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Time: 2006-10-09 14:55:56
Note: /piksel/pwiki/DrawingByNumbersInfo/edit

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'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