Month: May 2012

“Unconferences”

“Unconferences”

Ever been to an “unconference?”   Camp Pixelache, which I attended a couple of weeks ago in Helsinki, Finand  was organized in a unconference style.  I had never been to an unconference, but I quickly learned  at the opening session where an overview of an unconference was given.

Unconferences came about because people felt that a formal conference that usually has longer scheduled sessions are good, but the ad hoc conversations in between the sessions were really interesting and great.  The question arose, how can we make more of this?

The answer was to have an unconference, where a event with sessions is organized first on a wiki site with proposals, and then the schedule is setup the day of the event with the particapants in attendance.  There is a large open grid that is setup – and you post wher and when and with who you will present.  The schedule is made or broken by everyone at the unconference.  Sessions are organized by participants.

There is only one rule to obey which is called the “Law of Two Feet.”  Basically – if you are not in a space where you are learning or contributing – you use your feet and go somewhere else.

The day was to be considered a “gift economy,” where you are giving and taking with others at the unconference.   There were many sessions scheduled at the same time – and we were encouraged to remember that “what ever happens is supposed to happen.”  The sessions were also broken up with several keynotes – which were speakers that were invited and scheduled to give longer presentations.

Unconferences  come out of the open source community.   The format and methods used are said to have been  developed by Harrison Owen in the1980’s.  His book published in 1993, Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide discussed many of the techniques now associated with unconference.  Typically at an unconference, the agenda is created by the attendees at the beginning of the meeting. Anyone who wants to initiate a discussion on a topic can claim a time and a space. Unconferences typically feature open discussions rather than having a single speaker at the front of the room giving a talk, although any format is permitted.

BloggerCon, Foo Camp and BarCamp  are all events that helped to popularize the term “unconference”

After going to my first unconference, – I can’t wait to attend another.  I also am thinking about organizing one here in Cleveland – around creative ideas, technology, and social change.

 

Links:

The Unconference Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Camp Pixelache 2012

 

Kbaumlier Food Images on a  Billboard in the Detroit Metro Area until June 24th, 2012

Kbaumlier Food Images on a Billboard in the Detroit Metro Area until June 24th, 2012

Yesterday the Digital Billboard Art Project went live –  a project where artists can submit images to be displayed on a public digital billboard.  I have 45  images that are showing startinh yesterday, May 28th,  and will run until  June 24, 2012 in the Detroit Metro area (Macomb County), MI.

I submitted slides about food – and made a series of images where foods are shown in both abstract and recognizable views, combined with words and slogans often used by advertisers to promote packaged food.  A tomato with the word “SAME GREAT TASTE,” a papaya with the words “50% LESS FAT*” and images of rice, soybeans, a peach, and cheese are in the series.

Each of the food featured in the series has an interesting story related to genetic engineering or modern farming practices.  I am interested to have the images show in Detroit, a city where it is reported that over half of the residents do not have easy access to nutritious food.

If you live in the Detroit area you can see the billboard in Utica, facing west and can be seen by traffic traveling east bound on Hall Rd (M-59). The billboard can also be seen from a parking lot shared by Muldoon’s Restaurant at 7636 Auburn Road and the Utica Fire and Police Department. My pieces are 7 minutes of the entire 24 hour loop – and will be seen at : 1:09 AM, 3:29 AM, 5:49 AM, 8:09 AM, 10:29 AM, 12:49 PM, 3:09 PM, 5:29 PM. 7:49 PM, 10:09 PM.

The Billboard Art Project is a project that acquires digital billboards normally used for advertising and repurposes them as roadside galleries – showing images from artists. Types of work that may be displayed include images created specifically for the billboard as well as images of previously made art adapted to the format. No two Billboard Art Project shows are alike; each city features new work.

This year upcoming shows include other locations such as Richmond, VA; Salem, OR; Albany, NY, and Atlanta, GA.  The Detroit show is unique in that the images will be up in a month.   Documentation of the billboard is not up yet  – I will post when the roadside photos of the Billboard Art project are posted in Flickr.

Links:

billboardartproject.org/cities/detroit.html

Utopian Reality –  Art and Research @ Camp Pixelache

Utopian Reality – Art and Research @ Camp Pixelache

One of the opening activites at Camp Pixelache was led by two members of the Utopian Reality research project, a project based out of Helsinki, Finalnd.  For the exercise – everyone was asked to stand up and head to the front of the room.  We were then asked to look at other people and make eye contact and smile – and then head to the person that is the farthest away from you.  Once you reach this person  (or another person across the room who you headed towards), we were then asked to stand next to each other   We were then to ask each other a question that we had always wanted to know the answer to – and for the other person to answer it. I ended up talking to a woman from Spain who asked me, “Is there hope?”  I answered this to the best of my ability – then asked her my question which was about why daylight savings time exists and why we change the clocks back and forth.

We next had to find another person across the room – and then ask this person the question you were just asked.  The result of this activity – was that we had become a group, and I had met a couple of people.  This is an example of an activity of the Utopian Reality.

The Utopian Reality project is a research project that explores ways to change the world through a variety of methods and techniques of applying artistic methods outside the field of art.  The goal of the project is to promote and enable change both in people’s private lives and in the society at large.

I attended the presentation of the team behind the project, and they gave us another exercise to do.  We were asked to break up into groups of 3-6 people.  We were then to go find another place in the building – and think about how a conference activity could be done in this space – but in a very different way.

