Remembering the importance of love and sharing.

In this difficult year of 2020, the Tashan Tree of Light will illuminate the seven corners of the world from the top of Alishan Mountain, warming each heart, and letting the light of love bring peace and blessings to all.

So that’s the story folks. George Berlin is currently in Taiwan, working with villagers of all ages to decorate, assemble and install the 10 meters high Tashan Tree of Light in the mountain of Taiwan. Together with the companion sculpture Heart of Love in a nearby village.

Well the sculpture is in progress! And you can follow the adventures and mis-adventures of audiovisual artist George Berlin on his blog.

We are going to keep ourselves tuned in to see the final result of the Tashan Tree of Light! In the meantime we send all our affection and solidarity to the people affected by the Typhoon.

George Berlin Blog – Follow the adventure

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B39 has transformed what once used to be a garbage incinerator plant into an experimental creativity hub in Seoul’s satellite city Bucheon.

 

They offer a playful and unique cultural programme, with media art exhibitions and performances happening in different parts of the building.

39 meters tall – an impressive figure after which this cultural space was named indeed -, the Bunker carries the symbolic and historical meaning of B39. They have created a MMH (multimedia hall) and an Air Gallery too, for artists and creatives to present their work.

PRECTXE introduce themselves as “Art, Installation, Audiovisual, Electronic, Experimental, in Korea”. Straightforward tags.

This year’s edition started just a month ago under the theme “duplicate your dream”, inviting us to question and explore whether technological means allow the artist’s dreams (images) and feelings to be duplicated and reproduced by other human beings.

It offers a fairly large programme with an installation/exhibition “Xplo-” an electronic/experimental music live showcase “Electro Flow” and an audiovisual performance showcase “1001 Odyssey”. 

The artworks curated for PRECTXE2020’s exhibition include a good amount of 3D animation, VR and AR. National and international artists share their personal experiences and reflections on very diverse subjects. For example, we find the self-explanatory VR piece with interactive 3D CGI “AYAHUASCA Kosmic Journey”. Why not.

Their live performance line up include an attractive variety of visual and sound artists and collectives. Following the space’s interest in the interdisciplinarity of art and science, the audiovisual content of the festival also deals with topics related to nature, humans and the planetary. This gives us the chance to get to know the exciting Korean audiovisual art scene.

Great news! All the performances will be available to watch online for 10 days from tomorrow (December 4th – 13th that is). I am positively surprised to find out some of the artists we have recently covered are part of the line up, such as Amelie Duchow, Marco Monfardini or Junichi Akagawa.

Don’t miss Korean artist groups COR3A, Artexte and KnovCompile, whose appearance in MUTEK 21 as part of MUTEK Connect B39 last September can be described as mind blowing. And just cool.

AV artists who have taken part of previous PRECTXE editions include Ryoichi Kurokawa or Julien Bayle.

On top of their art programme, educational activities such as workshops are running throughout the year, promoting creative thinking and encouraging visitors to discover their individual artistic potential.

The industrial legacy of the building might not quite be what makes this space unique. There are plenty of examples of “industrial building turns into an art space”, such as Kraftwerk in Berlin (former power station) where Atonal festival takes place, or de Electriciteitsfabriek in the Hague (former electricity plant) which has hosted TodaysArt festival.

Do let us know of any other buildings and spaces you may want to share!


Find out more about B39.space and PRECTXE festival (and bless Google Translate if you are not familiar to the language! :).

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Some curious facts for those curious minds

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It has been a while since our last in-person attendance. We had great expectations from the organizers of the LPM, pioneer audiovisual event with global outreach.

Well, we had a brilliant time! We couldn’t wait to write a report of the Live Cinema Festival 2020. This edition has showcased a painstaking array of amazing audiovisual artists.

The festival took place in the beautiful Acquario Romano – Casa dell’ Architettura in Rome. A minimalistic but very effective set-up featuring a 5x20m curved screen and a powerful sound system.

The necessary gear to truly enjoy an immersive audiovisual festival in this fascinating architectonic surrounding.

Each performance night has been preceded by a symposium about the main topic of the festival. A topic that is very dear to us: “What is synesthesia?”

During the symposia different keynote speakers and the performing artists have explored the theme of synesthesia from a scientific, anthropological and of course artistic perspective.

I am very thankful to the organizers for inviting me as Audiovisual City director to moderate the 15th and 16th October nights talks.

It’s now time to go through the amazing audiovisual artists we had the chance to see at the Live Cinema Festival. Here our highlights of the three great AV nights we attended in the eternal city!

AID KID & PAVEL KARAFIAT

The first show was a great pleasant surprise. You know we love to discover new artists. When we discovered them live is even better!

