the I heart Kings Cross project has been installed into Fitzroy Gardens & surrounding streets in Kings Cross, Sydney. it looks amazing! it took a week to install & they used a tall ladder and a crane.

the knits seem to blend in to their surroundings well & at the same time brighten up the streets. I took waaay too many photos but I couldn't stop look at the detail and volume of amazing work. incredible! I couldn't stop staring at the detail of the stitches. I had to wait for my sister to arrive so I had some time after the launch to listen & watch some of the people's responses - everyone seemed to love it! they were taking turns having photos on Jade's knitted chair, and in front of the trees' branches and next to Zoe's circle piece on the sculpture & the I heart Kings Cross logo as well as staring up at the tall tree pieces.

http://www.aliak.com/content/i-heart-kings-x-project-opening-day = (this) blog post
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/iheartkingscross = photos
http://bit.ly/19jFKo = slideshow movie of the photos

thanks to Reef Knot - especially Michelle McCosker, for organizing everything and letting me contribute. was a lot of fun. I hope they keep me informed of any future projects!

video @ archive.org page

photos

slideshow movie of flickr photos

some highlights

& the pieces I made :
the rainbow blanket & pink scribble lace (Debbie New pattern) ...

the red section under the frilly knot hole ...

and the bucky fuller inspired triangles & different stitches ...

Call for Expressions of Interest _
http://www.intercreate.org/view/eco-sapiens

/
\\\\\\\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ SCANZ 2011: Eco sapiens

Extinction or adaptation? Evolution or Revolution? What are we facing?

The complexity and urgency of the crises of today calls for us to
engage together in new ways. Deep shifts in our consciousness may be
required for long-term cultural changes to occur. This is a call for
expressions of interest from people who are concerned with these issues.

A symposium followed by a residency is to be held late January to
early February 2011 in New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand. Initial
expressions of interest are due 21 November, 2009.

\
//////////////// / Symposium

The SCANZ 2011: Eco sapiens symposium will be an event involving
individuals from a number of different worlds (e.g scientists,
artists, social activists and community change agents, cultural
commentators, educators, tangata whenua). Our primary aim is to
facilitate connections and foster innovative, and practical solutions
to the issues we are facing. Accordingly, a mixture of presentations,
discussions, informal exchanges and workshops are planned. Roger
Malina will be presenting from France on 'Open observatories', and Te
Huirangi Waikerepuru will speak on Maori conceptions of environment.
The symposium will inspire and inform the residency that follows, and
also provide opportunities for people to collaborate on projects
beyond SCANZ.

\
//////////////// / Residency

The SCANZ 2011: Eco sapiens two week residency is designed for those
individuals or groups who would like to work on creative, poetically
pragmatic or provocative projects which raise awareness of the issues
that confront us, generate connections between people, and with their
natural environment, and which grapple with the challenges of
individual and collective evolution.

Interdisciplinary approaches and the involvement of diverse groups is
welcomed. Residency projects can take place in a wirelessly networked
botanic garden, along the coastline and with communities. Networked,
DIY, or otherwise actively and openly distributed concepts are also
encouraged. Project participants are not necessarily required to be in
New Plymouth. Residency projects that are shortlisted will be included
in funding applications.

read more for details or visit http://www.intercreate.org/view/eco-sapiens

This Is Not Art festival 2009
This is Not Art is the parent arts, music festival of experimental and underground arts & music held annually in Newcastle, North of Sydney, Australia. The 2009 festival was held between October 1-5. The festival comprises of various festivals, listed below.

Electrofringe
Sound Summit
Critical Animals
National Young Writers' Festival
Crack Theatre Festival

video playlist : (all videos taken at the festivals - individual videos also in separate articles below)

in the 1990's I used to make clocks from old broadcast tv equipment (tape heads, motors/rotors etc) and old computer hard drives (10", 5.25". 3.5", 2.5" etc) and the like. I used to give them to friends as presents. I found an old photo album with some of the photos of the finished clocks + some of the clock bits. it's a shame I wasn't a better photographer at the time! this was pre-digital camera days so I didn't know the lighting (& framing) until the film was developed. I found one box of clock bits, but not the box of clocks and other clock bits boxes - maybe I can make some more if I find the right boxes.

