A R T AN D T E C H N O L O G Y An Exhibition from tlie Griffitli University Art Collection

A N C I L L A R Y A C T I V I T E S This brochure provides suggestions for a

range of possible activities which might be orga nise d loca lly in associa tion with the INTERFACES exhibition. These proposals ore offered as a stimulus to other ideas which will be deve loped by local communities. They a re intended to provide educa tiona l, practica l, "h a n d s - o n " a djuncts to the e x h i b i t i o n , encouraging active audience involvement.

Such a ctivit ie s ca n prov ide a loca l perspective on the broad issues raised in the exhibition, and opportunities to reflect upon local identity and history.

Contact information for proposed tutors and speakers is available from Griffith Artworks, G r i f f i t h U n ive rs i ty , N a t h a n , O LD 4 1 1 1 . Ph: 0 7 875 7 4 1 4 Fax: 0 7 8 7 5 7 9 3 2 .

Regional a reas do not exper ience the domination of technology to the degree of large urban centres. However, it is these a reas which most appreciate and rely upon advances in technology, particularly in telecommunications. They are thereby in a unique, comparative position to critically evaluate the benefits of technology in human terms.

I N T E R F A C E S intends to encourage discussion and debate on the many issues which surround technology. Examples of such issues a re :

Access: The distribution of technology, the meeting

of local needs.

Cost: Is technology sustainable? Wi l l it ever be? Con

we ever keep up?

Benefits: W h o benefits from technology, who doesn't?

Applications: Wha t kinds of technology are avai lable?

C a n training be provided?

D i s c u s s i o n s c o u l d t a k e p l a c e t h rough teleconferencing, on C B radio, on the local radio station, or in the gal lery itself. Listed below are possible lectures that could be combined with local speakers and discussion groups:

Technology and regional communities

This lecture will discuss the relationship between regional areas and large city centres (often referred

to as the centre-periphery debate) in relation to the advances of technology. Specif ic focus wil l be given to arts practice.

Speakers: Pat Hoffie, Mar ie Biggins

W ome n and technology

This lecture wil l cover the history of the women's movement, the change in women's lives, particularly in regional a reas , and technology's role in these changes. Specif ic focus will be given to arts practice.

Speakers: G l enda Nalder , Pat Hoffie, V i rg in ia Borratt

Tradition and Change: Contemporary Aborigina l Art

This lecture will discuss the enormous variety of Abor ig ina l cultures and the sustaining of traditional knowledge, community identity, and an understanding of locale, in relation to the many changes such communities have undergone through the impact of technology.

Speakers: Marshal l Bel l , Tracey Moffatt.

A history of electronic art in Australia

This lecture wil l discuss the rise of electronic media-based visual arts in Aust ra l ia . References will be made to international work.

Speaker: Dr Nicholas Zurbrugg

G R I F F I T H U N I V E R S I T Y

The target aud ience for workshops is local practising artists, photographers, teachers, or people a l ready using computers for non-artistic purposes in industry, training, etc.. This is an ideal opportunity for art ists and others to rece ive pro fess iona l development and to make contact with fellow artists and people with similar interests.

Computer Art

A bas ic introduction to computer imag ing : participants wi l l produce images using a paint program and digital image processes as well as learning how to reproduce computer images on conventional media e.g. 35mm Polaroid slide.

Tutors: A d a m Wol ter , Edite V id ins , David Boreham, Margaret Turner, Robert Kinder.

VHS Video Editing

This workshop is designed for people with little or no experience in V H S video editing. Participants wil l gain basic hands-on skills in editing for sound and image. Participants should bring a V H S video they wish to edit.

Tutor: John Hetherington.

Video Art

This workshop explores the incorporation of video in installation artworks, d isplay of video artworks, inter-media col laborat ions, the role of sound, as well as covering basic editing and filming techniques.

Tutors: Lyndal Mi lan i , J a y Younger, Tim Gruchy ,

John Gi l l ies, Norm Horton (Feral Arts) .

Performance and technology

This workshop explores the role and potential of technology in performance art (or experimental theatre). Participants wil l study the performer's body, bodily voice and gesture, and the ability of technology to enhance, reproduce, or mediate these techniques and effects (through monitoring devices, v ideo, or "home-built machines") .

Tutors: V i rg in ia Barratt, Ba rba r a Campbel l , Geoffrey Schmidt, Panos Couros.

Interactive art

This workshop explores the w a y s in wh ich technology-based artworks can be made interactive. A wide range of media are explored (from high-tech to low-tech equipment) as well as venues and methods for displaying such works.

