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Thu - January 27, 2005Photos & Review of People Doing Strange Things with Electricity II @ CoCAThis past Saturday, Jan. 22, the Center on Contemporary Art
(CoCA) held the second annual exhibition of interactive, electric, art
sponsored by the Seattle chapter of Dorkbot (dorkbot-sea). The dorkbot motto is "People
Doing Strange Things with Electricity," and this second art exhibition featuring
the electric and interactive work of 32 artists is tltled "People Doing Strange Things with Electricity
II." This entry captures the flavor of the opening night ceremonies,
which coincided with the release of a two-album CD containing the electronic and
experimental compositions of 25 sound artists and musicians, appropriately
titled "People Doing Strange Things with Electricity
TOO."
It should go without saying that a digital still image cannot capture the true effect of interactive or electric art and these pictures don't come close to providing a full experience for the exhibition, which runs through March 3 at COCA's 410 Dexter Avenue, Seattle, gallery. The opening night event was spectacular. COCA was completely filled, I've not seen it this full - ever. There was a mad flurry of activity preceding the opening as the previous exhibits had to be removed, walls changed, new walls put up, electricity routed and the actual exhibits installed. Nearly all of them are "active," in that they move, have an audio or video or both component or involve the audience in some manner. Approximately half of them are truly interactive in that they don't "work" unless there is participation. The dorkbot organization is a collaborative group of individuals in (now) 22 cities scattered throughout the world. A dorkbot experiments with technology, art, the social process, and explores the realm which involves technology and art, the artist and the public. The dorkbot organizations also provide collaboration for those seeking the use of technology in art and for those trying to find the art in technology. It's heavily involved in robotics and electro-mechanical/optical/auditory/tactile systems and the exploration of that entire realm. The exhibit covers the gamut from sound to touch and includes a large number of artworks which don't really work until there are people involved. It's a stunning exhibition and anyone in Seattle for the period from now through March 3 should check it out - COCA's hours are 2:00 to 8:00 pm Tuesday through Thursday and noon through 5:00 pm Friday through Sunday. Posted at 10:53 AM Read More Tue - January 25, 2005On the senses...This is a long and somewhat philosophical piece
precipitated by an author reading I attended last Thursday. That reading
combined with several readings I attended in the days preceding have caused me
to think about a lot of things in a somewhat more cohesive manner than is usual
for me. That's not to say that what I've written is cohesive, simply that my
thoughts on certain matters are jelling. Herewith a somewhat rambling account
of my evening with Dr. Temple Grandin, an autistic individual who is at the top
rank of individuals concerning themselves with understanding animals and
providing for animal welfare, and someone who reminded me that we have five
senses and we need to use all of them - all the time. A sixth sense is the
intuitive summation of the other five and, yes, we all have that
too.
Posted at 12:32 AM Read More Wed - January 19, 2005Pioneer Square jaunt to hear authors speaking, and other things...A tale about two authors I went to hear at the
Elliott Bay Book Company this past Saturday. One is a self-help therapist and
the other is a desert ecologist. Both of them were scheduled on the same day,
different times, and I was downtown to hear these two and do some more exploring
in Pioneer Square area. A few tidbits about other things at the
end.
Posted at 03:37 PM Read More Photographs from Pioneer SquareA few photographs showing off Pioneer Square in
the rain taken while I was downtown this past weekend to catch a few author's
remarks at Elliott Bay Book Company.
Posted at 03:30 PM Read More Sat - January 15, 2005Last Saturday's Ballard Art WalkA recounting of last weekend's exploits in the
world of art. Adam and I attended the 5th Annual Northwest Print Fair at
Seattle Center, which was great fun and illuminating - I'd had no idea of how
many really fine prints there are out there. Then we continued the exploit by
catching the Second Saturday Ballard Art Walk. I've included some thoughts
about local artists whose work I've seen - some of them in a couple of different
places. A few photos showing off the two inches of snow we had - which was gone
in less than 48 hours.
Posted at 11:14 AM Read More Sat - January 8, 2005Pioneer Square January Art Walk, a few photographsThis is a review of a few artists I was intrigued
with during January's Pioneer Square art walk. I found two landscape painters,
one woodblock print artist, and one glass artist using a new approach, all four
of whose works were quite impressive. In this recounting I describe the
galleries, the artists and some background about them, and why I liked their
work. I also present a few images of some sunsets we've had recently when
Seattle - in the dead of Winter of all times - had a string of five
perfect-blue-sky days in a row. Now, of course, it's back to the usual dreary
rain and gloom.
Posted at 01:17 PM Read More Wed - January 5, 2005An Essay on the Blog, Blogging, and the new societyPrecis:
This essay, a little over 12,000
words, reviews the world of blogging. It includes some inferences about where
blogs came from, how they evolved and where they fit in the realm of
communications methodologies. It identifies a few blog-related resources and
cites a fair number of statistics with respect to communications capabilities,
particularly with respect to personal communications. It identifies and
catalogs blogs into categories and addresses some of the features of blogs. It
asks or raises questions with respect to where this new personal communication
world might be heading. It makes some propositions with regard to the future of
blogging and looks at implications of these propositions. Finally, it positions
an evolution in our view of communications and suggests some societal changes
implicit in this evolution.
Posted at 04:30 PM Read More Sun - January 2, 2005End of year and recounting of Olympic Peninsula Trip and more...Recounting of the 280-mile roundtrip we made to
the Olympic Peninsula, including short takes on Sequim and Dungeness Spit and
Port Angeles. Other odds-and-ends including new projects of mine (art, music
conversion) and an admonishment for more exercise - me included - but you - dear
reader - most of all. It's good for you and you know it and I give some real
reasons why. Pictures of the Olympic Peninsula trip are the previous post -
below this, in other words - but, a map showing the trek is here. Still up and
coming a long essay on blogging and what I think it means or can
mean.
Posted at 09:54 PM Read More Photographs - the road trip to the Olympic PeninsulaThis entry contains a series of photos taken on
the ferry coming and going (Seattle to Winslow, Bainbridge Island, and back
later in the day). It also contains a series of photographs taken along the
stretch of pristine beach at the Dungeness Spit, a natural, five-mile-long,
sand, pebble, and driftwood barrier which sticks out from the northern Olympic
Peninsula into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and which provides safe harbor in its
bays for several unique species of waterfowl and mammals as well as providing a
nice stop-over for the thousands of migrating bird species who fly along this
route. It was a glorious day for photography along the Strait so there's some
pretty nice shots. The ferry rides were notable mostly for the interplay with
the light and the fog.
Posted at 07:23 PM Read More |
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Total entries in this category: Published On: Jul 04, 2005 05:41 PM |
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