Latest News
Posted: April 28, 2011 Filed under: Updates Leave a commentBelow is the progress of our attempt to digitally circumnavigate the globe, following the path originally taken by the Nao Victoria between 1519 and 1522.
Virtually Nao has successfully digitally circumnavigated the world!
The journey took a total of 9.353 seconds to travel by Internet.
The project took 74 days to acquire the data from volunteers across the globe. That’s 6 393 600 seconds.
The project had help from 12 volunteers.
The volunteers were from 10 different locations, 7 different countries and 5 different continents.
The flow of Internet data crossed all of the continents except for Antarctica. It travelled through 21 different countries, stopping in 35 different locations, often revisiting the same location more than once.
Thank you to all of the volunteers who made this project possible.
To view an interactive map of the flow of Internet data, click here.
To see the ‘crew’ behind the Virtually Nao project, click here.
Virtually Nao in The Skinny
Posted: June 28, 2011 Filed under: Updates Leave a comment
ECA Degree Show 2011
by Rosamund West, Thu 23 Jun 2011
Perusing the offerings of tomorrow’s art stars is always overwhelming. We make our annual pilgrimage to the Central Belt degree shows, hoping to emerge with some senses intact.
Katie Paterson, Artist. Art & Science.
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: Sketchbook Leave a comment
On this site I have posted a lot about the links between art and technology, but of course there are also fascinating possibilities between art and science. Katie Paterson, a well established artist who luckily for us frequently visits Edinburgh College of Art, creates astounding works based upon the cosmos. Throughout the ECA Degree Show 2011 many people have drawn links between my work and that of various artists, but I would say that it is the graceful and mind blowing work of Paterson that has probably inspired me the most, that and my boyfriend Jon, who is an IT geek. The idea of collaboration and crossing boundaries between subjects is certainly of great interest to me.
The image above is of Paterson’s work entitled ‘Earth-Moon-Earth’. Here’s a description of it in her own words:
‘E.M.E (Earth-Moon-Earth) is a form of radio transmission whereby messages are sent in Morse code from earth, reflected from the surface of the moon, and then received back on earth. The moon reflects only part of the information back – some is absorbed in its shadows, ‘lost’ in its craters. Returning to earth ‘fragmented’ by the moon’s surface, it has been re-translated into a new score, the gaps and absences becoming intervals and rests. In the exhibition space the new ‘moon–altered’ score plays on a self-playing grand piano.’
You can hear an extract from E.M.E. on her website here. Her website is well worth a look, as it’s full of inspiring and beautiful projects that cross the boundaries between art, science and technology. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing more of her work.
Building a Museum of Museums on the Web
Posted: June 16, 2011 Filed under: Sketchbook Leave a commentMuseums are always trying new methods to increase their access, but now with one incredible idea by Amit Sood which has been developed by Google, the world’s greatest art from the world’s greatest museums is going global. Known as Google Art Project, it is now possible to glide effortlessly through museum corridors using the same technology as Google Street View. Want to know more about a particular work? All the information is cleanly laid out on the right hand side should you choose to click on it. Want to see that tiny little figure at the back of a distant background that just looks like a blur? Zoom right in to see the tiniest of details, the individual fibres of the brush strokes and the cracks in the varnish.
Having also studied art history, I truly believe that this has the possibility to revolutionise the subject. There have been many a painting that I could only study from a small reproduction in a book because the museum was on another continent. Now with the expansion of Google Art Project we will be able to see paintings better than our own eyes. See for yourself. Google Art Project.
Virtually Nao in The Scotsman
Posted: June 15, 2011 Filed under: Updates Leave a comment
Visual art review: Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show 2011
Edinburgh College of Art Degree Show 2011
Edinburgh College of Art
ON 1 AUGUST Edinburgh College of Art will cease to exist as an independent entity as it merges with Edinburgh University. It is the end of 250 years of independent art teaching. The two institutions have enjoyed a close relationship for much of that time but, if a merger implies the joining of equals, this is more like a takeover.
This One’s For Olaf
Posted: June 15, 2011 Filed under: Sketchbook Leave a comment
I’ve been having some really marvellous discussions this week at the ECA Degree Show 2011. It’s great to see that my degree show space has inspired such excitement about the history of the voyage of the Nao Victoria. As half of my undergraduate course consists of history of art I have a passion for history, which is often reflected in my contemporary art practice.
I’ve already posted a link to one of the original accounts, but this book is a little better at bringing the story to life. I hope those I’ve chatted to will enjoy it. ISBN: 978-0007198559.
Sneak Peak 2
Posted: May 13, 2011 Filed under: Updates Leave a commentJust to keep the suspense up a little longer I’m not going to show you the finished exhibition space until the opening, but here are a few photographs of the install for you to catch a glimpse. For those who can’t attend the exhibition I will be posting a 360 degrees interactive image (like the kind of thing you would see on Google Street View) for your enjoyment, particularly for the volunteers who made this all possible.
Sneak Peak
Posted: May 6, 2011 Filed under: Updates Leave a comment
Here’s a basic mock up of the exhibition space for the project, a little sneak peak for you! As you can see, there are a couple of prints of the Nao Victoria on the wall, the computer for viewing the website for full information on the project, as well as a wall mural showing the original path of the Nao Victoria, the route by commercial flight, and the flow of Internet data (the results of our exciting experiment, thanks to the global volunteers).
Of course there will be one or two more surprises for the actual exhibition, so if you’re in Edinburgh between the 11th – 19th of June do come along to the degree show at Edinburgh College of Art, where you can see this year’s recent graduates. I’ll be there to answer all your questions, and of course the prints are also for sale. I’m sharing an exhibition space with a talented artist and close friend of mine, Carrie Duce, in room E7. We’d be delighted to see you there.
reMap
Posted: May 5, 2011 Filed under: Sketchbook Leave a comment
reMap is a Bestario project based upon visualcomplexity.com. It shows an enormous collection of visualisation projects based upon complex systems. Visualisations have been created by a combination of all kinds of people, such as artists, scientists, humanists, educators and so on. At first the site is mind boggling with so many different projects and possibilities, but if you have a little while to take your time over it it’s certainly a rewarding perusal. Click here to take a look.
Data Flow Landscapes
Posted: May 3, 2011 Filed under: Final Works Leave a commentData Flow Landscapes [4mins09]
Having received the trace route data from my volunteers from various locations around the world, it was possible to plot this data on a map to discover the route that Internet data would take to circumnavigate the globe in the wake of the Nao Victoria. Yet when looking at a map I find that it is easy to forget the scale of the world, and also to relate pin points to real locations.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Web’s Secret Stories: How Do You Feel?
Posted: April 29, 2011 Filed under: Sketchbook Leave a commentJonathan Harris creates online art that teaches us about the soul of the Internet, and hence the souls of nations and individuals. What are we feeling? What are we looking for? Jonathan’s art is both insightful and elegant, and in my opinion an excellent combination of art and technology.
I highly recommend visiting his website, which is packed full of incredible projects. Click here to visit his website.
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