The electronic music producer Aid Kid and the developer and visual artist Pavel Karafiát have struck up a constantly evolving collaboration.

Their audiovisual performance features a thumping intelligent techno style and an otherworldly shape-shifting visual landscape. They delivered a punchy, colourful and hyped-up show for our indulgence.

The AV duo constantly plays with the synchronization and asynchronization of the techno sounds and video patterns, slowly building up a powerful real-time synesthesia.

It felt like being on a spaceship. We were travelling through an unknown AV galaxy populated by wild geometries in a spiral of entropic disintegration.

AMELIE DUCHOW

Amelie Duchow has showcased her performance TONSTICH, a tribute to her background as a fashion designer. We already had the pleasure to see her live at Splice Festival back in 2018.

She confirmed once again her elegant artistic maturity and outstanding technical quality. A digital tailor fabricating an AV dress utilizing the sounds of the textile machines and visual body patterns.

The visual structure is precise and analytical, uplifted by a powerful soundtrack full of reminiscences from the early German Techno scene.

We are transported inside the very essence of the textile making process. The AV pace is breathlessly intense and each elements of composition connects to each other through lines, dots and numbers: a dress made of data then turned into sounds and visuals.

Amelie works relentlessly on her dress offering out a seamless digital conversation where each word is fine tuned to perfection.

She takes us on an abstract journey through primary shapes and stripped-down sounds, to finally show the sewing machines in an unexpected figurative reveal.

DYLAN COTE & PIERRE LAFANECHERE

The French AV duo has presented this uniquely ominous project based on the aesthetic “hack” of Google Earth.

The audiovisual artists have scanned the totalitarian project by Google looking for system glitches and extracting images from the platform.

The result is an inhuman, cold immersive environment empowered by a disruptive soundscape.

Images from urban and natural contexts are digitally intervened to create a dystopian landscape, populated by lifeless carcasses from a compressed digital world.

The cities melt in front of our eyes while the soundtrack is in constant crescendo generating an informal aesthetic melting pot.

Finally the glitch takes over the entire composition while the music picks up on a 4×4 rhythm. And the figurative world is destroyed by the total abstraction.

ZAGAR AV EXPERIENCE

Zagar AV experience is made by Balázs Zságer and Kati Katona. The AV duo leverages the artistic possibilities of spontaneous creations, using a real-time integration of live images combined with animations. 

Their performance MIRROR OF MIND features minimal ambient techno music interacting with atmospheric monochrome geometric floating objects.

The audiovisual artists explore different shapes and textures during the real-time process through an experimental approach to the AV dramaturgy.

PATRIK LECHNER

Another great surprise was ORBITOCLAST by Patrick Lechner, cutting-edge Austrian audiovisual artist, who has been creating experimental audio & video content since the mid-2000s.

Patrick Lechner and his team developed an ad-hoc AI algorithm. It allows him to generate and manipulate noisy-glitchy audiovisual objects.

ORBITOCLAST represents the audiovisual excess, the extravaganza. The syncopated pace communicates how the artist is taming this AV force generated by the algorithm.

His creations feel alive as they conquer the space and the audience’ senses. This amorphous digital blob animated live by the performer-puppeteer is terribly magnetic.

We felt as the screen was going to collapse any moment under the live manipulation. On the sides of the screen Lechner shows the data he is artistically intervening, sharing with us his own working space.

Distorted sounds overlap while the images flow at staggering speed, generating an alluring combination of different audiovisual textures.

MAOTIK

Last but not least the French audiovisual artist Maotik, internationally renowned for his generative artwork and creative use of data inputs.

Maotik performed AERYON LIVE, an audiovisual journey from the perspective of a drone flying over a vast digital landscape interpreting data inputs from Google Earth.

The drone scans the data environment by endlessly hovering around. All points of view are fragmented while the shapes are dissolving and reassembling.

We are exploring this fragile, unstable scenario where nothing human is left. Only the terribly mesmerizing representation of data.

The world as interpreted audio-visually by a machine, an effect obtained by the clever use of the generative bespoke algorithm.

Throughout the live act, natural looking audiovisual textures resurface from the amorphous magma, giving some peace while the music mellows down. But nothing can stop the overwhelming ocean of data absorbing everything on its path.

Maotik’s style is mature and refined. He perfectly knows how to keep the audience with their eyes and ears glued on, throughout this indulging AV journey.

We hope you enjoyed our report of the Live Cinema Festival. We thank the organizers for having us and the audiovisual artists for the amazing performances they have showcased. #WeLoveAV

Our article about Live Cinema Festival

Learn more about the artists

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The very first hybrid edition of MUTEK has come to an end after some eventful days

They have successfully achieved to present their incredible curatorial and technical work to a virtually-connected audience.