Tutors: Pat Hoffie, Tim Gruchy , John Co leman, Margaret Turner.

Installation art and technology

This workshop explores the creation of three-dimensional artworks or installations, and the abil ity of technology to open a further dimension in the visual experience. Participants will be given exercises to assist in the conceptualisation of three-dimensional e n v i r o n m e n t s a n d the r a n g e of a s s o c i a t e d technological a ids which might be used.

Tutors: Lyndal Mi lan i , J a y Younger, W e n d y Mills, Robert Kinder, John Coleman.

Photography

A n introduction to the 35mm camera and the photographic process. Participants wil l evaluate their own camera requirements and learn about types of camera , exposure, pictorial composition, and techniques appl icable to both black and white and colour films. A follow-up session wil l assess the visual outcomes from exercises pract ised at the workshop. Participants should bring their own 35mm camera and accessor ies plus camera instruction booklets.

Tutors: J a y Younger, Mar ion Drew, Kevin Boyle, Mike Lean.

Aborigina l art and technology

A n introduction to the diverse field of Abor ig inal v i sua l ar t ( cove r ing d e s i g n s , s ty les , co lou rs , iconography, materials, and copyright issues) with a focus on the impact and potential of new technologies (particularly photography and computer-generation).

Tutors: Gordon Bennett, Marshal l Bell, Richard Bell.

DEIViaUSTRflTJaf^S A w a y to include a practical dimension in the

exhibit ion project, whi le targeting a more general audience is to host professional demonstrations of certain types of equipment. Such demonstrations may be conducted by private companies as a w a y to promote their computers, printers, software packages, cameras , video recorders, fax machines, and other equipment. Demonstrations may include computer software (such as design, paintbox, animation, and modelling software) which has direct appl icat ion to the arts and crafts (for example ceramics, knitting, quilting, d rawing, col lage, etc.) or more general demonstrations of technology and its appl ications in dai ly life.

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C H N 0 L 0 G Y Iriffith University Art Collection i

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Interfaces: Art and Technology is an exhibition of artworks from the Griffith University Art Collection.

Eighteen contemporary Austral ian artists ore represented. Their works collectively speck of the intersection

between a world which encompasses technology, telecommunications, and electronic media; and a related

world which incorporates art and ortmoking. This intersection is becoming an increasingly vital a rea of art

practice not only because technology is rapidly encroaching into all aspects of doily life, but also because the

role of image-making is becoming increasingly central to modern consumer societies (for example in

advert ising, styles of dress, video clips). Wh i le we use technology for our own purposes, technology in turn

exerts demands on us and influences the w a y we perceive ourselves, our society, and culture. The artworks in

this show are analys ing and speculating upon this very interface between people and machines. They are

inventing, recycl ing, and distilling images which critically reflect upon our contemporary Austral ian society.

The works in the exhibition have been ar ranged under five headings which identify key areas where

technology has made an impact on contemporary ortmoking and on our broader understanding of contemporary

culture. These headings are : The impact of the moss medio and popular culture; From the original to the multiple;

Changing identity; An un/notura l wor ld ; A progressive society?. Many of the works speak to more than one

of these subjects, and viewers ore encouraged to seek new inter-relationships and issues ar is ing between the

works.

Bm ThE EXhiBJTiOl ̂• To demonstrate the creat ive interface between technology and image-making and the central roles which

both ploy in our dai ly lives.

• To reflect on the rapid historical changes sponsored by developments in technology and the w a y s in which

tradit ional ideas (in relation to art, society, polit ics, or personal life) ore changing or continuing to persist.

• To demonstrate the diversity and vitality of contemporary v isual art practice in Aust ra l ia .

Cover Image

Ada m Wolter The ghost in the machine 1 9 8 8

computer-generated image, thermal transfer print.

A Griffith Artworks Project

Director: Dr Morgriet Bonnin

Curator: Beth Jackson

Griffith Artworks Off ice of University Relations Griffith University OLD 41 1 1 Telephone: (07) 8 7 5 7 4 1 4 Facsimile: (07) 8 7 5 7 9 3 2

This exhibition Is assisted by the Queensland Off ice of the Arts and Cultural Development, the Commonwealth Government through the Austral ia Counci l , Its arts funding and advisory body, and the Regional Gal ler ies Associat ion of Queens land. Supported by Flight West Air l ines, Ansett Aust ra l ia , Q R X , Dalton Fine Paper, Tennyson Group , Calypso Colour and The Art Company of Austra l ia Pty Ltd. Printed on TCP Magno Star 170gsm.

