Presenting only at two venues in UK in February 2010, Bournemouth University and SCAN (Models of Practice Series) are pleased to host major figures in the history of video art and electronic media, Steina and Woody Vasulka. They will show their work from the 1970s through to their recent interventions in the online platform Second Life. The two artists, who have worked together since the 1960s, have contributed enormously to the development of digital arts through a prolific body of work exploring the manipulation of electronic energy and the interrelation of sound and image.

In 1971, they co-founded The Kitchen, New York with Andreas Mannik and in the same year established the first annual video festival there. Concurrently they were leaders in the development of a video art programme at the Whitney Museum.

Their early collaborative efforts, produced from 1970 – 74, were primarily focussed on explorations that deconstructed the materiality of video and audio signals. In the mid 70s they collaborated with Geoffry Schier to build the first real-time, computer-controlled video processor. Since then, their work has expanded to include video installations with robotic sculptural elements and live interactive performance.

Since 1980, the Vasulkas have lived and worked in Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA), where Steina has continued her work in video, media performance, and video installation, and Woody has continued to produce work in video, three-dimensional computer graphics, and media constructions. In 1992, the Vasulkas organized Eigenwelt der Apparate-Welt: Pioneers of Electronic Art, an exhibition of early electronic tools for Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria, with a laserdisc interactive catalogue. The Vasulkas have been artist-in-residence at the National Center for Experiments in television (NCET), at KQED in San Francisco, and at WNET/Thirteen in New York.

UNDER SCAN is a large-scale public art project commissioned by the East Midlands Development Agency in England. Thousands of “video-portraits” taken in Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton and Nottingham will be projected onto the ground of the main squares and pedestrian thoroughfares of these cities. At first, the portraits will not be visible because the space will be flooded by white light coming from the world’s most powerful projector. As people walk around the area, their shadow will be cast on the floor, revealing the video-portraits. The short video sequences begin with the subjects in a still position turned away from the camera. As they appear within pedestrians’ shadows, their bodies move and their heads turn to look straight at the pedestrian, potentially giving rise to an interesting range of interactions. When a shadow moves away from a portrait, the portrait likewise reacts by losing interest and looking away. With the assistance of a large team of developers, ArtReach production and Stage Right staging

Brian Eno & Peter Chilvers Bloom
This is a really beautiful simple interface for creating minimalist sequenced music.

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iPhone – Google Earth application
This technology was first shown on Jeff Han’s Multitouch Screen a couple of years ago but now it is a reality.

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iHologram – iPhone application
“The application works by assuming a constant viewing angle (35-45 degrees), typical for when the device is placed on a tabletop.

The 3d scene’s perspective is then warped using anamorphic perspective, making the object appear to jump off the screen.”

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iPhone Guitar 1
This is such a good idea.

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iPhone Guitar 2
Another variation.

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