FoAM - Crafting

Resilients

maja — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:44:14 +0000

Resilients are people of all ages preparing for uncertain futures, by experimenting with resilient forms living & working as a form of artistic practice. The Resilients project collects, creates, shares & supports these emergent practices, while grounding them in historic cultural roots.

Resilients’ core activities are five case studies, public experiments with materials, media & technologies in the context of endangered crafts, urban gardening, sustainable forestry, contemporary pilgrimage & future preparedness. A programme of residencies, apprenticeships, workshops, gatherings and publications will allow a wide involvement of practitioners and enthusiasts across Europe and beyond.

Resilients' Philosophy

For humans to thrive in uncertain, turbulent times, resilience is an essential tactic. We can never be certain about the kind of cultures that could materialise in the future, but we can speculate about how could they look. The Resilients project experiments with possible futures by applying whole systems thinking to the integration of cultural traditions with emerging arts, sciences, design & technology. Through unexpected alliances between these fields, speculation becomes rooted in the real world. For a resilient culture to arise, a stable support infrastructure is required – open systems, cultural laboratories & knowledge pools. Resilients are committed to building this infrastructure, through a pilot project leading towards the formation of a Guild of Resilients.

A resilient system is both fexible & robust. It is continuously engaged in the delicate balancing act of growing & evolving, adapting to change & discarding unsustainable elements. Change is a never-ending process, growing less predictable as our habitats, societies, economic & technological systems increase complexity & become more interdependent. To respond to unpredictability, we can look at improving human ability to face & embrace change, whether perceived as positive, negative or neutral (e.g. birth of a child, environmental crisis, or moving house). By integrating different approaches to developing resilience, we can strengthen the 'immune system' of a culture as a whole.

In progress: http://lib.fo.am/resilients

Project partners: FoAM (BE), Central Saint Martins’ Textile Futures (UK), nadine (BE), Performing Pictures (SE), Projekt Atol (SI) and Time’s Up (AT).

With the support of the Culture Programme (2007 - 2013) of the European Union and the Flemish Authorities.

Groworld Games

dave — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:33:59 +0000

During 2008 and 2009 a small group of groworlders including members of FoAM and invited participants Tale of Tales and Six to Start worked on designs and prototypes for games that would strengthen the connection between plants and people.

Research Reports

Reports of research done and the work process:

Tales of Tales' research report

Dave's research report

Try the games

FoAM's games prototypes are available to download here:

Mac Version

Linux Version

Windows Version (copy the Fluxus directory to "C:\Program Files")

The code is included in these packages which you can play with (have a hunt around). The development repository is here here. These games are built using fluxus.

Screenshots of Tale of Tales's prototypes are here

Ongoing work

This project has fed into further work with Germination X. See also more work in progress.

Research Gathering with Kiran Gangadharan - Decode

christina — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:52:00 +0000

Start: 2011-03-04 18:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2011-03-04 20:00 Europe/Brussels

During this research gathering Kiran Gangadharan -who has an engineering and design background- will present a round-up of Project Decode. The gathering covers an outline of the project’s main goals and research approach through various studies, conceptual design and iterations and the collaboration with dancers and artists.

Kiran started his residency at FoAM on January 1st, 2011, continuing his research on 'growth'. The new node in his ongoing research is "Movementors", in which he relates to growth and form through the metaphor of movement.

Movementors functions as a question of science, engineering and design perspective where mathematical expressions from plants are decoded. It explores the world of spiral dynamics where the spirograph -an old school instrument- leads the inspiration. He relates growth of plants with an unseen mystery of movement: movement as a performance in itself. The comparison of the complex situations from static/dynamic, organic/inorganic, form/function, observer/observed and self/other brings new aesthetics to movement and transforms the space in itself. Two specific topics are explored in detail: generative growth of Spirograph mirrored in dance movements and the three dimensional Spiral movements.

The presentation will conclude with a light Indian (Kerala) Feast.

More on Kiran Ganghadaran's residency - http://x4.fo.am/residency_kiran

This residency is part of FoAm's Asia-Europe exchange program.

See also Christina Stadlbauer and Bartaku's residency at periferry 1.0 (Guwahati, India): http://www.fo.am/periferry

images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/sets/72157626325858182/

Splinterfields : re/touches

maja — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:03:11 +0000

Start: 2010-12-17 14:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2010-12-19 00:00 Europe/Brussels

workshop organised by Constant

In the weekend of the 17th-19th of December we will look at the act of repairing. We focus on textile and clothing, looking how something is woven, stitched together, consisting of threads and layers, and how these structures break, wear and tear with a body inside.

The Friday afternoon from 14 to 17h Abla who works as a volunteer in the Vaartkapoen repair and retouche atelier (http://www.vaartkapoen.be/socecnaai.htm) will show us the work they do. She will also show a technique for repairing.

