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SIGGRAPH - the world's biggest expo of computer graphics technology - is usually held in Los Angeles. So why put it into New Orleans at the height of a very sticky summer? I can only think that the prospect of pitting voodoo against the alpha nerd must have been appealing to the organisers.
Digital Bayou picked up the theme by placing a series of computer set pieces in a jumble of fishing nets strung from the ceiling. Gloomy lighting, islands surrounded by a swamp of aisles...I'm sure you're getting the picture.
The Bridge was conceived as a physical link between the conference and the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Centre via a T3 line. Not only that, it was meant to be seen as a '...metaphorical bridge that connects current issues, bringing together art and tech-nology...spanning issues of gender, race, religion...'. All I can say is that it tried too hard.
Frankly, the mix of SIGGRAPH could never resemble that fragrant integration of the cuisine of two nations that is a gumbo. For SIGGRAPH has always been a lumpy stew of art and technology. The legacy of its code-head origins is too strong. Remember, it started as a special interest group of the Association for Computing Machinery (though as one speaker pointed out, these days the tail is wagging the dog).
There were some great set pieces that were seamless marriages of art and technology, among them the air harp that one could strum via a series of infra-red beams, so triggering a cascade of sound and image. Another, MIC Exploration Space, tracked my movement across a stage, threw up my image on a screen and started to turn me into a plant when I stood still. Butterflies perched on my branches...I shook them off. Still nothing to match John McCormack, though.
These were exceptions. For let's face it, most of SIGGRAPH is about the intersection of processor speed with really useful tools for the computer graphics person - not about art. This is the land that spawns monumental improvements in rendering speed and ease of use, the land that gave us bevelled marble buttons and flying chrome logos from the Taste Free Demo Zone.
And what were the tools of the moment? Well, in one respect it seemed to be Judgment Day for the big players - and don't we just love that sort of thing? There seemed to be many small companies producing packages that run on a vanilla workstation. How about a complete package that does real time greenscreen compositing with texture mapping and everything else you could ask for around $10k? Or a package which to my untutored eyes seemed to make scripting of interactive media a breeze? You may even like the sound of an object-oriented VRML world builder. Yes, VRML was big - a clear sign that the Web has arrived at SIGGRAPH (and you can't get lower tech that).
Inevitably, there were some packages that could only be driven by the big boxes. I particularly liked the virtual Lego construction set (based on the Smartscene immersive scene assembly environment) where one could assemble a complete Lego world by plucking the pieces from a toolbox using a VR helmet and data gloves. Zooms and flythroughs - all at the flick of a wrist. I want one in my lounge, but where would I put the Onyx? It can't be long now before 3D worlds are sculpted in real time by multi-users using natural movements.
The Electronic Theatre - usually the showcase for the best high-end computer graphics work - was curiously flat this year. Twister was one of the few things that stood up well (even after its lamentable storyline was taken into account). Joe's Apartment, with its excerpts from a movie staring photorealistic cockroaches as they battle their human co-habitants in a New York apartment, was a highlight. These bugs can really move!
Other interesting work included:
¸ James and the Giant Peach, a Disney/Sony Pictures Imageworks blend of stop motion and CG elements with the most interesting look since Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
¸ Fin Fin on the Magic Planet, a scary product from Mitsui interactive. This virtual pet - a kind of mutant dolphin/bird - lives on the computer screen and responds to human actions and vocalisations sensed through a proprietary gizmo that sits on top of the computer. You should hear what this thing 'sings'. I have shown my demo copy to children whom I thought would know better - and yes, of course they want it.
¸ A very convincing segment from the feature film The Craft, which was notable not only for its seamless integration of live action and CG butterflies, but also because it was created on a PC.
¸ A refreshingly eccentric and witty keynote speech by Douglas Adams in which he traced the evolution of the computer as a system for visualising worlds.
The spirit of SIGGRAPH survived its encounter with smelly old New Orleans but it will be back in LA next year. Go there to pay homage to the Alpha Chimps of computer tools and, if you don't expect too much art, you may be pleasantly surprised.
PS: Australian computer graphics artists - where were you? What about SIGGRAPH 97?
©Simon Britton
MESH film/video/multimedia/art #10,MESH is the journal of
Experimenta Media Arts