AliaK's blog

reunions in Brisbane & an end of holidays Soul Mix from Damage

2008-10-13T13:11:55+01:00

I've been in Brisbane for past 12 days - catching up with lots of old and new friends. Valli & Dave moved to the UK. Frankie and I made a video - he'd kept a Strawberry from Strawberry Fields '96 and took it out for dinner last thursday night, so we made a video of the strawberry wandering the streets of the Valley looking for some of the old clubs which have since closed down.

Strawberry looking for lost clubs in the Valley

How Frankie found his Strawberry

I went to the Reunion Rave at the Met on friday night. it was a fantastic party! the djs played all the old tracks that were played at clubs years ago Thief's set was a highlight - he played tracks from Magic Roundabout @ Metropolis + The Site, as was the return of Vision Four 5. The screens in the MET were amazing too - the visuals were so crisp & clear. The lasers in the main room were great too. I caught up with so many people and danced most of the night. could hardly walk on Saturday though! but as Custa said "it's because of the hard floors - not because of my age or the fact I haven't used those muscles in a long time" sounds right to me!

I took some photos and video clips throughout the night, but most of the time I forgot I had the cameras as I was too busy talking and dancing. I think this is why I have hardly any photos from parties back in the day!

so now I'm listening to Damage's Soul Mix - a great set to wind down after holidays and first day back at work. I'm really liking his selection in this mix. the terntable jediz guys are doing well. sheep's back in Brisbane, and Freestyle's records are selling for crazy prices on discogs - 80 EURO for the 2006 Roy Davis Jnr remix "The Session" 12''. good to hear! I've heard they're going to be playing some regular (additional) gigs soon too.

Alternative Media in Brisbane

2008-10-09T05:14:08+01:00

Alternative Media in Brisbane by Stephen Stockwell is a paper available on Griffith Uni website. It lists some of the more underground publications in Brisbane from 1965-1985

Graffiti Technica - 3D Graffiti electronic art tagging

2008-09-30T13:54:41+01:00

Graffiti Technica is dedicated to the progression of hardcore electronic art and 3d graffiti. The graffiti designs and lettering on the site are completely digital - to explore new ways of creating pieces.

The site owner & Brisbane based designer Brad Schwede explains some of his influences :

Graffiti has always influenced me since the first time I saw works from trains on the way to the school... All the back industrial lots were covered in styles from generic tagging to intricately designed works. Back and forwards to school gave me loads of time to understand the styles and colors that were being used. It was so far advanced from anything that was in the modern culture that it was no wonder that people didn't understand it.
I now create graphics for the commercial world and am using the skills from that arena to create digital art.
Why not spray paint?

There is a digital world out there. There are lot of electronic screens, i want to be apart of that world. I want to use the skills that I have acquired to do something different graffiti to me is a style not an automatic choice of artistic medium.

ELECTROFRINGE 2008 :: 2nd - 6th October :: Newcastle, Australia

2008-09-30T02:52:06+01:00

Australia's largest festival of experimental electronic arts and culture, "Electrofringe", will burst through the cracks of Newcastle from October 2 – 6, 2008, for its eleventh year as part of "This Is Not Art". More than 100 emerging and established artists from Australia and overseas will take part in 80 events over five days including workshops, gigs, screenings, performance and public intervention.
Electrofringe in 2008 brims with new ventures. These include an artists-in-residence program and a three-week interactive media exhibition. New program gems include a hybrid media/dance performance, an all-girls soldering workshop, a chorus composed for Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, an audiovisual "love-in", and a chamber recital for robots.
Special international guests include Birchville Cat Motel (NZ), Domenico Sciajno (Italy), xtine (US), The League of Imaginary Scientists (everywhere) and The Green Eyl & Sengewald (Germany). Japan is well represented by elongated harshcore musician Maruosa, noise artists Pig & Machine, and experimental multi-instrumentalist KK NULL.
Electrofringe 2008 features an impressive screening program including award-winning highlights from the Japan Media Arts Festival and SIGGRAPH 2008, surround-sound selections from New York's Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Centre and eclectic works from France’s Arcadi festival. There are also two specially curated screening reels called ElectroEtre and ElectroProjections compiled from open, international call-outs.
Head to: www.electrofringe.net for more details, and see you in Newcastle!
Electrofringe 2008 is directed by Alex White, Elmar Trefz and Somaya Langley.
-- electrofringe & the other festivals as part of This is Not Art are my favourite festivals in the world - very grassroots. Newcastle becomes abuzz with creativity and people at this time of year. I hope you can all check them out this year!

