Vacant Spaces for Visual Culture

F A I T H 

Open source, user-generated, distributive, democratisation... there's a lot of things for free on the internet, and a lot of it is not only useful, but excellently well-positioned. But can we find as much quality visual content in the physical - rather than just virtual - world, particularly in our 'vacant' spaces?

After having explored the internet for an alternative to 'the online exhibition' concept (which I have a few problems with), I found a completely different kind of computer-based medium through which some really fascinating pieces of art can be shown. Idle Screenings shows work on a computer only when a computer is not being used. As a way of exploring contemporary culture's online presence, the use of streaming original artworks through a desktop device (as interface between virtual and physical) is extremely effective - and is executed through the use of our old favourite accessory: the screensaver.
A selection of incredibly interesting pieces all investigate similar themes, resulting in that half-nostalgic, half-creepy homogenized aesthetic that has become the 'internet-looking' art that you might find on a (cynical) tumblr page. Questioning values of mass-market products and content - as can be seen in Kim Laughton's screensaver (below) through the use of the iPhone/coke can/shuttlecock kaleidoscope - is a recurring theme amongst many of the past exhibits. Also, ideas of virtual/online presence and habitat come to mind, and suggest an array of disorientated perspectives.

In contrast to the progressive, computer based (and mostly animated) work exhibited through Idle Screenings, another contemporary art organisation intends on publicly broadcasting much more 'classic' pieces - although their means of doing so is similarly nontraditional. Art Everywhere also aims to occupy the empty visual channels within society - but instead of using the idle computer screen window as medium, this organisation has realised the potential of public billboard space as a means of displaying art. In an attempt to "turn the UK into the world's largest art gallery this summer!", spaces all over both rural and urban environments all over the country will be plastered with classic masterpieces - offering all of us the opportunity to receive some incredible visual content in our day-to-day lives for nothing (alternatively, you can support the event by donating). Either way, embellishing the defunct, shadowy spaces in contemporary culture can only be a good thing, and it is interesting to consider the concept both virtually (Idle Screenings) and physically (Art Everywhere). Without meaning to - or perhaps very directly - both projects look at how and where we place our attention; although there will always be some people who simply don't care either way, the appreciation that many people (will) have for the goals of both projects stands as an illustration of our own perceptions of visual culture.

Don't Pitch Me Bro 12

F A I T H

Last week, Rosa and I made our way to East London for one of the excellent events hosted by 3beards. Don't Pitch Me Bro is an opportunity for start-ups to present and discuss their product in an interested and supported environment; we get really excited when it comes to innovative new entrepreneurial projects in whatever field, so the promise of discussing some interesting projects really appealed to us.
After some huge burritos and a couple of beers at The Bakery, the presentations got going. All four ideas were given not as a sales pitch, but more as a demo opportunity to get some useful feedback for the next stage of development. In addition to the advice given to the various presenters, the event was also the perfect way for Rosa and I to gain insight into the inner workings of other dedicated start-ups.

Concepts ranged from a self-storage company based on a cloud-storage structure, to a spam-preventing email blocker service - but although the ideas were different, certain points recurred throughout the presentations. UX was concentrated upon heavily - particularly for the mobile device-based apps. With regards to usability, the originality of idea was also discussed heavily, as was the basic usefulness and practicality of the propositions. But perhaps most obviously, money ended up being the most essential point of discussion as the most critical aspect of any start-up business plan. Whilst some of the ideas were extremely appealing to the crowd, the question of how to make a profit from the concept not only proved to be a difficult question to answer, but also the most difficult aspect to agree on. The developers themselves seemed to have a slightly warped outlook of consumer cost in that their product was either hugely under - or over - priced. In that respect, the audience to which the developers were pitching to proved to be incredibly useful in a very simple way.

Aside from the ideas themselves, the different approaches to presentation intrigued Rosa and I. Whilst the environment was hugely supportive, the intimidating task of essentially condensing a huge, personal project into a few short minutes was impressively undertaken by most of the presenters. Confidence levels had to be high, and on top of this, expressing a genuine belief in the project certainly came across more from some developers than others. We took a few very important notes and ideas about how best to present our own ideas and concepts in the future - deciding upon a simple, visually supported, confident approach.

