Aether9 (Audrey and Manu) working with Ludivine Loiseau, Pierre Marchand and Gijs de Heij from OSP.

Dates: 12, 14 November 2010

Initimacy over Distance : networked broadcasting tools and scenarios.

This workshop is remotely facilitated by Nancy Mauro-Flude and locally by Audrey
Samson. It explores networked communication and related technologies through
the elaboration and enactment of a networked performance using PureData signal
processing language (Pd) and the Internet as a performance platform.

Artists: gatekeeper (ideacritik), sister0 (performed by Nancy Mauro-Flude in Tasmania)

While we look forward impatiently to the complete article, here are the raw answers produced by the aethernauts:

Pauline Eiferman: Firstly, I am interested in how the project started and what exactly it aims to do.

Christiaan Cruz: it started with a huge blank page problem
like the one steve jobs had, but more open and fun

Manuel Schmalstieg: technically, the project was initiated during a workshop given by the N3krozoft Media Group during Mapping Festival in Geneva, May 2007. the objective of the workshop was to devise methods for realtime visual collaboration in a performative context (Mapping Festival is an event dedicated to VJing).
During this workshop, a few people met on-location for the first time, and a group of people joined remotely (after a massive call-for-participation mailing) from Paris, Berlin, Brussels, the US, Colombia, Slovenia.
After the workshop, the group continued the work and new members joined the effort. We try to keep it very open, following methods that are used in open source software development.
Our objective: achieving new forms of art, by mixing existing forms (video, cinema, theatre) with current technical tools, most importantly the various network protocols. there are many “one-to-one” audiovisual communication tools, also a few “one-to-many” tools, but it’s very difficult to achieve “many-to-many” communication. so our project is a practical/artistic attempt to solve this problem.
I also like to point out that my main inspiration for the Mapping Festival workshop were projects carried out in the very early 80s by several artist groups, such as “Electronic Cafe” by K. Galloway and S. Rabinowitz in 1984, or “the world in 24 hours” by Robert Adrian in 1982 (see http://1904.cc/timeline/ for sources).

Paula Vélez: The project started with an idea in the Mapping Festival (2007) , people from different countries joint in for a performance having place there, in Geneve.
Then things continued, almost all of the first participants stayed for a while, since then new artist all over the world have been joining Aether9 performances.
Aether9 has been developping this years different patches built in MAX MSP, researching on streaming remote performances having place online and in local real spaces.
The research is not limited to streaming, also to visual and audio narratives conceve in a collective way. Spreading, sharing knoledge in between participants, thinking about networking, artistic collaboration, management, project sustainability, and looking foward the use of open source plataforms.

Pauline: What role do you believe the internet can have in the creation of art today?

Chris: open distribution and storage
easier global interaction/collaboration

Paula: Internet allows artist to explore new surfaces, new supports with technogical gadgets. Internet is a tool for communications, expression, distribution and new economical ways or explorations.

Manu: i didn’t ever work with the internet (email or BBS) before the arrival of the WorldWideWeb, so i would rather talk about “the web” than “the internet”.
what is most significant to me, is that Tim Berners-Lee originally conceived the www (and the first browser) as a “read-write” medium, where every user would have the ability to write, therefore to create. this philosophy (or “feature”) was quickly dropped by the main browser producers. fortunately it’s been returning with the rise of wikis and “content management systems”.
one barrier for artists, is that wikis and CMSes are text-based. video on the web still suffers from many issues, as we see with the current struggles between h264, ogg, etc.
one excellent example of “video management” by/for artists is http://pad.ma

Pauline: What do you hope to achieve through Aether9 project?

Chris: a proper production to utlizes the unique flicker effect of the interface

Manu: i don’t know. i guess i answered this already above.

Paula: Open the project to open source plataforms to allows other groups of people to use this tool of expression: Collaborative remote narratives and audiovisual performances.

Pauline: Could you talk about one specific video that is part of the project, and how it used the internet in its creation?

Chris: Our private 777 video always makes me happy.
The project seems to function best as a global interactive jamming forum.
Much like jazz functioned in post-bee-bop Europe when all the great masters
migrated there and shared a musical dialogue with collectives of musicians.

Paula: All project is based in the use of internet for make it happen. Participants are situated in different locations working together for being present in a same place at a time… that place could be call the aether…. the middle of something in between the inmaterial space.

