Surrealism Mind Map
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Surrealism inspired Media & Video Games
Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) is Japanese manga series that was animated in 2013. Later after the anime release, the series saw a game release and a tribute game that was produced in Unity. It is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls as a defense against the titans, gigantic humanoid creatures who eat humans seemingly without reason. Although it features only one element of surrealism, I believe that the idea of featuring titans that are essentially humans re-sized a thousand times larger could indicate the wildness of the imagination. Additionally the concept of having such large versions of humans could suggest a nightmare - or a state of unconciousness that has enlarged some humans, suggesting that the dreamer could be feeling weak, or overpowered by others in real life.
Super Mario released in 1984 - is an extremely successful video game franchise popular world wide. It is crowned the king of platformers. Super Mario uses a range of different art assets and clever techniques which now appear normal or familiar to gamer's, and even people who don't play many video games. You play the role of Mario, an Italian plumber that resides in the Mushroom Kingdom. "You can eat a flower that lets you spit fire, you can jump on walking mushrooms, there's turtles that throw hammers, there's a character in a cloud that throw armadillo-type creatures at you and you can ride a dinosaur that poops eggs." This quote is a fantastic description of what super Mario is, and if you were to explain this to someone who has never heard of Super Mario before, you would get a shocked response.
The idea that super Mario is surreal is an interesting one as due to the familiarity the game provides, we have become accustomed to the games features and see it as normal. This challenges the meaning of Surrealism, as you could argue that the more something appears out of place, or strange the more surreal is is. However from breaking down Super Mario's game design the aspects and elements clearly define the surreal nature.
Surrealism Summary
Surrealism is an art movement that was developed shortly after the first world war in 1924. It is sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind. Surrealism works with the element of surprised and unexpected juxtapositions to forge dream-like images. Surrealism art visuals express the exploration of the dream and unconsciousness as a valid form of reality.
The founder of the art movement is known as Andre Breton who was born in 1896. He defined surrealism as "Pure psychic automatism" along with his publication of the Manifesto of Surrealism poem. Surrealism originated as a literary movement that experimented with a new mode of expression called automatic writing (automatism).
Automatism is the process of an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. The words are claimed to arise from a subconscious spiritual or supernatural source. Surrealism has pushed the boundaries of socially acceptable mediums and is continuously used in today's world through story plots or through video games such as Majora's Mask from the Legend of Zelda franchise.
Visual Response
I was inspired by the fantasy/dream world like state from Surrealism and was able to produce my own Surrealism inspired art piece. This photograph is of myself, with some abstract effects to really bulge out the photo to enhance the surrealist atmosphere. I was able to create a demon/monster type effect by manipulating size values and experimenting with textures and colour correction which demonstrates in the image above. This photo showcases my interpretation of Surrealism in it's fantasy subconscious form and you could suggest that this photo may appear in a dream or nightmare one night, although I'd rather it not be mine.
Minimalism Mind Map
Minimalism Inspired Video Games
Although not directly minimalism, Limbo is an interesting game as it uses a plethora of art movements. Arguably the game is majority German Expressionism, however it also has hints of Minimalism and Surrealism. The surrealistic atmosphere of the game features giant spiders, moving trees and the such, however the game is constructed with a very unique art style in itself. The game uses a white and black colour contrast which showcases it's very simplistic yet effective art style. I would argue that Limbo uses a plethora of art movements successfully, and is a modernized example of how using minimalism in video games can function with other art movements.
Tetris is a puzzle game in which the player is to direct a series of randomly shaped blocks into a position of their choice. The achievement of victory is not necessary obtainable but instead the player receives points depending on how many lines they clear. Lines are cleared when a row of squares are completely cleared by clever positioning with the shapes. Different versions of Tetris sometimes involve levels, in which players can advance to higher levels once they have reached a set score. Tetris could be considered of the minimalist art style due to it's limited shapes. Tetris presents it's shapes always in a square format, with multiple squares that make up larger shapes.
Minimalism Summary
Minimalism emerged in New York city around the 1960's. It is a term used to describe paintings and sculpture that thrive on simplicity in both content and form, and seek to remove any sign of personal expressivity The aim of minimalism is to allow the viewer to experience the work more intensely without the distractions of composition, theme and so on.
Minimalism is characterised by single or repeated geometric forms. It is a school of abstract painting and sculture where any kind of personal expression is kept to a minimum, in order to give the work a completely literal presence. One of the first painters to be specifically linked with Minimalism was a former Abstract Expressionist Frank Stella. Stella's instantly acclaimed minimalist Black paintings (1958) in which regular bands of black paint were separated vy very thin pinstrupes of unpainted canvas, contrasted the emotional canvases of Abstract Expressionism.
The minimalist artists wanted to allow the viewer an immediate, purely visual response and let them experience all the more strongly the pure qualities of colour, form, space and materials. Minimalism sought to de-mystify art, to reveal its most fundamental character: the medium and materials of the work were its reality, which is wha the artists wanted to portray.
Minimal Art is related to a number of other movements such as Conceptual Art in the way the finished work exists merely to convey a theory, Pop Art in their shared fascination with the impersonal and Land Art in the construction of simple shapes. Minimal Art proved highly successful and has been enormously influential on the development of art in the 20th century.
Visual Response
This image showcases my interpretation of Minimalism. This image features very limited colours (black/white) which further suggests the art style of the scene. I was able to create a diagonal split in the center of the image in which I coloured one half white and one black which really promotes the large amount of 'white space' within the scene. I also used the same colour technique with the text in the center of the image which further emphasizing the art style effectively.
Suprematism
I was able to discover a video game in which is inspired by the suprematism art movement. The game itself features shapes that focus on geometric forms. Arguably this game could be described as a minimal due to it's white space and lack of overwhelming elements. The game itself uses geometric shapes as an element for the selection graphic as seen on the play button. The player is able to play the game by controlling various geometric shapes. They can use a key to jump upwards to a specific height. The main goal of the game is to reach the goal by jumping on various platforms which also feature suprematism inspired shapes.
Suprematism Summary
Suprematism was the invention of a Russian artist: Mazimir Malevich in 1915, which concerned itself with simple geometric forms such as squares and circles. Suprematism's main meaning was to express the pure experiences of daily life in modern times. It was a subtle art variation of Contrsuctivism.
Suprematism was one of the earliest developments in abstract art. It's name derived from Malevich's belief that Suprematist art would be superior to all the art of the past and that it would lead to the "supremacy of pure artistic feeling". Some of his first Suprematist work consists of a pencil drawing of a black square on a white field, with a more simplistic approach compared to his previous cubism/futurist style. Malevich first used Suprematism in a manifesto in 1915.
An expanded version of the manifesto was published in 1916 title "From Cusism and Futuruism to Suprematism: The New Realism in Painting. Malevich waned to develop a type of non-objective art which would enable him to abandon all references to the natural world and focus exclusively on pure form. He did this by producing a range of abstract paintings employing fundamental geometric shapes like squares, rectangles, circles crosses and triangles in a limited range of colours.
Visual Response
After looking at Suprematism I attempted to produce my own interpretation of the art style. In this image you can see a plethora of circles and various other abstract shapes which compose the image. I was also able to emphasize the art style further by carefully selecting appropriate colours related to the art style. The key element with this visual response is the use of abstract shapes and positioning. The scene feels very compact and loaded with various shapes for a unique style.
Neo Plasticism/De stijl Mind Map
Neo Plasticism Inspired Video Games
Tap Master: Mondrian is a game that uses very distinct elements similar to the Neo-Plasticism/ De Stijl art movement. The first recognizable element is the use of bright colours. In this image above you can see the use of four colours (if you include the white). In combination with, the game has been designed with rectangluar shapes to forge the abstract design of the Neo-Plastisicsm style. It uses vertical and horizontal shapes similarly to how the neo plasticism art movement is composed. With not only the UI that promotes the art style, the game itself is presented in the style. With the minimal theme the art style is clearly distinguished. The player is to match a set of pieces by tapping the matching pieces that the game presents.
Neo Plasticism Summary
De stijl, Dutch for "The Style" also known as Neo-Plasticism, was a dutch artistic movement founded in 1917 by Piet Mondrian (1872-1944). The aim of the movement was to produce pure form and colour, completely devoid of realism and the emotion.
The art style was founded upon fundamental principles as follows: Only geometric shapes may be used: ignore natural form and colour. The main compositional elements consist of straight lines or rectangular areas. This also includes surfaces which should be rectangular planes or prisms. The art movement is void to curves diagonals and circles. Additionally only primary colours should be selected. along with bold colours that balance the boldness of the direct lines. (red blue yellow, black, grey & white).
