4 posts tagged “artist”

Thames University senior lecturer for digital media and artist Richard Colson, this week debuted his new book The

Fundamentals of Digital Art to a sold-out audience of about 300 at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London. His reference book traces the early days of digital art, beginning with a timeline that starts with the 1950 publication of Norbert Weiner’s ‘Cybernetics and Society’ essay exploring the integrated relationships machines have with humans.

Nearly six decades on, the field of digital art remains a discipline that is still being defined by both artists and technologists who are constantly experimenting with new approaches and applications. The artist’s tools rapidly emerge with new technology developments, transforming the medium, every few months. Richard Colson told the audience that his new book is original in its effort to put into context what has been emerging between the intersection of technology and art for these past decades. He talked about his favourite decade of attending art school in the 1970s, when, he fondly remembered, making art from technology had a very organic approach among its creators, who were boldly going where none had gone before. With no commercial objectives or support at that time, the creations that resulted were all conceived from pure creative motivation, and the human mind’s desire to build something, because you can.  This mindset is best put by Marshall McLuhan, who Colson quotes in his book:

“The artist is a man in any field, scientific or humanistic, who grasps the implications of his actions and of new knowledge in his own time. He is the man of integral awareness.”

Colson’s book features his personal selections of digital artworks that he finds to be pivotal in the movement from the

earliest works such as James Seawright’s 1968 piece called Scanner. Scanner hangs from a ceiling, within labs of IBM and depicts the historical innovations in data-processing machines. It is an interesting place to think of finding art, dangling from the inner sanctum of the early days of the computer industry’s ‘Big Blue’ corporation. Comment from Jasia Reichardt explains this moment in time of the late 60s of an era when:

“What was significant was that the computer brought in its wake new people to become involved in making art and composing music. People who had never thought of putting pencil to paper, brush to canvas, started making images.”

Among those who were boldly exploring new territory is Steve Roberts, who in 1983, rode a a computerized recumbent bicycle across the America, that he kitted-out with technology gadgets, including an early version of a laptop, that allowed him to stay online during his journey. His contraption was the first known ‘mobile office’ and, as Colson features in his new book, makes us wonder – was it art or technology? Clearly it was a mix of both, with the spirit of an intrepid adventurer mixed in.

Steve Roberts Rides Across America

“The project took six months, a well-focused, fast-track, all-out effort that I recall with wistful fondness from my current perspective of overwhelming complexity.  The bike had to be fabricated from scratch, as the few recumbents of the day were too delicate for the anticipated abuse.  I hired a wizard frame builder to braze a strong and well-balanced substrate, a decision that proved correct countless times over the ensuing decade as it was subjected to 17,000 miles of overloading on often-inhospitable pavement.  I liquidated my suburban lifestyle, assembled a camping system and a simple electronics package powered by a 5-watt solar panel, established a base office and basic network protocols, and hit the road.” –Steve Roberts

The author’s cherry picking efforts of digital project highlights from this era of art, opens our own thought and imagination to how everyday gadgets and technologies are possibly art in themselves, or have been used as supplies for art creations. Locative art projects make use of GPS systems, PDAs, mobile phones and other easily available consumer gadgets to experiment with technology in new ways. An example of this is the Greenwich Emotion Map by Christian Nold, produced in 2006.

Among my own favourite selections in the book is Daniel Brown’s creation of mutating plants, in which a computer programme is set free to allow for digital plants to reproduce and mutate into any shape and style they wish. You can play with some of this artist’s creations at www.play-create.com.

How Do You Collect Digital Art?

In conversation with some of the attendants at the book launch this week, some of us wondered about what avid art collectors are doing to preserve some of the early works of digital art. Some of the earliest are run on now out-dated technology platforms, like those huge mainframes found at IBM, and how might you store and keep hold of such a piece and would it still be of value? It seems this area of art is still an affordable and highly collectible option for art appreciators.

