ABC Treehouse Exhibition
 Oct 31, 2008 to Nov 30, 2008, Opening Reception: 2 November, 4PM Computer-generated imagery (CGI) first appeared in film in the late 60s (Kubrik's 2001, 1968) and 70s (Westworld, 1973; Starwars, 1977). Since then, it has spread to movies, print-media and art. The Art of Pushing Pixels will offer a brief overview of the craft, from the first attempts to use a computer as a creative tool, to the high quality graphic software we use today. Additionally, the exhibition will showcase the work of Dutch and international artists who use computer graphics as a creative tool for artistic expression. Every sunday - CGI movies, introduced by "Mr. Horror" Jan Doense Sunday, Nov. 2, 19 h - Westworld (1973) + short CGI movie Sunday, Nov 9, 19 h - Tron (1982) + short CGI movie Sunday, Nov 16, 19 h - Forrest Gump (1994) + short CGI movie Sunday, Nov 23, 19 h - The Incredibles (2004) + short CGI movie Participating artists: |
 ApostolosI was born in Thessalonica, North Greece and I was brought up in Athens. During my short Greek period I start studying Visual Arts and Theatre but I left Greece at a very young age for numerous reasons. I immigrated to The Netherlands's where I live permanently. In the Netherlands I continued my studies, History of Art, at the University of Utrecht.During this period I worked together with various Dutch sculptors and composers, participating in numerous joint audiovisual projects and exhibitions in Dutch, German and Italian Galleries and Museums. At the same time I worked as Art Director in several Dutch Art Film Productions. Then my focus shifted and I worked intensely in the Dutch Theatre exploring and combining on stage all facets of the Arts resulting into a rich Audio-Visual Alive Art form. A succession of 35 projects came to live. A repertory inspired by the Classic Greek, Elizabethan, and contemporary Mythology, Literature and Music. Exploring the Symbiosis and the conflict of the Classic and Up to Date Cultural and Technological Elements. Most of the 90's I was invited to teach about these forms. I worked as head teacher at the Academy of Arts of Utrecht leading the - especially designed for this purpose - faculty Theatron Design. In addition I worked in the Dutch Television in Cultural TV Productions mostly as Art Director. But starting 1998, determined to express all my experiences into a more approachable form, I began creating images. In the beginning I used traditional methods: oil - color combined with egg - tempera on prepared wooden panels according to Byzantine and Renaissance techniques. Then, after getting acquainted with the possibilities of the Computer I discovered a - new to me - vehicle for my expression needs. Combining traditional techniques together with various image and video processing computer programs I create till this very moment, images and audiovisual forms: Omnimedial Images. My inspiration sources and aims remain always the same. I do see myself not so much as a traditional painter but more as a storyteller. Although I am -continuously - improving my techniques, I use them only as a writing medium.?Same way as a music composer I try to achieve a more universal language. With an alphabet of cultural memories, quotations of the Past, Signs of our Everyday Reality I try to build up mirrors in which someone could face The Human Condition. Reflections that might revive or invigorate - shared to be - knowledge and values of our society. For the viewer who does not desire this, it must always be an aesthetically satisfactory image. http://www.apostolos.nl/ |
 Hendrik Arie BaartmanIn science experiment is used to test theory, but what then is my theory? It is that art is close to science. You could simplify it by saying: physics is about physical forces, art is about mental forces. More generally there is something deeper going on in science and art. Einstein observed that a theory needs to be expressed elegantly. A beautiful equation is more powerful because it can be worked with more effectively. Its elegance gives it utility: Form follows Function was a founding principle of modernism and although we live in a post modern age, the lessons taught by modernists are still relevant, particularly when considered in the abstract. This is not about style or functionality, at issue is the underlying common nature of science and art.The observation that art and science share a common purpose is not new, Leonardo DaVinci would have said much the same and even at the dawn of history Pythagoras declared that numbers were the underlying structure of everything. However this is not a matter of repackaging classical concepts in a contemporary context. Our understanding of the scientific method has undergone a paradigm shift within the last generation. Science is no longer perceived as seeking immutable truths, its method uses human imagination, searching for 'models', which explain and provide understanding. Scientific theories (or models) may not resemble art works but they are creations of the