The movement also is focused upon asymmetry, with a complete disregard to any form of symmetry. Neo-plasicism was designed to produce pure, uncompromising, heavily structured abstraction, in accordance with Mondrian's view that vertical and horizontal patterns were inherently harmonious.
Visual Response
I was able to create my own interpretation of Neo Plasticsm. I was sure to use vertical and horizontal lines to compose my visual repsonse. Additionally to further promote the art style I used bright, primary colours which would be appropriate. I randomized the boldness in some of the lines to increase recognition. I ensured to avoid diagonal lines and shapes that are circular or curved.
Orphanism
Orphanism Inspired Video Games
Although not directly Orphanism I believe that Sonic 3D (sonics first transition to the 3D platform) utlizes elements of orphanism effectively. Due to the origin of orphanism being directly influenced from cubism I feel that this game is relevant. I selected this game due to those reasons, as well as the fact that Orphanism styled games where challenging to locate. The game itself features sonics first 3D game in which the levels are designed with a unique perspective to grant the feel of a more 3D world. The levels almost feel skewed to adjust proportions appropriately. Additional skewing and adjustments have been made in specific area sto create dips in the platform which could represent the cubism art movement.
Additionally the game uses a plethora of colours in various shapes, a key element that features with Orphanism which subtlety hints the art movements existing influence into the game. The movement itself is described as an abstract transition from the cubism art movement, in which arguably some of Sonic's stages consist of many colours and may be portrayed in a very abnormal and abstract perspective.
Orphanism Summary
Orphanism is an artistic trend derived from Cubist paintings that gave priority to colour. The movement was names in 1912 by the French Poet Guillaume Apollinaire. Apollinaire regarded the colourfil Cubist-inspired paintings as iniating a new style that brought musical qualities to painting. He named this style Orphanism in reference to Oerpheus, the legendary poet and singer of ancient Greek mythology
The correlation between colour and music was an idea that interested many artists at the same time. Symbolist artists and writers saw analogies between musical tones and visual hues. Artists such as Robert Delaunay was interested in the geometric fragmentation of cubism but unlike the cubist painters, who removed almost all colour from their paintings - he had considered colour to be a powerful aesthetic element.
The art movement itself was a short lived but influential style of colourful abstract art. Orphist painting was a blend of colour, cubism and futurism. It appealed to the senses, using overlapping planes of contrasting colours, and specific colour-combinations.
Visual Response
I was able to build upon the elements in which compose Suprematism and utilize them in a way in which I could compose an Orphanism themed art piece. To build upon the foundations I took advantage of the circles and various abstract shapes. I the proceeded to experiment with the colours to enhance the colour value and really bring out the bright atmospheric composition. I believe that this follows the rules of Orpahnism effectively because of this, and as a result displays my own interpretation of the art style.
Conceptualism
Conceptualism Inspired Video Games
When thinking about Conceptualism I was inspired by the Dark Cloud series, in particular Dark Cloud 2 or Dark Chronicle. The game is an RPG developed by Level 5 and published by Sony for the Playstation 2 back in 2003 (EU). One of the massive features within the game was the invent system. The invent system allowed players to experiment with different objects to forge ideas for new objects. This can range from new clothing to a machine gun to a teleportation device.
I believe that this unique system to Dark Cloud is effective as it challenges the player to think of ideas, or rather concepts to create new things. Similarly to how conceptualism argues that the art itself is the process of coming up with an idea, Dark Cloud follows the same principles with its invent system and rewards the players for doing so. Although the game was developed for an older console, the invent sytsem was huge for it's time (over 350 different ideas!).
Conceptualism Summary
Conceptual art also known as Conceptualism is an art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many words of conceptual art, sometimes called installations, may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions.
Conceptual art is a movement that prizes ideas over the formal or visual components of art works. An amalgam of various tendencies rather than a tightly cohesive movement, Conceptualism took myriad forms, such as performances or happenings. In the 1960's and 70's Conceptual artists produced works and writings that completely rejected standard ideas of art. Conceptual artists were influenced by the simplicity of minimalism. However they rejected Minimalism's embrace of the connections of sculpture and painting as mainstays of artistic production.
For Conceptual artists, art need not look like a traditional work of art, or even take any physical form at all. Much conceptual art is self conscious or self referential. Artists created art that is about art, and pushed its limits by using minimal materials and even text.
Conceptualism Visual Response
Due to Conceptualism being based around the art of ideas, I had an idea related to weight training. This weight would constructed with sensors which can detect when a rep has been complete. The user can change the values of the weight to slowly increase/decrease the amount of weight being placed on the dumbbell per rep or 2. I constructed a basic image that would showcase this in how it might look. I believe this idea effectively relates to Coneptualism and the art of ideas.
Surrealism - Prezi
1000 Word Essay Notes
Art movements
Expressing others thoughts
Expressing ideas through a playable game
Technology advanced – allowing art to
progress and express more capable
Link to multiple art movements at once
while referencing video games.
Art styles
Sound amplifies the visual engagement with
videos story/plot
Cultural impact on video games
Quotes
Video games are the only forms of
artistic expression that allow the authoritative voice of the author to remain
true while allowing the observer to explore and experiment.”
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-video-games-101131359/#4dIBwUBmmHzmXpfW.99
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-video-games-101131359/#4dIBwUBmmHzmXpfW.99
In books, everything is laid before
you,” he says. “There is nothing left for you to discover. Video games are the
only forms of artistic expression that allow the authoritative voice of the
author to remain true while allowing the observer to explore and experiment.”
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-video-games-101131359/#4dIBwUBmmHzmXpfW.99
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-video-games-101131359/#4dIBwUBmmHzmXpfW.99
As it becomes more possible for individuals
to create more professional looking games, it is not unreasonable to expect
that we will see increasingly diverse types of artistic concept in the game
themselves.
Pg 311
Just as digital technology has revolutionised
the filmmaking industry, cheaper and cheaper processing power and storage is
revolutionising video game development and promising more latitude in artistic
interpretation.
Pg 310
Rag Doll Kung Fu, Developer: Mark Healey
Video Game Art 2005
Nic Kelman
Prefaced by Dr Henry Jenkins
video games, zelda wind waker - mentioned art styles, technology & culture impact - link with quotes (from tech art or culture). relate to my own opinion
quotes about art movements in video games - today - how it was inspired and interpreted - my own opinion
1000 Word Essay First Draft
1000 Word Essay Final Draft (With References @ bottom)
Interactive art is a form of art that involves the observer in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some interactive art installations can achieve this by letting the observer walk in, on and/or around them. Interactive art is a genre of art in which the viewers participate in some way by providing an input in order to determine the outcome. Unlike traditional art forms wherein the interaction of the observer is produce mentally. Interactivity allows for various types of navigation, assembly, and/or contribution to an artwork.
Interactive art installations are generally computer-based and frequently rely on sensors, which gauge thins such as temperature, motion, proximity etc. In Interactive artworks both the audience and the machine work together in dialogue in order to produce a completely unique artwork for each audience to observe. Due to the fact that the art is interactive, each observer makes their own interpretation of the artwork and it may be completely different to others.
Interactive art is any type of art that involves the viewer in the creative process. Interactive art attempts to challenge the traditional boundary between artist and audience. In the case of installation art, it may be used as a physical medium. In contrast it may be purely digital and internet-based. Interactive art often uses computing technology to govern responses to viewer reactions.
Technology usually factors prominently in interactive art. For a work of art to be interactive it must have some way of interpretation or sensing a viewers actions. This can be in the form of physical sensors or as a computer input device like the mouse (digitally).
Marcel Duchamp (1887 - 1968)
Marcel Duchamp is a painter and mixed media artist who was associated with Cubisn, Dadaism and Surrealism, though he avoided any alliances. Duchamp's work is characterized by its humour, the variety and unconventionality of its media and its incessant probing of the boundaries of art. His legacy includes the insight that art can be about ideas instead of wordly things, a revolutionary notion that would resonate with later generations of artists.
French artist Duchamp had created one of the first examples of interactive art with his 1920 device Rotary Glass plates. His machine used a motor to spin rectangular pieces of glass that had segments of circles painted on them. When viewed from a distance of 1 meter, an optical illusion was formed.
In January 1920, Duchamp created an optical experiment with the assistance of Man Ray. Building on the fact that the eye retains an image for a fraction of a second after it disappears, he built a motorized machine known as the Rotary Glass Plates. Segments of a circle were painted on five glass plated mounted on an electrically operated metal axis. Rubber strips connected the axis to the motor. Unfortunately Duchamp wasn't able to achieve success.
