Responsive Dreams: Digital Arts Festival - 14/15 June Barcelona

05 May 20235000 EDITIONS

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Generative Art has been around for a while. Even though recent technology has made possible true globalisation of artists and artwork. “Georg Nees: Computergrafik” was the first exhibition world-wide of graphic works algorithmically generated by a digital computer at the Siemens company in Erlangen (Germany). The works Georg Ness had on display were generated by a digital computer properly programmed. Only a few years later, Georg himself began to call his works generative Computergrafik (also the title of his doctoral dissertation).

A number of artist-professors from the Stuttgart Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste attended the opening. One of them asked Georg Nees whether he could make his computer (a program) to draw the same manner the artist was drawing. Nees answer is a classic. After a short hesitation he replied: “Yes, of course, I can do this. Under one condition: you must tell me how you draw”. In the ensuing irritation, Max Bense spontaneously coined the word “Artificial Art”. This interesting interaction between two concepts of art highlights the blurry distinction of what we understand as art and how technology creates new paths for artists to explore.

Although the use of autonomous machinery to create art has been present before computers, the personal computer is definitely the first tool that disrupts the scene and creates an endless box of possibilities. The Generative Art Museum was born to spread the word about it and Responsive Dreams is our first exhibition to accomplish that goal.

The fact that George Nees created an exhibition to showcase his work emphasises how important it still is to place real life events that connects the current gap between digital and physical ecosystems to link art and audience. There is something magical about experiencing art in person. Walking through a gallery or museum, observing the brushstrokes, textures, and colours up close, and feeling the energy emanating from each piece is an irreplaceable experience. That still works for digital pieces, where the selection of technology to display it, plays also an important role in the final output that is presented to the user. Real-life exhibitions create a tangible connection between the artist and the viewer, allowing us to fully appreciate the art in all its glory. But Responsive Dreams is different, paying tribute to our name, users of our exhibition will not just be observing the art; they will be also part of it.

To fully understand generative art we must interact with the art, move around it, examining it from different angles, and even feeling the textures with our fingertips. This immersive experience allows us to fully comprehend the artist’s intentions and appreciate the intricacies of their work. Responsive Dreams exhibition will provide a space for dialogue and discussion between the artist and the audience. Visitors can engage with the artist, ask questions, and gain insights into the creative process. This interaction creates a sense of community around the art and fosters a deeper appreciation for it. We hope to see all of you to connect in the most profound way possible. Register now here.

Responsive Dreams exhibition will take place in Nau Bostik (Barcelona) the 14th and 15th of June and will include, amongst many other activities, live minting experiences from our featured artists: Andy Duboc, Santiago, shaderism, lilcode, Udit Mahajan and Pawel Dudko together with speakers and guest DJ's such as Anna Carreras, Daniel Aguilar, Luis Fraguada, Marc L Clapers, Daniel Julia, Professor Wrecks and the local electronic music collective Viatge Electrònic. Follow us to stay tuned!

If you want to learn more about Responsive Art, here's a quick guide by our featured artists.

Featured Artists

→ Andy Duboc

Andy Duboc born in Paris, France, is a generative artist with a focus on minimalism, movement, light, and color.

With a strong background in computer science, Andy's creative journey has been shaped by his deep curiosity and passion for exploring the possibilities of generative art. His work is driven by a desire to create visual experiences that challenge our perceptions and invite us to see the world in new and exciting ways.

Andy graduated in 2013 with a Master in Computer Science from Université Lyon II. After that he worked in the video game industry for almost 10 years in studios like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts. Founder of Bureau Noir, a studio dedicated to visual art and experimental practice, at the crossroads of design, code and art. He is also a member of compute, an art collective that he co-founded with friends and where they use NFT and blockchain technology as a medium to explore new forms of art.

→ Santiago

Santiago was born in Barcelona, in 1982, in the heyday of personal computing and the emergence of video games.

