The Space Between the Pixels - Mick Jongeling

1st December 2016 - MMU School of Art, Manchester,United Kingdom Mick Jongeling - 16056636 - MA Graphic Design & Art Direction, 2016 - 2017

<Header> Index <Header>

<H1> ......... Introduction & Context ..............................................::: pp. 01. <H2> ......... Research Questions ..................................................::: pp. 02. <H3> ......... Personal Aims within the MA .........................................::: pp. 02. <H4> ......... Development

........................................................::: pp. 03.

<H5> ......... Conclusion ..........................................................::: pp. 15. <H6> ......... Intention for Practice 2.............................................::: pp. 16. <H7> ......... Bibliography ........................................................::: pp. 17.

In a personal interview with David Bellona, author of “Weighing the Cloud”, in 2016, I learned about image handling on the Internet.

As an image gets uploaded, it gets copied into various sizes, from 10px to 10000px, losing or adding value with every copy.

This process is manifested inside Data centers; the factories of the Information Age. Trying to comprehend the process of an image getting uploaded and displayed on my screen, I was confronted with my own ignorance of the apparatus called the Internet.

What happens in the milliseconds when data is travelling from one device to another?

As a visual person, I like to imagine the journey my data undertakes once it has been uploaded to the Internet.

My former tutor Jeroen Bouweriks referred to the Internet as an Ocean, where data can be placed but will dissolve, float or sink in the depths and spikes of the waves. But the Ocean is a metaphor, the Internet itself requires electricity, network cables, and physical structures.

What does the Internet look like?

And more important, what happens with an image when it is traveling, be it by uploading or downloading, through the apparatus called the Internet?

[Figure 1.]

The interior of Google’s Hamina Datacenter

Dr. Michael Pound explains the techniques used for digital image resizing by computers. [Computerphile, 2016].

He explains that once an image is scaled up with a multitude of 3, the computer adds two empty pixels. When an image is scaled down with the same multitude, the computer deletes pixels that hold value.

What values are hidden in the image and can be revealed with the process?

“The Space between the Pixels” refers to this process.

Knowledge of this process is normally reserved for engineers or computer scientists and only they understand the systematic approach and language the computer uses to operate.

As an Digital Artist, I see it as a challenge to visualize the journey of a digital file, while creating a visual language about the digital world and philosophizing about its importance.

[Figure 2.]

The effect of scaling up an image by 3.

01.

Main Research Question: * What is the visual impact of digital image handling techniques used for the Digital Archive?

Research Questions: * * * * * * * *

What are the aesthetics of digital image handling?

What are the stages of image handling?

How does hardware read an image?

How does software read an image?

What is the journey of the digital file?

Which analogue techniques do not affect a digital file?

Which digital techniques do not affect a traditional file?

What traditional techniques can be translated to create a digital language? * What is a viral image?

* * * * *

Using traditional techniques to create a digital language.

Create a project based on aesthetics, but not driven by aesthetics.

Use theoretical and philosophical references in my research.

Use an experimental approach to my publishing.

Increase my skills in the graphic language.

* Keep updating and refering my research document to peers, tutors and interviewes: https://thespacebetweenthepixels.tumblr.com

02.

As an introduction to the Internet as an archive, I decided to read the book “How to waste time on the Internet” by Kenneth Goldsmith. He described the Internet as a shattered, contradictory and fragmented medium, giving it a surrealistic nature.[Goldsmith, 2016, pp.23] The apparatus, he stated, exists to replicate every artifact that passes through it, and in that way the apparatus changes the artifact.

[Goldsmith, 2016, pp.23]

[Figure 3.]

Giacomo Balla’s Dynamism of A Dog on a Leash (1912) indicates the motion on a static image.

What new perspective can the Internet promise art?* Can it deliver new artistic challenges, such as the visualization of speed by the Futurist movement or does it result in various uses of a single image, such as Piero Fornasetti works with the face of Lina Cavalieri?

Kenneth Goldsmith claims that the importance of the digital archive has made the JPEG an essential representation of a painting [Goldsmith, 2016, pp.98] and that circulation of it has surpassed its ownership. [Goldsmith, 2016, pp.92]

[Figure 4.]