Perhaps you'll be able to give D I S C O U R S E some professional feedback in the future at an event like Don't Pitch Me Bro - but for now, we'll continue embracing all the East London start-up scene has to offer whilst we're both in the capitol for the summer.

Antenna International: Experience Design

F A I T H 

Experience certainly counts for more than it used to in the gallery. This is not to say that 'art' is any more or less important than it ever has been, but that somehow, culturally, we expect to encounter something more than just a collection of art objects in a space now. The integration of technology into the all day, everyday of contemporary life has had important implications upon many industries, and the arts have not - and cannot - be exempt.
Rosa's experience of David Bowie is illustrates an acknowledgement of this appetite for innovation - despite how ineffective she felt the experience of Sennheiser's sound guide may have been. For a 'blockbuster' exhibition in one of London's most popular art institutions, the decision to make a start at enhancing exhibition experience on such a large scale should be applauded - and through such a development, we can take the opportunity to consider the critical strengths and weaknesses of mobile interpretation and exhibition design within the gallery.
During last month's Museums and Heritage Show, D I S C O U R S E were excited by and really impressed with a talk from Antenna International, who provide a wide variety of top class guides and tours for galleries and museums. 'Experience Design: Evolving Mobile Data' was given by Jessica Taylor (Global Head of Digital Media) and Giles Pooley (Experience Designer at EMEA), and gave the audience not only an insight into what Antenna International delivers, but what enhancing experience through technology can mean for all kinds of art institutions. The context of our increasingly connected lives - particularly through the exponential growth of smartphone use - does result in the gallery's development into somewhere that is no longer discrete from the informational networks through which we operate. The challenge for companies like Antenna is to cut through the additional or unnecessary noise in order to give a gallery visitor the best experience possible of the art, and with this context in mind, content is incredibly important. Delivering a story using appropriate language and format is essential for engagement, and what is often helpful here is the use of a familiar device. Ensuring that people engage with digital possibilities needs to be very simple, and in some situations, allowing the personalization of interaction methods can be a perfect way to allow that visitor access to what Antenna referred to as that 'third space': the area of access that mediates the visitor and the art space.
As is obvious from this post as well as Antenna's fascinating (and very well delivered) talk, there are many questions and important tangents to such a discussion. But aside from these separate points of interest, its brilliant to see that galleries and museums are looking ahead for new ways to engage wider audiences with art - particularly through technology.

Digital Landscapes #ArtWorksLeeds

F A I T H

We ran our D I S C O U R S E digital landscape workshop yesterday (26/05/2013) as part of the first #ArtWorksLeeds events in the Trinity Leeds Customer Service Lounge.Investigating contemporary landscape in sync with 'digital', Rosa and I devised a really simple workshop which we called 'Digital Landscapes'.

"The addition of Trinity in the heart of the city has certainly altered Leeds’ landscape; the arched dome of the atrium framed by the steeple of Holy Trinity church is instantly recognisable. Yet in a world of increasingly digital communication and representation, what is it that we’re actually looking at when we see an image or artwork of Trinity - or any contemporary landscape - on our computer screens? Understanding digital imagery is an important part of developing better ways to engage with our physical and virtual environments. By reducing photographic reproductions of landscape down to the most basic level of pixel, this workshop hoped to inform people and spark a conversation about the basic elements of digital imagery and contemporary landscape through pixel-mosaic."

"In a world where many of us look at virtual landscapes on computer screens more than we experience real ones, this activity aims to highlight the relationship between the physical and the virtual, as well as our own relationships to both. By translating the physical Trinity landscape into a pixelated, ‘digital’ image, the workshop plays with ideas of material and immateriality, as well as informing younger people about the basic elements of digital representation."

