About the workshop
We live in a disposable society. This is most prevalent in large parts of the telecommunications industry. Mobile phones, communication devices, game consoles and PCs have short lifespans. Consumers expect ever-greater functionality from the next generation of each device.
Moore’s Law dictates that the complexity of computer chips doubles every 18 months. This causes a rapid decrease in the value of existing electronics. Thus, the dark side of technological progress is the production of endless amounts of electronic waste: e-waste. Although the economic value of obsolete electronics approaches zero, the electronic components themselves can still be useful in other contexts.
Hence we need to seek ideas and inspiration for how we can rethink technology and, in particular, communications and ICT technology, from sources that are outside traditional engineering domains.
Our workshops offer participants to become familiar with basic hardware and software design while at the same time gaining hands-on experience making an interactive art project. The workshops are open to participants of different backgrounds, and no programming or electronic skills are required. The idea is to start from scratch and create a complete project by the end of the workshop, including concept, design, electronics / interfacing, and functional programming with Arduino, Max/Msp, Pure Data or Processing.
Deconstructing readily-available, cheap electronic devices into interactive tools is more than a lot of fun; the process offers the same visible, hands-on learning and understanding acquired through dissection. By re-purposing second-hand hardware or cheap toys, a commercial, mass-produced product is transformed into a unique device, with potential for new and original means of expression or communication. The boundaries of a device are set by the manufacturer (planned obsolescence); those limits can be redefined by such creative recycling.
The Team
Lourens Rozema
Lourens Rozema is a Dutch Electronics Engineer. After getting his Bsc. degree in electronics he started as a teacher at the Minerva Academy of Arts (Groningen, the Netherlands). Later he became a teacher at the Frank Mohr Institute, faculty of Interactive Media & Environment (Groningen, the Netherlands). In May 2005 he became one of the founders of the company Blue Melon, which merge in 2009 with the company Embed Engineering and became Embed.
More information on: www.embed.nl
Benjamin Gaulon
Benjamin Gaulon is a researcher, artist and has a broad experience of acting as art consultant, public and conference speaker, graphic designer and art college lecturer. He received a BA in Graphic Design from the Ecole Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg in France and his MA in Interactive Media and Environment from the Hanzehogeschool Groningen in the Netherlands.
Benjamin Gaulon is currently leading Data 2.0 (Dublin Art and Technology Association), he co-founded the Irish Museum of Contemporary Art in 2007 and is lecturer at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in the Fine Art Media Department for the MA Art in the Digital World in Dublin.
His work has been shown at events such as Interzone (03), Turbulence (04), No/Copy/Right (04), SonicActs (04), Cite Rap (04), PopUp2.0 (04), Axis Festival (05), Ososphere (05), Numéripop (05), EVA (06), Art Rock (06), €10 000 Show (06), SuperFlux (06), Hansaflux (07), Showcase (07), Sous la Plage (07), Come out and Play (07), Cluster (07), DEAF (07), LightWave 08 (08), Garden of digital lies (08), International design biennale (08), Plane/Site (09), ReFunct 09 (09), The LAB (09), ISEA (09), Temple Bar Gallery&Studio(10), Exchange Dublin (10), Les Grandes Traversées (10).
More information on: www.recyclism.com
Brian Solon
Brian Solon is a media artist/developer, educator, interaction designer, music-maker, producer, consultant, researcher. Interested in music, tangible media, systems, experiences.