Three years later, Duchamp attempted this technique again, now using a turntable of a record player. He made a series of Disks Bearing Spirals in 1923 that were mounted on cardboard. This anticipated the spiral theme that would later appear in Rotary Demisphere in 1925.
Famous Interactive Artists
Maurice Benayoun
Maurice Benayoun is a Parisnian interactive artist who was very interested in virtual reality art in the '90s. One of his pieces was described as "the first Mataphysical Video Game". His most famous piece was The Tunnel under the Atlantic, which allowed patrons to dig a virtual tunnel between Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal.
The Tunnel Under the Atlantic was a virtual tunnel connecting the two cities of Montreal and Paris. The observer also plays a role in the tunnel as the viewer digs through the digitally generated geological tunnel system. However, instead of rocks and earth crust, there are layers of images related to the culture from both locations. The tunnel creates a virtual space that inhabits a physical place on Earth. The shared experience that takes place in the tunnel represents the wealth and shared knowledge and information within society, and how people interact and learn.
Thomas Charvériat
Thomas Charvériat was born in 1974 (Paris) and is an interactive artist who specializes in using LED, video, SMS, light sensors, and sound to interact with the observer, putting together everyday objects to produce entertaining/beneficial interactive works.
An example of his more physical work would be his Return Policy Project. the RPP was a year-long exploration into consumer dependency on electronic products which began in the year 2000. The project was an example of Thomas' use of present day technology to influence his art. He deployed ISD Chips, Voice recognition, sensor based automation and tracking devices. A more specific example would be an advancing alarm clock which automatically adjusts the alarm every day by five or six seconds in order to shift a consumer's schedule subtly enough that they would not notice. The concept was to influence a person's life by adjusting the nature of the products which the life had been centered around.
Lynn Hershman Leeson
Lynn Hershman Leeson is an American artist who was born in 1941. One of her most famous art works is titled LORMA, which is the first interactive laser art-disk that tells the story of an agoraphobic woman who never leaves her room. Observers had the option of directing her life into several possible plots and endings.
They could access information about her past through clicking on objects within the room. Every objects in Lorna's tiny apartment has a number, that when pressed, access sound and video information about Lorna's fears and dreams as well as her personal history, conflicts and future. There are 17 minutes of moving footage and 26 chapters which when sequenced, differently infinitely shift meanings ts they are re-contextualized. As technology changed, the piece was migrated to a DVD platform in 2004.
Nathaniel Stern
Nathaniel Stern was born in 1977 and is an interdisciplinary artist who works in a variety of media, uncluding photography, interactive art, public art interventions, installation, video art and printmaking.
He utlizes performance and video to develop his interactive art pieces. His interactive art is centered around bodily provocations. He often asks his viewers to participate in his works by contributing their body movements. For example, his installation, enter:hektor has participants chasing projected words with their arms and bodies in order to trigger spoken words in the space. His interactive works attempt to get people to move ways they normally wouldn't in contrast with movements in relation to their surroundings.
Weavesilk - Generative Art
Click Here for Weavesilk
Generative Art is the process in which a form of art is generated through an autonomous system that is purely computer based. It can independently determine features or aspects of an artwork that would usually require decisions made directly by the producer or artist. Generative Art is generally used to describe artwork that is computer generated. The user/spectator can interact with the system through input methods that involve a mouse click/mouse interaction or key press. Alternate input methods are also viable depending on the design of the system. Once an input has been recognized the system will display a progressive artwork. The progressive artwork that is processed by the system expands in shape/scale or position through time depending on the length of time or continuous number of input methods.
Weavesilk is an Interactive Art piece that focuses on the Generative Art system. Via the mouse click input method users can click, hold and drag the cursor across the screen. By performing this method the system will generate a pre-defined progressive artwork which continuous to expand depending on the length that the mouse button has been held. The expanding feature of Weavesilk allows the user to become engaged, arguably allowing them to create their own artwork based upon the foundations of the artworks original producer. The system in which processes the input is advanced computer generated, which represents the producers own artistic ideas, and grants the viewer the opportunity to take an the role of a creator.
Interactive LED Floor Panel
Similarly to the method of Weavesilk, this Interactive LED Floor Panel responds to input methods of more direct human interaction. The floor panel functions through the process of human interaction by stepping on the floor panels. The floor panels can activate through various input methods. Similarly to that of a Phone input methods can vary from touch or heat detection. If the input method is a touch detection, any object, person, or thing can act as the role of a spectator or user. However, this may cause artworks to become overly sensitive and cause issues. Alternatively if the input method is a heat detection, only a living being can activate the interactive artwork as opposed to touch, which enables various objects to function the artwork. Advantages reduce the overly sensitive artwork, however users may feel unsatisfied due to the lack of interactivity with alternate things.
The LED floor panels respond by emitting a light that illuminates a section when the panel is pressed/touched. In contrast when the panel is empty no LED's should emit, thus the purpose of the interactive artwork.
Interactive Sensing PCB Table
Expanding upon the LED floor panels, this interactive sensing PCB table. The PCB refers to the circuit board in which this table has been designed around and functions through. The LED floor panels likely function through the touch input method, however this LED sensing table functions through the sense of movement rather than heat or touch detentions. This interactive art piece shows an alternate method in which interactivity can be interpreted in regards to input methods. The sensors detect movement and light up the LED's corresponding to the movements position. Additionally the table can measure the distance in regards to sensing proportions and the distance away from the table. This means that the table will illuminate brighter lights if the movement is sensed closer to the table itself. Controversially the lights will dimmer if the movement is sensed at a further distance away from the table.
This interactive art piece is interesting in regards to the fact it functions in real-time 3D space on the XYZ axis. Unlike the floor panels that only detect a touch or press down input, this interactive artwork functions on interactivity based on all angles and perspectives.
Interactive Paintings (3D Illusions)
Interactive Paintings are not fully a direct interactive source. The user/viewer/spectator is required to pose in a specific position which generates the illusion that the spectator is in a different place. The different place can refer to an abstract or abnormal location when relating to the actual location of the painting. The illusion is created from a specifically drawn and composed painting in a 3D room that could create a surreal scene. An example being the painting of the road which appears to be branching out from an existing painting tricks the mind to believing that the girl is actually attached to the road surface due to clever tactical perspective drawings. For the painting to be most effective it is generally advised for the remaining spectators to view the paintings from a specific angle, usually a straight on mid/long shot view.
3D Paintings focus on the use of perspective and tonal scales to create the illusion of a 3 Dimensional object on a 2 Dimensional plane such as a flat surface, meaning that the paintings are heavily focused on ceertain visual angles and moving up/down the tonal scale of light to dark. The selection of a tone tricks the human mind to thinking that what is actually drawn or painted to be a physical , tangible object. Toning is extremely important when painting in 3D. Tone amplifies the expression of the overall effect of light and shade on an object and ultimately defines 3D form. 3D paintings are core to the use of tone appropriately. Generally three tones are sufficient, however for more defined results the inclusion of a dew more tones will allow for easier colour modulation and enable the creation of a more hyper realistic appeal to artwork.
Artists focus on perspective through observation of the actual world around them. For example, a city center consists of large buildings; which assuming they're within line of sight, degrade in terms of scale as they expand into the distance, despite the reality of the scale remaining the same. The buildings decrease in scale and converge towards a vanishing point on the horizon. This process is known as linear perspective which is a core element in regards to understanding and developing observational skills within the 3 Dimensional world.
String Playscapes - Art Installations
The images above refer to the the Rainbow Net, located in the Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park in Sapporo, Japan. The artwork is the most famous work of textile artist Toshiko Horiuchi- MacAdam and took three years to complete. This colourful vibrant string playscape relates quite heavily to the Pop Art and Orphanism art styles, primarily due to the circular shapes followed with a wide array of bright colours. As for interactivity, the installation is primarily used for children and sometimes adults to climb onto and explore. The interactivity relates to the similarity of a soft play area, however with a much more defined sense of artistic value. Unlike the input methods for the LED panels and table, the Rainbow Net features a much more direct input, that simply involves climbing onto the netted landscape.
Journey Video Game - Interactive Art?
Journey is an indie video game developed for the PS3 by Thatgamecompany released on March 13th 2012. In Journey the player controls a wandering traveler who explores various architectures and deserts in order to reach a tower with a shining beacon. The final destination is given to the player at the beginning of the game. The interactive attributes within Journey consists of simplistic movement around on a 3D plane and the standard jump buttons.The game offers no dialogue, the player cannot interact with other players should they select the multiplayer game mode, the player cannot engage with any enemies and thus can't receive a traditional Gameover state. Journey itself is arguably best described as an experience rather than a video game in which focuses on the adventure in which the player takes.
