ASU3

Sound Design for Winner of Metropolis Art Prize 2009, Screened in Times Square

dfodel — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:20:16 -0800

I composed the sound design for the winning entry in the Babelgum Metropolis Art Prize.

The Babelgum Metropolis Grand Prize ($20,000) went to Denver, Colorado-based artist Christopher Coleman for “The Magnitude of the Continental Divide.” An animation exploring the way we define ourselves and our nations, the piece deals with various states of withdrawal and aggression. It is a think-piece on the state of modern warfare, where weapons and damage are dealt impersonally from afar.

Launched in September 2009, the contest attracted over 400 videos representing the work of the best and edgiest artists on six continents, competing for three main prizes worth a total of $30,000. The winning videos, two runner-ups in each category and two Special Mentions entries will be screened at a free public event in New York’s Times Square on December 17 at 7 pm hosted by head judge Isabella Rossellini.

A 2003 MFA graduate of New York State University in Buffalo, Coleman is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver. The artist was twice a participant in the VIPER Basel Festival in Switzerland and has had his work in exhibitions in many countries including Singapore, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France, China, the UK and Latvia. The winning entry can also be viewed here.

Technoetic Rainforest -Gallery 023, Denver

dfodel — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:13:34 -0700

An interactive installation work by David Fodel and Sarah Soriano at Gallery 023, University of Denver, Denver, USA on May 9th, 2009.

The title of the work is taken from two previous ideas.
Technoetic is a word coined by Roy Ascott in 2003 and meant to denote a path by which we might understand the effects of technology on consciousness.
Rainforest is a work created by David Tudor which dates back to about 1965. In Tudors work physical objects and sculptural forms are activated using audio transducers, causing those objects to resonate. The objects themselves modulated the incoming audio, transforming the sound, based on the material.

In the Technoetic Rainforest, we introduce human consciousness into the feedback loop that is created between materials and electronic signal.
A system is constructed which exhibits certain sonic and visual behavior in its undisturbed state. The system consists of cameras, computer vision software, and a multichannel sound creation and distribution matrix.
Simple tones create vibrations and modulations by exciting audio transducers, attached to large sheets of plate steel.
A small vessel, filled with water, is also activated by an audio transducer. This causes the water in the vessel to create patterns and distortions in the waters surface. These patterns are analyzed using a camera and blob detection software.
Blob detection is typically used for extracting usable information from image data, normally object recognition and object tracking. The association of this technology and its visible activity on the projected screen serve to foreground an implied "intelligence" within the system.
The intelligence gathered on the incoming image is further used to modulate the audio signals, creating a subtle yet sophisticated, ecologically balanced feedback loop.
Once a person enters the room, their presence begins to intercede into the variations in the audible sounds, their bodies serving to absorb or reflect certain frequencies within the space. Their shadows in the space, or the interruption of the camera's view of the vibrating water further disturb the modulating steady state of the system.
These subtle interactions and their results become part of the feedback system which drives yet further variations into the system. In this way the system becomes an analog for basic consciousness, in that it is self-reflective.
In decoding the phenomenal world through technological apparatus, we externalize the process of modeling experience, of our own construction of consciousness. As the system evolves, our impact, understanding and actions evolve with it.

Home; Away from Home: Installation at Denver International Airport

dfodel — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:40:05 -0800

Home; Away from Home is a time-based visual exploration of movement, pattern, trajectory, transition and migration. Video imagery based on simulation and mimicry of natural patterns of organic movement, such as flocking, schooling and migration are layered with simple marks reminiscent of flight patterns and topographical surveys. These lines on paper could be directions home, or routes yet to be explored; trajectories that navigate through layers of emotion and memory; connections made and missed; always already arriving, and constantly coming home.

Portions of the piece are realized using modified versions of Andy Polaine's 2000 Particles, a piece of open source code written in Processing, that utilizes the Traer Physics library, created by Jeffrey Traer.

Recent press in USA Today here.

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November 2008 - February 2009

DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT | GALLERIES OF DENVER
Terminal East | Sixth Level

http://www.co-lab.info/noplacelikehome

NO PLACE LIKE HOME an art exhibition exploring memories of transition, comfort, farewells and returns

Featured Artists: David Fodel Brigid McAuliffe Allie Pohl Sarah Soriano

NO PLACE LIKE HOME is a multi-faceted art installation that explores memories of transition, migration, journey, comfort, farewells and returns. Four individual artists intertwine their experiences, thoughts, concerns, and reflections about traveling to and from home. Layers of imagery, maps, movement, and playful objects illustrate the transition from one home to the next, the illusion of home, and various notions of what home is, was, or will be. Each artist explores these notions in unique ways with individual attention to media, materials, and their own specific approach to the theme. A cohesive whole emerges from these disparate elements in much the same way that our memories of home blur, soften, expand and remix themselves over time.

This exhibition is the result of a collaborative project between Denver International Airport and the graduate Installation Art course in Electronic Media Arts Design, led by Professor Laleh Mehran at the University of Denver, School of Art and Art History.