The Crossroads of Art and Technology: Creating The Creators Project

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The Crossroads of Art and Technology: Creating The Creators Project By for Digital Innovation Gazette

Technology has revolutionized social interaction, givingindividuals unprecedented access to global distribution channels. Thanks to incredible advances in content creation technologies andmultithreaded processors, today`s artists, musicians,filmmakers and designers are reshaping the boundaries of creativeexpression.

TheStart
The Creators Project, founded in part by Vice Media, was started to showcase innovative artists and enable themto realize new artwork. "The Creators Project celebrates theconnection between art and technology," says David Haroldsen, a creative director for the project. "We set out to give people who use computers every day a look at artistic experiences that areonly possible because of technology."

"The Creators Project is about cultivating artists from around the world and exploring the boundaries of creativity as well as the role technologyplays in the process," adds Hosi Simon, general manager atVice Media. With offices in more than 30 countries, Vice is uniquelypositioned to draw from its relationship among the global art communityand identify cutting-edge interdisciplinary artists.

When The Creators Project launched in 2010, Vice used a variety of media --including television, print, online and mobile outlets -- to documentthe work of more than 100 creators to date, hailing mostly from sevencountries (Brazil, China, France, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdomand United States). "In 2011, we pushed that concept forwardby showcasing their work at events around the world, and by gettinginvolved with the creators, their future and their creativeprocess," says Simon. "But we wanted to go beyondtelling their stories. We wanted to help them take their work to thenext level."

TheStudio
The Studio, an ongoing arts initiativesupported by The Creators Project, was created to do just that."Think of The Studio as an art foundation," saysSimon. "It offers creators the means to realize their artistic visions. We foster interdisciplinary collaborations and give themaccess to the latest technology. Then we disseminate the work using anumber of media channels and an event series."

The event series kicked off at Milk Studios in New York City and then moved to London, Sao Paulo and Seoul, culminating in a three-day expositionin Beijing. "We learned a lot in those firstevents," says Simon. "They were all-day, all-nightaffairs with everything from a film festival to panel discussions wherecreators explained how they do what they do. We had some of the bestbands -- amazing bands -- playing. In New York City, we had MIA,Interpol, Mark Ronson -- and we had incredible art installations -- allin one building. Frankly, it was too much to experience in a single day. That led us to planning multiday events."

Coachella
In 2011, TheCreators Project was the first-ever creative partner for Coachella --one of the world`s premier music and arts festivals -- andreimagined the event by creating groundbreaking visual experiences. Theproject collaborated with acts such as Arcade Fire and Interpol toenhance their performances. It also unveiled a series of original,large-scale artworks, including United Visual Artists`reinvention of Coachella`s main stage and MutiRandolph`s Sahara Tent installation. For the first time, TheCreators Project billed international bands from China, Korea and Brazil and also showcased interactive works by Mark Essen, Lumpens, FengMengbo and Hojun Song in The Creators Project tent.

The original artworks created for Coachella were unveiled as the firstseries of projects from The Studio. For example, J. Spaceman (fromSpiritualized, a U.K.-based space rock band) and Jonathan Glazer(director of Radiohead`s OK Computervideo and the film Sexy Beast) created a light and sound installation. The installation was a physical manifestation of Spiritualized`s iconic track "Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space," and was presented in a cathedral-like space designed by the architecture firm Undisclosable.

"I had an interesting conversation with Jonathan Glazer," saysSimon. "He was amazed that, despite the technicaldifficulties, the finished project was exactly what he had envisioned.So often, projects end up being only a third as good as the originalidea. Vice and The Creators Project stood behind Glazer`s andSpaceman`s idea 100 percent."

Joining Up
To become part ofThe Creators Project and The Studio, check out the application processon TheCreators Project website. Notes Haroldson: "We areenabling artists all over the world to build new things with the caveatthat they need to push technology."

"Visual experience is our top-level brief," says Simon."It`s not enough that someone be a great electronicmusician. There also has to be a visual element. And it`sessential that the Creators want to be involved because this only worksif the Creators are enthusiastic. We`re not paying them to bepart of the project."

"Wehave a mix of emerging artists and leading artists," continues Simon. "There has to be some aspirational aspect to TheCreators Project for emerging artists to get included in the program and feel like, `Wow, I`m hitting the bigleagues.`"

Globally, thatapproach helps artists who are well-established in their home countriesto gain exposure abroad. "We can help a Chinese artist getrecognized in the U.K., for example," says Simon."The same goes for someone like Diplo, who`sarguably quite famous in the States -- but by being featured on TheCreators Project website, his profile gets a couple million hits inChina."

The Creators Project is abalance between passion for the arts and an intimate connection withtechnology, as well as the culture surrounding the two. By supportingand showcasing emerging and established Creators and their work, Vicehopes to demonstrate that the status quo is simply not goodenough.

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