SIGGRAPH 1997: Ongoings


 

Art Show Administrator(s):

Location:
Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Dates:
August 3rd-8th, 1997

Art Show Overview:

Over the years, artists have pushed the boundaries of computer art. In their ongoing explorations, they have invented their own creative processes, and they have achieved unique visual languages.

Ongoings: the Fine Arts Gallery presents an in-depth look at computer­-based artists and their work. The exhibition breaks from SIGGRAPH traditions by presenting a body of work for each of a few artists, as opposed to exhibiting a survey of recent works by many artists. Thus, the Ongoings Gallery showcases artists’ ongoing creative visions. In conjunction with Ongoings, Sketches features an Artist Presentation Session, where the artists can discuss their processes and content.

Artworks for Ongoings were selected in a competitive, open-submission process. Artists were welcome to submit either a long-term progression of work, including current work, or they could submit their current body of work. We particularly encouraged submission of works that use the computer in a creative way. As it turned out, the majority of the submis­sions were print works.

The Curatorial Advisory Committee spent three long days reviewing the work and composed a list of finalists; their recommendations were pre­sented to Geno Rodreguiz, a curator at The Alternative Museum, for final decisions. Once the list of artists was finalized, the exhibition evolved as individual works for each artist were selected. In the end, six artists were selected to exhibit a large number of works, and seven artists were selected to exhibit two or three works. Some of the artists are new to the SIGGRAPH audience, while others are long-time favorites.

In producing an exhibition of this sort, my goal was to create a place for the world to see the ongoing creative vision of artists who are dedi­cated to the use of technology in their art. My hope is that the audience will come away with an understanding of the passion of these artists.

Lynn Pocock, Pratt Institute

Website:


https://www.siggraph.org/s97/

Additional Images:
  • Robert Mallary   
  • 1969 Mallary Tran2   

Additional Information:

Ongoings: the Fine Arts Gallery is dedicated to the memory of my mentor and friend, Robert Mallary.

I am one of the pioneers of computer art, having worked continuously in this now increasingly popular field of art and technology since 1967, the year I learned of the computer’s remarkable ability to generate and transform images. But my interest in the creative integration of science, technology, and art goes back to the early fifties, when my ground-breaking experiments with polyester and other plastic materials eventually gave rise to the series of assemblage relief constructions, wall sculpture, and “tuxedo” figures for which I became known during the brief halcyon days of Neo-Dada and assemblage art in the early sixties.

My contributions to computer art over the years include: learning to write and use my own computer programs; developing the first program, TRAN2, for the computer-aided design of sculpture; developing the first program, ECOSITE, for the design of land reclamation and earth sculpture; developing a series of large programs oriented to the lineal character of computer-driven pen plotters; developing a large library of tutorial programs and subroutines (over 150 in all) to support my creative work and teaching; and creating and exhibiting a large oeuvre of computer-graphic art that has drawn upon the resources of this library. I have also written articles and lectured extensively on computer art.

Robert Mallary
1917 – 1997

Photo by Paul Barube
Work by Robert Mallary

Acknowledgements:

Ongoings: the Fine Arts Gallery would not have been possible without the effort and support of many wonderful people to whom I give my sincere and grateful thanks. While it is not possible to individually thank everyone, I would like to express a special thanks to the following: the SIGGRAPH 97 Conference Committee, the Ongoings: the Fine Arts Gallery Committee, the Curatorial Advisory Committee, and all of the SIGGRAPH 97 Ongoings artists. Without them, this exhibition could not have been possible.

I would also like to thank recent Art Show Chairs, Jeon Ippolito, Deanna Morse, and Ken O’Connell, for their advice and support. Thank you to my Pratt Institute Chair, Rick Barry, and his former assistant, Deno Slothower, for providing me with the time and assistance needed to pro­duce this exhibition. Thank you to Lino Yamaguchi and all of the Pratt Student Volunteers for their hard work. Thank you to George Schuessler for his support when I needed it most. For all her invaluable advice and support over the years, I would like to thank Copper Giloth. On behalf of all SIGGRAPH artists and those who appreciate their work, I would like to thank Patric Prince for her ongoing dedication to the SIGGRAPH artist community. Finally, thank you to my family and friends for their unconditional love and support.

Exhibition Artworks:

Exhibition Writings and Presentations:
    Title: A Zooming Sketchpad, a Multiscale Narrative: Pad++, PadDraw, Gray Matters
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Pad++, a general-purpose zoomable substrate For creating and interacting with structured information, is under development by researchers at the University of New Mexico and New York University. All Pad++ objects support zooming, and there ore mechanisms for navigating through a multiscale space using panning, zooming, and hyperlinks. Pad++ includes a number of efficiency mechanisms that help maintain interactive frame­rates with large and complicated graphical scenes.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Agree to Disagree Online
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Any collaboration is a negotiation. While most artistic teams hide the filibustering, intellectual posturing, and shifting alliances that lie behind their decisions, Agree to Disagree Online brings these facets of collaboration to the fore.

    [View PDF]
    Title: An American Gothic... or a Pound of Prevention
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Manifest destiny: In “Excerpts from the Vancouver Lectures,” Jack Spicer relates the story: Yeats, 1918, a train bound for Los Angeles. His wife in a trance, automatic writing, taking dictation from “spooks.” Yeats poses the question: “What are you here for?” And the spooks reply: “We are here to give metaphors for your poetry.”

