Reviewing

New Waves in Art and Tech

MĂłnica de la Torre, Hans Tammen

Featuring Adelle Lin, Matt Pinner, Tansy Xiao, Gisela Gamper, Ahmed El Shaer, Judy Dunaway

Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center announces the New Waves in Art and Tech, an exhibition for our Art and Technology Program on Governors Island.  A group show that opens the season with studies in human perception via artworks that explore privacy, brain-computer interfaces, climate and fungal networks, Artificial Intelligence and themes of air, flying and floating.   The works use creative technology such as audio spatialization,  stochastic audio, gesture interfaces, AI, biotechnology and simple motorized devices.

All events are free. 

Artist Opening Saturday May 18, 2024 from 2 – 4:30 pm with a performance by MĂłnica de la Torre and Hans Tammen at 2:30 pm.

Location: Harvestworks Art and Technology Program Building 10a, Nolan Park, Governors Island 

Open to the public from 11 am to 5 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and by appointment.

Artists and Artworks include: 

Adelle Lin and Matt Pinner Star Catcher,  an immersive installation that encourages participants to engage with their environment in a playful and imaginative manner. Using projection and magical objects, the installation creates a simulated night sky that is brimming with an ethereal constellation of stars that participants can catch. 

Monica de la Torre and Hans Tammen ARBORETUM is a collaboration between poet MĂłnica de la Torre and sound artist Hans Tammen. A series of poems written by de la Torre, inspired by the trees of Governors Island, are in turn processed and spatialized by Tammen. De la Torre considered the botanical and historical specificities of species of the island’s trees. Performance on May 18, 2024

Tansy Xiao  Here’s the Information We Collect, an interactive video installation tailored to respond selected privacy policy posted on major social media platforms. Audience members are invited to engage with the work by speaking into a microphone.   LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor – the hypothetical single-cell organism from which all life on Earth descended) is a non-linear virtual environment where real-time biometric data from performers’ movements is streamed into the virtual environment to dynamically shape the visual and sonic elements of a virtual world.

Gisela Gamper  Hear, There Everywhere  is an immersive visual and sonic environment that observes and captures movement in nature and in the artist’s  personal environment. “In my video Hear There Everywhere I play with and observe moving beads. Intrigued by the ever-changing pattern created by the beads I recorded their interplay with sound and captured a mesmerizing visual and sonic experience”.

Ahmed El Shaer  AI Heaven, a two channel video installation comprising images and animated short loops where the artist collaborates with artificial intelligence to explore questions about the afterlife and how a machine imagines the metaphysical and the transcendental. All images are produced through generative technologies—the final artistic works—are fully created by machine intelligence without the artist’s interference.

Judy Dunaway  AERONAUT This immersive, site-specific installation commemorates pioneer daredevil aviator Charles K. (“Charlie”) Hamilton making the first round trip flight between New York City and Philadelphia on June 13, 1910, taking off from and returning to Governors Island. The installation features inflated latex balloons in various sound capacities, including resonators, strings, reeds and ASMR stimulators. Artist Talk on June 15, 2024

Bios of the Artists

Adelle Lin Yingxi is a Malaysian artist, activist, and creative technologist based in Brooklyn. Their art seeks to heal and connect through joy and contemplation, aiming to advocate for women’s rights, champion climate justice, and bridge divides. Adelle holds a master’s degree in art and engineering from NYU Tandon.

Mónica de la Torre’s most recent book, Repetition Nineteen (Nightboat), centers on experimental translation. She is a contributing editor to BOMB Magazine and, with Alex Balgiu, co-edited the anthology Women in Concrete Poetry 1959–79 (Primary Information). She is recipient of the 2022 Foundation for Contemporary Arts C.D. Wright Award for Poetry and a 2022 Creative Capital grant. She teaches poetry at Brooklyn College.

Sound Artist Hans Tammen likes to set sounds in motion, and then sit back to watch the movements unfold. Using textures, timbre and dynamics as primary elements, his music is continuously shifting, with different layers floating into the foreground while others disappear.  He works with multichannel sound for over 20 years, focusing on the combination of the loudspeaker orchestra concept with object-based sound such as Ambisonics.

