Bill Talent
A man who was able to create programs for a device that had not even been released yet, Bill Talent exceeded my expectations as an Apple application designer. I expected Talent to be a young man, at the very least in his late 20’s but I was very surprised when I found out that he was actually quite elderly. Nothing wrong with it, it was just my own prejudices slapping me in the face. For one man to create iPad applications for USA Today, River Murdock, and CNN is a feat in its own right. However for Talent it was not enough. To ease his customers, and fill his pockets with a little more cash, he also allowing his own offices to support the services on his own networks. This allowed the major companies to go on with their issues so any users of the iPad version with issues would address Talent’s offices instead. Very smart and he kept his customers happy, a win, win situation. Talent said that designers have to always understand the expectations and the wants of the customers in order to create a product that is the best of its class. The detail that he goes for his digital applications is indeed great. The way people could read what they want is digital, but it handles like paper, i.e. digital paper that one must still flip by hand. Talent states that the smallest details are given to the designs to allow for more comfort when one is moving from paper to digital, and that is especially true for the older crowds. Throughout his entire presentation I saw a confidence that I rarely see in most of the presenters that I have gone to. I find it especially commendable considering that he is a man one would consider out of place in the technological industry for obvious reasons. However Talent goes above and beyond to show no matter whom you are or how old, you always have something to teach to someone, and something to prove that you can do.
Jeremy Stern
When one thinks of a place, they think of something familiar. A favorite spot at your local diner. A room in your home that is safe and comforting. In the arms of a loved one, feeling as though nothing can harm you. That’s what I think of when I think of place. Space is another item entirely. Space is something that I do not know. Unexplored territory that has the potential of becoming a place if I give it the chance. Jeremy Stern and his piece “Following” was that exact definition between place and space. It was not until I listened to his presentation that I finally understood that the black on the walls was also part of the exhibition; previously I thought it was separate. The black on the walls marked free space on the walls that had not been used by anything, while the white spaces on the walls represented the holes and marks left by previous exhibitions. A sort of timeline that guided one through the history of the gallery. The gallery was a place for many, used to house their artwork and to expose the many talented artists throughout the history of the building. The second part of the exhibition was a series of sounds from Reno that Stern recorded on his own and used Eyecon to play it when people stepped into the right section that triggered it. Using an old Reno map, Stern took his recordings throughout Reno and mapped them out with Eyecon. So not only did one walk through the gallery’s history, but also through Reno itself. With the help of Clint, Stern adjusted the Eyecon program to sound louder as there was less movement. So my previous complaint of not being able to hear other items other than cars could have easily been solved had I just stood still. It opened my mind to remember to give art pieces another look before I make further judgments. A lovely explanation that opened my eyes and allowed me to have a deeper meaning to a previous piece that I had not.
Leo Villareal — Animating Light
Stepping into the exhibition I thought that I was going to be bombarded with blinding strobe lights and illuminating annoyances that one would only enjoy when at a rave. Instead I was welcomed with a wonderfully soft glow. With so many different colors and shapes throughout the exhibition that I felt as though I was walking in a dream. While a few were flashing, it was easy enough for me to ignore those and look at the other pieces within the gallery. As I have yet to play with any Arduino circuit boards, and failing to even light anything up with a traditional bread board, I could not even fathom the difficulty that Villareal went through setting up the entire gallery. From the possibility of short wires, to the chance that a bulb might burn out, the dedication it must have taken to make sure that everything was perfect is probably far greater that anything I have yet to experience. So to Villareal I give my congratulations on even achieving such a feat. Everyone watching was looking at the lights as a moth does to the flame. I myself was guilty of just standing there as the lights danced for my eyes to see. However, while the larger the light the more people there were, I found myself really intrigued with the piece “Big Bang.” As a lover of orbital space I was blown away when I saw what resembled, to me, a galaxy in motion. There is something that I found just so hypnotic about the piece that I found myself staring at it for a good ten minutes before my eyes began to hurt from the exposure. I would not call Leo Villarela’s “Animating Light” animated in the way that one might think of when they see a cartoon. The lights were more alive than anything and made me question if one day we will not see machines talk with them. All in all a wonderful exhibition that made me wish I could install it in my own home.
--VMS
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