On Thursday, July 13 and on Sunday, July 16 visitors are invited to take part in workshops, meet the exhibition artists, and see audiovisual performances. The program is part of the exhibition RETROSPECTROPIA will take place in the Liepaja Museum. Activities will be free of charge.
The exhibition features 15 new media artworks created by recognized artists, graduates of the study program “New Media Art” of Liepaja University. In the creative workshops, visitors will be able to try out the diverse practices and approaches of media artists, learn how to sculp 3D objects using virtual reality (VR) tools, participants will be invited to a deep listening and sound recording masterclass, as well as how to obtain environmentally friendly dyes from edible materials.
The exhibition RETROSPECTROPIA can be viewed until July 30. Info on planning your visit is available on the museum’s website: https://www.liepajasmuzejs.lv/en.
Program:
Thu, July 13 17:00 – 18:00
PERFORMANCE: AV RYTHMS BY PAULA VĪTOLA
In the performance AV RYTHMS by Paula Vitola visitors will be able to observe exciting demonstrations of the principle of photoacoustics and will learn more about this long-forgotten technology.
Sun, July 16 12:00 – 15:00
WORKSHOP: AUGMENTED LISTENING
(starting times: 12:00, 13:00, 14:00).
Participants have to apply by emailing the curator, please include the desired time in the email. Email to: anna.priedola@liepu.lv. Limited number of participants.
WORKSHOP: 3D SCULPTING IN VR
(starting times: 12:00; 12:30; 13:00; 13:30; 14:00; 14:30)
Participants have to apply by emailing the curator, please include the desired time in the email. Email to: anna.priedola@liepu.lv. Limited number of participants.
WORKSHOP: ECO PAINTING (participants can join at any time, no need to apply)
(from 12:00 until 15:00)
TOUR OF THE EXHIBITION RETROSPECTROPIA WITH THE CURATOR
(starting times: 12:00, 13:00, 14:00)
More about workshops and artists:
AV RHYTHMS by Paula Vitola
Visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the artist’s research in the world of light and sound, learn the principles of the instrument’s operation and try it, as well as learn from a new point of view how our senses work and how sound, light and other signals are related to each other.
Since 2015, Paula Vitola has been researching a unique phenomenon – the photoacoustic effect and its artistic potential – in her creative work. The photoacoustic effect is a process by which light is converted into a sound signal. On July 13 the artist will give an audiovisual performance and involve visitors in a sensory and technological experiment using a unique instrument – a photoacoustic synthesizer prototype.
The instrument uses flashing lights and kinetic objects, combining photoacoustic and stroboscopic effects. The strobe light, by rapidly changing its state from on to off, creates the illusion of a continuously on light. This illusion divides our perception into “frames”, visually slowing down the movement. Audible sounds will indicate that the light is not switched on continuously – the light is converted into sound with the help of solar cells, and its flashing frequency corresponds to the audible frequency. In this way, it is possible to obtain an infinite number of tones, rhythms and their combinations.
Paula Vītola is an artist and lecturer at Liepaja University, mainly working in the field of art as research, media archeology and sound art. The artist experiments with various technologies, natural and physical phenomena. In her most recent work, the artist focused on the method of photoacoustics – transferring light to sound – in order to study invisible energy and the materiality of signals. relationships as well as our perceptions. The artist experiments and develops prototypes, performances and other artistic experiences that help to understand these signals and allow them to be experienced with the senses.
3D SCULPTING IN VR by Rogier Jupijn and Agnese Damberga
In the creative workshop, one will have the opportunity to try the simplest form of 3D modeling – 3D sculpting – getting an insight into the construction work of virtual reality and feeling what it would be like to paint in a three-dimensional world. The workshop will last 25 minutes, 5 people will be able to work at the same time, therefore prior registration is required by writing to anna.priedola@liepu.lv.
The creative workshop will be led by the developers of the augmented reality (AR) app ART+. More information about the app and how to download it for free on the website https://artplus.app/.
AUGMENTED LISTENING by Krista Dintere
When living in a noisy urban environment, the human brain adapts and learns ways how to ignore what is happening around us – traffic sounds, road works, various devices running in the background. In ancient cultures, sound was often associated with wonder, because its source was not always visible and understandable. As a physical phenomenon, sound has a profound effect on the human body and consciousness, and can also be used in meditation.
Sound artist Krista Dintere will invite workshop participants to open their consciousness to hearing and enjoying the sounds of the surrounding environment both directly with your senses, learning deep listening techniques, and amplifying the weaker sound sources, such as the flapping of insect wings, with the help of recording technology, creating fun, shared sound etudes as a result of the workshop.
The number of workshop participants is limited, so we invite you to apply for one of the three times, by writing to the curator anna.priedola@liepu.lv. The workshop will take place in the garden of the museum.
Krista Dintere is an artist from Liepaja who works in the fields of sound art, experimental composition, media art and creative research. In her works, she strives to realize the limits of the physicality of sound, and also focuses on the psychoacoustic aspects of sound perception and communication. The artist often works with recorded sounds, which are used both in creating site-specific installations and experimental compositions, revealing the complex relationship between the factuality of the field recording and fictitious sound worlds created by artistically interpreting the actual. Since 2012, she has participated with her works in media art and sound art exhibitions, light festivals and other projects in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Italy and Poland, including the RIXC gallery, the “Staro Rīga” light festival, the “Sound Days” festival, Liepaja University MPLab, “Art Laboratory Berlin”.
ECO PAINTING by Maija Demitere
In her research Maija Demitere is working on developing sustainable practices and technologies to reduce the impact created by various daily activities.
During the ECO PAINTING workshop participants will learn how to create dyes at home, and will have a chance to discover their creativity by painting on canvas and creating flags to celebrate the diversity of nature. All materials will be provided free of charge and participants can join at any time, and stay as long as they want.
Maija Demitere is an artist and researcher focusing on “slow” media art and “deep” sustainability. In her artistic practice and research, she tries to describe the role of nature / the natural in the “normal” everyday life of a any person.
About the exhibition RETROSPECTROPIA
15 years have passed since 2007, when the New Media Art studio in Liepaja started its 1st year, and the community of new media artists has grown quite large, and their range of technical specialization and thematic interests is just as wide – from video to sound art and for experiments in augmented and virtual reality, challenging both the audience’s perception mechanism and the technology’s performance.
Artists in the exhibition have developed their creative activity in various European and Latvian cities, while still keeping an active bond with Liepaja. Works in the exhibition look back at the records of the past, capture and reveal to the viewer the myths and captivating phantasmagoric images created in them, drawing attention to the fact that and how these existing records – especially due to the peculiarities of machine learning that are relevant today – shape our future, both locally, both on a global, individual and community scale.
Exhibitions, performances and creative workshops are organized by the association ASTE. Art, Science, Technology, Education, Liepaja University Art Research Laboratory and Liepaja Museum. Supported by the State Cultural Capital Fund.