The online platform built specifically for their memorable hybrid edition allowed festival attendants across the globe to enter a virtual space filled with pure talent and inspirational work.
 

Within their programme we find the Nocturne series, presented and recorded inside Montreal’s la SAT (Société des Arts Technologiques) running since 2011.

The live performances did have a reduced crowd enjoying the physical on-site experience following the measures and protocols needed for this year’s edition.

The space (Satosphère) is an immersive dome with a spherical projection screen ideal for audiovisual shows in a 360º environment. 

Moreover, they included many “Replay” sessions throughout the long weekend. If you missed a show (time zones would be a fair reason to some extent) or there was a show you couldn’t get enough of (more than one myself) you could rearrange to watch it. Not too bad. 

The following are only a few of the numerous stunning shows I attended at MUTEK Montréal 21. Here I will briefly cover some of the mainly Canadian artists that contributed to an international, diverse and enriching audiovisual experience. 

Neo Edo premiers A World Within a World with visuals by the video art group TiND (it actually stands for This is Not Design), also VJing for  Softcoresoft’s set. 

Some absolutely jaw-dropping landscapes were created through the elaborated, trippy visuals. I could almost hear the “wow”s inevitably uttered by the crowd. Both Neo Edo’s futuristic beats and Softcoresoft’s ravey acid sounds were perfectly in tune with the visually hypnotic atmosphere created.

As introduced on her website, VJ BunBun’s style “is best described as brightly hued, ultra-textured, beat-synced, and holographic looking”. She debuted in MUTEK adding a tropical atmosphere which nicely adapted to the sounds of T. Gowdy and Priori. From milder beats even bringing morning coffee break vibes, to heavier sounds inducing trance, both sets were enjoyable regardless of your time zone. 

Myriam Boucher’s work reflects a deep observation and meditation on nature and its polymorphic beauty. The visuals blended seamlessly with Racine’s elegant, ambient sounds. Truly impressive and feeling-provoking. 

Boogieman & Samito’s groovy vocals and notes were delivered with the exotic colours and modern motifs of VJ Danica Olders. 

And last but not least, the fresh, unexpected sounds by the duo Musique Nouvelle were one of the most genuinely experimental – and very fun – experiences I personally enjoyed last weekend. The minimal, simple patterns of the visuals by VJ Melesul3 (Jérôme LeBel) worked very nicely with the set. His experience offering visuals at the SAT started back in 2013, which was clearly reflected through his ease and adaptability during the performance.

It has been a special edition where there has evidently been a lot of hard work, care and creativity put into organising such a “genuine” experience considering the challenge current times entail. Bravo! 

All images are screenshots taken by Sumire Moncholi of the MUTEK virtual platform. Transmission Montreal is the official broadcaster of all MUTEK Montreal 2020 performances at the SAT.

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This elaborated AV artwork celebrates the profound relationship between wine-making and art.

I Am The True Vine is the result of a great teamwork by Kuflex Lab who managed to breakthrough the rigid rectangular shape of the Media Art Abrau Gallery.

The Russian studio developed a multi-focal projection mapping onto the intertwined structure of the vine-looking set.

The immersive AV environment features a combination of LED curved screens and columns, the tailor-made vine structure and LED strips attached to the branches.

The entire scenario is then expanded by the mirror walls, creating the illusion of the space going beyond the gallery walls.

All the different elements are skillfully orchestrated by the Russian team, as we have seen in previous works. They are not afraid of challenges and they fully embrace the concept of multimedia.

I Am The True Vine is not just mere spectacle: the audiovisual narrative is based upon the story of the wine house, whose main character is of course the vine itself.

The show consists of 8 parts. This is an artistic interpretation of the theme of the birth of wine through the history of the Russian wine house “Abrau-Durso”.

Another powerful example on how audiovisual technologies can be used as a striking form of education and immersive storytelling.

First time for us to see AV implemented to celebrate wine-making. It feels that suits it, as I am sure lots of us crazy AV lovers we do love wine as well!

A very challenging set-up dealing with non-geometrical shapes and multi-directional elements. The AV narrative complements beautifully the wine-making concept, creating a lively organic immersive environment.

Another great AV show by Kuflex, whom we are very happy to follow and write about. As always,

Kuflex Lab

Behance

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We are following closely the experiments of the Russian design studio, who recently created a new interactive AV software called Kusmos Live.

The software has been mainly used within the electronic music environment, enhancing the triangular relationship among DJ, AV artist and audience.

Kuflex Lab has now developed Recursion where dance artist Julia Arsen performed following the music composed by Leksha Yankov, in the unworldly digital space designed by Alexander Polhov.