GE AR - augmented reality
I tried playing this AR video at home tonight and it worked! this is the first attempt so the video I took is a bit dodgy but it gives an idea. the cat was purring whilst I was recording and kept nudging my head. I tried blowing on the mic but couldn't get the windmill blades to spin. try it out! now I want to try make my own!!
thanks to @LukeSnarl for tweeting the link

http://vimeo.com/4764743 :

GE AR - augmented reality from kath on Vimeo.

GE page
- print out the marker
- u might need to upgrade your flash player to v10
- turn on your webcam (mac - do this with flash player not photobooth - read the help tips on the url for help)
- launch wind power or solar energy links
(if you just see the green oval spinning then it probably can't see your camera)
- hold the marker printout so it's facing your webcam.. then watch the 3d images appear!

http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

http://bit.ly/9V5hV is a better video demo (clearer than what I've done - but I wanted to try it myself)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00FGtH5nkxM

luke sent me a great AR game by Julian Oliver (NZ) :
http://vimeo.com/1320756 :

levelHead v1.0, 3 cube speed-run (spoiler!) from Julian Oliver on Vimeo.

this is amazing!
he's made a game using cubes - called Levelhead - it's won all sorts of awards (deservedly so!)
he explains it on his website @ http://julianoliver.com/levelhead (& has code for you to try too)

Julian is part of HIT Lab NZ - The Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand - from their site it looks like they're doing some pretty cool stuff!!

ARToolKit

ARToolKit
ARToolKit documentation page - with samples, tutorials and background details

Aesthetica is looking for entries to the 2009 International Aesthetica Creative Works Competition. The 2008 Competition was a successful springboard for artists’ careers around the globe.

The Aesthetica Creative Works Competition: Artwork, Photography & Sculpture, Fiction and Poetry
Three winners will be awarded £500 each
All finalists will be published in the Aesthetica Creative Works Annual, in stores December 2009
Entry to the 2009 Aesthetica Creative Works Competition is £10
This allows you to submit up to 5 images, 5 poems or 2 short stClosing date to receive Creative Works is 31 August 2009

The winners and finalists from last year, went on to secure further exhibitions, commissions and publications. The winners and finalists were published in the Aesthetica Annual. It's a great opportunity to bring your work to a wider audience.

stl

Roll up fine citizens, roll up yer sleeves, roll up in yer beat up mazda, it's time for Ripped - A night of performance, textures, noises, hypercolours, and beats.

This Ripped features:
Cleptoclectics
Too Many Force Fields
Toydeath
Loom
Svelt

Ripped @ Red Rattler Theatre, 8th May
6 Faversham St, Marrickville

Also featuring will be The MashTable (new and weirder Dubtable, will possibly feature some gabba). See http://www.dubtable.net

