Part of the Eyebeam Chats series…

Poetics of Computer Language: Beauty, complexity and metaphor in the development of new computer languages. Jonathan Vingiano, Ramsey Nasser and Brian House in conversation with Caroline Woolard.

Jonathan Vingiano and Ramsey Nasser are both creating engaging, intuitive and poetic computer programming languages, focusing on the aesthetics of user interface and code. Brian House is a composer and programmer who is intensely interested in the difference between ‘scores’ and ‘code’ in computer music.

Quotidian Record in the Eyebeam Annual Showcase. Opening Reception Thursday, January 17, 6–8PM

Featured Artists
Brian House, Caroline Woolard, Carrie Mae Rose, Daniel Neumann, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, James George, Jonas Lund, Jonathan Minard, Jonathan Vingiano, Kaho Abe, Mark Shepard, Nick Fox-Gieg, Paolo Cirio, Ramsey Nasser, Sarah Grant and Zach Gage

I am excited to participate in the Eyebeam annual showcase, opening Thursday! They are moving from a twice a year open studios show to a once a year retrospective of the work of residents and fellows from the past year. It is a great group of artists and looks like it will be a fantastic show.

I will be showing the latest developments in my Stranger Visions project, unveiling the first portrait derived from found material as well as a video documenting the process.

While I do tend to like foreign films and independent films most, I have always had a soft spot for action films, even the gratuitously violent ones. No matter how fantastical or b-class it might be, I find myself jumping in my seat, cringing, cheering for the good guy and on occasion covering my mouth in disbelief. I am a sucker for this stuff, no doubt. When I designed Hit Me! I was looking for inspiration — anything — with the idea in mind that I wanted to create a game that was intense and exciting — not just to play but also to watch. I went through my mental rolodex of action film memories, and stopped at Jean Claude Van Damme’s Lionheart. I studied games such as Twister, Sumo and Fencing for inspiration too, but at the end the fight scenes from Lionheart had a big influence on the game.

I am very happy to report that I am featured in this week’s science magazine! The magazine isn’t freely available online but I am posting just the little section on me here in case anyone is interested in reading it!

Facing the Genetic Future

Sitting in a therapist’s office, New York City artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg discovered a hair

lodged in a crack in the glass covering a painting on the wall. “I stared at it for an hour,”

she says. “I couldn’t stop wondering who it belonged to, and what I could find out about

that person.”

After reading a story in Science about the new field of forensic DNA phenotyping

As both New York State and Eyebeam contemplate public outreach and consider rebranding, I do my part and kill two birds with one stone.

Prerelease of Zajal's New Documentation

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Eyebeam Open Studios! For those who didn’t, here are some pictures of my installation at the event. ALSO Stranger Visions is now up in a snazzy presentation in the Eyebeam bookstore/lobby til August, check it out if you are in Chelsea. (and consider donating to Eyebeam’s kickstarter campaign if you like their work!)

View as you enter Eyebeam Project Space.

Production shots of the first قلب calligraphy piece, shown at Eyebeam’s Open Studios last week.

Working on the Zajal installation for Open Studios. It’s going to be a hackable asteroids/shmup game with physical Arduino-driven controls. Exciting!

These screenshots demonstrate the asteroid generation algorithm I’m working on.