Kurosh ValaNejad

"The Night Journey" and "Flower" are in Peru

2009-07-23T19:50:39Z

The Night Journey and Flower are included in the exhibit VIDEO GAMES: Tales of Play, Adventures of the Unexpected Centro Fundación Telefónica, Lima, Peru; July 23rd - October 4th, 2009]]> VIDEO GAMES: Tales of Play, Adventures of the Unexpected is an exhibition on the fantasy worlds and the gaming territories of our times. Through the presentation of the works of well-known artists and independent game creators, the exhibition aims to introduce new perspectives for the worlds we inhabit, the experiences we share and the ways we are being influenced. Questioning the expectations we have from today’s games, the roles we are used to take on and the rules we have learned to pay attention to, the games presented invite us to skip the common formalisms being imposed to the gaming worlds. Can we jump back into the magic circles seeking for moments of playfulness, interactivity and exploration? The works of the artists break down the common barriers, escape the usual norms and open up to different directions that reform games’ aesthetics, structures and mechanisms. Vividness and excitement are no longer based on competition, scores and perplex constraints, but rather on new play tactics and behaviors that are being encouraged within game environments. Joining worlds of creativity and collaboration, intimacy and affection, contemplation and care, adventure and surprise, visitors are invited to keep the play instinct alive, following their own paths and interpretations. with the participation of: Martin Butler, "The Girlfriend Experience" Brody Condon, "Default Properties();" Joseph DeLappe, "The Salt Satyagraha Online: Gandhi's March to Dandi in Second Life" Markus Doninger/ Oma International, "Tagtool" Yuichiro Katsumoto, "Amagatana" Julian Oliver, "levelHead" Ludic Society, "Toygenosonic" Eddo Stern, "Level sounds like devil (BabyInChrist vs His Father, May 2006) Tale of Tales, " The Path" thatgamecompany, "Flower" Bill Viola & USC EA Game Innovation Lab, " The Night Journey" Valentin Yoshimoto, "Play it loud!" curated by: Daphne Dragona parallel workshop program with: Ludic Society, Markus Doninger, Yuichiro Katsumoto, Valentin Yoshimoto organised by: ATA & Centro Fundación Telefónica

"Fly with the Cage" Art Exhibit

2009-07-09T23:57:00Z

My computer animation, When Summer Falls, will be screened at the Fly with the Cage Art show, July 10 – 26, 2009 If you can’t fly out of the cage, just fly with the cage. – Sufi Proverb Phantom Galleries LA, Miracle Mile, 5412 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA ]]> Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain. This poem by 13th century Persian poet Sa’adi, graces the entrance to the Hall of Nations of the United Nations building in New York.

