Great Chain of Being
FILE FESTIVAL
The great chain of being, an ancient philosophical concept, attempted to explain the structures and relationships of the world as a form of hierarchy or set of strata. This philosophical idea is here expressed in the form of the entities that constitute the contemporary world. The philosophers of the past believed that the structure of the world had at its top a god, and that beneath there were angels, animals, plants, and elements. But this conception of the world, as a result of the changes in civilization and culture, resulted in the elements that constitute the world undergoing a transition and sustaining an unforeseen hierarchy. The works of art depict the contemporary structure in the form of robots, machines, people, animals, and virtual or digital entities. Within virtual systems, these entities undergo a process of creation, arrangement, use, disposal and recycling, through which they emerge and disappear. The work depicts the stories emerging from these processes, against the background of a systemically designed landscape akin to a factory.
video

Non posso fare a meno di me stesso
Costruito con un braccio robotico industriale Kuka, “Can’t Help Myself” è programmato per fare una cosa: contenere un liquido viscoso di colore rosso intenso all’interno di un’area fissa. Quando la sostanza simile al sangue si accumula troppo, questo attiva i sensori del robot facendo ruotare, flettere e spostare il liquido al centro, lasciando dietro di sé schizzi e macchie.

Can’t Help Myself
Constructed of a Kuka industrial robot arm, ‘Can’t Help Myself’ is programmed to do one thing: contain a viscous, deep-red liquid within a fixed area. When the blood-like substance pools too much, this activates the robot’s sensors causing the arm to swivel, flex, and shovel the liquid back to the center leaving splashes and smudges in its wake.

Fiberbots
Fiberbots ist eine digitale Fertigungsplattform, die kooperative Roboterherstellung mit der Fähigkeit verbindet, hochentwickelte Materialarchitekturen zu generieren. Die Plattform kann das Design und die digitale Fertigung von großflächigen Strukturen mit hoher räumlicher Auflösung ermöglichen, wobei mobile Fertigungsknoten oder Roboter-Agenten genutzt werden, um die Materialzusammensetzung der im laufenden Betrieb konstruierten Struktur gemäß ihrer Umgebung abzustimmen.

Halo
99 robotic mirrors continuously move throughout the day to follow the sun like sunflowers. These mirrors, arrayed across two 5 meter tall towers and one 15 meter long track, each emit a beam of sunlight into a cloud of water mist. The beams are computationally aligned so that together they draw a bright circle in the air. Dependent entirely on the presence of the sun for its completion, the work explores the possibilities and limitations of technology to capture what is out of reach, to harness nature and bring the sun down to earth. Collaborating with the natural fluctuations in the climate, Halo appears only for moments when the wind, sun, water, and technology coincide, creating a form which exists between the material and immaterial.

Death and the Powers

Science fiction and poignant family drama combine in one of the most stunning, cutting-edge operas of the 21st century, with a libretto by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, coming to the stage of the Winspear Opera House in a production directed by Diane Paulus, designed by Alex McDowell (Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report) and conducted by Nicole Paiement (TDO’s The Lighthouse).This visually spectacular robot pageant by MIT Media Lab’s Tod Machover tells the story of a terminally ill billionaire, sung by Robert Orth, who downloads his consciousness into “the System” and proceeds to use all his powers to persuade his loved ones to join him there. Without bodies, without the possibility of touch, sex, suffering, and death — are we still genuinely human?Explore these existential questions and much more in a piece Variety described as “playful, lyrical and…mesmerizing.” Also starring Joélle Harvey as Miranda, Patricia Risley as Evvy, and Hal Cazalet in his Dallas Opera debut as Nicholas.

Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva sonification
via highlike submit
Project ‘Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva generator’ addresses the possibilities of coexistence of animals and machines. In contrast to robots, which are driven by digital artificial intelligence, the project uses a live organism to process the “aliveness” of a simple machine.