Archive for the ‘art’ Category

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Karolina Sobecka: Digital Tiger

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

As part of the recent exhibition Decode, the V&A in London commissioned artist Karolina Sobecka to create a roaming projection.  Her digital tiger ran through the streets surrounding the museum for a period of three nights.  A sensor attached to the car allowed the projection to keep pace with the vehicle; as it moved, the tiger ran faster and when the car stopped, the tiger also rested. What I like most about this project is that there are no tag lines, logos or ads attached. While it was clearly related to the show at the museum, onlookers may or may not have ever made that connection. The artist and the museum took a piece of the exhibition to the outside world, perhaps peaking the interests of some while just providing enjoyment for others.

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The 11th Tapestry

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

During the London Design Festival I was running all over town covering the events for both Designklub and MoCo Loco.  My very last stop, on my very last day in London, was to the V&A (which was fitting given it’s my favorite museum there).

Tucked away in one of the furthest corners of the building was the 11th Tapestry, an interactive projection created by KikiT VisuoSonic.  Set alongside the V&A’s 15th century Devonshire Hunting Tapestries, the digital tapestry was designed to change, based on movements and sounds in the gallery.  The effects were truly stunning.  In a room where many visitors give the artifacts a brief glance, this installation stopped people in their tracks.  While I was there visitors were completely engaged; clapping, chatting, anything to try and activate the tapestry’s response.

The project itself was so impressive that it made me wonder why the museum didn’t capitalize on this captive audience.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to share more information about the historic tapestries that surrounded us and link the changes in the digital version to the centuries old originals.   While the 11th Tapestry made me examine the artifacts a little more closely, some context would have made this installation educational as well as beautiful.

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DAM’s Collective

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

I have long been a fan of the Denver Art Museum’s (DAM) monthly late night events called Untitled.  It seems DAM is now trying to expand their community oriented programming even further by introducing the Collective, a microsite that bundles all of DAM’s innovative events into one location.  One of the features that caught my eye is their recently launched DDIY, which stands for Digital Do-It-Yourself.  Every month DAM posts a creative project and asks users to upload their results, similar to the site Learning to Love You More.   The first DDIY had participants ‘Make a Still Life for Your Afterlife’ (above) to coincide with their King Tut exhibition.  While participation currently seems to be a little low, the site is still fairly new. This is another positive step for the DAM in creating a more inclusive visitor experience – looking forward to seeing how the site evolves.

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Listening Tents

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

I think everybody loves a secret hideaway; there is something very special and almost magical about being in a tent.  I recently came across two projects that got me thinking about these kind of specialized spaces and the possibilities of using them in cultural institutions.

The first project took place at this year’s Port Eliot Literary Festival in Cornwall.  The organizers invited artist Dré Wapenaar to showcase his ‘Tent Village Revisited’ (middle), a series of rounded structures clustered like woodland mushrooms.   The tents were available throughout the event for, “…communal conversations and interactions as well as a place to chill out with fellow festival-goers.”

The Weisman Art Museum in Minnesota recently started Tent Services, a program where citizens can check out  ‘Expeditionary Conversation Tents’ (bottom) for use inside or out of the museum. The premise is simple; the tents are available for free, provided users share some information about what took place during their expedition along with some photos.  Designed by Peter Haakon Thompson, these tents create a lovely, focused space for personal interaction, something not always easily achieved in the hustle and bustle of larger buildings.

(top left image: The Paper Tent)

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Museum of Everything: Exhibit 2

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

The Museum of Everything is an amazing London based institution that showcases the work of the uncelebrated artist.  These are the untrained and unseen creators of our world.  Last weekend, the museum held its second exhibition in the Tate Modern.

For this show, the museum opened up the entry process to everyone – people could stop by the Tate, have their work hung up and possibly selected for the Museum of Everything’s permanent collection.  It was a great idea for engaging audiences.  As I wandered the exhibit however, I was disappointed to see that they did not put up any names or information about the participants or their work.  Even though it was an off-site show, a simple printer, typewriter or hand written card would have made looking at each piece much more interesting.  Looking forward to when the MoE re-opens (fingers crossed) in London again this fall.

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