The second edition of FIBER Festival is a wrap! More than 700 people experienced a programme of audiovisual performances, data based presentations, a visual infused clubnight at De Verdieping and an exhibition with thirteen works from upcoming artists in De Hal. We want to thank all those who participated and visited us – present and remote – and helped make the festival a success. We are really happy with the connections made between Dutch and visiting foreign artists from Mexico, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey and Belgium. This makes the festival work as we designed it: as a meeting place for new knowledge and unexpected encounters.
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Bartholomäus Traubeck explaining ‘Years’ – Photo: Vincent Schrijnemakers
The festival programme and the ongoing on/offline experiments in the Databooth reflected this year’s festival festival theme Sharing Signals, enacting the in-between and the rise of network artists. The installations, performances, talks and workshops represented the inter-connected work process that can be found in art, design and knowledge of young digital artists.
EXPO
In the EXPO we presented a diverse range of hybrid and generative works focusing on the translation of different types of data: sound, movement and light. Covered in darkness one could experience the visual patterns of biological algae in the installation _in:still life (Tijs Ham & Pinar Temiz). Works like Years (Bartholomäus Traubeck), that outputs piano music based on a trees year rings, Form Follows Music (Pavla Nesverova) and The Form of Sorting Algorithms (onformative) used a generative process as mediator between the digital and analogue world. Sensor based video works such as Interrupt (Erik Overmeire) and In Order to Control (Nota Bene Visual) put their users in the centre of the artwork; making the human body the mediator itself.
Innovates – Jean-Michel Verbeeck
‘In Order To Control’ by NOTA BENE Visual – Photo: Rosa Menkman
€1,- Per Minute Design – Photo: Vincent Schrijnemakers
‘Years’ by Bartholomäus Traubeck – Photo: Josué Ibáñez
‘CUBEBENDER’ by Krista van der Wilk
DAY
The DAY programme was made up of short presentations and audiovisual performances. Showcases like Show Me The Data and Lifelog introduced the audience to the potential use of personal and open data for private, media or artistic benefits. Performances by Mariska de Groot and Tiago Morgado gave insight in translation of audiovisual patterns, while Kyson and Urkelle filled de Verdieping with warm and melodic live sets. To serve all senses the girls from Cornelis Serveert brought us a wonderful mix of flavours, packed in a radiating cake-installation.
Show Me The Data – Photo: Rosa Menkman
Urkelle – Photo: Vincent Schrijnemakers
During most of the day video mappers, musicians and interaction designers took part in the workshops MAX/Msp by V4W.ENKO, Video mapping by Resolume and Painting With Tweets in openFrameworks by Luca Basile from Hotpixel. Ending the DAY with a inspirational talk by Max Italiaander (Zesbaans), Kees Plattel (Hoofdbeelden), Josué Ibáñez (Hotpixel) and moderator Koen van Lier (Born Digital)
Workshop Video Mapping by Resolume – Photo: Vincent Schrijnemakers
Festival Talk with Zesbaans, Kees Plattel, Josué Ibáñez and moderator Koen van Lier – Photo: Rosa Menkman
DATABOOTH
For the first time we conducted an experiment to explore the possibilities of adding the elements of collaboration and network to the collection, transformation and visualisation of data surrounding the festival. We call this concept our ‘Databooth’ and are pretty excited with the outcome. During the DAY programme, the Databooth area was the place to meet and mingle, share code and ideas.
We joined forces with data platform ‘Databending’, which made it possible to hook up the installations present to our server. The parameters used by the respective acts were then transformed into signals that were shared, read and visualised by others throughout the world. Even brainwaves, as registered by the installation ‘Hoofdbeelden’, were sent across the globe. Furthermore, Databooth focused on the innovative combination of techniques in the field of interactive media art in order to bring people and their signals together. A good example of this is the installation “The..”, which used placed-specific input by using a kinect to track people, incorporation of social media feeds (collected at https://twitter.com/#!/theatfiber) and projection to blend it all into an interactive work. By hooking up Arne Boon’s participatory installation ‘Elapse 2.0’ to our webserver we extended its result into the digital domain by ‘broadcasting’ a live updated stop-motion stream of its output.
Stiktu.com (augmented reality app by Layar) provided us with means to have visitors contribute by scanning a selection of posters at the festival and virtually pasting their creations into the live gallery.
Throughout the festival we maintained a coverage of the goings-on at our live registration page and witnessed people from as far as Japan tune in to our live audio webstream. In conclusion, the results of this year’s experiment have laid the basis for full force future endeavours.
‘The…’ by Kasia Molga & Brendan Oliver – Photo: Rosa Menkman
‘Elapse’ by Arne Boon
NIGHT
When the evening sets the first sounds of the NIGHT are being played in De Verdieping. The night’s kick-off was a unique FIBER-collaboration between hyper-viola musician Tiago Morgado and Ukraine based visual artist V4W.ENKO. Afterwards the club is taken over with dj sets by ESHU, Dubberdink, Morphosis, Klen and Mattikk. All of them are accompanied with visual artists DEFRAME, WERC, Sjush and Lieven van Velthoven. Each having their own style and technique to produce live visuals. To complete the spatial experience of the festival the visual collective WERC created one of their signature mapping sculptures as part of the stage design.
ESHU – Photo: Rosa Menkman
Dubberdink, Lieven van Velthoven, sculpture by WERC / visuals by DEFRAME – Photo: Rosa Menkman