Dress code? It would be encouraged to show up "Ripped", but that's a dubious promotion, so perhaps you should show up "torn" instead.

~~~~ BYO ~~~~ !!! The Red Rattler hasn't got their liquor license yet, so bring your own grog. Entry is $10/$7

Wide Open Space is a new all ages festival for Central Australia, showcasing inspiring local and national music and arts.

Held against the stunning backdrop of the East Macdonnell Ranges at the Ross River Resort 85 km from Mparntwe Alice Springs, Wide Open Space blends music, dance, art, environment, and desert culture with a unique outback camping experience.

The festival runs from May 1-3 2009 and features:

* Indigenous Opening ceremony and Welcome to Country
* Two Stages with a full line-up of live music, DJs, and performances with hip-hop headliners Urth Boy; dancehall maestro Mista Savona; Desert reggae blockbusters Tjupi Band, and festival beat master Spoonbill
* Colourful market place selling tasty treats, hand crafts and clothing from local and interstate designers

USE YOUR TALENTS TO EXPAND THE GENE POOL

Charles Darwin discovers social networking! Salute the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, and the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species, by sharing your adventurous vision of evolution and mutation in Gene Pool (pool.org.au/genepool).

Gene Pool takes evolution way beyond survival of the fittest, sex and the 'selfish gene', or scientists in lab coats. Cultures and ideas mutate too. Contribute a poem, story, photo or tribute, or perhaps a home movie or mini-documentary, a piece of music or field recording. Use other people's contributions to create your own recombinations, mash-ups, mutations, mixes and musings - or slice, dice and remix gems from the ABC archives - Gene Pool is full of possibilities.

In an ABC first, Gene Pool releases content from the ABC's archives under a Creative Commons licence so it's free for you to download and rework however you wish.

I've been reading my old copy of Localizer 1.0 this weekend - a book compiling art, music, labels, personalities from the early-mid 90s technohouse culture in Europe - mostly Germany, but also including Holland, Norway and other places. I still love much of the music from back then. and also the art works at the parties - below are some examples from Localizer book - I still love these styles. I think maybe I need to go to some more outdoor parties to see them again. to me, it was partly a promise of a new future with technology, music and art, which started in the late 80s (for me). whatever happened to that feeling though? I'm now living with technology, working with it, yet nothing seems that new & fresh anymore. I think it's information overload - new things come out so quickly and with the internet I hear about them too quickly that they don't feel new anymore.

The Streaming Festival is accepting submissions for its 4th edition in November 2009.

Deadline for submissions is 01 Ocotber 2009.
Accepted genres are documentary, animation, video art, flash and narrative.
No entry fee for submissions.

Announcing Synaesthesia, Art, Science & Technology Discussion Group on the Leonardo Education Forum (LEF)

Following the Synaesthesia Discussion on YASMIN Discussions List, during the month of February 2009, we wish to inform you that this discussion will continue on the Leonardo Education Forum on the topic of Synaesthesia, Art, Science & Technology.

To join the discussion, please register at: http://forum.lefnet.org/node/26

This Discussion Group invites comments on Synaesthesia, Art / Science topics as well as announcements on art projects, research and relevant events.

The LEF Synaesthesia Discussion Group is part of the Leonardo Synesthesia and Intersenses Special Project launched in 1999 by Jack Ox and Jacques Mandelbrojt (www.leonardo.info/isast/spec.projects/synesthesia/synesthesia.html) and is currently moderated by Veroniki Korakidou, PhD Candidate - Research Associate at the University of Athens NT Lab, Communication and Media Department.

Electrofringe is now calling for proposals for the 2009 festival. We are looking for creative expressions from artists, sound artists, performers, media makers, digital filmmakers, researchers, cross-artform practitioners, curators, producers, writers, experimenters, enthusiasts and anyone who doesn't fit these boxes.

Electrofringe is a five-day festival of electronic arts and culture held from the 1st - 5th October 2009 in Newcastle, Australia. Electrofringe is part of a group of festivals collected together under the This Is Not Art umbrella. Electrofringe is committed to fostering creative and innovative use and re-use of technology and electronic artforms, while focusing on artistic development and skills exchange.