In the weekend we will alternate looking at this wear and tear, share stories, exhibit images... If you want to enroll and for more details on this programme
please contact: wendy [attt] constantvzw.org

Repairing requires an understanding of the item you want to work on. How far would you go in repairing coveted item of clothing? What parts of clothes are fragile? Where does an item of clothing wear and tear? what are fragile points? What is the relationship with your body and your activity?

Repairing prolongs the life of a manufactured item, something not really stimulated in these times of fast consumption. This workshop is meant to let us learn repairing techniques from each other coming together is a way of transmitting knowledge. Techniques which were previously more taught in a family context, because clothes were rare thus making them precious because. We would like to talk about this subject and work together. Bring your favourite reparations How did you learn to repair? Do you have favourite methods? Did you learn specific techniques for particular items of clothing?

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipe...

images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/sets/72157625897643550/

— -

Splinter Fields is an initiative of Brussels based organizations active within the fields of technological and media arts (Constant, FoAM, nadine and OKNO) to foster collaborative, agile and flexible learning. The programme of workshops, study-groups and field-tests is open to artists, designers, technologists and other generalists curious to explore tools and mindware for experiments in contemporary culture and daily life.

Research Gathering with Alex, Ali and Luka

maja — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:38:40 +0000

Start: 2010-02-12 16:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2010-02-12 20:00 Europe/Brussels

Please join FoAM's first family in residence, Alex, Ali and Luka, for a farewell afternoon tea.

They will be presenting the prototype of their robotic au pair (Robaupair) and sharing some ideas on the creative possibilities of parenthood.

Summary of the residency findings: http://lib.fo.am/research_report_ali_alex

gRig at Pecha Kucha

maja — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:53:12 +0000

Start: 2009-11-06 20:00 Europe/Brussels

End: 2009-11-06 23:00 Europe/Brussels

A group of 6 representatives from FoAM and nadine present the Guild for Reality Integrators and Generators, its people & activities and announces the birth of Resilients.

http://pechakucha.architempo.net/

HapStar

dave — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:31:40 +0000

About

Haplotype Networks and Minimum Spanning Networks are commonly used for representing associations between sequences. HapStar is a tool for viewing both types of networks, and is designed to directly use the output data generated from Arlequin. HapStar is unique in that it automatically lays out the network for optimal visualisation, and provides the option to calculate a Minimum Spanning Network from a list of alternative connections. HapStar provides a user-friendly interface, and publication-ready figures can be exported simply.

Installing

HapStar works on Windows, Linux or OSX and requires python to be installed on your computer - which you can find here.

Download the current version:

hapstar-0.6.zip (Windows)
hapstar-0.6.tar.gz (Linux/OSX)

To run, simply extract the zip or tar archive and double click on "hapstar.py". Under OSX operating systems, ctrl click and select "open with" and choose "python launcher".

Source Code

HapStar is released under the GPLv3 licence. The source is availible in the FoAM git repository.

Publications

Teacher AGF. Griffiths DJ (2010) HapStar: automated haplotype network layout and visualization. Molecular Ecology Resources, online.

The pre-print version is available here.

Funding: European Union FP7 ERA-NET program, BiodivERsA

Corrupted C#n#m#

maja — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:25:09 +0000

Start: 2009-11-20 00:00 US/Eastern

End: 2009-12-20 00:00 US/Eastern

Corrupted C#n#m# is Angelo Vermeulen's new solo exhibition in the US after his Biomodd [ATH1] project at the Aesthetic Technologies Lab in Athens, Ohio in 2007. Corrupted C#n#m# is an experimental cinema project that explores the physicality of digital media, and draws upon the phenomena of data corruption and data forensics. It's an artistic inquiry into the notion of the material 'body’ in both the digital and the biological realm. Video images stored on different types of digital media are manipulated and disrupted through various biological processes. In a series of highly aggressive setups, storage media such as hard drives, memory cards and digital tape are exposed to bacteria, fungi, algae, insects etc. The damaged video data are then meticulously recovered by data forensic techniques, and by transplanting affected components such as hard drive platters into ‘uninfected’ hardware units. In an iterative process, the retrieved data are exposed over and over again to the disruptive biological processes. During this 'degradation' process, data errors emerge as faulty lines and pixels, broken images, color shifts and other artefacts.

Source material is surgical footage stored on former generation media such as VHS, Betamax and CD-ROM. Using and (re-)digitizing found footage is integral to the project and draws upon notions of instability and conservation. The use of surgical video creates a layered narrative of shifting embodiments and translations: the dissected human body ‘contained’ on older and analog media is digitized on magnetic hard drive platters, and subsequently reworked by other biological bodies in a non-linear, dialectic process. The end result is a reconfigured and mutated body.

The exhibition consists of an ongoing installation setup surrounded by projections and video screens. In the installation, work benches with sequential series of hacked hard drives are the central focus. Biological experimentation takes place in the same installation, and is an ongoing process during the exhibit. In essence, the project debunks the myth of the so-called immaterial nature of digital art production.

