Cloud Shape Classifier by Douglas Bagnall

Wintec, R Block, Gate 2, Collingwood St, Hamilton
Open Tues to Friday 12 – 4pm

MEDIA RELEASE

Cloud Shape Classifier
Douglas Bagnall

30 March – 20 April 2007

What sort of clouds do you like?

Douglas Bagnall invites us to participate in his post-object work Cloud Shape Classifier on exhibition at Ramp Gallery this April.

In former days we had time to watch clouds go by while lying on the grass, lounging in a hammock, or staring out the window as we washed the dishes. We think we would like to indulge in clouds, but lack the minutes to look upwards. The purpose of Cloud Shape Classifier is to watch the sky as we go about our routines, and show us the best clouds at a later date. The Classifier helps recognize the clouds you like, via a camera. Since not everyone prefers the same clouds, the Classifier learns an individual's taste, and tries to show each person only the clouds they like.

Cloud Shape Classifier raises interesting questions about our contemporary interaction with art and technology. Like for his previous work, A Film-making Robot, where a robot edited short films, Douglas Bagnall has made a computer programme with an in-built ability to make aesthetic decisions. Visitors to Ramp will see a projection of four clouds in a grid format. A camera will take photographs of the sky in Wellington, which are automatically uploaded to a website and projected in the gallery via a computer with broadband connection.

Douglas began his career in the early nineties. His film and digital art, including The Sea (pt 3) (1996) and Random Geographical Survey (1998), has been seen throughout New Zealand at short film and fringe film festivals. His work has been shown internationally at Melbourne Experimenta in 1994 and at the Tokyo Video Festival in 1996. Bagnall was one of the first recipients (with Helen Varley Jamieson and Vicki Smith) of the Creative New Zealand Smash Palace grants for the collaborative work UpStage.

Douglas Bagnall returns to the Waikato were he was Digital Artist in Residence at the University of Waikato in 2003. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this provocative exhibition and choose a cloud you like.

ENDS

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