p a t c h: audio_visual_lab 2013

 

 

New technologies, open-source platforms, machinery and tools, which are developed and processed by the users, co-inherence between ‘digitalism’ and ‘analogism’, digital and post-digital art - that’s some of the topics to which the international event PATCHlab in Krakow, Poland is dedicated. The second edition of the event took place in October 2013 and was dedicated to contemporary digital art forms, where world of science and art meets to focus on new trends and opportunities in digital, audiovisual art created with new means of communication. It included exhibition at the Contemporary Art Gallery Bunkier Sztuki presenting selected installations and audiovisual works created by Polish and foreign artists from fields such as generative art, interactive art, D-I-Y, net-art, video art, sound art, experimental audiovisual forms, projektionism, mapping and other overstepping known disciplines.

 

Among 12 works presented on the ground floor of the gallery there was an video installation entitled ‘Life Needs Internet’ by Dutch designer Jeroen van Loon - a project that examines the rise of digital technology and the influence of the internet on different cultures today. The installation presented on LCD displays eight animated authentic handwritten letters from people in various corners of the earth - from the jungle of West-Papua to cities like Singapore or Amsterdam - generating a representation of the extreme possibilities of our access to the world wide web. Together the eight letters portray the evolution of our global digitalization and documents digital culture, but instead of criticizing our increasingly technologically-based modern world, as some could suggest, it leaves the question of whether it is 'good' or 'bad' open for the public to decide for themselves. The project exists as an online platform - during the exhibition each visitor could become a part of the project writing his own letter which after-all was delivered to the author.

 

One of the biggest names on the festival - German pioneering multimedia artist Thomas Koner's presented his audiovisual installation ‘Im Taborschatten’ which was literally eye catching - videos, based on the scanned images of selected icons from the collection of the Ikonenmuseum Recklinghausen, originally still images, became enlivened faces of the saints, whose piercing glances were cutting through darkness of the space, observing the visitors. As the visitors move through the corner space of the exhibition area, the eyes of the saints follow them, revealing that the boundary between 'ordinary' onlookers and 'holy' spectators is becoming more and more permeable. Quoting the artist’s work description “The name of the installation comes from the term 'Taboric Light' used by icon painters to describe the source of light and its quality that illuminates the painted pictorial image space of icons. It is named after Mount Tabor, where - according to biblical legends - three disciples experienced the transfiguration of Jesus as a light phenomenon. Here, the transfiguration of the saints occurs in the shadow of the nave and in the mind of the visitors.”. That was one of these works which are combining analogue still technique with a digital manipulation bringing stunning audiovisual and close to spiritual experience.

 

There were also few interactive installations, to mention capturing attention ‘Arrow Things‘ - Magdalena Pińczyńska, Patrycja Ochman-Tarka and Elektro Moon Vision cooperative work-in-progress research on the boundaries of parallel co-existence of virtual space and reality. The installation used Virtual Reality which could be discovered by the user entering shiny silver tubes equipped with an attached tablet consisting an application to scan the QR code given in the tube leading to discovery of the virtual space. Each of the three tubes offered different spaces. Great interest of this installation showed how big public demand there is for interactivity in the contemporary art these days.

Also ‘The Archetypture of Time – The Time of Interaction’ by Marika Wata with a collaboration team gathered a crowd willing to interact with a piece of art, creating and changing it in time by leaving personalized message.

 

‘Fast Forward’ an audience reactive video installation developed in C++ by German artist and programer Mauritius Seeger used time warping - the motion of the observer advances a short time-lapse sequence. Each pixel has its own playback time controlled by the audience.

 

There was also a place for very conceptual works as ‘Nudoskop’ where Mateusz Pęk touched the basic issue of the creation act and inspiration in the past confronted with ‘here’ and ‘now’. Inspired by the first projection mechanisms focuses on the boredom of the internet chat as one of the significant attribute of the present-day culture. Therefore the author leads the question whether downtime and awaiting might be as inspiring as an acceleration and progress. While Swedish artist Jesper Norda eximined the essense of projectionism counting in his work entitled ‘Torch/ 17987162521 Meters in 1 minute’ how far the light will travel through the space during the following 60 secunds.

 

But PATCHlab offers not only the review of selected works. As the name indicates - it’s a laboratory which allows encourages experiments and new interdisciplinary connections, but also follows the needs of present-day creative education bringing an opportunity to gain new skills during the workshops dedicated to new tools in a broad sense, emerging outside the main trends and as an important element in the hands of contemporary innovators, creators, artists. During the free workshops, noted Polish and foreign artists and lecturers introduced the possibilities offered by new technologies and show how those can be used in practice. This year the proposition contained Graphic programming for not-programmers  using Pd-extended language, Mapping with PaintWithLight program and Programming for live performance - coding in Processing. There was also a special edition workshops in collaboration with Architecture Interior Design of Krakow Fine Art Academy covering mapping techniques, AV content creation 2&3D graphic and interactivity implementation (Pd+Kinect) hosted by Martin Boverhof [Netherlands],  Bordos László Zsolt [Hungary] and Peter Kirn [USA/Germany]. As a result of these latter lessons students will create their own installations which will be presented during the III. International Interior Design Biennale in March 2014 at the Bunkier Sztuki Gallery.

 

After so many intriguing artistic impressions and a bunch of new information the festival invited for a preview of few audiovisual performances and audiovisual night at the Forum Przestrzenie closing the event with ambitious electronic music with live visuals - both presented by international artists crews often brewing fresh ideas and new connections.

 

The third PATCHlab edition in 2014 will likely take place in the beginning of October bringing again noted artists from abroad and from Poland giving new inspirations and possibilities of creation new media art forms.

 

webpage: patchlab.pl