CHAIN REACTION

CHAIN REACTION

COURSE DESCRIPTION	This class will explore the dynamics of collaboration. Students will build their own projects, then combine them together into a massive chain reaction. Kinetic sculpture, media projections, dynamic architecture, sound, or any media that has interactive sensibilities will be arranged so that when activated, a domino effect will ensue. The catalytic agents could range from the primordial to the digital. The governing principles or group behavior will be decided through class collaboration and informed by research into such topics: as swarm intelligence, missile guidance, alchemy, dominos, and artificial life. The resulting chain reaction could resemble an exquisite corpse, an anarchist wet dream, ant colonies, the Mouse Trap game, or a premeditated sequence of events that would of made Hitchcock green with envy.

CHAIN REACTION 2006 WEEKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Wiki Chain Reaction 2004

W1 1/20/06^	Chain Reaction Goals: The goal of this class is create a collaborative multistage chain reaction as a final project. The project will consist of a self-sustaining series of events in which each element induces or influences the next element. The chain reaction will be a series of reactions in which one product of a reacting set is a reactant in the following set. Parameters: While the ultimate chain reaction will be determined by the class we are going to impose a few limits/parameters to ensure a successful event. The chain reaction needs to take place in one contiguous space The elements needs to be plug and play (this means that it should be something you can bring to each of the chain reaction labs. If its somewhat large or unwieldy we can try to figure out a way to store it) The piece needs to remain within the overall structure reacting to or generating local or global triggers. We will be working with the Collaboration class to create salient intersections. There will be chain reactions with other institutions such as Maryland Institute College of Art via the internet. Starting Points for discussion: What are some of the potential triggers/connective tissue that will drive the Chain Reaction: Physical actuation between machines, between people, between machines and people. Phenomenological (light and sound) interaction/repulsion between work via media traces/vestiges Time and Transformation Remote control Performative catalysts Other suggestions? How will these triggers/ connective tissue be incorporated into the network collaboration with MICA and potentially Parsons? Does the chain reaction recognize humans and if so do they get to intervene/participate? (See links to the discussion about reactive vs. interactive art below) A subset to the above question is do we want to allow remote users to influence or control aspects of the chain? Class Structure: Discussions will be led by students, the rest will prepare a list of questions, vectors or comments. Each Presenter will use the assigned reading and will supplement their presentation with research of their own. They will post links prior to their presentation day on a Wiki specifically set up for the network of classes and institutions involved. Labs – group effort- bring props related to each chains theme. Micro Labs – students are grouped to research and develop potential linkages for a self sustaining chain reaction Lab 1 – Create a chain reaction using gravity as a trigger Links : We will all build the links for this semester through the Wiki. Rube Goldberg Fischl and Weiss' film "The Way Things Go"

W2 1/27/06^	Split Class: Introduction to Max/MSP for students unfamiliar with the program Veterans will meet to familiarize themselves with the Max/Jitter network objects and TCP/IP and UDP protocols to set up a collaborative network with another institution over the internet Note: Todd will not be at class in order to attend a workshop

W3 2/3/06^	Discussion: Art and Technology collaborations specifically EAT Reading: Pavillion 0.5 HOUR MEDIATED BY: Alfredo Kyle Liam Lab 2 - Physical Trigger– Switches and Relays

W4 2/10/06^	Discussion: Networked Performance Reading: Network Performaces Empyre Archive 0.5 HOUR MEDIATED BY: JP Theo Split Class: Max/Msp/Jitter 2 Veterens: Lathe and Mill workshop

W5 2/17/06^	Discussion: Space: Real/Measured/Virtual Reading: Mananging Multiple Spaces(pdf) 0.5 HOUR MEDIATED BY: North Erin Jonah Lab 3 - Light and Shadow Trigger– Sensors and IO’s

W6 2/24/06^	Discussion: Sound as Sculpture Reading: Acoustic Voices: Deboned Sound 0.5 HOUR MEDIATED BY: Noahs David Max/Msp/Jitter 3 - Sound and analysis Lab 4 - Sound Triggers – Sensors and IO’s

W7 3/3/06^	Discussion: Presentations towards the Final Solution Reading: Information Arts 0.5 HOUR MEDIATED BY: Brian Lab 5 - Network Triggers - Max/Jitter network objects