One of Journeys prime elements is its visuals. The game uses bright, pop art themed cel shaded graphics which presents the game with a vivid colourful atmosphere. "That's what Journey is. A work of interactive art. Through its gorgeous emotionally resonant soundtrack, its looming symbolic landscapes, its exploration of interactivity and telepresence, it wants us to ask questions and experience feelings, without necessarily having to engage with game-like structures". - Quote from Keith Stuart @ 15th March 2012 (Link). Stuart describes the game to be emotionally engaging through its visuals and ambient soundtrack which when combined creates a thrilling experience.
He describes the music as being remarkable when establishing whats happening on screen, which in my opinion greatly impacts the story as a whole. With the more focus on the visuals and soundtrack, the game is arguably best described as an Interactive Art piece rather than a video game. This is backed up through the lack of video game elements located within the story as Stuart mentions. "Art is all about communication - that's the only definition that really works." - Quote from Keith Stuart @ 15th March 2012 (Link). As Journey places heavy emphasis on the adventure, one of the core elements within the game is the communication of the journey to the player through visuals and soundtracks. Thus I believe that the quote further amplifies and backs up the original proposition that Journey is a form of interactive art rather than a video game. It follows the same conventions as traditional art, and in response to my previous essay, this video game could arguably be the first step into presenting video games as a modern form of expressing more traditional art movements and artworks through interactivity.
3D Interactive Environments
3D Interactive Environments allow the user/spectator to navigate around a set world, usually consisting of buildings or architecture forging a city or world. I am particularly interested in the design of the world as a whole, and how the developer was able to forge the city landscape. The technical skills used in forging the architecture could include the extrusion of specific elements, likely building sides through techniques such as Motion Tile to extend the buildings length as a whole. To compose a realistic city the developer would be required to produce buildings that all differ in terms of artistic style. They can then manipulate various options such as the orientation, scale (XYZ axis) and rotation values.
In terms of interactivity the application allows the user to input various methods through their fingers which include touch (including the speed in which elements are touched) as well as dragging motions. All the different motions manipulate positional values for the viewer to view different perspectives of the city. The user is able to track in and out, advance to different shots such establishing shots, mid shots and close-ups. I feel inspired by this and plan to develop my own interactive art based on the foundations of the interactivity that allows viewers to navigate around the city. I plan to practice my After Effects skills further and forge a powerful 3D city in which I can add navigation functions.
Inspiration: Google Maps
I was inspired by Google Maps effectively, in which Google has produced a massive amount of content allowing any observer to jump straight in and navigate around the huge amount of roads and streets available around the world. You can navigate almost anywhere with Google Maps and I can appreciate the amount of time and effort it may have taken to compose all of the streets and record all location names.
Google maps in terms of navigation functions very simply. You can either enter an address from anywhere around the world, in which google will then show you a birds eye view of a specific address. You can then change the perspective to a street view which will enable the observer to witness a more personalized detailed static view of the specific street. Observers can then use the provided arrows in which they can apply the click input method to navigate around the streets as they wish.
In terms of design for a possible production of my own art piece themed from google maps, I am inspired by creating my own 3D geometric city through composition in which a user can then navigate around by clicking through provided arrows that take the user through a selected route.
I was inspired by some level select screens for Video Games, in particular, these designs show my response to Journey as a Video Game where I began producing my own selection screens for a game the could resemble Journey. I can appreciate the artistic style and thought that go into the design process. I produced a Level Select scene based upon elements for a standard video game. Due to the layout and colours of the scene I believe that this scene would be most associated with a racing game or a game that has similar elements to Grand Theft Auto or True Crime. One of the prime elements with this scene is the circles. I was able to create an interesting effect with the circles by applying a subtle gradient to the outer circle to emphasize a 3D effect. Additionally I used the Roman numerals to produce a more identified appeal.
To test some interactivity elements I coloured one of the levels with a bright colour that generates a highlighted effect. I was able to achieve this by colouring the layer with a yellow colour at a decreased opacity. Following which I added a Bevel and emboss blending option which allowed me to produce the illusion that the button was being pressed down.
Building upon the foundations in the previous interactive art piece, I wanted to improve on various elements. In my previous art piece I felt that the overall scene had lacked artist elements to promote the genre of the game. In an attempt to solve this issue I decided to create a whole new concept for a video game, or interactive art game. The game itself will be accessible by players by selecting a paintbrush in which they can proceed to select multiple colours CYMK. I decided to incorporate this element into my design and produced a scene titled CYMK INK CITY. With the whole concept being that the player can splat the scene with paint, I felt this was an appropriate name. The player will be provided with various randomly generated presets with cities presented in a silhouette style.
The production of this art piece was entertaining for me as I was able to build upon a simplistic theme. I feel I have selected an effective typeface to emphasize the "ink" nature of the art piece as the font itself is presented in an appearance that could resemble the process of being created with a thick brush. Additionally I was able to use a silhouette theme to create an effective appeal for the game. I was able to produce random paint splats which I used for each individual title respectively to promote the bold nature. Finally I applied a soft paper layer with a Soft Light blending mode (in Photoshop) which allowed for the subtle increased artistic touch.
This design was inspired by the BIOS screen for Windows. The BIOS screen is the configuration screen in which a user can adjust various settings for a custom built PC. One of the main features in the BIOS screen is the Overclocking feature. Having lots of experience with building PC's and overclocking CPU's myself I found this to be a fun interactive art piece.
I began by editing the hardware specs of the computer to far more developed hardware we have today. IE 2013's Intel CPU from Haswell, to 2081's Intel CPU from Deathwell. Additionally I was sure to use crazy numbers such as 8.5ghz of speed (up from the 5ghz max stock speed out on the market today). Building upon this I used the windows task manager graphic and added some colour correction to create a red effect. I then proceeded to duplicate the layer multiple times and adjusted the rotation value to create the illusion that the bar is shaking, emphasizing the idea that the computer is being overloaded.
Finally I added a temperature gauge in the centre of the screen which would theoretically increase, the more the observer hits the increase button. The increase button is presented in a standard windows pop-up box template in which presents the observer with the message: Windows failed to start, increase power consumption to continue. The observer is to hit the increase button multiple times at a desired speed and can watch the temperature number rise. When the number hits a specific value, the interactive art piece will reset, and thus begin the process from the beginning.
Mini Google Maps Development
Skylines
Before I began developing the scene I browsed for some skyline images. The skyline images were important to set the atmosphere for my scene. In this skyline the scene appears to be more warmer, suggesting a more early sunny scene.
This skyline image shows a more colder approach compared to the previous image. It achieves this by using a bluer colour to achieve a subtle cooler atmosphere with the scene. When selecting various images, I have to conern myself with the colour of the scene which could emphasize the time of day, as well as the weather which could influence the scene further. I feel that I will go for a more neutral sunny day theme to allow for clarity within my interactive art piece.
Composing a city in After Effects
This screenshot shows my city in After Effects from a birds eye view. Here you can see the various city buildings accompanied with the roads and realistic setting. I was sure to use colour correction to change the time of day for my scene, as well as change other values such as the replicator point and view layer to create a more planed city-scape. The birds eye view allows perspective for the city as a whole and potential roads to select to compose a mini google maps.
This image shows the same city in a different perspective which allows emphasis on the 3D nature of the scene. Here you can see detail more closely and gain a larger understanding in how the city might look when composed into an interactive art piece. Due to the large scale of the city I plan to only select a small proportion of it largely due to technical capabilities.
Directions
This image showcases the arrows I composed in After Effects that will be used to navigate around various roads of the city. The observer will be able to select an arrow to change direction, or to select a different street/road to navigate down.
Mini Google Maps Grid Chart
I created a chart to allow for easier recognition in which roads lead to which. This diagram also effectively displays the routes in which the observer can take to navigate through the city. I was sure to include a simplistic structure in regards to which roads are available, as well as ensuring complexity was high enough to grant the sense that the observer is actually navigating around the city. I have created a key to ensure for easy recognition into which icon represents what element.
Flow Chart
The flow chart shows the completed city navigation in a form which effectively shows all the choices that can be made. (click the image for a slightly larger version). I was overwhelmed with the amount of street cameras that required animation. I was challenged this the complexity of linking all of the roads (in video form) together to ensure that all roads flowed together with no errors. In combination with animated roads, as well as button select screens I managed an overwhelming 42 different possible scenarios in regards to which direction choices can be made which ultimately lead to an extremely complex production. This includes linking the correct road to the correct menu, then linking the correct button on the menu to the next corresponding road. Additionally I found naming the files an issue, instead I had come up with names such as: "Left 1 Right 3 Up 2 Left 1" to reference a specific menu or video. Through the struggle I was able to compose a simple yet, effective artistic interactive art piece. During the production of the mini google maps I was able to appreciate the huge amount of different scenarios that were possible in such a simplistic road selection.
