blind date and Ctrl Crowd

blind date and Ctrl Crowd 

an audiovisual performance by Pd~graz and Ctrl Crowd (The Armpods: Tracking, 
Streaming, Interacting) an audiovisual  performance by BBM

Thursday 25.5.2006 

NOD Experimental Space ROXY/Prague Dlouha 33 Prague 1, Czech Republic

www.roxy.cz

live video stream
http://stream.node9.org/live.sdp

radio lemurie
www.lemurie.cz

blind date -8.p.m.- 8.45 p.m.

blind date is an audiovisual performance which aims at an artistic extension of 
common patterns in computer programming: rather than featuring isolated 
programmers, two persons at a time are working together on a single Pd patch, 
both using their own physical keyboard, mouse and monitor but actually
operating the same logical interfaces, e.g. the same mouse pointer. Since they 
have to share access to the machine, the two players need to coordinate their 
work in order to produce a functioning patch. Rather than merely representing a 
technical tool, the patch therefore also becomes the primary means of 
communication between the programmers.

Since the performance features two computers - one for audio, one for video - 
four players are programming at a time. The performance starts with a blank 
canvas (i.e. an empty patch), and participants are exchanged at regular time 
intervals, so that different combinations of programmers continue the work on 
the patches as
left by their predecessors. Besides the resulting audio and video works, the 
patches themselves are projected into the performance environment as well. As 
opposed to usual objectives of audiovisual programming, this allows for a deep 
insight of the audience into the processes of programming and communication 
among the
players. 

blind date performers

So far, blind date has been performed at two different occasions: the 
"musikprotokoll im Steirischen Herbst" festival and the "net community 
congress", both in 2005. In the first case, an additional referee (Harald 
Wiltsche) had control over the exchange of the players.

further information

http://pd-graz.mur.at

Pd (aka Pure Data) is a real-time graphical programming environment for audio, 
video, and graphical processing. Unlike in text-based programming languages, Pd 
programs ("patches") are built graphically by using "wires" to connect "boxes", 
which represent routines operating on the data. Pd is the third major branch
of the family of patcher programming languages known as Max (Max/FTS, ISPW Max, 
Max/MSP, jMax, etc.) originally developed by Miller Puckette and others at the 
IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, Paris, 
France). The core of Pd is written and maintained by Miller Puckette and 
includes the work of many developers, making the whole package very much a 
community effort.
Pd was created to explore ideas of how to further refine the Max paradigm with 
the core ideas of allowing data to be treated in a more open-ended way and 
opening it up to applications outside of audio and MIDI, such as graphics and 
video.
Pd~graz

The range of users and developers of Pd in the city of Graz, Austria covers a 
very wide spectrum, reaching from independent artistic production to academic 
research. Some of the most relevant extensions to the software are written and 
maintained by local developers (iemlib by Thomas Musil, zexy and Gem by 
Iohannes m zm*lnig). Also, several local institutions have a long tradition of 
dealing with art in a technological context and contribute greatly to the 
community:
• mur.at as a cooperation for the promotion of network art (http://www.mur.at)
• the ESC gallery(http://esc.mur.at)
• the CC - mur.at's "competence center" (http://cc.mur.at)
• the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (IEM) (http://iem.at)
• the medien.KUNSTLABOR (media art lab) at the Kunsthaus Graz 
(http://www.medienkunstlabor.at)

In 2005, the Pd~graz group has been founded as a collaboration for the 
organization of artistic performances, workshops, etc. At the same time, the 
newborn Pd~ record label has published its first release: a DVD including 
artistic works presented at the Pd~Convention 2004. Current members of Pd~graz
are: Lukas Gruber, Reni Hofm*ller, Florian Hollerweger, Georg Holzmann, Karin 
Koschell, Thomas Musil, Markus Noisternig, Renate Oblak, Michael Pinter, Peter 
Plessas, Nicole Pruckermayr, Winfried Ritsch, Romana Rust, Uwe Vollmann, Franz 
Xaver, Ales Zemene, Fr*nk Zimmer, IOhannes m zm*lnig

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
break
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

9.p.m. 

