It’s been a while I haven’t post anything in here, the fact is : I started to use twitter, I am applying for a master course in Interaction Design in the prestigious Royal College of Art (I expect to hear more about this in some weeks) and this is my graduation year (so I am preparing my diploma, and I have to work hell a lot)… Besides all this I also set up my portfolio site (currently working for the RCA application process), you can visit it here.

Finally, the good news :

Last year, Candie Alet, Elodie Garrone and me worked on a project with the code-name “Metronome”. The project was presented twice : once in the Aix en Provence School of Art, and another time in the Aix-en-Provence City Hall for the “C’est Sur Festival” (old blog reference here). In my (brand new) site, you can find some updated informations about the evolution of this project, that is now a piece called “Dans les temps” (Right in time).
This year the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean will take place in Skopje (Macedonia). There was a call for participants in september, and of course we answered it.
Today, around 7pm we received a phone call from the organization telling us a good news and a bad one : we got selected for the biennial, but only one member of the group will have his transportation paid (that’s not such a bad news… I mean, we got selected).

Here you are…. Exhibitions coming soon :

First round from 19 April until 31 May in Montpellier;
Second round will be in Skopje;
Final round will be in Marseilles in 2010.

Pretty cool no?

LiveCoding is an extension of Vision Factory framework (used by Julien V3GA in his studio for professional purposes and for Vjing in a personal purpose) and exists in two different “beta”-versions : 
● On a single computer;
● Up to 5 computers (Up to 4 computers using Processing plus an extra one where the API actually runs).

In order to use Vision Factory, you have to edit a javascript file where you enter your code lines. When you save the javascript file, SpiderMonkey re-interprets the script and sends a “bug report” to Vision Factory. If no bugs were found, the script is validated and displayed, else the previous script is kept running and Vision Factory stands by for a new/corrected bugs-free version of the JavaScript file.

We use pre-programmed Vision Factory functions as base structures for the javascript files. The most basic ones are equivalent to the Processing‘s or OpenFramework‘s “void setup()”, “void update()” and “void draw()” functions. The init() -equivalent of setup()- is run only once, but it can be recalled in any moment by the programmer. Both update() and render() -equivalent of draw()- are loops and work like in OpenFrameworks. Here you can find some new features recently added by Julien V3GA.

Another characteristic of Vision Factory is the fact that it was built on a layer structure concept. Vision Factory has a built-in OSC protocol management. It is simple to get access to layer proprieties and to change them using OSC messages. In the network version, each computer gets assigned to a layer (their javascript is assigned to the specific layer). Using several computers, each computer receives a layer, and like in photoshop, the higher layers mask the lower ones. Each computer runs a Processing client that sends the script whenever it is saved, Vision Factory receives them and treats them like the non-network version. Finally, we can control Vision Factory’s final render : splitting the screen, giving a render for each JavaScript or assembling the different layers into one unique screen, having superpositions from the different scripts.

Vision Factory is currently not released.

Julien V3GA also showed us an iPhone/iPod Touch application called Mrmr that he uses when he makes some Vjing stuff. The aplication allows one to configure an interface and send data using Open Sound Control. The devices (iPhone/iPod touch) interface (multitouch screen) is highly adapted to control sound and visualization’s parameters (like a MIDI controller) with the advantage is that you can do it wireless.

Considering all this, I am more then willing to start a project to implement Open Sound Control into a Blackberry mobile phone (if someone heard about an opensource project on this direction, please leave me a comment presenting this project). The advantage of a Blackberry over other phones is the full (and comfortable) QUERTY/AZERTY keyboard. Allowing you to type fast enough to make LiveCoding. The first stage is to implement OSC, then to make a programming interface (the built-in notepad?) to finally add the command features (connect to server, reload the “setup()” function of the script, disconnect, open a script, etc).

Well, I believe that I have some work to do now…

This installation is a reflexion about violence and anger. My objective here is to provide a liberation experience. With this experience I hope to also provide a reflexion on the reason why I made this game.

The game is still in its early development state. There are therefore new versions coming up soon.

An article was written in a local newspaper (La Marseillaise – October 27 2008) :

 On this link you can watch the video (sorry for that, I stopped using Youtube since they started to put adds in the video itself and wordpress.com still don’t allow to embed videos… grr…) Blank Pages session at the Aix-en-Provence School of Art on Vimeo.

Ok… I’ll explain you in a more explicit way. Blank Pages is a jam session (improvisation) concept, initiated by Thomas Thiery and Erwan Inyzant, using Pure Data (free) or MAX/MSP (not-free). People with all levels in programming, without having prepared themselves for the occasion, get together and produce sound starting with a blank patch (in Pure Data or MAX/MSP). There are some rules :

– The session lasts 60 minutes ;

– Only use MAX/MSP or Pure Data ;

– Start with a blank page ;

– You cannot load previous projects or save ;

Some notes : You cannot use abstractions or objects that are not built-in Pure Data or MAX/MSP ; you can use help files ; the number of participants is unlimited.

An advice : Think to listen your mates while programming your patch.

The problem is, some month ago, I’ve read another article, this time in Wired website, presenting another tool that do exactly the same (you can find it here in my blog). The only difference is Microsoft keeps the image data to have a colorfull representation while Washington University’s tool seems to represent the vertex of the spoted object.

Yesterday evening was the opening for Yayoi Kusama’s first exhibition in France.

Here are some Dots Obsession opening night’s images :

Dots Obsession is a work developped in 40 years arround the recurant theme of the dot. As a kid, Kusama had hallucinations, that are a major source of insipiration for the artist.

Quote : “I am just another dot in the world” by Yayoi Kusama. Knowing this quote, the exhibition gets a strong meaning. It is nearly a philosophical piece where we question ourselves. Each baloon has a spherical shape, shape that reflexs the dot in space. The piece is a mature reflexion and exploration of the dot concept by Yayoi Kusama herself.

If you are in Paris or nearby, I would advise you to come and live this expirience.

The exhibition stays from 11 Jully until 17 August

More info

I’m now working at Synesthésie for an internship, preparing the 2008 edition of the biennial of Saint Denis : Art Grandeur Nature.

Extrait from the festival’s site. More info coming soon.