Piero Fornasetti in front of his works in his Atelier Fornasetti Milan.

[Footnote] * I started reading Lev Manovich his book “The Language of New Media” in October. Manovich writes about the structure of New Media, its parts and what it means for existing media. However, his writing made me think of eventual executions with the help of New Media instead of answering my research questions.

Therefore, I decided to continue reading the book in Practice 2.

03.

How does data circulate on the Internet?

Tung-Hiu Hu explains the early beginnings of the Internet in his book “A Prehistory of the Cloud”.

Emerging from the telecom network and the ARPANET, the Internet has become a network that has enabled itself to bypass network failures and transmit messages through multiple routes. [Hu, 2015, pp.9]

I recall seeing the “Terminal” for the first time.

The Terminal is an operating program where the user directly commands the hardware. One of these commands is “Traceroute”.

It enables the user to follow the IP adressess on the journey of requesting a website: From computer, to router, to provider, to traffic center, to data center. When the program shows an asterisk, the journey is encrypted.

Tung states that digital media is always tied to the systems of encoding [Hu, 2015, pp.106], making data only readable by certain decoding systems. With the evolution of file formats, storage units and decoding systems, modern decoding technology will make the older storage methods unreadable and inaccessible,rendering new aesthetics of a digital file.

[Hu, 2015, pp.106]

[Figure 5,6,7,8] Process of Traceroute within the iOS Terminal. After launching the traceroute to “www.mmu.ac.uk”, the journey of the request is shown. By tracing the IP Adresses, one can find the host of the MMU server, called “Jisc Services Limited” in Manchester.

04.

Depending on the way a line of code is broken, corrupted or influenced, alternate versions of an image can be created. Modern media artists call this technique “Databending”.

While experimenting with an image of myself, I discover that I alter the pixels in groups.

One group determines the color value, where I shift the image its original dominant colors to another color featured in the image. I also notice that “shape” values can be shifter, to clarify: I can relocate pixels that are on lighter surfaces, like the 9 from my shirt to my face.

Last, the resolution of the image can be tweaked, resulting in a pixelated version.

05.

Do digital images consists of multiple layers, that can be influenced separately? This has been explored by video artists, who use two layers of video to create “data moshing”.

The two samples of video battle for dominance , resulting in new ways to edit a movie.* [Footnote] * During the Christmas break, I will edit a music video with the ‘data mosh’ technique for ‘Answer Code Request - Thermal Capacity’.

[Figure 20 - 31.]

The ‘Data Moshing’ technique used in “Download Finished - The Art of Filesharing” (2006) by !Mediengruppe Bitnik

06.

To experiment with the way a machine reads images, I have placed an image of the Mona Lisa under a scanner and moved it while it is getting scanned.

In cinema, this technique, called “Slit Scan”, has been perfected by Douglas Trumbull in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). Looking for more uses of the technique, I find a video of a man who looks trapped inside the screen, pulled from outside the frame.

07.

[Figure 42.]

The ‘Bilinear’ image resize technique

[Figure 43.]

It was pointed out to me that I was researching glitching by interacting with the machine and therefore, designing the glitch.

The ‘Nearest Neighbour’ image resize technique

I started experimenting with the recursion of computic image handling techniques, repeating the process of the machine until the source became unidentifiable.

[Figure 44.]

The ‘Bicubic’ image resize technique

08.

[Figure 45.]

The ‘Darken’ scan option, where the output of the machine became the input for the new scan that was about to follow.

09.

[Figure 46.]

The ‘Lighten’ scan option, where the output of the machine became the input for the new scan that was about to follow.

10.

[Figure 47.]

The ‘Resize’ scan option, where the input was reduced by 25% and enlarged by 200% in the scans following.

11.

[Figure 48.]

The automatic generated copies of the profile photo on Facebook.

Displayed in true size pixels: 678x678, 526x526, 100x100, 50x50, 32x32, 24x24.

12.

[Figure 49.]

The automatic generated copies of the profile photo on Facebook.

Displayed in same size pixels: 120x120.

13.

Dave Griffiths is one of my tutors from the Sci-Art Option at MMU. He talked about the nearby future concerning the Dark Age of the Digital Archive, where the history of mankind will be deleted, as was the case with the library of Alexandria.

