Spring Break
Artist captures spontaneous 'Accidents'
Danielle Torralba
Issue date: 12/8/08 Section: News
It is 2008, not "1984," and Big Brother is not watching you, but a roomful of people at the Artists Television Access Venue in San Francisco are.
Liena Vayzman, a lecturer in SJSU's photography department, is curating "Captured Accidents: Valencia Street Live," an interactive video installation piece created by artist Tim Thompson.
A free live video performance will debut tonight at 8 p.m. Installations will continue to be shown until Jan. 3, 2009.
"The interactive aspect of this event is one of the most interesting parts," Vayzman said. "Viewers will be able (to) control the installation themselves through Wi-Fi. The artist has set up a Wi-Fi access point in a window that can be accessed through iPhone or laptop, leading to a Web site where viewers can control the visual manipulation of images being captured in real time on the security camera."
Thompson wrote in an e-mail the video project consists of an interactive video looping device, nicknamed the LoopyCam. It is a security camera screwed onto a game controller, combined with a computer that records up to four video loops and processes them with various video effects. The end result is something that generates interesting visuals that can be played with interactively, either by a performer or an audience.
"I originally developed it to use interactively in performance, pointing the camera at interesting
things and using the buttons on the game controller to control the loops and effects," he said.
In his past projects, Thompson said he has used game controllers to control music. Recently, he said he used them with camera-based video projects with performance groups such as dud and Double Vision.
"In these other performances, I have always been stuck sitting behind a computer, twiddling
knobs and using stationary cameras on tripods," he said. "I wanted something more
mobile and more of a performance instrument."
The first version of the LoopyCam took Thompson about a week to create, he said. He has spent several months refining it. It took him months to create a reliable version that can run on autopilot. He has been developing and using software for cameras and game controllers independently for several years.
Thompson said he wants viewers to have fun, get creative and do strange things in front of the camera. They will surprise themselves with the results, he said.
John Loomis, director of the art and design department, saw "Captured Accidents" and said it was really dynamically interesting. He said he thinks Thompson is one of the leading digital artists.
"It was intellectually powerful and esthetically beautiful," Loomis said. "It had met all the requirements for great art."
Vayzman, who is the curator for the New Media Interactive Projects at the Artists Television Access Theater, said one of the best parts of her experience was bringing innovative new media to the venue.
"Video installation offers intriguing possibilities for cultural and personal expression," Vayzman said. "Video is actually very familiar to us and in finding creative and artistic ways to use it. And is a good challenge for art students."
Liena Vayzman, a lecturer in SJSU's photography department, is curating "Captured Accidents: Valencia Street Live," an interactive video installation piece created by artist Tim Thompson.
A free live video performance will debut tonight at 8 p.m. Installations will continue to be shown until Jan. 3, 2009.
"The interactive aspect of this event is one of the most interesting parts," Vayzman said. "Viewers will be able (to) control the installation themselves through Wi-Fi. The artist has set up a Wi-Fi access point in a window that can be accessed through iPhone or laptop, leading to a Web site where viewers can control the visual manipulation of images being captured in real time on the security camera."
Thompson wrote in an e-mail the video project consists of an interactive video looping device, nicknamed the LoopyCam. It is a security camera screwed onto a game controller, combined with a computer that records up to four video loops and processes them with various video effects. The end result is something that generates interesting visuals that can be played with interactively, either by a performer or an audience.
"I originally developed it to use interactively in performance, pointing the camera at interesting
things and using the buttons on the game controller to control the loops and effects," he said.
In his past projects, Thompson said he has used game controllers to control music. Recently, he said he used them with camera-based video projects with performance groups such as dud and Double Vision.
"In these other performances, I have always been stuck sitting behind a computer, twiddling
knobs and using stationary cameras on tripods," he said. "I wanted something more
mobile and more of a performance instrument."
The first version of the LoopyCam took Thompson about a week to create, he said. He has spent several months refining it. It took him months to create a reliable version that can run on autopilot. He has been developing and using software for cameras and game controllers independently for several years.
Thompson said he wants viewers to have fun, get creative and do strange things in front of the camera. They will surprise themselves with the results, he said.
John Loomis, director of the art and design department, saw "Captured Accidents" and said it was really dynamically interesting. He said he thinks Thompson is one of the leading digital artists.
"It was intellectually powerful and esthetically beautiful," Loomis said. "It had met all the requirements for great art."
Vayzman, who is the curator for the New Media Interactive Projects at the Artists Television Access Theater, said one of the best parts of her experience was bringing innovative new media to the venue.
"Video installation offers intriguing possibilities for cultural and personal expression," Vayzman said. "Video is actually very familiar to us and in finding creative and artistic ways to use it. And is a good challenge for art students."
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posted 2/10/09 @ 12:40 AM PST
Video is very familiar to us, it is an evident fact, and in finding creative and artistic ways to use it. And is a great challenge for students especially whose major is Arts. (Continued…)
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