Geogre Legrady. From hardwired to automation: visual narrative through computation

I will present a series of computer-generated, time-based artworks realized in my studio that explore multi-linear visual narrative from the early 1990s to the present. These works came to be through intersecting diverse resources such as the current state of artistic visual exploration, the analytical methodologies of cultural studies, and the evolutionary confines of technological availability. For instance, sampling of documents through scanning, the capture of time-based audio and images were all introduced in 1992. The primary multimedia tool that introduced multilinear narrative flow at that time was Macromedia Director where sequences were hard-wired. Other approaches included the organization of data accessed through hierarchical and relational databases introducing metadata. Since then, due to the increased speed and bandwidth of data processing, and data-processing algorithms with statistical analysis, multi-linear visual narratives increased in real-time, based on computational dynamic decision-making through artificial neural-networks and machine-learning. Through the examples that I will present, I will share ideas about data processing, the narrative potential of visualization, and compare engineering and media art approaches.

George Legrady
Artist & professor with focus on research and experimental projects in the areas of data visualization, algorithmic processes, computational photography, and interactive installation. Creator and manager of the Experimental Visualization Lab at the California Nanosystems Institute / University of California, Santa Barbara.