drawing by numbers by Alexandre Castonguay (CA)
The project reclaims an old plotter to make drawings on a long roll of
paper. The drawings are based on the image analysis of visitor's
movements, keeping their outlines. They are made when people make
gestures that are close enough to stereotypical interactive gestures
characteristic of interactive art installations, the divergence from
a set of model attitudes will be analyzed by a program written in
PureData and GridFlow by Mathieu Bouchard and myself. The plotter
will then record the results as an outline drawing and statistical analysis.
From observing people interact with installations, a few typical
gestures emerge: the interactive hand wave, the body shift from
side to side, etc. The repetitious gestures of individuals within
interactive installations are normalized as they are already socially
coded and provide little in the way of emancipation. Other
interactive gestures that will be drawn relate to the intimate
gestures made when using hand-held devices. This time by comparing
the unrestrained gestures used by commerce to promote
hand-held products compared with the actual micro-gestures
individuals undergo when actually using such devices.
A study of such interactive gestures finds an unsettling echo in the work studies performed by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. At the turn of the last century, the couple used time lapse-photography to analyze the motions of workers and propose efficient ways to execute tasks and cut down on superfluous gestures. Industry seized on these studies to increase the efficiency of their workers. The reference is used in a tongue-in-cheek way as it relates to how artists and software authors spend their time.
--- bio/statement
My work uses both obsolete technology and open source software. This choice provides a perspective on the artistic uses as well as on the discourse (both artistic and corporate) surrounding media art and the commercialization of the tools with which it is normally practiced. This critical point of view was informed by my role as a founding and active member of the not-for-profit media lab Artengine, that seeks to explore the artistic potential of new technologies while addressing concerns of inequality of access to media tools. Recent works occupy the uneasy space between the exploitation and criticism of media art practices. Works I judge as successful display a closed logical loop while inviting the viewer into an apparently open system.
--- images too tired to choose... http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_01.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_02.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_03.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_04.jpg
large files are : http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_l_01.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_l_02.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_l_03.jpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_l_04.jpg ^^ I can resend the last two if need be.
short videos, if anyone is interested in working with the sound, let me know. http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_av_01.mpg http://artengine.ca/acastonguay/projets/plotter/images/dbn_av_02.mpg