W8 3/10/06^	From now on bring your contribution to each Lab. Your homework will be to communicate with each person your collaborating with towards developing the connective tissue that binds your work. The Labs will consist of setting up the work then setting it off. Critique and discussion will ensue towards the ultimate elaboration. Chain Reaction

W9 3/17/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

Spring Break

W10 3/31/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

W11 4/7/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

W12 4/14/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

W13 4/21/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

W14 4/28/06^	Chain Reaction Rehearsal (see wiki for specifics)

W15 5/5/06^	Chain Reaction SET UP (see wiki for specifics)

W15 5/6/06^	Chain Reaction

LINKS for 2006	Turbulence.org's open forum to discuss network-enabled performance for an international conference in 2006 Turbulence.org's blog re: networked enabled performance Make Money Not Art Human-Robot Interaction Conference Empyre List Archive The July 2005 discussion could be particularly germane to our purpose See also March 2005 and December 2004 Paper on Emotive Environments Intelligent Agent Equator: Equator is a six-year Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration (IRC) supported by EPSRC that focuses on the integration of physical and digital interaction. Mananging Multiple Spaces(pdf) Interactive Architecture: Remote Home Smart Studio WiFi Guilt Patch Your room as a browser

UPCOMING EVENTS^

CHAIN REACTION 2005 WEEKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

NORTH'S CHAIN REACTION SITE


ISSUES^	Reactive VS Interactive experience Reactive art Jim Cambell
	Code as Art www.runme.org
THE MUSEUM OF UNWORKABLE DEVICES^	http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/unwork.htm

GENERAL LINKS^	Steve Wilson's List
	Ken Rinaldo's Links
	Max/MSP/Jitter object database
V2_Organisation, Institute for the Unstable Media^	Past Wiretaps
	V2 Publications (Excerpts from some, all of some others are available on-line)

TEKNIKA RADICA^	TEKNIKA RADICA is an organization run by women and is committed to radical engagement with technology in the arts.

GENERATIVE^	GENERATIVE.NET
	Generative art refers to any art practice where the artist uses a system, such as a set of natural language rules, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, which is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art. -Philip Galanter
	rand()% internetradiobot ------\| rand()% is a realtime streaming generative internet radio station. http://62.169.138.240:8000/listen.pls It exists as a host for computer driven / user defined audio programming that is entirely automated, where every programme transmitted is composed in realtime by computer. All audio is generated on demand by a unique series of artist / musician developed programs. int rand ( void ); ------\| Currently featuring work by: Alku [es] / Dieb13 [at] / Boris Hauf [uk] / Lia+Carvalhais [at+pt] / Mijim [uk] / Nullpointer [uk] / Muio.org [uk] / Josepf Plank [uk] / Charlie Ferrari [uk] / Thor+Runar Magnusson [is] / Andy Gracie [uk] / Dave Courbett [uk] /
SWARM^	On the Implicit and on the Artificial v. ramos
	ant-swarm morphogenese
	machine elements v. ramos
	swarm intelligence
	swarm-bots

Suspect Applications^	http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991563
	http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/tech/article.jsp?id=99992242&sub=Hot%20Stories
	Semi-Living Artists
MUSIC INTERFACE	http://www.suac.net/NIME/NIME04/topics.html

FILM^	Wet Gate
	Silt

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE^	Aesthetics + Computation Group
	Sara Roberts
	Ray Kurzweil
	M.I.T. AI-Lab
VIDEO ART^	Radical Software

META-DATA^	Data Cloud 2.0

INTER-REACTIVE SPACE^	Water Pavilions

LANGUAGE INTERFACE^	Alice-bot

NETWORK^	The League of Automatic Music and The Hub
	Roy Ascott
	Interaccess's "the dinner party"
	KeyWorx multi-user cross media network
	jasch's interactive network software

C0_LABS^	E,A.T Experiments in Art and Technology
	MEDIA KNITTING
	KONTAKT
	crevice
	Homage to New York
	Allan Kaprow / Happenings artmusuem.net-Kaprow
	Diller + Scofidio Refresh Eyebeam Blur Building
	U.S. Department of Technology
	TGarden
	tx0om


PERFORMANCE^	ANTENNA THEATER
	SENSORBAND
	TROIKA RANCH

CASUAL^	Arthur Ganson's Chain Reaction
	Examples of the guidelines for a Chain Reaction
	Fischl and Weiss' film "The Way Things Go"
	Rube Goldberg

