Expanded Animation 2017

The fifth edition of the Expanded Animation symposium took place on September 8^th and 9^th at the CENTRAL Linz. The symposium is as part of the Ars Electronica Animation Festival since 2015 and has evolved to an international recognized platform on expanded field of artistic computer animation. The symposium was again a big success and counted about 900 visitors at fife panels on two days!

Once again, the fringes of computer animation served as a frame for an examination of the interplay between animation and technology. This year the main topic was Hybrid Technologies in Animation, including fife panels entitled Artist Position, Hybrid Technologies Theory, Hybrid Technologies Practice and Art & Industry. The main topic was discussed from a variety of perspectives by 15 speakers, by animation filmmakers, scientists, curators, VFX artists, and prizewinners in the Prix Ars Electronica’s Computer Animation/Film/VFX category.

The symposium was kicked off with the Prix Forum, featuring the top prize winners Davide  OReilly, the studio Emblematic Group and the artist duo Kimchi and Chips in the category Computer Animation/Film/VFX. One of the highlights of the symposium was David OReilly´s inspiring presentation about his new game Everything, which was awarded with the Golden Nica 2017.

The second panel, entitled Artist Position, highlighted neo media artist Max Hattler, who talked about broken visions in stereoscopy, followed by Nikita Diakur, one of the award-of-distinction-winner, and the Dutch studio Job, Joris & Marieke. In addition to these presentations there have been special screening at the Movimento and at Deep Space 8K at Ars Electronica featuring the work of Max Hattler and Job, Joris & Marieke.

The second day started with the panels Hybrid Technologies in theory and practice. Stefan Schwingeler analyzed digital games as hybrid, artistic material, raging from early game modifications from the 90s to recent art games like David OReilly´s games Mountain and Everything. When Lev Manovich, a renewed media scholar and pioneer in media culture, entered the stage, the venue was almost full with about 250 visitors. In his presentation AI and image culture Lev Manovich tackled the main topic of Ars Electronica 2017 AI – Artifical Intelligence / The Other I. As a complement to these theoretical perspectives two artistic approaches followed in the next panel. Anna Diaz from Barcelona-based creative studio Hamill Industries talked about visualizing sound and listening to images, Cedrik Kiefer from the Berlin-based studio onformative showed various hybrid forms from virtual reality to physical animation installations. The last panel Art & Industry featured three graduates form the Department Digital Media. Raphael Vangelis (graduated in 2010) and Stefan Srb (graduated 2011) talked about the challenges working as an independent artist and working in the industry. Raphael Vangelis presented his recent hybrid stop motion short Analogue Loaders, Stefan Srb gave an insight in the production of the independent game “The Lion´s Song”. Martina Stiftinger (graduated 2008), illustrator and animation director at ManvsMachine, came up with the topic visual storytelling in the animation industry.

Expanded Animation is brought to you by a group of dedicated people from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg Campus | Digital Media Department.