Erich Berger: Tempest
Audiovisual performance

Berger / Beloff: Spinne
Networked sound installation

Erich Berger is a master of the obscure interface. With an engineering degree in communications and a Master degree in philosophy, it should perhaps not come as a surprise that Berger is interested in paradox. His fascination for mathematical structures is obvious in his visual language, consisting of the formal patterns of squares, lines and rectangles. No attempt is made to create an organic quality, the shapes are pure abstraction.

In previous projects like Spinne and Seven Mile Boots (both created with Laura Beloff) he has explored physical interfaces as ambient spatial or wearable components. Recently he has started to focus on visual performance. The performance work Tempest perfectly sums up Berger’s work. Abstract patterns on a LCD screen causes electromagnetic radiation, which is recorded and transformed into sound. Differences in the image produces change in the sound. The result is a composition of noise and light, a conceptually pure generative process leading to a live performance.

Berger currently directs the MAKING SENSE Project (Physical Computing for Artistic purpose) at Atelier Nord in Oslo. This series of workshops has been very successful at introducing artists to new tools and processes related to interactive art. Berger also travels to hold workshops about physical computing around Europe. With the sound artist PURE he has founded the audiovisual improvisation duo PURE.BERGER.

Erich Berger will present the lecture “Surfing the space of possibilities – live performance and interface in the context of generative art”. He will also perform Tempest live at the Generator.x.concert.

Relevant links:

• randomseed.org
• MAKING SENSE (Physical Computing for Artistic purpose)
• Tempest

Ars Electronica festival 2005

September is around the corner and so is the annual Ars Electronica festival. The Processing project won the prestigious Golden Nica in the Net Vision category this year, an excellent acknowledgement of several years of hard work on behalf of Mr.Fry and Mr.Reas.

As always there’s a lot of events to catch, like Zachary Lieberman’s performance piece Drawn and the concert evening Listening between the Lines (with visual performances by Erich Berger, Golan Levin and many others). With Processing winning the Net Vision Nica, the Net Vision Forum will be a must.

Hope to see some of you there, I’ll try to blog from the site if time allows.

Lieberman / Kimura: Drawn

Drawn is a performance collaboration between Japanese “frequency surfer” Pardon Kimura and artist Zach Lieberman, using live painting combined with computer vision as an interface for creating visuals.

A camera films a stack of papers on which Lieberman draws with a brush. The camera’s image is sent through a computer, which analyzes the scene and converts the painted shapes to mathematically described curves. The computer then modifies the image seen by the audience, erasing the original painting and superimposing the new computer-generated shapes. This allows the shapes to be played with as though they weren’t actually painted on paper, and the user can push them around the page using only his hands. The illusion is efficient and feels beautifully organic and lo-tech.

Drawn is a logical progression for Lieberman, whose work often concerns itself with gestural input and performance. As Tmema, Lieberman and Golan Levin created the Manual Input Sessions performance, using overhead projectors and computer vision to create both sound and image. It’s interesting that two people whose abilities are so high-tech are consistently attracted to low-tech gestural input. But then, a seamless organic illusion is one of the hardest things to do with a computer.

Original link from blog.ni9e.com.

Meso: VVVV visual programming tool

VVVV is a patch-based visual programming environment for real-time graphics, video processing and installation control. It was created by the Meso group in Frankfurt, who originally designed it as a tool to develop their own projects.

Similar in operation to Max/MSP but focused on visuals and show control, VVVV is Windows only, sacrificing portability for hardware acceleration using DirectX 9. It’s free software, but not Open Source. It’s visual programming style makes it a unique alternative to text-based programming systems like C++, Java, Flash or Processing.

One of the most exciting uses of VVVV is for live visuals. Unlike compiled programming languages, patching systems like VVVV are constantly running, so it’s even possible to “program live”. In performance use the tool feels very responsive and allows live improvisation. Using the AudioIn and FFT nodes, sound-responsive graphics are easy to create. VVVV also interfaces easily with a wide range of input and output protocols such as RS232, MIDI and DMX-512 for show control or installation use.

The most unique feature of VVVV is the “boygrouping” feature. Boygrouping is a way of setting up a piece to render on a cluster of separate PCs using a master-slave distribution setup, allowing easy multiple-projection output.

For examples of the tool in use, see the Screenshot of the day, published by VVVV users directly from the software itself.