Tokyo Lab :::: DroneScapes @ A-ROOM

This Saturday Tokyo Lab´s (Chris Wittkowsky & Jori Tokyo) sound performance took place in the MATTER Observatory // Prinz-Leopold-Kaserne (PrinzLeoKultur) in Regensburg.

Chris and I filled the exhibition space, which was built up, re-furnished and curated by Max D. Well, with soundscapes, drones and participatory elements.

The later the evening got, the more audience appeared and interacted, listened and participated in the live played sound artwork.

Our synthesizers, samplers, theremin and sound effects didn’t just stand there, they were repeatedly questioned by the audience, integrated into experimental ideas and then also played.

The evening was a sonorous pleasure for all participants. Interesting conversations were held as well as lively exchanges took place on a mental level.

We hope that this kind of interactive performance can be celebrated again soon and continue to work on sounds and textures that open up spaces of thought.

Sounds and Drones by: Chris Wittkowsky & Jori Tokyo

Additional Sounds from Theremin: Participating Audience

Opening Photo, Films and Video Footage by: Max D. Well

Tokyo Lab // A-R00M 05/2023

Workflow Insights

After a longer abstinence from blogging, I see it as my duty to report a little about my current projects and work. Of course, the last weeks were not characterized by doing nothing, but a pretty dense workflow accompanied me daily.

The topic “Artificial Intelligence” is progressing breathtakingly and as far as I have the time, I am working deeply into the topic and try to combine the incredible new possibilities with my skills and work routines artistically.

I’m taking an approach based on mixed-media – which means combining Photoshop, Procreate on the iPad as well as Stable Diffusion and Midjourney into a design mix and trying to perfect a fusion of all the techniques at my disposal.

Currently, I am working on a photo book on the theme of “Women and Worlds of AI”. This work is taking up a large portion of my artistic life, but is also incredibly fun and enjoyable.

In addition, I have recently released several texture packs for 3D artists, submitted various stock photo works, and also released orderable everyday products with graphics by me. I must stress that I have to arrange this alongside my main job as a teacher and educator – which means my remaining free time has shrunk to a minimum.

Of course, sound design and experimental music are still big points in my artistic life and learning various electronic musical instruments and synthesizers costs me just as much time and effort.

Unfortunately I don’t have enough time right now to finish and release the long overdue three music albums with Chris Wittkowsky, which we recorded and mastered over the last months.

Hopefully this will change in the next weeks. After all, I have to finish a term paper and prepare my lessons at school at the same time. In summary, that means – full workload, but also some artistic satisfaction.

Working on Digital Canvas – Shared Screen

Today my friends from Avatar Orchestra Metaverse and Pomodoro Bolzano have realized an unusual project.
The aim was to edit a graphic document on the iPad from several places at the same time and to thus creating a joint work of art.

We were connected via the cities of Cologne (Germany), Toronto (Canada) and Regensburg (Germany) and after initial technical difficulties, we had quite colorful and appealing results on the screens.

Then we logged into our open-world environment, on the Odyssey simulation, at the same time, and Tina was able to project our drawing environment, with the changes happening in real time, onto a spontaneously constructed screen.

This kind of collaborative drawing projects with shared screen technology will certainly keep us busy more often.

Art.Birthday 2023 – THE OF OF BIND OF IF PLAD

Tonight, on art´s birthday, Max, Frieda, Chris and I performed our very personal celebration at Studio Tokyo.
Max and Frieda were connected via video conference, while Chris and I tried to get a live stream going.

Unfortunately, we were plagued by technical shortcomings on the part of the transmitted sound quality and the high-pitched guests of our little stream hardly got to hear anything.

We showed our handmade miniatures for art´s birthday, made from keywords of past birthdays with the help of an artificial intelligence that translated our words into graphics. Fortunately, at least the sounds of the miniatures were audible in the stream. All the sounds of the one-minute miniatures were accompanied by sounds that Chris and I had recorded especially for them.

“The title “THE OF OF BIND OF IF PLAD / JAMORIES” is a reference to the concept of the “Art’s Birthday,”which was first proposed by artist Robert Filliou in 1963 as part of the Fluxus art movement.

The idea behind the “Art’s Birthday” is that art, like any living organism, has a birthdate and continues to evolve and change over time. Filliou’s original concept was to celebrate the “birthday” of art on January 17th, the date of the first recorded use of the word “art” in human history. The title “THE OF OF BIND OF IF PLAD / JAMORIES” is a play on the idea of the “birth” of art and the word “bind” which refers to the connection, the relationship and the continuity in art.”

… from talks with chatGPT, 14.01.2023 …