human mind and are subject of strong feelings within the scientific community. While orthodox theories are taught 'as if true', new theories always come along to upset the established truths in a way which mirrors the development of art. This insight has yet to be fully appreciated by the scientific community, let alone the World at large. It is important for artists to understand this, both out of intellectual curiosity and because it is directly relevant to the own creative process. We are all engaged in a common creative pursuit Pythagoras conviction that the universe was made of numbers took its inspiration from music, but more than that, it was a mystical revelation, of which I shall have more to say shortly. The Greeks understood the principles of harmony and those principles remained unchanged until the arrival of the tempered scale which was a revolution as radical as Relativity overturning Classical Mechanics. In the 20th century composers have used mathematical methods for a new purpose. They used the formalities of maths to create a new kind of music which does not repeat: "generative music". The use by artists and musicians of science and mathematics is a step towards greater power. The purpose of science is to explain and provide understanding but science is much more than a dry process of reasoning, over and over again it has amazed us and transformed our lives. For art to throw more light on the human condition this will be achieved by a combination of passion and reason... although much of the reasoning may be hidden in the finished artwork. Our eyes, minds and hearts will be opened to the fullest by the new experience. The potential is there, we will be more than surprised by the results. Unpredictable, but I hazard the guess that the deepening fusion of art and science will not be artists in white lab coats, quite the contrary, we shall be moved from disbelief to be overwhelmed and astonished by the vision of the future that will unfold. It is this sense of astonishment, wonder, magic which remains central to my continuing activities as an artist. I am a seeker in search of miracles. It is an abiding misunderstanding of our age that there is some kind of contradiction or battle between art and science, or science and religion. Far too many scientists have launched futile attacks on the magical and irrational, too many evil technologies have been developed from scientific discoveries. Too many people from what was once called the left, the libertarians, the dreamers, the idealists in search of a better World have denounced science. Don't be hasty in your judgment I ask. As artists and visionaries we must rise above such skirmishes, and recognize the power and potential in both the rational and magical. There has always been black and white in magic and so it is with science and technology. It is up to us through our own experience and understanding to discover the positive. As children, we all have an intuitive understanding of this magical aspect to life. Children are also very good at asking questions. They are playful mystics and questioning scientists all at once. It is this child like quality I seek to encourage within myself and others. The sense of excitement is the fuel of imagination. Life can be like a beautiful beach where we all play. The sea shells we find as children are full of this energy. As artists our creations can absorb this energy from our enthusiasm and concentration on the act of creation. If we are lucky, they come to life, extra energy flows from an unknown source. It is then, when the work itself surprises us that we know that we are really onto something. http://www.wacmac.com/ |
 Phil McDarbyPhil McDarby has been drawing and painting fantasy and sci-fi characters and environments for most of his life, and made the jump from traditional to digital about 10 years ago. At the heart of his work is a desire to capture a sense of magic and wonder - that feeling of child-like excitement and discovery that we can lose touch with as adults.He uses a number of methods to create his imagery, from 2D painting using a Wacom tablet to 3D modelling in Maya, Bryce and 3DStudio Max, from digital sculpting in zBrush to matte work using his own photography as textures in his scenes. He has won a number of international awards, including multiple CG Choice Awards from the CGSociety. His work has featured in many publications, including Exposé 6 from Ballistic Media, and he has composed music for film and television. He lives in Dublin with his wife Aifric and daughter Sofia. He can be contacted regarding prints or commissions at philmcdarby@yahoo.com and more of his work can be found at www.philmcdarby.com |
