National New Media Art Award 2012

The shortlisted artists selected for the National New Media Art Award 2012 were exhibited at the Gallery of Modern Art. George Poonkhin Khut, the winner of this year’s National New Media Award was acquired for the Queensland Art Gallery Collection. The $75,000 New Media Art Award was a component of the biennial award program, in conjunction with the $25,000 Queensland New Media Scholarship for an emerging Queensland-based artist. This review explores how the artists competing for the National New Media Art Award have applied new materials to express new viewpoints. The artists that will be covered throughout this review include Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders, Karen Casey and George Poonkhin Khut. Links have been made between materials and viewpoints to confirm the importance of new materials in contemporary art.

Collaboratively, Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders created the robotic installation titled Zwischenräume (2010). This installation consisted of electronics, custom artificial intelligence software, aluminium, steel, wood and plasterboard. In order for the viewer to genuinely appreciate the application of such advanced technology in this piece, they would need look at it from different angles. At first glance, Zwischenräume (2010) may only seem to be a wall with holes punched into it – not particularly innovative. If the viewer sat down on the floor and stared into these holes in the wall they would notice that there was another being returning their gaze. The onset of fear from a sudden awareness of being watched by several of these robotic creatures was what really seemed to make this installation special. This intelligent machinery embedded within the gallery’s wall had the capacity to learn and respond to its environment. Each robot was able to enhance their knowledge about their onlookers through watching and following them, as well as communicating and signalling other robots to organise their behaviour and work together. Zwischenräume (2010) may leave the viewer wondering what it is exactly that the robots are working together on.

Karen Casey teamed up with technical collaborator and software interface designer Harry Sokol to create a three channel projection exhibited from a computer titled Dreamzone (2012).  This projection comprised of audio-visual data rendered in real-time. Dreamzone (2012) was a pleasant contrast to the blatant array of visceral gore, neon lights and robots. Out of all of the artworks in this exhibition, this may have been the most appealing piece for viewers more accustomed to traditional media based art. This is for the reason that the software behind Dreamzone (2012) executed an affect similar to that of sitting inside a giant kaleidoscope or looking at several snowflakes under a microscope. In contrast to the other pieces with audio components in this exhibition, Dreamzone (2012) presented the viewer with a relatively calming soundtrack to complement the hypnotic quality of the projections. This celebration of balance, colour and form materialised through Karen Casey’s investigation into the affiliation that our experience of the world may have with the human consciousness. Although the lines and intersecting points on this projection reflect the geometry found in nature, they were created through specialist software developed by Harry Sokol – which resulted in an exploration of both scientific and psychological themes.

George Poonkhin Khut’s Distillery: Waveforming (2012) consisted of several of iPads arranged on a table with chairs so that viewers could sit down and interact with the heart rate controlled composition software on each iPad. Directly in front of the viewer, there were still video portraits of other people interacting with this software. Distillery: Waveforming (2012) comprised of the iPad, earphones and a clip. It seemed to be that in order for this piece to be fully functional, the viewer was required to put the earphones on, attach the clip to their ear and place their hand on the iPad. It may be assumed that the clip and the hand on the iPad allowed for the physical body to be connected to the heart rate controlled composition software. However the earphones did not appear to serve a purpose as there did not seem to be any audio component to this piece. Superficially, one could argue that the objective of Distillery: Waveforming (2012) was to provide an opportunity for the viewer to play with a familiar, and heavily commercialised, piece of modern technology. Unless the viewer read George Poonkhin Khut’s artist statement, they may not even realise that there was more to this artwork than simply being able to demonstrate the ability to change from the colour red to blue. Originally the heart rate controlled composition software on the iPad was developed as a relaxation training system that presented children who were undergoing medical treatment with a way to manage their pain and anxiety. Within the context of a public art gallery exhibition Distillery: Waveforming (2012) provided viewers with the ability to explore the interactions between the mind and body.