TRANSFORMATION	Sonoluminescence
	Sonification

WEB^	SodaPlay
	Digital Interactive Artist Network

ROBOTS^	Robot Legs
	The state of the art circa 1998 at NASA
LABS^	chain reactions: physical mechanical phenomenological (light and sound) electrical (makingthings) networking performative

W1 1/16/04^	Propagating Questionnaire Intro to class Present precedents / artists / groups Collaborate on the structure / content of the class Detail Research Projects Intro to Max/MSP/Jitter MakingThings Read: Overture on the Art Museum website

W2 1/23/04^	TECH: Intro to Max/MSP/Jitter (for new users or for a refresher)

W3 1/30/04^	Presentations / Machinations: Barney: Haptics and Generative Process Sabrina Raaf "Dry Generator" Stahl Stenslie "The inter_skin project" Christian Moller "Light Blaster" MIT's TouchLab Wiretap 5.04 Wearable Technologies" The Squeeze Machine "What is Generative Art?" by Philip Galanter North: A-Data and aesthetics + computation TECH: Control

1/31/04 SAT^	TOTALLY optional: Field trip to Triangle salvage (10am on campus) Sheldons Hobbies 11ish to 11:15 TRIANGLE 11:15 to 1:00 or so HSC Halted

W4 2/6/04^	0.5 HOUR DISCUSSIONS MEDIATED BY: Dorsey: Crowd Control w/ Video and Sensors This presentation is shaping up to be primarily about video tracking, and how such tracking can augment an installation environment. "The concept of expressive gesture includes musical, human movement, visual (e.g., computer animated) gesture. Modelling and communication of expressive and emotional content in non-verbal interaction by multi-sensory interfaces is receiving a raising interest from research and industry communities. Music performance and full-body movements are first class conveyors of expressiveness through gestures. Automatic analysis and synthesis of expressive gestures can open novel scenarios in the field of interactive multimedia, especially in artistic contexts, and represent at the same time an opportunity and a challenge for interactive systems designers." -STEIM QUESTIONS What’s meaningful in the pursuit of interactivity? Ditto immersive environments? What kinds of subtlety are required to avoid a theme-park experience? What interaction distinguishes the better audiovisual installations? We need an interesting approach to the tracking/sensor game, keeping the space free of gadgetry/wiring. BACKGROUND http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.01/creating.html Stewart Brand on the illusion of new technology in art. http://www.interlog.com/~drokeby/erkki.html on David Rokeby and “interactive art” http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic027/html/178e.html Proliferating books, and a Library of Babel installation at ICC. http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/LEA/AUTHORS/ASCOTT2.html The Cybernet – reality or illusion? http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/papers/wilson.body.infoarts.html Disinformation on the irrelevance of the body. SYSTEMS/SOFTWARE FOR VIDEO TRACKING http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~jovan02/cv/ Jean-Marc Pelletier’s Jitter-based externals. -- This is the one I am pursuing. http://www.infomus.dist.unige.it/sito_inglese/research/r_current/eyesweb.html EyesWeb, a PC-based system. http://www.sp-intermedia.com/taptoolsmax/ Tap Tools, with tap.jit.motion. $45. http://www.interlog.com/~drokeby/softVNS.html from David Rokeby. http://www.cycling74.com/products/cyclops.html Eric Singer/Cycling74 video tracking package. $350. http://www.steim.org/steim/bigeye.html from STEIM. http://www.bootsquad.com/nato/nato07.html The NATO solution, perhaps somewhat dated. $$$ SOME EXAMPLES http://www.interlog.com/~drokeby/vns.html Very Nervous System http://www.ntticc.or.jp/Collection/Icc/CAVE/index.html Realtime sensor+audiovideo environment. See artist statement. http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jonmc/projects/edenMiff.html Eden http://www.voyd.com/grid/bwo.htm The Grid. Note the use of proximity sensors to control volume. http://creativity.bgsu.edu/art/extremism/space.html sample layout of a pressure-sensor environment http://www.sensorband.com/soundnet/index.html because it looks so cool... Ana: Public / Private 1. Disembody Art http://www.dismbody.demon.co.uk/home.html read also 'What is the Disembodied Art Gallery?' this link is http://www.dismbody.demon.co.uk/waitlist.html and also read 'Culture jamming' this link is http://www.abrupt.org/CJ/CJ.html 2.Wireless Park Lab Days http://nywireless.net/labdays 3.The Public Broadcast Cart www.ambriente.com/WiFi/ 4.Bass-Station http://www.bass-station.net/ (check out photos, pretty cool) 5.Inconversation http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/inconversation/berlin.html 6.Free Radio Berkeley www.freeradio.org Mike_R: Moving Video www.dimension7.com www.tonyoursler.com www.claudiaxvaldes.com www.billviola.com

