hi there
Well I am finally getting back on my feet again after having wrapped up my show at Back Lane Studios nearly a month ago.
I am so grateful to have had a chance to work with all of these people: Ellen who runs Back Lane Studios, Abby and Rene for their interest, support, and very thoughtful and helpful feedback, Doris Purchase for breaking the curse – after thirty plus years, finally someone bought one of my paintings, Doris also helped me set up the show, Darren Copeland for taking time to visit and for some excellent constructive criticism, Gunar Roze for the same, Pauline Gill (my mom) and my Aunt Lorraine for a couple of visits and moral and financial support, and of course thank you to all who attended the opening, closing, and any time in-between. I met so many very interesting people and I experienced a variety of kinds of feedback – *all* of it good.
I won’t describe the whole show in this one blog post. I will continue to elaborate in future blobs.
thank you Doris Purchase! – an artist herself (I have one of her ‘bugs’)
Abby and Rene
Pauline Gill and Ellen Moorehouse
A special thank you goes to Julie Lassonde – movement/performance artist and collaborator with me in the piece we presented during the closing day. She is a brilliant artist and lawyer and I am so lucky to have had a chance to work with her.
Julie Lassonde performing her work, On our terms, at the 7a*11d Festival 2022
You will find the results of the show on my website: on the project page for High Park Branches, and on the gallery show page. Here is a link to the nine audio albums that I produced from using my installation (totalling eleven hours of new material). It is a dream come true to be able to produce finished work this way – from interactive software that I have written in C++ with accompanying 3D computer generated visuals. For anyone who has not seen it yet, here are some videos demonstrating the installation in action:
audio albums
Click image below to go to my Bandcamp page.
These are all (except the first one) one hour pieces formed by loading a set of samples into the installation, making some adjustments in the software, starting it, and letting it run for an hour as it articulated on its own. This is generative art – something I have been trying to do in a substantial way for quite a while.
I think the next move with the software is to have evolving/transforming systems. This installation produces random behaviour triggered by the collisions of branches, but that is it – there is no evolving/transforming system here, just endless tumbling branches in the wind (which I am quite fond of and is the point of this particular project). If you go to the EHB video or web page (you have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the app) you will see a complex system (though a rudimentary one) operating there. That is where this software is most likely headed next. There are plenty of very interesting options (which I will learn by implementing in projects); Markov Chains, cybernetics, chaos theory, cellular automata, and so many other possibilities. I am definitely at the tip of that iceberg.
Here are a couple more videos going over the show. The first was recorded just before the opening and the second is made up of photos taken near the end of the show.
Prints are here (they are all $35) and here are my paintings. You will find all of them in my online store which looks good and works well, ie. safe transactions via Shopify (which is excellent and recommended btw) and if you live in Toronto, delivery is often next day (by me).
I am very happy that I had a chance to put this show together in the way that I did. I took care of just about everything myself and had complete creative control over every aspect so the show turned out just as I would have liked, just as I had envisioned. It is very satisfying to have produced all of that entirely on my own terms, without compromise – in no way does it leave me wanting or feeling unresolved. If you are embarking on a creative endeavour, know that doing things entirely your own way is possible and is every bit as satisfying as you would expect – it is not a myth.
I have found it incredibly difficult getting to this blog but now I see why – because I am in a different place now – the dialogue has begun. One of the things that I am realizing is that this blog will serve well as an art channel in my practice. I am starting to learn how this is possible. The different media/social media platforms start to work as a network that you can use in that way – by links.
I am using this blog along with You Tube (among other platforms – see links below). On You Tube I can post my latest 3D computer animations (mostly Blender but some three.js too) with some of my favourite parts of the audio art I produce serving as the soundtrack (and I use the term ‘audio art’ deliberately). Many of my animations on my channel are like that, such as this one. I understand that my music is difficult and uncomfortable – that is what I am going for. I love chaotic sounds/compositions and dissonance. I have found some of Bekah Simms music to be very satisfying, along with Gyorgy Ligeti (of course!), but that’s something for another post.
Video is usually the best way to document artwork as well – especially interactive and performance. It also serves as an art form in itself. As just mentioned, I am particularly interested in computer animation. I am always keen to learn more about computer graphics, especially 3D – it is a very deep and rich scientific field that is also very much an art form – a true blend of art and science. That is exactly what I am aspiring to – art that is audio and 3D computer graphics but that also serves a scientific purpose. Like the 3D computer generated animations that demonstrate scientific principles or display data (data visualization) but it being art instead – thie certainly not something I invented. In the case of my art, I am using art to study psyche. I treat each artwork embodying a particular aspect of psyche – each system that I develop has a point, a theme, a focus, a certain perspective – even if there may not be a name for it. This is an aspect of my art that requires elaboration – I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn – particularly in regards to the math and the psychology – but I have at least developed the framework within which to pursue this -OpenFrameworks, Blender, Supercollider for standalone work, and three.js, and tone.js for online pieces. Artwork that has a function – I like to think of them as being like Qigoing exersizes. I will elaborate on this in a future post.
the incredible extra story of delight and whimsicality
As mentioned earlier, it took me three weeks plus to recover from that show. I put everything I had into it and pushed myself too hard – at one point I ended up in the hospital due to uncontrollable back spasms – that’s never happened before. Stress. The lower back issues started on the Friday just before the last weekend. At one point I was in the lane (the ‘back lane’) behind the studio trying to bring one of the sandwich boards in and my back was really acting up and I could barely walk. A woman passing by gave me a hand and with a grave look of concern on her face, told me about her daughter who has similar problems. She recommended ‘Robaxacet’. I was in so much pain at that point that it was embarrassing. I tried laughing it off but it came out sounding a bit crazy. Oh I can laugh now though. I am not sure if I will ever see her again, she was very kind. So yeah, that was fun. This might be a bit TMI but it does make an exciting story and it ends well – I got my back back.
High Park Branches – final images 2 and 3 – paintings
36″ x 36″ acrylic on stretched canvas
available in my online store – click images
The two mid-scale paintings of the ‘results’ from interacting with the installation serving as the center piece of the show. I am planning on painting many more like this.
what and High Park Branches:
things:
#newmedia #audioart #generativeart #mediaart #openframeworks #blender3d #mediaartist #3dart #canadianartist #forestart #highpark #interactiveinstallation #newmediaart #complexsystems #torontoartist