This complex array of creatives working on Recursion has been outstandingly orchestrated by Kuflex Lab. The performance has been presented at GUM – Red Line Gallery in Moscow for the EverArt Weekend 2020.

The dance performer was captured by depth cameras allowing the coexistence with her digital doppelganger into the virtual Kusmos scene.

The audience in the art gallery was watching the live dance and the virtual show on the screens.

Online viewers on Twitch watched the virtual performance and could release the audiovisual objects into the space, by putting numbers in the chat window. The performer could then interact with those objects.

As a result, the performance turned into a synthetic show in mixed reality. We have asked a few questions to the dance performer and stage designer to dig deeper into this cutting-edge multidisciplinary performance.

DANCE ARTIST: Julia Arsen

1. Can you describe the body experience while performing in the physical space and interacting with your digital avatar within the 3D universe?

Actually our idea was to separate us in a way that my analog body would not interact with its digital avatar body.

The only effect that my avatar triggers on my real body is the moments of meeting with sound objects. They exist only on the digital stage, so crashing in digital produces the sound which works both in digital and in real and that is what we both have in common, what we share.

So it was more the audience task to experience the two types of body presence, the digital and the actual one (for the audience in the gallery) and maybe to reflect upon what is more attractive for them: real human emotional journey or beautiful avatar transitions.

2. In your opinion, what kind of innovative creative outcomes can be achieved through VR and augmented reality from a dancer perspective?

The pandemic shows us that we need to find new ways to keep on creating and sharing the outcome with others.

Dance as a performative kind of art is very tricky in this way – when you watch dance or theatre via online platforms we have to compete with film or other video art products.

Performative arts need to share space and time with the audience. In the current situations it is impossible to do shows in theatres.

Contemporary dance (post dance especially) is very open to inter-disciplinary collaborations with other art practitioners to enrich art experiences and creative processes.

Therefore I feel that collaborating with digital artists can transport both sides to a new place.

This collaboration can change the understanding of “sharing time and space”. It gives us the opportunity to research a new form of sensuality, which we are already experiencing but we still need to fully understand it.

STAGE DESIGNER: Alexander Polhov

1. Can you tell us about the concept behind the 3D scenario and objects triggered by the users in the “Recursion” piece?

We have chosen to use geometric shapes made by many repetitions of other geometric shapes.

Geometric shapes are, in my opinion, the most human-readable explanation of many mathematical principles. And of course, they are very interesting and beautiful in themselves, so it was very pleasant to work with them.

2. What kind of inspirations did you have in mind when building the universes for the dancer to interact with?

The idea was to create mini-scenes. We then duplicated them entirely or partially using snippets. This process was based on some simple mathematical laws. Images that are not achievable in the real world.

We wanted to mix real and digital universe, hinting at a near future where people will struggle to distinguish the two universes.

We are all very close in spirit to the idea of numerous parallel universes, and in a virtual environment we can imagine them, interact with them, influence them, change or be in several universes simultaneously.

What’s next on Kuflex Lab mind? We will wait and see. One thing is for sure: we will be there to cover it!

KUFLEX LAB

KUSMOS LIVE

JULIA ARSEN

ALEXANDER POLHOV

LEKSHA YANKOV

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An AV Webzine

Presenting Onomatopoeia Club. As audiovisual culture vultures, way back in 2011, we saw a need to document, curate and to explore audiovisual culture as a whole as we saw it begin to unravel into its very own discipline.

Onomatopoeia Club have done something much in the same vain. They’ve created an online creative space where sound and visual artists can come together to collaborate on a short 30 second project. The project is a collaboration between Coda to Coda and Rosie Lee.

The most curious thing about this from a visual artist’s point of view is the fact that they have turned traditional VJ and music video culture on its head – rather than the visual artist creating content based on sound, they’ve taken a more soundtrack approach to the project.

How the artist collaboration works

The visual artist creates a 10 second loop, which the Onomatopoeia team turn into 30 seconds and THEN pass them on to a sound artist for the mini projects to be completed. The result? A quarterly webzine of 10-15 audiovisual collaborations and a lot of fun and inspiration.

They’e just launched their first edition (6th July) with a great mix of 12 artists’ collaborations. It’s really curious way to discover new visual and sound artists, and warning, it’s quite addictive. Maybe it’s just me, but I certainly can see and hear the difference of the sound being created after the visual… can you?

Top 3 Audiovisual Collaborations

Here are my faves from this month’s edition:

Cumi Na Gatandu: By Emily Evans (Visuals) & Auclair (Sounds)

This Place: By Catherine Repko (Visuals) & Luisa Gerstein (Sounds)

I cannot fly but I will not hit the floor: by Sophie Clements (Visuals) & Suitman Jungle (Sounds)

Check out the first edition and let us know your thoughts, and get in touch with them if you’d like to participate and have some fun, whilst meeting new artists!

