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Integration of real-world api/real-world data & Collaged Collective World

8/14/2024, 6:00:57 AM | Jeanyoon Choi

Original Notes (Pre-LLM)

Case of Nam June Paik’s early show in Wuppertal - He just opened the show from 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm bc that was the only time slot when the television show was live back then in Germany. However retrieving the real-time television show contents and post-processing it was an important conceptual dimension of his practice, thus he made this kind of decision.

Same for the case of cildo meireles’ Babel in Tate Modern → How amazing is it to get the real-time audio and multiply it to reflect the radio/audio/pop culture we’re living in?

The web is the space where you can easily integrate any sort of real-time external sources → Why not try? Something that I hadn’t rapidly tried so far… Different from the integration of ChatGPT, in a way that ChatGPT just generates the text from the stored data (not real-time although API itself is real-time and structure allows real-time interaction), but something like retrieving real-time audio television data/integrating youtube/transportation data is a sort of different story. Something more integrable within the/with the real-world? What will be the possible categories?

Attempts tried within Civilisation Movement 3 → Good, but getting just fake API. Need to be more than that. But good speculative/graphic design-oriented reflection on contemporary society. But something more than that? What kind of aesthetic/approach can Multi-Device Web Artwork only/represenatively serve? (Repetition/Randomness/Cyclicality)

Remember the idea of making a collective sort of painting approach visually inspired from Jean-Michel Basquiat/Cy Twombly? A possible integration on this? Jean-Michel Basquiat: Collage-like representation of the contemporary world, collaged contemporary, each part is acting independently reflecting different parts of the contemporary world…. The-world-we’re-living-in?? An ecosystem, independently functioning and spanning all across, but also resonates & exists within a single canvas. Different parts in 2D digital canvas represent different parts of the modern world - retrieved & visualised & symbolised via extensive use of APIs.

GPT just generated a bunch of ideas for me:

1. Live Broadcast and Streaming Media

Television & Radio Feeds: Incorporate real-time television or radio broadcasts into installations or performances. For example, an installation could use live news feeds from multiple countries, juxtaposed to explore global perspectives.

Social Media Feeds: Real-time integration of social media content like Twitter or Instagram, reflecting the pulse of current events or public sentiment in an immediate and unfiltered way.

Streaming Services: Utilize live data from streaming platforms (e.g., Twitch, YouTube) to reflect current trends in gaming, entertainment, or live events. This could include interactive elements where the audience’s input directly influences the content being streamed.

2. Environmental and Sensor Data

Weather Data: Real-time integration of global weather data to create art that responds to or reflects the current atmospheric conditions across various locations. For instance, a visual display that changes color or intensity based on temperature, wind speed, or precipitation.

Air Quality & Pollution Levels: Data on air quality or pollution can be used to drive changes in an installation, making the invisible visible and raising awareness of environmental issues.

Seismic Activity: Real-time earthquake or seismic data could be used in sound installations or kinetic sculptures that react to tremors happening around the world.

3. Transportation and Movement

Traffic & Public Transit Data: Visualize or sonify real-time traffic patterns or public transportation activity in a city. This could create a dynamic representation of urban life and movement.

Flight and Maritime Data: Track real-time flight paths or ship movements, possibly visualizing the global flow of goods and people, or highlighting the impact of human activity on the environment.

4. Communication & Human Interaction

Live Chat/Conversations: Integration of real-time chat from platforms like Discord, WhatsApp, or Slack into installations, exploring the nature of communication in the digital age.

Live Translations: Real-time translation services could be used to create multi-lingual art pieces, highlighting the diversity of languages and cultures in real-time conversations.

5. Financial and Economic Data

Stock Market Feeds: Visual or auditory representations of real-time stock market data, reflecting the volatility and pace of global economics.

Cryptocurrency Transactions: Tracking and visualizing real-time blockchain transactions, reflecting the emerging world of digital finance and its implications for privacy, security, and value exchange.

6. Health and Biological Data

Real-Time Health Monitoring: Integration of biometric data (e.g., heart rate, brain waves) into an art piece that responds to the physical state of the participants or audience.