Final Interactive Art Piece - Showcase & Sky Change
This video displays a brief showcase of my Mini Google Maps. You can see a successfully working version in which I have linked all of the selection menus and all potential pathways together via the start point and end action.
An additional subtle feature I experimented with during my development was mirroring the sky change that happens quite frequently throughout the original google maps. When viewers progress to another section of the maps, the sky can suddenly fade and change to a different weather/time of day conditions. I was able to recreate this effect in my Google Maps by adding a mask of an additional sky layer which overlays the original. Then by key-framing the sky's mask I can create the illusion of the time of day change, similarly to that of the original google maps. This task has granted me the opportunity to explore my 3D modelling skills further at an advanced level with the introduction of producing a fully fledged city. Additionally with the added challenge of creating successful interactivity I have learnt the art of time management, and folder management in order to produce a working version of my interactive art piece.
Final Interactive Art Piece - Mini Google Maps
Mini Google Maps Download - RAR LINK
Mini Google Maps Download - ZIP LINK
Click on the index.html file for the 1080p version
Note: All contents need to be extracted to the same folder for the art piece to function correctly.
video games, zelda wind waker - mentioned art styles, technology & culture impact - link with quotes (from tech art or culture). relate to my own opinion
quotes about art movements in video games - today - how it was inspired and interpreted - my own opinion
1000 Word Essay First Draft
How does art
influence contemporary video games?
Traditionally video games have been denied as a form of art.
However, up until recently games have become more popular. More notably with
the younger generation thus becoming more appreciable and acceptable as artistic
value.
“Artists use games as a medium of expression, then
manipulate elements common to games – representation systems and styles. Dadaists
and surrealists used games frequently in their practice” You could
argue Over the years of the development of video games; art movements have
become incorporated into the elements of video games, which is what makes them
what they are today. In contrast you could argue that modern artists were
influenced by video games which could suggest that video games have formed into
an art movement of their own. Concept art is an example, as most non digital
art such as Salvador Dali’s: Persistence of memory could be used to form
inspiration or an idea for a video game concept - ultimately suggesting that the
two can collide and create a new generation or era.
A prime example of where art movements and video games have
collided into one form would be The Legend of Zelda Franchise. “Surrealistic
graphics are made to be somewhat realistic, but still in a ‘human-like’ Elf
type of way. Its fiction made to have human-like features. There is room for
fictional races that wouldn’t work in a realistic environment.” TLoZ
franchise uses a plethora of elements which could suggest the inspiration of
various art movements. This statement focuses on surrealism in Zelda and how
it’s possible to use Realism and Surrealism together. He exaggerates how the
game uses realism as a base setting for the game, while incorporating fiction
(surreal) characters and elements. “Can you even have a fictional race of rock-eating
Gorons in a realistic setting?” which backs up the previous statement. In the game the Gorons have two
arms two legs and the body features of a human. Furthermore in Majora’s Mask
the moon is designed with a face which includes eyes, nose and mouth.
Additionally in Wind Waker your companion is a boat who can talk, and once
again has human facial features. All these surreal elements combined with some
of TLoZ’s zones such as Ordon Village (in TP) and all of the houses which are
all elements of realism could suggest that video games are the modern process
of expressing more traditional art movements.
“The improvement in technology could also argue for this
suggestion. “Artistic
growth, in video games has been driven by technology: as gaming devices become
more sophisticated, they are able to recreate more faithfully the intentions of
their creators” meaning that games such as TLoZ have not only
developed digitally wise – allowing developments such as Cel-shading to create
a more distinct look but have also allowed the expression of the cultural
influence in video games and add impact to the art style to be more apparent. “The Kakariko
Village of Twilight Princess had a look very different from what was seen in
previous games. It had much more of an American Wild West theme to it,
appearing as a dusty old town in a desert.”
I believe that due to the technical developments, the Zelda
games have taken a more defined cultural influence and is able to demonstrate
that through the art style and concepts of the game. In another example you
could suggest that the Gerudo Desert also has an American Wild West theme, in
contrast you could argue that the depth of the large desert in combination with
the temples suggest a more Egyptian cultural theme. In comparison to the more
earlier Zelda games, you can clearly distinguish a flavour in regards to
cultural influence through the art form in the more contemporary Zelda games.
“As far as fantasy storytelling was concerned, the first
two games in the series on the NES were very bland and uninspired.” This backs up my previous
suggestion that video games are the modern process of expressing more
traditional art movements , especially due to technical improvements. Although
previously due to technology limitations games such as Space Invaders could
still express art movements such as Minimalism and Pixel art, in a modern
society you see more varied forms of art movements in games such as Surrealism,
Cubism, Pop Art etc. For example games such as Borderlands from Telltale use a
distinct thick outline and bright colours which could suggest Pop Art
inspiration. “The
Borderlands series overall, are influenced by the pop art movement. The colour
palette of the game includes many bright primary colours, similar to a comic
book style which the pop art movement itself borrowed from. The game uses a
style of shading called Cel Shading to give the game the impression of
appearing flat like a comic book panel or cartoon drawing.” With the evolution of todays
technical capability, art movements like pop art are becoming more
distinguishable in video games which argues for that video games are in fact an
art form.
“The resistance to the idea that video games are art also
stems from the fact that they are popular entertainment, an aim considered far
too simplistic for traditional conceptions of art. It is also sometimes argued
that video games are ‘immature, derivative, mass produced, distasteful ‘and do
not afford the sorts of perceptual and cognitive pleasures that proper artworks
do”. This statement argues that video games are not an art form due
to the reason that they are used for popular entertainment and do not possess
artistic worthiness equal to more traditional art. Although that more
traditional games such as Pac-man may possess less, or more simplistic art
consisting of shapes and a limited array of colours. These games have
contributed to the progression of video games, allowing critics and developers
to evaluate games, and with the improvement of technology create more powerful
video games expressing more artistic elements , use more advanced concept
drawings and incorporate more art movements into the development phase.
Criticism is important in any medium, something that traditional art and video
games share. A critic of video games will analyse a video games success of
failure similar to other mediums. “It likely took literature, dance, sculpture or music
millennia to mature, don’t expect video games to do so in 40 years.” Which compares video games as an
art form similar to that of literature, dance, sculpture and music which I
believe is a more socially acceptable description. Eric Zimmerman’s statement
describes video games as a young evolution and requires more time until it is
widely recognized and developed as an art form.
1000 Word Essay Final Draft (With References @ bottom)
How does art influence contemporary
video games? – Aaron Riley FINAL DRAFT
Traditionally
video games have been frowned upon as a form of art. They have been considered
a source of entertainment rather than a source of artistic value. With the
increasing popularity in video games, especially with the younger generation;
the market today is seeing an increasing number of indie and independent companies
competing in the video game scene. The competition to develop more experimental
video games is now more accessible than ever due to the rise of the Internet
and other resources, allowing pretty much anyone to jump into the shoes of a
developer regardless of their current experience or knowledge, and produce a
video game. This suggests the evolution of video games as a more acceptable
medium.
“Artists use games as a medium of
expression, then manipulate elements common to games – representation systems
and style [5]. Dadaists and surrealists used games frequently in their
practice” [6]. Arguably
throughout the generations, the development of video games has incorporated
elements of traditional art movements into the video game design process, which
is more obvious in more recent video games such as Antichamber (2013) that uses
a surrealistic theme design. In contrast you could suggest that video games
have inspired some non-video game artists in their work. The suggestion that video
games have developed into an art movement of their own may become more apparent
as artistic mediums progress. Take concept art for example; or a more
traditional non-digital art piece such as Salvador Dali’s: Persistence of Memory.
The surreal nature of the Persistence of Memory could spark inspiration with
modern artists and develop into an interesting video game concept. The destined
recognition of video games becoming globally appreciated as a source of
artistic value may expand imagination standards, allowing artists to explore
realms creativity from a different perspective. The collision of traditional
art movements and video games could dawn the beginning of the next generation
of art.
An example of
where traditional art movements have already been interpreted into the video
game world would be The Legend of Zelda Franchise. “Surrealistic graphics are made to be somewhat realistic, but still in
a ‘human-like’ Elf type of way. Its fiction made to have human-like features.
