As part of LabàLab, the Conseil québécois des arts médiatiques (CQAM) is organizing a tour of digital arts laboratories on Friday, December 12, 2014. During this immersive journey, participants will experience an incursion into the world of digital arts through one-hour research and creation activities in three Montreal artist-run centres: Eastern Bloc, Studio XX and OBORO. The afternoon will end with a visit to Nadia Myre’s Oraison exhibition at OBORO.
The lab tour aims to give curious and passionate digital arts enthusiasts the opportunity to discover and experience the possibilities of the labs by participating in activities. The tour will be hosted by Anne Goldenberg and Alexandre Quessy.
Schedule of events
12:00 : Arrival of participants and welcome by the facilitators (15 minutes)
12:15 p.m.: Reverse engineering activity of an electronic circuit at Eastern Bloc (1 hour)
1:15 p.m.: Travel by metro (30 minutes)
1:45 p.m.: Break (30 minutes)
2:15 p.m.: Activity on making paper speakers at Studio XX (1 hour)
3:15 pm: Incursion in the Stereoscopy workshop at OBORO
(1 hour)
4:15 pm: Visit of Nadia Myre’s exhibition at OBORO
(30 minutes)
Description of activities
Reverse engineering activity of an electronic circuit at Eastern Bloc
Led by Nicole Roberge, the coordinator of her laboratory, Eastern Bloc proposes a “reverse engineering” activity. Often the best way to learn how a technological object works is to deconstruct it. With a view to analysis through the boning of an object or a digital tool, Eastern Bloc invites participants to reverse by themselves the design system of an electronic circuit so that they can understand how such a circuit and each of its components work. Thus, the changes made on the circuit will be highlighted, and how this can be diverted for artistic purposes.
Although the components have a fixed function, electricity is a flexible medium, like water, and can be reacted and circulated in different ways and for different purposes. Understanding how the electrical flow works is simply the beginning.
Paper speaker manufacturing workshop at Studio XX
Studio XX presents a research-creation activity related to electronic arts, one of the most recognized practices in its laboratory from a DIY perspective. In line with a project set up entitled “Nonstrument” which aimed to build a “nonstrument”: a square wave oscillator through an online workshop and tutorial, Studio XX offers the workshop for making paper loudspeakers. This one proposes to rethink electronics from unusual materials, such as cardboard and copper tape. Participants will be asked to tinker with their own paper speakers to create a kind of musical quilt together! The workshop will be led by artist Stephanie Castonguay.
Incursion in the Stereoscopy workshop at OBORO
For the Tour of the labs, OBORO proposes an incursion into the Stereoscopy workshop, which will be in its third and final stage of completion at the time of the visit. Yves Bourgeois and Aaron Pollard will concoct a special hour dedicated to visitors during which they will be able to discover the devices built during the two previous weekends of workshops. Thus, they will be introduced to the basic principles of the artisanal construction of a device allowing stereoscopic (3D) photography and will be able to consider the experiments it makes possible.
A brief visit to Nadia Myre’s Oraison exhibition will follow the activity. This exhibition is the result of a commission for a work of art and a witness to what OBORO is trying to accomplish.