The workshop went really well, and as we'd hoped, we had some interesting conversations with some lovely Leeds locals. Older people were interested in the 8-bit tech of their own time, whilst children had plenty to say about their favourite new tablet toys. The activity was accessible to people of all ages, and will be left in the art space to be completed by members of the public throughout the coming week.

http://artworksleeds.tumblr.com/
http://ahdiscourse.tumblr.com/

'David Bowie is' | Questioning sound tech's intervention

R O S A

Last Friday I went to the V&A's blockbuster exhibition 'David Bowie is'. This post notes how I found the viewing experience different/interrupted, as a result of the designed sound experience. Perhaps reflective of David Bowie's musical output, sound played a large role in the exhibition. To create this hybrid experience the V&A collaborated with sound specialists at Sennheiser, whose mission was to help the Museum 'bring together Sound and Vision' (Sennheiser, 2013).  However, where sound experience can often strengthen the relationship between visitor and exhibit (in its provision of additional content), I found that in this case it distanced my relationship with the exhibits. Whilst the content of Sennheisers sound guide was both relevant and interesting, its all-encompassing and controlled nature made it difficult to fully engage with either the sound guide OR the collection. Different to others, this audio guide is not a 'guide' at all; instead audio info is triggered based on where the user is currently stood, removing the opportunity for viewers to navigate their own experience. Hopping around to find the right trigger spot, I began to resent the audio content for dictating my viewing experience. Overall, it seemed that the exhibition content was being relayed by too many voices (both active and contributing at the same time). Had the audio content been activated by the visitor's selection rather than triggered by their location, this may have minimised confusion between the multiple information sources, and minimised the audio guides control over the visiting experience.

This post is critical in its discussion to recognise how tech can hinder a viewing experience as much as  it can heighten it. Perhaps curating the work of a Musician/Artist whose career is multi-faceted (fashion, music, artwork, video, design etc) requires a similarly multi-faceted viewing experience. However, when introducing these new dimensions the audiences' liberty to engage with art independently should never be forgotten. 

Click here for the Sennheiser press release.

ARTWORKS at Breeze International Youth Festival

Come to our D I S C O U R S E pixel and contemporary landscape workshop at Trinity Leeds on Sunday 26th May, as part of Breeze International Youth Festival.
We're working with ART WORKS in the Trinity Customer Service lounge - come and drop by from 3-5pm for some pixel-mosaic fun.

'A Walk Through British Art' - Tate Britains new Interpretation model

R O S A

Instigated by Tate Britain's director Penelope Curtis, the permanent collection has been re-staged. The new display model ‘A Walk Through British Art’ went public on the 14th May 2013, reversing most of the decisions made when Tate Modern first opened in 2000. Factors of Curtis’ rethink include: the removal of accompanying interpretation, chronological display in place of thematic, and lastly the inclusion of more artworks.  However, with the introduction of this new model comes the question – why?

Museum Interpretation largely contributes to how exhibits are percieved and experienced by the visiting audience; therefore a big question for these institutes has always been: how much interpretation should we provide, and in what form? Each of the changes implemented by Curtis alter the way in which this narrative is delivered. Instead of attaining context through the artworks’ accompanying text panels, this now takes place in the form of ‘Introduction rooms’ (Sabine Kohler, Tate, 2013); separating the text display from the artwork display. Also providing context is the new chronological order of the permanent collection. Different to Tate Britain’s old thematic model, the chronological display links art to its history more directly; allowing artworks to describe British history, and British history to help describe the artworks. Additional to the chronological timeline running along the walls, the central floor space is filled with the BP spotlight collection 'offering more depth on particular artworks, artists or themes' (M+H Magazine, 2013) which will be the only part of the display that regularly changes. 

Assuming that Tate Britain removed text panels in favor of an ‘un-disturbed’ experience, my first reaction to the Guardians headline: ‘Tate Britain scraps explanatory panels next to works of art’ was - oh no, the audience will be alienated! However, instead it seems that this model is about re-deciding when museum interpretation should be introduced, minimising unnecessary intervention. Removing the option for visitors to read their way around the Tate Britain, this new model ensures that the primary activity carried out in the galleries is to engage with art by looking.

Click here to watch '500 years of British Art - Director's highlights: Penelope Curtis'.