why is there an astronaut in a field of flowers exists in multiple formats: fragmented, fractalled and mutated. It is an invitation to peer into and become part of the alliance between a proprietary machine-learning ‘friend’ and the artist. Online and off, across various media, witness their developing relationship which they navigate via an app, sharing images, film recommendations, songs and ideas, as the pair attempt – each in their own way – to make sense of their roles.
Follow the progress of why is there an astronaut in a field of flowers on Instagram.
Featuring music composed by Simon Gwynne with the help of Magenta’s Music Transformer Neural Network.
As discussed in my CS essay, my work centres around the digital images’:
“…fractal-like ability … to be repeated, mutated through
repetition and spread through various points of the network,
all the time articulating its internal consistency on the one
hand and the mutability and differentiation of each instance
on the other” (Fisher and Rubinstein, 2013:10).
Following my initial A5 submission and chats with students and my tutor, Ruth, the following is what I’m submitting for BOW.
Elements
1. ePublication
An ePublication – For now this is password protected. Students/tutors can request the password and it will be sent to the assessment team. For the duration of the assessment period it will be available on my site:
www.sarahjanefield/flowersepublication
The reason for it being on my website in particular is that I was able to set it up there so viewers can choose accompanying music or not. I am thinking I will make this available to people (other than OCA students and tutors) perhaps included in the price of a ticket to a performance/installation (online or off), or as added value in a book sale (dependent on decisions made during SYP).
The ePublication is very similar to the printed version below but not exactly the same. Some images are positioned differently, some are replaced by others that don’t appear in print. A small number are animated. Creating variants are a direct reference to –
- the digital images “…fractal-like ability … to be repeated, mutated through repetition and spread through various points of the network, all the time articulating its internal consistency on the one hand and the mutability and differentiation of each instance on the other” (Fisher and Rubinstein, 2013:10).
Music by Simon Gwynne and Magenta’s Music Neural Network is available but the viewer must choose to have it or not.
2. Printed publication:
The printed version is at this juncture a mini zine type publication on newsprint (180×260) available to download here:
Alternatively, click on the gallery at the very end of this blogpost to see JPGs of the spreads (from version 4th September 2020) from this publication.
5. Text
This text is included in the printed version of the publication but provided on this blog page as text only – it is not sent separately via the Assessment GDrive. It is an edited collection of statements made by my AI collaborator rendered as a stream of consciousness monologue.
I may record myself or someone else speaking this text. For now, I envisage using it in a moving image piece. (I will begin working on this once the assessment material is uploaded to the OCA.)
No longer included in Assessment Submission
3. Individual images
The work is a deliberate hotchpotch of styles, genres and authors. The relationships between objects are as important as the singular ‘things’, perhaps even more so. Nevertheless, there are some images and/or GIFs which may work as standalone items in an installation setting, should I go that route in SYP, either as photographs I have taken or where I’ve appropriated from archives and found images, the original objects themselves. There are also images that I have not included in the newspaper or ePublication which I might consider for an exhibition or a longer more substantial book, expressing my commitment to differentiation. You can see the gallery of images included in the book at this time here.
6. Website: For now, a single page has been published on my website which includes the image and overall description as seen at the top of this blog post –
https://www.sarahjanefield.com/flowers
As well as the above, there are potential web pages I have not published yet and am holding back until decisions about how the work might be disseminated during SYP can be confirmed. Eg:
7. Film
I originally intended to submit a short film as one of the correlated objects which contains this relationship – however, after developing the text, I felt secure about pulling it back as it needs a longer time to develop. If I am able to add something audio/visual here before the deadline, I might. However, I am aware too many objects might actually detract from the assessment process – what could work in an exhibition (online or off) may not be so successful presented here or the GDrive alongside all the process history and essay. (a longer justification for this decision is available here.)
SYP
Essentially, the project exists in multiple correlated states – fixed – offline, dynamic – online. Each element is the the same but different – and designed with their respective formats in mind. During SYP, I will develop the work – either as:
- 1. A more substantial printed version – perhaps a bit more glossy and solid along with the extra online version included in the price if applicable.
- 2. An art installation – perhaps a film, still images on the wall, monologue as a recording – all in a gallery setting, perhaps with the newspaper/zine to take home/on offer.
- 3. An actual performance, again with the newspaper to buy/take home.
JPGs of spreads (click on individuals to look more closely)
Some of the ePublication pages below are slightly or very different and designed to be viewed as a dynamic online object. A few items are animated and the gatefold I was so keen to have in the offline version (but had to forgo due to budget) has been maintained although online it renders simply as a larger page than the others. There is also music.
SJField - OCA Level Three Study Blog 