Utc2019

Unravel the Code 8: Current Issues — Unstable Energy. Unbounded Potential.

Current Issues — Context

The future generation is full of ups and downs. Some fear that it is too unreliable. Others call for massive behavioral change. As promising as total power generation from wind or solar may sound, its intermittency poses fundamental challenges to our current ways of living. But if constant, dispatchable, and incorruptible power is an idea of the past, then it’s high time we learn how to go with the flow.

The 8th Annual Unravel the Code Workshop, Current Issues, explores the potential of a more secure future with a less reliable power grid. It calls for an interdisciplinary group of artists, designers and makers to ponder how this might affect the way we both build and use technology. Can we build devices that brace for, or even embrace, service interruptions? For what will we use the watts we might harvest ourselves? Are there ways to effectively engineer demand in order to match peak supply? And how might we satiate our technological desires when the sun doesn’t shine? These are but a few of the questions that will be explored when students of the Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore), Saint Lucas (Antwerp), and the Willem De Kooning Academy (Rotterdam) combine their power in a 72 hour high-energy, low resistance international exchange.

Unravel the What??

Unravel the Code is an annual program that opens creative understandings of emerging technologies through intensive international workshops. By historically examining the making of technologies, as well as leveraging interdisciplinary, the goal is to foster students to reach out for new socio-technical perspectives, as well as build back concrete skills respective to the areas of their expertise.

About the Collaborating Progams

Unravel the Code WDKA is a project that brings students across the Commercial, Autonomous and Social Practices, it's heart and home is in the Stations, and it still abides by its original Manifesto.

Unravel the Code MICA is a course draws upon traditional crafts to explore emerging technologies of making. The UNRVL students come from a rich variety of majors and backgrounds, and the content of the class is also spans a tremendous range.

The premaster program of Sint Lucas Antwerpen focuses on the development of an art or design practice within the domain of digital technology. Alike MICA & WDKA, the approach of Saint Lucas program emphasises interdisciplinarity, encourages research-driven work with conceptual rigour.

History

Current Issues — Current Challenges

Soft Powers - Fabric Station

How might small personal amounts of generated power manifest itself in personally powerful ways? Soft Powers explores the synergy of body gestures, e-textiles, and ‘just enough joules’ to enable one to take control of any situation. Skeptical of fashion-tech promises, this group has a power-it-yourself ethos, and believe that built in dynamos are on trend.

Bi-stable Publishing - Publication Station

How might spotty service and rolling blackouts shift the ubiquity of screen based media to more curious forms of dynamic display? Bi-stable Publishing explores new futures for current and antiquated display technologies that keep their mediation powers even when the power is out. How can you binge watch e-paper? And how do you flip-dot-booggie-woogie? The bistable publishers have ways…and they like it both ways…whether its on or off.

Juice & the City - Material Station

How might concepts of ’smart cities’ and ‘shared mobility’ be challenged by a public low on charge? Juice & the City considers the plethora of potential power sources parked idle in every street, and observes the emergent groups who ‘juice-up’ shared vehicles on the side. This group also speculates on the new feild of tension when the organised ’drainers’ arrive. How does this group siphon the street? and for what does it use its publicly collected energy for? On the flip-side, how might owners pre-empt and protect the precious batteries?

Behaviour Management - Interaction Station

How might we satiate our technological desires when the sun doesn’t shine? And are there ways to effectively engineer demand in order to match peak supply? The Behaviour Management group believes that our design of everyday life must to be better timed — they are busy beavers at high noon, and become more esoteric creatures with the moon. BMGer’s argue that in our current transition period, more energy needs to be spent on curbing old routines and creating new rituals than pumping money in overbuilt and inefficient infrastructure.

Schedule

Pre-Marathon Meeting A.K.A Awkward Skype Call

9/10 - 16/10	Bits of Antwerp - bits of Baltimore - bits of Rotterdam - through the magic of the internet
time and date student arranged	transcontinental duos try to sustain a 5 min awkward conversation, acknowledging that it will make the week much smoother knowing at least one face and one name. There is a strict format for this talk, which can be found below.

Awkward Skype Call Format

1. Identify your Skype partner here.
2. Make sure your battery is at least 5% - unplug your phone/computer
3. turn off all the lights, turn your screen on full brightness (awkward yet?)
4. make the call
5. share a love/hate about your current program
6. share a memory of a power outage, or a your last experience of Nomophobia
7. take your best screenshot of your screen lit faces and be prepared to share it on the project participant section
8. feel free to chat further (if its not too awkward) until your battery dies

The purpose of this pre-meeting is to have the first exchange to be on a peer to peer basis, and break the ice before the marathon begins.  

