“Computational Photography” - Experiments in Media Design
January 11th, 2010
As a company that has produced various new media technologies including our Aap!Motion lenticular panel technology, and various commercial tunnel advertising systems we’re always interested in what other inventors, companies, artists etc are producing. Many of these new technologies end up being commercialized in exciting ways.
One new resource we’ve been keeping our eyes on is FuturePicture, an online resource dedicated to experiments in the area of “computational photography” by two researchers Daniel Reetz and Matti Karilouma who aim to take their new technologies “out of the lab and into practical use.”
Reetz and Karilouma have built a series of low cost Light Field Camera arrays that in contrast to traditional single-lens cameras allow users to create images that can be computationally refocused via computation post date. Perspectives and points of interest can be re-shifted after the photograph has been taken for interesting results and uses.
Highly recommended. More @ http://www.futurepicture.org/
Where Advertising, Art & Activism Meet
November 16th, 2009
Advertising is on every surface and around every corner, along with urban art and activism. Now four artists are joining forces in Queens to give talks on each one’s respective mediums and the areas in which each overlap. Find out more about the evening of Art, Advertising, Activism & Alchemy.
Smells like a Back-to-School PSA
September 9th, 2009
Thankfully, this Milwaukee bus shelter ad isn’t really scratch-and-sniff — but it does draw you in to read their “messy” message on teen pregnancy. Read more about the ad on AdFreak.
Lo-Fi Animation Finds Home on Handrails
August 11th, 2009
No advertising medium will be left behind with Zoom Media & Marketing and VH1’s new interactive initiative. VH1’s program “The Great Debate” will feature a groundbreaking interactive initiative that will enable audience participation via TV broadcast; VH1; Facebook; Viacom’s massive “44 1/2″ HD screen in Times Square; and Zoom Media & Marketing`s exclusive network of digital out-of-home media locations. Read more from Monday’s press release here.
Interview with Liu Tzu Cheng - Taiwanese Photographer
January 9th, 2009
Tzu Cheng, native of Taipei, Taiwan worked traditionally as a photojournalist before choosing to focus on artistic pursuits. His new work focuses on the delicate balance between the local and foreign. At Aap!Global we’re big fans of Tzu Cheng’s work “Sadako” and the “Weird Kingdom,” explorations of difference.
This month’s inspirational interview invites Tzu Cheng to share his work with Aap!Global.
Q: Could you start with a brief thematic introduction to your work?
My works mainly focus on the foreignness under the American texture.
Q: Tell us a little about your background?
I was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. I am now thirty-three years old. I moved to the US for grad school in August of 2005. Prior to the move, I was a photographer for newspapers and magazines in Taiwan.
Q: How did you get into photography?
When I had to pick a major during my freshman year of college I chose to be a photographer. It seemed to me that a photographer has a good amount of independence, as opposed to something in the film industry, which I was also interested in. When I was hired as a photographer by a magazine in 2001, I felt the confirmation of photography as my lifelong career.
Q: How do you decide on locations & subjects?
Most of my work was made during road trips, often near inter-state highways. I usually pull over, park, and start walking around to scout for locations and wait for the right subject to appear.
Q: We’re big fans of your collection “Sadako’s Trip”. Tell us a little more about this project?
Sadako is the ghost figure of the classic J-horror(??Japanese Horror?) movie “Ringu” (1998). Before the “Ringu”, the skinny hair dangling figure had already haunted Asians for centuries. The whole project originated from the idea of the ghost image, which had also been a hot topic in numerous TV shows and publications for almost two decade in Taiwan, Japan and Korea.
For Sadako’s Trip, the relationship between the ghost figure and the innocent subjects is a potentially interesting metaphor for the relationship between foreigners and this country. In American society, foreignness can become a formality, the line between citizens and foreigners are blurred and hard to recognize.
Q: We couldn’t help but laugh with the reference and some of the humor the work has - were you intending it to have this humor - this “Where’s Waldo characteristic?”
Not until a recent critique did I learn the meaning of “Where’s Waldo?” The visual arrangement is derivative of the pattern of the ghost image in which the paranormal often appears in an obscure spot within the image, which may be hard to recognize at first glance. The visibility of the ghost indicates one’s vulnerability within the context of the environment. It is a tactic for me to invite the audience to scrutinize the image, focusing on the bizarre landscape and interesting individuals.
