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This web site documents our collaborative project entitled 72. The aim of this project is to realize interactive and generative art installations that combine swarm simulations with video and audio processing and synthesis. The project title 72 stands for swarm-based interactive art. This connection can be derived as follows: 72 equals 49, which is pronuciated in Japanese as Shi-juu-ku or Shi Ku if 4 and 9 are considered seperate digits. On the other hand, the German translation of swarm-based interactive art is Schwarm-basierte interaktive Kunst and can be abbreviated to Sch-I-Ku. The pronunciations of Japanese Shi Ku and German Sch-I-Ku are identical. The project title 72 possesses many connotations. For instance, in the field of cognitive psychology, it is well known that the average number of chunks in the human short term memory equals 7. George A. Miller has coined the term magical number seven in 1956. Since our installation turn algorithms that stem from the fields of Artificial Life and Artificial Intelligence into an interactive and aethetic experience, they offer visitors an abstracted mirror that questions their own feelings about being alive and sentient.  |
Another connotation stems from Buddhism. Here, the word Shi-Ku represents the four sufferings that cannot be avoided by any person: birth, aging, sickness, and death. The project logo no only resembles 72 but also a person, who seems to jump from left to right over an invisible obstacle. It therefore also symbolizes the struggling of every being alive struggling against these four sufferings. Our artworks are reflections about this constant struggle and will hopefully aid people in gaining a better understanding of themselves. So far, six installations have been realized as part of this collaborative project.
For more information about these projects, please follow the links in the left menu. |