I’ve certainly got a personal history with this form of art, much like Colson describes of his own experience, as I’ve visited a number of digital art galleries, supported the Cybersonica festival and Cybersalon organization, and watched my brother’s work evolved over two decades . My brother has been described as being among one of the earliest digital artists to emerge from the discipline, for work he did in the early 90s with his experimental website e13.com, as well as commissioned pieces with Gasbook, Shift and MoMa. My brother laughs about the day a high-brow art gallery owner phoned him up and informed him that he was looking for digital artists to exhibit in his gallery show and would my brother make something for it? That was around 1993, and it seemed the art world had suddenly turned its attention to the things web designers and technologists had been tinkering with for a few decades in their spare time.

With Colson’s new book, it does feel like a tipping point may be reached in this field, in which more attention will be given to the value of the creations of these visionary creative people operating in the intersection between art and technology. If you are a collector, it might be time to preserve your early CD rom and Floppy Disks that capture the early days of graphic programmes, and if you have the space, store the classic Apple computers so that you’ll have the technology platform to experience the original digital artist’s works.

If you want to get started understanding who’s who and pivotal in the field, Colson’s book is a good starting point and is packed with interesting reference points for anyone studying digital media today. The Fundatmentals of Digital Art will certainly be a course favourite among those training to become the next generation of digital generation of technology-savvy artists.

PS: While visiting the ICA for Richard Colson’s book launch, Vivienne Westwood past me in the lobby, and I was awestruck. She truly strikes an impressive display in real life as is fitting with her reputation. She was at the ICA for a speaking engagement.

Who’s Lisa Devaney? I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

Performing two sold-out shows over the weekend at The Jazz Club in Soho, London got

the welcome return of one the city’s own sisters, the jazz singer Tessa Souter. Seducing audiences with a fully packed repertoire of classics and original material, this daughter of an English mother and Trinidadian father, offered up a glimpse of her soul and passionate style that combines Flamenco and world music.

Lingering on lyrics and notes, she transforms familiar songs into new experiences, like dipping them in chocolate fondue. Of her set, my favourite was her rendition of classic rock favourite White Room by Cream, because she brought attention to all the beautiful poetic verse and stunning imagery contained in the song, making us pause, be in the songwriter's moment, and wonder about being “in the white room with black curtains near the station.”

Her interpretation of other compilation choices offered a night of rich musical story-telling,

with highlights that included The Island by Alan Bergman, Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles and her signature number Listen Love, which is also the title of her CD. With her voice as her brush, Tessa painted the audience vivid pictures and dropped countless images of beauty, love and sometimes sadness into our minds. Her expressive body movements match the impressive notes she carries and her show hails back to the bygone era depicted in Casablanca when the film’s stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman begs the pianist to "Play it once, Sam, for old times' sake." Tessa will give you that feeling of being somewhere that is dripping with glamour, gorgeous décor and plenty of dry martinis on the offer. Joined by her drummer Winston Clifford for one number was a highlight of the evening, with him backing her up with beautiful vocals.

Only A Lifetime Of Good Times And Bad Can Let You Sing With This Kind of Depth

Getting her start ten years ago, she’s an artist that has quickly earned praise, accomplishing success that some have to plod along for a lifetime before achieving. Now making her base in New York City’s Harlem, clearly the jazz influences that ooze out of the cracks in the pavement in her adopted home have made their mark on this artist’s vision. Having seen Tessa first perform in New York City about five years ago, I thought she was very experienced, someone who had been delivering mouth-watering lyrics from the earliest days of urban jazz. As it turns out, I was lucky to catch one of her first performance ventures when she was just beginning her new journey to become a professional jazz singer. Tessa hit a turning point, following a long career as a writer, and a busy time raising her son, and decided to focus on her strongest dream that had nicked in her head for many years – to sing. It is rare when any of us have the chance to realize that we are, in fact, actually doing what we dream about all the time, as a fulltime pursuit. Along the way, she’s earned the attention of major music critics, receiving positive reviews and the respect of jazz legends, some who have helped wean her talent:

"Extraordinary authenticity. Musical sophistication. A must-see for lovers of world class jazz vocalizing." -Los Angeles Times

 "Talented English jazz singer who runs her set through various kinds of territory."-New York Times

 "British-Caribbean jazz vocalist Tessa Souter brings new life to time-honoured standards, while also mining a creative spark from the unlikeliest quarters.'"-TimeOut New York

Soul jazz singer Jon Lucien said of her CD Listen Love. "Magnificent! I couldn't stop playing it over and over. She blew me away!"

