From 18 to 22 February 2008 at Beursschouwburg, Brussels

Session 1: “Theories and Practices of Interaction in Physical and Virtual Space”

By VJ Theory

VJ Theory’s workshop session can be structured into 3 parts. The first one will give an introduction to theories which inform interactive real-time practices, delivering some written short texts to contextualize and showing some works. This will also introduce the participants to the capabilities of PD.

The second part are PD workshops. General PD introduction will occur during two half days, followed by individual tutorials. Parallel to PD workshops, there is a 1st session on emotional and empathic interaction in a live (VJ) performance and a 2nd session on other technologies used to produce interactive real-time practices.

The third part will consist in collaborators participating in discussion rather than VJ Theory delivering a talk. It is intended to be like a debate. The outcomes, constructed by VJ Theory together with the participants, could take the form of a blog or any other digital format easy to use, permitting collaboration, and that could be used at any later stage to support participants’ work. Each theme will be a slot of time to happen in-between the PD workshops and while the individual tutorials are taking place:

3.1 Networks and Participation: Participatory Interactive Real-time Practices in Context;
3.2 Ideology: Questions of Feedback of Data to the Ideological Subject;
3.3 Audiences, Participants, Collaborators: How They Affect and Are Affected by the Work?

Session 2: “Logic doubles Logic”

By Jerry Galle

“I want working with the computer to be as direct as drawing or painting and I work with coding and software in a way that does not accentuate its technical aspects.
The question whether coding or working with software in general is a part of the process of creation remains evident.

This master class focuses on the problems one encounters when working with the computer as a medium for art. The question: ‘Can you create autonomous art with a computer when there is a shift from the maker to the computer as maker?’ is central.

With old media, a concept, idea or a feeling is purposely and predominantly developed, followed by a production method. This is a stable and linear process. The end result (or the artwork) does not require any physical action from the visitor. The interaction between the artwork and the spectator is reflective.

In new media, an idea undergoes a dissection in the software environment, only later to be assembled by algorithms. Here, the original concept already becomes subjective during or before the production process by external systems, e.g. mathematics. The creation process itself hereby becomes instable. The (end) result changes continuously and is dependant on the course of time (both on the time generated within the computer, as on the time we perceive and direct ourselves to). The interaction with the audience is challenging because of this uncertainty. This process is instable and non-linear.

The methods used in this master class are split up into two main parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part will consist of an introduction to systems used to override the logical, predictable and rigid outcome of the binary system. The practical part will be hands on, using Max Msp Jitter patches to demonstrate, discuss and experiment with such systems.” (Jerry Galle)