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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.

39˚ 44′ 11″ N x 104˚ 59′ 21″ W at the Denver Art Museum through April 4th, 2010

dfodel — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:14:31 -0800

The work is an audio-visual, interactive installation that is part of the Embrace! show at the Denver Art Museum.

I am one of the members of a collaborative team led by Timothy Weaver that includes Josh Fishburn, Brigid McAuliffe, and Nick Myers.

The show officially opened on November 14th, 2009 and our work is installed in the FuseBox Gallery on the 4th floor.

I created sound design compositions using the Solar Wind Harp, a software instrument I designed, in collaboration with Dr. George Millward of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. The software allows real-time performance of soundscapes as it translates solar wind data from the NASA ACE satellite. These compositions are one component of a complex "data-ecosystem" that is always in flux, creating unique experiences with each visit to the space.

The exhibition runs through April 4th, 2010.

Link to the Denver Art Museum installation info.
Link to Embrace! exhibition info.
Link to Denver Post article.
Link to 9 News article.
Colorado Public Radio story on Embrace! (audio)
More info on the Solar Wind Harp.

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.

Various Artists - Your Secret Here (collaborative interactive installation)

dfodel — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:59:38 -0800

“Your Secret Here” is a representation of the confidential nature of coded, encrypted, and interpersonal communication and the growing concern about privacy and protecting our identity. This interactive installation urges the viewer to participate by writing or speaking their secrets, which will be shredded physically, visually, and aurally eliciting an act of absolution.

The piece consists of a paper shredder inviting audience members to shred secret messages they fill in on a note card . The act of shredding is monitored by a small camera and displayed on the wall. The image is visually distorted by the sound of the shredder, emulating the physical, visual and aural shredding of personal information.

This work is a collaborative effort between Adam Butler, Alicia Chee, David Fodel, Brigid McAuliffe, Allie Pohl and Sarah Soriano,

David Fodel & Brian Kane – Signal to Noise (untitled analog #8)

dfodel — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:19:30 -0800

An immersive audio visual environment exploring the surrogate sensory perceptual systems implicit in the recording medium. Originally performed live during a recent residency at the Experimental Television Center in New York, Signal to Noise is a series of multi-channel audiovisual installations which induce alternating currents of sensation, approaching our perceptual field from the perspective of signal processing and the subtle states of consciousness we share with the natural world.
Three related looping sources are set in motion. Of differing durations and composed of visual and audio material which has been time and pitch shifted, the sources drift in and out of phase with one another, creating an ever-changing audio visual composition.

More photos here

David Fodel is a new media artist whose practice combines aural, visual and physical phenomena to create subtle and spectacular immersive environments. His work has been screened and performed internationally. Fodel has a background in media and interaction design, and as a community arts organizer. He teaches at the University of Denver, where he is currently earning an MFA in Electronic Media Arts Design.

Brian Kane is a media artist and designer living in Cambridge, MA, USA. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), he invented of one of the world’s first VJ software tools, Vujak, and was a founding member of the multimedia group EBN. He has had a distinguished career as a creative director and game designer, and has taught interaction design at Emerson College in Boston.

New Media Salon @ Plus+ Gallery and Object+Thought

dfodel — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:59:49 -0800

Plus Gallery and Object + Thought combine forces again in the new year. O+T recently moved to the same block that houses our temporary gallery adjacent to the MCA Denver. Our first effort together for 2009 will be a New Media Salon "to amuse and to refine" featuring new media works by emerging artists Adam Butler, Alicia Chee, Josh Fishburn, David Fodel and Brian Kane, Brigid McAuliffe, Allie Pohl, Alexandro Rojas-Sanders and Sarah Soriano. In the context of the traditional salon we invite your participation on First Friday, February 6th starting at 6pm. Join emerging new media artists, for entertaining and engaging conversation. From games to audio and video, to interaction design and immersive media environments, these works challenge our definition of new media and explore the genre's many trajectories. The evening also marks the inaugural unveiling of Object+Thought's relocation to lower downtown, wherein conjunction with art & anthropology will venture on as an installation-only conceptual space.

Plus+ Gallery and Object+Thought
1430 Delgany / 1490 Delgany Unit C [ next to the Denver MCA ]

More Info:

Josh Fishburn
David Fodel and Brian Kane
Brigid McAuliffe
Allie Pohl
Alexandro Rojas-Sanders
Sarah Soriano
Collaborative Works

Residency at Experimental Televsion Center

dfodel — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:38:49 -0800

In December of 2008 I did a residency at the Experimental Television Center in Owego, New York. I invited artist and long-time collaborator and friend Brian Kane to explore the center's vast collection of vintage analog video gear. The video below is a quick attempt at documenting the experience. Excerpts of some of the raw material are included. Some of the resulting material is included in a 5 DVD boxed set which chronicles the activities of the ETC from 1969 to 2008 and includes the work of 75 artists. The documentary footage will also be archived at the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media at Cornell University. Special thanks to Hank Rudolph and Sherry Miller Hocking.

