{"id":8490,"date":"2020-03-18T06:43:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-18T10:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/?p=8490"},"modified":"2020-03-17T18:47:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T22:47:02","slug":"features-zach-liebermans-future-sketches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artthescience.com\/magazine\/2020\/03\/18\/features-zach-liebermans-future-sketches\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURES \u2013 Zach Lieberman’s Future Sketches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Coding is often used as a functional tool, such as for building websites or analyzing data. But for creative coder Zach Lieberman<\/a>, code is an artistic medium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce I discovered code, I was always looking for ways to explore artistic ideas with software,\u201d says Lieberman. \u201cI like it\u2014there\u2019s a lot of beauty in math. You just need to look for it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative coding means using software to make artwork. While traditional coding software is created for a functional purpose, the goal of artistic software is usually more expressive, incorporating visuals, interactive systems, music, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lieberman, an artist and educator based in New York City, began his career studying fine art, far from the realm of science and technology. However, everything changed after he discovered Adobe Flash, an animation tool that allows you to code movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere was this simple and elegant way to animate\u2014you could write text, and the computer would turn it into movement,\u201d Lieberman recalls. \u201cI was hooked.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has been a creative coder ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between January 17 and March 1, 2020, Lieberman\u2019s first solo exhibition in Washington, DC was on display at ARTECHOUSE<\/a>. ARTECHOUSE, which opened in 2017 and now has two other locations, sits at the \u201ccrossroads of art, science, and technology.\u201d The innovative art space hosts rotating exhibitions of artworks that move across the walls, paired with music and sometimes interactive displays. It showcases how 21st century art is evolving with science, technology, and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Colorful,
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. One of Lieberman’s daily code “sketches” projected onto the main exhibition space. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lieberman\u2019s exhibition, Future Sketches<\/em>, found a fitting home here. His goal for this exhibition was to help people \u201cfeel what code feels like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The large projection space in ARTECHOUSE truly allowed visitors to feel the code and \u201clive in the sketches.\u201d Lieberman said he loved seeing photos of visitors experiencing his work in the art space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The large main hall of the space housed the \u201cSketch Lab,\u201d Lieberman\u2019s diary of daily code \u201csketches\u201d displayed on the open white walls. They moved across the walls and faded into one another with pulsating music accompanying their motion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off to one side was the \u201cCode Lab,\u201d where visitors could see Lieberman\u2019s students\u2019 work. Each artwork was the creation of a student of the School for Poetic Computation<\/a>, which Lieberman co-founded with the vision of exploring code, design, hardware, and theory. In this area of the exhibition, visitors could see how students altered, or “re-coded,” other creative coders’ original works while simultaneously visualizing how those script alterations affected the artworks themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. “Code Lab” display with a student’s changing code on the right and the resulting changing patterns on the left.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the other side of the exhibition space was the “Interaction Lab,” which consisted of multiple stations along a hallway. At one station, visitors could move plastic shapes and letters onto a table, and the arrangement was projected onto a screen with different lines and colours bouncing off of it. At another station, visitors could dance and pose, and their bodies would become twirling figures on the wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. Interactive display that bounces lights and colours off of plastic shapes and letters laid out on a table. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Human-like
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. Human-like figure projected onto the wall that imitates a visitor’s body movements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the end of that hallway was an entire room dedicated to the \u201cFace Lab.\u201d Cameras captured videos of your face and distorted it based on facial expression, altered your face with shapes, and even mixed and matched your eyes, nose, and mouth with those of other people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. Display projects a visitor’s face but switches out facial features based on expression.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Three
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by McKenzie Prillaman. Display shows a visitor’s face, but facial features slide left and right onto other faces.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lieberman says that he likes projects that allow participants to become performers. \u201cMost of the time you go to a museum, [and] you see signs that say \u2018do not touch,\u2019 which means you can experience the artwork mostly with your eyes,\u201d he explains. \u201cI like projects you can touch and move with. You can explore them in totally different ways…Art doesn\u2019t really exist without the audience. It creates a feedback loop, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like projects you can touch and move with\u2026Art doesn\u2019t really exist without the audience.”<\/p>Zach Lieberman<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Through Future Sketches<\/em>, Lieberman demonstrated his desire to encourage more interaction at the intersection of humanity and technology. \u201cOften times the interfaces that we use are flat, functional, and don\u2019t really engage with space or our bodies in a creative way,\u201d he says. \u201cArtists can show unique possibilities and unique futures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lieberman’s creative ambitions are far-reaching: \u201cI want a future which is more human-centered, more organic, more absurd, more playful,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I hope to inspire in my work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Human-like
Future Sketches <\/em>(2020) by Zach Lieberman, photo by Clarissa Villondo for ARTECHOUSE. A daily code “sketch” projected in the main exhibition hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For more by Zach Lieberman, visit his <\/em>website<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a>, or <\/em>creative coding toolkit<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>
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