Category Archives: Education

JOHN HUGHES ”Quantum Landscapes, Animation Space and Consciousness of the Frame”master class

unnamedA 7 day  landscape animation master class led by John Hughes

Venue : Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture /Greek Island Kefalonia

Eligibility: The class is addressed to artists, designers, video artists, photographers, animators or anybody interested developing a new practice.

Sponsors: Chippendale New World Award – Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture.

Time :   May  24th -30th  2016,

Instructor : John Hughes, aka Hobart Hughes University of New South Wales, www.hobarthughes.com

Opening Date for Applications : January 15th 2016 – no deadline

Informationwww.hobarthughes.com, www.ionionartscenter.gr, info@ionionartscenter.gr,

Details: Through a series of exercises class members will develop core timing skills that we then apply to a range of locations around the island to as it were to un-pick the usual static visual structures. This class  perceives a frame of animation as being a single molecule of time. Using a range of stop-frame and digital methods developed by Hobart we will re order and re shape these time molecules to shift the viewer in space, movement, sequence and perception and render a view of consciousness within the landscape.

Aims: Class members will develop core landscape animation and general animation timing skills. Class member will be supported and encouraged to develop their own project.

Note: Participants will need laptop and digital camera. Also can participants obtain a Quicktime pro license from www.apple.com

APPLICATIONS :   http://goo.gl/forms/q2f8aD9uzk

 

CONDITIONS AND FEES 

The master class conditions are in compliance to the Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture terms and policies,   applying to the  educational programs and residencies.

Fees for each participant:  30 euro application fee , plus 700 euro for 7 days

Included

a. Full housing accommodation for 1 person , shared  room (or  personal room with extra cost ),bathroom, daily room service,24 hours high speed Internet access, free use of laundry , kitchen,  studio for art creation and  personal support. Every day standard full breakfast ( bread, butter, eggs, jams, honey, milk, cereals,  hams – cheese, fruits, tea, coffee, sweets and more depend on the season of the year).During the day and night  free and available snacks, sweets,  tea, coffee, milk, juices, fruits, pies, pizzas and basic goods  PLUS  a hot traditional meal , lunch.

b . tuition fees, free use of the main areas for education,official presentation/OR/exhibition if it will take  place  at the Center space.[Note:The exhibition hall, theater space, studio areas are granted free to the master class group for educational use or for  collective presentation/exhibition needs].

c.  Information on the Greek  History & Culture  is provided as part of the master class. The General Orientation & Guidance provides to our guests all the needed insightful information of the island – not only from the historic point of view – but further than that, such as the way of life of its inhabitants, their culture, traditions, myths and customs, as well as guidance and suggestions to all various tours, local activities and fiestas, including the revealing experience of the Ionian food and wine specialties, and all these in order to make your staying enjoyable unforgettable.

The time of the master class -May-June  is a dreamy season , in a natural environment full of flowers , calm beaches, unique creative atmosphere.

Not included transportation or other expenses of any kind for activities taking place out of the Center , not included art materials or specific equipment .All class members are requested to have their laptops , cameras and /or specific devices.

 

Quantum Landscapes, Space and Consciousness of the Frame

A 7 day  landscape animation master class. Using the frame as being a molecule of time, class members will explore various stop frame methods of recording and re-ordering time and place.

The aim of the class is to re-order and manipulate, in a personal creative sense, each artist’s perception of space/landscape to time/movement. Through a series of exercises to develop methods of altering sequence and space, class members will work individually and in groups in a variety of landscapes and different methods. Each class member will be supported and encouraged to develop their own unique method. Class members will need their own digital camera. It would also be an advantage to have a laptop computer but not essential.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Aims

To explore a personal response to the landscape where this view can be developed through a timeline.

To visualise a response to an industrial and cultural land use.

To draw a view of consciousness within  landscape.

 

Outcomes

 

Each class member will produce responses to various exercises which will be set each day. Participants  are encouraged to develop their own projects out of these exercises.

