CTM.08­ – Unpredictable
Festival for Adventurous Music and Related Visual Arts

Generator.x 2.0: Beyond the Screen
24 Jan -­ 2 Feb 2008, Ballhaus Naunynstrasse / [DAM] Berlin
Workshop / Exhibition / Performance

Leander Herzog: thePhysicalVertexBuffer

Generator.x in collaboration with Club Transmediale and [DAM] presents Generator.x 2.0: Beyond the screen, a workshop and exhibition about digital fabrication and generative systems.

Digital fabrication (also known as “fabbing”) represents the next step in the digital revolution. After years of virtualization, with machines and atoms being replaced by bits and software, we are coming full circle. Digital technologies like rapid prototyping, laser cutting and CNC milling now produce atoms from bits, eliminating many of the limitations of industrial production processes. Once prohibitively expensive, such technologies are becoming increasingly accessible, pointing to a future where mass customization and manufacturing-on-demand may be real alternatives to mass production.

For artists and designers working with generative systems, digital fabrication opens the door to a range of new expressions beyond the limits of virtual space. Parametric models apply computational strategies to the analysis and synthesis of space, producing structures and surfaces of great complexity. Through fabbing these forms may be rendered tangible, even tactile.

"Beyond the screen" explores these new types of spatial constructs in a hands-on workshop, bringing together artists and designers working with code-based strategies for producing physical form. The workshop will feature public presentations bringing the topics of the workshop to a broader audience, culminating in an exhibition of fabbing works at the [DAM] gallery. In a continuation of the Generator.x concert tour, "Beyond the Screen" will also include an evening of concerts, showing the use of generative systems in audiovisual performance.

Jared Tarbell: Spheroids and cubes

We are looking for 15 artists, designers and architects who have an existing practice based on generative systems and custom software, and who are interested in investigating physical formats through digital fabrication. The workshop will be practical in nature, and will produce a selection of works that will be included in the exhibition at [DAM]. Participants will have access to an on-site laser cutter, and an introduction to this technology will be part of the workshop.

The workshop is free of charge, but we will not be able to provide support for travel or accomodation. Participants are expected to have experience with programming software that will allow them to produce work suitable for production, such as Processing, VVVV or any other system capable of producing vector output. Previous experience with laser cutting or digital fabrication technologies is a bonus, but not a requirement.

Applications must be in PDF format and should including a CV and a short statement of intent, describing why you want to participate in the workshop and how fabbing relates to your existing practice. You should include a maximum of 5 images of relevant work, with a total file size of 2 megabytes. Feel free to provide links to web sites containing documentation such as videos or downloadable software, but please don’t send such content by email.

Please submit applications by email to generatorx [at] clubtransmediale.de. The deadline for application is December 21, 2007, accepted participants will be notified at the beginning of January 2008.

Theverymany (Fornes / Tibbits): Tesselated panels

Generator.x is a platform for generative strategies in art and design, founded in 2005 to produce the conference Generator.x: Art from Code at Atelier Nord in Oslo. Other events have included a travelling exhibition as well as a series of audiovisual concerts. The Generator.x blog promotes code-based work of an experimental nature, bringing a critical discourse to the field of generative art.

Club Transmediale 2008 is the 9th edition of this international festival for adventurous music and realted visual arts, and takes place in Berlin under the theme “Unpredictable” concurrently and cooperatively with the transmediale ­ international festival for art and digital culture. It is a prominent festival dedicated to contemporary electronic, digital and experimental music, as well as the diverse range of artistic activities in the context of sound and club culture.

Characterised by the title Unpredictable, the 2008 festival investigates artistic concepts that imply the surprising and unforeseeable, accidents, mistakes and coincidences as a means to alter the dynamics of creative processes and to discover new aesthetic forms.

[DAM] Berlin has since its opening 2003 been a leader in the field of digital art, showing pioneers of new media as well as emerging contemporary artists.

Generator.x 2.0: Beyond the screen is supported by The Office for Contemporary Art Norway. We also thank our partners: Institut HyperWerk HGK FHNW and Lasern. .

