Arts and Technology: A Creative Alliance (ECAWA 2004)

Arts and Technology A Creative Alliance Kim Flintoff Keynote Address March 20, 2004 ECAWA SIGFEST A story about embracing…. RISK UNCERTAINTY AMBIGUITY

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gödel's Incompleteness Theory

No logical representation exists which can prove its own constancy.

Interdisciplinary Cooperation?

#$(*&% @ to You, Too!!

Scott Kim (Look Twice, Inc)

When a Discipline becomes a way of life, priorities become invisible.

Drama and Technology

The dramatic arts are full of promising ideas for interface design.

Drama has the power to engage audience members both emotionally and cognitively.

We have barely begun to the scratch the surface in applying this body of knowledge to interface design.

S Joy Mountford (Human Interface Group, Apple)

Drama and IT – Jonathan Neelands

Students should be enabled to use IT in creative and imaginative contexts as an entitlement and in order to enhance their understanding of its power, how it can be used and the extent to which they have control over it.

… ..since 1997 Lifeforms project (http://www.lifeforms.com/) gener8 @rts Awesome Festival

… ..since 1997 Lost Cities MOO (QUT Brisbane) Project Woomera Online Virtual Process Drama – 94 realtime participants

… ..since 1997 Active Worlds Educational Universe http://www.activeworlds.com

The state of play?

Intelligent Agents? Intelligent agents are software programs designed to mimic human behaviour.

New forms from new applications? EYESWEB PROJECT http://www.infomus.dist.unige.it/eywindex.html The EyesWeb open platform has been originally conceived for the design and development of real-time dance, music, and multimedia applications.

Electronic/Digital Arts? David Haines The work uses Six degrees of freedom for navigation. The work uses extensive number of video textures with alpha channels to create a richly cinematic environment along with hand modelled 3d objects to make up the world. In this prototype, navigation is via a traditional game controller but the work will eventually use neural feedback i.e. thought control for navigation.

Electronic/Digital Arts? Joyce Hinterding aeriology 20 km of wire wrapped the space to form an energy gatherer.

Digital Spaces? levitation grounds Hinterding and Haines http://www.sunvalleyresearch.com

New Spaces for Enactment? A completely new approach to online/virtual performance, theatre and storytelling is in development. http://www.upstage.org.nz/ UpStage (NZ)

CyberTheatre? WireFire http://www.entropy8zuper.org/wirefire/

CyberPerformance? New interfaces provide new ways of thinking about the world, art, design and performance.

globally dispersed cyberformance? Avatar Body Collision A B C http://www.avatarbodycollision.org/abc/

Really Virtual? Uncle Roy All Around You Blast Theory http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/

Really Virtual? I Like Frank in Adelaide Blast Theory http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/

Virtual-Real Research? MRL – Mixed Reality Lab http://www.mrl.nott.ac.uk/ Kevin Warwick I, Cyborg

Predictable Future?

When you do as you always do, you get what you always get.

“ What about my F***ing job??!!”

Many Drama teachers seem to hold a fear that engaging with technology will change the fundamental nature of their work with students.

“ What about my F***ing job??!!”

This is an area where ICT specialists can work to alleviate the fears.

Fear of the Unknown “ The birth of a new medium of communication is both exhilarating and frightening. Any industrial technology that dramatically extends our capabilities also makes us uneasy by challenging our concept of humanity itself.” Janet Horowitz Murray “ Hamlet on the Holodeck”

Actors or Cyborgs

We are the Borg

Beyond the Interface

Who am I today?

Who will I be tomorrow?

Drama as a frame for exploration? Where else in school do we get to ask questions and explore the human implications of “cyberculture” ?

Drama creates new metaphors? Drama works explicitly with Metaphor – we need new metaphors to accommodate new technologies http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/Kardas/Courses/CS/spratt.htm

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Collar and Tie (UK) The Adverb Project - CAMBAT

This project could include Media, Drama, IT, Digital Multimedia, SOSE, English, etc..

To the Spice Islands This project could include Media, Drama, IT, Digital Multimedia, SOSE, English, etc.. http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/commun/newmedia/batavia/index.html

Computer games as theatre. “ Role-playing games are theatrical in a non-traditional but thrilling way. Players are both actors and audience for one another, and the events they portray often have the immediacy of personal experience ” Janet Horowitz Murray “ Hamlet on the Holodeck”

Computer games as theatre. MMORPG M assive M ultiplayer O nline R ole P laying G ames Why aren’t we using these as educational role-playing environments?

Swimming with or against the Tide? “ We are surrounded by favorable and unfavorable forces. We cannot fight against them but we can work with them. Digital space needs to face this ocean of different type of currents.” Liliàna Galvan

Virtual Performance Examples Theatre has been quick to adopt and explore the possibilities – what happened to Drama Education?

Virtual Performance Examples Universities are utilising their resources to explore possibilities; how do we translate to the classroom?

Virtual Performance Examples Drama teachers need to see beyond the footlights – new futures exist for our students.

A vehicle for inclusion? Physical, social and emotional limitations might be challenged by engaging with technology

The place of drama teachers

The scope of our teaching It is possible we may need to redefine our function as Drama teachers. Where else will students explore the implications of the virtual?

The Learning Process One of the positive offerings of technology such as the Internet is the ability to engage with multiple users in real-time. This should be familiar territory for Drama teachers provided they are not overwhelmed by new interfaces. Group Interaction still the core

Take the Red Pill – See the Matrix