There is room for fictional races that wouldn’t work in a realistic environment
[1].” TLoZ features a plethora of races which relate to this description hinting
towards inspiration from various art movements. Surrealism is a major element
within the Zelda Franchise and is used in conjunction with Realism to forge the
world of Hyrule. It is an example of how to use Realism and Surrealism in the
same scenario. Mases exaggerates how the game uses realism inspired setting,
while incorporating fiction (surreal) characters and elements. “Can you even have a fictional race of
rock-eating Gorons in a realistic setting?”[10] Having a fictional race such
as Gorons in a realistic setting pushes the boundaries of art movements. TLoZ
combines two of the most conflicting art movements together successfully in the
form of a video game. Examples include: Majora’s Mask’s infamous moon that
glares at you throughout the entire game with that demoralizing face which can
be best described as: I want to kill you.
Wind Waker’s boat companion possesses the ability to speak and once again has
human facial features. All these surreal elements combined with some of TLoZ’s realistic
settings such as Ordon Village (in TP) could suggest that video games are the
modern process of expressing more traditional art movements.
With
technical advancements, inspired art movements within video games are becoming
more apparent. “Artistic growth, in video
games has been driven by technology: as gaming devices become more
sophisticated, they are able to recreate more faithfully the intentions of
their creators” [11] Games such as TLoZ have not only developed digitally
wise - such as using technical techniques like Cel-shading to create a more distinct look,
but have also allowed the expression of the cultural influence in video games
and add impact to the art style to be more apparent. “The Kakariko Village of Twilight Princess had a look very different
from what was seen in previous games. It had much more of an American Wild West
theme to it, appearing as a dusty old town in a desert.” [3] Due to the
technical developments, TLoZ games have taken a more defined cultural influence
demonstrates the impact through the art style and concepts of the game. In
another example you could suggest that the Gerudo Desert was designed in an
American Wild West theme, in contrast you could argue that the depth of the
large desert in combination with the temples suggest a more Egyptian cultural
theme. In comparison to the earlier Zelda games, you can clearly distinguish a
flavour in regards to cultural influence through the art form in the more
contemporary Zelda games.
“As far as fantasy storytelling was
concerned, the first two games in the series on the NES were very bland and
uninspired.” [4] Which
backs up the suggestion that contemporary video games are the modern process of
expressing more traditional art movements, especially due to technical advancements.
Although previously, due to technology limitations games such as Space Invaders
could still express art movements such as Minimalism and Pixel art, in a modern
society you see more varied forms of art movements in a larger amount of games including
Surrealism, Cubism, Pop Art etc. For example games such as Borderlands from
Telltale use a distinct thick outline and bright colours which could suggest
Pop Art inspiration. “The Borderlands
series overall, are influenced by the pop art movement. The colour palette of
the game includes many bright primary colours, similar to a comic book style
which the pop art movement itself borrowed from. The game uses a style of
shading called Cel Shading to give the game the impression of appearing flat
like a comic book panel or cartoon drawing.” [2] With the evolution of today’s
technical capability, art movements like pop art are becoming more
distinguishable in video games, ultimately arguing for the suggestion that
video games are in fact an art form.
“The resistance to the idea that video
games are art also stems from the fact that they are popular entertainment, an
aim considered far too simplistic for traditional conceptions of art. It is
also sometimes argued that video games are ‘immature, derivative, mass
produced, distasteful ‘and do not afford the sorts of perceptual and cognitive
pleasures that proper artworks do”. [7] This statement argues against the suggestion that video
games are an art form, with the reason that games are consumed for entertainment
purposes and do not possess artistic worthiness equal to more traditional art. More
traditional games such as Pac-man possess less artistic elements or more
simplistic art consisting of shapes and a limited array of colours. These games
have contributed to the progression of video games as a movement of their own,
allowing critics and developers to evaluate games. In concern with the
improvement of technology, developers can now create more powerful video games
expressing more artistic elements, use more advanced concept drawings and incorporate
more art movements into the development phase. Criticism is important in any
medium, something that traditional art and video games share. A critic of video
games will analyse a video games success of failure similar to other mediums. “It likely took literature, dance, sculpture
or music millennia to mature, don’t expect video games to do so in 40 years.” [8]
Comparing video games as an art form similar to that of literature, dance,
sculpture and music which I believe is a more socially appreciated description.
Eric Zimmerman’s statement describes video games as a young evolution and
requires more time until it is widely recognized and developed as an art form.
With the
development of technology and increased video game demand, more independent and indie companies are rising, ultimately raising the entry-level barrier of elements
that makes a good video game. Due to this increase, I believe that in time
video games will become more recognized as a legitimate art form, comparable
with film, dance, music and traditional art. With the on going evolution of the
medium, I believe that Video games the modern process of expressing more
traditional art forms.
References:
(1.) Surrealistic graphics are made to be somewhat realistic,
but still in a ‘human-like’ Elf type of way. It’s fiction made to have
human-like features. There is room for fictional races that wouldn’t work in a
realistic environment.
(10.)
Can you even have a
fictional race of rock-eating Gorons in a realistic setting?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2.)The game Tales of the Borderlands, and the Borderlands
series overall, are influenced by the pop art movement. The colour palette of
the game includes many bright primary colours, similar to a comic book style
which the pop art movement itself borrowed from. The game uses a style of
shading called Cel shading using less shading colour rather than a shading
gradient to give the game the impression of appearing flat like a comic book
panel or cartoon drawing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3.) The Kakariko Village of Twilight Princess had a look very
different from what was seen in previous games. It had much more of an American
Wild West theme to it, appearing as a dusty old town in a desert.
(4.) As far as fantasy storytelling was concerned, the first
two games in the series on the NES were very bland and uninspired.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(11.)
Artistic
growth, in videogames, has been driven by technology: as gaming devices become moresophisticated, they are able to recreate more
faithfully the intentions of their creators.
(5.)
Artists using
games as a
medium of
expression
,then,
manipulate elements common to games – representation systems
and styles,
(6.)
Dadaists and
Surrealists used games
frequently in
their practice.
http://www.academia.edu/9203896/Playable_Art_Towards_the_Legitimization_of_Videogames_as_an_Art_Form
Sofia Romualdo
(7.)
The resistance
to the idea that videogames are art also stemsfrom the fact that they are
popular entertainment, an aimconsidered far too simplistic for traditional
conceptions ofart. It is also sometimes argued that videogames are
“immature,
derivative, mass produced, distasteful, and do
not afford the
sorts of perceptual and cognitive pleasures
that proper
artworks do”
Sofia Romualdo
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(8.) It likely took literature, dance, sculpture or music
millennia to mature, don’t expect video games to do so in 40 years.
Interactive Art Piece - Research
Interactive art is a form of art that involves the observer in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some interactive art installations can achieve this by letting the observer walk in, on and/or around them. Interactive art is a genre of art in which the viewers participate in some way by providing an input in order to determine the outcome. Unlike traditional art forms wherein the interaction of the observer is produce mentally. Interactivity allows for various types of navigation, assembly, and/or contribution to an artwork.
Interactive art is any type of art that involves the viewer in the creative process. Interactive art attempts to challenge the traditional boundary between artist and audience. In the case of installation art, it may be used as a physical medium. In contrast it may be purely digital and internet-based. Interactive art often uses computing technology to govern responses to viewer reactions.Technology usually factors prominently in interactive art. For a work of art to be interactive it must have some way of interpretation or sensing a viewers actions. This can be in the form of physical sensors or as a computer input device like the mouse (digitally).
Marcel Duchamp (1887 - 1968)
Marcel Duchamp is a painter and mixed media artist who was associated with Cubisn, Dadaism and Surrealism, though he avoided any alliances. Duchamp's work is characterized by its humour, the variety and unconventionality of its media and its incessant probing of the boundaries of art. His legacy includes the insight that art can be about ideas instead of wordly things, a revolutionary notion that would resonate with later generations of artists.
French artist Duchamp had created one of the first examples of interactive art with his 1920 device Rotary Glass plates. His machine used a motor to spin rectangular pieces of glass that had segments of circles painted on them. When viewed from a distance of 1 meter, an optical illusion was formed.
In January 1920, Duchamp created an optical experiment with the assistance of Man Ray. Building on the fact that the eye retains an image for a fraction of a second after it disappears, he built a motorized machine known as the Rotary Glass Plates. Segments of a circle were painted on five glass plated mounted on an electrically operated metal axis. Rubber strips connected the axis to the motor. Unfortunately Duchamp wasn't able to achieve success.
Three years later, Duchamp attempted this technique again, now using a turntable of a record player. He made a series of Disks Bearing Spirals in 1923 that were mounted on cardboard. This anticipated the spiral theme that would later appear in Rotary Demisphere in 1925.