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During these tough and uncertain times it has been inspiring to see so many audiovisual artists and events coming up with ideas to overcome the social distancing restrictions.

A few weeks back the guys from Kuflex Lab reached out to showcase their latest tool that stands out among all the virtual/hybrid solutions we have seen so far.

Kusmos Live allows to turn online concerts into interactive digital shows. Pretty neat uh?

Let’s dive in and explore how it works. Down to the nitty-nerdy-gritty Kusmos is a custom VJ software written on openFrameworks + VDMX5 + Syphon.

In spring 2020 Kuflex studio began an experimental project Kusmos Live. The purpose of the experiment was to upgrade the Kusmos system in order to create a interactive online home shows.

In 2018-2019 the Russian audiovisual studio experimented with the innovative tool together with SILA SVETA studio on the Therr Maitz concert, Caprices Festival 2018, Nina Kraviz experimental performance at Coachella 2019.

OK, really cool but how exactly does interactivity work? We gave some feedback to Kuflex lab with a few tricky questions to better understand the whole potential of this new audiovisual tool.

KUFLEX: The Tracker program receives depth-sensor data, calibrates a point cloud as we need it (we can rotate the cloud, cut off everything you don’t need keeping only the data of the artist oneself and merge point clouds from two sensors) and sends it to the renderer (UE4 scene).

Scene functions build a 3D model using the data provided by the Tracker and then we can layer all kinds of features with effects on the model and also transform and distort it according to the artistic concept.

We also captured video from the laptop’s webcam and sometimes showed its picture. 3D scene acting as the artist surrounding, a set of virtual cameras for capturing from different viewpoints and visual effects were set up in advance in the Unreal Engine.

Then the OBS program captures the video of the launched scene and sends it to the video streaming server.

During our second live experiment we tested some new features for the viewers interactive communication with the stream.

While Leksha (Smolensk, Russia) was playing his ambient-set, a VJ (Moscow, Russia) was controlling visual effects with the use of commands via YouTube chat in real-time mode. Our team has implemented this function between the concerts and decided not to tell the viewers about it.

During the stream, noticing weird messages in the chat, some of the viewers started to realize that they could not only send a message to the chat but to even affect visualization.

In the end the concert has turned into a digital quest. Some viewers picked up effect control by sending particular commands to the chat. We have yet to comprehend how to develop this function in the future.

 AVC: We think it’s a really interesting and innovative project responding to the challenges of the pandemic. In terms of appeal for VJs there is the risk of potentially being extremely limited for the audiovisual artists creativity, and the aesthetic I guess would always be the same.

It would be key for the tool to have a wider range of possibilities of customization for the artists otherwise they might get tired soon. I guess they all want to leave their unique mark in the scene.

KUFLEX: Kusmos is a universal software tool, with the possibility of variability of visual and interactive solutions. As a rule, our team creates a virtual stage specifically for the performance of the musician.

Of course, we want to upgrade the program creating a database with different scenes, effects. In this case, the user will be able to construct the scene himself and combine the effects for his live/stream. 

AVC: It’s a bit unusual to keep promoting the idea of “God is DJ”. Is the DJ persona so relevant the viewer wants to watch during the entire show in a virtual environment?

KUFLEX: Regarding Kusmos Live project, the Kuflex team is collaborating with various musicians. We wanted to support the performers.

So this approach determined the emphasis on the figure of the musician on the virtual stage, under whose musical personality, sound we come up with a visual solution. We do not just shoot a video with a musician, as is often done in broadcasts, but create a digital avatar that changes depending on the script, music and VJ control.

At the same time, Kusmos Live is primarily a show, a kind of mix of live performance, a computer game and fantastic movie.

The virtual camera can fly through digital space, we can switch to different visual elements of the scene and include additional visual effects to the music.

We try to achieve the effect of real interaction with the viewer as well. Our team is developing a function of interaction through chat – viewers’ comments fall into the scene, they can affect the content through certain chat commands. But Kusmos can be used by artists of other genres.

In the near future we want to try to create a dance performance. Now we are discussing this idea with one Russian choreographer.

We will explore the topic of distances – where physical space ends, digital begins, the relationship of body and sound. Both dance and music will take place in live format.

Technically, the performer will find himself in different areas of camera scanning, on the screen we will observe how his digital avatar changes. Again, it will all be like shooting a movie in one shot and in real time!

AVC: We truly appreciate the viewers becoming active, participating and communicating with the stream. That creates a collective experience. 

