Soul by Stanza. 2004-06.

Soul 2006

This is is an interactive digital artwork that captures live images from cameras and visualizes the results in a constantly evolving networked installation. It is presented on a unique display technology, this is a 2 meter globe. Soul is a site specific using real time images and custom software system. 2006.

Soul uses surveillance camera networks to re-imagine, to re visualize the urban environment.
The cameras capture "the soul of the city" and represent these images in a constantly evolving visual sculpture.
This data sculpture is a live real time evolving or generative artwork. It re-contextualizes the way we experience the city.
The result is a space or installation with unique patterns and output to the displays and online.
This digital art is a real time experience.
The final installation represents real time interactions of the city onto the display.

Please email me if you are interested in realising this at your event.

Steve Tanza , artwork

Amber Stanza touching the globe. 2006 Image copyright (c) Stanza This image cannot be used without permission. 2006

Context.

As technologies evolve so might the way in which we disseminate them. This stretches the digital arts to also evolve at an equal pace, while also raising the deeper issues which ride beneath the wave of our data driven existence. Through the work I explore another dimension, investigating directly and in real time the dynamic of the social space. The artworks relate to current data flows in the environments being monitored.

The work has moved towards a point where the landscape is a hybridized audio visual representation of the space. ie, an audio visual experience based on the sounds and sights of the city pollution, noise, traffic data , that are captured then re-mediated. My artworks utilize systems that can be used to gather information via sensors and surveillance cameras in situ. This data is harnessed to visualize the urban environments and spatial representations as a dynamic real time experience rather than as a recorded 'photograph' of the city space.

Overview. The audience.

The benefits to the public from this project are many: The project breaks down boundaries between the artist, real space and the public; it enables non-attendees to discover digital art in a more familiar and non-threatening environment; it can improve the environment in which people live; and it can enrich people's lives through raising awareness and appreciation of the arts. The benefits to the artist are predominately around audience development and finding new ways of communicating and reaching out to local audiences who may not otherwise experience digital art. This work is the culmination of four years worth of research.

What does the data represent?

The images represent a remediation of the real time city space. The time-based image can be collected as an abstract or as a full representation of what the camera is pointing at.

In summary.

Depending on how I decide to morph the images from the online users I can create more re-contextualized variance at the output level. In other words there is the possibility to have a series of concurrent time based visuals showing in real time over the week. To re-phrase the work evolves to create something unique.

Use of public integral to the piece

I am exploring process, and want to engage the public in a piece of artwork that responds the identity of the city. I also want to create an object that will stay in the memory as something exciting and visually stimulating ie, the project itself . There is also another interesting challenge beyond the experience of the artwork as an object. This challenge lies within the public use of data ie, cameras in the public domain and the ownership of this data.

Steve Tanza, Stanza, globe

Image show live data on globe display. Sunderland Winter Gardens Visualisation Proposal. 2005.

Technology

The artistic process and concept is not reliant on the display; however how things are displayed plays an important part of the impression and overall context of the work.

The idea of making a globe has been part of my idea for this work for about four years (2002 -2006) as is the concept of placing the live data inside the city space and making something sculptural with it.

This is a very costly projector which is being hired for inside the globe which and its being specially made for this project. The display is durable, weatherproof and can also be suspended. It is untested how the display behaves outside use in very bright sun and the next version will use technology specifically to address this issue. Testing is due to happen from August and into September).

The lighting conditions in the park in winter will be sufficiently low (because of the angle of the sun or even cloud cover) for the images to be clear. To aid the clarity of the image in the park one might include a cover to shield the globe under the trees, (which may well be fine in the winter anyway), or to find an indoor venue the arcade or maybe the car park. (Mentioned above) where there will be no problem whatsoever.

The display meets all health and safety standards and a health and safety certificate is currently pending.

Software

Custom Software has been developed that pulls images from the sourced surveillance cameras. The data is collected sorted on a MySql database. Stored images created my online users are referred from a PHP page. The main software collects these images and then presents them to the display, ie the installation. An algorithm creates movement at the images come in. Time scripts add variance to the way the images load and a series of functions add more creative variability. These functions act to buffer the image to ram hold them in ram and merge images together within shockwave.

The use and engagement of the public to set up cameras and the engagement of public to use my software, to almost paint with light from these images and then represent it back in space, is a fantastic realization of public engagement over networks to create social art. The work pushes the boundaries of current research with public audiences, online audiences and urban displays.

The essence of live space and people painting with the light of the city; this is embedded in the work. I have software structures in place, a database to hold images and various front end technologies to manipulate images. I have also recently developed a new piece of software that allows users to choose bits of images from one or all cameras and make there own lightscape from the city and all the gets stored and saved and the results can be morphed into the final results on the screen.

It you want to exhibit this as a public artwork it can also be shown like this below.

Steve Tanza, Stanza