Tansy Xiao is an artist, curator and writer based in New York. Xiao creates theatrical installations with non-linear narratives that often extend beyond the fourth wall. Her work explores the immense power and inherent inadequacy of language through the assemblage of stochastic audio and recontextualized objects. She finds solace in the unknown, ludicrousness in the authorities, and absurdity in the geopolitical demarcations that separate and differentiate people.

Gisela Gamper, (b. Germany) is known for her photography and experimental video work.  Since 1968, she has lived and worked in the United States. Gamper began working with photography in 1971 and since then has built a body of work that is personal and inspired by her life experiences. In 1999, Gamper began working with video and so began a long and creative collaboration with her husband, musician and composer, David Gamper. Together they created, See Hear Now, a live music and video installation that was performed and presented in New Music venues in New York and elsewhere.

Ahmed El Shaer is a contemporary artist born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1981 who currently lives and works in New York, USA. El Shaer is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice spans the mediums of installation, photography, sound, and moving images, with a particular interest in new technologies. holds a B.F.A. from the Faculty of Art and Education and is currently a Ph.D. student at the computing and games department at Abertay University, Scotland, UK.

Judy Dunaway is primarily known for her numerous works for latex balloons as sound producers, including sculptural sonic performances, sound installations, interactive pieces and acousmatic works. She has presented these works throughout North America and Europe at many important venues, festivals, museums and galleries. She has a Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and an M.A. from Wesleyan University (where she studied with Alvin Lucier). She has been teaching at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston since 2005. 

PERFORMANCES AND WORKSHOPS

June 15, 2024 @ 7 pm. (DĂča de Pel) from Spain, composer Sonia MegĂ­as and writer Eva GuillamĂłn: voice and lute, songs and music from different periods and cultures with notable influence from Spain. Followed by Island A/V – Berlin  – Katherine Liberovskaya (NY) and ZtimhcsAidualc (Berlin) combine their real-time expanded visuals and video in live projections dialoguing with Sarah Bernstein’s (NY) solo violin and voice performance. FREE

July 13, 2024 @ 2:45 pm. A dance performance and artist talk at the Star Catcher installation. Adelle Lin and Matt Pinner collaborate with the dancer-choreographer Dharma Esmat to explore the mystical tapestry of the universe and redefine the act of creation through dance. Utilizing live tracking technology, Dharma’s movements will dynamically alter the constellation patterns above, creating a vibrant, evolving star field in real-time. 

July 20, 2024 @ 2:45 pm. The Nomadic Keyboard by Kathleen Supové will travel around Governors Island, where those people are roaming. No need to travel, dress up, or to sit down. Just be there when we pass by! You are encouraged to join in, either at the keyboard, with your voice, or with your instrument.

August 4, 2024 @ 2:45 pm. Lunar Resonance : An Interweaving of Sound, Light, and Water by Xung (Sunghyun Jang) and Ti Wen Hsu combine real-time generated visuals and sound from live-viola performance to explore the profound interplay between natural phenomena and technological innovation.

August 17, 2024 @ 4:30 – 6:30 pm. Third Saturdays and House Fest in Nolan Park. All events are free. 
4:30 pm Judy Dunaway will perform solo free improvisations on amplified latex balloons. Nolan Park OUTDOORS 5:15 pm Star Catcher – Adelle Lin and Matt Pinner collaborate with the dancer-choreographer Dharma Esmat. INDOORS 6 pm Ai Onoda plays Satie’s “Vexation”. OUTDOORS
6:30 pm Grace Schmidhauser and Jay Reinier. OUTDOORS

MĂłnica de la Torre

Mónica de la Torre’s most recent book, Repetition Nineteen (Nightboat),
centers on experimental translation. Other books include The Happy End/All Welcome
(Ugly Duckling Presse)—a riff on Kafka’s Amerika—and Public Domain. She has
published several books in Spanish, including Taller de TaquimecanografĂ­a (Tumbona),
written jointly with the eponymous women artists’ collective she co-founded. She is
a contributing editor to BOMB Magazine and, with Alex Balgiu, co-edited the
anthology Women in Concrete Poetry 1959–79 (Primary Information). She is recipient
of the 2022 Foundation for Contemporary Arts C.D. Wright Award for Poetry and a 2022
Creative Capital grant. She teaches poetry at Brooklyn College.

