Autarkeia Aggregatum
computer-realized video and sound (2005)
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"In this work by Battey sound and images generate and influence one another, creating a magma constantly transforming in terms of light and colour, an evocative and tactile kaleidoscope, saturated and evanescent, at times about to liquefy, at others to explode like air."
— Invideo 2006, Milan
Continuing an approach started with my work cMatrix10 (2004), I produced the visuals for Autarkeia Aggregetum through the massed animation of individual points. There are no splices or cuts in the video; it unfolds from beginning to end through the continuous movement and transformation of over 11,000 points. Similarly, the audio emphasizes ebb and flow between different states, minimizing hard edges and events.
When seeking a title for the piece, I turned to the Monadology — the philosopher Leibniz’s theory of fundamental particles of reality (monads). I appropriated the two words from that work: autarkeia (Greek) for self-sufficiency, and aggregatum (Latin) meaning joined, aggregated. The terms together appropriately suggest an aggregation of the activities of autonomous entities. More subtly, a resonance with Classicism draws me to the words. The resonance is one of an inner fullness of being expressed outwardly in elegant, self-sufficient restraint.
Technical Details
I produced the sound for Autarkeia Aggregetum with the help of the musical composition and synthesis programming languages Common Lisp Music (by Bill Shotstaedt) and Common Music (by Rick Taube). A primary tool was my Pitch Curve Analysis and Composition toolkit (PICACS) for providing naturalistic and expressive glissandi and continuous-pitch melodies.
I initially developed the visual effects method using the Java programming environment Processing (by Ben Fry and Casey Reas). I then translated the algorithm into a plug-in for Apple’s Motion 2 video effects software.
Presentation Details
Duration: 9 minutes 30 seconds
This work was authored in high-definition video 720p (1280 x 720), and it relies heavily on the high color and pixel resolution of HD. It can be presented using Quicktime Pro 7.0 or better on a Mac G5 Dual 1.8 Ghz processor or faster. Alternative versions are available for G4 playback or (as a last resort!) standard DVD playback (PAL or NTSC).
Honours
- Special Mention - Festival Internacional de la Imagen, Departamento de Diseño Visual de la Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
Selected Presentations
- Broadcasts
- Ongoing from March 2011 - Souvenirs from Earth (Germany/France)
- Online
- November, 2006 - VideoChannel / Cologne Online Film Festival, Germany
- March, 2008 - Transfera, La Central Digital, Madrid, Spain
- Screenings
- April, 2013 - Fylkingen, Stockholm, Sweden
- November, 2011 - Soundtrack_Cologne 8.0, Koelnischer Kunstverein, Köln, Germany
- September, 2011 - Solo show, Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, Ohio, USA
- September, 2011 - Big Screen Project, New York City, USA
- October, 2011 - ArtPlatform: Epson Video Lounge (curated by Young Projects), Los Angeles, USA
- October, 2011 - Lipa Festival, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa, USA
- January, 2010 - BEAST plus: Sound and Image, George Cadbury Hall, University of Birmingham, UK
- December, 2009 - 50th anniversary of the Studio für Elektronische Musik, Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria
- December, 2009 - MADATAC, Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas, Madrid, Spain
- June, 2009 - Música Visual: El Nuevo Arte Sinestésico, Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
- May, 2009 - Música Visual: El Nuevo Arte Sinestésico, Fundación Celarg, Caracas, Venezuela
- May, 2009 - Música Visual: El Nuevo Arte Sinestésico, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Caracas, Venezuela
- April/May, 2009 - Cartes Flux Retrospective, Espoo Cultural Centre, Espoo, Finland
- April, 2009 - Solo show, CCRMA, Stanford University, USA
- April, 2009 - Visual Music Marathon, School of Visual Arts, New York City, USA
- April, 2009 - Inner Soundscapes, University of Oklahoma School of Music, USA
- January 2009 - Visual Music, Folkwanghochschule, Essen, Germany
- October, 2008 - Kunstverein Dresden, Germany
- June, 2008 - El Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras (CMMAS), Merida, Mexico
- June, 2008 - Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia
- May, 2008 - Mostra Audiovisual International: Minima2008, Valencia, Spain
- June, 2008 - Visual Music, Technical University of Berlin, Germany
- May, 2008 - Visual Music, Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, Germany
- May, 2008 - Cartes Flux, Espoo, Finland
- April, 2008 - Phoenix Arts, Leicester, UK
- January, 2008 - GEMdays Festival, Huddersfield, UK
- November, 2007 - CYNETart_07, Dresden, Germany
- October, 2007 - Visual Rhythms, London, UK
- September, 2007 - International Computer Music Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
- June, 2007 - Internationales Videofestival Bochum, Germany
- June, 2007 - Art Athina: Kataskevi, Athens, Greece
- May, 2007 - International Media Art Biennale WRO, Wroclaw, Poland
- May, 2007 - Surrounded, Keele University, UK
- May, 2007 - The Bigger Picture (25 square metre public video screen), Manchester, UK
- May, 2007 - FutureSonic / FutureVisual, Manchester, UK
- April, 2007 - Boston Visual Music Marathon, USA
- March, 2007 - Optronica, London, UK
- January, 2007 - Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow, UK
- Various, 2006 - ArtTechMedia, Spain
- December 2006 - Videologia: Art of Transition, Volgograd, Russia
- November, 2006 - Les Instants Vidéo Numeriques et Poetiques, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- November, 2006 - Les Instants Vidéo Numeriques et Poetiques, Asunción, Paraguay
- November, 2006 - Les Instants Vidéo Numeriques et Poetiques, Uraguay, Montevideo
- November, 2006 - Invideo, Milan, italy
- November, 2006 - Seoul International Computer Music Festival, Korea
- November, 2006 - Music Beyond Performance: SoundImageSound IV, Stockton, CA , USA
- October, 2006 - VAD International Video and Digital Arts Festival, Girona, Spain
- October, 2006 - Sunday Night Multimedia Series, Montana State University, USA
- October 2006 - Amsterdam Film eXperience (AFX), Netherlands
- October, 2006 - 27th Annual New Music and Art Festival, Bowling Green University, Ohio, USA
- September, 2006 - Unbalanced Connection, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
- September, 2006 - International Panorama of Independent Film and Video, Patras, Greece
- August, 2006 - FILE Electronic Language International Festival / Hipersonica, São Paulo, Brazil
- August, 2006 - SIGGRAPH 2006 Art Gallery Animation Theatre, Boston, USA
- July, 2006 - New York Digital Salon: Harmonic Light, New York City, USA
- June, 2006 - Darklight Festival, Dublin, Ireland
- June, 2006 - The European Experimental Exhibition D-NEFF, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
- June, 2006 - Sonic Arts Network Expo 2006, University of Manchester, UK
- June, 2006 - IntroOut Festival, Thessaloniki, Greece
- May, 2006 - Intermedia Manifold Arts TechArt06 Exhibition, Northern Illinois University at DeKalb, USA
- May 2006 - PixelDance II - Video :: Art :: Festival, Thessaloniki, Greece
- April, 2006 - Athens Video Festival, Greece
- April, 2006 - 700.isEgilsstaðir, Iceland
- April, 2006 - Sonorities Festival, Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast, UK
- March, 2006 - zemos98 Audiovisual Festival, Centre of Art of Sevilla, Spain
- February, 2006 - Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art, Minneapolis, USA
- January, 2006 - In Feed @ Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada
- January, 2006 - Dream in Bursts, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
- October, 2005 - Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media, Seattle, USA
Other
- November 2006 - still image printed in Computer Graphics World, Portfolio section