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A group of 兔子先生传媒文化作品 artists and technologists, many of whom share connections with the ATLAS Institute,听contributed to the Museum of Boulder鈥檚 newest exhibit, 鈥淐onvivial Machines,鈥� which opened Saturday, Oct. 30.
The gallery showcase is the first museum installation for Boulder Experiments in Art and Technology (B.E.A.T), says the exhibit's听curator, Jiffer Harriman (ATLS PhD '16), who started B.E.A.T. in 2019 to 鈥渇oster creativity and collaboration at the intersection of art and technology.鈥� 听Museum visitors can expect to see a variety of interactive systems, including musical installations and video art, as well kinetic sculptures, digital games, bioluminescent algae and more, Harriman says.
鈥淭he exhibit highlights a local community of artists and creative technologists looking for new ways to see the world,鈥� says Harriman. 鈥淚t explores the differences and balance between what people do well鈥攅xpressiveness and creativity鈥攁nd what machines are good at鈥搑epetition and connection.鈥�
One of the emerging themes of the show is the tension between the benefits that technology offers and the negative impacts, Harriman says. Some installations imagine new possibilities, while others point toward technology鈥檚 negative effects, including an installation of "useless boxes" that contain a single switch, which when turned on, is immediately switched off by a robotic finger, he adds.
The ATLAS Connection
Inspired by bioluminescent algae and the idea of engaging with something 鈥渓ive,鈥� Harriman has blended research led by Mirela Alistar, assistant professor of computer science with the ATLAS Institute, into the installation. Alistar, also the director of the Living Matter Lab,听and Netta Ofer, an ATLAS master鈥檚 student, have created an exhibit, 鈥淏ioluminescent Touch,鈥� where visitors can interact in the darkness with dinoflagellates, algae that produce light when exposed to oxygen through physical stimulation.
鈥淭he bioluminescent response to human touch creates unexpected connection and empathy with the microorganism, drawing us into the wonder of communicating and interacting with nonhuman beings,鈥� Ofer says.
Slaton Spangler, now a software engineer with LASP who, as an undergraduate majoring in computer science was a very active member of the BTU Lab, made the interactive installation, 鈥淎morphous Breeze.鈥� The piece displays a network of undulating 鈥渂lobs鈥� that fade in and out following a set of underlying rules. When a viewer presses a glowing green button, a fan in the real world appears to blow away the blobs, replacing them with new blobs that follow new rules. The patterns that emerge from the waves of blobs tend to be mesmerizing in the same fashion as a lava lamp, Spangler says.
Spangler also constructed the installation, 鈥淐lear the Void,鈥� which uses an XBox Kinect to create an interactive space of digital images provided by Matt Corones, an ATLAS master's student (Creative Industries)听in the ACME Lab, Dajira Medi膰, Jeanne Kipke, Andy DiLallo and Shannon Derthick.听
In a third installation, Spangler created a hardware platform to loop an installation of video art from the B.E.A.T. community that includes a range of experimental techniques and themes.
What:听 "Convivial Machines," an exhibit by听Boulder Experiments in Art and Technology (B.E.A.T), including many artists and technologists from the ATLAS community.
When: Oct. 30鈥揊eb. 6, 2022
Where: Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, Boulder
Cost: adults $10; seniors, college students, youth (5-17) $8; under 5鈥揻ree.
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Priyanka Makin, an ATLAS master's student, fabricated the 鈥淣ature Mobile,鈥� a kinetic sculpture of nature shapes that explores the future relationship between technology, engineering, art and nature. Makin used a laser cutter to cut the pieces and built and programmed the motor. With the help of natural sunlight in the lobby, the sculpture scatters colors throughout the entry to the museum.
Perry Owens, an undergraduate CTD student and member of the ACME Lab, created the sculpture,听"The Future of Problem Solving," which expresses the duality between man and machine听as they are tasked with solving a puzzle.听To succeed, man and machine must achieve harmony through trust and coordination.听Owens听made the "human" from resin casts of his听own hands. Using听a 3D modeling software, he designed the mechanical arms and听3D printed them听with听fingers that can be posed. He also 3D printed the Rubik's cube,听which can be rotated, and听added a wooden exterior, while the LED-lined portals and mirrors were laser-cut.
"I imagine the future of our world is one in which there is collaboration between technology and humanity, instead of competition and war,"听Owens听says. "This piece was fabricated using human skills combined with technology, akin to its听message of unity between man and machine."
A collaborative effort of seven created the musical arcade, 鈥淕alaga's Ghost,鈥� a multi-channel musical instrument that up to six people can play with buttons, joysticks and air guitar moves. The听interactive musical composition was created by Sean Winters, a CMCI lecturer in the Department of Critical Media Practices who performs regularly in the ATLAS Black Box. Winters is also on the B2 advisory committee. Torin Hopkins,听a PhD student in the ACME Lab and the instructor听for the SOUND class,听helped design the interface layout and assisted with the听final fabrication of the piece.听