The presenters reviewed what they called “a score.”  The way they described  the directions that they gave us on their blog is, “We created a score where the participants would divide into four Tactical Utopia Units; each unit would have the task of redefining the use of a particular space or setting and redesigning the conventions present in that space. Each person would also choose a specific perspective or focus, which would allow the unit to cover a wider range of possibilities. “

I ended up in a larger group – of about 8 people.  Once person had an idea of a place – so we played follow the leader and ended up behind the main stage of the large conference room, headed up a small staircase- and sat in a small balcony that was backstage and hidden from the audience and presenters in the main room.  We came up with the idea that this could be used as a discovery meeting center or a “present.”  It could be used to have people find this place – then meet once you find it.

We then returned back to the presentation – and each group shared what place they had picked and visited – and how the space could be used.  Once group came up with an interesting idea that the stairway could be used as a communication tool, using spoons.  The idea was that everyone could be given a spoon upon entering the building, and you could communicate with others by banging on the handrail of the stairs.  Another group picked floor 2.5 – or the landing between the two floor of 1 and 2.  They found that people going up and down the stairs would talk to them – and that this was a great and surprising way to meet others.

At the end of the talk, I talked to the Utopian Reality team, and told them that I was interested in using these exercises in my classes in Fall.  They talked about how using “art thinking” outside of art can have great potential.  We talked about the exercise of thinking, “ How could this object be art?” can lead to lots of ideas.  The example we did was to look at a bulletin board that had tacks on it – and think of how would this be art?

Behind the Utopian Reality team is the Reality Research Center (RRC), which is a performing arts collective based in Helsinki, Finland. Their works stem from critical perspectives that observe, question and renew our surrounding reality through performative means.   They see performances as both a tool for and a result of artistic research. RRC produces several performance projects each year, which are situated in all kinds of spaces and situations, often excluding conventional performance spaces and theaters.

During the coming months, Utopian Reality will be developed and tested in the Utopia Laboratory. If you want to participate in the development process or have an idea to propose, you can contact them at utopia@todellisuus.fi.

If you are in one of my classes next summer – get ready to observe your own life and surroundings from a utopian point of view: What kind of possibilities are embedded in it? How could it be changed?

Links:

Utopian Reality Project

Cheap, Fat and Open – an Open Source Synthesizer Project

Cheap, Fat and Open – an Open Source Synthesizer Project

One of the sessions I attended at Camp Pixelache, an event that I attended in Helsinki, Finland a couple of weeks ago,  was the Cheap Fat and Open project presented by Jacob Sikker Remin, from Copenhagen,  who created a small open source synthesizer project called Cheap, Fat, and Open.

Cheap – because it only costs 60 euro – or 75 dollars, FAT – because it has fat sound, and Open – for open source and modular.  It is basically a stylophone that has different sounds, and is small and portable.  You can easily change the sound, pitch, modulation, pitch bender, frequency, and other adjustments.  It also has a small sequencer on it, infared communication, and most importantly – you can reprogram it.  It is backed by Aruduino – and you can easily change and adapt it to make the sounds that you want.

The community for the project is growing – and people can adapt and share their experiments.  The piece is a combination of the old and new combining the raw 8bit / chip tune approach, wireless connectivity, state of the art open source hardware, and expandability.

Who is this designed for?  The website states that , “The project is designed for geeky musicians, the chip tune (8-bit lo fi musician) community, the makers, the circuit benders, interaction designers musical programmers, and anyone else who wishes to experiment with sequenced / networked / low-level musical exploration.”

The synthesizer is not meant to compete with high fidelity sound – it is meant to be lo-fi and easy to use.  One funny story that Remin shared is that a group called 1version out of China developed a smaller prototype of the project and is currently making these available for sale.  As Remin said at the workshop,”  I am very excited that my open source project has made it possible for something to be produced and sold in China.”

On the CFO website, you can read about upcoming demos, workshos, and updates as to how people are using the synthesizer.  Kits are going to be available for sale soon – so you can get all the pieces in one place, or you can get the directions and source them out yourself.

 

Links:

Cheap, Fat, and Open website

Video demo of Cheap, Fat, and Open – on Youtube

Jacob Sikker Remin – Cheap, Fat, and Open – Vimeo Video

 

Smog Tasting With Egg Whites:  The Center of Genomic Gastronomy

Smog Tasting With Egg Whites: The Center of Genomic Gastronomy

Ever get a mouthful of smog?  In big cities, people breathe it every day.  The Smog project by The Center for Genomic Gastronomy explores the taste of smog – by whipping up egg foams in cities with lots of smog, like Bangalore.   Why egg foams?  Egg foams are 90% air – so in making an egg white, you can actually capture the quality of the air in the taste.

The project is a combination of scientific study and conceptual art,  and has been done by Zackery Denfeld and Cathrine Kramer, with  seven other students of the Center for Genomic Gastormony.   The team was researching biosensors, plants and animals in nature that indicate the state of the environment in their natural state. Densfeld and Kramer wondered if they could test for outdoor air quality by whipping egg whites and capturing some of the air and found that by asking others to eat something made with smog created a strong reaction by others.

Smog is difficult to see, and the damage it causes takes a long time to show.   For the project, Densfeld, Kramer, and the students from the Center headed out to different parts of Bangalore with whisks, and made meringues from the batter that came back. Then next offered free samples to visitors, telling them about where they were made, and with what smog.

Can you taste smog?  Could you send sweet egg white smog treats to politicians, business owners, and others to draw attention to air pollution issues?  The team is planning to explore this – and to continue to generate dialogue about smog and air quality.

The project was part of the “Edible” exhibit at the Science Gallery at Dublin’s Trinity College earlier this year.  Want to test your air quality?  Whip up a batch of merengues out on the street – and see what you think after eating it.

Image Source:
Smog tasting Project

Links:

Smog tasting Project

About the Edible Exhibit at Science Gallery in Dublin