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A byte of Montreal

President's Conference Series multimedia exhibition shows how technology is changing the way we see our city
November 22, 2010
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By Russ Cooper

Source: Concordia Journal

David Jhave Johnston at the multimedia exhibition in the foyer of Montreal’s Grande Bibliothèque. | Photo by Concordia University
David Jhave Johnston at the multimedia exhibition in the foyer of Montreal’s Grande Bibliothèque. | Photo by Concordia University.

Right now, the foyer of Montreal’s Grande Bibliothèque is more than a mere thoroughfare to the stacks. Until December 5, it houses an extraordinary multimedia exhibition.

Put on the red and blue glasses and check out the Grey Nuns Motherhouse in 3D, or don the headphones and concentrate on the sounds of Montreal. At each of the six interactive touchscreens, the work of five Concordia artists and the Office of Research will show how technology is changing our perception of our city.

As part of the ongoing President’s Conference Series (PCS), Montreal: On the Stream of Languages, the exhibition offers visitors yet another way to experience Montreal through the eyes of Concordia.

David Jhave Johnston, one of five artists displaying their work, is featuring his unique brand of digital poetry. As part of his PhD Humanities research project at Concordia’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture, Johnston uses combinations of typography and motion graphic software to manipulate the visual aspect of text – stretching and contorting his words – in an attempt to alter the experience of reading literature.

“I hope to open another axis for semiotic interpretation, when you can’t say a word means one thing or another,” he explains. “It’s now deformed and means something different.”

For Johnston, who is primarily using the typographic manipulation program Mr. Softie (a platform developed by fellow presenter at the exhibition, Computation Arts Professor Jason Lewis), the exhibition is the perfect opportunity to change perceptions about what words can mean.

“I’m really intrigued by the idea that thousands of people will wander by who might only think motion graphics is used to sell them toilet paper or cars. This is a genuine artistic medium,” he says.

“The academic world is a good place to experiment with visual type at the crossroads of fine art and typography, but it’s even better when we can reach out and try to affect the reader’s experience in a new way.”

Above and beyond the five artists, the exhibition’s sixth screen displays the prototype web application Research-Creation@Concordia. First unveiled at the Concordia-hosted Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences this past spring (see Journal, April 15, 2010), the interactive application highlights a cross section of Concordia faculty members involved in research-creation, as well as profiles of people who have played a significant role in producing the Grande Bibliothèque presentations and exhibition (475 De Maisonneuve Blvd. E.).

This fourth PCS is part of the five-year partnership between Concordia and the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), titled Montréal à travers les yeux de Concordia.

A multimedia presentation on December 1 at the Grande Bibliothèque will let the audience dive into the stream of languages when Concordia's poets perform. Read more in the Concordia Journal.

Watch a sample of David Jhave Johnston's work:

 

 

Related links:
•    President’s Conference Series
•    Espace Recherche/Research@Concordia (referenced Journal article)
•    Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
•    Montreal Sound Map
•    David Jhave Johnston’s website



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