Hi Friends. I am back! Here’s a photo.

Getting cozy in the third dimension of Artengine’s M70 lab

Alright. Mostly, last night was the Festival launch and thelivingeffect at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Tonnes of stuff happening at the AGO right now. Can I just say how awesome the list of the festival’s sponsors is? Also amazing is the cooperative spirit all these venues share in making this Electric Fields worthwhile. I love it when galleries can unite from time to time and show work under the context of one ongoing event. There are a few more examples of this happening in the city too which is great.

One thing I wont show in photos but that you should really see is Tasman Richardson’s Greatest Hits: A Video Mix Tape Bear Witness . Between Tasman Richardson & Bear Witness, we end up with a thick piece that I found both attractive and abusive. North American mainstream played back with percussive force. I could sit and watch it over and over.

Stuff was happening all over Arts Court last night…in the AGO, the M70 lab, random rooms and finally, in the theatre. The Philosopher Cube, which I mentioned yesterday, was going all night, projected onto the Rideau Centre.

It was also the publication launch for Nite Ride, which was a really moving experiment in sound and transportation that Artengine originally presented last year. If this is the first time you hear about any of it, you must visit www.niteride.ca right now.

Harry Harlow. Untitled (Buck) (2007) with Steve Daniels’ Sessile (2008), in the background.

Steve Daniels’ Sessile (2008).

What we have are a collection of insect-like 3-legged robots mounted to a wall. They’re supposed to respond to one another but the movements are pretty minute so it’s hard to see any pattern in it. Either way, a wall covered in small robots is kind of creepy.

I think this is the collaboration between Nell Tenhaaf & Melanie Baljko (notes are messy…bad journalism.)

Sometimes galleries are very clean and sterile places check out this fantastic tangle under the artwork.

Quoi d’autre…? Oh yea! The performances…

POWEr by Artificiel (2010).
Tesla coil used as a musical instrument

POWEr by Artificiel (2010).

I’d love to chat with the guys some more about how their system works. Basically, they had cameras and a microphone aimed at the Tesla coil which was played live for most of the performance, but then, played back on a large screen and layered via the sound and images recorded with the cameras & mic.

The Stuff You Should Know podcast released an interesting episode a while back on the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Makes for a pretty good primer. Thanks to my friend Amelia for sharing the link!

Edia by Willy Le Maitre

This was the first of two 3D performances of the night. I’m not sure if everything was perfectly aligned for 3D here. Images seemed a bit off. But, I was also sitting to the far right of the screen. I’m also the type of guy who will demand a refund if I see a movie on opening day and there is a single scratch on the film. Then again, maybe it was completely intentional – meant as a device to add meaning to the overarching theme of “a distributed self and its relative psycho-geography.” This may have been the most challenging performance of the night. At the time, I was mostly concerned that Le Maitre’s laptop was going to explode but since then, the whole thing has grown on me.

Kingdom Shore feat. Christopher Payne

Kingdom Shore feat. Christopher Payne

This was just insane and I’m proud of everyone that was part of the performance. All local people that I have seen perform in one way or another in my life here but never as Kingdom Shore. I want them to continue (and I’m sure they will). I ended up watching half the performance from the side, leaning up against a giant bass bin. It was a great vantage point since I got to watch, the two guys behind the screen Nathan Medema & Simon Guibord – who were essentially conducting the entire performance. Nathan would constantly look up at the other members, hands firmly latched onto whatever keyboard or controller he had on his table and make the best expressions before cuing a change in the work.

Maintenant, quelques annonces…!

Tonnes of stuff still happening this weekend. Tonight, I am taking 3D photos at Babylon Nightclub as part of a special Electric Fields edition of Frenzy. Babylon will be turning into a completely interactive space. It’ll definitely be more fun than riding the Zipper with the girl you like at the Super Ex.

Tomorrow, there’s going to be a MAKER FAIRE at Arts Court. Also, a talk on bass & low-frequencies. Elektra, Electric Pow Wow, etc, etc, etc… Check www.electricfields.ca pour de plus amples renseignements.

Also, if you missed last night but want to see Kingdom Shore, this isn’t part of the festival but they’ll be playing again on Saturday, November 13 with Buried Inside, who will be making their final performance after 13 years. Worth mentioning is that cellist Mark Molnar, from Kingdom Shore, will also be performing live with Buried Inside. That isn’t something that has happened too often.

– PG (Le C.D.M.)

Tags: 3D, Artificiel, AV, Christopher Payne, Electric Fields, Kingdom Shore, POWEr, Stereoscopic, Willy Le Maitre

This entry was posted on Friday, November 5th, 2010 at 8:54 am and is filed under Electric Fields. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.