Tessa Souter Performs at The Jazz Club, Soho, London, 15th February 2008

Observing Tessa’s personal journey has been fascinating to watch, and very inspirational to anyone who is trying to accomplish anything creative that doesn’t follow an obvious path. Tessa shares her own personal inspirational journey in her book Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better, available for purchase here. Still a correspondent journalist for prestigious titles, Tessa’s by-line appears in top media outlets from time to time, with her occasionally serving as The Guardian’s Brit-Eye-View to New York City, with her penning articles in between gigs on her increasingly busy touring schedule.

Tessa comes to London at least twice a year to perform, and is on stage regularly in New York and San Francisco, so sign up for her mailing list at www.tessasouter.com to catch her next show. You can also find her on MySpace at www.myspace.com/tessasouter. In London, Tessa usually performs at The Jazz Club, a respected London venue that plays host to many jazz legends who keep this style of music alive for its millions of fans, having opened in the basement of the Pizza Express restaurant on Dean Street in 1976. Pizza Express’s venues showcase live music for hundreds of fans, with also performing at Pizza On The Park, near Hyde Park.

Here’s Tessa Souter’s full biography:

Born in London of Trinidadian and English parents, New York-based vocalist, composer, and lyricist Tessa Souter (soo-ter) infuses jazz with the soul and passion of flamenco, Indian and Middle Eastern music. There's no one doing what Tessa does," enthused Village Voice and New York Sun critic Will Friedwald. "One of the most imaginatively programmed vocal sets of recent memory." said the Los Angeles Times, in a rave review of her California debut at the Catalina Bar and Grill in 2002. And it's not just the critics who admire her. Taught to sing at the age of three by her mother, Tessa took up the guitar at 12. She was encouraged in her early teens to pursue a singing career, but took a detour - early motherhood, university and journalism. In 1992, she moved to San Francisco, where she wrote for the British press, including Vogue, Elle, The Guardian and The Times, and became one of the original six members of The Writer's Grotto, along with Po Bronson (who cites her in his best seller What Should I Do With My Life), Ethan Canin, Ethan Watters, Josh Kornbluth and David Munro. After moving to New York in 1996, she started sitting in at jazz jams, before winning a scholarship to study at New York's Manhattan School of Music in 1998. She left to study privately with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy.

Since her professional debut in 1999 Tessa has performed with some of the world's jazz greats, including Mark Murphy, Joe La Barbera, Marvin Sewell, Larry Koonse, Latin Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria and jazz tuba legend Howard Johnson. WNPK Radio FM says: "It's hard to believe she only recently became a vocalist, because she sings with the authority and passion that usually comes from long experience." To quote Los Angeles-based guitarist Larry Koonse, "Tessa Souter has all the qualities I value most in a musician: great time, beautiful phrasing, gorgeous sound, a respect for silence, an emotional connection to the moment, and a wonderful ability to tell a story. She is the 'real thing' in every way."

Listening to Tessa Souter,

I head the Hai Media Group, a multimedia communications company based in London, offering client’s traditional public relations, combined with new technology marketing strategies. I also perform, creating original Cabaret-style comedy skits for festivals, theatre and parties. Find out more about me, and the talented entrepreneurs I collaborate with, by visiting: www.haimediagroup.com

 

 

Celebrate the highs and lows of life through the beauty and passion of Micheline Van

Hautem, who’s voice will pierce straight through your soul and leave you shedding tears. With tribute songs to French balladiere Jacques Brel, the music of Micheline has packed concert halls throughout the world, and she’s booked sold-out shows at leading festivals including Scotland’s annual Edinbugh Fringe Festival and Austraila’s Fringe in Adalaide. Her A-list credits include receiving a rave review and query from Madonna, who saw Micheline’s performances in Europe. She’s also received numerous awards for her vocal abilities and had a song featured in the movie Tadpole, starring Sigourney Weaver. 