 

Course Delivery

The class members will develop their technical and conceptual skills with

1 Exercises designed to give conceptual  insights and technical methods in several key areas.

2 Group and individual projects

3 Technical workshops in production and post production methods

4 Demonstrations of various stop-frame methods

 

 

Day One

Introduction to the course

Timing and consciousness.

When we create an animated sequence what in essence we are doing is sequencing a passage of thought by recreating a time sequence. When we pause, speed up or slow down images we are creating a pattern of attention which is how the animator has visualised a time and a space. However making animation requires a distinctly different kind of attention to shooting a video. When we create animation we experience physically the full dynamic range of time and speed. The first thing we must understand is that experiences move much slower and much faster than we’d expect. A short pause of say two seconds in real time is only two seconds but if we are creating stop-frame animation it’s 48 individual frames that we have to record. The experience of creating these frames is vastly different to shooting two seconds of video. This requires a new translation of how we create time.

 

In our first exercises we use our own bodies so we can directly experience the different kinds of intervals and movements that make up sequences.

 

Project 1  The Passenger,

Our first day will be spent working on a single project that will be broken into several steps.

Using the film The Passenger by  Michelangelo Antonioni. as inspiration and working in small groups we will endeavour to create an atmospheric presence of a figure in a landscape. This does not mean merely reproducing the kinds of speeds and mood of the film but going beyond the film as if the characters could re order time, space and speed.

 

Step 1 Introduction to the project 1 hour

I will screen excerpts from the film and discuss how we might use it as inspiration. I will also demonstrate how to go about testing by creating a short sequence. This will include how to set up your camera and how to create the sequence on your computer.

 

Step 2, testing 2 hours

In a small group of three or four take turns gesturing, moving, walking and then waiting. It is very important for the person being photographed to call when each shot is taken so the experience of movement in the subject and thinking of the sequence is combined.

 

We will create our movies to play at 12 frames a second. What this mean is  it takes 12 frames to make a second of screen time.

 

Things to experiment with:

  • Create a very slow gesture
  • Create a series of very fast gestures
  • the decay of energy
  • the discharge of energy from impact

create a series of different lengths of pauses between fast gestures and between slow gestures.

(remember a pause is not just the character stopping, it’s the character thinking of what just happened or what to do next)

 

We will then sequence our tests and discuss the outcome. Further testing may be required.

 

 

Lunch

 

Step 3 Developing a shooting method 1 hour

Now we have some basic techniques it is time to develop our idea. The space you shoot in is as much the character as the people are. The location may offer several clues on how to develop your idea and your shooting method. Let’s examine for a moment what I mean by shooting method. The different variables may give you some clues to how you might think about it so ask yourself some questions.

  • Is the camera static?
  • Is there one or several characters?
  • Is the time sequence linear or can we jump about in time?

The next questions may be about the animation method so lets examine a few.

  • time lapse
  • sequence animation
  • stop motion
  • post production methods such as edits, time reversal, motion tracking, time splicing, compositing.

(there will be instruction on various post production methods later in the course but for those with experience it’s something to consider now)

I will discuss all of the above and produce a short example of one response to the project idea. I will then discuss with each group how they plan to go about their shoot.

 

Step 4 Shooting 2 hours

Shooting your project in your location

 

Step 5 Sequencing your project and feedback

 

Day Two and Three

Methods

We will spend most of today developing and experimenting with several different methods in a series of different locations. So that we have a focus and a meta structure for our experimentation we have the theme of transference of energy or how energy is passed from one object or place to another.

 

Introduction and brief

Meeting in our home space I will demonstrate the different techniques we will be experimenting with over the next two days.

 

The order in which you do the different methods is up to you as individuals or your group depending on how you’d like to work. We will attempt to travel to two locations each day so that you have a good choice. I would suggest that you try each of the methods several times as different locations will spark different responses.