"The Cat and the Coup" in Artillery Magazine

2009-05-29T19:10:16Z

"The package starts with Peter Brinson's documentary videogame about U.S.-Iran relations; art director Kurosh ValaNejad, a Spacialist in the virtual sciences, discusses a game design that takes on psychology, history, conservatorship, and orthogonal math." Carrie Paterson, Worlds of Science, Artillery magazine, May/June 2009 Moving Forward by Looking Back: Documentary Videogame Illuminated by Persian Miniatures by Kurosh ValaNejad The Cat and the Coup embraces the nature of videogames as participatory media to tell a dramatic biographical story of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran. Mossadegh was democratically elected in 1951 and overthrown the night of August 19, 1953 by a U.S.-engineered coup d’état. The documentary game focuses on an aspect of warfare that has little presence in videogame history - covert military interventions carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency - while implicating its players in the result.]]> Environment Study by Kurosh ValaNejad, Character animation by Hyunjung Rhee Persian miniatures, applied to the medium’s interactive technology, elegantly lend themself to the telling of a more subjective story. Historically, this form of book illustration complimented works of poetry and occasionally instructional manuscripts. The most valued Persian miniatures accompany Ferdowsi’s national epic of Iran, the ShahNameh (circa 1000 AD). The Cat and the Coup will be designed to look like a page in the ShahNameh, suggesting Mossadegh’s story is part of the authentic history of Iran. In the game you play the role of the cat, Mossadegh’s constant companion. Your shared story is told in reverse as Mossadegh lies in bed on the night of his death (March 5th, 1967), recounting his life. You use your cat charm and mischief to coax him back through time until you arrive at the revelation that you, yes you, played a significant role in toppling Iran’s democracy. The game is written as a tragedy, evoking guilt and sadness while guiding its audience to a catharsis and healing. Like any good documentary it attempts to stay objective, noting milestones in Mossadegh’s life with headlines pulled from The New York Times. But like a good story it layers opinion and mood. The general aesthetic principal of Persian miniatures, whereby all the empty spaces (HorrorVacui) are filled, provides opportunity for story embellishment: the bedroom where Mossadegh passes away is framed with angels and a budding tree with a bell represents the elementary school he started while under house arrest in the walled village of Ahmad Abad. Because of their size and intricate detail, Persian miniatures are typically explored with a magnifying glass. The game encourages similar investigation. When the cat pauses, the camera slowly pushes in towards points of embedded drama - like Mossadegh signing a photograph of the oil refinery on the anniversary of its Nationalization. During the street riot the player can trace the roots of the coup in the tracks of the General’s tank. Some of the playfulness of this game is in reading between the lines to decode the narrative. the General by Kurosh ValaNejad Persian miniatures became a significant art form in the 13th century before artists knew how to draw in perspective. This way of representing space, known as isometric projection, is actually beneficial to scrolling games, like “platformers.” Since objects in the game do not diminish in size as they recede in space, scrolling up and down can also translates into back and forth movement within the game space. Like illuminated manuscripts of Western traditions, Persian miniatures used precious metals, which increased their survival rate and state of preservation. A research and development effort for this project is to represent the reflective quality of gold on a computer monitor. Since reflection is dependent on point of view, this feature may be faked by calculating reflection coefficients using the location of the cat. This technology can be applied to other Persian miniatures, allowing their reproductions to behave more like the original when viewed through digital delivery devices. After centuries the vivid palette of Persian miniatures fades. The digital medium of videogames presents an opportunity to easily revitalize the color and erase weathering. Therefore, a byproduct of this game is discovering ways technology can be employed to create more faithful reproductions of Persian miniatures than are currently available in printed books. Persian miniatures are fascinating in their ability to represent spatial complexities. They also allow bigger questions to emerge about the perception of history. Typically historical videogames cover periods and topics that are known well, precisely because we know them well. The battles of WWII have the best representation because game developers can expect their players to come to the piece knowing the essential details. Such games are primarily meant to entertain by reinforcing well-believed truths. Making a game about a chapter of history that is presumably not known to videogame players – and may indeed conflict with the information they immediately have access to - necessitates an alternative aesthetic grounding. The Cat and the Coup capitalizes on the many affordances of Persian miniatures from within their cultural context, and gives back to the art form by developing technologies that may once again engender an appreciation for this graphic narrative device. ___________ The Cat and the Coup is a work-in-progress at the EA Game Innovation Lab of the Interactive Media Division, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California. It is funded by a seedling grant to Instructor Peter Brinson by the USC Advancing Scholarship for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Kurosh ValaNejad proudly acknowledges the influence of Iranian political satirist Ardeshir Mohasses on his art direction for The Cat and the Coup.

Anonymous or Synonymous

2009-01-06T23:05:25Z

Why did Al Jazeera obscure the face of Baitullah Mehsud, Waziristan’s Taliban commander, with a white glow rather than the conventional pixilation or black box approach? From FRONTLINE’s The War Briefing Certainly they are aware that this veiling method is historically used in Persian miniatures to obscure the face of the Prophet Mohammad. From, The Ascension of Muhammad, from Haft Awrang by Jami, 1556-65, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. One of the many versions of the veiled Prophet’s mystical journey.

Butte Discovered in the Uncanny Valley

2009-01-06T20:54:57Z

Performance within the Uncanny Valley only seems believable on virtual characters with creepy body-language, like zombies in horror flicks. But there is another set of mannerisms that may prove as successful on hyper-realistic models and that is the chaotic jerks associated with seizure disorders, like epilepsy, and tic disorders, like Tourrette syndrome. The difference being that this class of expressions can generate sympathy in the audience, rather than revulsion which is typically associated with this phenomenon. Judge for yourself by making the trek to the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach to see Call Me Ishmael by Daniel Joseph Martinez. This sculpture that looks just like its creator, uses hydraulics to mimic everything from small spasms to violent seizures, and includes an eye-roll that gave me a strong urge to hold him so he would stop hurting himself. ]]> Me Ishmael or The Fully Enlightened Earth Radiates Disaster Triumphant, 2006; United States Pavilion Cairo Biennial, Installation view, Cairo Museum of Art; Collection of the Artist; Photograph courtesy of the artist and The Project, New York Note: Overall, the 2008 CA Biennial is very disappointing. I can't recommend it. Save yourself the time and just drive-by to steal a glance of the yard signs outside, and the 8' cube of 2by4s and Ishmael in the entryway. Then consider supporting the museum with a donation or a purchase from their great gift store.

Art is ...

2008-12-30T05:07:37Z

... contemplating Nature to divine its Spirit.

Shahre Farang

2008-10-31T23:48:27Z

An Ancient Persian Device of Wonder These pictures were grabbed from a short clip about Iran's Film Museum. And to learn more about Iran's film history check out: Iran, A Cinematic Revolution.]]> 1. 2. contemporary interpretation: 3.

