Robert Frank: Experimentation Across Film and Photography in Post-War America. A study of Frank's career will establish critical models that can be applied to the work of Australian artists and filmmakers – especially those whose personal histories are linked to the waves of immigration that occurred during the '50s and '60s. The publication of a monograph, journal articles, interviews, a DVD and the staging of a retrospective will increase public awareness not only of Frank's work but also the ....Robert Frank: Experimentation Across Film and Photography in Post-War America. A study of Frank's career will establish critical models that can be applied to the work of Australian artists and filmmakers – especially those whose personal histories are linked to the waves of immigration that occurred during the '50s and '60s. The publication of a monograph, journal articles, interviews, a DVD and the staging of a retrospective will increase public awareness not only of Frank's work but also the work of those he has influenced. By including an overseas classroom element, this project also provides the opportunity to showcase the quality of Australian film research to high-calibre US students. This is vital to maintaining Australia's international reputation as a provider of film and media research.Read moreRead less
Video Art Online: from UBU Films to the Present. There is little Australian video art systematically presented online, nor is there a broad set of reference materials on this important area of artistic practice in Australia. This project will create an innovative way to store, catalogue, interpret and archive video art works using open source software that will be freely available to others to use and develop. This project presents significant for Australia by:(i) extending the reach and profile ....Video Art Online: from UBU Films to the Present. There is little Australian video art systematically presented online, nor is there a broad set of reference materials on this important area of artistic practice in Australia. This project will create an innovative way to store, catalogue, interpret and archive video art works using open source software that will be freely available to others to use and develop. This project presents significant for Australia by:(i) extending the reach and profile of two of Australia's most important new media and contemporary art institutions, (ii) making available open source solutions for online video archives to the cultural sector (iii) providing the broader Australian community access to video art works in a scholarly, easy-to-use repository.Read moreRead less
The Staging and Framing of Comic Performance in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The aim of this project is to investigate the aesthetics of comic performance through an examination of low comic performance in nineteenth century American and English popular theatre and in the slapstick films of the early twentieth century. Uniquely combining the complementary specialisms in theatre and film this study will pioneer a highly original approach to achieve new ways of considering theatri ....The Staging and Framing of Comic Performance in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The aim of this project is to investigate the aesthetics of comic performance through an examination of low comic performance in nineteenth century American and English popular theatre and in the slapstick films of the early twentieth century. Uniquely combining the complementary specialisms in theatre and film this study will pioneer a highly original approach to achieve new ways of considering theatrical and cinematic comedy both historically and theoretically.Read moreRead less
Investigation into digital games and Australian female digital game culture. The project investigates new paradigms for digital games specifically oriented to young female users, aged from 16 to 25 years. This study explores female digital game culture, particularly in Australia, to create solutions that support gender equity, and will involve research into innovative design of multi-user online games. It aims to produce, test and refine online prototypes involving different gameplay scenarios, ....Investigation into digital games and Australian female digital game culture. The project investigates new paradigms for digital games specifically oriented to young female users, aged from 16 to 25 years. This study explores female digital game culture, particularly in Australia, to create solutions that support gender equity, and will involve research into innovative design of multi-user online games. It aims to produce, test and refine online prototypes involving different gameplay scenarios, as well as produce theoretical reports to be published in journals, mailing lists and conference proceedings.Read moreRead less
The body-computer interface in new media art from 1984 to the present. Our understanding of computers is restricted by dominant cognitive models of the interface. This study produces an aesthetic framework for analysing new media art as a genre and traces its development through changes in the interface from the restricted keyboard/screen assemblage through multiple sensory interfaces to the emerging trend of producing the interface as dynamic relation between biology and code. It examines the d ....The body-computer interface in new media art from 1984 to the present. Our understanding of computers is restricted by dominant cognitive models of the interface. This study produces an aesthetic framework for analysing new media art as a genre and traces its development through changes in the interface from the restricted keyboard/screen assemblage through multiple sensory interfaces to the emerging trend of producing the interface as dynamic relation between biology and code. It examines the development of interfaces between the body and computers in new media art work, establishing that new media artists, from 1984 onwards, have focussed upon the sensate body as site for interfacing with, and interpenetrating, virtual media.Read moreRead less