Now based in Amsterdam, Micheline is singing with a new beat of love and passion -- the sound of motherhood. With her partner Willem-Hein Couwenberg, she’s joyously raising her son Alexander Henri Thomas Couwenberg, who was born November 5^th, 2007. At home, the family is surrounded by the vibrant artistic community of Amsterdam, including their supportive friend, the author Xaviera Hollander who wrote The Happy Hooker. Willem runs a popular bed & breakfast booking service and can sort you out with the best rates for rooms in the city. Find his service at www.absoluteamsterdam.com.

Being a Mom is not stalling Micheline’s singing career, as she soon embarks on a packed 2008 tour schedule that

includes about 60 gigs across Europe. She’s also celebrating the release of her newest CD this weekend – Chocolat. Chocolat presents original lyrics and scores that Micheline has been creating for the last five years, and marks a turning point in her career that will be showcasing more of her original music to audiences and fans worldwide. Her live performances will include many of her beloved Jacques Brel tributes, mixed with the sounds of new material.

What about baby Alexander on tour? He is joining Mom on the road, along with Dad, and the help of two friends who are helping out as nanny and chef. Most of the touring will be on continental Europe this year, with one show being performed in New York City in June. Check www.michelinemusic.com for all performance listings.  

It is an impressive tour schedule for Micheline, who was already a musical superstar and will now be a musical superstar Mom. No wonder Madonna recognized her talent and drive all those years ago.

How do I know Micheline? I’ve been a fan since I first met her. This songstress, who is originally from Belgium, lived

humbly as my former neighbor in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, where we met and discovered that we both had kindered artistic souls. She kindly invited me onstage once in New York City, where I shared a bit of her spotlight, amusing the audience with some of my edgy spoken word. Micheline performed often in New York City, taking to the stage for live performances in many of the off-Broadway venues and a few top concert halls, while spending days working hard in her recording studio. At the time, she was a musical team with accordionist and pianist Frederik Caelen, an equally accomplished artist. As her accompanist, Fredrick added that flash-back Cabaret glamour to every performance they shared.

The two travelled the world bringing the classic sound of Jacques Brel to audiences, but have since parted ways to pursue new direction in their personal lives and artistic careers – with Fredrick teaching music in his native Antwerp. I’ll be visiting Micheline and Willem soon in Amsterdam, to meet Alexander, along with my partner John – we can’t wait to see them!

Are you in Europe? Catch one of Micheline’s performances this year, all gig listings can be found on her website at: www.michelinemusic.com

See Micheline perform here:

I'm a Broadway baby, having spent my childhood in New York City literally backstage at Broadway

theatres, watching my Dad, who played French Horn in the Orchestra pits throughout the city. Together we witnessed the glitter – and grime – of musical runs of George Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess, A Little Night Music, The Wiz, opera at the MET, annual Christmas show's with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and often he gigged at Lincoln Center as a professional musician, among many, many more performances.

Dad studied at the Julliard School of Music in the 60s, alongside several great names in classical music - including Itzhak Peralman. Few had the wealth of culture that I experienced as a child, but most of my friends had an easier time buying designer jeans or taking family vacations to Disney Land regularly. A professional musician’s salary is no easy way to raise four children. He did what he had to do to keep income flowing, in between shows, or in the face of sudden show closures. I remember one musical called Rex that had a one-night run and was closed immediately following disastourous critical review. Dad sometimes drove a cab, and had a host of other amusing odd jobs throughout his career. It is an economic struggle I wish on no one who possesses as much talent as my Dad - Lloyd Rosevear.