Hans Tammen

​​Hans Tammen creates sounds that have been described as an alien world
of bizarre textures and a journey through the land of unending sonic operations. He
produces rapid-fire juxtapositions of radically contrastive and fascinating noises,
with micropolyphonic timbres and textures, aggressive sonic eruptions, but also
quiet pulses and barely audible sounds. Signal To Noise called his guitar works “
a
killer tour de force of post-everything guitar damage”, All Music Guide recommended
him: “
clearly one of the best experimental guitarists to come forward during the
1990s.” He currently plays an analog modular synthesizer built around chaotic
behaviors, where small changes in the settings may yield widely diverging sonic and
rhythmic changes, forcing the player to constantly rethink and rearrange music. Hans
Tammen’s numerous projects include site-specific performances and collaborative
efforts with dance, light, video, and theatre, utilizing technology from planetarium
projectors to guitar robots and disklavier pianos. He received a Fellowship from the
New York Foundation of the Arts (NYFA) in the category Digital/Electronic Arts in
2009 for the ”Endangered Guitar” – a hybrid guitar/software instrument used to
control interactive live sound processing. His THIRD EYE ORCHESTRA open form
compositions for large ensembles and live sound processing, or laptop/electronic
ensembles, are inspired by Earle Brown’s Available Forms, and based on numerous
scored “building blocks” that are constantly rearranged when performed. His works
have been presented on festivals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Russia, India, South
Africa and all over Europe. He recorded on labels such as Innova, ESP-DISK,
Nur/Nicht/Nur, Creative Sources, Leo Records, Potlatch, Cadence, and Hybrid. Hans
Tammen received grants and composer commissions from MAPFund, Mid-Atlantic Arts
Foundation, American Music Center, Chamber Music America, New York State Council On
The Arts (NYSCA), New York Foundation For The Arts (NYFA), American Composers Forum
w/ Jerome Foundation, New York State Music Fund, Goethe Institute w/ Foreign Affairs
Office, among others.

Adelle Lin

Adelle Lin, representing the artists collective Meud, will develop
NightGames, an interactive musical public artwork based on an app for smartphones.
NightGames brings audiences together to collaboratively control an interactive sound
and lighting environment, further expanding their understanding of game play and
theatre to include freeform interaction. By leveraging technological systems in
smart phones, a rich terrain for exploration fills the exhibit space. The
installation rewards group cooperation, in addition to personal expression, bringing
a conscious awareness to players that individual can impact and form a collective
ecosystem. Meud works on scalable collaborative experiences mediated by technology.
Phoenix Perry is the head developer of Meud; from digital arts curator to Creative
Director, Perry has extensive experience in new media, design, and user interfaces.
Adelle Lin has worked as an architectural design team member designing retail
fitouts and design strategy for Australia. Currently she works with renewable energy
technology to deliver leading edge sustainable infrastructure. In addition to
Phoenix Perry and Adelle Lin, Meud artists include Sophi Kravitz, Margaret Schedel,
Colin Snyder, and Emi Spicer.

Adelle Lin Yingxi

Adelle Lin Yingxi is a Malaysian artist, activist, and creative technologist based in Brooklyn. Their art seeks to heal and connect through joy and contemplation, aiming to advocate for women’s rights, champion climate justice, and bridge divides. Adelle holds a master’s degree in art and engineering from NYU Tandon. They recently completed NEW INC, the New Museum’s art incubator program and other residencies including One of Many “Wadi Rum” in Jordan and Harvestworks “Creativity + Technology = Enterprise” in NYC. With a foundation in architecture and engineering, Adelle crafts magical objects, performance rituals, and interactive installations that merge the tangible with the digital. They have received grants and support from Meta Open Arts, Onassis ONX, and PlayNYC. Their artworks were recently featured in group shows at FiveMyles, Ed.Varie Gallery, and ChangWon Sculpture Biennale. They have also performed live calligraphy rituals at One of Many and Work In Progress events and have appeared on Al Jazeera’s The Stream for activism work within virtual worlds.