Destination: developing hologram recording and replay technologies to enable the world's largest mass audience viewing of deep volume water images. The exhibition of 'Destination', the world's largest hologram installation at Federation Square in Melbourne, will impact both local and international audiences through engagement with the globally important subject - WATER. Wide public access to the new perceptions of water available though the holograms will be accessible in progress via web interf ....Destination: developing hologram recording and replay technologies to enable the world's largest mass audience viewing of deep volume water images. The exhibition of 'Destination', the world's largest hologram installation at Federation Square in Melbourne, will impact both local and international audiences through engagement with the globally important subject - WATER. Wide public access to the new perceptions of water available though the holograms will be accessible in progress via web interface, broadcast live video and an international conference hosted at Federation Square. The technological advances forged by the international and national multi-disciplinary expert team (media art, urban design, holography and laser technology) will establish a strong knowledge base and expertise in Australia thus providing opportunities for PhD students.Read moreRead less
Narrative reformulation of museological data: the coherent representation of information by users in interactive systems. The proposed research seeks to provide Australia with a long-term opportunity to enhance its involvement in the billion-dollar creative economy by building the world’s first immersive 360-degree interactive data browser. Research into such systems benefits society by providing a cutting-edge development in digital technology and information access that enables a creative inno ....Narrative reformulation of museological data: the coherent representation of information by users in interactive systems. The proposed research seeks to provide Australia with a long-term opportunity to enhance its involvement in the billion-dollar creative economy by building the world’s first immersive 360-degree interactive data browser. Research into such systems benefits society by providing a cutting-edge development in digital technology and information access that enables a creative innovation culture. Through applied research into the narrative forms that underpin museological archives, this study will ensure that Australia remains at the forefront of the growing world-wide research into interactive technology thereby assisting the global digital media industry to tackle emergent challenges. Read moreRead less
The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the so ....The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the societies that spawned them.
The research method is iterative and evolutionary: critique of existing literature, designs and technologies; repeated, rapid prototyping leading to test-exhibit; final critique of user-experience; report on knowledge generated.
Outcomes are theoretical and practical: reports delivering new knowledge; audience-tested systems of display and interpretation which are scaleable to several museological and architectural scenarios.Read moreRead less
Holoshop: The design, implementation and evaluation of rapid 3D drawing technology for content creation in holograms and other three-dimensional displays. This project, in developing tools and technologies to enable rapid, free-hand, three-dimensional electronic drawing will give a particular visual impetus to the development of display systems technology. It further strengthens Australia's already strong record of applying aesthetic criteria to technological questions and contributing to the in ....Holoshop: The design, implementation and evaluation of rapid 3D drawing technology for content creation in holograms and other three-dimensional displays. This project, in developing tools and technologies to enable rapid, free-hand, three-dimensional electronic drawing will give a particular visual impetus to the development of display systems technology. It further strengthens Australia's already strong record of applying aesthetic criteria to technological questions and contributing to the international development of virtual media. The resulting intellectual exchanges will raise consciousness of the crucial nature of representation in spatial imaging display. Collaborating with the world class Media Lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as they invent holographic television for the consumer market will give Australia a key role in the experimental design of 3D content creation.Read moreRead less
Luminous presence: Using early mosaics and gilded aureoles to augment the interface between holographic images and the beholder. This project seeks to develop a new style of representation for holographic subjects through the modulation effects of "scintillating" backgrounds. As the purpose of holographic displays moves away from the replication of extant objects towards the artistic generation of synthetic/creative content, holographic images call increasingly upon conventions of pictorial sty ....Luminous presence: Using early mosaics and gilded aureoles to augment the interface between holographic images and the beholder. This project seeks to develop a new style of representation for holographic subjects through the modulation effects of "scintillating" backgrounds. As the purpose of holographic displays moves away from the replication of extant objects towards the artistic generation of synthetic/creative content, holographic images call increasingly upon conventions of pictorial style as well as the tacit perceptions of beholders for their successful interpretation. In this study the reflected light of traditional mosaics is used to modulate projected light articulating the holographic subject. The augmented image activates cues such as occlusion and retinal disparity employed by beholders in the perception of holograms.Read moreRead less