Artist in Residence September - December, 2006

Beginning November 22, the installation Duin 4.0 by Daan Roosegaarde will be shown in the Netherlands Media Art Institute. Duin 4.0 is an interactive landscape that was developed specially for the Artist in Residence program in order to investigate the functioning and presentation of interactivity.

December 15 Live Performance by the Ellen Pieterse in collaboration with Melange. Free entrance



Daan Roosegaarde began his studies at the Art Academy in Enschede as a sculptor, and went on to follow the Master’s course in architecture at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam. These two different disciplines form the basis for his interest in human behavior in a spaces that have been given their form with the aid of various media and technologies. In his installations Roosegaarde tries to build up a physical relation between the visitors and the appearance of the space. With the assistance of a software programmer, and thanks to support from the Axis Stuifmeel company, in Studio Roosegaarde he set to work on designing and building his ‘fluid’ constructions, which investigate the dynamic relations among architecture, new media and people’s behavior. Elements such as time, sound and movement are used for recording human presence. In this way a fluid situation arises in which the conduct of the public continuously creates a new balance between act, space and object.

The artwork Duin 4.0 is an investigation into a new form of nature in 21st century urban space. The purpose of the project is to perform research into ‘human interfaces’, dynamic surfaces that react physically to sound or movement created by the user. The project is a fusion of art and technology and an amalgamation of software, electronics and mechanics. The focus is not on the technology itself, but on the human intervention with an object that is then translated with the aid of technology. The project is based on the idea that the user does not have to speak the language of technology, but that there is a sort of intuitive intelligence in play. The space is not the sum total of its doors, walls and windows, but shapes itself on the basis of its cultural context and users. The physical relation between the visitor’s conduct and the appearance of the surface, as an extension of the skin, is central.

Through changes taking place in real time, it becomes possible to make a space adaptive on the basis of interaction with the user. The technical research focuses on expanding the influence of the user on the behavior of the surface; more adaptability, more intelligence. The ingredients for this are innovative materials and dynamic software, but also the use of existing elements such as the mobile telephone. Certain elements (such as the software) need to be developed specifically, while other existing elements (such as the bluetooth of the mobile telephone) need to be placed in a new context. These tools are employed to translate the movement and sound of the visitor into the form of the final installation. As a part of all this, Duin 4.0 is a dynamic system that is able to process various inputs in real time.

“The interactive installations that I realize have an ever growing inclination to merge with the human body. This characteristic of the work is a reflection of the technological era in which we live, surrounded by instruments that are essential parts of our identity and the way in which we communicate. The mobile telephone is an object that can be personalized with stickers, tunes and different covers. Why should we not have this same option in dealing with a basic element like space?”

www.studioroosegaarde.nl

Friday afternoon, December 15, Daan Roosegaarde’s work will be further discussed during the seminar 'The body as interface, the function and presentation of interactivity'.

December 15 17.00 h. Live Performance by the Ellen Pieterse in collaboration with Melange.

Dune 4.0 can be visited untill December 22

 

Special thanks to:
Duin 4.0 _Daan Roosegaarde in cooperation with Studio Roosegaarde
Peter de Man (partner in software)
Axis & Stuifmeel (partner in technology)
www.studioroosegaarde.nl