"I really wanted to explore how we could use interactive technologies in that space," Chang said.
The works are by four students and one graduate of the UC Irvine Arts Computation Engineering program. All five installation pieces employ digital technologies and require human participation.
Simon Penny, founder and co-director of the program and professor of arts and engineering at UCI, said that the five artists come from China, Korea, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. He described the program as "a radically interdisciplinary program prepping people for new careers in digital cultures."
Addiel de Alba's piece, "Unrealistic Sonic Experiences," creates an original soundscape using special turntables and nontraditional instruments.
"Tenses," by Bruno Nadeau, displays poetry and urban graffiti using fonts and vectoral animation; and Eric Kabisch's "Sonic Panoramas" invites viewers to create music to accompany a landscape image.
Byeong Sam Jeon's piece, "Drop Drop," tracks a remote-control car on a computer-generated canvas, leaving colorful abstract dots along its route and then printing the image. And "GoScape," by Shan Jiang, creates music in response to the positioning of black and white stones on a game board.
The exhibition is especially unique because many of the student projects produced in the UCI program are not conducive to being displayed in a gallery setting, Penny said. But these pieces helped bridge the gap between technology and art.
"Those people who attended have experienced a range of practices that they might not have previously thought of as art," Penny said.