From Flickr – Erik Natzke: Skyy / Summertime / MLCP 1c

We recently posted an entry about the rise of Flickr as a community resource for artists and designers working with computational strategies. Well-known figures like Erik Natzke post documentation of their work, while Flickr groups like Processing.org, VVVV and Create Digital Motion gather a wide variety of people, with great diversity and high quality of work.

Nevertheless, there is still not a good general group dedicated to generative art and computational design. The tool-oriented groups are great, but naturally confine themselves to topics related to those platforms. The remaining handful of “digital art” groups typically suffer from varying quality and unclear guidelines. They are also frequently flooded with Photoshop collages and dubious fractals, meaning that the signal-to-noise ratio can be quite low.

From Flickr – Dave Bollinger: Tangle

As some readers may know, there is in fact already a Generator.x group on Flickr. It has sadly been inactive for some time, being originally intended to document Generator.x events. It seems like a no-brainer to repurpose what is essentially a dead group and turn it into an arena for work that is related to the scope of Generator.x.

If you are a Flickr user creating work using computational strategies, please join the group and contribute to the community. Add old favorites as well as new work, post exhibition announcements in the discussion area and generally make yourself at home. As long as your images are clearly related to the topics of Generator.x, it doesn’t matter what tool or material was used to produce them.

A Generator.x Flickr badge to display images from the group is in the works. We’re looking forward to seeing what you’ll post!

Update: The Flickr badge has been implemented (using the excellent phpFlickr library), and can be seen in the sidebar on the left.

Generator.x: The concert tour on Flickr

Our gig in Tromsø last night was a success, possibly the best night on the tour both in terms of audience response and quality of the sets. The audience soaked up sounds and images enthusiastically, and gave immediate positive response. Once again Tromsø audiences prove that they are open to new ideas.

The mood was clearly aided by the intimate setting, Kaos is a small club with low ceilings and we were happy that we managed to set up our two screens without too much trouble. Once up, they really transformed the space.

Our thanks go out to Kolbjørn and his crew at Kaos for support and love, and to Geir Jenssen for playing an eclectic mix between sets and softening up the audience for us. Thanks also to Ny Musikk for supporting the concert. This was a great experience, and we hope to come back to Tromsø in the future. They have several small festivals etc, so there is hope…

Today we play Union Scene in Drammen, tomorrow we go to Tou Scene in Stavanger. In Stavanger we will share the stage with the excellent FE-MAIL, Maja Ratke and Hild Sofie Tafjord. Emi Maeda has played with them before, and we’re looking at a possibility of some sort of jam.

Elsewhere tomorrow, Alexander Rishaug (producer and co-curator of the Generator.x tour) is producing a new version of his Random Cube event at Black Box in Oslo tomorrow, Saturday 29th. Playing are Phill Niblock, Thomas Ankersmit, Moha!, Kevin Blechdom and DJ Erik Skodvin. If you’re in Oslo, you know where to be.

Generator.x: The concert tour on Flickr

The Generator.x concert tour continues. We are now in Tromsø, north of the Arctic Circle and historically home to a significant scene for electronic music. Artists like Biosphere (Geir Jenssen) and Mental Overdrive (Per Martinsen) became an influential force on an international level, with much resulting talk of an “arctic sound”. The arctic tag has since been applied to many Norwegian electronic acts that feature dark, organic beats.

Biosphere in particular is regarded as one of the grandfathers of ambient techno, with albums like “Patashnik” and “Substrata” exploring a restrained and crystalline sound. We are therefore honored to be able to say that Geir Jenssen will be DJ’ing for the Generator.x event tonight. We hope we make it will make it worth it for him to do this rare DJ set. For more information on Biosphere, see his web site or the excellent Wikipedia: Biosphere article.

The concert itself will take place in a small club called Kaos, which variously functions as football pub, concert stage and general hangout. Kaos is an unpretentious venue, but can nevertheless boast of a serious pedigree hosting artists like Röyksopp, Timbuktu, Darren Laws, Tungtvann, etc.