stencil print by SYKE

2008-09-28T12:12:58+01:00

280920082113, originally uploaded by AliaK

this is Sydney / Newtown artist SYKE - her myspace is www.myspace.com/syke23

SYKE started an outdoor art area in newtown (sydney) where she and other artists paint and then people can donate what they can for the art works. I think they'd suit the as often the works are on sections of cardboard boxes. the article mentions sometimes kids save up their pocket money to buy some... nice way to start kids appreciating art & craft / creating things instead of buying mass produced wares

there's an interview with her @ www.throwshapes.com.au/TS22.html

paintings bought at the Newtown Underground Art Fair, Sydney 27/09/2008
www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34878433775

stencil print by Peter Strong

2008-09-28T12:02:25+01:00

280920082112, originally uploaded by AliaK

this is a print from Peter Strong - one of the Ohms Not Bombs crew

"These canvas's are mixed media works by Peter Strong.
For years I have been experimenting in different mediums from sample based music to screen-printing, painting and stencil art. I fuse originally rendered drawing with sampled imagery, my inspiration comes and goes and is recorded in my collection of silk screens, audio sample banks, spray stencil cuts and j-peg files. These works on canvas utilize these mediums and works with themes celebrating the Earth's diversity, the chaos of modern life and the search for a meditative stateof mind in these sometimes confusing times that we live in..."

www.myspace.com/shmedia

paintings bought at the Newtown Underground Art Fair, Sydney 27/09/2008
www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34878433775

crowdsourcing

2008-09-28T04:06:52+01:00

crowdsourcing is defined by Jeff Howe from wired.com on his site http://crowdsourcing.typepad.com as "Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call." [The White Paper Version] and [The Soundbyte Version] "The application of Open Source principles to fields outside of software.". He coined the term then later wrote a book about the subject : Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business. I think Facebook and Myspace are good examples of crowdsourcing these days - having regular people provide content for their sites. As is wikipedia. And even to a small extent this site - but I tend to provide 90% of the content here! Other Australian dance / music related sites generally use this model too : In The Mix, Resident Advisor and even SPRACI to some extent. I'm not sure it's a new thing - underground magazines, zines, newsletters & (postal) mail lists etc have been using this model prior to the rise of the internet - one example off the top of my head in Brisbane was the Vinyl Knickers mailout newsletter & flyer drop. The internet radio station I worked at (rather ... volunteered for!) Pulse Radio used this model too as does most community based sites in the grassroots movements - though perhaps one difference is that most of the grassroots sites are not commercially based and don't make any money. Maybe I should read the book and see where he's coming from..

A notice came through via the AIR list (Association of Internet Researchers) that there's another crowdsourcing blog called Crowd Source: Power of the People, which is intended to "document key activities, developments, literature, and news". Also there's a crowdsourcing facebook group : "The CrowdSource Global Facebook Group is intended to serve as a forum and venue in which members can discuss community-based contributions and potential solutions to any and all economic, scientific, social, and technological issues, problems, and situations, primarily via, but not limited to, a digital environment.". I wonder if they'll talk about sites where people spend a lot of time & effort & work preparing content and later the site deletes it or loses it due to bad backup procedures, or changes focus as has been my experience on some sites I've contributed to.

Another blog about crowdsourcing is http://crowdstorming.wordpress.com - they collate information from around the net also.

Facebook for online learning & libraries

2008-09-25T07:44:45+01:00

The Friends: Social Networking Sites for Engaged Library Services blog is devoted to the use of online social networking sites for any and all types of library-related programs or services. One article on their blog is A Face(book) In The Crowd: Online Social Networks For Engaged Learning which has video slideshows broken into these sections :
Part 1: Introduction to Social Networking Software
Part 2: Introduction to Facebook
Part 3: ISU and the Library in Facebook
Part 4: Putting it all together
University video page : http://www2.lib.iastate.edu/video/homepage.html

article abstract :
"In April 2006, there were nearly 22,000 members of the Iowa State University community registered in Facebook. Two years later there are nearly 35,000 members, an increase of nearly 60 percent."

