Systems Culture Journal

SYSTEMS CULTURE

SANDRA MARTIN JUNE 2013

Systems.Culture is a Masters of Architecture design studio run by Finn Warnock at the University of Melbourne.

Systems.Culture posits that for architecture to remain relevant it must engage with the forces that shape society. Architecture must interpret these forces into new modes of spatial experience or ‘affect’ (Moussavi, F, The Function of Ornament, 2006). Through this mechanism architecture is able to retain an authentic connection to contemporary culture.

Affect is therefore the result of cultural forces acting on materials, under the curation of a designer.

Systems.Culture explores this relationship and focuses on the implementation of contemporary digital design tools as curatorial devices.

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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: CULTURAL FORCES

Assessing and Collecting

Transferring Motive

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CHAPTER 2: TOOLING Fitness Criteria

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Culling

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Making Chandelier

CHAPTER 3: MATERIAL AFFECT

Gallery for Digital Art

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CHAPTER

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assessing and collecting transferring motive

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Crowd sourced drama/documentary film The clips show respective occurrences from around the world on a single day, July 24, 2010 “take the humble YouTube video, ... and elevate it into art” With the intention of giving voice to people who weren’t part of the “elite” and to show the intricacy and strangeness of the seemingly mundane Technological innovations made it possible and feasible Showcases intricacies of everyday life, and how we are all interconnected 6

ASSESSING AND COLLECTING Select three media artefacts (songs, art works, writings, films, etc) and summarise their social commentary. Explain the messages that they are conveying and how they fit into their broader cultural context.

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Sensory experience, in a culture constantly questioning perception Sensation of isolation, yet unity within the experience 8

Blindfolds heightened their sense of taste and smell and made their dining experience more enjoyable

Offers a portable communication mode that feels organic and spontaneous to many and has captured the public imagination Become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art Seeks to capture a moment in time Functionality is helping to define new possibilities for this type of communication Visual culture, living in the now Archive daily life through pictures

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TRANSFERRING MOTIVE Reproduce your chosen media artefacts by whichever means you see fit (montage, sketch, models, video). The aim is to preserve and present the underlying comment that the artefact is making about contemporary life. Your ‘artwork’ can be as radical and abstract as you can imagine.

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CHAPTER

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fitness criteria culling making/chandelier

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FITNESS CRITERIA: Reflection on art piece

My presentation of the three artifacts consisted of systems of archiving experiences such as the documentary “Life in a Day�, Instagram, and Dining in the Dark. All these artifacts have a similar theme of archiving experiences, whether it is documenting the lives of people throughout the globe in film, or pictures, or creating and archiving new instances through different sensory experiences.

Our society has focused on visual sensory experiences and documenting them as a way to collect and analyze the present, and the past. The inspiration for the artwork was the layering of information that comes with archiving experiences as well as the ability to erode through to reveal the depth of experiences. The medium chosen was paper and color in order to showcase the layering of sections, much like strata.

The eroding away of the layers was done through tearing in a fashion mimicking natural patterns. The boundary of the erosion was highlighted through color and a linear system of orthogonal lines was introduced as a receptacle of the erosion trying to define as well as confine the limits of the process. Connections were made through the intersections of the linear system and the erosion process in order to showcase the random

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stratification effect. The art piece was given a journal outer boundary which represents the influence that media has in the archiving of the spirit of the age.

The art piece was not as successful in representing the instances that create the layering effect such as the individual pictures or media film frames as well as the connections that it has not only within its stratum but also to other layers. Also, the art piece could have focused more on the individual experience as well as collecting and documenting them.

The characteristics that explicitly convey the intended subtleties are layering of random data, erosion of layers through time, containing one fluid system within a more rigid system, showcasing the subtleties within the layers and their connections as well as the erosion or amassing to the systems within the set boundaries.

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Cellular Automata

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Recursive Aggregation

FLOW CULLING Fitness Criteria: connectivity, archiving, erosion

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We investigated agent based systems to develop our chandelier prototype. Agent behaviours such as flocking, swarming and bundling were trialled with varying parameters.