Could people really tell if this was a live performance or not? It feels like the interaction should be more meaningful somehow, with a bigger impact to the overall audiovisual artwork.

KUFLEX: Our team worked on a concert from different cities. We thought about how best to organise remote control of virtual cameras and effects.

And suddenly our creative director had an idea to manage content through Youtube chat. During the broadcast, he wrote commands like cam1 (switching camera 1), stars ( the star effect was launched).

We intentionally did not talk about this function in advance to get the quest. As a result, some viewers guessed and began to help in managing the scene. We explore different possibilities about other ways of interaction.

In the future we want to create a client application for connecting to the broadcast via a mobile phone, desktop PC screen or VR. We intend to develop Kusmos as an art tool.

Our team believes in a power of collective interaction. We want to give a palette of visual solutions, effects. Let’s all together create beauty here and now! This idea is a sincere inspiration for us. 

AVC:  We would like to know more about how the collaboration you have done with Leksha where the viewers were controlling visual effects with the use of commands via YouTube chat in real-time mode.”

How does the input of data modify the visuals? is it like a live coding or common human language and how it is related to the VR software?

KUFLEX: Usually in an offline format, we work like this: musicians play music, and VJ manages visual content live using MIDI controllers.

Some effects are linked to the amplitude of the sound. But in a situation where we did not have the opportunity to be onsite will all team, we decided to make control through chat commands.

We wrote a special function for our software that receives data from chat on YouTube using the Google API. We came up with several commands, for example: cam1, cam2, skin1, skin2, electric noise, lasers and the like. And when someone in the chat wrote one of these words, then a certain visual effect or a corresponding camera was included in our program.

In general, we have an idea to expand the number of commands and their appearance, so that it looks more like live coding. For example, add numerical arguments to the commands, which will additionally specify the parameters of a particular visual effect.

As for virtual reality, we have plans to create our own application for viewers who can watch live broadcasts using VR devices, thus more deeply immersing themselves in the atmosphere of the digital scene and additionally receive personal effects. 

 AVC: Fascinating this idea of “universal tool” for content in real time and interactive show. We think it’s important now to dig more into the idea of how it can involve more people in the creative process.

It opens new ways of investigation on how to make every audiovisual experience unique, not only in terms of the aesthetics of the piece but also regarding the narrative.

KUFLEX: Yes, this is the main object of research for us. Usually, a limited number of people can come to the offline exhibition. So we want to overcome any space frames. With Kusmos we don’t have any restrictions online! We can find ourselves in amazing digital worlds that are impossible in the physical world.

Now that Kuflex Lab and its creation Kusmos entered our radar we will most definitely keep following their progression, as always supporting innovation and creativity in the audiovisual art world.

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Marco Savo from Audiovisual City and Kate Rolfe from The Revels Office have never met in person. Theirs is a true digital relationship born of the pandemic.

Cultural consultants who met over Zoom to explore where their world’s crossed-over, and how their mix of experience could help artists, freelancers, and the arts sector as a whole to combat this unsettling time.

Audiovisual City is a digital magazine that promotes and supports audiovisual artists and events worldwide. Connecting hundreds of digital artists from across the world, it is the go-to place for inspiration and information when it comes to the application of digital technologies in artistic expression.

The Revels Office is a cultural consultancy who specialises in finding new revenue for the arts, advising organisations on commercial opportunities and uniting them with funding partners who value the unique, high quality content that only the cultural sector can produce. Together with a network of consultants -The Catalyst Network – the team at The Revels Office manage a range of projects at the intersection between arts and commerce.

Together with a multi-disciplinary group of experts who all have touch-points with digital arts experiences, Audiovisual City and The Revels Office ran a workshop to explore what role digital arts projects could play in the future of arts organisations.

At a time when the sector is anxiously remodelling their core operations to survive months of low visitor numbers, reduced income through established business lines, and a new, uneasy socially distanced experience, we wanted to investigate what untapped value digital arts might offer.

We share with you here a summary of our findings, designed to inspire you at a critical time, to offer valuable ideas to consider in your re-modelling plans, and to decipher the role that digital can play in a sector based almost entirely on live and tangible experiences…

Case Study: Enjambre Cellular

Developed by Mónica Rikić, Enjambre Celular is a project created and designed specifically for the Medialab-Prado interactive façade.

It is a collective strategy game in which different levels and challenges must be overcome, based on the idea of a labyrinth. Controlled externally by passers-by, Enjambre Celular offers an example of a pandemic-proof artistic installation.

Case Study: Distances

Developed by Scenocosme, In this installation, two people in two separate physical spaces are filmed in real time by two devices.

