The Museum of Television & Radio Presents Beyond TV: New Media Art from Studio IMC
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
New York, NY—The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, in conjunction with Studio IMC, will present the gallery exhibit Beyond TV: New Media Art from Studio IMC from June 2 to August 31, 2006. Comprised of five separate pieces, this exhibit of interactive art offers visitors the opportunity to experience technologies used in video games, the Internet, social software, and cell phones—all of which will ultimately have an impact on television as we know it today. From immersive environments similar to the Holodeck on Star Trek: The Next Generation to singing kinetic sculptures and video art-as-toy, this exhibit envisions the future of group entertainment and collaboration and demonstrates what's waiting for us beyond TV.
Since the last major shift in media from radio to television in the late 1940s, the TV set has been at the center of the American home. Today, with the advent of "new media," the viewer is transformed into an active participant, and a seismic media shift is underway.
Individual Piece Descriptions
•CINE 2.0
(Collaborative Immersive Networked Environment, pronounced "sign")
Artists: James Tunick, Miro Kirov, and Houston Riley with Tony Rizzaro and Braden Weeks Earp
CINE 2.0 is a mixed-media environment inspired by Star Trek: The Next Generation's Holodeck. Multiple users fly through an urban datascape in an immersive environment by using body gestures. Participants in the environment can also collaborate to compose music and, in addition, people out in the city itself can send photographs from their cell phones to be incorporated into the datascape environment.
CINE takes the computer screen out of the box and reconfigures it as a life-size environment. Control of visuals and sound takes place through full-body gestures rather than just mouse-clicks. As the traditional computer screen and mouse-keyboard interface transforms to fill the room, future entertainment platforms like CINE will enhance collaboration among multiple users, opening up whole new worlds of learning, art, creativity, and play. CINE is powered by a network of servers and computers that includes Studio IMC's BlackBox and IMCvote mobile technology.
•Swarm
Artist: Daniel Shiffman
Swarm paints a digital portrait of the viewer. Stationary viewers will see their portrait, while moving ones will produce an image more like an abstract painting.
Swarm is an interactive video installation that implements the pattern of flocking birds (using Craig Reynold's "Boids" model) as a constantly moving brush stroke. Taking inspiration from Jackson Pollack's "drip and splash" technique of pouring a continuous stream of paint onto a canvas, Swarm smears colors captured from a live video input of the person looking at the screen, producing an organic painterly effect in real time. The person viewing the screen becomes part of the art.
•freeSTYLE
Artist: Dana Karwas
freeSTYLE is a music video created entirely from cell phones. Video clips and text messages are sent in by cell phone, which are then sequenced at random and mixed with music to create a living, abstract music video. Participants can send a video or text message to 1@dk22.com.
Cell phones offer an extension of one's identity. Users can send messages to freeSTYLE and, in return, they will hear and see their messages free-styled back to them with an added beat. Guided by a hip-hop beat of choice, the user can hear and see their mobile presence in the form of a living music video.
•Zig Zag Muzig Block (ZZMB)
Artist: Inhye Lee
Going beyond the tradition of the children's mix-and-match toy, ZZMB allows the viewer to create new characters from four existing singing characters by rotating or sliding each block. Playing with ZZMB's blocks also creates new musical compositions.
Each top, middle, and bottom block plays a different character's voice, harmony (chord), and rhythm (beat) of music, which are written as parts of complete scores. Users can make variations of the sound by applying different voices, chords, or rhythms from other blocks. When blocks are matched to compose one of the original, matching characters, users can hear the full original score. Slide the blocks to the side to make more musical variations.
•LifeForce
Artist: James Tunick
LifeForce transforms the cell phone into a digital paint brush and musical instrument. The work comes alive only when the viewer participates, waving a cell phone to "paint" with light and sound. Multiple users can control the pulsing visuals as well as push sounds across the space.
Powered by Studio IMC's BlackBox media player and custom software, the installation invites viewers to collaborate utilizing a flatscreen, stereo sound, and cell phones. The work is a commentary on the need for more participatory art forms in contemporary museums, and strives to validate the mobile device as a tool for creative expression. LifeForce envisions a future in which such artistic tools are common to public spaces like city sidewalks and sides of buildings.
This exhibit was curated and produced by Ellen O'Neill, David Bushman, Jack CK Chen, and Arthur Smith at The Museum of Television & Radio, and by James Tunick, Tony Rizzaro, and Brad Leinhardt from Studio IMC.
Admission to Beyond TV: New Media Art from Studio IMC is included with the Museum's suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen.
Studio IMC (Interactive Multimedia Culture) is a New York City–based new media agency headed by James Tunick and Tony Rizzaro. Studio IMC is comprised of an international team of artists and software engineers focused on innovation. Studio IMC also produces a tradeshow called the IMCexpo with the aim of spurring innovation and showcasing its artists. More information can be found at www.StudioIMC.com and www.IMCexpo.net.
The Museum of Television & Radio, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, is a nonprofit organization founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to the public. Since opening in 1976, the Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and education classes to showcase its collection of over 120,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. Programs in the Museum's permanent collection are selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.
The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New York at 212.621.6800, or in Los Angeles at 310.786.1000. Visit the Museum's website at www.mtr.org.