Q: As a foreigner in the United States - do you think that maybe you in a way are “Sadako?” - Do you feel displaced in the “Wierd Kingdom” or America as you call the country?
I came to the States first in 2005 when I was thirty. To adjust to the new environment and language, I had to go through the process like we all did as kids, learning how to socialize and build up the knowledge base of the larger environment. I was handicapped in a way. I used to be very vocal back in Taiwan, but here, I have to conceal that part of me and become reserved. In other words, I was forced to shut up and it made me feel like a ghost.
I don’t feel displaced because I was not meant to be an American to begin with. That is how I mentally prepared myself. As a visual artist, I simply came here to be an observer with an outsider’s perspective.
Q. Do you feel that your identity changes when you lift the camera to your eye? Do you act differently?
A camera at hand seems to legitimize the act of approaching someone you don’t know. And it feels even more so to photograph in a foreign land. (I think I would stop here.)
Q: What sort of equipment and software do you use?
I used a Cannon 20D in the early stages of the project, inherited from my photojournalism days in which I felt more comfortable with a digital, mobile and smaller format camera. I am now using a Pentax 67, a medium format film camera.
Q: Would you give a brief walk through your work flow?
Seek consistent lighting conditions, I usually photograph in the morning before ten or an or two before evening. I am shooting mostly film now. After processing and scanning the negative, I adjust the image and proof it via the computer. I then produce files with different sizes of the same image for archival, web and print purposes.
Q: Is your work political, anthropological, commercial, artist? What is your goal in your core work?
I am a combination of those types except for the commercial part. As a commercial photographer, you need the capability of reading peoples’ minds. Your client, a paid customer, might not necessarily appreciate what you are, the message you want to put across as a visual artist.
I find myself fascinated by the idea of using photography to define a bigger context of a city or country. On the other hand, despite the fact that my work can be categorized geographically, I would like it to come across as something that everyone in part, can relate to.
Q: Who are some of your mentors, role models, and aspirations? Q. Which photographers have influenced you most?
I photograph people on the street and have looked at the work of photographers in that realm- Robert Frank, Steven Shore, and William Eggleston.
I admire the work of Martin Parr. He confronts and flashes his subject head on without hesitation. He comes up with a vivid definition of the location and the subject. There are qualities of street photography but along with it his mastering of calculated precision. Those are all tools and traits I would like to put in my pocket, at my disposal.
Q: What are your thoughts on commercial, advertising related work?
The one thing that separates art photography from commercial photography and photojournalism is that as an artist you need to have a statement, a viewpoint of your own. When it comes to commercial photography, there is always something you have to sell for your client. The assignment has already been defined before it’s been made. In this perspective, the challenge of commercial photography would be more straightforward, though definitely not easier, as oppose to other types of photography.
Q: What is your relationship with the poses individuals? Are they strangers, models? Aside from Sadako - you mainly take pictures of strangers - is this on purpose?
Most of them are strangers, people I encounter on the street. I keep my eyes these people and think about all the possibilities of posing them. I always bother my subjects as much as possible. For that I am grateful to all the strangers that I’ve met along the way for their willingness to spare some of their precious time to help me.
Q: Is your work available for sale and if so let us know for our readers?
People are always as much welcome to give me response with their thoughts as to buy my work, though I actually don’t price tag my pieces at this moment.
My work is available for sale, please contact me at autumniac@gmail.com or drop a line to let me know what you think!
Thank you.
More @ http://www.liutzucheng.com/
Interview with Visual Artist Marnix de Nijs
November 30th, 2008
What qualities do you value in your work, what do you strive to create?
As a contemporary artist I reflect on the world around me. A good work of art is for me a work that represents aspects of this world in critical manner and is successful when there’s a harmony, an agreement, a balance, between the way you present it and what you’re trying to say. The thing the work of art is trying to accomplish has to correspond with what it’s communicating. Because the world we live in gets more and more defined by technology it’s for me a logical step to use these technologies to tell something about this world, hence the technical character of my work.