    [View PDF]
    Title: Computer Graphics as Stainless Steel Output
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    A history of hand-held graphics might include Tarot cards, playing cards, the carte de visite, business cards, credit cards, and more recently telephone cards. While each of these subsets has a differing history and function, they also have shared attributes that continue to attract our interest. Proportions, scale, content, cast, and techniques of production all merge with more recent communication functions. Borrowing from these physical and conceptual traditions suggests possibilities for an artist using digital typography to create a kind of permanent ephemera. Incorporating stainless steel output offers an option for the designer to employ a technology similar to computer chip technology and to investigate the conversion of digitized art to artifact.

    [View PDF]
    Title: CyberHuman Dances Series: An Articulation of Body, Space, and Motion in Performance
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    The CyberHuman Dance Series is an experimental dance work exploring simulations of physical and virtual phenomena in the context of perfor­mance. By integrating innovative digital technology with the choreographic and design process, this work investigates all aspects of design and performance in cyberspace, with particular emphasis on issues of real and perceived boundaries between virtual space and real space, and the possibility of a blurred distinction between two intersecting worlds.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Design Speech Acts: "How to do things with words" in Virtual Communities
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Cyberspace is language-based (cf. Cicognani, 1996, 1997; Winograd,1987), and so are virtual communities. The author argues that virtual communities are ideal places to experience and enhance a language for design, and for designers.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Disability in the Arts
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Life with a physical disability has allowed me a unique and humbling perspective that has manifested in my art work. I create art with and for people who live with various types of physical and/or mental limitations.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Dream Grrrls: Metaphors
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    The process of designing multi-user virtual environments (VE) is similar to the process of designing code or imagery, in that it is necessary to passionately maintain a catalog of ideas and references. VE design combines these passions to construct a consistent graphical user interface (GUI) with metaphors for exploration and self-reflection in a collaborative team effort.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Dynamic3: Interactive Physics and Physicality In Three Dimensions
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    We lose the joy of pliability in our interactions with the computer when we get lost in a cacophony of visual iconic references. There is no grace. Dynamic3 emphasizes the subtleties of interaction. Not what is seen, but what is felt. A physics-based computational model and a fluid physical interface amplify the expression.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Genderbender, Smartstall, The Automatic Confession Machine
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    This presentation reviews three works: Genderbender, Smart Stall (exhibited in The Bridge: SIGGRAPH 96 Art Show), and The Automatic Confession Machine (exhibited in Machine Culture, SIGGRAPH 93).

    [View PDF]
    Title: Gradus: Revealing the Shape of the English Language
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Is there a way to make a meaningful shape from a collection of the indi­vidual words of the English language? What would that shape look like? Why would this approach be preferable to a traditional representation — a printed dictionary, for example? These were among the questions we asked when we set out to visualize the English language as a single entity.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Hand Held Tools for Navigating Information
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    If computers are tools for manipulating information, they have been notoriously poor at using the hands of the people who use them. By engaging the hands of the user, it is possible to get a literal handle on complex visualizations of information. In this project, the goal is to design a more practical, productive, and fluid kind of interface.

    [View PDF]
    Title: izzy bombus and the story of flight
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    izzy bombus and the story of flight is a prototype CD-ROM consisting of an animated story with associated games and educational activities for children ages four through seven. Izzy, a young bumblebee, discovers that according to the laws of aerodynamics, the bumblebee cannot fly. Dismayed but undeterred, izzy collects implements from a kitchen drawer to build a flying machine and asks her viewers for help with the construction. With izzy in the cockpit, the viewer pushes the launch button, the countdown begins, the smoke swirls … lift-off!

    [View PDF]
    Title: Making Caricatures with Morphing
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    The talent of a caricaturist is important when using traditional media such as pencil and paper. Since traditional media are not interactive, caricatur­ists must complete the caricatures in their minds before starting to draw. Since this ability does not exist in most people, it has always been considered some sort of magical talent of a gifted few.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Multi-Media Metamorphosis (or making the medium shoe fit)
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    A large portion of my work has entailed taking a theme or story and giving it life in a variety of media. The Mutant Gene & Tainted KoolAid Sideshow CD-ROM (completed October 1995) is a navigable interpretation of a series of performances I staged in 1994, by the same name. The performances incorporated live and pre-recorded, multiple-monitor and projected video; animation; text; both sequenced and live instrumental music; and dramatic artifacts and performance elements such as masks and dance.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Multimedia Interactive Artist's Archive and Retrospective
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Creative options and challenges: a digital art archive grows into a dynamic showcase with new views of the art.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Technophobia
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    Technophobia is a collection of original multimedia art in an interactive exhibition. In addition to the original multimedia artwork, the CD-ROM includes a studio visit with each artist.

    [View PDF]
    Title: The Virtual Harvester Project
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    The Virtual Harvester Project is an effort to address the need For global commitment and action to fight one of human society’s most basic problems: food insecurity. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) created the Poverty Clock to illustrate how quickly poverty grows. Each successive digit on the clock indicates another person living on less than $1.00 (U.S.) per day. Synchronized to the Poverty Clock’s ticking, one new plant sprouts on the virtual corn field; yielding approximately 47 plants each minute.

    [View PDF]
    Title: Using Video to Create Avatars in Virtual Reality
    Author(s):
    Category: Art Sketch / Art Talk
    Abstract Summary:

    The VideoAvatar Library is a collection of functions that works in conjunction with the CAVE Library and can be used to add static, photo-realistic, three-dimensional representations of remote users, as well as other objects or agents, to virtual reality applications. The process involves obtaining views from 360 degrees around the person, then selecting two of these images, one for each eye, to represent the user in 3D space.

    [View PDF]