Matt Pinner

Matt Pinner is a dynamic artist and creative technologist originally
from Colorado, now based in Brooklyn, NY. With a background in software engineering
and a passion for sculpture and physics, he creates immersive, interactive lighting
sculptures and volumetric installations that engage and connect people in timeless,
limitless experiential spaces. Holding a degree in Math and Astrophysics from the
Colorado School of Mines, Matt has had impactful roles such as Head of Architecture
and Technical Director for projects like The Illuminated River Project and Intel’s
Robot Dance Party. Deeply involved in the Creative Technology community, he leads
global projects, creates fashion technology, collaborates on projects like
Crashspacela and SPARK FUN. He also worked with artists such as DJ Qbert and Lady
Gaga at events like the Grammys and CES. Matt’s recent work focuses on interactive
sculptures that foster discussions about the future of technology, positioning him
at the forefront of novel interactions between art and technology.

Tansy Xiao

Tansy Xiao is an artist, curator and writer based in New York. Xiao
creates theatrical installations with non-linear narratives that often extend beyond
the fourth wall. Her work explores the immense power and inherent inadequacy of
language through the assemblage of stochastic audio and recontextualized objects.
She finds solace in the unknown, ludicrousness in the authorities, and absurdity in
the geopolitical demarcations that separate and differentiate people. Xiao’s work
has been shown at Queens Museum, New Media Caucus, Piksel Festival, Sound Scene at
Hirshhorn Museum, Torrance Art Museum, NARS Foundation, HASTAC Conference, UKAI
Projects, The American Society for Theatre Research, University of Porto, Osaka
University of Art, Taipei Digital Arts Festival, WIP Arts and Technology Festival,
New Adventures in Sound Art, Pelham Art Center, among others. She has received
grants and support from NYSCA Electronic Media & Film

Ahmed El Shaer

Ahmed El Shaer is a contemporary artist born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1981
who currently lives and works in New York, USA. El Shaer is a multi-disciplinary
artist whose practice spans the mediums of installation, photography, sound, and
moving images, with a particular interest in new technologies. holds a B.F.A. from
the Faculty of Art and Education and is currently a Ph.D. student at the computing
and games department at Abertay University, Scotland, UK. He exhibited in various
international art venues, including the 56th Venice Biennal, Venice, Italy (2015).
Bamako Biennale, Bamako-Mali (2011) Cairotronica New Media Festival, Cairo, Egypt.
Sanctioned Array, White Box, New York, USA (2010). Solo show at the Museum of the
Moving Image, New York, USA (2019). Rencontres Internationales Festival
Paris/Berlin: Represent Egypt at the 59th Venice Biennale 2022.

Judy Dunaway

For the past twenty years Judy Dunaway has primarily been known for her
numerous works for latex balloons as sound producers, including free improvisations,
electronic and multi-media works, sound installations, and compositions. She has
presented these works throughout North America and Europe at many important venues,
festivals, museums and galleries including the Academy of Media Arts Cologne
(Germany), Alternative Museum (NYC), Bang on a Can Festival (NYC), Everson Art
Museum (Syracuse), Frau Musica Nova (Germany), the Guelph Jazz Festival (Canada),
Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors (NYC), the New Museum of Contemporary Art (NYC),
Performance Space 122 (NYC), Podewil (Berlin), Roulette (NYC), the Roy and Edna
Disney Center (Los Angeles), Seltsame Musik Festival (Austria) and STEIM
(Netherlands). Her discography includes CDs on the CRI and Innova labels. Her
awards/grants/residencies include the Electronic Music Studios Stockholm, New York
State Music Fund. the Aaron Copland Fund Recording Grant, the American Composers
Forum’s Composers Commissioning Fund, ZKM, Harvestworks and the National Endowment
for the Arts performance fund. She has given academic presentations about her works
at many colleges and universities, including The Berlin University of the Arts,
Cornell University, Rennselaer Polytechnic, Tufts University, Syracuse University,
Juilliard School of Music, Musik Akademie Basel (Switzerland), University of
Gothenberg (Sweden), Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (Milan, Italy) and Hochschule
fuer Gestaltung, Karlsruhe (Germany). She has a Ph.D. in music composition from
Stony Brook University and an M.A. with emphasis in experimental music composition
from Wesleyan University, where she studied with Alvin Lucier. She has been a
Visiting Lecturer at Massachusetts College of Art and Design since 2005. She has
been working with Cycling 74‘s Max for the past 10 years and received a
Max/MSP/Jitter certificate from Harvestworks in May 2011.