 

The different methods are as follows:

1 Sequence animation

In which a series of different but connected objects or patterns are shot in sequence in order to create visual time patterns. The objects could be, for instance, every letter box opening in a particular location or every square object, every crack in a rock face, every different kind of leaf in a location.

 

2 Time Lapse

We all know what this means but there are all sorts of ways of applying it to a given location or by combining it with another method. Think about finding a location where light may reflect or refract across surfaces. Consider building by accumulation or by natural processes objects in the landscape that would make an interesting surface for light to move across. Consider tides, wind, foot traffic across sand, light, shadows or people.

 

3 Tracking Camera

Consider different spaces and objects to track up to and around. Try tracking on the macro level as well as the micro level. Play with the speed of tracking as well as the change of speed. Experiment tracking with more than one camera at a time.

 

4 Stop Frame Intervention

Experiment with affecting a location or object with various forces. For instance gradually pour water onto a small section of sand, gradually pick off the rust from a surface, vibrate a group of stones, make objects turn on the spot. With this kind of animation my personal preference is to look for kinds of movement that don’t generate the idea in the viewers head that the object has come to life. To me this seems too much like making a reflection of animator into the screen space whereas vibrating or eroding an object references forces at work on each and every object. Therefore if you blow upon a small pile of seeds you mimic the wind where as if you have objects moving by their own volition they cease to be objects and we turn them into human thought.

 

Day Four

Post Production and Sound Workshop

We will spend the morning editing and looking at various post production methods. These include collage and vector animation, compositing and sound editing. Included in this is a recording session where we create a soundtrack for some sections of animation.

 

Lunch

 

The afternoon is free time to shoot and develop your work or to explore the island.

 

Evening shoot

Shooting animation at night provides many exciting possibilities. We will produce a group animation using the entire class to draw with light sources and by exposing selected areas of the landscape. I will also do a demonstration of a method whereby each frame of the animation is created with a series of subframes lit from a tablet. The effect is that we can draw and stretch shapes and objects in a space.

 

Day Five

Morning

Individuals and groups work on their own project. This project may have been developed from project one or from any of the other exercises. Workshops will be depending on the different needs for individual instruction in particular methods or techniques.

Afternoon/evening

Reverse projection mapping techniques for animation

A series of different way to use data projector with animation. This is not so much a workshop on display methods but on how you can use a data projector to create animations.

 

Day Six

Morning

Individuals and groups work on their own project.

Afternoon

Post Production Workshop

includes motion tracking, particle animation and request for specific instruction according to need.

 

Day Seven

Morning

Individuals and groups work on their own project.

Group sound recording.

Group animated portrait.

Lunch

Afternoon

Final edits and rendering of projects in preparation of screening.

Evening

Group screening of final works from course.

Farewell  Cocktail 

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CRAIG DONGOSKI ”MASTER CLASS IN ART AND TECHNOLOGY”

Master Class in Art & Technology with Craig Dongoski
http://radionion.com/

JUNE 5th  TO JUNE 20th 2016 , GREECE /ISLAND KEFALONIAradio show poster

•Presentation of work, music and/or concepts •Workshops in Drawing
•Workshops in Building Aeolian Harps and Radios •Demonstration in Sound Design
•Program presentation on local COSMOS Radio Station •Performance(s) at Ionion Center
•Exhibition(s)/Installation(s) at Ionion Center •Interaction or Performance at Ancient Ritual Site
http://vlahatasamis.gr/ •Interaction or Performance on Various Beaches using Wind Harp
•Interaction / final Performance at Melissani Cave

Information/Terms &Conditions  :    http://radionion.com

http://www.ionionartscenter.gr

 info@ionionartscenter.gr.

Applications : http://goo.gl/forms/q2f8aD9uzk

 

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PETER WILLIAM TOY ”IS GOD DEAD”

100_0036 (2)Peter Toy : “The philosophy guiding my work is with establishing questions in relation to contemporary global dilemmas. For example; Is Nature interested in the continued survival of human kind. And also, Is God Dead. This way of working reinforces my belief that, in Art and Philosophy, questions are more important than answers.”

