On June 17, artist and researcher Marije Baalman will present a performative talk demonstrating how to transform everyday objects into interactive systems through a process that is both creative and systematic.
Baalman is the author of Composing Interactions – An Artist’s Guide to Building Expressive, Interactive Systems, a book aimed at artists and creators working —or wishing to work— with interactive technologies. The book provides a comprehensive guide to designing expressive interactive systems, combining aesthetic reflection with hands-on practical instructions. It explores key concepts such as the use of sensors, electronic circuits, and processing algorithms, and proposes methodologies for developing interactive art projects. It is an essential tool for those looking to meaningfully and sensitively integrate technology into their artistic practice.
This activity is part of the JUX Mosaic Sessions, organized by the Master’s Degree in Interaction Design and User Experience and the DARTS research group with the collaboration of Axolot.
Photo by Pieter Kers (https://beeld.nu) at Flipchart #5, October 22nd, 2022.
About the artist
Marije Baalman is an artist and researcher/developer working in the field of interactive sound and light art, based in Amsterdam. She makes music and music-theatre performances, worked with dancers and has made several installations involving sound, light, data and/or wind.
In her artistic work she is interested in the realtime components of the work, composing processes, behaviours and interaction modalities. This is expressed with tools such as physical computing, livecoding, digital and analog sound and data processing. She works with materials like (self-built) electronics, textiles, carbon fibre, plexiglas, metals and wood.
She also works as a cultural organiser and curator and as an activist to improve the rights of artists and promote self-organised housing. She is a member of iii and Grond.
She has performed and exhibited work across Europe (STEIM (NL), WORM (NL), Korzo (NL), iii (NL), V2_ (NL), EXIT festival (FR), CTM (DE), ZKM (DE), Make Art (FR), Electropixel (FR), Todays Art (NL), STUK/Artefact (BE), iMal (BE)) and beyond (Electrofringe (AU), Translife (CN), Elektra (CA), Soulangh Cultural Park (TW)).
More information about Composing Interactions
On the following day, June 18, Marije Baalman will lead a full-day intensive workshop at the Canòdrom in Barcelona.
This activity is part of Ecologies Digitals, a small series of events aimed at fostering reflection and collective learning alongside invited artists and researchers. Through this program, we explore how distributed systems—in which different nodes share resources to achieve a common goal—can serve as a model for addressing complex social challenges.
With an artistic and collective perspective, Ecologies Digitals invites us to reflect on how we maintain and reuse technological systems and infrastructures, and how we can confront the challenges of technological sovereignty.