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MAKIN

G / CH

ANDE

LIER

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BEHAVIOUR

BUNDLING

low macro attraction

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low stiffness

small spawn area

large spawn area

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Example development of low stiffness script

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Example development of balanced script

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balanced delayed effects tight intertwining stable structure

stiff high energy agents rapid growth brief relationships eratic behaviour

BUNDLING

stiff high energy agents distinct emerging forms strong nodal interaction spastic behaviour 24

POPULATION TESTS

few distinct flocks mostly homogenous few directional changes low energy/reaction system

500 agents

some clear aggregations still a low variation of density

some very dense flocks flocks interact with other flocks individual influence are low

1000 agents

2000 agents 25

max field of view

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long term relationships fast aggregation erratic flock movement

large dimensions

very dispersed delayed aggregation lower interaction

large attractions

distinct pattern dense erratic flocks long term relationships

low grid resolution

neuron forms even distribution 27

BEHAVIOUR INTERROGATION

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The site chosen for the location of the chandelier was Tattersall’s Lane, near Lonsdale St, in Melbourne’s CBD. This is a very public, albeit narrow, laneway with a heady mix of establishments nearby such as noodle restaurants and bars.

By specifying the respawn sites for the agents (as well as the percentage chance of respawing at a particular location) to respond to site conditions, we could control the direction and quantity of light from the chandlier to different parts of Tattersall’s Lane. For example making the laneway entrance itself brighter, and reducing the light cast onto the external balcony of Ferdydurke.

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Agents not only flock in swarms, but also when three or more agents are in a flock - as specified by the variable parent.nodeThreshold - then a node is created at their centroid. The size of the node is proportional to how many agents are associated with that node. Agents are attracted to not only other agents, but also to nodes (opposite, in blue).

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MODIFIED CODE WITH SPECIFIC RESPAWN SITES strong concentration continued movement decentralised nodes

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Final script for the chandelier. Being able to specify the agent respawn sites gave us control over their paths and lifetimes, and allowed us to create shapes with more agent paths in particular areas. These paths would in turn be translated into areas of more light within the chandelier. We were thus able to shape the chandelier to fit its surroundings.

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Casting was chosen as a method of fabrication of the agent system. Tests were done in order to improve the casting process in resin. By using vaseline around the edges and soaking the boxboard layered mold in water, the resin would be more successfully removed. At a smaller scale it worked, at a larger scale, the boxboard was not dissolving as expected.

CASTING AGENTS

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CHANDELIER PROTOTYPE 38

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CHAPTER

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reflection gallery for digital art

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PROTOTYPE

pros cons

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REFLECTION The dynamism of the process needed to translate to the product and by taking a frozen frame from the process and piping it, we lost so much information that the original agent trails provided. By considering the basic characteristics of a chandelier which are providing light, projecting shadows/ light distortions, and creating a specific spatial effect, we can improve the design process. Discarding the making process and using a method of projecting the real time output of the agents allows us to portray the dynamic characteristics of the system.

Another observation made was that the system didn’t allow any sort of error into it and that by introducing some variable that would interfere with the process it would create a better interaction of the agents. By having people control some agents we could introduce a certain aspect of randomness to the system.

Populating this surface with characterful Nemos which respond to the gallery patrons creates a user-authored environment and engenders a sense of play, encouraging engagement with the exhibits.

By using fabric and projecting onto the reverse side we can close the gap between viewer and the virtual. With this three-dimensional, tactile, fabric surface we can define an immersive space.

Because we are using fabric and string and digital means of production we can easily create many permutations in order to curate the gallery spaces as required, catering for sculpture, wall hangings and projections.

Different spacial types are enhanced by the Nemo’s behavior and interaction with the fabric as well as the exhibits. The digital and physical interact to create a user authored experience that is ever changing.

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EFFECT

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NEMOS

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Tested population sizes characteristics of nemos repulsion/attraction flocking

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MEMORY Nemos are aware of patrons memory trails and avoid or attract to it

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GALLERY FOR DIGITAL ART

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PLAN 51

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MESHES

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PLAY

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