 Frank GabrielThe Hague, 1972Photography-MixedMedia My work consists of 2 elements, outward and inward. In the outward works man is shown naked and detached, without reputation, culture or god. He is being confronted with himself and life and placed in an environment which doesn't provide any guidance and appears absurd and arbitrary. Despite the lack of certainties I tell a story about wonder and gained freedom over existential fears In the inward works it's esthetics that guide me to make tranquil images with a more minimal approach. I get inspired by coincidences, imperfections and moments. Visual poems as a hymn to ordinairy life. For the show at ABC Treehouse gallery I've selected older works from the period in which photography wasn't of big importance and were only used as rough material for digital processing. Photoshop as a tool for expression, rather than enhancing. http://www.frankgabriel.nl/ |
Lena Giesekehttp://www.lena-gieseke.com/ |
 Tom IvesAmerican born 1946Worked as photojournalist for major news and feature international magazines for over thirty years. To include National Geographic, TIME, Newsweek, STERN, GEO, etc. Have been working with digital camera since 2006. About this Shanghai Suite: (taken from promo of shows launch in Shanghai on June 21, 2008) Renowned French art paper company Canson launches Arches* Infinity photo paper line in Shanghai. International visual artist Thomas Ives produced a suite of ten images titled Shanghai Suite under commission by PX2 Studio co-owners Sissy Wang and Thomas Fuesser to launch Canson Arches new line of fine art photo paper Infinity in China. Co-launches took place in Europe and American the week prior. Ives focus was on the dynamics and pallet of Shanghai presented in multi-layered imagery. Creating with the digital photographic medium for three weeks Ives discovered matrix images in the everyday lives of the Chinese in the country's most populous and hectic city. Ives commented: "Shanghai is the loci of massive social change in China: new money, new consumer goods, new ideas, new art and new contradictions, challenges and aspirations. It's a chaotic bundle of energy, a push >< pull of personal and national identities being reformed both from within and through cross acculturation coming from the west. I sensed optimism married to confusion and set out to document the dynamics of change/energy/identity. While all of my prior digital work was created in-camera I felt this essay needed the extra dimension of multi-layering to add an emotional depth and edge which would reflect my impressions of Shanghai transitioning." While abstract in a neo-expressionist genre, each of Ives images contains figures or faces. The initial engagement with his images delights with a rich color pallet mated to a very energized under layering of movement. On closer inspection nuances of figuration and narrative surface. Ives choose not to title the images but to allow the viewer to discover their own narratives in each image. "Each of these images have strong personal narratives tied to them for me but the main reason I'm working in abstract styles now is to break from telling people what they are looking at via titles or literal photos. Abstraction offers a freedom to play with the commonplace and discover the profound and mystical that always sits beneath the surface of our perceived reality." http://www.thomasives.com/ |
 Yvonne MousYvonne Mous, autodidact (born in Helmond, The Netherlands, 1959)The digital revolution offers me the possibility to express my creativity with the help of a computer. Regarding digital art there are a lot of possibilities, but I was taken with Fractals. What are fractals? Fractals are geometrical patterns, based on mathematical formulas, that repeat themselves at ever smaller scales to produce irregular shapes and surfaces. If you zoom in on a part of it, the structure remains almost the same. For example: like a mountain that looks rocky from a distance; the rocks you find on the mountain may resemble the mountain themselves. The spiral, that repeats itself endlessly, is easy recognized as a fractal. The fact that fractals are made using mathematical formulas does not mean that fractals are not natural. On the contrary. Nice natural fractals are for instance ice crystals on frozen windows, or a capricious coastline. And a beautiful example of a fractal spiral is the vegetable Romanesco. In creating my fractals I use the program Ultra Fractal, which offers endless possibilities in shapes, colours and combinations. In the process of creating the computer merely calculates the choices I make. The shapes, movements, rhythms and colours in fractals never cease to fascinate me. In creating fractals I can express my emotions and experiences, in which the choice of colour may not be essential, but is very important nevertheless. Expositions: Verenigingsgebouw, Overasselt, 2006 Koperen Hoogte, Zwolle, 2006 Bibliotheek, Helmond, 2007 Gemeentemuseum, Helmond, 2008 http://ymous.exto.nl/ |
 Harald SeiwertPaying tribute to classic artistic expressions. In his inimitable style (a combination of digital photos and 3D attributes/backgrounds), Harald Seiwert interprets famous paintings and films with an erotic and humorous twist.Harald works digital since the first days of "Bryce" (3D software) in 1995. http://www.seiwert.nl |