Pecha Kucha #2 at Topological Media Lab
The second edition of Pecha Kucha at Topological Media Lab (TML) took place on April 4th, 2018. The aim of the Pecha Kucha series is to share ideas of the lab members (and potentially external speakers) to a public audience through casual presentations. The speakers were Joseph Thibodeau and Mat Janson Blanchet, both members of TML. We followed the Pecha Kucha presentation format, where a speaker has 20 slides and 20 seconds each.
The first speaker is Joseph Thibodeau, who is starting PhD at Concordia University, and he shared conceptual ideas that he wants to further research. The topic was around human body, but beyond our anatomy, he expands the world by embodying objects like a toaster or fantastic creatures like a giant metal cow, which later he explained as part of his practice as DAAT duo. His creation through the shift of perspective paradoxically helps understanding of ourselves as human. Also he questions our perceptions; we exist because others perceive us and we perceive them, and so on, which also forms a society in a physical city or a virtual reality environment, for example. One of the medium that bridges human bodies and the digital world is electromagnetic radiation, which we cannot feel unless we augment ourselves with technologies; and this augmentation — either augmented reality or mixed reality — creates interactions that not only bring fantasy to our life but also enable new modalities of communication that, for instance, we will be able to think to type and share ideas without moving at all. Nevertheless, the designer of interaction (which he refers to as a composer) should not dictate the system but instead open up possibilities for the users to see the world differently.
The second speaker is Mat Janson Blanchet, a student at Concordia University completing his Intermedia degree, and he shared his creation process through his past and ongoing works. He has been working as a freelance programmer to solve problems for others, which formed his artistic practice that emphasizes crafting more than reflection on concepts. His obsession about musical instruments originates from his experience of playing in a band. One of Mat’s first media installation “Sound Pez” uses a hand tracker to play sound, which does not require the user to be familiar with any musical instrument. He is currently working on a pickup device, and also on a kinetic cabinet, which pulls guitar strings to eventually break. His inspirations come from Jacques Carelman, known for his Impossible Objects catalogue and sculptures, as well as Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. The instrument, in fact, does not always work as he expected, but according him, it is not a failure but he accepts such an unexpected result as an artistic statement. His work will be exhibited at Altered States exhibition at Eastern Bloc on April 20th and 21st.
In this edition, the presentations were preceded by short performances and demonstrations of lab projects. The intent was to give an introduction of the lab to the invited guests Doris Uhlich and Boris Kopeinig, a choreographer and a DJ based in Vienna, who were in Montreal for a workshop at Studio 303. We got to know each other through participating in their workshops in Montreal and Vienna. As media artists interested in questions about body and technology, exchange with contemporary dancers is a perfect opportunity to stimulate discussions from different perspectives.
We thank the two speakers (especially Mat for correcting the text), and Pecha Kucha #3 will happen soon at TML. Please follow our Facebook page for the details of the future events!