Yesterday we played at Landmark in Bergen, with the support of BEK and Ny Musikk. The Bergen scene is a powerhouse of experimental music and sound art, and Landmark is the centre of much of this activity. Bergen is also home to one of the artists on the tour, Espen Sommer Eide aka Phonophani. Espen originally comes from Tromsø, so today’s concert will be a double home-coming event for him.

Check the Generator.x: The concert tour photo set on Flickr for snapshots of the tour.

This video shows Berlin-based Frank Bretschneider performing live on the Generator.x concert tour, with excerpts from Trondheim, Oslo and Fredrikstad. Bretschneider creates his own visuals using a highly reduced vocabulary of shapes and colors to create a precise visual representation of his music. More information about his work can be found in his profile.

Video: Frank Bretschneider live on the Generator.x concert tour. (~ 5.5 MB)

Generator.x Tour: Frank Bretschneider live on the tour (more photos on Flickr)

A veteran of electronic music, Frank Bretschneider is currently based in Berlin but was born in 1956 in East Germany, growing up in what was then Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz). He originally trained as a graphic designer and painter, but in 1984 started experimenting with electronic music through tape loops, a Korg synth and treated guitars. In 1986 he founded the now-defunct AG.GEIGE, an experimental group mixing popular music with avantgarde performance strategies, borrowing from Dada and the Surrealists.

In 1995 Bretschneider formed the Rastermusic label with former bandmate Olaf Bender, releasing experimental electronic music. Rastermusic merged in 1999 with Noton Archiv für ton und nichtton (run by artist and musician Carsten Nicolai), creating the now renowned Raster-Noton label. With artists like Bretschneider, Nicolai and Ryoji Ikeda, Raster-Noton is famous for releasing uncompromising musical abstractions. The label also focuses on the interaction between music and visual art, with its artists frequently producing audiovisual performances or art installations.

Bretschneider’s music is often described as minimalist, but when asked he prefers to describe it as simply economic. Whatever the term used, his music is highly structured, marked by pinpoint precision and micromanagement. His raw materials are sine waves and white noise, resulting in a sound which is clearly digital and synthetic, although not without warmth.

As strategies for composition Bretschneider emphasizes accidents and the intentional misuse of software. Claiming to be “lazy”, he experiments with connecting modular synthesis systems until he gets interesting sequences. These are then saved and processed further. The final track is then constructed using these elements as building blocks, with looping and filtering applied to introduce further unexpected results.

Bretschneider’s interest in visual representation of sound comes naturally from his background in visual work. Using spectral analysis and custom software, he takes visual cues from music software (dots, lines, bars etc.) and turns them into representations of musical structures. The visuals mirror Bretschneider’s sound perfectly, with hypnotic repetition and precise micro-events drawing audiences into a synthetic visual space. Again, he claims that his use of a limited visual vocabulary of shapes and colors is a matter of economics rather than a minimalist statement.

To watch one of Bretschneider’s audiovisual performances is to be placed inside the logic of the composition, seeing and hearing it simultaneously. While this highly structured environment somewhat restricts possibilities for improvisation, the result is immensely precise in its connection of sound and image. To overcome the improvisational challenge, Bretschneider is currently working on new software solutions for realtime visuals.

Frank Bretschneider is touring with the Generator.x concert tour for 7 performances all over Norway. The tour is produced by Rikskonsertene and co-curated by Alexander Rishaug and Marius Watz.

Related links:

• frankbretschneider.de
• Photos of Frank Bretschneider on the Generator.x tour
• Raster-Noton
• Bretschneider on the 12K label
• Interview with Surreal Sound
• "Micro-economics", article by Susanna Bolle for Boston’s Weekly Dig

Generator.x: The concert tour (Phonophani, Lia vs. Emi Maeda)

Generator.x: The concert tour – 19-29 April, 2006

Phonophani (NO) / Marius Watz (NO)
Emi Maeda (JP) / Lia (AT)
Frank Bretschneider (DE)

This week sees the beginning of the Generator.x concert tour, with 7 dates all over Norway – we’ll even go north of the Arctic Circle. The tour is produced by Rikskonsertene, and presents a selection of artists working with generative strategies in the intersection between sound and visual performance. Co-curators are Marius Watz and Alexander Rishaug, the latter also known for his music and his RandomSystem festival projects.