I am a Visual and Performance Artist with three decades experience as a practitioner and educator.
A recent project. presently in production, is the Photo book – “The Character of Katoomba” – (portraits of Katoomba personalities). I also give Professional Development workshops to Schools and Community groups on Camera use, Photographic technique and Photo-editing.

I am actively involved in Performance Art and Video Art production, the most recent being; “Is God Dead” (2011-2015), which is to be performed and exhibited at Maumau in Istanbul, Turkey in 2015 and at the Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture ,Kefalonia, Greece.
Is God Dead. (2011 – 2015).
The project begins in Sydney, Australia as performance art where I walk the streets with a sign attached to my back which reads – Is God Dead.
The project, overall, is about a cycle; beginning with the statement and continuing as a video installation, with scattered words, where one is asked to pick-up a small piece of paper which reads – Is God Dead. The work is in two parts; the performative text and the video. The video could be said to be anti-photography because it is has no subject and has little regard for framing. I call this technique of documenting freeflowingvisuals; where a hidden and unrestrained camera, (on the performer’s body), documents the performers world. In this case the streets of Sydney. This is not photo-documentation but rather a para photo-document, a space/time fragment in digital form.
A portfolio of my Performance and Video production, also known as Freeflowingvisuals, can be seen on my Vimeo Page: https://vimeo.com/freeflowingvisuals

PETER WILLIAM TOY
‘’IS GOD DEAD?’’

art performance του Peter William Toy‘’Is God Dead?’’
Saturday October 24 – 2015 – 19.00 p.m
Invitation to attend Peter William Toy in his art performance ‘’Is God Dead?’’
Τhe Artist using the everyday objects and customs of the here and now in his live performance looks at how eternal questions are dealt with in the routine of everyday life and questions if we really have time for this kind of thinking.

 

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NICHOLAS JONES : ‘’IONIAN ODYSSEY’’

12119127_998695160151135_816581614628765659_n 12079642_998695290151122_660491730441321561_nNICHOLAS JONES : ‘’IONIAN ODYSSEY’’
All who wander are not lost
For over 15 years, Melbourne artist Nicholas Jones has been making his unique work out old and unwanted books. His current body of work follows the history of navigation and mapping in the Ionian Sea, focusing on the island of Kefalonia.
Inspired by studies of the journeys of Odysseus and the collection of the Corgialenos Library in Argostoli, Jones Odyssey brings him from Australia to Greece in search of the Old, the New and the Forgotten.
*Nicholas Jones *
www.bibliopath.org <http://www.bibliopath.org/>
John Buckley Gallery – Nicholas Jones
<http://www.johnbuckleygallery.com/…/nicholas-jones-mining-t…>
State Library Exhibition – Nicholas Jones
<http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/event/conspiracy-cartographers>
Meanjin – Nicholas-jones
<http://meanjin.com.au/…/well-readan-interview-with-book-sc…/>
Where They Create – Nicholas-Jones
<http://wheretheycreate.com/Nicholas-Jones>
Facebook Page – Nicholas Jones Book-Sculptor
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicholas-Jones-Book-Sculptor/328129883874336>

Documentary on Nicholas Jones 2011 <http://vimeo.com/27334681>

Thoughts by the Art Critic George Kakis Konstantinatos,
introducing the work and exhibition of Nicholas Jones entitled<< IONIAN ODYSSEY>>
Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture ,Greek Island Kefalonia
August 31 2015

Just as the Antikythera Mechanism, where we see something rather very small, that hides a vast knowledge, specificity, precision, wisdom, thus – under similar terms- we should see the work of Nicholas Jones.
Like something very small, that hides his hard work, talent, knowledge
and the study of the object, which is the artistic sculpture – ‘surgical’ ‘- interference
mainly in old books.