Global Health Data: Using live data from health organizations (e.g., real-time tracking of disease outbreaks) to create visualizations or installations that respond to the current global health situation.

7. Geospatial and Location-Based Data

Real-Time Mapping: Interactive installations using live GPS data, where participants’ locations influence the artwork. This could include global maps that highlight areas of high activity or current events.

Geofencing & Augmented Reality: Use geofencing to trigger real-time AR experiences based on the location of participants, blending the digital and physical worlds in a highly interactive manner.

Conceptual Dimensions and Potential Projects:

Dynamic Narrative Installations: Create installations where real-time data drives a continuously evolving narrative. For example, a story that changes based on live weather patterns, financial data, or social media trends.

Responsive Architecture: Design buildings or spaces that change in response to real-time environmental data, such as shifting lighting based on the time of day, weather, or air quality.

Real-Time Music and Sound Art: Generate soundscapes that are influenced by live inputs such as seismic activity, traffic data, or social media sentiment. These could be used in concert settings, installations, or even as generative music albums that never sound the same twice.

Interactive Public Art: Develop public art installations that change based on real-time data, such as digital murals that shift with the weather or light displays that respond to traffic flows.

But I need smth more than this… This is too typical, Rafael Lozano already did stuff like this.

Or maybe a mixture? Is this meaningful? Partly global health data, partly augmented reality, partly Stock Market, partly live conversation… Collage? In a single canvas/single screen? Each part has a different QR and the audience interacts with a different mobile landing sites, and this will influence that exact part. I.e. if a user lands on the stock market app and does some trading that will interactively change the screen - but not rapidly since it’s a symbolised act? What is the meaning behind here? Too much production cost maybe compared to the conceptual value?

What should be collaged? What is the justification for this collage? What is the political message behind this? What is the value more than just merely displaying the collage - A narrative - Sum is bigger than the sum of parts? That’s the world we’re living in? An attempt to create a chaotic/uncomprehendible Times Square? In a single canvas? Broadway Boogie-Woogie? Related to the concept of naked interface/creating an interface which is not for the users but which 여과없이 세상의 원리를 들어내는…. 가감없이…

English Version (LLM-Generated)

Nam June Paik and his early show in Wuppertal, Germany was thought-provoking. He allowed viewers in from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, a decision informed by the broadcast timing of a television show in Germany during that era. His aim was to capture real-time television show content to post-process it, a significant conceptual element in his art.

In Tate Modern, Cildo Meireles's installation, 'Babel,' employed real-time audio, which multiplied to encapsulate the omnipresent radio, audio, and pop culture. Drawing from such resources represented an open canvas for innovation, a space in which contemporary artists should rapidly integrate any accessible real-time external sources. However, this integration needs to go beyond the scope of ChatGPT, which generates text from stored data.

Now, the challenge lies in developing art that incorporates real-time data, a realm I have hardly explored. For instance, real-time audio television data or integrating YouTube/transportation data will paint stories rarely experienced before. The focus here is to align art with the dynamics of the real world.

An attempt was made to address this through Civilisation Movement 3. Still, it lacked the gravitas we require. The integration of real-time data was a projection of the contemporary society, all dressed up in graphic design. But there is more to be done. An aspect worth pondering upon is aesthetics. What could multi-device web artwork serve or represent exclusively? Perhaps Basquiat's collage-like representations of the contemporary world could offer some insights. Each piece in his art individually reflects a different aspect of the contemporary world. This idea can stimulate an exciting integration of technology and art.

Possible categories for a fusion of technology and art are:

1. Incorporating real-time feeds from broadcast media and gaming platforms to reflect current trends.

2. Utilizing environmental and sensor data to reflect immediately upon global weather conditions or seismic activities.

3. Visualizing real-time transportation data to mirror urban life.

4. Integrating communication tools to explore the nature of present-day digital communication.

5. Representing real-time economic data, including the ebb and flow of cryptocurrencies.

6. Integrating real-time health data to highlight the current status of global health.

However, this isn't enough. The art needs to break free from the traditional mold, much like Rafael Lozano’s work. Maybe the artwork needs a mix of different data, a collage of global health, augmented reality, and live conversations. Or, better yet, embedding QR codes that change the art display interactively based on user interaction. It sounds interesting, but what would be the conceptual value beyond the production cost?

