18/02/2025 17:00 London/12:00 New York/09:00 LA on Discord
The format of these online events is a presentation given by one or more TouchDesigner users, followed by a Q&A session. This 2025 series is curated by Bileam Tschepe, aka elekktronaut, a Berlin-based artist and educator who creates audio-reactive, interactive and organic digital artworks, systems and installations in TouchDesigner, collaborating with and teaching people worldwide.
TouchDesigner is a software product from Derivative (Toronto and Los Angeles), which is used to build interactive 3D and 2D applications. It is "procedural", "node-based", real-time and is considered a visual programming language. It is designed to give its users enormous flexibility in building applications without needing to program conventionally.
TouchDesigner is free to use for non-commercial purposes.
Speakers & presentation
Viena-based artist Patrik Lechner will present on the process of 2 kinetic works ROTOЯ | Sonic Body an artwork produced with sound artist Peter Kutin, and dynamic 3D projection mapping project for Pandora, an opera.
Patrik Lechner has been working in the fields of experimental music and real-time video art since the 2000s often using TouchDesigner. In 2014 Patrik also wrote the first TouchDesigner book Multimedia Programming Using Max/MSP and TouchDesigner a step-by-step guide to designing, building, and refining immersive audio-visual applications and performance environments using Max and TouchDesigner.
Follow Patrik Lechner: Web | Instagram | Bandcamp | Vimeo
- Ben Forest and Matt Ross - Volvox Labs, Controlling Robots and Kinetic Sculptures with Touchdesigner
Volvox Labs is a new media art studio. We are driven by nature. Space is our canvas. We integrate the senses. We create work that moves, inspires, and elevates the human experience.
Matt Ross is a Creative Technologist focused on creating fun, unusual, and out-of-the-box interactions. Like the humble octopus, he is constantly reaching out in all directions, never staying on one medium or technology too long. Like the loyal golden retriever he is, he is excited by challenges and collaborating with his peers. And like the steadfast lizard, he enjoys sitting in the sun, taking in the world and all the new experiences waiting to be had. He holds a masters degree from NYU in Interactive Telecommunications and a degree in Computer Science from the University of Miami.
Ben Forest is an artist and creative technologist based in NYC. He is one half of ARIADNE, an experimental sacred music and new media art duo whose work explores the intersection of mysticism, dream analysis and the failure of digital systems through a synthesis of music performance, digital and interactive art, poetry and dramatic experience. Much of ARIADNE’s output consists of interactive audio/visual performances which employ custom built hardware and software, real-time 3D animation, and machine learning to create immersive and captivating experiences. ARIADNE’s body of work includes feature-length audio/visual albums, web-based virtual reality, and a/v installations.
LINKS
https://www.volvoxlabs.com/
https://www.instagram.com/volvoxlabs/
- Timo Lejeune of Lumus Instruments and and Boris Acket: Designing Kinetic Installations
What is the notion of "instruments" in creating objects that resonate with the soul? We share our thoughts about how we approach creating a system in software as a reflection of the form, and vice versa. We partially talk about the philosophical ideas behind this approach, and how it inspires us to create the hard- and software systems that we use to create the animated machines that make up our combined body of work.
Lumus Instruments is a multidisciplinary studio that works with light, sound and structure in various forms of installation art and scenography. The studio is directed by Timo Lejeune and Julius Oosting, who find their roots in design, architecture and engineering.
Using machines of unified media, the human experience can be guided, transformed and twisted. Using the notion of ‘experience as the ultimate reality’, Lumus artificially crafts experiences that give rise to a sense of timelessness and radical realism. In the resulting works, Lumus explores variations of being through the experience of now.
Boris Acket, a contemporary artist and composer, works with sound, light, and motion, exploring the interplay between control and surrender in the (natural) world. Initially rooted in electronic music and club culture, Acket‘s practice evolved to challenge the boundaries between sound art, music, and performance space, often blurring distinctions between exhibitions and club experiences.
Links:
https://lumus-instruments.com/
https://www.borisacket.nl/about/
https://www.instagram.com/lumus.instruments/
https://www.instagram.com/boris.acket