It’s always refreshing to walk into an exhibit and to be greeted by video art. It’s even better when you get to the end and realize that that half of the show is comprised of multi-screen moving image works. Such was the case at the 14th Factory LA, a show we were lucky enough to catch right before it closed its doors after after 4 months and over 75,000 visitors.
‘The Inevitable’ by Simon Birch and Eric Hu with music by Gary Gunn. Read more about this incredible work inspired by a devastating medical diagnosis on Niio’s Instagram page.
The 14th Factory LA was a monumental, multiple-media, socially engaged art and documentary experience conceived by the Hong Kong-based British artist Simon Birch. Taking over three acres of an empty industrial warehouse and lot on the outskirts of downtown Los Angeles, the location was transformed into a factory where Birch and his 20 creative collaborators worked and manufactured their art, creating an ever-changing immersive environment of 14 interlinked spaces comprised of video, installation, sculpture, paintings and performance.
Keep an eye on Simon Birch, he has some great projects on the horizon. You won’t want to miss them.
Simon Birch, ‘Tannhauser’, 2016. Realized by Scott Sporleder, Jennifer Russell, with sound design by Gary Gunn. 4-channel video featuring a Hong Kong cityscape. Still by Matthew Sebastian Wood.‘The Inhumans’ is a short film directed by Wing Shya in collaboration with Simon Birch.The ‘Barmecide Feast’ by Simon Birch and KPlusK Assoc. was a replica of The Otherworldly Bedroom from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.Simon Birch pictured with Michael Govan, the Director of LACMA. According to Birch, ‘The Crusher’ was in part a tribute to the legendary American wrestler Reginald Lisowski, The Crusher who inspired a 1960s pop song of the same name. Photo by VM Fernandez.Niio’s Margo Spiritus with the 14th Factory LA’s founder, Simon Birch in front of one of his paintings.Panel: The Art Experience in the Age of Social Media with 14th Factory’s Simon Birch, Niio’s Margo Spiritus, Venus Over Manhattan’s Aaron Moulton, Marissa Gluck and moderator Gloria Yu of 14th Factory LA.
When talking about digital art (art created with technology that’s often intended to be viewed or experienced on screens or projectors), inevitably people use a myriad of different terms. In order to help clarify, we’ve pulled together a glossary of terms.
Digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as an essential part of the creative or presentation process. Today digital art itself is placed under the larger umbrella term new media art.
New media art refers to artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, video games, computer robotics and 3D printing that can enable the digital production and distribution of art.
Video art is an art form which relies on moving pictures in a visual and audio medium. Video art came into existence during the late 1960s and early 1970s as new consumer video technology became available outside corporate broadcasting. Video art can take many forms: recordings that are broadcast; installations viewed in galleries or museums; works streamed online, distributed as video tapes, or DVDs; and performances which may incorporate one or more television sets, video monitors, and projections, displaying ‘live’ or recorded images and sounds.
Internet art (often referred to as net art) is a term used to describe a process of making digital artwork made on and distributed by the Internet. This form of art has circumvented the traditional dominance of the gallery and museum system, delivering aesthetic experiences via the Internet. In many cases, the viewer is drawn into some kind of interaction with the work of art.
Blingee by Olia Lialina (artist) and Mike Tyka (Co-Founder of the Google Artist and Machine Intelligence Program) for Rhizome’s Seven on Seven ’17.
Software art is a work of art where the creation of software, or concepts from software, play an important role; for example software applications which were created by artists and which were intended as artworks.
Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system. An autonomous system in this context is generally one that is non-human and can independently determine features of an artwork that would otherwise require decisions made directly by the artist.
Algorithmic art, also known as computer-generated art, is a subset of generative art (generated by an autonomous system) and is related to systems art (influenced by systems theory). For a work of art to be considered algorithmic art, its creation must include a process based on an algorithm devised by the artist. Here, an algorithm is simply a detailed recipe for the design and possibly execution of an artwork, which may include computer code, functions, expressions, or other input which ultimately determines the form the art will take.
Video game art is a specialized form of computer art employing video games as the artistic medium. Video game art often involves the use of patched or modified video games or the repurposing of existing games or game structures, however it relies on a broader range of artistic techniques and outcomes than artistic modification and it may also include painting, sculpture, appropriation, in-game intervention and performance, sampling, etc.
Super Mario Clouds by Corey Arcangel as seen at the Whitney
Glitch art is the practice of using digital or analog errors for aesthetic purposes by either corrupting digital data or physically manipulating electronic devices. In a technical sense, a glitch is the unexpected result of a malfunction, especially occurring in software, video games, images, videos, audio, and other digital artefacts.
