Hidrazone - Digital Arts Reviews & News

http://bombsight.org/

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The Bomb Sight project is mapping the London WW2 bomb census between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941. Previously available only by viewing in the Reading Room at The National Archives, Bomb Sight is making the maps available to citizen researchers, academics and students. They will be able to explore where the bombs fell and to discover memories and photographs from the period.The project has scanned original 1940s bomb census maps , geo-referenced the maps and digitally captured the geographical locations of all the falling bombs recorded on the original map.

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http://www.hansardgallery.org.uk/exhibition/current.html

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Derived from the artist’s journeys to Afghanistan, Monsters of the Id tests our expectations of cinematic and media representation, presenting a series of new works that experiment with advanced display technologies. The exhibition captures the disorientation of a civilian observer within a militarised environment.

Upon entering the gallery, visitors are immersed in a landscape that crosses the physical and the virtual. The disquieting Observer Effect presents viewers with a projected image of a distant, self-absorbed population. As audiences remain within the space, this virtual community grows in number and becomes distracted by their presence.

Searchlight 2 reveals illusory human shadows traversing a low platform terrain, suggestive of the desert landscape as seen by an aerial drone. The unnerving movements of this unidentified population are computer-generated and directly mirror the actions seen in Observer Effect.

Apparent Horizon renders immersive, virtualised vistas of a desert landscape. As viewers, our role hovers between sublime reverie and the quiet anxiety between of periods of violence. The exhibition ends with a final cinematic flourish, enabling visitors to consider their role in the exhibition and its dialogue of control, observation truth and contradiction.

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http://www.mosaicrooms.org/from-palestine-to-israel/

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The exhibition documents a critical four year period in the history of Palestine/Israel, 1947-1950 and features over 200 photographs from the Israeli State archive, many of which have never been seen outside of Israel. This collection offers further insight into the first years of the Israeli state and its relationship with the remaining Palestinians.

The images are accompanied by in depth textual analysis. At times referencing the official descriptions issued for the photographs in the state archives, the images are re-contextualised based on Azoulay’s extensive research into the period. Often providing contrasting or probing interpretations, this body of work presents a record of the period previously ignored or only partially acknowledged by the West. It also reveals the power of documentary photography and its associated narrative in the (mis)representation of historical events and in the creation of political entities.

This unique exhibition opens on 3 November to coincide with the publication of Azoulay’s accompanying book, From Palestine to Israel: A Photographic Record of Destruction and State Formation, 1947-1950, by Pluto Press.

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http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/altered-earth/id470658082?mt=8

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Created by the artist Doug Aitken, the ALTERED EARTH App takes the viewer on a surreal and hallucinogenic journey. ALTERED EARTH was created entirely in one region, the desolate Camargue area in Southern France. ALTERED EARTH creates a distinctly modern exploration of landscape and the space between man, nature, and technology.

The Camargue’s mysterious quality is the setting for ALTERED EARTH : a naturally sculpted land emitting a rough beauty and unique individuality.  This is a setting where German bunkers are being re-claimed by migratory birds and African winds spread the Mediterranean Sea over shallow lagoons revealing salt mines that appear like crystal landscapes from another world.

This is a landscape in transition, one that feels deeply natural and simultaneously futuristic, in a way distantly connected to the films of Andrei Tarkovsky
or the writings of J.G. Ballard.

ALTERED EARTH uses this unique landscape to explore a new expression of the physical world.  This artwork reflects on our relation to local and global geography in the digital age and creates a new kind of map.  It expands the concept of “place” into a limitless digital universe while opening windows to our understanding of landscape.

Within this App you are empowered to create your own journey through a bizarre and ever-changing landscape utilizing different forms of media.  By changing the structure of imagery and seeing it in different configurations, you are able to project your own story and plot.

ALTERED EARTH allows you to explore multi-channel film, literature, and three-dimensional installation space.

“There is no hierarchy to how images and sequences can be strung together. It’s a open experience that will change every time and be unique for every viewer.” – Doug Aitken

App artwork by Doug Aitken, commissioned and produced by the Luma Foundation for the Parc des Ateliers, Arles France, and developed by Meri Media.

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An excellent introductory text for the non-specialist that also manages to offer useful reference material such as the time-line of sonic art.

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The book explores the worlds of sonic arts and sound design through their history and development, and looks at the present state of these extraordinarily diverse genres through the works and words of established artists. It discusses the wide range of practices that currently come under the heading of ‘sonic art’, as well as the technologies that are used and the impact that they have upon the work.

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