If you're in the Boston area, please stop by...

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eVolution
The Art of Living Systems
Opening reception Friday night, January 23, 6 - 9pm
Art Interactive
130 Bishop Allen Drive
Cambridge, MA
617.498.0100
http://www.artinteractive.org
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eVolution, curated by Christiane Paul, takes a look at artificial life
and autonomous, behavior-driven systems. The concepts explored by the
five acclaimed artists featured in the show challenge our notions of
life forms, intelligence, and consciousness and allow us to examine our
relationships with increasingly independent machines. The exhibition
points both to the evolutionary aspects of artificial life and the
evolution of an art practice towards a 'living' art work.

The show is on exhibit through April 11, 2004.


Featured Projects:

Rebecca Allen, Bush Soul #3 (1997-present)
In Bush Soul #3, part of the ongoing project Emergence, the user is
implicated into a virtual environment inhabited by autonomous
characters. Users control their avatar (the graphic representation of a
user in virtual environments) with a force-feedback joystick in order to
navigate the environment and interact with the creatures living in the
virtual world in ever-changing encounters.

David Rokeby, Giver of Names (1990-present)
The Giver of Names is a computer system that quite literally gives
objects names by trying to describe them. The objects are chosen by
visitors and placed on an empty pedestal. The computer performs various
levels of image processing (outline analysis, division into separate
objects or parts, color analysis, texture analysis, etc.) and then uses
an associative database of objects, ideas, and sensations to come up
with words and concepts associated with the object.

Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, A-Volve (1994/95)
A-Volve allows visitors to create virtual creatures and interact with
them in the space of a water-filled glass pool. By drawing a shape with
their finger on a touch screen, visitors produce virtual 3D creatures
that automatically come "alive," and swim in the real water of the pool,
reacting to the visitors' hand movements in the water.

Maciej Wisniewski, Instant Places (2002)
Instant Places by Maciej Wisniewski creates a networked space for
autonomous characters - predators (hawks) and prey (mice). While the
characters are visible to the audience only on the respective projection
screen they currently "live" on, they are inhabiting one seamless,
networked data landscape. They can perceive and interact with each other
through instant messaging and can move instantaneously between the
different computers connected to the Instant Places network, no matter
if they are in the same room or dispersed across the globe.

Public Educational Programs events:

Saturday, February 28
Curator's talk with Christiane Paul.
$5 non-members, members - no charge

Thursday, March 25
Panel Discussion with Jeff Huang and Martin C. Martin,
moderated by Christiane Paul.