Famous Interactive Artists
Maurice Benayoun
Maurice Benayoun is a Parisnian interactive artist who was very interested in virtual reality art in the '90s. One of his pieces was described as "the first Mataphysical Video Game". His most famous piece was The Tunnel under the Atlantic, which allowed patrons to dig a virtual tunnel between Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal.
The Tunnel Under the Atlantic was a virtual tunnel connecting the two cities of Montreal and Paris. The observer also plays a role in the tunnel as the viewer digs through the digitally generated geological tunnel system. However, instead of rocks and earth crust, there are layers of images related to the culture from both locations. The tunnel creates a virtual space that inhabits a physical place on Earth. The shared experience that takes place in the tunnel represents the wealth and shared knowledge and information within society, and how people interact and learn.
Thomas Charvériat
Thomas Charvériat was born in 1974 (Paris) and is an interactive artist who specializes in using LED, video, SMS, light sensors, and sound to interact with the observer, putting together everyday objects to produce entertaining/beneficial interactive works.
Lynn Hershman Leeson
Lynn Hershman Leeson is an American artist who was born in 1941. One of her most famous art works is titled LORMA, which is the first interactive laser art-disk that tells the story of an agoraphobic woman who never leaves her room. Observers had the option of directing her life into several possible plots and endings.
They could access information about her past through clicking on objects within the room. Every objects in Lorna's tiny apartment has a number, that when pressed, access sound and video information about Lorna's fears and dreams as well as her personal history, conflicts and future. There are 17 minutes of moving footage and 26 chapters which when sequenced, differently infinitely shift meanings ts they are re-contextualized. As technology changed, the piece was migrated to a DVD platform in 2004.
Nathaniel Stern
Nathaniel Stern was born in 1977 and is an interdisciplinary artist who works in a variety of media, uncluding photography, interactive art, public art interventions, installation, video art and printmaking.
He utlizes performance and video to develop his interactive art pieces. His interactive art is centered around bodily provocations. He often asks his viewers to participate in his works by contributing their body movements. For example, his installation, enter:hektor has participants chasing projected words with their arms and bodies in order to trigger spoken words in the space. His interactive works attempt to get people to move ways they normally wouldn't in contrast with movements in relation to their surroundings.
Weavesilk - Generative Art
Click Here for Weavesilk
Generative Art is the process in which a form of art is generated through an autonomous system that is purely computer based. It can independently determine features or aspects of an artwork that would usually require decisions made directly by the producer or artist. Generative Art is generally used to describe artwork that is computer generated. The user/spectator can interact with the system through input methods that involve a mouse click/mouse interaction or key press. Alternate input methods are also viable depending on the design of the system. Once an input has been recognized the system will display a progressive artwork. The progressive artwork that is processed by the system expands in shape/scale or position through time depending on the length of time or continuous number of input methods.
Weavesilk is an Interactive Art piece that focuses on the Generative Art system. Via the mouse click input method users can click, hold and drag the cursor across the screen. By performing this method the system will generate a pre-defined progressive artwork which continuous to expand depending on the length that the mouse button has been held. The expanding feature of Weavesilk allows the user to become engaged, arguably allowing them to create their own artwork based upon the foundations of the artworks original producer. The system in which processes the input is advanced computer generated, which represents the producers own artistic ideas, and grants the viewer the opportunity to take an the role of a creator.
Interactive LED Floor Panel
Similarly to the method of Weavesilk, this Interactive LED Floor Panel responds to input methods of more direct human interaction. The floor panel functions through the process of human interaction by stepping on the floor panels. The floor panels can activate through various input methods. Similarly to that of a Phone input methods can vary from touch or heat detection. If the input method is a touch detection, any object, person, or thing can act as the role of a spectator or user. However, this may cause artworks to become overly sensitive and cause issues. Alternatively if the input method is a heat detection, only a living being can activate the interactive artwork as opposed to touch, which enables various objects to function the artwork. Advantages reduce the overly sensitive artwork, however users may feel unsatisfied due to the lack of interactivity with alternate things.
The LED floor panels respond by emitting a light that illuminates a section when the panel is pressed/touched. In contrast when the panel is empty no LED's should emit, thus the purpose of the interactive artwork.
Interactive Sensing PCB Table
Expanding upon the LED floor panels, this interactive sensing PCB table. The PCB refers to the circuit board in which this table has been designed around and functions through. The LED floor panels likely function through the touch input method, however this LED sensing table functions through the sense of movement rather than heat or touch detentions. This interactive art piece shows an alternate method in which interactivity can be interpreted in regards to input methods. The sensors detect movement and light up the LED's corresponding to the movements position. Additionally the table can measure the distance in regards to sensing proportions and the distance away from the table. This means that the table will illuminate brighter lights if the movement is sensed closer to the table itself. Controversially the lights will dimmer if the movement is sensed at a further distance away from the table.
This interactive art piece is interesting in regards to the fact it functions in real-time 3D space on the XYZ axis. Unlike the floor panels that only detect a touch or press down input, this interactive artwork functions on interactivity based on all angles and perspectives.
Interactive Paintings (3D Illusions)
Interactive Paintings are not fully a direct interactive source. The user/viewer/spectator is required to pose in a specific position which generates the illusion that the spectator is in a different place. The different place can refer to an abstract or abnormal location when relating to the actual location of the painting. The illusion is created from a specifically drawn and composed painting in a 3D room that could create a surreal scene. An example being the painting of the road which appears to be branching out from an existing painting tricks the mind to believing that the girl is actually attached to the road surface due to clever tactical perspective drawings. For the painting to be most effective it is generally advised for the remaining spectators to view the paintings from a specific angle, usually a straight on mid/long shot view.
3D Paintings focus on the use of perspective and tonal scales to create the illusion of a 3 Dimensional object on a 2 Dimensional plane such as a flat surface, meaning that the paintings are heavily focused on ceertain visual angles and moving up/down the tonal scale of light to dark. The selection of a tone tricks the human mind to thinking that what is actually drawn or painted to be a physical , tangible object. Toning is extremely important when painting in 3D. Tone amplifies the expression of the overall effect of light and shade on an object and ultimately defines 3D form. 3D paintings are core to the use of tone appropriately. Generally three tones are sufficient, however for more defined results the inclusion of a dew more tones will allow for easier colour modulation and enable the creation of a more hyper realistic appeal to artwork.
Artists focus on perspective through observation of the actual world around them. For example, a city center consists of large buildings; which assuming they're within line of sight, degrade in terms of scale as they expand into the distance, despite the reality of the scale remaining the same. The buildings decrease in scale and converge towards a vanishing point on the horizon. This process is known as linear perspective which is a core element in regards to understanding and developing observational skills within the 3 Dimensional world.
String Playscapes - Art Installations
The images above refer to the the Rainbow Net, located in the Takino Suzuran Hillside National Park in Sapporo, Japan. The artwork is the most famous work of textile artist Toshiko Horiuchi- MacAdam and took three years to complete. This colourful vibrant string playscape relates quite heavily to the Pop Art and Orphanism art styles, primarily due to the circular shapes followed with a wide array of bright colours. As for interactivity, the installation is primarily used for children and sometimes adults to climb onto and explore. The interactivity relates to the similarity of a soft play area, however with a much more defined sense of artistic value. Unlike the input methods for the LED panels and table, the Rainbow Net features a much more direct input, that simply involves climbing onto the netted landscape.
Journey Video Game - Interactive Art?
Journey is an indie video game developed for the PS3 by Thatgamecompany released on March 13th 2012. In Journey the player controls a wandering traveler who explores various architectures and deserts in order to reach a tower with a shining beacon. The final destination is given to the player at the beginning of the game. The interactive attributes within Journey consists of simplistic movement around on a 3D plane and the standard jump buttons.The game offers no dialogue, the player cannot interact with other players should they select the multiplayer game mode, the player cannot engage with any enemies and thus can't receive a traditional Gameover state. Journey itself is arguably best described as an experience rather than a video game in which focuses on the adventure in which the player takes.
One of Journeys prime elements is its visuals. The game uses bright, pop art themed cel shaded graphics which presents the game with a vivid colourful atmosphere. "That's what Journey is. A work of interactive art. Through its gorgeous emotionally resonant soundtrack, its looming symbolic landscapes, its exploration of interactivity and telepresence, it wants us to ask questions and experience feelings, without necessarily having to engage with game-like structures". - Quote from Keith Stuart @ 15th March 2012 (Link). Stuart describes the game to be emotionally engaging through its visuals and ambient soundtrack which when combined creates a thrilling experience.
