Representing the Self Through the Visualization of Personal Data

The representation of identity in digital media does not necessarily have to be conceived on the basis of criteria that mimic physical reality. This article presents a model for representing individual identity, based on the recording of human experience in the form of personal data, as an alternative to the common forms of mimetic portraiture. As such, the authors developed the project Data Self-Portrait that aims to explore the creative possibilities associated with the concept of data portrait. It can be described as a means of representing and expressing identity through the application of data visualization techniques to the domain of portraiture, according to an exploratory design approach, based on visualizing the digital footprint. It thus seeks to develop design proposals for representing identity that respond to the growing dematerialization of human activities and explores the representational and expressive role of data visualization, according to a creative use of computational technologies.

Embodiment in Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has been a prominent idea for exploring new worlds beyond the physical, and in recent decades, it has evolved in many aspects. The notion of immersion and the sense of presence in VR gained new definitions as technological advances took place. However, even today, we can question whether the degrees of immersion achieved through this technology are profound and felt. A fundamental aspect is the sense of embodiment in the virtual space. To what extent do we feel embodied in virtual environments? In this publication, the authors present works that challenge and question the embodiment sensation in VR, specifically in the artistic aspect. They present initial reflections about embodiment in virtuality and analyze the technologies adopted in creating interactive artworks prepared for galleries and theater stage, questioning the sensations caused by the visual embodiment in virtual reality under the perspective of both the audience and the performer.

R Scuti

R Scuti is an audio-visual installation that proposes the transposition of astronomical data into an exhibition environment, using star observation records from AAVSO database. The collected information, which corresponds to more than a century of observations, were digitally converted to sound patterns that materialize through cymatics on a water surface. This surface receives a light focus, which reflects the moving waves and creates luminous patterns on the room's ceiling. The present text acquaints the concept, creation details, and contextualization of R Scuti in the scenario of poetic data visualization, which took shape in this project from the interdisciplinary dialogue between art, science, and technology.

The Destinies of Senses

During the state of global emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic, online cultural events have multiplied and gained space in our lives. However, this relationship between contemporary art and digital media has been developing for decades. In this paper, the authors cover the curatorial and preparation process for the virtual pavilion The Destinies of Senses that was part of the 4th edition of the digital art biennial The Wrong, which took place from November 2019 to March 2020, bringing to discussion the curation of online exhibitions, aesthetics post-digital, and the creation process of these artists. The authors approach in more detail one of the projects that integrated the exhibition and that combines fashion production, print media, and digital art.

“Ecoações”

The chapter title comes from the fusion of concepts “echo” and “equations.” “Ecoações” contains, from the traditions, the Algarve handmade textiles, the regional pottery, and the characteristic sounds of the customs associated with these activities; from the theater, scenography and costumes; from the fine arts, the sculpture (of the human figure) and the murals in low relief; from digital media art, soundscape, digital interaction, and video projection. In Ecoações, the scenic space invites spectators to immerse themselves in the theme and to visit another dimension of heritage traditions, presented here under a contemporary aesthetic. The installation as scenography space implies all the theatricality of the visual narrative, hearing and tactile, giving the public the opportunity to explore tradition through the various senses. This article discusses the characteristics of the installation “echoes” that bring it closer to post-digital aesthetics and heritage expression, and the challenges of combining the scenic space, the traditions, and the digital media art.

Anamorphic Atmospheres

The principles of linear perspective geometry were applied to both the representation and the form of the Renaissance city to reflect the collective proprietorial ambitions of church and state. Anamorphosis was developed by intellectual dissidents as a drawing mechanism and as a counter to the previous representational constraints imposed by linear perspective. The contemporary city image relies upon on an array of pixels mediated by technology to foster existing relationships between power and place. The paper argues that digital technologies initiate anamorphic viewing conditions that correspond to previous attempts to destabilise the covert ambitions of linear perspective. By presenting digital anamorphic representations of contemporary urban space, it shows how the temporal nature of the image and the pixel-based geometry of the digital array not only contest the promotional city view but multiply the opportunity to understand previously unexplored qualitative, atmospheric properties of urban space.

The Use of Media Convergence in the Preservation and Dissemination of Cultural Assets

This article intends to present the experience and perspectives of the use of media convergence through an artifact/installation in media digital art. The aim of the experience is, as an interface, to contribute to the knowledge dissemination about timbila of Mozambique as cultural asset, especially in the younger strata, and to lead reflection and awareness about the problem due the risc of it disappearance. The article aims to elucidate the role of digital media art in solving humanities' problems.

The Sopro Artefact

Sopro is a hybrid artefact composed of analogue and digital technologies that crosses video art with installation and interactive art. It includes an interface which reveals a certain audiovisual flow when triggered by an interactor blowing insistently. It oscillates between an interface of concealment at the moment that allows something to be visualized and self-neutralizes in the act of transmission and an interface that is revealed through the difficulties of the interactor in revealing the images and sounds (by blowing). This paradox, this ambiguity, singles out the artefact as a quasi-medium, in the sense that it has the ability to reveal audiovisual content but is not able to maintain fluid transmission. It does not withdraw; it shows itself.

Pattern Recognition and Color Modularity in Mathematics and Art

Pattern recognition is a useful tool for mathematics, mathematical visualization, and art. After a brief description of Bongard methodology in the field of pattern recognition, the author combines consequential elements of this technique and principles of color modularity to transform a five- to a ten-pointed star polygon, and in doing so attains a rich, persuasive visualization. This process that can be repeated for more complex objects brought to light additional valuable implication for mathematics visualization, visual communication, and pattern recognition practices.

Backyard Sounds

This article is a study on the immersive sound installation “Backyard Sounds”. The union of our artistic practice to theoretical research resulted on the birth of this project. One of the main objectives of “Backyard Sounds” was the consideration of the sounds of contemporaneity. Seeking to lead users to experience videos and sounds in a dark room, since sounds were only set off with the users' approach, sounds of nature and those produced by humans were used intentionally to demonstrate the inherent paradoxes of contemporary life. This research consists of a study on the immersive sound installation “Backyard Sounds”. The authors approach the artistic process involved in its creation and the concepts, notions, and reflections related to the computational artifact. The sounds heard were reveries of the soundscapes (concept of sounds of nature and others produced by humans), and it was intended to bring users the extreme paradoxes of contemporary life.