[spectre] Turbulence Artists' Studios: {transcription} by Michael Takeo Magruder

[Turbulence]

January 20, 2006
Turbulence Artists' Studios: {transcription} by Michael Takeo Magruder
http://www.turbulence.org/studios/takeo/index.htm
[Note: this piece has very specific viewing requirements. See
{transcription} homepage]

{transcription} is a network-driven, heavily layered mesh of texts, sounds
and moving images captured live from the British Broadcasting Corporation's
internet news service. The random intersection of multiple data streams is
algorithmically recombined into a structured array that is simultaneously
garbled and readable. For instance, the apparent Asian characters--a rare
autobiographical allusion for the artist--are illegible, thus assuming a
symbolic quality for all viewers alike. The ephemeral images, submerged
beneath a static two-dimensional grid, both embody a machine-code aesthetic
and an intermittent depth that lends to their reality.

{transcription} is also a real-time media installation specifically created
for and currently installed in the Courtauld Institute of Art's back
six-level staircase. It consists of dynamic audio/visual structures
intermixed with static wall-drawn elements. The net-driven data is
back-projected onto a horizontally suspended screen situated in the lowest
well of the staircase. Monochrome, geometric patterns are painted directly
onto the ceilings above the staircase landings, visual abstractions of the
equations generating the network data stream--scribed in a data-language
that, like the fundamental components of the media itself, is opaque to
human perception.

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Takeo Magruder is an American artist based in the UK who received
his formal education at the University of Virginia, USA, graduating with a
degree in biological science. His artistic production has been exhibited
worldwide and encompasses an eclectic mix of forms ranging from futuristic
stained-glass windows, digital light-screens and modular sculptures, to
architectural manipulations, ephemeral video projections and interactive
net-installations. His work seeks to reflect upon the dualistic nature of
media as both information source and cultural stimulant.

{transcription} is supported by:

Courtauld Institute of Art
Turbulence.org
Arts Council England
King's Visualisation Lab, Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's
College London

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
New American Radio: http://somewhere.org
Networked_Performance Blog: http://turbulence.org/blog
Upgrade! Boston: http://turbulence.org/upgrade