They are invited to have contact virtually within the same image, bringing them together face to face. The head-to-head image created by the software is trying to constantly reduce the proxemic distance between the two people, creating unique and ephemeral meetings with the other and making a connection even when physically apart.

Digital art vs digital design.

To make informed choices about the use of digital, it is important to understand the distinction of digital art as an artform in its own right, and digital design as a tool for engagement.

Put simply – do you need to move your live content online for commercial, audience or safety reasons, or do you want to create a new interpretation of your content that will explore your stories in an entirely new way? Neither choice is right or wrong, but it will impact the outcomes you achieve, as well as the process you go through.

“The importance of concept is key; you must start with your concept and then chose the technology to match”

Hayley Cantor

What digital art and digital design have in common is their ability to bridge between traditional cultural content and modern, digitally aware audiences, and allow people to fully interact with the arts.

No solution is quicker for overcoming an image of being elitist, static or uninteresting than a digital initiative, so long as it is done well, has a clear purpose and audience, and so long as it incorporates some kind of live and/or unique element that ensures the digital is not simply a mimic of the live experience.

While digital design is fantastic for bringing to life educational and historic content, and is arguably simpler for translating to an online platform, where digital arts stands out is in the sensorial, emotive experience that they can create, lasting longer in people’s memories and creating a sense of community and harmony even if you encounter the art alone.

Digital arts is the perfect solution for a hybrid cultural offering, connecting those experiencing it online and those there in person, allowing for smaller, safer groups to pass through it without losing the commercial, social and artistic benefits of scale.

Case Study: Virtual Archive.

Virtual Archive is a 3D, computer-generated environment open to interactive exploration by single users.

Via a VR headset, the user flies through a 3D data-point cloud formed, visualizing more than 1,700,000 documents present in SALT Research archive collections. Refik Anadol’s installation was displayed as an extension to the artist’s Archive Dreaming project.

Case Study: Natural History Museum of Valparaisa.

In the Introductory Room at Natural History Museum of Valparaíso, Chile, visitors meet an installation of naturalistic illustrations of flora and fauna of the region, highlighting the work of Claudio Gay among others.

Developed by Delight Lab, this project was realised in partnership with the SUMO design and museum office for DIBAM.

It’s time to set the price.

The price we have paid for the vast amounts of thrilling, comforting and informative digital content that has been dispersed throughout the global lock-down, is the expectation that digital means free.

Digital comes with development costs, artist costs and new software and/or infrastructure requirements, among other operational demands. Digital content is by no means free to create, and so why is it presented as free to consume? There are two ways of looking at this dilemma.

• Option 1 is to embrace the non-financial value that going digital presents: reaching new and much larger audiences, collecting insightful data, offering educational and social benefits, and adopting new methods in storytelling and human connection.

In this way there is still value, there are no barriers to audiences engaging with you, and you can use data and reach to collaborate with new funding partners, upsell products and services, and request donations wherever possible.

In this way we have seen a really positive response during the pandemic, with culture-lovers willingly paying for online experiences, seeing this as a charitable donation to save something they love rather than a charge for valuable entertainment. However this has not yet translated into a consistent approach that audiences and funders recognise, or indeed made up the huge gap in revenue that arts organisations face.

• Option 2 is to revaluate and recommunicate the value of the digital experience, and set up platforms that give organisations the option to charge.

Given the high value outlined by option 1, it seems reasonable that – just like the expectation to pay for the cinema or a gig – you will have to pay to participate in digital cultural experiences. This transactional view may not sit well alongside arts experiences that are traditionally free, such as museum-entry, but this demonstrates the opportunity presented by digital arts as opposed to digital design; by creating a new experience on a new platform, arts organisations can create something of value to their audiences (and new ones), one which better warrants a participation charge.

Ultimately this is an argument of supply and demand, but what we endorse is a collective reassessment of how and when to charge for digital experiences, thereby protecting arts organisations and artists from giving away valuable content for free, especially when for a time this might be one of their only viable sources of revenue.

Case Study: Fulldome Festival

The oldest full dome projection festival has been held virtually for the first time this year due to the pandemic, charging a ticket price for the online experience. A courageous decision from the organisers who decided to go full steam ahead, offering a 360 view of the festival using VR headsets.

Case Study: Mutek San Francisco, Nexus Experience

Mutek is one of the top audiovisual events worldwide, born in Montreal and then expanded through an international network. The San Francisco edition has been online this year with their ‘Nexus Experience’, hosting live AV performers on two stages, offering digital galleries, online workshops, and ‘viewing party’ film screenings. The event was free and open to donations, with 100% of the festival proceeds going directly to the artists.

Demystifying the digital process (and budget).