Renew Newcastle is a not for profit company limited by guarantee. Renew Newcastle has been established to find short and medium term uses for buildings in Newcastle's CBD that are currently vacant, disused, or awaiting redevelopment.

Renew Newcastle aims to find artists, cultural projects and community groups to use and maintain these buildings until they become commercially viable or are redeveloped. Renew Newcastle is not set up to manage long term uses, own properties or permanently develop sites but to generate activity in buildings until that future long term activity happens.

Renew Newcastle was founded to help solve the problem of Newcastle's empty CBD. While the long term prospects for the redevelopment of Newcastle's CBD are good, in the meantime many sites are boarded up, falling apart, vandalised or decaying because there is no short term use for them and no one taking responsibility for them.

Renew Newcastle has been set up to clean up these buildings and get the city active and used again.

-- info from Renew Newcastle About page

visit http://renewnewcastle.org for more details

Via Grafik (Germany) meets Cut Collective (Aotearoa): 13 Feb - 17 May 2009

Street Art: some see it as a way of reclaiming public space, to others it's reckless vandalism. Either way street art offers a communication platform in an urban environment otherwise dominated by symbols of the media and advertising. Emerging from the graffiti movement in Europe and the USA in the 80s, street art has gained profile since UK artist Banksy sold recent work for 1 million pound. Common Ground looks at the phenomenon of street art in two very different countries on opposite sides of the globe - Germany's art collective and design studio Via Grafik and NZ's street art crew Cut Collective. The artists walk the line between art and vandalism, creation and disruption; and share a common belief that "if the wall is kept grey, the mind will follow."

Common Ground is supported by a full series of public programs including New Zealand first LASERTAG events.

13.02.2009 LASERTAG at The New Dowse, 45 Laings Rd Lower Hutt, 8 - 11pm
15.02.2009 Public Debate hosted by Jo Randerson, The New Dowse, 3 - 4pm
21.02.2009 Via Grafik & Cut Collective live at the Cuba Street Carnival, Wellington.

Bus painting for the parade and Cut Collective will be holding a stall in the market selling art, prints and T-Shirts

www.goethe.de/nz or 04 385 6924
www.newdowse.org.nz 04 570 6500

-- info via Cut Collective's myspace page : http://www.myspace.com/cutcollective_nz - read more or visit the myspace page for more details

The 4th annual Carnival of e-Creativity (CeC 2009) is scheduled to be held February 27 to March 1, 2009, in the sylvan spaces of Sattal Estate, just above Bhimtal, near Nainital, in the Lower Kumaon of the new Himalayan Indian state of Uttarakhand.

As always, this will be about Presentations, Performances, Exhibits, Meetings, and Screenings, involving direct and indirect participation of e-Creative Practitioners of all description from around India and the world, spread over 3 days of intense private, and also public, creative interaction.

read more or visit http://www.theaea.org/cec%5Fcac/cec09/ for more details

Organizers :
The Academy of Electronic Arts (The AeA) is a Private Trust that serves as a learning, sharing, mentoring, networking, benchmarking, empowering and broadly inclusive, but non-educational, institution.

Managing Trustee of The AeA & Incident Director for CeC 2009: Shankar Barua

Co-Curator: Ima Pico (Spain)
Co-Curator: Wilfried Agricola de Cologne (Germany)
Co-Curator: Moritz Neumuller (Spain)

continuing on from magic squares - video project? blog post - my summary of urls & excerpts to follow from the YASMIN Cybernetics Serendipity Redux discussion in 2008

:::

Nicolas Schoffer - one of the first artist to talk in public about Cybernetics and art. Nicolas Schoffer wikipedia page (english) -- via jnm - jean noel montagne

:::

from the work of Vladimir Bonacic, shown in Zagreb in 1968 "Vladimir Bonacic - the early works, Zagreb 1968-197" by darko fritz :

Narghile is an AV performance project of Brisbane's video & sound artist Lloyd Barrett. Lloyd has also worked using the name Secret Killer of Names / SKON. I googled N4rgh1l3 and found some video works. absolutely amazing! he mentioned he uses Isadora. it's amazing what he gets the program to do - if only I could get it to do half as much I'd be happy!!

this is a video piece submitted for the surface mapping projection at the Queensland Library at the Opening of the "Game On" exhibition (early arcade games & consoles). I went to this exhibition during Christmas holidays - it was great. unfortunately I didn't attend the Opening night as I was interstate. plenty of fathers showing their sons the games they played when younger. visitors were allowed to play the games, and they could read a bit about the history & background of the games. the Japanese 'dating' games was a new one to me!

