Iterative Emergence of Art/Science Hybrids

Abstract

This paper highlights and analyses the realization of three examples of Art/Science hybrids that resulted from close collaboration of artists, scientists and engineers: First, the Scheinwerfer Live Visuals project was accompanied by the development of the media-processing software Soundium. Second, the Digital Marionette was based on Soundium, and extended with real-time speech recognition and facial animation. Finally, the Procedural City installation used a fingerprint scanner and a generative urban modeling tool to create personalized 3D cities. The examples started from uncertainty in terms of technology, design and anticipated result. A common denominator was the interaction between artistic process, scientific research and engineering: Artistic ideas often were beyond the capabilities of available technology, thus triggering research and development. New solutions then returned in a generalized form, spawning new artistic demands. This paper identifies processes and strategies involved, and argues that a close iterative interplay between domain experts is a key ingredient for rapid emergence from uncertainty to a final work.

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