W5 2/13/04^	0.5 HOUR DISCUSSIONS MEDIATED BY: Sean: TELEPRESENCE THEORY http://www.ekac.org/Telepresence.art._94.html http://www.telepresence.com/ http://telematic.walkerart.org/telereal/kac_telepresence.html http://www.utexas.edu/coc/rtf/318b/Reading_Guide/lectures_2004/KAC_STELARC_files/frame.htm ARTISTS Ken Goldberg http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/ Eduardo Kac http://www.ekac.org/ Adrianne Wortzel http://www.wiggedproductions.com/html/news/wortzel.html Eric Paulos http://www.paulos.net/ Kwong; Project: Identity, Database, + Web Monitoring http://dada.cca.edu/~kli/chain-reaction/index.html Brook: Cellular sonification With Air Time, an ongoing exploration of how wireless technologies are fragmenting both public and private space, and creating new artistic territory. look at Ben Rubins "917: code with out an area" http://creativetime.org/airtime/mtaa.html examples of wireless installation: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/2001-December/004430.html Research finding could lead to vaccines effective against a range of cancers and protein markers, that alert the immune system and draw its fire http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2001/09/12_tcells.html New Scientist article (read this*) https://people.cca.edu/blane/snap.rtf The Machine Speaks the World 's Thought https://people.cca.edu/blane/themachine.rtf

W6 2/20/04^	0.5 HOUR DISCUSSIONS MEDIATED BY: Jennifer: 1.)early video and performance art theory and practice http://nomadnet.org/massage1/video/index.html (please read sections B,C,D in Chris Hill's article) 2.)Video feedback: http://www.exploratorium.edu/turbulent/exhibit/feedback.html http://members.tripod.com/professor_tom/galleries/video/howto.html http://well.com/user/jaron/waterbed.html http://www.auroramultimedia.com/web/?section=products&product=btl 3.)performance artists using technology: sonami.net 4.) performers using surveillance cameras www.notbored.org/the-scp.html Liam: Mechanical linkages An interview with Allen Rath http://www.sfgate.com/eguide/profile/ about machine art? http://www.qbox.org/DCalkins.shtml A conversation about Machine Aesthetics http://amsterdam.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-9701/msg00069.html Note: there is a bug in this page so click Previous thread to go to page 2 or: http://amsterdam.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-l-9701/msg00068.html SRL http://www.srl.org/ Interview w/ Mark Pauline http://www.conceptlab.com/interviews/pauline.html Jean Tinguely http://www.tinguely.ch/english/museum/col/collection.html Amorphic Robot Works http://www.amorphicrobotworks.org/ Erin: Ye Olde Overload http://www.theremoteviewingsite.com/ http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2003/032603/3D_holo_video_arrives_032603.html http://skepdic.com/kirlian.html http://www.crystalinks.com/kirlian.html http://parc.web.fm/PARC%20CD1.htm http://www.futureharmonix.com/resonance/magazine/matrix.html http://www.tifareth.com/tmagick.html Project Proposals / Plotting / Fomenting

