beta_space - The Musicians

Drawing from the work of David Rokeby, The Musicians is an early prototype, interactive artwork that utilizes cinematography and sound to engage audiences via invisible touch pads. Users are encouraged to play notes or compose music by directing the two professional musicians as they jam filmically, the audience members directly impacting the artwork via their movements.

The aesthetic aim of The Musicians is to visualize the emotional influence the audience members have over the characters onscreen. Amidst witty commentary and pre-programmed repertoires, the musicians play to draw audience members into the museum space and then attempt to hold their attention by empowering the user with the ability to direct their activities. These ‘behaviours’ suggest a more human exchange is possible in the relationship between viewers and technological art. This is technically accomplished by first filming the actors, then implementing state of the art editing and interface systems to create a smooth junction between the art system and the end user.

Julia Burns is an interactive and multimedia artist. She has exhibited in galleries and institutions in Spain, Italy and the United States, including MediaLabMadrid, Gheroarte Milan, ViSLAB at The University of Sydney, and First Draft Gallery, Sydney.

Julia’s work features sensorial installations bridging art and technology through the immersion of viewers in tangible hyper-realist environments. Her aim is to challenge the viewer by not only demonstrating a context-driven system that reacts to the viewer's motions and decisions, but additionally influences those choices made by them.

Ardrian Hardjono is a graduate of Physics and Computer Engineering from UNSW. Working as an Immersive Systems Engineer, he specialises in the design and deployment of cutting edge virtual reality systems. Ardrian works with both hardware infrastructure design as well as low-level software programming in a variety of fields.

His experience includes working with interactive art, real time computer graphics, and theatre. Relevant projects include hardware integration of a vision-based system developed by Anuraag Sridhar, and a number of systems co-produced with Julia Burns, where video clips of live actors are played back in a non-linear fashion. These react to audience positioning and interaction sensed via different technologies, namely computer vision to track users' movements, infra-red beam sensors or floor pads.

Written by Deborah Turnbull
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Artist: Julia Burns Software Developer: Ardrian Hardjono Special Thanks: Balint Seeber Exhibition Dates: 17 June – 18 August 2007 Open 10am – 5pm daily Free with entry to the Powerhouse Museum Background Drawing from the work of David Rokeby, The Musicians is an early prototype, interactive artwork that utilizes cinematography and sound to engage audiences via invisible touch pads. Users are encouraged to play notes or compose music by directing the two professional musicians as they jam filmically, the audience members directly impacting the artwork via their movements. The aesthetic aim of The Musicians is to visualize the emotional influence the audience members have over the characters onscreen. Amidst witty commentary and pre-programmed repertoires, the musicians play to draw audience members into the museum space and then attempt to hold their attention by empowering the user with the ability to direct their activities. These ‘behaviours’ suggest a more human exchange is possible in the relationship between viewers and technological art. This is technically accomplished by first filming the actors, then implementing state of the art editing and interface systems to create a smooth junction between the art system and the end user. Biographies Julia Burns www.juliaburns.com Julia Burns is an interactive and multimedia artist. She has exhibited in galleries and institutions in Spain, Italy and the United States, including MediaLabMadrid, Gheroarte Milan, ViSLAB at The University of Sydney, and First Draft Gallery, Sydney. Julia’s work features sensorial installations bridging art and technology through the immersion of viewers in tangible hyper-realist environments. Her aim is to challenge the viewer by not only demonstrating a context-driven system that reacts to the viewer's motions and decisions, but additionally influences those choices made by them. Ardrian Hardjono www.ardrian.com Ardrian Hardjono is a graduate of Physics and Computer Engineering from UNSW. Working as an Immersive Systems Engineer, he specialises in the design and deployment of cutting edge virtual reality systems. Ardrian works with both hardware infrastructure design as well as low-level software programming in a variety of fields. His experience includes working with interactive art, real time computer graphics, and theatre. Relevant projects include hardware integration of a vision-based system developed by Anuraag Sridhar, and a number of systems co-produced with Julia Burns, where video clips of live actors are played back in a non-linear fashion. These react to audience positioning and interaction sensed via different technologies, namely computer vision to track users' movements, infra-red beam sensors or floor pads.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 August 2007 )