News Summary 10.2014

October 31, 2014 Aoni Wang

Every month, AMT Lab publishes a collection of recent arts management and technology news. This month, many articles focused on how the latest technologies, such as 3D printing, can be used to create art. Technology has had a profound impact on cultural industries, and as always we are deeply interested in following these trends.

3D Printing

3D printing is among the most popular topics online. The idea that people would be able to manufacture customized products at home is as exciting as it is unimaginable. While it is true that the technology is not yet widespread and many readers may not yet have hands on experience, 3D printing is poised to have huge impacts in the not so distant future. As these articles demonstrate, 3D printing has applications beyond industrial manufacture. Artists have already used the technology in some fascinating projects.

(‘juicy’ by B.I.G is rendered as a 3D printed set of grillz / image courtesy of roopa vasudevan)

NJ School Uses 3D Printing in Multiple Classes (The Journal)

Artist 3D Prints Grillz Using Algorithms Generated From Hip-Hop Songs (Designboom)

3D Printed Oreo Cookie Cameos: Artist Hand-Sculpts Creme, Scans and 3D Prints Replicas (3D Print)

3D Printing a Unique Limb for a Unique Person in Two Weeks (3D Printing Industry)

Digital Art

A Dynamic New Tool to Preserve the Friendsters of the Future (The New York Times)

Online content is constantly changing. Even the most meaningful discussion with friends on Facebook can be quickly lost in the never-ending flood of information. Fighting this tendency, New York based nonprofit Rhizome developed “Colloq,” a digital tool that helps preserve online content in its original form. Artist Amalia Ulman used Colloq to record a performance art project conducted on Facebook and Instagram, where she “assumed four different stereotypical female roles over the course of several months.”

Concert Cellist Hooks Her Brain Up to Speakers to Create Bizarre New Music (Business Insider)

Concert cellist, Katinka Kleijn translated her brain waves into sound by wearing an electronencephalography (EEG) headset. This online article includes the audio of the final futuristic sounding of EEG’s waves in duet with the cellist’s original composition.

(An image of Miley Cyrus in Visionaire 64.Credit Visionaire)

Celebrity Selfies as Art, Via John Baldessari (Arts Beat)

Conceptual artist John Baldessari used celebrity selfies as raw material to create artwork. He altered the photographs by “stripping them of color… and then adding some back.” These modified selfies were made into 12-by-18 inch prints and sold by Visionaire, “a publisher that produces pricey limited editions”, at $375 each edition. The artwork was also on display in the lobby of the Chrysler Building over the past month.

Museum

‘Looking’ at Art in the Smartphone Age (Pacific Standard)

Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s selfie with the famous Mona Lisa in the Louvre created a lot of buzz in the digital world. One point noticed by many writers was that “the first couple of American pop culture” wasn’t even looking at the painting. The author discusses whether smartphones should be banned in museums and galleries, and whether these devices detract from the artistic experience of visitors.

Artists as disruptors: Building incubators where art, technology meet (The Rapidian)

Led by the New Museum in New York City, incubator NEW INC is an incubator where artists and designers can work with technology. After selection, members of NEW INC would have “full-time access to the 8,000 square foot co-working space…business classes and mentorships.”

Crowdsourcing

Everybody’s an Art Curator (The Wall Street Journal)

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and the Frye Art Museum have both experimented with crowdsourcing exhibitions. Such moves have raised certain concerns: where is the line between amateurs and experts? Can everyone be an art curator? This rather long article features in-depth coverage from both sides of the debate around the topic.

All Together Now: Artists and Crowdsourcing (Art News)

While most people think crowdsourced art is a modern trend, its roots are the Fluxus artists of the 1950s and ‘60s. As the author points out, crowdsourced art “is about inclusiveness, turning formerly passive audiences into active creators and empowering people who aren’t normally part of the art world.” If not everyone can be a curator, could anyone be an artist? There may not be a clear answer, but people can certainly participate in the creation of art and witness the spectacle of their collective efforts.

(Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks, 2014, sculpture by Janet Echelman, interactive art by Aaron Koblin. EMA PETER/COURTESY STUDIO ECHELMAN)

Explore more news here:

Apps

How we made the Night Sun audiovisual web app (The Guardian)

Stan Douglas’s Play on Two Sets (Art News)

How we made Radiohead’s PolyFauna app for iOS and Android (The Guardian)

How we made the Curiator iPhone app (The Guardian)

Crowdfunding

Change Agents: Tech vision for arts patronage (USA Today)

The ugly afterlife of crowdfunding projects that never ship and never end (Ars Technica)

Digital Art

Post-Internet Art Waits Its Turn (The New York Times)