Sunset Park Open Studios

I have been relocating my studio, and the doors pop open to the public soon….

SUNSET PARK OPEN STUDIOS
218 41st Street
Brooklyn, NY 11232
Open Saturday 10/14 + Sunday 10/16
12-5 PM

Check out the map and programming ==> here.

Artist in Residence at NYU IDM, Brooklyn Navy Yard

I was invited to join as Artist in Residence in the program of Integrated Design + Media (IDM), Tandon School of Engineering, at New York University. Most of the time you can find me playing over at NYU Tandon’s research and production facility in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Current projects in progress include:

• Brain Yolk: a series of interactive sculptures exploring destabilized perceptual processing

• YOU ARE PREPARED: a browser-based interactive performance installation for the home environment

• A strange maze of research and experiments on the brain and perception
  

Make contact if wishing to hear more==> here.

Solo Exhibition at Sonoma State University

OK
November 3 - December 11, 2022
At University Art Gallery, Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Open to the public Tuesdays-Fridays 11-4 PM + weekends 12-4 pm
Opening reception November 3, 4-6 PM

OK is a solo exhibition of new works by Berkoy, exploring destabilized sensory and perceptual processing. Featuring interactive video sculptures and electronic sculptural reliefs, OK includes selections from the following three series: START, YOUR BRAIN IS AN EGG YOLK IN AN EGG SHELL, and INCUBATE. The works set up a disorienting environment of image duplication and iteration, oscillating between stillness and activation. 

Encountering the interactive video sculptures of START elicits a “micro-show” triggered by human presence, code, and randomization.  Each show displays repetitive text, symbols, and abstract images, destabilized through electromagnetic manipulation of analog video signals. The sculptural reliefs of YOUR BRAIN IS AN EGG YOLK IN AN EGG SHELL present absurd figurative portraits depicted through layers of plaster gauze, egg shells, and projection, set against backgrounds of cured egg yolk. Video loops project slowly morphing shadows, unstable video signals, and re-projections of the reliefs’ surfaces. In INCUBATE, egg shells set in plaster highlight how easily light and shadow manipulate appearance. OK asks its viewers to look, look again, and question what they are seeing.

The works in this exhibition have been supported in part by a PSC-CUNY Research Award, Harvestworks Artist Scholar Award, artist residency with Signal Culture, and Sonoma State University.

In the adjacent gallery, see Jessye McDowell: Superbia.
Both shows curated by Sena Clara Creston.

More details==> here.

New Media Caucus Symposium at Virginia Tech

YOU ARE PREPARED: A Body-Controlling Interactive Installation for the Personal Environment
A conference presentation for
New Media Caucus: Future Bodies Symposium
September 30, 2022
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA

At the New Media Caucus Symposium, hosted by Virginia Tech, I will present current work in progress for YOU ARE PREPARED….

YOU ARE PREPARED (YAP) is an interactive installation and performance designed for the personal computer and home environment. Presented as a “one-on-one webinar for self optimization,” YAP’s virtual AI host guides participants through “self-optimization training sessions” with a series of body-controlled games and absurd tasks to complete. The host becomes increasingly demanding as the experience progresses.

Needing no specialized equipment other than a standard computer webcam and microphone, YAP’s body-controlled and body-controlling interface uses ml5.js, a machine learning library built on top of TensorFlow.js, enabling skeleton tracking of participants’ bodies through a web browser in real-time. Berkoy will present on the process in creating YAP through multiple prototypes and remote testing, as well as ongoing technical and experiential research exploring the boundaries of HCI etiquette. YAP’s first prototypes were built with her students at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York (CUNY), in the program of Emerging Media Technology.

Exhibition of START with Harvestworks on Governors Island, NYC

START
Part of Fluid - an art and tech exhibition
August 27 - October 30, 2022
At Harvestworks Art and Technology Building
Building 10a, Nolan Park, Governor’s Island
NYC
Open to the public on weekends 11am - 5pm
and by appointment.

START is a collection of new works exploring sensory and perceptual processing following acute stress to the brain. Mixing electronic and traditional media, the exhibition features interactive video sculptures and electronic sculptural reliefs from three series: START, YOUR BRAIN IS AN EGG YOLK IN AN EGG SHELL, and INCUBATE.

The works in this exhibition have been supported in part by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, Harvestworks Artist Scholar Residency, PSC-CUNY Research Award, and Signal Culture artist residency.

The exhibition takes over a room within Building 10a of Nolan Park, a historic house on Governors Island in NYC, occupied by Harvestworks Art and Technology Center. Throughout the house, also see works by Kristin Lucas, Eva Davidova, Viv Corringham, and Su Hyum Nam. Curated by Carol Parkinson.

More details==> here.

Presenting at FEMeeting Conference in Portugal

Prototyping a Body-Controlling Performance for Self-Optimization
A conference presentation for
FEMeeting: Women in Art, Science and Technology 2022
September 15, 2022
At Royal Palace of Évora - Palácio de Dom Manuel I
Évora, Portugal

At the third international conference of FEMeeting: Women in Art, Science, and Technology (Lisbon and Évora, Portugal), I will present current research and development for YOU ARE PREPARED, a body-controlled (and body-controlling) interactive performance with one’s personal computer. YAP explores self-optimization strategies through the use of emerging technologies, as well as the boundaries and etiquette of human-computer interaction within a browser-based performance experience. The talk will include results from recent playtests with volunteers, from YAP systems prototypes V.1 and V.2.

YAP Systems Prototype Currently Testing

YOU ARE PREPARED V.2 systems prototype is complete and currently testing with volunteers for user experience and technical usability. YAP offers an interactive performance experience for participants from the comfort of their own home, using their personal computer with a standard webcam and microphone, accessed via URL link with nothing to download or install. Using browser-based skeleton tracking and speech synthesis, all interaction with YAP is body-controlled, without the use of a keyboard or mouse.

Emanating from the 2020 lockdown, V.1 and V.2 systems prototypes have been developed by Berkoy in collaboration with her students in the Emerging Media Technology program (MTEC) at New York City College of Technology, City University of New York (CUNY). This next phase of testing is critical for understanding how well the experience works across various personal computers and operating systems.

To playtest the prototype, or for more information, drop a note==> here.