W7 2/27/04^	0.5 HOUR DISCUSSIONS MEDIATED BY: Ben: Duration as Critical Element The Library of Babel’, by Jorgie Borgie: http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html NY Times interview with John Simon: http://www.numeral.com/articles/041797mirapaul/041797mirapaul.html Here is the Every Icon applet: http://www.numeral.com/everyicon.html Roman Opalka: http://www.jointadventures.org/opalka/index.htm More Opalka [check out the MP3s]: http://www.ubu.com/sound/opalka.html Descartes' Disease [Be sure to hit the NEXT button at the bottom of the page. Continue to read until you get sick of it. There is pertinence, however subtle.]: http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11072/EvilGenius/Notebook/March/3-8-2004.html Momoko:REALtime cel-vid video examples: http://www.year01.com/ www.6168.org Similar Project: http://www.cresitt.com/thierry/rtc/presentation_eng.html Angela: "Knowledge is not passively recieved but actively built up by the cognizing.." "The function of cognition is subject; adaptive and serves the organization of the experiential world not discovery of ontological reality" -Von Glasserfield www.film_philosophy.com/vol15_2001/n40herzog Very cool stuff! Nicolas Clauss, Reimaginings(commisions) http://www.turbulence.org color to sound http://artbots.org/2002/participants/color_musically_yours/ http://www.artic.edu/%7Esdecke/Finstallations.html wirefield piece interesting bridge between the philosophical and the "real" sections2.3, 2.61, 4.2, 5.07(hyprid perception hyperplane as mapings of the space in between perceptual states)...some good quuotes from focault. www.basilisk.com/C/CineThressH_966.html Color constancy http://cvs.anu.edu.au/johannes/colconst.html Color matters..strange web site http://www.colormatters.com/ How does noise affect information.. www.matheory.info/chapter1.html "The question about information and noise puzzled the information theorists from the very beginning: "How does noise affect information? Information is, we must steadily remember, a measure of one's freedom of choice in selecting a message. ... Thus greater freedom of choice, greater uncertainty, greater information go hand in hand. If noise is introduced, then the received message contains certain distortions, certain errors, certain extraneous material, that would certainly lead one to say that the received message exhibits, because of the effects of noise, an increased uncertainty. But if the uncertainty is increased, the information is increased... It is therefore possible for the word information to have either good or bad connotations. Uncertainty which arises by virtue of freedom of choice on the part of the sender is desirable uncertainty. Uncertainty which arises because of errors or because of the influence of noise is undesirable uncertainty" {Weaver, 1949, p.18, ed. 1963}.

W8 3/6/04^	0.5 HOUR DISCUSSIONS MEDIATED BY: Aaron: Noise - some definitions, some history I believe that the use of noise to make music will continue and increase until we reach a music produced through the aid of electrical instruments. John Cage, 1937 http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/webwn?stage=1&word=noise (#6) http://dict.die.net/noise/ http://music.dartmouth.edu/~wowem/electronmedia/music/eamhistory.html (really detailed-after 1912 appertain to topic) http://csunix1.lvc.edu/~snyder/em/russolo.html http://www.geocities.com/lmc2124/larte.html Secondary Topic Network - http://dict.die.net/network/ You know a network exists if you can be accepted into it. On the other hand, if you don't know that you are a part of it, you become aware of it if you can be alienated from it. (Access denied, ridicule etc.) Off Topic: http://www.takanishi.mech.waseda.ac.jp/flute/index.htm http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio/land/STUDENTPROJ/2002to2003/lil2/ If anyone's interested- http://ubuibi.org/wtbtn/ http://www.theshipbuilders.com/interactive/the_dronezone.php http://www.andyw.com/ow.asp?SoundRaider P.S. I thought an additional question for class discussion under my subheading would be: What makes a sound invasive/intrusive/rejectable vs. pleasant/inviting/acceptable. Mike_H: Reactive human electron in conduit performace This site provides information about the Theatre of the Oppressed- my focus is on the Rainbow of Desire and Invisible Theatre www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk/main/theatreoftheopp.php This is a description of the Situationist theory of "the Derive," a method for navigating urban spaces http://library.nothingness.org/articles/all/en/display/314 This site documents the official MAC rules for human interfaces i.e. how a human interacts with a computer's operating system. This might shed light on the human machine relationship. www.acm.org/cacm/AUG96/antimac.htm mactonnies.com/sentience.html Amanda: SoundScapes: users.design.ucla.edu/projects/arc/cm/cm/staticE /page8.html www.virginia.edu/topnews/releases2003/tree-music-july-1-2003.html www-users.york.ac.uk/~aef3/homesite/aquaduct.html www.albany.edu/~gluckr/projects.html

SP BREAK^

W9 3/19/04^	Chain Reaction: Bring nascent projects to first mixer

W10 3/26/04^	Chain Reaction Bring less then nascent projects to second mixer

W11 4/2/04^	Chain Reaction

W12 4/9/04^	Chain Reaction

W13 4/16/04^	Chain Reaction

W14 4/23/04^	Chain Reaction

W15 4/30/04^	Final Critique Chain Reaction

5/1/04^	Show