This coincidence of biography and cultural evolution led to his fascination with technologically derived aesthetics. Santiago’s work utilizes code as a creative driver. He employs mathematical principles, physic simulations, genetic algorithms, and AI to manipulate machine-interpretable routines. Santiago regards coding as a form of transhumanistic poetry, a common ground between humans and machines, and his creative work centers around questions of technology’s synthetic nature, relation to society, and role in the evolution of the human species.

For the TGAM's Responsive Dreams exhibition he will be exploring how the canvas can become an infinite region, being the screen or display, an arbitrary frame that captures a limited part of that region. Each of these regions will have the capacity of being framed at any resolution or aspect ratio which, along with its deterministic randomness, has the potential for the artwork to grow indefinitely.

→ shaderism

Shaderism (Arttu Koskela) is a creative coder and WebGL developer from Finland, currently based in Bulgaria.

shaderism began his career in visual effects, creating FX simulations for multiple award-winning adverts before pivoting towards real-time graphics. Drawing on his professional background and a lifelong passion for music and sound technology, his artistic medium heavily revolves around creating interactive and generative real-time art. His works often incorporate physics simulations and generative musical instruments, while exploring the themes of playfulness and self-reflection.

→ lilcode

lilcode (Sebastian Rojas) is a videosynthesist from Chile having fun with pixels and generative systems

Viscerally exploring modular synthesis and handcrafting emergent patterns, his works incorporates astonishing animations that resonates with nature and physics.

Embodying a feedback loop for imagining ways to visualize new systems, Sebas is part of duo hypereikon with aster1ai, producing collaborations that combines music and other artistic experimentations using technology.

→ Udit Mahajan

Udit Mahajan is an engineer turned artist and designer, originally from India and now based in the United States.

Back in 2013, he decided to make a switch from working as an electrical engineer to pursue a career in art and design. He came to New York in 2014 to attend graduate school in design and technology.

Udit now works with diverse companies, institutions, labs, and friends, on projects ranging from award-winning large-scale experiential installations to personal and collaborative artworks. His art practice involves generative technological experiments to formulate and present ideas, often inspired by nature and perception.

→ Pawel Dudko

Paweł Dudko (b.1987) is an active creator in the area of interactive and generative art with the use of 3D printing, often on the verge of virtual and physical reality.

Author of spatial installations, multimedia, photography, and scenography. Paweł Dudko holds a PhD in Arts and MSc Eng in Architecture. In the years 2012-22, he was a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture of the Białystok University of Technology.

His works have been exhibited in many galleries in Poland and abroad, i.a. Mark Rothko Art Centre (Daugavpils, Latvia), XX1 (Warsaw, Poland), Musée du Jouet (Moirans-en-Montagne, France), Yanaki Manasiev Gallery (Veliko Tyrnovo, Bulgaria), Gallery of Modern Art miejsce sztuki44 (Świnoujscie, Poland) and at many reviews and festivals, i.a. Dizaino Savaitė (Vilnius, Lithuania), Contested Cities conference (Madrid, Spain), The International Artistic Campus FAMA (Świnoujscie, Poland). Scholarship holder of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage (2020) and the President of the City of Białystok (2015).

Schedule

There will be quite a lot of activities surrounding the event so check our website to learn more.

If you happen to be in Barcelona and want to participate contact us at hello@tgam.xyz.

About The Generative Art Museum

The Generative Art Museum (TGAM) is non-profit organisation based in Barcelona dedicated to celebrate and promulgate art made by autonomous systems (non-human) that can independently create artwork.

TGAM is an evolving idea that will challenge our preconception of experiencing, collecting and sharing art. Our goal is to participate in this new era by supporting generative artists in every sense by spreading the word about generative art in all shapes and forms. We embrace any piece where humans interact with automated tools to create unique artworks.

Blockchain has created the perfect playground for a digital renaissance: affordable computers and easy-to-use scripting tools are the icing on the cake for a revolution in the generative art like the world has never seen before. And we are here to talk about it and share this exciting journey.