This website has been archived at cuttlefish.org.
See
www.seanclark.org and www.interactdigitalarts.uk for information about Sean Clark's current artwork and projects.

Sean Clark's Blog

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Tue, 01 Jan 2013
Looking Back on 2012

I was asked to provide a list of some of my activities during 2012 and surprised myself with how busy I'd been. 2012 was certainly a good year for my creative work and I'm looking forward to 2013. One task already dominates for this year though - finishing my PhD.

Happy new year everyone.

  • I remain treasurer of the BCS Computer Arts Society and organised a series of three talks at Phoenix spring 2012 by UK digital artists under the CAS banner.
  • Between September 2011 and September 2012 I was curator of the Interact Gallery in Leicester and oversaw six exhibitions and five live events.
  • I gave a presentation about my PhD artwork at the Max4Live conference at Phoenix in January 2012 and organised a conference art exhibition and live event.
  • I gave a talk about my PhD artwork at the Computer Arts Society in London in May 2012.
  • I directed live digital imagery for Carol Leeming's "Loneliness of the Long Distance Diva" show at Curve for two nights in June 2012.
  • I was co-commissioned to install a three-way "Memory Mirror" artwork called "Interactive Welcome" at Penn Fields School in Wolverhampton in summer 2012. The work will remain on show for three years.
  • I installed and curated a "pop-up" Interact art gallery at the Leicester Summer Sundae Festival for three days in August 2012.
  • I created technology in support of Martin Rieser's "Exodus" artworks in Leicester in August 2012.
  • I wrote an article on "Digital Arts in Leicester" for the Leicester Mercury Culture Guide, Issue 2, September 2012.
  • I was instrumental in bringing the "Intuition and Ingenuity" exhibition of artwork inspired by Alan Turing to Phoenix in Leicester in October 2012.
  • I collaborated in the creation of the "Colour Net" artworks for Ernest Edmond's "Light Logic" exhibition in Sheffield in November 2012.
  • I exhibited my PhD artwork as part of the "Symbiotic" exhibition at Phoenix in November 2012.
  • I gave a workshop about my PhD artwork as part of the Creative Technology Live conference at Phoenix in November 2012.
  • Finally, I had a respectable 13,293 unique visitors to my website.
Sun, 16 Dec 2012
Manfred Mohr - one and zero

I went to see Manfred Mohr's exhibition "one and zero" exhibition last week. The exhibition - Manfred's first solo show in London in 50 years of practice - brings together some of his pre-computer work, his computer plotted black and white pieces and more recent colour and animated works.

Throughout the show you can see an ongoing interest in the cube and square, abstract music-like notations, intersecting open and closed forms and algorithmic repetition. As with Ernest Edmond's exhibition in Sheffield at the moment, I like the coherence of this show. You get to see the development of the artist's ideas over many decades and are reminded that "computer art" need not (perhaps must not) be solely defined by the technology of the day. It's always the presence of good ideas that give any artwork longevity.

The exhibition is on at the Carroll/Fletcher gallery in London until 20th December - so you will need to get down to see it quick. I have a collection of pictures from the exhibition on my Flickr pages.

Fri, 07 Dec 2012
Symbiotic Finished!

My "Symbiotic" exhibition with Genetic Moo at Phoenix has come to an end. It ran for just over two weeks and seems to have gone down well.

In many ways this show embodied the three years of research I have done on my PhD. The key idea in the show - that digital artworks can be made to interact with each other as well as the human visitors - is one of the main themes of my research.

All I now need to do is analyse all of the data I captured during the show and demonstrate that this happened during the Symbiotic exhibition and that it was a worthwhile thing to do from an audience perspective!

I took many pictures during the exhibition and did a walkthrough - filmed by Steve Friendship - in which I discuss the works. These materials can be found on my project page at ./symbiotic.html.

Genetic Moo have also documented the show at http://www.geneticmoo.com/symbiotic.php.