This year, watching the WAG strike unfold, followed by the Broadway stagehand's strike, I'm thinking about my own special childhood. Under the stage lights, sitting back stage among the performers and dancers, I saw magic. I often wish that behind all that pretty display, that behind the scenes, the reality of what we faced in getting by financially, wasn't such a brutal, ugly story of hardship that my Dad faced for so many years. The musician's union had a few fights back then, but, as I was a kid, I didn't understand everything that was happening. I just remember that he had to really fight to hold onto good-paying gigs, and it seemed that these were constantly under threat from a variety of seedy influences in the world of showbusiness. I wish my Dad had the community of support that is emerging for WAG and the Broadway stagehands -- because it takes a whole world to support good art.

On my recent visit to the theatre district in Times Square, I'd hoped to catch a show for old time sake - but the stagehand workers strike was still in full force. I chatted with a frontline striker in Times

Square and gave him all of my support. While I haven't seen the musician’s union of the entertainment world chime in just yet, in support, other than a few individuals like KT Tunstall, or to hang out their own list of grievances, today I received news that the Screen Actor's Guild will show solidarity tomorrow in New York City for the Writers Guild of America. Seems it:

 'Tis the season to strike!

Hurray that actors in NYC are uniting with writers over what is a long-overdue dispute over the need for fairness in this ever-changing media landscape. Of course writers, and all contributing talent, should receive increased compensation from the sale of DVDs! It is about time that what’s fair is fair be accounted for accurately with the emergence of new models for entertainment content distribution. Everyone (even me) knows that a whole new wave of fortune is presented with television shows availability on DVD and these days, movie releases are often rushed ahead, many skipping over wasting money on marketing and promotions efforts for general theatre release, to get to the shelves of Blockbuster, and for online distribution, as soon as possible. The Hollywood tycoons are always screaming Show Me The Money! And it is about time that the creatives are taking a stand to scream the same line...that they wrote in the first place!

In spirit, I'll be out on the cold streets New York City to join the picket lines alongside my SAG friends, to support my WAG friends -- and if you think you want to get involved, the full details about what's going down in front of Viacom are below:

Information on WGA Strike Locations for Thursday, Dec. 13

 Dear Guild Member:

Now more than ever, we must bolster our commitment and keep walking picket lines to let management know that we stand firmly with our brothers and sisters at the WGA. The commitment of actors has been astounding—and our message has been heard loud and clear: The WGA's fight is our fight.

On Thursday, December 13, students and future members of the Writers Guild will join us at Viacom to march, learn about the issues of our strike and show their support. When you arrive at the location, please look for the designated Screen Actors Guild staff member.

Viacom

44th and Broadway

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

REMINDER:  

• Please stay at studio locations, and do not join picketers at on-location sites. Screen Actors Guild is not condoning or participating in disruption and/or attempts to shut down location shoots.
• It is critical that SAG picket signs not be displayed at any locations other than the appropriate sites at the studios and networks.
• If you are contracted to work on a television series or motion picture that continues to produce while the WGA is on strike, you are obligated by your personal service agreement and the "No Strike" clause in our collective bargaining agreements to go to work. You can continue to audition for work and accept new work if you choose to do so.  
• Screen Actors Guild members should not perform the duties covered by WGA contracts. Simply stated, you should not write anything normally written by striking WGA writers.
• Finally, and most importantly, we must support our fellow SAG members on every set even if they have to cross a picket line to get to work. They are simply following the advice of their union and honoring their contract. It is not reasonable to expect SAG cast members to risk the potentially enormous personal liability that may flow from refusing to work in the absence of a SAG strike. Please note, the WGA contract includes a similar "No Strike" clause and writers would be bound to the same rules as you are if another union were striking.

IMPORTANT NOTE:   We have also set up a toll-free Screen Actors Guild WGA strike information hotline number for questions regarding work rules and picket line locations. Through this hotline number, you can get up-to-the-minute information on work rules, picket line locations and help with other questions.

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