Workshop Overview

D1 - Monday 28 October - Meet, Greet, Eat, Show, Tell

Time / Place	Activity
~13:00 (exact TBC) /Willem de Kooning - Blaak Foyer	Show your face
14:00 – 16:00 /
16:00 – 17:00 / Station	WdKA tour within your workshop groups, explore the school's stations
17:00 – 18:00 / Room T.B.C	Drawing Power .
18:00 – 19:30 / VIP PIZZA (Across the street)	Zes uur! Etenstijd!
19:00 – 21:00	WdKA tour within your workshop groups, explore the school's stations
after hours	Bitterball’n? Tap-dancing Jeroen also happens to be registered party planner (many talents). He’d be happy to suggest any nighttime activities whatever your scene may be.

D2 Tuesday 28 October - Strictly Business

Time / Place	Activity
9:30 – 9:45 / De Willem	COFFEEEEEEEEE
10:00 – 10:30 / Interaction Station	The Briefing Jon what we are doing and why he’s so happy about it.
10:30 – 11:15 / Interaction Station	Brainstorm Round 1
11:15 – 12:00 / Interaction Station	Brainstorm Round 2
12:00 – 14:00 / ????	Mini-Excursion WDKA & MICA students break into groups, lunch somewhere in Rotterdam, and visit a ‘selfie’ worth place. #facesofrotterdam

D2 Tuesday 29 October - Technical Workshop

Time / Place	Activity
14:00 – 17:00 Fabric Station	You say potato and I say potahto, You say dynamo, and I say dynuhmo ... Let turn this weird thing on.
14:00 – 17:00 Publication Station	How do you actually flip-dot-boogie-woogie? Let's start with the electro-mechanical dots.
14:00 – 17:00 Material Station	Power your 3d printer from your teacher's parked car, you say? While we're at it, why not print some car/device dongles?
14:00 – 17:00 Interaction Station	You don't need electricity to look cool in a mo-cap suit, but to import it to Clo3d you do.
17:00 – 18:00	Reassurance- If tomorrow fails, at least we have that thing we just did. Lets make it look nicer in pictures
18:00 – 19:00 - De Willem / School Cantine	Lekker Borrelen

Wednesday 30 October - The Face of Things Marathon

Time / Place	Activity
9:30 – 10:30 / De Willem	Upping the Anti students evaluate their concept prototype sketch out a plan of action
10:00 – 11:00 / Interaction Station	Face your Mentor Students discussing concept, feasibly, required tech/materials with workshop mentors.
11:00 – 12:00 / Interaction Station	Facing the Facts Is the idea ideal? Are all parts of your plan ready for production? 1 hour or fact checking, script writing, or resource finding before lunch.
11:00 – 12:00 / Interaction Station	About Face? A working lunch dedicated to the second thoughts and the doubting thomases.
13:00 – 16:30 / Interaction Station	FACE OFF MAKE MAKE MAKE MAKE MAKE MAKE MAKE
16:30 – 17:30 / Blaak Foyer	Drawn out Critique draw out your process, critique your current outcomes, plan for the last push
17:30 – 20:30 / Interactionstation	Laatste Loodjes
20:30 – 20:45 / Blaak Foyer & Basement Exhibition Space	Project Delivery bring your project to the exhibition space

Thursday 31 October - Document

Thursday 26/10	Blaak Foyer & Basement Exhibition Space
9:00 – 11:00	Photo/video documentation of results
11:00 – 12:00	Walk through of results to WDKA managers/coodinators

Participating Faculty

MICA

1. Alan Grover, awgrover@gmail.com, technical assistant volunteer - 314508@edu.nl - rmzja
2. Ryan Hoover, rhoover@mica.edu, instructor - 314509@edu.nl - bhiqj
3. Annet Couwenberg, acouwenb@mica.edu, instructor - 314510@edu.nl - zisxw

WDKA

1. Tim Knapen, tim@indianen.be, digital craft practice mentor
2. Jon Stam, jon@commonplace.nl, digital craft research mentor
3. Javi Lloret Pardo, j.a.lloret.pardo@hr.nl, interaction station
4. Mike 'MJ' Pelletier, m.j.pelletier@hr.nl, canuk
5. Yoana Buzova, yoanabuzova@gmail.com, interaction station
6. Brigit Lichtenegger, b.lichtenegger@hr.nl, station chief

Tools & Tech

- To Be Updated-

Workshop Documentation

Fill me with images!!!!!!!