Commissioned by the Ars Electronica Center in 2004, Seek is a networked generative artwork connecting the online and the offline experience. The work is built in two interconnected parts: the multi-user online experience and the large-scale facade piece projected in Linz, Austria.
Autonomous elements in the facade projection were occasionally locked to the movement of corresponding objects in the online piece. The facade software would thus linger on the data gathered from running instances of the online application, modeling its behaviors from this live input.
Although outputting different visible results, both pieces — online and facade — were in reality separate halves of the same system, built on the same algorithms and coexisting naturally.
System Architecture
Concept illustration showing the online interface alongside the physical facade installation.
Installation at Ars Electronica Center (2004)
Night views of the generative projection on the museum facade.
Digital Outputs
Comparison of the unwrapped facade texture map (top) and the online user interface (bottom grid).
The generative output rendered as a continuous 3072×768 texture map for the building’s surface.
Screenshots from the multi-user online interface, showing the range of generated compositions.
Project Details
Year Created: 2004
Medium: Networked Generative Installation (Macromedia Director, Macromedia Flash Communication Server)
Credits
Concept & Audiovisual Programming: LIA and Miguel Carvalhais
FCS Setup & Global Assistance: Helmut Höllerl (Ars Electronica Futurelab)
Exhibitions
Ars Electronica Center, Linz, Austria (Facade Installation, June – September 2004)