Digital arts experiences are impactful and memorable no matter what their size, from single exhibition displays through to city-wide festivals. While they can be huge and expensive, often a digital intervention is as cost-effective as a live experience due to the flexibility of the format, recouping investment costs over a far longer lifespan.

For those who want to consider digital as part of their future plans, digital arts producer Steph Clarke shares some considerations:

• Once a digital installation, artwork or exhibition is installed, it can often run 24/7 with minimal staffing and low running costs. Not only can this make valuable budget savings, it also accommodates far higher audience numbers over time, and can easily be adapted to allow for social distancing measures.

• Digital works can easily have their content re-purposed to suit different objectives. Content can be refreshed regularly to suit seasonality, adapted for VIP or stakeholder events, and used for advertising purposes if required.

• It is relatively easy to scale digital work depending upon size of venue or audience size, meaning this approach can be considered for a variety of projects, places and budgets.

• Digital can be used to extend and enhance audience engagement before and after the event/exhibition itself, through engagement online and via apps, creating more touchpoints with your intended audience and opportunities to capture insights and data.

• By digitalising the content for a digital installation, you are simultaneously archiving it too, preserving it for future generations and achieving important cost-savings.

• Given the huge range of digital formats available – apps, projection, light shows, VR, AR – there will always be a format suitable for your budget, timescale and objectives.

Case Study: 400 Conejos.

As part of the Bahidora 2018 festival, Medusa Lab created a unique experience for Ache Producciones and its client: Mezcal 400 conejos.

Attendees received a complimentary drink of mezcal prior entering the dome, and once inside they discovered the mezcal making process through an immersive, colour-filled experience using animations and 360 video.

Case Study: Pinata Tweet.

Piñata was a project made by MID for +Castro agency and the SAKE production company. The piñatas were installed as part of a collaboration with Trident Senses at Benicàssim International Festival.

The interactive piñatas are controlled via Twitter messages sent by the audience. Every tweet contained #TridentSensesPinata, which activated a device that inflated the piñata. As messages accumulated, eventually the piñata exploded over the audience!

Audiovisual City and The Revels Office plan to now work together.

We aim to connect arts organisations with digital artists and commercial partners, creating inspirational and viable projects in a time of pandemic.

Together we will champion the skills, value and authenticity that digital art and digital tools can bring those looking to find new audiences and new revenue. Get in touch to discuss how these ideas could be applied to your own organisation – hello@therevelsoffice.co.uk

This article was written by Kate Rolfe from The Revels Office and Marco Savo from Audiovisual City with contributions from Hayley Cantor (Audiovisual City Creative Director, Multidisciplinary Graphic Designer and VJ), Sean Carroll (Business Improvement Project Manager), Nicola Casperson (Brand Marketing, Events and Place-Making Consultant), Steph Clarke (Digital Arts Producer), Marta Minguell Colomé (New Media Artist, VJ and Photographer), Amy O’Brien (Events Producer), and Mónica Rikic (New Media Artist). Collectively our experience includes roles at the National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Secret Cinema, Battersea Power Station, Westfields, and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.

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On February 14th, 15th and 16th, artists transformed Poblenou in Barcelona into an experimentation between light, movement, and virtual reality, challenging the limits of our own perceptions. We found major names in the international scene such as United Visual Artists, Ouchhh, Luke Jerram, Antoni Varola, as well as artists from the national scene such as Monica Rikic, Anna Carreras, Diego Suarez, to mention just few of the twenty three artists participating in Llum BCN Festival 2020.

We will show you just few of all the installations that impacted us. We think it’s a good experience because it allows you to connect with Barcelona in another way, through light, digital technology and moving images being part of the cityscape without being at the service of its exploitation.

The installation “Fiat Lux” by Antoni Arola made us walk around in circles for a long time, in a contrast of a warm and cold environment composed by geometric sculptures made by lasers and smoke. It was like a theatre play, where we were the actors, as he desired.

The installation “Musica Universalis” by United Visual Artists, an imposing choreography of movement, light and sound that is inspired by the mechanics of celestial objects. We could perceive the light and the absence of light at the same time – it was surprising.

“Persopectiva” by SUMMALAB was an installation from “OFF LLum” inspired in the paintings of the artist Josef Albers. Pictorial pieces that play with the chromatic range to create a sense of depth. The students of the master of Audiovisual Innovation and Interactive Environments at BAU University, had the opportunity to help in the process of construction and we could see awesome results.

Another installation that captivated us because of the approach of playing with light and materials to create compositions in the space was “Instantes cromáticos”by Maurici Ginés in OFF Llum BCN.

But these are just few of all the moments we enjoyed getting immersed in the space, perceiving light, sound and movement from different unique perspectives. We look forward to attending again next year.

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