digital art

NESTLED IN THE FRENCH PYRENEES AT 750M ALTITUDE, 10KM FROM THE SPANISH BORDER AND SURROUNDED BY SNOWCAPPED PEAKS, WATERFALLS AND FORESTS, IS THE PICTURESQUE THERMAL TOWN OF AULUS-LES-BAINS. IN THE TOWN, HOUSED IN A BEAUTIFULLY RENOVATED 19TH CENTURY HOTEL, IS CAMP - THE FIRST OF A NEW BREED OF ARTS RESIDENCY.  CAMP RUNS A SHORT SERIES OF FIVE-DAY ARTS, MUSIC, WRITING AND ARTS-ACTIVIST SESSIONS. THESE ARE NO ORDINARY COURSES - THEY ARE INTENSE, ARTISTIC CATALYSTS RUN BY INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED PRACTITIONERS; CREATIVE FLASHPOINTS DESIGNED TO CHANGE THE LIVES OF EVERYONE INVOLVED. THE COURSES COMBINE WORK IN OUR WELL EQUIPPED FACILITIES WITH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS

AR & VR ART WITH SUTU AND PAISLEY SMITH 

Course dates - 19/06/2019 - 24/06/2019

When Google's Tilt Brush launched in 2016, digital artists hurled themselves at it - with its powerful control of textures, volumes and geometry, Tilt Brush was rapidly proven as the most versatile tool around for creating immersive virtual reality artwork, environments and experiences. The same year, Bjork launched "Bjork Digital", her ground-breaking exhibition of 360-degree VR music videos accompanying tracks from her album Vulnicura. It was a pinnacle year for VR, but Google were stepping into a rich, existing scene - artists had been working towards the creation of VR works since Morton Heilig's Sensorama (1956), Myron Krueger's VIDEOPLACE (1975), the StereoGraphics company's experiments throughout the 80s, SEGA VR and Nintendo Virtual Boy in the 90s, and the arrival of sophisticated and lightweight VR tech in the early 2010's.

The current generation of hardware and software allow for the fast, fluid creation of VR worlds (and the insertion of AR elements into the real world) which can be mass-experienced, blurring the limits of gaming, reality, storytelling and art. Reality can be seamlessly augmented with digital artworks, distinct virtual realities can be networked, shared and adapted by audiences, the artist becomes world-maker, the audience is no longer passive; in this brave new world, art does not reflect life - art forms the myriad worlds in which life takes place.

Sutu (aka Stuart Campbell) uses art and technology in new ways to tell stories. He has been commissioned by the likes of Marvel, Google and Disney to create VR art for properties such as Doctor Strange and Ready Player One. He has also created three VR documentaries; Inside Manus for SBS, Mind at War for Ryot Films and The Battle of Hamel for the Australian War Memorial. He's known for his interactive comics including Nawlz, Neomad, Modern Polaxis and These Memories Won't Last. He holds a Honorary Doctorate of Digital Media from Central Queensland University, is a 2017 Sundance Fellow and is the co-founder of EyeJack, an Augmented Reality company.

Paisley Smith is a Canadian filmmaker & virtual reality creator based in Los Angeles. She created Homestay, an interactive VR documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada Interactive, with Jam3. She received the 2018 Sundance Institute and Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Fellowship for her forthcoming VR experience "Unceded Territories", a collaboration with acclaimed artist and VR pioneer Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun; she's a visiting artist at USC's Mobile & Environmental Media Lab, led by Scott Fisher, and is admin of the thriving Women in VR/AR Facebook group.

Over the course of the week, this workshop will follow two twin trajectories - split into small groups, participants will divide their time equally between two different but complimentary sides to the VR/AR creative process, working towards the creation of new work, formation of new collaborative relationships, and honing of VR painting and creation skills.

Sutu will lead sessions in VR painting using Tilt Brush, exploring the painting process, filming the resulting work, and outputting 2D and 360 films. He will show how 360 content can be exported to 3D formats, for further use in other programs such as Unity. Advanced techniques covered will include creation of 3D scans for import into Tilt Brush.

Paisley will lead participants through a world-building process, where details of your story-world are established. From the basic seed of a world, brought to the session by each participant, Paisley will help you to imagine what that world would look like in VR, working to create a prototype of the world using real-life model making techniques before moving into VR.

You don't need prior experience of VR to take part - by the end of the session, you will have developed the skills, tech knowledge and increased imaginative potential to create new VR worlds, artworks and narratives.

PRICE €1299 - grants, bursaries and discounts available

INCLUDED IN THE COURSE FEE: FIVE DAYS OF CLASSES AND ACTIVITIES, A COMFORTABLE PRIVATE ROOM AT CAMP, ALL MEALS - BREAKFAST AND LUNCH AT CAMP, DINNER AT AN EXCELLENT LOCAL RESTAURANT, UNLIMITED USE OF OUR RECORDING STUDIOS, EDITING SUITES, REHEARSAL STUDIOS, LIBRARY AND OTHER FACILITIES, POST-COURSE BENEFITS & SUPPORT