“Flowpoints”: Generative Image Creation Method Using Optical Flow / Open Forum #3

Floating Projects Collective: Open Forum #3

Hector Rodriguez Friday, July 9, 2010 (7:00-9:00 pm)  FPC - Open studio - Forum The talk will last for an hour followed by discussion. / FORUM begins at 7:00pm with a simple pizza party.

There is a tradition of contemporary art that aims to break away from preconceived goals. The aesthetic form and order of the work no longer precede the means or techniques employed. Instead of starting out with a predefined idea of the final outcome, artistic work unfolds as the experimental exploration of a set of technical operations. The artist starts out by choosing one or more computational procedures (algorithms) without making any assumptions about the aesthetic possibilities that those procedures might be capable of. The working process involves treating the chosen algorithm as a black box that must be opened, analyzed, and transformed. This procedural approach requires opening the digital black box to discover unforeseen effects that can only arise through experimental exploration. The artist thus refuses to regard technology as the transparent conduit of some previously fixed intention. To use the terminology of actor-network theory, technologies now function as mediators rather than intermediaries. 

Flowpoints is a series of digital works, mainly videos and prints, which exemplify an experimental and discovery-oriented method of working with media technologies. This presentation outlines the details of this method, explaining how computer science concepts can function as expressive or artistic media while keeping faith with important tendencies of contemporary art.  to print a flyer [......]

To find out more about Hector Rodriguez's Flowpoints (2010) […]