The "full project" doesn't really exist in any substantial form. The project WAS the residency I guess, which according to their guidelines merely consists of creating raw material, which may or may not get used in a finished "piece". The ETC intends the space and equipment to be used in that way, as opposed to a place to come and fine-tune/edit/finalize work.

That being said, what we were aiming for was raw material that was improvised live performance, which in some cases is finished as soon as it hits the eyeballs, eardrums and hard drive. So we have a bunch of that in the can, so to speak.

What I put together for the "documentary" is intended to describe the whole experience to put it into context for someone who might be interested in showing the work. It also seems to work to highlight the history and operation of the ETC itself. Which is really great.

As for the technical interactions occurring in the audio, video and control paths:

The center is almost entirely control voltage based. By using envelope followers one can feed audio in to a module and "extract' a CV signal, which then can be used for manipulating pretty much any aspect of the video gear. We worked primarily with the Dave Jones 6 channel colorizer, and also the Nam June Paik built "Wobulator" which is basically a huge electromagnet wrapped around a CRT and controlled by varying the voltage along several axis of the magnet(s). So that was one way of "syncing" the signals. Since we are using the envelope follower method, the signals fed into it tend to need to be relatively simple... tones or simple beats. We also managed to get the MIDI to CV module running which allowed for a simple way to get note on and off, and a single CC out to the CV stuff. It's a frikkin patchers heaven, if you have patience, and a lot of coffee. The cool thing is that in essence, the audio IS the video and vice-versa. The original practitioners and designers of the center's equipment (and I would encourage anyone interested to explore these folks) were basically just fascinated with the formal aspects of the electronic signal, and were the (dare I say) original transmedial artists. They were patching audio into video and extracting signals in both directions, deconstructing the television into its constituent elements and then rebuilding signals from the ground up.

The 3-screen work I include in the video doc is all raw captures from the center, with some augmentation to the audio. There are digital oscillators feeding the analog controls on the Dave Jones Colorizer, through the MIDI to CV module, as well as similar control running the analog Proc Amp. This is where one can control the final pedestal, chroma, gain and clipping of the video signal before digital capture. I also was doing some stuff feeding the centers signal into my laptop running VDMX, and then feeding that back into the centers system, with some gorgeous results. We also did a lot of weird stuff with live YouTube feeds etc to get that real vintage vs. contemporary thing going on. I was most fascinated with the things that were happening in these loops, the evolving pattern and color, that responded over time to subtle manipulation. That level of performative engagement in a real-time unpredictable environment is to me just irreproducible in the digital realm, but I don't want to start any arguments on that. Something about those soft analog edges and rich colors. Clearly, a lot of what VJ software does is based on how this early analog processing works, so you see a lot of familiar motifs emerging from the gear. Which is really cool to me... like a flash-back of a beautiful moment in ones past.

Anyway, enough of the prosaic rambling. The "studio time" was approx. 4 and a half solid days on site in the studio... sleeping there, eating there, drinking there etc. Immersive for sure. The 6 hours is raw... very. I am hoping to get 4 of what I think are pretty solid installation works out of the material. Slowly evolving large scale "immersive" audio-video works. There might be more in there... Not sure yet :)

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.

"Your Secret Here" - Myhren Gallery, Denver, CO

dfodel — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:05:25 -0700

"Your Secret Here"
One night only at the Myhren Gallery
Opening reception: September 25, 2008 | 6-8 PM

The School of Art and Art History's "Installation Art" course presents work by emerging artists:

Adam Butler
Alicia Chee
David Fodel
Brigid Mcauliffe
Allie Pohl
Sarah Soriano

"Your Secret Here" is a representation of the confidential nature of coded, encrypted, and interpersonal communication and the growing concern about privacy and protecting our identity. This interactive installation urges the viewer to participate by writing or speaking their secrets, which will be shredded physically, visually, and aurally eliciting an act of absolution.

Show review here

Polyphonic Voices of Digital Dissent

dfodel — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:21:57 -0800

The tracks submitted for “Polyphonic Voices Of Digital Dissent” were created in response to a nationwide call for content, from the netlabel Communications of Tomorrow. Two of the selections are collaborations, one with noted performance poet Andrea Gibson, and the other with DJ E23 and lyricist Chris Mosdell. The call sought socially aware contributions from electronic and computer musicians who were deeply concerned about America’s current political (dis)course. Inspired by media activists (Jim Hightower, Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky, etc.) The physical CD-R was 100% clean (radio-friendly, with no profanity), and was distributed exclusively to radio stations across America for on-air broadcast and webcast.