A collage of mixed mediums and technologies could be significant, but only if it is justified. It needs to deliver a political message profound enough to rise above the surface-level depiction of chaos. It needs to poignantly capture the world in a single canvas, perhaps as an interface that uncovers the principles of the world without any filtration or modification.

Korean Version (LLM-Generated)

남준백의 초기 Wuppertal 전시 회 사례 - 그는 당시 독일에서 텔레비전 방송이 실시간으로 진행되던 오직 한 시간대인 저녁 7시 30분에서 9시 30분에 전시회를 열었다. 그러나 실시간 텔레비전 방송 내용을 수집하고 후처리하는 것이 그의 실천의 중요한 개념적 차원이었기 때문에 그는 이런 결정을 내렸다고 볼 수 있다.

테이트 모던의 cildo meireles의 바벨(Babel)은 실시간 오디오를 얻고 이를 곱하여 우리가 살고 있는 라디오/오디오/대중문화를 반영하는 것이 얼마나 놀라운지를 보여준다.

웹은 실시간 외부 출처를 쉽게 통합할 수 있는 공간이다 → 왜 시도해보지 않는 걸까? 지금까지 빠르게 시도하지 않은 것 중 하나... ChatGPT의 통합과는 다르게, ChatGPT는 저장된 데이터로부터만 텍스트를 생성하며(비록 API 자체는 실시간이고 구조는 실시간 상호작용을 허용하더라도), 비디오나 유튜브, 교통 데이터와 같은 실시간 오디오 텔레비전 데이터를 추출하고 통합하는 것은 다른 이야기다. 더 실제 세계 내에서 또는 실제 세계와 함께 통합될 수 있는 것들을 더 찾아봐야한다. 그렇다면 가능한 카테고리들은 무엇일까?

나는 이런 아이디어들을 생각해봤다:

1. 실시간 방송 및 스트리밍 미디어

텔레비전 및 라디오 피드: 실시간 텔레비전 혹은 라디오 방송을 설치 작업이나 퍼포먼스에 도입하십시오. 예를 들어, 설치작품은 주요 나라들의 실시간 뉴스 피드를 통해 글로벌 관점을 탐색하게 될 것이다.

SNS 피드: 트위터나 인스타그램처럼 실시간으로 컨텐츠에 반영이 되는 SNS 콘텐츠를 통해 현재의 사회 이슈를 다뤄볼 수 있다.

하지만 나는 이것보다 더 나은 것을 찾고 있다... 이것은 너무 전형적이다. Rafael Lozano도 이미 이런 일을 해봤다.

아니면 가치 있는 것일까? 일부는 실제 건강 데이터, 일부는 증강 현실, 일부는 주식 시장, 일부는 실시간 대화를 한 화면에서 혼합체형식으로 보여줄 수도 있을 것이다. 각 부분마다 다른 QR 코드가 있어 관객들이 서로 다른 모바일 대화창에 도달하게 하고 그것이 바로 그 부분에 영향을 미치게 만들 수도 있다. 사용자가 주식 시장 앱에 착륙하고 거래를 하면 실시간으로 화면이 바뀌게 되지만, 이것은 상징적인 행위이기 때문에 급격하게 변하지는 않을 것이다. 그럼 여기서 의미는 무엇일까? 생산 비용이 개념적 가치에 비해 너무 많을지도 모른다.

어떤 것이 혼합체가 되어야 할까? 이 혼합체를 정당화하는 이유는 무엇일까? 이 뒤에 숨겨져 있는 정치적 메시지는 무엇일까? 단순히 혼합된 것을 표시하는 것 이상의 가치는 무엇일까? 서로 다른 부분이 합쳐진 결과물이 더 크다는 메시지일까? 혼돈스럽고 이해하기 힘든 신사동 광화문처럼 보이게 하려는 시도일까? 한 장의 캔버스에서? 近接 방식의 어프로치? 사람들에게 친숙하지 않은 인터페이스를 만들어내는 데 반드시 세상의 원리를 여과 없이 노출하려는 것인지... 가감없이...