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06-10. September

Ars Electronica 2023

MA Design & Computation

Once again, the MA Design & Computation between University of the Arts Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin is exhibiting at Ars Electronica Campus. This year, the exhibition "Breaking Patterns" showcases a diverse array of installations and research projects that playfully engage with emerging technologies and their implications for society. Al and recursive systems, which define the ongoing interactions between humans and machines, are scrutinized, stretched and broken, thereby highlighting the occasional absurdity and whimsicality inherent in them.

The MA and associated research platform New Practice in Art and Technology foster a new, postdisciplinary practice at the intersection of art, technology and science. Through the program, the two universities are working collaboratively across disciplines to develop new teaching and research formats.

Anna Kraher, Christian Schmidts, Emma Sokoll, Fang Tsai, Federico Zurani, Friedrich Weber Goizel, Jonny-Bix Bongers, Keny Chan, Kinan Sarakbi, Lucy Rolbin, Lora Bourova, Nani Gutiérrez, Niels Gercama, Milli Keil, Philipp Proff, Orhun Mersin, Yağmur Uçkunkaya ●

Breaking
Patterns

Instagram

Supervision: Prof. Albert Lang
Organisation & Curation: Federico Zurani
Graphics: Lars Pinkwart

Projects

LIFE AND DEATH OF HANS MAXIMILIAN

Federico Zurani / Lora Bourova / Keny Chan / Niels Gercama

LIFE AND DEATH OF HANS MAXIMILIAN is a modern interpretation of the famous Tamagotchi game (a handheld digital pet simulation toy, 1996). The project is based on Chomsky’s grammar hierarchy theory and Panini’s Sanskrit grammar documentation “Aṣṭādhyāyī”. The game is based on a language model within the Tamagotchi context, based on opposing normative concepts: void/fullness, up/down, material/soul, noun/verb/adjective, in order to construct a normative form of communication. The generated word meanings are classified in a node tree, forming “meaning classes” which then build 3-word sentences. The user is required to read and understand the needs of Generative Tamagotchi, which are communicated in normative phrases and body language, and then respond to them by typing a suitable response with a controller within a specific time frame.

Dialectics of Climate Futures

Milli Keil / Philipp Proff

"Dialectics of Climate Futures" wants to clarify the interwoven relationships of the climate crisis and initiate a discourse. Through dialectics - the method of knowledge creation by logical argumentation along opposing positions - we hope to break out of our habitual thought patterns and constructively confront possibly uncomfortable emotion spaces.The interactive installation utilizes a touch screen, which allows users to select their emotions related to the climate crisis and fill in pre-formulated questions. The submitted question is processed by a generative pre- trained transformer (GPT) language model, which generates an answer based on the opposing emotional state that was previously selected. The resulting answer is then analyzed for its part-of-speech (POS) tags and visualized using a "Hierarchical Edge Bundling" algorithm.

Smile To Play

Nani Gutiérrez / Yağmur Uçkunkaya / Orhun Mersin (Kekik)

"Smile to Play" is an interactive video that invites players to engage through facial expressions. Guided by a virtual assistant named Xat, it delves into two main topics. First, it explores the complex dynamics of human/non-human encounters in relation to the recognition of emotion, highlighting the expanding industry known as "affective computing". Second, it examines the concept of happiness and its instrumentalization in neoliberal societies. The performativity of happiness is called into question, and the artwork aims to develop an understanding of how emerging biomediated bodies are utilized for political and economic interests.

O cea n fli g ht

Jonny-Bix Bongers / Orhun Mersin (Kekik) / Fang Tsai / Christian Schmidts

The performance questions how we present ourselves in the digital realm, exploring avatars and metaverses as essential aspects of our future society. This piece uses digital media to foster self-expression and community formation, departing from traditional forms of representation. Drawing on Gilbert Simondon’s theory of transindividualism, O cea n fli g ht combines motion tracking and gaming software to create an interconnected dance performance. The transdiciplinary team invites viewers to reflect on the transformative power of digital self-expression and its impact on our identities.

Chronoliquidity

Anna Kraher

In capitalism, time is money, speed is power, and simultaneity seems to be the ultimate goal. Yet, this is only true because time was made a measurable resource. What if time is decoupled from computational practices like measurement, optimization, and extraction?Non-Newtonian fluids, unlike conventional liquids, have variable viscosities depending on stress. They behave like solids when confronted with speed and pressure, and like a liquid if less force is applied. By embracing non-Newtonian temporalities, Chronoliquidy challenges the commodification of time, acceleration, and the liberal individualistic concept of freedom. Instead, it examines connected and fluid temporalities, reimagining new ways of collectivity.

Sound: Martin Kraher

This Place 2.0

Friedrich Weber Goizel

Rund sechs Stunden pro Tag verbringt ein deutscher Erwachsener vor dem Computer. Displays sind der am meisten betrachtete Gegenstand der Welt, aber wir übersehen häufig ihre ganz reale Stofflichkeit. Die Aufgabe eines Displays ist es für uns verborgene Vorgänge so zu übersetzen, dass wir als Nutzer: innen sie verstehen bzw. mit ihnen interagieren können. Das ideale Display verbirgt sich unsichtbar hinter seiner Funktion. Die Skulptur „This Place 2.0“ besteht aus zerbrochenen LCD-Displays. Die aus Rissen und Brüchen entstandenen Strukturen holen die Displays zurück in die analoge Welt.

TAWA

Emma Sokoll / Friedrich Weber Goizel

TAWA ist eine Reihe von künstlerischen Arbeiten, von denen drei im Prozess vorgestellt werden. Die Reihe erforscht das Zusammenspiel zwischen Natur und Technik nach einer einfachen Ausgangsformel. In den Arbeiten wird jeweils eine Tierart mit einer Technologie zusammengebracht. Wie zeigt sich unsere Kultur aus der Sicht anderer Lebewesen? Wie sehen Schnecken die Welt von oben? Was passiert, wenn zwei Menschen einen Tag aus der Sicht einer Ziege verbringen? Können Hühner Autoren sein? Können Hühner Tastaturen sein? Wie klingen die Schritte eines Wasserläufers? Funktionieren Regelkreise mit Nachtfaltern? Können Elstern Roboter steuern? Was, wenn Blattschneiderameisen segeln lernen? Können Fische durch Gleichungen schwimmen? Läuft hier gerade eine Katze über meine Tastautkbuu.a-.vvv9oö-övö, aw-l iss

Hyperspace

Kinan Sarakbi / Lucy Rolbin

Hyperspace fosters a palpable link between individuals and their surroundings, forging a tangible connection. It invites visitors to actively partake in a reciprocal conversation with an interactive environment, where the amalgamation of multi-sensory encounters blurs the demarcation between the physical and the virtual realm. As a result, human actions and spatial configuration become intertwined, defying traditional perceptions of space. By challenging established notions of spatiality, Hyperspace crafts a dynamic environment that continuously evolves in response to visitor interactions.