Rapid Prototyping Workshop

2008-10-28T15:24:31Z

Instructors: Kurosh ValaNejad (CTIN) and Ann Page (FA) Day and Time: Friday, Nov. 7th, 2008, 1-4:00p.m As part of the workshop, we will be printing up to 8 small (3"x3"x3") models (4 from Fine Art and 4 from the Cinema school.) Let me know if you have something you would like printed (especially if it's for a class project) . I will work with you to prepare your models for the printer. I may also use your models in the workshop, to describe the process for preparing virtual models for the 3D printer.]]> Download Workshop Notes as a Word Doc Download Examples and Applicatioins as a Word Doc Notes: This is not a Maya-modeling workshop Please RSVP to kvalanejad at cinema dot usc dot edu; I will reply to confirm your participation. This is a first-come, first serve workshop. There are 25 spots. Students from the Fine-Art, Cinema (Interactive Media and Animation,) Engineering(Computer Science and Electrical Engineering,) Architecture and the Business schools may be attending this workshop. Snapshots from the workshop: More Snapshots (by Eric Mankin from ISI): Models Printed During the Workshop: Top: Scott Easley, Bottom Left: Amanda Tasse, Bottom Right: Melissa Bouwman Stereoscopic (Anaglyph) Image of Phonograph by Amanda Tasse

Truth Invaders

2008-10-15T00:43:22Z

Truth Invaders is a new game by Jeremy Bernstein Some of you may remember Jeremy from his work with Chris Swain at the Game Innovation Lab. He worked on both Immune Attack v1.0 and The Redistricting Game.

Craving Body Heat? Chew some gum.

2008-10-14T22:14:16Z

Dentyne "Face Time" Advert, 2008 Is this a reaction to facebook,and it's derivatives?

XBox Commercials

2008-09-28T18:47:59Z

Live Your Moment Campaign Movies Lego, Batman Rock Band 2 Jump In Campaign Never Aired (I flintched in sync with the cab driver!?) Jumping the Rope And the Hilarious Life is Short

Sketch Theatre

2008-09-17T21:29:31Z

http://www.sketchtheatre.com/

3D Motion Holograms at Gnomon Gallery

2008-09-16T19:56:55Z

The pieces are printed in the amazing form of RabbitHoles state-of-the-art digital motion holograms, which display 1280 frames of full-color, 3D imagery with up to seven seconds of fluid and seamless animation on a completely flat surface. Here's an example. Click to see it move! The Hide by Taron Closing Party for the show is this Wedn, Sept 17th, 6 - 10pm Gnomon Gallery 1015 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038

"Powers of Ten"

2008-08-07T23:44:56Z

Making Strange: Rooftop Sci-Fi at the Westin Bonaventure Aug 14, 21, and 28, 2008 Thursdays at dusk To celebrate the recent launch of Afterall 18, please join us for a three-week rooftop series of sci-fi inspired films and artists videos screened atop the landmark Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in Downtown Los Angeles. All outdoor screenings are FREE and begin at dusk. In the high season of summer blockbusters, this series presents low-fi cult features and artist videos that use elements of science fiction to cast new light on earthly struggles and everyday phenomena. The title refers to the artistic concept of ostranenie, or defamiliarization, through which known things are made to appear strange, heightening one�s perception of the familiar. Outer space is used as a metaphor for psychological inner space, post-apocalyptic futures and interplanetary utopias are imagined through the quotidian lens of social progress, and android life illuminates human dysfunction on Earth. Thursday, August 14 Powers of Ten (Charles and Ray Eames, 1977, 9 min.) Solyaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972, 163 min.) Thursday, August 21 Ascension of the Demonoids (George Kuchar, 1985, 46 min.) Sins of the Fleshapoids (Mike Kuchar, 1965, 43 min.) Thursday, August 28 Double Lunar Dogs (Joan Jonas, 1984, 24 min.) Space is the Place (John Coney, 1974, 82 min.) Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites 404 South Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA 90071 Screenings will be held on the Plaza Pool Deck, 4th floor. Blankets and pillows are encouraged, as seating will be limited. Street parking, or City National Garage (on Flower Street), $10 with validation. Hotel valet, $25. For programming updates, please consult our website: www.afterall.org/events You can also reach us at losangeles@afterall.org or +1 661 253 7722. This event is made possible with generous support from the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, Los Angeles, and additional support from the Eames Office, LLC.

Virtuelle Mauer/Reconstructing the Wall

2008-08-07T21:34:11Z

In the interactive art project “Virtuelle Mauer/ReConstructing the Wall” the artist team T+T (Tamiko Thiel and Teresa Reuter) have created a virtual reconstruction of a section of the Berlin Wall, from the former border crossing Heinrich-Heine-Straße up to the Engelbecken/Adalbertstraße. Visitors are invited to explore this immersive 3D virtual space, experiencing what it meant to live "in the shadow of the Wall." The world premiere is August 13th in Berlin The US premiere on November 9th in Seattle.