Tue, 20 Nov 2012
Symbiotic Opening at Phoenix

"Symbiotic" - my new exhibition with Genetic Moo - opened at Phoenix last night.

The exhibition features artworks by Genetic Moo and myself that are designed to interact with each other as well as their audience. It represents the culmination of three years of my PhD research and introduces my concept of "Digital Art Ecologies". I will be writing more about this soon.

The show runs until 4th December in the Phoenix Cube space. Entry is free. If you are interested in helping with my research by completing some evaluation forms please get in touch.

Pictures from the opening plus background information about the artworks on display can be found here.

Mon, 19 Nov 2012
Ernest Edmonds' Light Logic at The Site Gallery

I went to the opening of Ernest Edmonds' exhibition "Light Logic" at The Site Gallery in Sheffield on Friday (16th November). This is a major exhibition of Ernest's work and his first solo show in the UK for quite a while.

The opening was very well attended, with a number of digital art luminaries present, including Frieder Nake, Roman Versotko, Manfred Mohr and, of course, Ernest Edmonds himself.

The show felt very coherent, with work on display covering over 40 years of artistic practice. It included paintings, digital works and background materials, such as sketches, publications and printouts.

Also on display was the artwork "Colour Net". I have been working with Ernest to allow remote access to his digital artworks via the Internet, and my "Colour Net Controller" is the first example of this. Using a web-accessible control pad, people are able to influence the development of a "Shaping form" artwork and watch the the results of their interactions on a large projected image in the upper window of the gallery. More information about this can be found on my Colour Net Controller page.

The exhibition runs until 2nd February 2012. My pictures from the opening can be found here.

Fri, 16 Nov 2012
Intuition and Ingenuity Finishes at Phoenix

The Intuition and Ingenuity exhibition has finished it's run at Phoenix in Leicester. The exhibition was very well received and I have had lots of positive feedback about it. Many thanks to the curators (Anna Dumitriu, Nick Lambert and Sue Gollifer), the artists, all those who supported it, and the many visitors.

My documentation of the show is online at ./intuitionandingenuity.html and will remain there for the foreseeable future. If you did manage to miss the exhibition then there will be a final exhibition at Bletchley Park - where Alan Turing was based during the war - in the new year. Keep an eye on http://www.turingcentenaryarts.eu for details.

Tue, 13 Nov 2012
Stephan Harding's Animate Earth Film

On Friday night, as part of the Doc Film Festival, I organised a showing of Dr Stephan Harding's film Animate Earth (directed by Sally Angel) at the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester. A small, but very appreciative, audience was treated to this highly inspirational film and then a question and answer session with Stephan himself.

Animate Earth is a must read book and a must see film. It introduces Stephan Harding's work at Schumacher College and presents a view of the world that is essential if we are to combat the environmental issues facing us.

The film was very well received and stimulated a series of interesting questions. Many thanks to Stephan for joining us via Skype.

If you want to see the film then you can purchase it from the Animate Earth web site at http://www.animateearth.com. The book is available here from Amazon.

Thu, 25 Oct 2012
Digital Arts at Phoenix in November 2012

As the Intuition and Ingenuity exhibition of artwork inspired by mathematician Alan Turing draws to a close, there will be an opportunity to meet many of the artists involved in the exhibition as part of an afternoon of talks and live demonstrations. "Behind Intuition and Ingenuity" starts at 2pm on Saturday 3th November at Phoenix in Leicester and is open to all. Speakers confirmed so far include Alex May and Anna Dumitriu with their robot companion (pictured), Vicky Isley and Paul Smith from boredomresearch, Tom Castle from the Trope Troupe, Sean Clark from DMU, Nick Lambert, Chair of the Computer Arts Society and others to be confirmed. The Intuition and Ingenuity exhibition itself runs until 9th November, so there is still plenty of time to see it. Entry to both the exhibition and afternoon of talks on the 3rd is free.