Corrupted C#n#m# is a co-production of FLUXspace (Philadelphia), Sound Image Culture (Brussels), and FoAM (Brussels).

More information:
FLUXspace
3000 North Hope Street
Philadelphia, PA 19133, US
November 20 – December 20, 2009
Official opening: November 20, 2009
http://www.thefluxspace.org

The Future of the Lab

nik — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:15:44 +0000

Start: 2009-11-30 13:15 GMT+2

End: 2009-12-02 13:15 GMT+2

"The Future of the Lab will provide opportunities for discussion and engagement with a diverse range of professionals on three layers: expert meetings for invited international guests from art and technology labs across Europe and beyond, as well as a number of Dutch labs; an afternoon bringing in local, regional and national participants from a diversity of sectors; and a programme for the general public on Monday, November 30. In collaboration with the participants of The Future of the Lab, BALTAN will also identify key topics for a follow-up expert meeting as well as some urgent areas of research to focus on in 2010."

http://www.baltanlaboratories.org/?p=1291

Animation and Livecoding workshop

dave — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:59:15 +0000

Start: 2009-09-22 18:00 GMT+1

End: 2009-09-22 22:30 GMT+1

Animation and Livecoding through Fluxus with Dave Griffiths and Evan Raskob

http://openlabworkshops.org/workshop-puredyne-and-fluxus-22-sept-2009/

splinterfields

nik — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:15:07 +0000

Splinterfields is an initiative of several Brussels based organizations active within the fields of technological and media arts (Constant, FoAM, nadine and OKNO) to foster collaborative, agile and flexible learning. The programme of workshops, study-groups and field-tests is open to artists, designers, technologists and other generalists curious to explore tools and mindware for experiments in contemporary culture and daily life.

Bend, sew, touch, feel, read

nik — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:24:33 +0000

Start: 2009-07-25 10:00 GMT+2

End: 2009-07-26 18:00 GMT+2

http://www.kobakant.at

To explore the possibilities of bringing electronics closer to bodies and plants we are organizing a workshop with the artists Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi in which you will learn how to use textiles and electronics to interact with humans and plants.

Human bodies and plants are not rigid, but flexible, soft and pliant. Computers, keyboards, mice and peripherals, all rigid, fixed, made from plastic or metal, will be objects for surgery in order to salvage parts that can made flexible. Activities could range from building gigantic felt push buttons, to obtaining information on how a leaf turns towards the sun, to integrating electronics into clothing.

We will work with conductive and resistive textile, arduino and all manner of electronic components.

Maximum amount of participants: 12 Please send an example of what you are currently working on and towards what you would like to work to wendy*at*constantvzw.org

Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson:

Our collaborations explore the realm of wearable technology as a medium for commenting on technological and social aspects. Throughout our projects we are conscious of wearability and functionality. We believe in the spirit of humoring technology and a twisted criticism toward the stereotypes it creates. For us, technology is to be hacked, DIYed and modified by everyone to fit our needs and desires.

Mika Satomi is originally from Japan, currently based in Linz, Austria. Her current interest leads her to explore the concept of an urban body extension in the realm of wearable technology. http://www.nerding.at

Hannah Perner-Wilson studied Industrial Design and Interface Cultures at the Art University in Linz, Austria. She enjoys breaking technologies down to a basic level, from which she is able to develop her own interaction solutions and scenarios. http://www.plusea.at

Mission to the Moon

nik — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 09:22:25 +0000

We are very proud to present our new site, displaying current and future missions, technical info and nice pictures. http://www.missiontothemoon.nl/

40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moonlanding

theun — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:35:37 +0000

Start: 2009-07-21 00:00 GMT+2

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, the Foamlab astronaut team will be re-enacting this historic event at the Space Expo centre that belongs to the ESA (European Space Agency) in Noordwijk. The event possibly will be shown by live-stream video to Museum Boerhave, Lange St. Agnietenstraat 10 in Leiden, The Netherlands.

http://www.missiontothemoon.nl/

groworld workshop at sommercamp+workstation

nik — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:26:24 +0000

Start: 2009-08-10 05:06 Europe/Berlin

End: 2009-08-16 05:06 Europe/Berlin

The simulation-led workshop cluster presents constructive approaches to measurement, description and modelling of real world systems ranging across urban and ecological interventions. The world can be described by way of maps, diagrams, fiction, circuits and software. Desciptions, or representations, take on their own life as autopoetic systems, creating complex ecologies; describing becomes constructing (growing your own world). Workshops will range across the examination of spectral, electromagnetic ecologies (in city and forest), embedding of chaotic systems within analogue electronics, and novel approaches to constructive plant biology.

more details, and online registration can be found at http://www.sommercampworkstation.de/?page_id=10