"In this presentation, we will provide an overview of Facebook; describe its major features and functionalities; and profile various institutional projects that utilize Facebook for engaged organizational outreach."

Lomography

2008-09-25T05:01:55+01:00

The Holga is a 120 film toy camera that produces colourful, sometimes vignetted photos and is used in the field of LOMO photography otherwise known as lomography. There are different models of Holga cameras.

the lomography.com site has thousands of examples of lomographic photos such as this one :

there's lomographic exhibitions too which feature lomowalls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga
http://goholga.com - modifications for the Holga camera
http://www.lomography.com.au - Australian lomography site
http://www.lomography.com - International lomography site

Public Debate on the Limits of Intelligent Machines

2008-09-22T12:44:26+01:00

WGBH Network is hosting a lecture and debate on the limits of intelligent machines. their site has an mp3 download version, streaming audio and video version. the debate features David Gelernter & Ray Kurzweil (inventor, writer) and is moderated by Rodney Brooks.
"A Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of Alan Turing's Seminal Paper "On Computable Numbers" featuring a debate on the limits of intelligent machines and a lecture on Turing's contributions."
the transcript is available at KurzweilAI.net too (attached)
info via the generative.net mail list

cytoplasm - phil price sculpture (Auckland waterfront)

2008-09-18T06:56:35+01:00

Phil Price designed kinetic sculpture called 'cytoplasm'. located at Waitemata Plaza, Auckland - near Viaduct / waterfront. video taken 4th June 2007

The Auckland city what's on site has some more info on auckland city sculptures

"Phil Price's kinetic work is one of the most popular on the Viaduct walkway. It comprises 16 pod-like discs that move both individually and collectively in the wind. No two views of the work are the same, and herein lies much of Cytoplasm's attraction."

"This work is a perfect embodiment of art and science. Price honed his skills working with motorcycle designer John Britten in the 1980s. He became interested in exploring how modern materials such as the high performance plastics developed by NASA could be used in art. Cytoplasm is one of a suite of works using similar materials to create moving sculptures that have won awards both in New Zealand and overseas. There is a scientific basis to the theme of the work as well as in its materials. Cytoplasm is the jelly-like material that fills cells and carries out life's processes. It is constantly moving and flowing."

"Price describes his work as playing with ideas and forms. For him, art is an ongoing exploration that is never fixed. He is interested in the range of associations that viewers bring to his work. Cytoplasm has been described as a cactus, a sea plant, a windmill, a science fiction creature, and a futuristic tree. In a sense it is all of these. The artist is interested in the viewer's personal response to these strange waving forms."

re-cycle wallah - redesigning Indian cycle delivery rickshaws project

2008-09-18T06:00:54+01:00

The Re-Cycle Wallah blog outlines a project to attempt to redesign the Indian cycle rickshaws in Ahmedabad with aims of "lowering human exertion by at least 30% and lower maintenance whilst keeping prototyping cost under re.5000; the outcome retail price is also to be under re.5000(around $125). Simultaneously providing a micro-credit loan scheme so the riders can own their own rickshaw rather than renting from a middle man." they are interested in ideas and feedback - you can post a reply to one of the articles on their site.

there are other similar projects such as the Rickshaw Project by Social Innovation Projects team - which describes the idea as "a project that began in 1998 as a collaboration between IITD, Delhi, and ITDP New York. It continued on as more projects with different people - and continues to be an interest in Pedal Power vehicles." http://soumitri.blip.tv has videos of their designs.

outdoor sound installations

2008-09-18T03:40:20+01:00

there was a question on the Acoustic Ecology mail list about permanent outdoor sound installations. some of these were mentioned by people on the list :

:::
Derek Holzer mentioned Max Neuhaus & his talk at the Tuned City seminar :

"check the sound installation work of Max Neuhaus, particularly his Times Square piece:"
http://www.max-neuhaus.info/soundworks/

"... His work is quite subtle and very strong conceptually. One piece in particular I remember him presenting at Tuned City in Berlin http://www.tunedcity.de was a piece for a public park, where the speakers were hidden under the ground and the sound emerged from what appeared to be drainage grills. Actually, the sound didn't seem to emerge from ANYWHERE, which was the beauty of it. Max said he spent quite a bit of time developing the (weather and vandal-proof) sound systems for these kinds of installations." -- Derek Holzer

:::

Tuned City - listen to the talks

tuned city
info from http://www.tunedcity.de
Tuned City - Between sound and space speculation is an exhibition and conference project drawing "the traditions of critical discussion about urban space within the architecture and urban planning discourse–as well as its strategies and working methods–into the context of sound art. This expanded discussion reenforces the potential of the spatial and communicative properties of sound as a tool and means of urban practice. At the foundations of this event are artists' works and theoretical approaches which examine in a critical and sensitive way the given urban and architectural situations alongside their resulting socio-political implications, that re-use existing spaces or that conceive and open new spaces."

