Tuesday 11 March 2014

Requiem - Abstracts #01

Already, this project has overcome the unenviable task of creating form from data, embarking on the task of creating art from numbers or mathematics. These technical challenges were intense and complex, far too complex for myself, and the work that Alan and Ethan have undertaken has been quite astounding. A real headache destroyed with some superbly clever scripting and scene setup. And from this, from these csv files, a set of curves have been born that directly translate to the creation of Requiem. From movement to music, data to sculpture, it is a project that seems so pure in its representation. Something so different from my usual practise. I will be writing more about some of this conceptual stuff soon, but my job now is to join the team as a artsy fartsy experimenter. I've stayed clear of the technical setup (not only because my brain lacks that capacity) because I wanted to approach from the outside, purely to experiment with the tools and setup created. Already, I've had some fascinating results, and I can see plenty more in the future. So, here is the first contact sheet for Requiem by myself.




The future of the project is still wonderfully open, with ideas and conclusions born from the act of creation. I'll be experimenting plenty more with different approaches and data sets, but for now, this demonstrates some initial creation from data. I'll also discuss how some of these were made, but for now, I'd like to keep the experimentation free from technical details. So, I guess, more soon. 

6 comments:

  1. GREAT! So exciting to see these, Jordan - lovely! And suddenly these forms begin to express the musicality again! I'm really interested in getting a closer look at the green one (second down on the left from the top) and also the small red one, second up from the bottom on the right - they look very structural to me! Really great to see these, Jordan - and Ethan? I hope you're worrying a bit less now. More please - everyone! Just one rule in terms of cataloging and tracking changes; can we always name the various curve experiments via their named section in the Requiem - just so we can order them into 'chapters' or categories as we start to make more and more. Thanks! :)

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  2. A question for Jordan then; in light of your experience of creating this set - do you think year 2/year 3 students could be let similarly loose in terms of 'happening' to the curves in this same way? In short - how did you arrive at these forms and how might others?

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  3. Thanks all, glad it's helpful. These were all created from sequence 4 - Sanctusi. I'll add that the to contact sheet and continue to include it in future posts. In regards to how this could develop, it was all fairly simple stuff.

    Some experiments are using particle instancing, which most year 2 / 3 students should know. This is basically a set of abstract shapes created to the music, then instanced onto particles as the emitter moves round the curve.

    Some are done simply by using elements as flat planes and revolving them etc. So, it could be possible to simply give the students a set of flat pack pieces which they then manipulate, arrange etc. But still plenty more to test out so there may be an alternative solution out there.

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    1. oh also - it occurs to me that we should perhaps agree on some presentation 'rules' - i.e. presenting on a white background - as above - and maybe at particular aspect ratios - only in terms of bringing all the various experiments into somekind of basic cohesion for presenting on here - and maybe compiling at a later date? Obviously, it doesn't have to be dictatorship, but perhaps the two of you might establishing some branding principles - for example, the typography for naming the various elements of the music to which the curve relates - that sort of thing.

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  4. That seems like a pretty good idea, I've got the files as Photoshop .PSD's so we can use them / alter as needed. Do we still have the dropbox account? I can upload them to there, they are fairly small files.

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