A i r l i n e s A R T S Q U E E N S L A N D

me TRANSPORT PEOPLE «H.'IWH'l'|[M'li» Graphic Communicators

Coloured Brochures/Reports Desktop Publishing

Screen Printing • Stationery F I N li P A P i-: R

Colour Separations

Colour Planning

ustra l ia l lC i Austra I ia 11 Council Ifor tne Arts

Ansett Australia.

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1 • • Consider the ways in which we live in a "visual culture". W h a t images do you regularly watch,

for example: television, film, video, magazines, bil lboards, photographs? Discuss technology's

role in the production of such images and how they have changed over recent years . Examples

of changes to consider may be: magaz ine designs and styles; styles of music and video cl ips;

film, especially developments in special effects; changes in the w a y atoms, atomic particles,

or molecular structures hove been depicted.

• Do you think images have become more realistic or less? (Consider developments in

technology which have altered our natural sense of time, space, and scale, enabling us to

communicate over vast distances, see microscopic life-forms, or pictures of outer space.)

• Do you think we "see" images or " r ead " them like a language? Does everyone get the same

message?

• Consider the phrase "seeing is bel ieving". Do you think seeing something helps us know more?

(For example: satellite pictures of the earth; medical scans and x - rays ; microscopic images).

• Think of alternative ways of knowing such as through: sound (voice, music, movie sound-

tracks, everyday noises); smell (smells of people, homes, cooking, etc., and smell's ability to

evoke childhood memories or post feelings); touch (the textures around us, physical affection,

physical violence).

• Consider ways in which technology emphasises and extends our visual capacit ies while

distancing us from the other sensations of touch, smell, taste, and sound. C a n you think of ways

or examples in which this may be useful (for example: remote-control robots for exploring other

planets); and ways or examples of when it may be dangerous (for example: it may be easier

to kill someone by pressing a button rather than physically killing them).

2- • Talk to your parents and grandparents (or people of these generations) and find out from them

the changes in dai ly life that have occurred as a result of advances in technology.

• A r e they critical of these changes, or welcoming, or both? Do you share their opinions?

• Do you think that the "generation gap " we sometimes feel with people much older or much

younger than ourselves is because of such basic changes in life-styles? Does the type of

life-style we lead affect the kind of people we are?

3. • Think of a video-game or a computer-gome which contains a story-line and various human

characters.

• Consider the different roles which male and female characters play in the gome.

• Consider the different ways in which male and female characters are visually depicted.

• Consider the different ways in which "goodies" and "baddies" a re depicted.

• A r e there any references to race or nationality or to the age of the characters?

• Do you think the ways in which these differences are depicted are of any importance?

• Consider the ways men and women are represented in other forms of popular culture such as

magazines or video-clips.

GflLLERV flCTJJITiES

• Watch the two videos by Peter Ca l las . Wr i te down some of the images or symbols which he

uses and what it is you think they might symbolise. Night's high noon: an anti-terrain is about

Austral ia whereas Neo Geo: an American purchase is about Amer ica . C a n you find symbols

which relate to these specific countries and their histories?

• Find the artwork by V N S Matr ix, based on a series of images designed as a prototype for a

computer gome. This work relates to the pre-visit and post-visit activities.

• Find the artworks by Wendy Mills, Linda Dement, and Stelorc. All of these artworks hove tried

to involve the human body with technology, and tried to incorporate or make reference to other

bodily senses (such as touch, smell, or sound). How have they done this? (The information

displayed next to these artworks may help you).

• Wa tch the video by Tracey Moffatt entitled Moodeifj Yorgas (Strong women). Have you learnt

anything about Aboriginal people from watching this work? Tracey Moffatt is an Aboriginal

f i lm-maker, and most of the crew who worked with her to produce this work ore also

Abor ig ina l . Do you think it is important to know this when you are watching the video?

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1 • • Look at the notes you mode on Peter Ca l las ' videos and the symbols he uses in them. Make a

"mental map" of your town or region by thinking of symbols that relate to your region's local

history, the hopes and fears of people in your region. You may use some of the same symbols

OS Peter Cal las did.

2 . • Now that you have seen the artwork by V N S Matrix, write a story about the female warr iors and

their fight against "Big Daddy Mainframe" (a futuristic, all-powerful military-industrial complex).

The women's names are Den Tata, Princess of Slime, and Petina de Panties. The path of

infiltration they must take is treacherous and they encounter many obstacles, the most dangerous

of which is Circuit Boy. He has a direct mindnet to Big Daddy that renders him almost invincible.