He describes the music as being remarkable when establishing whats happening on screen, which in my opinion greatly impacts the story as a whole. With the more focus on the visuals and soundtrack, the game is arguably best described as an Interactive Art piece rather than a video game. This is backed up through the lack of video game elements located within the story as Stuart mentions. "Art is all about communication - that's the only definition that really works." - Quote from Keith Stuart @ 15th March 2012 (Link). As Journey places heavy emphasis on the adventure, one of the core elements within the game is the communication of the journey to the player through visuals and soundtracks. Thus I believe that the quote further amplifies and backs up the original proposition that Journey is a form of interactive art rather than a video game. It follows the same conventions as traditional art, and in response to my previous essay, this video game could arguably be the first step into presenting video games as a modern form of expressing more traditional art movements and artworks through interactivity.
3D Interactive Environments
3D Interactive Environments allow the user/spectator to navigate around a set world, usually consisting of buildings or architecture forging a city or world. I am particularly interested in the design of the world as a whole, and how the developer was able to forge the city landscape. The technical skills used in forging the architecture could include the extrusion of specific elements, likely building sides through techniques such as Motion Tile to extend the buildings length as a whole. To compose a realistic city the developer would be required to produce buildings that all differ in terms of artistic style. They can then manipulate various options such as the orientation, scale (XYZ axis) and rotation values.
In terms of interactivity the application allows the user to input various methods through their fingers which include touch (including the speed in which elements are touched) as well as dragging motions. All the different motions manipulate positional values for the viewer to view different perspectives of the city. The user is able to track in and out, advance to different shots such establishing shots, mid shots and close-ups. I feel inspired by this and plan to develop my own interactive art based on the foundations of the interactivity that allows viewers to navigate around the city. I plan to practice my After Effects skills further and forge a powerful 3D city in which I can add navigation functions.
Inspiration: Google Maps
I was inspired by Google Maps effectively, in which Google has produced a massive amount of content allowing any observer to jump straight in and navigate around the huge amount of roads and streets available around the world. You can navigate almost anywhere with Google Maps and I can appreciate the amount of time and effort it may have taken to compose all of the streets and record all location names.
Google maps in terms of navigation functions very simply. You can either enter an address from anywhere around the world, in which google will then show you a birds eye view of a specific address. You can then change the perspective to a street view which will enable the observer to witness a more personalized detailed static view of the specific street. Observers can then use the provided arrows in which they can apply the click input method to navigate around the streets as they wish.
In terms of design for a possible production of my own art piece themed from google maps, I am inspired by creating my own 3D geometric city through composition in which a user can then navigate around by clicking through provided arrows that take the user through a selected route.
Interactive Art Piece -Development & Ideas
I was inspired by some level select screens for Video Games, in particular, these designs show my response to Journey as a Video Game where I began producing my own selection screens for a game the could resemble Journey. I can appreciate the artistic style and thought that go into the design process. I produced a Level Select scene based upon elements for a standard video game. Due to the layout and colours of the scene I believe that this scene would be most associated with a racing game or a game that has similar elements to Grand Theft Auto or True Crime. One of the prime elements with this scene is the circles. I was able to create an interesting effect with the circles by applying a subtle gradient to the outer circle to emphasize a 3D effect. Additionally I used the Roman numerals to produce a more identified appeal.
To test some interactivity elements I coloured one of the levels with a bright colour that generates a highlighted effect. I was able to achieve this by colouring the layer with a yellow colour at a decreased opacity. Following which I added a Bevel and emboss blending option which allowed me to produce the illusion that the button was being pressed down.
Building upon the foundations in the previous interactive art piece, I wanted to improve on various elements. In my previous art piece I felt that the overall scene had lacked artist elements to promote the genre of the game. In an attempt to solve this issue I decided to create a whole new concept for a video game, or interactive art game. The game itself will be accessible by players by selecting a paintbrush in which they can proceed to select multiple colours CYMK. I decided to incorporate this element into my design and produced a scene titled CYMK INK CITY. With the whole concept being that the player can splat the scene with paint, I felt this was an appropriate name. The player will be provided with various randomly generated presets with cities presented in a silhouette style.
The production of this art piece was entertaining for me as I was able to build upon a simplistic theme. I feel I have selected an effective typeface to emphasize the "ink" nature of the art piece as the font itself is presented in an appearance that could resemble the process of being created with a thick brush. Additionally I was able to use a silhouette theme to create an effective appeal for the game. I was able to produce random paint splats which I used for each individual title respectively to promote the bold nature. Finally I applied a soft paper layer with a Soft Light blending mode (in Photoshop) which allowed for the subtle increased artistic touch.
This design was inspired by the BIOS screen for Windows. The BIOS screen is the configuration screen in which a user can adjust various settings for a custom built PC. One of the main features in the BIOS screen is the Overclocking feature. Having lots of experience with building PC's and overclocking CPU's myself I found this to be a fun interactive art piece.
I began by editing the hardware specs of the computer to far more developed hardware we have today. IE 2013's Intel CPU from Haswell, to 2081's Intel CPU from Deathwell. Additionally I was sure to use crazy numbers such as 8.5ghz of speed (up from the 5ghz max stock speed out on the market today). Building upon this I used the windows task manager graphic and added some colour correction to create a red effect. I then proceeded to duplicate the layer multiple times and adjusted the rotation value to create the illusion that the bar is shaking, emphasizing the idea that the computer is being overloaded.
Finally I added a temperature gauge in the centre of the screen which would theoretically increase, the more the observer hits the increase button. The increase button is presented in a standard windows pop-up box template in which presents the observer with the message: Windows failed to start, increase power consumption to continue. The observer is to hit the increase button multiple times at a desired speed and can watch the temperature number rise. When the number hits a specific value, the interactive art piece will reset, and thus begin the process from the beginning.
Mini Google Maps Development
Skylines
Before I began developing the scene I browsed for some skyline images. The skyline images were important to set the atmosphere for my scene. In this skyline the scene appears to be more warmer, suggesting a more early sunny scene.
This skyline image shows a more colder approach compared to the previous image. It achieves this by using a bluer colour to achieve a subtle cooler atmosphere with the scene. When selecting various images, I have to conern myself with the colour of the scene which could emphasize the time of day, as well as the weather which could influence the scene further. I feel that I will go for a more neutral sunny day theme to allow for clarity within my interactive art piece.
Composing a city in After Effects
This screenshot shows my city in After Effects from a birds eye view. Here you can see the various city buildings accompanied with the roads and realistic setting. I was sure to use colour correction to change the time of day for my scene, as well as change other values such as the replicator point and view layer to create a more planed city-scape. The birds eye view allows perspective for the city as a whole and potential roads to select to compose a mini google maps.
This image shows the same city in a different perspective which allows emphasis on the 3D nature of the scene. Here you can see detail more closely and gain a larger understanding in how the city might look when composed into an interactive art piece. Due to the large scale of the city I plan to only select a small proportion of it largely due to technical capabilities.
Directions
This image showcases the arrows I composed in After Effects that will be used to navigate around various roads of the city. The observer will be able to select an arrow to change direction, or to select a different street/road to navigate down.
Mini Google Maps Grid Chart
I created a chart to allow for easier recognition in which roads lead to which. This diagram also effectively displays the routes in which the observer can take to navigate through the city. I was sure to include a simplistic structure in regards to which roads are available, as well as ensuring complexity was high enough to grant the sense that the observer is actually navigating around the city. I have created a key to ensure for easy recognition into which icon represents what element.
Flow Chart
Final Interactive Art Piece - Showcase & Sky Change
This video displays a brief showcase of my Mini Google Maps. You can see a successfully working version in which I have linked all of the selection menus and all potential pathways together via the start point and end action.
An additional subtle feature I experimented with during my development was mirroring the sky change that happens quite frequently throughout the original google maps. When viewers progress to another section of the maps, the sky can suddenly fade and change to a different weather/time of day conditions. I was able to recreate this effect in my Google Maps by adding a mask of an additional sky layer which overlays the original. Then by key-framing the sky's mask I can create the illusion of the time of day change, similarly to that of the original google maps. This task has granted me the opportunity to explore my 3D modelling skills further at an advanced level with the introduction of producing a fully fledged city. Additionally with the added challenge of creating successful interactivity I have learnt the art of time management, and folder management in order to produce a working version of my interactive art piece.
Final Interactive Art Piece - Mini Google Maps
Mini Google Maps Download - RAR LINK
Mini Google Maps Download - ZIP LINK
Click on the index.html file for the 1080p version
Note: All contents need to be extracted to the same folder for the art piece to function correctly.
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