http://www.vimeo.com/2393663

N4rgh1l3: Game On surface mapping projection from Andrew Thomson on Vimeo

Narghile v0.01 part 1 : Part one of two. First performance of Narghile's new audio visual processing processy thing. Videos made from still images and DV footage taken by the artists and processed live by Isadora and extra audio processing by Audio mulch and a Chaos Pad.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=4cy9Byqofhs

(read more to see videos)

I've been reading about Rothko's paintings this weekend and wanted to make a video painting similar to his works. it didn't quite work out as I expected (or like a Rothko painting). but I took videos around Auckland yesterday of different colours with the plan of using them as overlayed panels of colours. instead I ended up using a slit screen and shifting the entry points + having horizontal & vertical panels + changing between the different clips.

I don't think it turned out like the later Rothko paintings though. his paintings has large blocks of colour yet they weren't really about the colour. they were about the emotions - and the paintings showed emotions through the colours & induced emotions in the viewer. there were also glimpses of spirituality in the paintings - some had an inner light which shone through the works. also the size & scale of the paintings - often wall sized - caused the viewer to be enveloped in the emotions. the video I've made doesn't have the same emotions. it's more about the colours - the colours of Auckland city. the edges in the video work are too crisp and sharp. and there's no inner light. the motion relates more to Len Lye's use of motion in images & experimental films and sculptures. I've been reading about his work and his papers prior to making the video - in the book "Figures of Motion - Len Lye - Selected Writings". so I will have to try again - & maybe filter out or soften all the edges, or only keep the lines , like brush strokes, then build them up to panels of colour. many options to think about!

made in isadora - patch attached

26/01/2009

http://www.vimeo.com/2965451

slit screen video painting from kath on Vimeo

SCANZ 2009: Raranga tangata
The Weaving Together of People

Solar Circuit Aotearoa New Zealand (SCANZ) is the interCreate Research Centre's major project, a two week residency for artists, producers, writers, theorists and curators will be held in New Plymouth New Zealand from January 26th to February 8th 2009. Project partners are the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and Puke Ariki integrated library and museum.

Raranga tangata refers to the weaving together of people, a phrase used to describe the internet and adopted by Sally Jane Norman and Sylvia Nagl in their work. The aim for SCANZ 2009 is to weave an enduring fabric of people and technology, located in this place: Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand, Pacific Ocean.

Residency
January 26th–February 8th

Symposium
February 7th–8th

Parsons Bookshop located in central Auckland stocks International Art books, Exhibition Catalogues, Art Theory, Design, Photography, Architecture and Fashion books, as well as a large stock of New Zealand, Maori & Pacific books including Fiction, Poetry, Art, Small Press and Limited Edition Titles, Politics, History, Biography and Natural History. http://www.parsons.co.nz for more details

Squat Space was born from the energy of artists and activists of the Broadway Squats.

The organisers cleared out an old locksmith shop and launched a dynamic art and event space in December 2000. The gallery played host to political film screenings, free dinners, durational performances, experimental sound nights, site-specific installations...

SquatSpace opposed the standard "pay-as-you-show" system used by many high-rent artist-run-galleries in Sydney. Exhibiting was free, with artists usually becoming involved in the life of the squatting community in some way.

NUCA - the Network of Un-Collectable Artists - is a nation-wide affiliation connecting those who gravitate towards ephemeral projects, participatory experiences, illegal art actions, and activities that oddify everyday life. Some members make unwieldy installation projects, while others alter billboards, project images in abandoned spaces at night, or exchange ideas rather than objects. Some simply make dead ugly paintings that would never sell.

Because such artworks are often fiendishly tricky to document, they seldom grace the columns of "recognised" publications. NUCA is building a publicity machine of its own, so artists may exchange essential info about their activities, collaborate on new projects, and connect with Uncollectable others.