3. • Remember the artwork by Lindy Lee which was made of three photocopies of a Renaissance

portrait "graffitied" with black paint, or the artwork by Ruth Wal ler which was made of

photocopies of a kitchen and a cave with drawings of fossil sponges over the top. Find a

reproduction of on artwork from the past (in books, magazines, or brochures). Using collage,

photocopy, drawing, painting, (or a combination of these), add some of your own work on top

of the reproduced image to moke your own artwork.

G R I F F I T H U N I V E R S I T Y F R K P A R I N G V O U F O R A B E T T E R F U T U R E

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A R T AN D T E C H N O L O G Y An Exhibition from the Griffith University Art Collection

T E C H N I C A L N O T E S

mm

PHQTaCQPVJI^E PRQCESSES

There are two types of photocopying processes

currently in use and they are both represented in the

exhibition. The most common photocopy process

(known as xerography) is a single-colour process

using dry or liquid toners. The image is copied using

light projected onto the surface of a photosensitive

plate. In the exhibition, artworks by Lindy Lee (using

standard black toner), and Hiram To (using sepia and

rich red toner) have used this process and a re referred

to as photocopies.

The other photocopying process, known as laser

p r in t i ng , is ve r y s im i l a r to the x e r o g r a p h i c

photocopying process. The major difference is that,

instead of using ordinary light, a laser beam is used

to "d raw" the image onto the photosensitive plate.

Rather than projecting the whole image at once, the

laser beam "hits" one small spot at a time. In

I N T E R F A C E S , the work by Elizabeth Gower w a s

mode using a loser-copying process (for its high

quality tonal contrast) and is referred to as a loser

print.

Full colour copying can be mode using the same

principles as either single colour photocopying or

single colour laser printing, where the process is

repeated once for each pr imary colour, (that is, each

pr imary colour is printed separately onto the paper

whi le if is in the copier). A d am Wolter 's Simulated

but empty is an example of this process and is

referred to os a colour loser copy. Full colour copiers

are able to manipulate colours to a certain degree.

Ruth Wal le r ' s artwork collages full colour photocopies

where the yel low has been "boosted" in the copying

process (so that the image appears to be almost

single tone).

G R I F F I T H U N I V E R S I T Y P R E P A R I N G Y O U F O R A B E T T E R F U T U R E

PRQCESSES JSED m THE flRTWQRKS

Elizabeth G ower Untitled from Precious life series 1 9 9 2 loser print

The silhouttes of e v e r y d a y objects (tec cups , i rons,

kettles, a n d so on) ore taken from pictures in magaz ines

a n d books. E l i zabeth G o w e r " r ecyc les " these images

into many of her a r tworks . D r a w n outl ines a r e made

from the images in the books a n d m a g a z i n e s , a n d

G o w e r then usual ly r e - d r a w s them about eight times

larger a n d then combines them into in la rge a r tworks .

To make the ser ies Precious life, G o w e r pho tographed

these l a r g e a r t w o r k s . The p h o t o g r a p h s w e r e

photocop ied, usual ly severa l t imes, a l l ow ing the art ist

to exper iment with sca le . This photocopy (or laser

print) w a s then p laced wi th in photocopies of book

i l lustrat ions of decora t ive borders or f rames. O n c e

co l l aged , the ar twork w a s photocopied a f inal t ime.

Peter Callas Night's high noon: an anti-terrain 1 9 8 8 Colour V H S video

Neo geo: an American purchase 1 9 8 9 Colour V H S video

C a l l a s bases al l of his work on " found" ( a l r eady

ex is t ing) images . U s i n g a Fa i r l i gh t compu te rg raph i cs

system, he reworks his images in three dif ferent w a y s .

First , he r e - d r a w s e a c h , work ing with a palette of

co lours that exists in the computer 's sof tware. Nex t he

reconf igures e a c h image onto a two-d imens ional

p l ane , c reat ing a pattern that relates to the image .

Last ly, e a c h image is turned into a stencil so that it c a n

serve as a cut-out to be super- imposed over dif ferent

backgrounds . Al l of these background a n d foreground

images a r e stored in two or more computers . O n c e he

begins the f inal ed i t ing, he d r a w s on e a c h of the

images stored in his da ta b a s e . The edi t ing is a n

intuitive p rocess , when his ideas begin to crys ta l l i se.

A t this point he w o r k s ve ry qu ick ly , deve lop ing

references a n d associat ions with the images he retrieves

or recombines . The result is a dense ly l aye red " c r a z y

qui l t" wh i ch seems to move a s rap id ly a s the mind.