What one can see with a glance touch in the work of Jones is that his books carry
dust of the time were written, along with the meander of the life struggle of that time,
things that both the artist brings to day light , to accept on their leaves the fresh air
in a renewed journey where their new life is starting now!

The paper cutting sculpture of Jones is respectfully taking into account what is written within these books,
The theme of the book, together with the material on or by which this occurs:
The old paper, the ink, the era fonts, etc. all been brought in today.

Given that the books printed under the photosynthesis process ,
none of them will stay permanently throughout the upcoming centuries …
(The destruction will happen under very slow process, already determined by all of us as fact regarding the
first fax printings or the payment receipts).
Only pages that are printed in the classical way in printing pressure machines- as
Example the Heidelberg type- will survive.
… the use by the artist of this specific type of classic books and their emergence in a new context, setup a play with the knowledge and the time , that posses a considerable importance.

In the present exhibited work entitled “”IONIAN ODYSSEY’’ we have a Maritime travel and Mapping.
The Navigation <>, needs the Mapping the <

>.
Sailing and Map. Content and Form.
The sailing as content, and the map as an illustration of the ride.
One creative element is the ‘’Dionysian’’ a sailing, travel experience to the material synthesis and the same time travel within us,
The other element the ‘’Apollonian’’ is the map…. counting the miles, from here to there …

 

With the assistance of the mapped knowledge, this visual navigation, searches and claims
through this Odyssey an opening in the horizons from the Old and Forgotten to the New,
still possessing the inherent seed decay.
But even so according the subtitle of the exhibition: Those who wandered were not lost!

In the Ionian Odyssey of Jones, Kefalonia Island is referred to as the Central Point.

The Creator has a clear inner sense leading him – perhaps without knowing it – and holding the papers of
Corgialenios Library, implements with his work achievements the fact that during the Greek Empire(so called by the famous Englishman Byzantinologist Sir Steven Ransiman), Kefalonia was the Center in the Ionian Sea, under the administrative title <>.

The artist is conversing- maybe- with his own “”red dressed” people, commanders of the Islands between 1810 to 1864. These people had among them the negative “Maitlands”, rejected by the local collective conscience and the positive “Napier”, saved by the consciousness of the island’s world.

Nicholas Jones works on what only through true art can be operated: He returns to the World clear the body of the Ionian Islands, expurgated by removing with his work any fainthearted geopolitical considerations.

His instrument to achieve this apologetic clearance, patience and art is his scalpel-cutter, cutting paper of his last as prayer, passing hundreds of times over the leaves of his books, chiseling and cutting them, one by one!

The book, a book, any book, tells us “something”. This same “something” is what Jones points out, interfering with his paper cutting, highlighting –after his long study-geographical, historical, cultural elements.
Let’s take as example of his work the little booklet that molds the Lion of St. Mark,
On it is printed the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare.
Yes but Othello is an official of Venice, entity having as emblem of St. Mark’s Lion.
So Jones succeeds to connect in a “talk” Shakespeare, Venice and Othello on the same scene that is the Ionian Islands, underlining the fact of the Venetian occupation on the Ionian Islands, thus putting the project in the body of this report entitled ‘’Ionian Odyssey’’.

Making one digression here to say that Othello, the famous “Black” of the famous Shakespearean tragedy, it would of course never been black. The places reserved to those black people by the Republic of Venice was rather the role of the ship rowers. What is true is that the coat of arms of the historical person , who Venice entrusted the management of Cyprus of acquisition, was represented by three berries, with underneath the word “Mauro”, in Greek means “Black”. The detail, together with the black deed of the murder of his wife Dysdaimona from undue jealousy, gave the Othello the feature of Black!

Beneath the black (or dark red or green or dark anyway -compared with white pages-) cover of his books, Nicholas Jones highlights the whiteness of the pages.