Manu: i was never really satisfied with our “video archives”. it’s like with most peformance art, you cannot understand the intensity of the work when watching archival recordings. maybe they will be interesting to watch in 10 years.
I will mention the “Aether9 LRRH archive remix“, though:
one function that we implemented in our streaming tool, during the “Little Red Riding Hood” performances in 2008, was an automated script that uploaded one video frame per minute to a special “archive” server. After a few months, i retrieved those thousands of images, and combined them into this “automated remix”, that consists in many little fragments of rehearsals and performances. The soundtrack of the video is the live sound-mix that I made for the Montreal performance (at Perte-de-Signal, August 2008)

A presentation about the conceptual and technical developments resulting from a residency at agence TOPO.

Exploration of landscape possibilities of telematic performance as well as aether9′s new PD Patch and Wiimote control options.

Update: A screen capture (of remote aether9 members projected during the presentation) recorded by Cym has been published:

Duration: 34 min.

see WII interface with pd patch on small screen … mobile setup all systems go… except for the internet connection (next step). we have all interface info and controls visible on tiny screen – chris says even a full fledged GUI and self-destruct mechanism.
(its all really really alpha stage – dont try this at home ;)

provisional title: THE PERFECT SPECTATOR?

a glimpse of the technical progress?

below an image – uploaded to the server – using pure data.

pd patch shot from webcam - uploaded to test server

“we have liftoff!” :)

Three fragments from a realtime video transmission in the frame of Pixelache Festival, March 26 2010.

Video: recorded with webcam and streamed in realtime from a moving train.
Audio source: segment from “migrations (an ambient field mix)” by Low Light Mixes.

Notes by Manuel:
It was a very interesting perfo for me as i was testing a new streaming setup:
- little AsusEEE netbook (running the patch in WinXP)
- cheapo USB webcam (Aiptek VGA+)
- mobile USB web access

The first session was a near total failure, as it was raining heavily, and I realized that it’s impossible to operate laptop+cam while holding an umbrella! In addition to that, the botanical garden where I was trying to stream from turned out to be in a no-network zone between two hills.

During the afternoon sessions, rain stopped, and I got used to the process of quickly connecting the USB modem, entering PIN, launching Max patch, adjusting cam settings, all in a couple of minutes. And as Cym says, it’s a very weird and fascinating feeling, sending the live images from a quiet natural outside location.

The connection was surpraisingly stable, even in a rolling train there were no disconnections. It looks like switzerland has a dense coverage, appart from mountainous zones. This opens lots of opportunities for
outside streaming, and I think the direction of “mobile documentary event coverage” is something to explore, where the “realtime” element can make real sense.

Thurday December 10th at Milkshake Agency, Geneva.

Friday December 11th at Dock18, Zurich.

main groups were performance, future directions and PD patch.

** we have bought aether9.com & .org domains **

Performance:
the performance will reflect of what has ‘impressed’ the aether9 meeting
in berlin. for the first time in aether9 history the performance will be
partially streamed from a taxi speeding through berlin.

notes: we will insert more documentary in the fiction.

Future directions >>
festivals – residencies – workshops – tours – agent

Festivals:
*FLOSS Orientated festivals
Interested parties: audrey, Manuel.
*Generic media art festivals:
Presenting aether9 as an installation.
Interested parties: Manuel.
*Art fairs/biennale
Interested parties: Boris

Residencies:
Could be dedicated to development of specific aspects:
- Software development (with some programmer giving technical support)
- PureData patching
- Mobile platform support (Symbian, mobile linux…)

workshops: [2 people minimum]
[*move to PD necessary + formal language and notation should be formulated]
*educational context (in art academies and universities)
-> the WORKSHOP PDF IS NOW READY TO BE CIRCULATED
*performative context (in festivals)
Interested parties: Manu, audrey, Judy, cym

speaking engagements:
Interested parties: Judy

tours:
A group of 3-4 aethernauts could be touring with a performance. Activity
in a Festival or a Workshop could be followed by a couple of other dates.

AGENT/Representation:
Should contact possible representants.
Interested parties: Judy.

Clothing of the performers / Visual identity / in-kind sponsorship
We will propose to fashion designers to sponsorize the aether9 group with
clothes, luggage.
Interested parties: cym, Judy

->PD patch:
working with dynabolic boot CD as way around ‘shell’ object problem. one
still uploaded to server! (micro success)

from the madly working aether9 team in berlin… also we are on IRC : )