Norwegian Phonophani (aka Espen Sommer Eide) will play glitchy improvisations using Max/MSP, accompanied by generative visuals by Marius Watz. Helsinki-based harpist Emi Maeda will play harp combined with electronic sound manipulations, with Lia doing visuals. Finally we are pleased to be joined by Frank Bretschneider from Berlin, one of the founders of the renowned Raster-Noton label and a veteran of minimalist beats and sine wave abstractions. In what could be seen as a continuation of the Gesamtkunstwerk tradition, Bretschneider also produces visuals from his sound works.

Photos from the tour will be put online on Flickr.

Generator.x: Tour dates

• 19 April, Oslo: Presentation at NoTAM Forum
• 20 April, Trondheim: Blæst (w/ Monolithic)
• 21 April, Oslo: Blå
• 22 April, Fredrikstad: St.Croix huset
• 26 April, Bergen: Landmark
• 27 April, Tromsø: KAOS
• 28 April, Drammen: Union Scene
• 29 April, Stavanger: Tou Scene (w/ FE-MAIL)

Our thanks go to Rikskonsertene, Alexander Rishaug and local organizers like TEKS, BEK and Tou Scene for making this tour possible.

For information about the concert that took place during the Generator.x conference in Oslo, please visit the Generator.x Club page.

Ålesund: Kunstmuseet Kube

Generator.x, 1.4 – 14.5 2006
Kunstmuseet Kube, Ålesund, Norway

The Generator.x exhibition will open this weekend at Kunstmuseet Kube in Ålesund, on the West Coast of Norway. This is the third stop on the tour, after previous shows in Oslo and Stavanger.

Interestingly, there will be a big LAN party called Exotic-LAN 2006 in Ålesund 13-16 April. As usual, there will be competitions and the winners will be shown at Kunstmuseet Kube. Hopefully some of the coder kids from the LAN party will take the trip to the gallery, after all there is a certain overlap between the demo scene and generative art.

For more information on Ålesund, see visitalesund.com or find photos of Ålesund on Flickr. As they say it’s in the middle of “Fjord Norway”, with a unique Art Nouveau architecture that is a result of a fire that consumed most of the town in 1904.

G.x in Stavanger – see Google Local

Lia: Sum_05

This Saturday marks the opening of the second incarnation of the Generator.x exhibition on its travelling tour, this time in the beautiful city of Stavanger. The venue is Tou Scene, a local powerhouse for art, music and alternative culture. Tou was set up by independent artists in 2001, who took over the amazing buildings of the abandoned Tou Breweries. The project’s continued existence was ensured through support over the State Budget this year.

The opening will be an all-evening program, starting at 18:00 with the exhibition vernissage. Then there will be live musical performances and VJ’ing as the night goes on. The programme is not yet finalized, but participants will include Trond Lossius (soundart), Gisle Frøysland (visuals), Marius Watz (visuals) as well as local DJs and artists. Details to follow.

Stavanger lies on the south-west coast of Norway (see Google Local for reference). It is the little Texas of Norway, known for oil production and beautiful coastal landscapes (including the spectacular rock formation called The Pulpit). It is also a haven for extreme sports, where surfers (kite and regular) can find prime spots on the windy beaches. But make sure to wear a drysuit against the cold water. This is not California, people.

Links (in Norwegian):

• G.x at Tou Scene
• G.x touring exhibition at the National Museum
• Geographic overview of G.x so far (Google Earth)

Generator.x conference

Generator.x exhibition

Having resisted Flickr for a while now, I have finally succumbed and started a Pro account. Negative effect: More time spent on yet another useful but time-consuming distraction. Positive effect: More documentation of events related to generative art.

For proof, have a look at the photoset of pictures from the Generator.x conference and exhibition. You can find more by looking for the "generatorx" tag, which will also give you pictures from Timo and Stigeredoo. If anyone else has photos and a Flickr account I hope you will upload them and tag them with “generatorx”.