Example of glitch art, by Rosa Menkman
Fractal art is a form of algorithmic art created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images, animations, and media. Fractal art developed from the mid-1980s onwards. It is a genre of computer art and digital art which are part of new media art. The mathematical beauty of fractals lies at the intersection of generative art and computer art. They combine to produce a type of abstract art.
Fractal art.
Computer art is any art in which computers play a role in production or display of the artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, video game, website, algorithm, performance or gallery installation.
Multi-media art uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, video and interactive content. Multimedia can be recorded and played, displayed, interacted with or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance.
We all know what happens when content goes from analog-to-digital. In the case of music, we found ourselves tethered to our Ipods streaming Apple itunes in ‘01. When books went digital in ‘07, our Amazon Kindles became a necessity. That same year, we were finally able to stream our favorite Netflix movies. Soon after in ‘08, we were able to access our favorite TV shows on Hulu and our favorite music on Spotify.
It’s hard to imagine a time before we were able to enjoy the on-demand delivery of our favorite digital content yet in each case, in order to make that a reality, an entire ecosystem had to be developed to make the content easy to find, search, distribute and display.
The exact same thing is happening with art. What for centuries has been analog (paintings, drawings, sculptures etc.), has evolved to digital, made popular by artists’ easy access to sophisticated online tools.
Although digital art is already decades old (this year marks the 30th anniversary of the GIF), more and more artists are developing works meant to be experienced on screens and projectors yet they lack the tools needed to make that art available and accessible. How does an artist get a work from computer to wall to screen? How does someone discover a work of digital art?
With Niio, we aim to change all that so that anyone can experience digital art easily and simply, on-demand in any location, the same way you enjoy music, books, tv and movies.
Want to find out more about how you can find the world’s best digital art and instantly transform your space? Email us at [email protected] to find out more.
This year’s Biennial marks the seventy-eight installment of the country’s longest-running survey of American art.
The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973. The Whitney show is generally regarded as one of the leading shows in the art world, often setting or leading trends in contemporary art. It is known to have brought artists Georgia O’Keeffee, Jackson Pollock and Jeff Koons to prominence.
With 63 individuals and collectives featured, we were thrilled to see that 1/3 of the selected works (23) were media art works (e.g. videos, films, websites, games etc.) Some of our favorites:
Each year Rhizome presentsSeven-on-Seven, a conference that pairs seven leading artists with seven luminary technologists, and challenges them to make something new together – be it an application, artwork, provocation, or whatever they imagine. They unveil their creations and discuss their process, at an intimate public event in NYC at the New Museum which the Niio team attended for the 2nd year in a row.
Jason Musson (artist, performer, writer & filmmaker) and Jonah Peretti (Founder & CEO Buzzfeed)
Olia Lialina (artist) and Mike Tyka (Co-Founder of the Google Artist and Machine Intelligence Program)
Constant Dullart (artist) and Chris Paik (Partner, Thrive Capital)
Addie Wagenknecht (artist) and Cindy Gallop (Founder, ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty NY, Founder IfWeRanTheWorld.com and makelovenotporn.com)
Dis (Collaborative project for artists, designers, stylists and writers) and Rachel Haot (Managing Director at 1776; formerly Chief Digital Officer of the City of New York)
Miao Ying (artist) and Mehdi Yahyatnejad (Founder Balatarin.com and co-founder NetFreedom Pioneers)
Rhizome is an art and technology organization based on the internet, and an affiliate organization of the New Museum. It supports contemporary art to create richer and more critical digital cultures, through programs online and off – including commissions, exhibitions, events, an online journal, and an archive of over 2000 born digital artworks.
Niio Partners With Unruly and News Corp. at Their Connected Home of the Future in London
2,000 sq. ft. location features internet connected products (IoT) from leading consumer brands, design companies and startups showing what we can expect at the home of 2020 will see, hear, smell, taste and feel like, including Niio powered digital art experiences.
A kitchen that tells you what to cook based on ingredients in your fridge.
A hallway that plays songs and displaysdigital art that matches your mood.
A bedroom that tracks your sleep and helps you select outfits based on the weather.
Niio @ the Unruly House of 2020
Niio is at the forefront of Art & Technology able to securely deliver and display premium digital art On-Demand to any connected screen in the world, instantly creating custom immersive environments including:
Multiple screen and projector canvases showing video, interactive and real time ‘living’ computational media art works from a global network of artists and galleries.
Mobile device and voice activation, alongside automatic curation which could even select art works based on your mood.
For more information on transforming your environment, contact our digital art concierge at [email protected].
Featured image (Top): Simon Gosling (Futurist) and Ad Age London editor Emma Hall Credit: Unruly; Digital Artwork: Refik Anadol, Wind of Boston / Fluid Structures.