:::

Derek Holzer also mentioned Scaniapark :

Scaniapark in Malmo is a permanent soundsystem embedded in an artificial hillside by the water with a regular program of sound works featured. http://scaniaparkproject.blogspot.com

:::

Soundscapes @ Tower of David, Old City of Jerusalem, Israel

when I was in jerusalem last year they had a seasonal outdoor sound art exhibition with large instruments (& lighting) built into the courtyard at Tower of David in the Old City. http://www.aliak.com/content/soundscapes-tower-david-old-city-jerusalem has some photos/video.
http://www.towerofdavid.org.il is their site. it was called "soundscapes"

:::

recently I saw this via a mail list : a Sea Organ in Croatia : http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om24550.html

Sea Organ - musical instrument played by the sea
from http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om24550.html
"The musical Sea Organ (morske orgulje) is located on the shores of Zadar, Croatia, and is the world’s first musical pipe organs that is played by the sea. Simple and elegant steps, carved in white stone, were built on the quayside. Underneath, there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and – depending on the size and velocity of the wave – musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds."

"This masterpiece of acoustics and architecture was created by expert Dalmatian stone carvers and architect Nikola Basic in 2005, who recently received the European Prize for Urban Public Space for this project. Many tourists come to listen to this unique aerophone, and enjoy unforgettable sunsets with a view of nearby islands. Famed director Alfred Hitchcock said that the most beautiful sunset in the world can be seen from precisely this spot on the Zadar quay. That was how he described it after his visit to Zadar, a visit he remembered throughout his life by the meeting of the sinking sun and the sea."

apparently there is also a similar one in Blackpool, UK too. (though I don't have a link for it)

:::

Normand Fisher suggested Michael Bussière – "V.I.P." in Ottowa, Canada
http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/arts/public_art/city_hall_tour/michael_br...

"Found outside on the grounds of Ottawa City Hall on the Festival Plaza, V.I.P. (Virtual Instrument Paradigm) has many voices and moods, switching between a chaotic musical composition, and an interactive performance mode in which the computer 'sees' physical space as a musical ensemble. One can literally stand below the video camera and conduct a symphony with their arms. Individuals may encounter the computer making its own music for people in the near vicinity, or find it quietly waiting until it can pleasantly surprise the next person, squirrel, or leaf that wanders by."

"The hardware for the artwork is housed in five concrete towers designed and constructed by Mark West. The animated appearance of the forms adds to the alluring character of the artwork drawing people to investigate and participate. " -- Normand Fisher

:::

Eliza Slavet suggested :
terry allen's "talking tree" (or 2 of them).... in the stuart collection at uc san diego...
http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/StuartCollection/Allen.htm

:::

Marcos Fernandes mentioned "the walkway leading to the yokohama (Japan) landmark tower has planters that trigger sounds as you walk by them"

:::

Robin Petterd makes sonic objects which could be used in outdoor sound installations

:::

Anthony Magen mentioned "The Master's Voice" in Canberra by Sonia Leber and David Chesworth
"A low wall snakes along the edge of a small park at the eastern end of City Walk, and sounds emanate from a rhythmic series of stainless steel grids inserted into the wall and ground. "

"When people walk past, they trigger the unexpected real-world sounds of people talking to animals, but with the sounds of the animals edited out, the voices seem to be calling out directly to the passersby: beckoning, controlling, coaxing. The addressee has been changed and visitors find themselves implicated in the work."

"The artists are interested in the juxtaposition of these personalised, intimate vocalisations in an urban, public space surrounded by commercial and government buildings. In this place – called 'Civic' no less – the work is not so much about the nature of the park but about the relationship of 'citizens' to their 'civic spaces'."

