Hi Peter,
My current research project uses computing as a means
of extending the drawing process, in the way that pen
and paper extends our cognitive space so does a
computer program. I guess I'm less interested in
teaching a computer how to draw than I am finding out
how a computer allows me to develop my own drawing.
It seems to me that the computer is very good at
performing certain tasks better than me, and of course
vice versa. I find that drawing as a distributed
process allows me to better understand the
technological dimension of human culture/ experience
better. I must agree that Cohen's project is admirable
and of course beneficial in terms of better
understanding how humans draw, but I find insights can
also be gleaned by examining those algorithms designed
to do the things we find especially difficult, the
things we reassign.
In a nutshell I write computer programs to perform
certain parts of an extended drawing process that
remain as transparent as possible during the process.
The drawing machines I develop are really intended as
prosthesis, or as natural (?) seeming as a pencil.
>From: Peter Hall <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The UK drawing research network mailing
list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: using drawing to support research
>Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 18:19:23 +0000
>
>Hello all,
>
>I've been emailed by the Arts Council and AHRB to
tell me of grants to
>support collaboration between artists and scientists.
In the past I have
>reviewed proposals for this initiative, and sat on
the panel for a
>corresponding initiative from Engineering and
Physical Science Research
>Council (EPSRC) - their "culture and creativity"
call.
>
>The EPSRC panel was notable in that only ONE propoal
related to the visual
>arts - the remainging 40 or so came from other place
- mostly music or
>sound related. The panel was keen that a greater
balance is reached in
>future.
>
>I am a scientist / engineer /mathematician with an
interest in getting
>computer to draw for themselves. It would be an
absurd ambition to try to
>replace humans with machines - and that is not my
intention. But just as
>knowning a little more about how humans see
somethimes (but not always)
>helps us understand how to do make machines see a
little better, so
>undertstanding how artists work can inform my work.
In fact, understanding
>drawings may help us understand a little more about
how we see as humans -
>but that is not my aim either.
>
>My web pages at www.bath.ac.uk/~maspmh gives an idea
- but these are PAST
>projects, not current ones!
>
>All this is awfuly vauge, but I do have specific
research projects that
>would benefit from artistic input for sure. One of
these involves using
>drawings to get machines to learn what humans think
of is important: our
>early work in this is very promising indeed, and work
like this is a very
>hot topic right now with similar work going on all
over the world. Other
>work is based on the book "Art and Representation" by
John Willats.
>
>I see the AHRB-et-al call as an opportunity to
collaborate. If anyone is
>interested - maybe I can help you with your projects
rather than you help
>me - then contact me on my email
> [log in to unmask]
>
>best
>Peter Hall
>Department of Computer Science
>University of Bath
>Bath
> AdmID:1EEEF64F7C722F3DE3A64242F099C285
>
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