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Art & Artificial Life International Competition | Home | Entry | Editions | References | Español | |
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OBG001 is part of a new series of wall hanging digital self-contained systems built by boredomresearch. This series of works combines gaming techniques and artificial life modelling to explore relationships between scientific modelling techniques and ornamental gardens. In a garden, elements are composed and managed in a way that tries to be natural whilst often combining formal sculptural elements to create a place of tranquillity and relaxation. In artificial life modelling the purpose is normally to understand or predict how a natural system may behave in certain circumstances. Here we attempt to combine the two approaches by building a population of modelled life forms into a formally arranged space with a compositional and aesthetic agenda. The individual elements of each garden have been generated algorithmically using software created by us, before being carefully composed in their final form. In building the gardens we become the designers of closed ecosystems. In addition to considering the shape colour and form of the elements used within the garden we must consider their effect on the overall ecology of the system. For example certain behavioural characteristics or population numbers could cause the systems to reach a state of entropic stagnation. The complexities of the overall sound composition are the result of emergence within the systems. As OBG’s colonies of objects catapult around a garden containing bubble pumping lifts and algorithmically composed plant life. collisions with its elements trigger sounds and compose an incidental sound piece. Although OBG uses modelling techniques similar to those used by scientists, instead of aiming to understand something existing, we hope to build something new of intrigue and beauty. OBG is a biosphere; a close system like the earth taking only energy as its input other than that nothing enters or leaves. As such there is no human interaction with the system. The work is built using computer technology to execute that rules the cause the system to behave in its unique way and not in order to make it respond in any form to any external forces. In the work the sensation or illusion of life is our key interest rather than a desire to create life itself. We are fascinated how simple rules can be combined to create systems that exhibit complex behaviour. The sound that is output from the system carries the signature of emergence. As the population of spring objects attempt to space themselves evenly across the floor many are forced onto wires. The arrangement of the wires encourages their assent until they are either ejected by a falling weight or reach the top where their only option is to jump. Either way they end up back on the floor causing all their comrades to shuffle around starting the whole process from scratch. Since 2001 we have produced several computational soundscapes utilising artificial life algorithms which have be mainly projected within galleries and festivals. We are interested in developing the relationship between the work and the viewer. The presentation of software in the form of an object subtly but profoundly changes the viewers experience. We are interested in this relationship and have developed a system for presenting works using a lens to bring the image level with the framing surface. In past works the computer is also incorporated into the object becoming part of the work. In this way the work is built around the idea of closed systems like the commercially available bio-spheres which contain a small population of brine shrimps. These are the result of research conducted by NASSA into closed viable systems and are sold as gifts all around the world. OBG001’s viewable area is sealed within a small glass front, which becomes a portal which the audience can peer into. Thus creating an intimate experience for the viewer. Technical info on the project Software: OBG001 uses simple rules and a-life principle to control the actions of its elements. All the individual components of the work were generated by software we made using macromedia director, also used to author the final work. The pattern on the weights has been developed using a system that combines cellular automata rules with the principles of a two-dimensional Turing machine. The plant form uses principles similar to L-systems. In this case we modified the rules as much as the properties they used to achieve our ultimate form Hardware: OBG001 is run on a 1.6ghz pc with 256mb ram audio is through speakers built into the frame with a subwoofer in the system. VGA is played to a framed 15” tft that uses the foreshortening effect of a flat lens to bring the image level with the framing surface. |
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