If we want to integrate his artistic work we would say that certainly belongs to the genre of sculpture.
The micro – graphic sculpture.

My opinion is that ,we still can connect this kind of sculpture with one of the art styles :
The “Op Art” (Optical Art).

Τhe fact however is that, Jones finds with his work,His Globally recognizable figurative mannerism.
(Which I’m sure started playing as a kid …!)

And the playfulness between Micro-graphic Sculpture and “Op Art”, in the postmodern era in which we are already, brings to mind a sense from the History of Art:

As Humanity nowadays is attending all her past passing in front of her eyes in a speedy way, we can consider as war signal the return of all styles….!

George Kakis Konstantinatos

Actor- Director –Visual Artist

kakis111@gmail.com

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Siren / Earthquake / Radio, Craig Dongoski – John Roach

Siren Earthquake Radio
sirenearthquakeradio.com

Artists Craig Dongoski and John Roach propose a series of events on the island of Kefalonia that explore its environment, culture and history. The project, which would run from July 22nd 2015 to August 12th 2015, is structured around the three words that make up its title: Siren Earthquake Radio. Each of these ideas suggest an energy or signal that will frame our engagement and our understanding of the forces that make up Kefalonia’s history.

The project includes four main activities: a fluid participatory event in the Melassani Cave; a performance at the Ionion Center which will bring these two U.S. artists together with local Kefalonian artists, musicians and poets; a series of radio broadcasts that present the daily and evolving work produced during the project; and a schedule of workshops and events in which the artists work with the people of Kefalonia.

1. Event at Melassani Cave
Dongoski and Roach will respond to their experiences, observations and impressions of the cave. The movement of boats through the cave’s watery enclosure will serve as the physical and metaphorical material for a performance and sound installation. The goal is to augment the tour of the cave through sonic interventions. This begins with the understanding that visitors travel and experience the cave visually as a loop. This continuous and predictable path of the boat is a circuit interlaced with small hesitations and deviations. The boats travelling this circuit will become the shifting components of a system of feedback loops, unexpected sonic collisions, music and light.

The flow of visitors will dictate the structure of this performance-intervention and will necessitate our access to and cooperation with the authorities who manage the tour schedule. On the other hand, a discrete performance using the cave as an amphitheater is of equal interest and enables other possibilities. We could engage Melassani as a controlled performance venue in addition to, or in place of the aforementioned visitor-dependant proposal.

2. Performance at Ionion Center
Dongoski and Roach will design an event for a live audience at the Ionion Center. While the shape of the performance will be determined during the residency, the goal is to work with local artists which might include musicians, dancers, poets, etc. Of particular interest is the language and music of the island, which the artists will meld with their own revelations that arise during their explorations in Kefalonia.

An initial starting point is to use the wind as source material. To this end we would like to begin a conversation with authorities that might grant us access to document wind turbines and allow us to temporarily install wind harps for collecting sound. We also want to put the geological reality of earthquakes (eg seismic activity) in the foreground of at least one of our performance pieces. Access to a facility that possesses a seismograph is of great interest for the artists and would connect the geology of the island to drawing and graphic notation.

3. Radio Broadcasts
The artists will be in constant dialogue with Kefalonia as a place: its weather, its goats, its land, its water; and will be recording and experimenting throughout their stay. Each day Dongoski and Roach will create a mix from the material accumulated so that it can be shared over the airwaves.

4. Workshops, Events and Actions
While many of our projects incorporate collaboration with the people of Kefalonia, we would like to encourage direct and organized participation through workshops the results of which can feed back into our work. One example is an instrument building workshop for children followed by an improvisation session. Another is a Greek language pronunciation workshop in which the two artists work with local participants to attempt to enunciate words in Greek.

5. Exhibition at Ionion Gallery Space
Exhibit preliminary sketches
Field Drawings
Graphic Scores
Drawings made from nature
Photo by Craig Paulsonhttp://cpaulson.com/

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