Ada m Wolte r The ghost in the machine 1 9 8 8

computer-generated image, thermal transfer print

This work w a s c rea ted on a n A M I G A 1 0 0 0

computer using DeluxePoin t 3 sof tware. The face w a s

scanned ( t ransferred into the computer) from v ideo

using D ig iV iew (v ideo scann ing equipment) .

The image w a s pr inted on a C a l c o m p thermal

t ransfer pr inter. A thermal pr inter uses a w a x medium

pigment, t ransfer r ing the image to paper using a heat

process a n d four-colour p rocess ing . (The artist wrote

the p rog ram that enab led the print-out to be " t i l ed" , or

pr inted onto many smal l sheets) .

The image w a s reproduced for I N T E R F A C E S from

the art ist 's computer disk in the form of a Photoshop

fi le (Adobe Photoshop is the g raph i c sof tware used in

the publ icat ion des ign process for a l l the I N T E R F A C E S

l i terature).

Ada m Wolte r Simulated but empty 1 9 8 9 colour laser copy of computer-generated ink jet print

The image w a s created on a n A M I G A 1 0 0 0

computer using a Skulpt 3d solid model l ing a n d ray

t rac ing sof tware p rog ram. The image w a s printed on

a X e r o x 4 0 2 0 ink jet pr inter (wh ich accounts for the

low-resolut ion " g r a i n y " qua l i ty of the image by

con temporary s tandards ) . A n ink jet printer squirts

(water or o i l -based) inks direct ly onto the paper . This

print w a s then cop ied on a co lour laser printer.

Linda Dement Arm and cut mouth (cut wet like at the touch of a lover] 1 9 9 3 type C colour photograph, computer-manipulated image

Photographs were scanned into the computer

a n d co l laged using Colour Studio image-manipu la t ion

sof tware. The completed image w a s then out-put to a

photograph ic negat ive a n d printed a s a (type C )

colour pho tograph.

The image is ac tua l ly a type of "sti l l pho tog raph"

from on interact ive computer work . The aud ience

interacts with the computer by " c l i ck ing " on a n y par t

of the screen (using the "mouse" ) a n d this takes the

v i ewe r to a dif ferent port of the work such a s : a new

i m a g e , s ta t i s t i ca l i n f o r m a t i o n , poe t r y , s o u n d s ,

an imat ions , or a story may pr intout from the computer.

The o r ig ina l interact ive work w a s mode using a

Mac in tosh O u o d r a 7 0 0 computer with so f tware :

M a c r o m i n d D i rec to r , C o l o u r S tud io , Photoshop,

SoundEd i t Pro, H y p e r C a r d , a n d C a n v a s .

VNS M a trix DNA sluts 1 9 9 2 c ibachrome colour photograph

Photographs w e r e scanned into a Mac in tosh

computer a n d man ipu la ted using A d o b e Photoshop

image-man ipu la t ion sof tware. These images were

then comb ined with computer -genera ted imagery

made using the Photoshop sof tware. The image w a s

then out-put from the computer to a photograph ic

t ransparency a n d pr inted a s a c i bach rome colour

pho tograph. D N A Sluts is from a prototype for a

computer g a m e entit led All New G e n .

INTERFACES - ART AND TECHNOLOGY

TOURING SCHEDULE

VENUE ARRIVAL OPENING CLOSING DESPATCH

Gold Coast / 26.04.94 06.05.94 03.06.94 07.06.94 Ron McMaster Gallery Griffith University Gold Coast Campus Parklands Drive, Southport, Q 4215

Longreach 10.06.94 13.06.94 26.06.94 28.06.94 Longreach Cultural Association 111 Ibis Street, Longreach

Blackall 30.06.94 03.07.94 11.07.94 13.07.94 Arts West Inc 17 Shamrock Street, Blackall

Barcaldlne 15.07.94 18.07.94 24.07.94 26.07.94 Worker's Heritage Centre Ash Street, Barcaldine

Emerald 01.08.94 05.08.94 26.08.94 29.08.94 Library 44 Borilla Street Emerald

Mt Isa 31.08.94 05.09.94 20.09.94 21.09.94 Mt. Isa Civic Centre 23 West Street Mt Isa, Q 4825

Townsviile 23.09.94 25.09.94 13.10.94 17.10.94 Umbrella Studios 222 Sturt Street , Townsviile

Cairns 19.10.94 24.10.94 11.11.94 15.11.94 Cairns Regional Gallery • , cnr. Abbott and Shield Streets (old Court House building) Cairns .