On Monday 19th November from 6pm at Phoenix there will be a digital arts masterclass from four internationally recognised pioneers in the field of algorithmic art. "Algorithmic Dimension" will be an unmissable event featuring Ernest Edmonds, Manfred Mohr, Frieder Nake and Roman Verostko. The evening is being chaired by Dr Francesca Franco from the Institute of Creative Technologies at DMU and will include lectures and discussions from these leading figures in the development of digital arts and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions. Although the event is free, is likely to be popular, so booking a place in advance is advised.

Also on Monday 19th November, at 6pm (just prior to the masterclass) there will be the opening of Sean Clark and Generic Moo's exhibition in the DMU Cube at Phoenix. The exhibition, entitled "Symbiotic", features six artworks that have been designed to interact with each other as well as their human visitors. It is the first time that this work has been shown in public, so is another first for Phoenix. Entry is free.

Finally, on Saturday 24th November there will be an all day event at Phoenix entitled "Creative Technology Live". This will feature talks and workshops by users of the popular Ableton Live music creation software and related technologies. The event starts at 10am. Tickets are priced £10 and £8 concessions.

For more information about any of these events, and others at the Phoenix, you can call the Phoenix Box Office on 0116 242 2800, email hello@phoneix.org.uk or visit their website at www.phoenix.org.uk.

STOP PRESS

I've just seen the full Phoenix line-up for next month and I see there are even more digital arts events happening in the city. From the 9th November through to 7th December there is an exhibition in the Phoenix Cafébar entitled "Playback". This features QR codes, stickers and flyers that give you access to various interactive exhibits. Looks interesting.

There's also a workshop and performance entitled "Binaural Experience" that involves the amazing Dirty Electronics Ensemble. This is happening on the 10th November, with the workshop during the day and the performance in the evening from 6:15pm. You can book on the Phoenix website.

I should also make sure people are aware of the Full Dome 3D film festival happening at the National Space Centre on the 16th and 17th November. This should be quite an experience.

Digital arts in Leicester is becoming an embarrassment of riches!

Tue, 23 Oct 2012
Algorithmic Dimension: A Digital Arts Masterclass with Ernest Edmonds, Manfred Mohr, Frieder Nake and Roman Verostko

We have a very special event coming to Leicester on the 19th November. Digital arts pioneers Ernest Edmonds, Manfred Mohr, Frieder Nake and Roman Verostko will be presenting a "masterclass" at Phoenix.

To quote the event publicity:

"Four pioneers in the world of digital arts will lead a Masterclass in this free event for artists, students and anyone interested in learning more about the history and practice of this field.

"Algorithmic Dimension offers an excellent opportunity to take part in lectures and discussions with leading figures in the digital arts.

"Focussing on the relationship between computer programming, art and creativity, each speaker will explore the role of programming in their work, looking at how their practice has kept pace with the rapid advance of technology in recent decades.

"Chaired by Dr Francesca Franco and organised by De Montfort University in partnership with Phoenix. Free, but booking is advised as places are limited. Contact the box office to reserve your place."

I've created a web page about the event with some background information and web links at:

./algorithmicdimension.html

I'd strongly recommend booking a place. It's going to be a rare opportunity indeed.

Tue, 16 Oct 2012
Symbiotic

Symbiotic is an exploratory exhibition of interacting artworks by London-based arts group Genetic Moo and Leicester digital artist Sean Clark. Premiering at the Phoenix Cube gallery in Leicester on 19th November 2012 and running until 4th December, it features six multimedia artworks that interact with each other as well as their human visitors. The artworks communicate through colour and sound and work together to form a complex whole that actively responds to the presence of visitors and changes in the gallery environment. When you enter the gallery you become part of the artworks, helping them grow and triggering the creation of new symbiotic relationships.

There will be an opportunity to meet the artists and talk about the ideas contained within their artwork at a workshop as part of Creative Technology Live on 24th November 2012. The artists will be evaluating the exhibition on the 3rd and 4th December 2012. If you would like to give your feedback during these sessions please contact Sean Clark at seanc@cuttlefish.com.

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