IAAC Blog » MAI

Master in Advanced Interaction at Sonar

admin — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:55:38 +0000

The IAAC’s Master in Advanced Interaction has been showing the student’s works at Sonar+D in the Market Lab, an exhibitor specifically created for news in art projects related to creativity, innovation, education and new business models

IAAC’s MAI at SONAR 2013 from Gerda Antanaityte on Vimeo.

IAAC LECTURES: ALEJANDRO TAMAYO

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:03:20 +0000

Today Alejandro Tamayo took us through his journey of technology between magic and everyday life, presenting us 4 of his more technology orientated projects.
His first approach to technology was through a camera, using the camera to see something that can’t be seen with the naked eye, and using this both as a protection and as a projection tool. For example, the possibility of seeing things from different points of view simultaneously.
This pushed him to move outside of the objects studied, and more in to space, using technology as a poetic telescope to see beyond.

“2.3/seg” is the first project Alejandro showed us, which studies the death and birth rates of the human race around the world. The question posed was how often are people born and how often do they die? Alejandro underlined that he was not so interested in the accuracy, but more in the concept of this.
The results showed that 4 people are born and 2 people die every second, resulting in 2 new people on the planet per second. The data used to generate this project was collected through the World Census Bureau, and conceptually inspired by the work of Jagadish Chandra Bos, and in particular his invention of the Creschograph, a technology that allows a person to see a plant grow in real time.
“The laboratory to explore the birth of ideas” was a complex technology inspired by his father, who taught him how to generate electricity.
Alejandro then went on to explain how another of his projects was inspired by a dream in which fruit communicated…”hello world”. Would it be possible to make a computer out of fruit? An organic computer?
He then started working with ph levels present in fruit to generate a binary system, starting with the use of lemon and tangerine. This makes us reflect on how we create technology, questioning its historical generator, that is for attack or defence mechanisms…this could be a poetic way to create technology!
The fourth and final project showed was inspired by an image of the northern lights, a sort of connection between magic and nature. But what are these northern lights, and how are they created?
These are a consequence of solar explosions, the earth is therefore a natural sensor of these explosions. Alejandro wanted to find a way to get connected with them, a poetic way of depicting these explosions. He created a system that would turn the energy of these explosions into data, and in return transformed this data first into fire (a natural phenomenon becomes data to then rebecome a natural phenomenon), and then in later versions of this projects into explosions using gun powder. This was called “8 minutes (when the sun explodes we explode)”.
Finally, sometime was spent discussing the workshop underway with the MAI students, “white box” that aims to break the concept of technology as a black box, rendering technology more open and accessible, that is white, allowing us to experience the poetic, nature and magic of technology in everyday life.

Alejandro Tamayo lecturing at the IAAC /// from MAI

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:14:38 +0000

Alejandro Tamayo at the IaaC

Lecture “Technology: between magic and everyday life“

29th of April // 19:30 // IAAC Auditorium // C/Pujades 102 BARCELONA

Alejandro Tamayo is an artist, researcher and teacher working in the intersections between artistic practice, science, technology and everyday life. He has been a tutor at Medialab Prado interactivos? workshops including Technologies of Laughter (Mexico) and Neighborhood Science (Madrid) and has teaching for over eight years at various art and design schools in Colombia including the Art Department from Los Andes University and the School of Fine Arts from the National University. He has been a guest speaker in various venues including Pixelache University-Reinventing the Teaching Situation (Helsinki), CIANT gallery (Prague), and the International Image Festival (Colombia).

IaaC Lecture Series: Nicholas Negroponte

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:25:04 +0000

Nicholas Negroponte is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, and also known as the founder of the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC).

In 1967, Negroponte founded MIT’s Architecture Machine Group, a combination lab and think tank which studied new approaches to human-computer interaction. In 1985, he created the MIT Media Lab with Jerome B. Wiesner, a pre-eminent computer science laboratory for new media and a high-tech playground for investigating the human-computer interface. In 1992, Negroponte became involved in the creation of Wired Magazine as the first investor contributing, from 1993 to 1998, with a monthly column: “Move bits, not atoms.” Negroponte expanded many of the ideas from his Wired columns into a bestselling book Being Digital (1995), which made famous his forecasts on how the interactive world, the entertainment world and the information world would eventually merge. Negroponte is a digital optimist who believed that computers would make life better for everyone.

In 2006, Negroponte stepped down as lab chairman to focus more fully on his work with One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) although he retains his appointment as professor at MIT.

On Tuesday, February 26^th, Nicholas Negroponte will be lecturing at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia – IAAC.

Nicholas Negroponte’s lecture at IAAC, will be streaming live in our youtube channel

MAI Smart Net Studio presentation

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:34:19 +0000

The MAI students presented the Smart Net Studio Project that they have been developing during the december and january. The 6 groups of students proposed each one an intervention based in the Fablab “smart citizen” project. The work was presented in front of the tutors that have been leading the students research, and in front of the jury, composed by different experts related to the fields of interaction, economy and engineering.

Here you have the presentations

MAI_Smart Net Studio Final Presentation //01FEB2013

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:22:11 +0000

MAI_Master in Advanced Interaction2013-2013 – Smart Net Studio final presentation

Presentation Schedule

05.00pm Introduction and Presentation

05.20pm Presentation Session

07.00pm Closing Speach

07.15pm Drink

MAI Bootcamp Barcelona/Valldaura – Final Presentation

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:25:15 +0000

Friday January 26th, MAI students presented the Bootcamp Barcelona- Valldaura Project that they have been developing during the 1st term.

The project has been directed by Alfonso Borragán, with the help of Guillem Camprodón and Cristian Bettini.

To see the projects click here

MAI Physical Computing workshop – Final Presentation

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:59:17 +0000

Friday January 26th, Master in Advanced Interaction students presented the final projects of the Physical Computing workshop that they have been developing during the 1st term.

The project has been directed by Alex Posada.

To see the projects click here.

IAAC LECTURE SERIES: JULIUS POPP

admin — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:36:52 +0000

Tonight Julius Popp, an interdisciplinary artist, gave us a lecture focusing on the process of thought and the creation of meaning in an social environment.. The talk covered different works – for example bit.fall a word writing waterfall, bit.flow a letter creating chaotic tube machine, macro.spheres an inverted world model and micro.adam a machine questioning the relation between body, environment and thought – and gave a perspective on the theoretical background of the works.

Julius Popp, born 1973 in Nürnberg, is living and working in Leipzig, Germany. In the mid-nineties he was trained as advertisement photographer. From 1998-2005 he studied art at the academy of visual arts in Leipzig. After finishing with distinction he was Meisterschüler of Prof. Astrid Klein. He creates objects, installations and environments, blurring the border between art and science. The large installations of Julius Popp visualize the abstract nature of information, making it possible to feel and question the change in human society. He was awarded with numerous international awards and maintained collaborations with M.I.T, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Fraunhofer Institut, St. Augustin, Germany and different universities.