[spectre] Turbulence Commission: "ABSML" by Jeff Crouse, Andrew Mahon, and Steve Lambert

[Turbulence]

January 30, 2009
Turbulence Commission: "ABSML" by Jeff Crouse, Andrew Mahon, and Steve
Lambert
http://turbulence.org/works/absml/

ABSML is a new markup language that enables the creation of complex sentence
formulas for 21st century automatic writing. ABSML tags replace parts of
speech and sentence components using sophisticated semantic analysis,
regular expressions, and web-based resources. In the right combination, the
tags create prose that -- while based on formulas and code -- do not appear
formulaic. ABSML is free and open for others to use, both through an online
editor and an API (application programming interface).

"ABSML" is a 2008 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., (aka
Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site. It was made possible with funding
from the Jerome Foundation.

BIOGRAPHIES

JEFF CROUSE creates software and installations that highlight the absurdity
of technology in culture. Jeff's previous works include YouThreebe, a
YouTube triptych creator; Invisible Threads, a virtual jeans factory in
Second Life; and James Chimpton, a robotic monkey that interviewed the
artists of the 2008 Whitney Biennial. He is currently developing BoozBot, a
bar tending robot/puppet; and DeleteCity, a Wordpress plug-in that finds and
republishes content that has been removed from sites such as Flickr and
YouTube. His work has been shown at the Sundance Film Festival, the
Futuresonic festival in Manchester, UK, the DC FilmFest, and the Come Out
and Play Festival in Amsterdam. Jeff received his MS from the Digital Media
program at Georgia Tech in 2006 and then joined Eyebeam as a production
fellow in 2007. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Eyebeam, an adjunct
professor at the IMA program at Hunter College, and a freelance programmer.

STEVE LAMBERT recently made international news with the The New York Times
"Special Edition," a replica of the grey lady announcing the end of the war
and other good news. A Senior Fellow at the Eyebeam Center for Art and
Technology in New York, Lambert also teaches at Parsons/The New School and
Hunter College. While he never graduated from high school, Steve went on to
study sociology and film before receiving a BFA from the San Francisco Art
Institute in 2000 and a MFA at UC Davis in 2006. He founded the Budget
Gallery, an outdoor guerilla art gallery, in 1999 and the Anti-Advertising
Agency in 2004 and has collaborated with numerous artists including the
Graffiti Research Lab, and the Yes Men. Steve's projects and art works have
won awards from Rhizome/The New Museum, the Creative Work Fund, Adbusters
Media Foundation, the California Arts Council, and others. His work has been
shown at galleries, art spaces, and museums both nationally and
internationally, and was recently collected by the Library of Congress.
Lambert has appeared live on NPR, the BBC, and CNN, and been reported on in
multiple outlets including Associated Press, the New York Times, the
Guardian, Punk Planet, and Newsweek.

ANDREW MAHON is currently an undergraduate student at Parsons School of
Design studying Design + Technology. His interests lie in the architecture
of virtual space. Andrew has worked on numerous projects at Eyebeam since
2007, many with Jeff Crouse, including Invisible Threads, a virtual
sweatshop, and You3b, a YouTube Triptych maker. Andrew has also worked with
Natalie Jeremijenko at the Environmental Health Clinic, creating
visualizations of threatened ecosystems. Over the summer of 2008, Andrew
participated in Interactivos at Eyebeam, where his interactive installation was
later show. Andrew is currently working on algorithmic music visualizations,
freelance web programming, and has recently started interning at Area/Code,
helping to develop compelling game situations using GPS tracking.

For more Turbulence Commissions, please visit http://turbulence.org.

Jo-Anne Green, Co-Director
New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc.: http://new-radio.org
New York: 917.548.7780 . Boston: 617.522.3856
Turbulence: http://turbulence.org
Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog
Networked_Music_Review: http://turbulence.org/networked_music_review
Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade 
New American Radio: http://somewhere.org