Two of the most definitive words of this generation are globalization and technology – and many times they’re not always used in the most positive way. But over the weekend, the two were mashed into a mind-bending celebration.
Creators Project is a two-day art and music festival sponsored by Intel and VICE magazine, and is hailed as a global celebration of art and science. The San Francisco event was based at Fort Mason with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and was one of many across the globe, including Seoul, Paris and Sao Paulo.
“We’re not telling people what to experience, or telling the artists what to create,” said Dave Haroldsen, a creator director from Intel. “You go in, experience it, play it back and create your own story.”
Entering from the Marina and into Fort Mason, viewers were swept into a cube called Origin, which was constructed from pieces of the 2011 Coachella main stage. One of the designers of the piece described it as moody and alive, and by night dozens of people were laying underneath it basking in its energy.
From there the exhibits were split in to rooms, each holding pieces of interactive art from around the world. Some exhibits, like ‘Meditation’ by Korean artist by Minha Yang were meant to sooth and relax, while others were meant to entice and stimulate.
A game called OctoCloud was created by Brazilian artist SuperUber “in order to blur line between the digital and real world,” and uses Android cellphones as controllers.
“It seems subconscious, it seems like a real ball,” he added.
Other artists were more localized, such as San Francisco resident Kyle Warren and four others who made soundQuake, a pixilated seismic representation of every earthquake from 1973 forward in the Bay Area.
Music was also a big part of the Saturday event. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, DJ set’s from James Murphy and two other members of LCD Soundsystem played, as well as a more eclectic and exciting bands. Some exhibits focused around music, like Life On Mars Revisited, a David Bowie music video remixed by Mick Rock and Barney Clay.
“People love it, but we weren’t focused on really creating anything,” Clay said of the exhibit, which engulfed an entire room. “This was just an experiment.”
