A surround-sound installation from the research project trees of the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL.
Artistic realization: Marcus Maeder (ICST)
Collection and processing of measurements: Roman Zweifel (WSL)
Presented at swissnex San Francisco,
730 Montgomery St. San Francisco, CA 94111
Opening reception: Tuesday, 24 July 20012, 6.30 pm
Exhibition 25 Jul 2012 – 17 Aug 2012
Exhibition hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Please note swissnex will be closed on Aug 1, 2012.
More information:
http://swissnexsanfrancisco.org/Ourwork/events/tuningtrees
https://blog.zhdk.ch/downyoak/
A Video from the opening – how the installation works
A Report by Sophie Lamparter for the Vögele Kultur Bulletin (German, see p. 34ff)
Workshop and symposium on sound and the environment
26.07.2012, 12.45 – 6 p.m.: Workshop on environmental and acoustic emission sensor technology, Muir Woods National Monument
27.07.2012, 7.30 p.m.: Symposium on art, technology and the environment, swissnex San Francisco
Photos: Luc Meier/swissnex San Francisco
Workshop on Environmental and Acoustic Emission Sensor Technology
With the latest in computer, media and mobile technologies, in recent years artistic and scientific strategies have been developed to radically extend our perception of the world around us. Highly sensitive sensors and high-definition imaging and sonification techniques are used to transform natural phenomena into a sensory experience. During the workshop, we shall take a practical and theoretical look at the technical and artistic tools and their role in the representation of physical and biological processes. The trees research project combines environmental, physiological and acoustic sensor technology. Our aim is to study the sound events in trees as acoustic indicators of physiological and climatic processes by searching for correlations between the individual patterns, processes and sounds. We have developed and modified some of the sensors used ourselves: In our workshop, we plan to put into practice and discuss our findings with the course participants. We will spend a day in the Muir Woods National Monument and experiment with the sensors that we shall take with us.
Art, Technology and the Environment
Symposium
Participants: Scott Arford (Artist, San Francisco), Michael Gendreau (Artist, San Francisco), Marcus Maeder (ZHdK, Zurich), Jeremiah Lyman Moore (Co-chair of Bay Area Sound Ecology, San Francisco), Shane Myrbeck (Arup, San Francisco), Katharina Vogt (IEM, Graz), Roman Zweifel (WSL, Birmensdorf).
Ecological themes have gained importance in contemporary art and artistic research in recent years. Media-, electronics- and installation-based art are increasingly embracing concepts such as environmental art, ambient culture and sustainable art. Most works and artistic research projects are concerned with the artistic outlook on environmental and ecological issues with a view to changing the perception of nature. But what images of nature are conveyed here? The choice is very broad: from romantic images of primitive nature as conveyed by traditional environmental movements through to technology as a prerequisite for a deeper understanding of the areas of the arts and sciences through which nature is affirmed. This one-day symposium seeks to bring together artists and scientists to discuss current outlooks on the world and on nature as conveyed to us by science, the arts and the mass media. On the basis of the individual projects presented, we shall discuss the potential for a new understanding of nature and our environment situated at the intersection of art and science.
trees: Downy Oak is presented by swissnex San Francisco, with the support of the National Park Service, Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, ThinkSwiss and the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK.
Many thanks go to Luc Meier, Sophie Lamparter, Andrea Muller, Christian Simm and the whole swissnex San Francisco team.