How do the multi-faceted aspects of your work come together - do the mediums feel separate or do they all remain fluid and connected?
Do you have any set goals for this work or are you just interested in the creative process? What has been the result?
Do you see your projects as art or manufactured products?
The motives for making my works are very much alike as the motives from any artist. The functionality of the works however demands for production processes that come pretty close to the production techniques of manufactured products. Some works also do have the potential to be translated into commercial products but creating something new is always more challenging for me then exploiting old idea’s.
How collaborative are your projects? Do you work with other artists, crafts people and in what ways?
I’m a very individual person and develop my ideas mostly on my own. I would however never be able to realize these idea’s without the help of the dynamic pool of crafts people, artists and technicians around me. I’m always very happy to be able to co-operate with people that think with me, understand the concept, come with ideas to improve the results.
What do you think of advertising and commercial driven “art”?
I would propose to keep it simple, advertising and commercial driven art is not “art” because the intentions with which the works are made are different. Specially when talking about the field I know best, new media or video and animation, you can however question in which field the biggest artistic and creative steps are made these days.
How do you commercialize your work?
Do you ever feel that technology limits what you’re trying to do?
Has technology ever failed you in trying to construct a piece and message?
It does happen but at the same time a setup quite often reveals unexpected qualities with which I can tell the message.
What would the work be without limits?
I honestly wouldn’t know, the idea of having unlimited possibilities already blocks my imagination.
What is a typical work day/week like for you?
What has influenced your practice and how do you see yourselves inspiring others?
What new pieces are you working on?
I hope to finish my research project Exercise in Immersion by the end of September, at the same time I looking for new partners to create new levels for my installation Exploded views.
Do you collect anything?
No. It’s probably funny to read from somebody making such big hardware but I don’t like to have stuff around me.
Thanks Marnix!
Read more on Marnix De Nijs @
Tokyo’s Advertising Paradise, Now On Google Street View
August 6th, 2008
Japan Office as Seen From Google Maps Street View…
Google’s hardworking wizard camera vans have finished traversing the labyrinth that is Tokyo; which means today you can tour some of the world’s most wonderful advertising and general real estate in Tokyo without leaving the comfort of your desk. No flight required….
While most foreigners will be happy to virtually tour the wonders of Meiji Shrine, see the shopping district of Ginza or visit the tourist spots of Tsukiji fish market,… we’ve put together a quick tour of some of our favorite outdoor media spots in Tokyo for the virtual world to enjoy.
Hachiko Square Shibuya Tokyo - one of Tokyo’s busiest railway stations, Shibuya is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area. The central meeting points features some of the largest and most expensive media real estate in the world. With full building digital displays to street teams - this is a great place to start on your tour of Japanese outdoor media.
Shibuya 109 - The iconic building owned by the Tokyu group is the original of the 2 and displays some of the finest building wraps in the world.
Daily Inspiration: SURFING IN THE RAIN
June 10th, 2008
Gray, rainy days may be about to get more colorful thanks to a new umbrella invented by Japanese researchers. The Internet Umbrella, conceived by a team at Keio University, acts as a photo browser by displaying images from the Internet as the user walks along. The handle of the umbrella contains a projector that displays images on the underside of the umbrella. The Internet umbrella, named Pileus (meaning the head of a mushroom) was created by two young graduate students. Second-year doctoral student Matsumoto Takashi, 27, and first-year master??s student Hashimoto Sho, 22, of Keio University??s Graduate School of Media and Governance were motivated by a desire to make walking on rainy days more enjoyable.Pileus has been presented or displayed in several countries, including the United States, France, and Austria, and won the Innovation Prize at Laval Virtual 2007, Europe??s biggest virtual reality convention.
Intro to Digital Signage @ Time’s Square NYC
June 6th, 2008
A tour of Times Square from Keyframe on Vimeo.
John Woods visits Times Square and explores digital signage and outdoor media.
Most impressive is that One Times Square building is empty and tenant less. Millions are instead generated off digital signage on its exteriors. Great intro video and fun interview with owner of Landmark
Signs, Tony Calvano, whose company has been maintaining and installing
most ads in Times Square when they were painted!!
