Nexus Interactive Arts: Quayola + Memo Atken: Cultural Olympiad

Posted on March 8, 2012 by contact

New generative animation interpreting human movement of Olympic athletes exploring relationships between body and its trajectories defined through time and space.

From London based Quayola who teamed up with visual artist, musician and engineer Memo Atken, through Nexus Interactive Arts, creating ‘Forms’, a multiscreen digital artwork commissioned by the National Media Museum for the exhibition In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement, which is part of the Cultural Olympiad programme. This generative animation and interactive installation will display at the Museum from 9 March – 2 September. [Note: Entry to the National Media Museum in London is free]

Watch Interview –> http://vimeo.com/37956087

‘Forms’ is a highlight of the exhibition, which explores themes surrounding the capture and synthesis of movement. Quayola and Memo responded to this and the images and artefacts from the museum’s National Collections that feature within the exhibition. This includes the work of Dr Harold E. Edgerton, Roger Fenton, Tim Macmillan, Etienne-Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge.

A large projection of the animation will be displayed within the space, with a smaller split screen mounted on a plinth just in front to show not only the original footage of athletes on which each animation is based, but also the individual layers of that animation, which can be digitally peeled back by the viewer.

The animation analyses and abstracts human movement at the extremes of possibility. Rather than directly visualise the path of the body and the movement, it explores the relationships between the human body, its movements and the trajectories it defines through time and space.

CG models based on clips of Commonwealth athletes were matchmoved in 3D Studio Max and processed through a custom generative software to retrieve motion data and create the related abstract geometric visualisations.

Quayola and Memo said; ‘Sport is one of the main forms of entertainment in today’s society. We are interested in de-contextualising the roles of the athletes and exclusively focus on the mechanics of their movement.’

Curator of In the Blink of an Eye, Colin Harding, said: “Quayola and Memo have created a strikingly original interactive artwork which offers a contemporary and rather beautiful response to both the theme of movement and the items from the National Collections we are displaying.”

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The National Media Museum
In the Blink of an Eye: Media and Movement runs from 9 March to 2 September 2012.

The National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, opened as the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television in Bradford in 1983 with the remit to explore the art and science behind images and image-making, and has since become one of the most visited UK museums outside London.

With the aim to be the best museum in the world for inspiring people to learn about, engage with and create media, it draws from more than 3.5 million objects in its National Photography, Television, Cinematography and New Media Collections to create special exhibitions, interactive galleries and activities for families and adults.

It also organises three major film festivals each year – Bradford International Film Festival, Bradford Animation Festival and Fantastic Films Weekend, and is home to Europe’s first IMAX cinema screen.

Entry to the Museum is free. www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk.

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Forms
Quayola and Memo Akten – Artists
Production Company – Nexus Interactive Arts
Beccy McCray – Creative Producer
Jo Bierton – Production Manager
Matthias Kispert – Sound design
Maxime Causeret – Houdini Developer
Raffael F J Ziegler (AKA Moco) – 3D Animator
Katie Parnell – 3D Tracker
Eoin Coughlan – 3D Tracker
Mark Davies – 3D Tracking Supervisor
With thanks to BBC Motion Gallery and Commonwealth Games Federation