Dave has developed projects with the use of microfilm, a technique he calls essential to archiving, since in the future “we will be talking about the history of images, not writing”. He positioned photographic archiving in the middle of analogue and digital, being the hyper compressed storage that will transcend time and literacy.

[Figure 50.]

Dave Griffiths “Bauplan” project used microfilm as a media to show closeup images of the artists body.

In “In the Flow”, Boris Groys writes about the “Liquidization” of data to explain how the Internet preserves our images. He also states: “The material flow is irreversible. Time cannot flow backward.” We can only see the analogue world decay, but the Internet gives us the possibility to travel back in time.

[Groys, 2016,pp. 6] He makes the comparison with the human body, revealing mankind’s obsession with death. [Groys, 2016,pp. 10]

[Figure 51.]

“The Black Square” is considered to be one of Kazimir Malevich most complete works.

He elaborates: “Traditionally, the main occupation of human culture was the search of totality.” [Groys, 2016,pp. 9] “And access to totality equals the access to immortality”.

[Groys, 2016,pp 9.] Kazimir Malevich and his suprematist movement created works surrounding this concept.

The protagonist of my project can be an individual artwork or art in the broader context, but it can also be about mankind itself*.

[Footnote] * Kazimir Malevich’s “The Black Square” is cloaked by mystery. Some describe it as a work about death and others as a visualzation of the unknown. The painting reminded me of computer monitors and the infinite depths that lay within. I will read more into the beliefs of the Suprematist movement and those of the Italian Futurist movement.

14.

In retrospect, there will always be a difference between the analogue world and the digital world. Once an image gets uploaded to the Internet, it is digitized, creating an image that consists of code and pixels, the very essence of the digital world. If we look at the essence of the analogue world, we will find molecules and atoms. Therefore, we do not speak of the same reality, but another reality that is living next to us.

According to Moore’s Law, Computing power doubles every year. The Internet has been growing every year, supplying our demand for connection, data, and information. “The Space Between the Pixels” not only refers to the visual impact of uploading and downloading information. It refers to the surreal reality of our rapidly growing digital world. With the limitless promises of the digital archive, is mankind considering the Internet as a way to escape their own material decay and search for their digital immortality?

Will the analogue world become the Space between the Pixels?

15.

I have found various analogue techniques for moving images that can be used to create a digital language and therefore, I would like to express my desire to make a short film that visualizes the journey of a digital file.

I have to write a screenplay and have to ask feedback from the MA Media department.

Also, I have to experiment with other forms of glitches, such as generation loss, encryption and file formats.

The Pecha Kucha taught me that I have to validate my visualization techniques with computer scientists, since they can help me proof or identify processes. I have to emphasize that I am using glitch-art as a visual exploration and that my real interest is in visualizing the effects of image handling techniques.

I will be reaching out to New Media artists, such as Rosa Menkman and Scott Gelber, and continue reading â&#x20AC;&#x153;The language of New Mediaâ&#x20AC;? from Lev Manovich.

Also, to keep validating the importance of my research, I have to discuss my work with the archivists, curators, and volunteers at the Portico Library and other organizations.

16.

Books Colson, R. (2007) The fundamentals of digital art. 1st ed.

Lausanne: AVA Academia.

Website Artwork

Glitch_Art. (n.d.) Reddit. [Online] [Accessed on 12 October 2016] https://www.reddit.com/r/glitch_art/top/.

Balla, G. (1912) Dynamism of A Dog on a Leash. [Oil on canvas].

Goldsmith, K. (2016) Wasting time on the Internet. 1st ed.

Harper Perennial.

Groys, B. (2016) In the Flow. 1st ed. New York City: Verso Books, pp.1-100.

Bouweriks, J. (2016) Gis Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe. [Digital].

Griffiths, D. (2010) Bauplan. [Colour Microfiche].

Malevich, K. (1915) The Black Square. [Oil on linnen].

Hu, T. (2015) A Prehistory of the Cloud. 1st ed. Cambridge, United States of America: The MIT Press.

!Mediengruppe Bitnik. (2006) Download Finished - The Art of Filesharing. [Video]

Manovich, L. (2002) The language of new media. 1st ed.

Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, pp.1-85.

E-Book or PDF Film Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World. (2016) [film] Los Angeles, USA: Werner Herzog.

Jack, O. (2016) .::::PIXELSYNTH::::.. Ojack.github.io. [Online] [Accessed on 14 November 2016] https://ojack.github.io/PIXELSYNTH/.

Russell, J. (2006) Marcel Duchamp's Readymades: Walking on Infrathin Ice. 1st ed. [ebook] Jay D. Russell. [Accessed on 9 October 2016] http://www.dada-companion.com/duchamp/archive/duchamp_walking_on_infrathin_ice.pdf.

Palmieri, J. (2014) The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism.

Italian Futurism. [Online] [Accessed on 9 October 2016] http:// www.italianfuturism.org/manifestos/foundingmanifesto/. van de Poel, B. (2016) Computer Virus Catalog. Computerviruscatalog.com. [Online] [Accessed on 14 November 2016] http://computerviruscatalog.com/. van Rijn, S. (2016) Het internet als presentatieplatform voor de autonome beeldende kunst. Stefanvanrijn.com. [Online] [Accessed on 2 November 2016] http://stefanvanrijn.com/scriptie.html.

Steryerl, H. (2009) In Defense of the Poor Image - Journal #10 November 2009 - e-flux. E-flux.com. [Online] [Accessed on 4 May 2016] http://www.e-flux.com/journal/10/61362/in-defense-of-thepoor-image/.

Online Video Computerphile, (2016) Capturing Digital Images (The Bayer Filter) - Computerphile / Image Analyst Mike Pound explains the Bayer Filter, which let digital cameras turn light into the data that computers can handle. [video] [Accessed on 21 November 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWxu4rkZBLw&feature=youtu.be.

Computerphile, (2016) Digital Images - Computerphile / Image analyst & Research Fellow Mike Pound explains how images are represented in a computer. [video] [Accessed on 21 November 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06OHflWNCOE. Computerphile, (2016) “Resizing Images - Computerphile” / Nearest Neighbour and BiLinear resize explained by Dr Mike Pound.

[Video] [Accessed on 10 September 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqscP7rc8_M. Death Grips, (2016) Music video for “Death Grips - Eh”. [video] [Accessed on 9 November 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOJFhKriSH8. deathtrips, (2016) Gabe The Dog barks 388,340,612,661 times.

[Video] [Accessed on 18 October 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAQrmB-bWZc.

Diablo2 Official Fanpage, (2016) amon tobin - in your own time (slit scan test). [video] [Accessed on 2 November 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycLzUDgm8bs.

FilmmakerIQ.com, (2013) How To Create Bizarre Slit Scan Video using After Effects. [video] [Accessed on 2 November 2016] https://vimeo.com/71702373.

FilmmakerIQ.com, (2013) The History and Science of the Slit Scan Effect used in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. [video] [Accessed on 2 November 2016] https://vimeo.com/71702374.

Fingerhut, M. (2016) Liam’s Local Variables. [video] [Accessed on 9 November 2016] https://vimeo.com/161495510.

Fingerhut, M. (2016) desktop deltawave. [video] [Accessed on 18 November 2016] https://vimeo.com/177929893.

Grebel, C. (2016) The Game Awards 2015 - Animated Textures. [video] [Accessed on 14 November 2016] https://vimeo.com/155334143.

Maguire, R. (2014) “moDernisT” was created by salvaging the sounds and images lost to compression via the mp3 and mp4 codecs. the audio is comprised of lost mp3 compression material from the song “Tom’s Diner”, famously used as one of the main controls in the listening tests to develop the MP3 encoding algorithm. [video] [Accessed on 9 October 2015] https://vimeo.com/107845118.

Terri Timely, (2015) Input/Output. [video] [Accessed on 7 October 2016] https://vimeo.com/141567420.

Veritate, F. (2015) Slit-Scan of people dancing. [video] [Accessed on 2 November 2016] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZfcQioKdGk.

Grebel, C. (2016) DateNite - Sex Bruise ( Music Video ). [video] [Accessed on 9 October 2016] https://vimeo.com/188594273.

17.