"The Master's Voice includes a diversity of communication techniques recorded at a variety of locations including farms, parks, training schools, zoos, veterinary practices and animal shows."

:::
Gilles Malatray mentioned these links :

"Here are some examples of very interesting outdoor sound installations."

http://www.acirene.com/exemple_creation1.html#ancrehaut
http://www.carnetdevol.org/orgue/inauguration.html
http://www.musica.be/Default.aspx?tabid=8601
http://www.sonicarchitecture.com/index2.htm
http://www.neufportes.net/index.htm
"And more and more..."

"I have wrote about this subject in :" http://desartsonnants.over-blog.com

:::

after a google search I came across these too :

Soundplay Outdoor musical instruments such as the RAIN WHEEL which is "based on the rain stick tube rattle of the Americas) - a 22 inch diameter PVC pipe wheel with stainless steel screws and galvanized steel hardware ready for mounting. " and the KALIMBA - "a giant (60" tall) thumb piano (Sansa, Mbira or Rumba box). Six pitches, pentatonic scale"

:::

a paper in CJO - Organised Sound Designing Sound in Public Space in Australia: a comparative study based on the Australian Sound Design Project's online gallery and database

:::

the Australian Sound Design Project's online gallery
- "a site dedicated to the multimedia publishing of diverse sound designs installed in public space in Australia, as well as its international outreach Hearing Place"

Reunion Rave is Everything you Need ::: Vision Four 5 (LIVE) 10th October 2008 @ The MET in Brisbane

2008-09-10T13:29:50+01:00

Brisbane Old Skool & The Met presents: Reunion Rave Brisbane
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=37093111736

:: REUNION ::
Friday 10th October
The MET Brisbane
256 Wickham Street,
Fortitude Valley
9pm - 5am

Tickets: $12.50 +BF - On Sale Now

http://shop.themet.com.au/customer/product.php?productid=2963&cat=325&pa...

DJs playing the best of 90's Classic House, Techno and Rave Anthems.

The MET: Vision Four 5 (Live), Jumping Jack, Paul Holden, Sasha Vatoff, Rousey, Darren James, Kesson, Thief, Dizzy

Coco: Pete Smith, Dope & Dusted, Nick Galea
Bamboo: Mr Sparkle

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:: Vision Four 5 (Live) ::

In 1990, "Vision Four 5" was formed as a live dance music act that challenged the perception of what live music could be, with interactive video technology and immersive live performances.

The line up changed through the first few years to settle from 1993-1997 with members Noel Burgess (Music), Tim Gruchy (Video/Interactives), Ben Suthers (Music) and Al Ferguson (Video/Animation). In this time Vision Four 5 produced 2 albums, Texture (1993) and Humid (1995) and numerous singles on Volition Records/Sony Music. They toured Australia constantly playing raves, clubs Big Day Out and remixed many other artists in this time.

The rave hit "Everything You Need" was one of the highest selling Australian 12" singles and the more radio friendly "Funkify Yourself" crossed over to become both a club and national radio hit.

The Vision Four 5 live performance incorporated a Mandala interactive system to utilize movement in the stage "control zone" to maniplulate any aspect of video processing, animation or the music as well as live camera's and a full state-of-the-art music studio onstage. The result was a truly unique, immersive and synchronous experience.

All of the members of the band have pursued their specialist field since 1997 and live/work in various parts of the globe.

In October, Ben and Noel are bringing back the music of Vision Four 5 for "Back Again" in Sydney and "Reunion" in Brisbane to remind audiences that Vision Four 5 is "Everything You Need"

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:: Jumping Jack (Sydney) ::
Happy Valley, Mixed Beans

:: Paul Holden (Sydney) ::
Field of Dreams, Bacchanalia

:: Sasha Vatoff (Sydney) ::
Space Cadet, Strawberry Fields

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Bookings: penny@themet.com.au / info@themet.com.au

Bigger & Bolder & Rougher & Tougher!
Brisbane Old Skool Crew
http://www.oldskool.com.au

:::

read an interview with Noel Burgess from Vision Four 5 (2003)

csv file to html table online filter

2008-09-09T11:54:40+01:00

here's a csv file to html table online converter : http://area23.brightbyte.de/csv2wp.php
the old [csv] filter on an old drupal version doesn't work any more using this I can (slowly) convert the articles to html tables.