Ctrl.Crowd - The Armpods: Tracking, Streaming, Interacting

an art project on the "technologies of political control"

by BBM, http://www.bbm.de

The ‚Armpod' is a wearable multimedia device, which can be attached to the 
visitors arm, with the help of a roboclamp. It consists of a board 
(minicomputer), a battery, a 4c-screen, a special powerfull soundsystem (50W 
exciter), which uses the body of the wearer as resonator. Also built-in is a 
lenseye at the top of the Armpods, which collects infrared signals of a 
location tracking system: Infrared sensors are locating the position of the 
device and the person who is attached to it, in the room (max. 200 sqm) and 
show his position on a map on the device itself. Depending on
the position of the devices in the given room, the visitors will get special 
videoclips based on the mentioned theme.

Thanks to a developed automatic algorithm, which connects their position to a 
video-database fi lled with about 500 videoclips, they get a individual mix of 
videoclips and sound depending on their walk through the exhibition space.
"armpod-concerts" In the run-up to the "armpod-concerts" it is appropriate to   
develop acoustical and visual content with various international artists, which 
will be than streamed to the Armpods. For this purpose it is possible to make a 
workshop
wherever the concerts will be held.

Specially in the respect of different experiences of artists from different 
countries regarding ‚culture and homeland security we anticipate interesting 
outcomes of an international cooperation.

Video surveillance, locationtracking of wanted persons via observation, is gone.
Someone who buys today razor blades at WalMart, or a shirt at Benetton, will be
tracked, even if the anti-theft device has been removed already: Waferthin 
inline
‚foilmarkers' are registering your consumerprofi le, even after you have left 
the
wonderful consumption temples. Your newest shirt becomes a shackle, replacing 
the
electronic bracelet by its civil antipode.

Logically everyone, who consumes, becomes a suspect. The impact for developers
of new operational systems: The identifi cation of the suspect coincides with 
the
actual punishment. They want to see and and shoot in the same run.
Hiding behind euphemisms like"body area networks" there is always an approach to
realise the "total control".

Microchips can already be injected, agents of a purely hedonistic culture, e.g. 
at
"Baja Beach Club" for 180 EUR, only for being able to dance without hindering 
clothes under the light of the RFID-scanners, and pay without cash or credit 
card. The very same chip serves for licensing ‚high-tech' so called non-lethal 
weapon to their users only. If the ‚chipped' policeman looses his non-lethal 
‚kinetic impact weapon' or his "demons" (short for: directed energy munition), 
it will be useless for the fi nder. It could only be fi red if the handhold 
lies close to the implanted chip.
The instruments of control coming more and more closer to our physical bodies.
They are growing into us, into both the controllers and the suspects.
These "microtechnical" elements are our technical organs, heralds of a bio- or
nanotechnology, which will fi nally reconstruct ourselves completely.
The artproject Equipped with "Armpods" the visitors will get a mobile sound- 
and videostreaming system, which is developed by the European Germany-based 
artistgroup BBM.

Amongst them the Hungarian multimedia developer Zsolt Barat, who won an ideas
competition and the Linux New-Media-Award for contributing to an originally 
piece of free (open source) software; plus two Spanish artists and programmers, 
Juan Carrillo and Jos* Garrido Sanchez; the Czech kinetic-artist and 
airplane-engineer Stanislav Vajce; the German robotic-specialist Lars Vaupel, 
who worked for years with Stelarc; and the World-Exhibition-2000- scenographers 
Olaf Arndt and Janneke Sch*nenbach.

The Armpods won a fi rst prize for the best art-technology-content relation by 
the Bremen University of Arts 2005 and is sponsored by its Technology 
Innovation Center TZI.

performances:

CAC, Vilnius, LT
C3 Budapest, HU
ROXY Prag, CZ
CAC, Vilnius, LT
Mobile Akademie Warschau, PL
KIBLA, Maribor, SL

Supported by IFA a organized in collaboration with Experimental Space ROXY, 
Film and Televison Faculty Academy of Performing Arts, Prague, Asociation MLOK 

Experimetal Space ROXY and Asociation MLOK supported by 
The Municipal of Prague and The Ministery of Culture of Czech Republic
 
The Troia Project was supported by EU project Culture2000