The Paseo, a new Festival bringing the art of installation, performance, and project to the streets of Taos, is coming up on September 26. LiveTaos is partnering with The Paseo to bring you great interactive coverage before, during, and after the event!
This series profileS some of the many fabulous artists bringing their work to Taos for The Paseo.
In this day and age it is easy for artists and their work to get lost in the mix, not because their work is not outstanding, but because there is so much art in the world.
The Paseo is setting out on a new path. Many people will not yet have heard of some of the artists whose work will be performed, projected, or installed in The Paseo 2014. Of course Taosenos have probably seen and perhaps even interacted with perennial favorites and Taos locals Christina Sporrong and Christian Ristow, but most of the 20 Paseo artists have not had their work showcased in Taos before.
One in particular, Filipa Valente, is a Los-Angeles-based Experience and Environmental Interaction Designer. The Portuguese artist’s installations and interactive art pieces are explorations of an “interest in the immediate space that surrounds us,” as well as the role that technology can play between the environment and participant. An example of how this comes to life in Valente’s work is her piece “Liminoid Bloom*s” which she created for the 18th Annual International Symposium on Electronic Art in Albuquerque in 2012 (ISEA 2012).
Liminoid Bloom*s is an artificial interactive ecology. The Bloom*s reacted to an environment sensor placed outside the gallery; the sensor monitored sound, light variations, and CO2 concentration. As visitors entered the gallery space the Bloom*s would react to their presence as well, overriding the originally-programmed behavior. Since ISEA2012, Valente has created more Bloom*s and in fact an entire Liminoid Garden* was created for another event (SKYLINE 2014), in which a dance company performed and interacted with the Bloom*s, furthering Valente’s exploration between environment, technology, and its setting.
Valente holds a BSc and a Masters degree from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, UK as well as a Masters in Design Research in Architecture and New Media Art (MediaSCAPES) from the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.
For The Paseo 2014, Paseo committee members invited artists to participate. Agnes Chavez, herself an interactive digital media artist whose work also was exhibited in ISEA2012 was the original member to propose inviting Valente. I asked Chavez how she had learned about Valente and what she thought about having her work at The Paseo:
“It’s a very 21st century story. Back in 2012 I was searching around on tech forums for a new programmer for the xtrees, and Filipa responded. She was not able to help me with xtrees but I loved her work and invited her to apply to ISEA2012. She got accepted and her piece was fabulous. We met in person at ISEA parties, so when Paseo came about I thought of inviting her.
I am thrilled to have her in Taos. She is doing cutting-edge technological work that has heart and soul. It is also great to support a young Portuguese woman doing this kind of work. What a great role model for girls.”
I will not divulge any details of Filipa Valente’s Paseo installation, but as with her other work it promises to allow the participant to interact with their environment in a totally new and unexplored way.
I caught Filipa for a quick interview last week:
Molly Robertson: How did you first become inspired to create the type of work you create?
Filipa Valente: I have a background in architecture, so I think my interest in transforming and augmenting space and environments came naturally from the work that I do as an architect. While living in London in 2009 I came across a couple of performances that used multi-media, light and sound in ways that really transformed the spaces into immersive environments. That experience got me really inspired in developing media art work in parallel to my architecture work. Media and interactive art has helped me realize some concepts that deal with space, users and environments around them.
When you are first envisioning a piece, where do you start?
My work tends to relate directly to a site. So my first instinct is to ask where the piece will be located. Is it a gallery, a room, a park outdoors? From that, I like to think of how I can transform the space into an immersive experience from the perspective of the audience/user. The main goal of my work is to create playful exchanges between the sites where the work is located and the audience. The topics of these exchanges vary depending on the context, whether its an urban condition, a park, an interior space, etc.
I know that you have exhibited pieces all over the world, how do feel about having a piece in the first Paseo in Taos, NM?
I have a really great relationship with New Mexico when it comes to my work. I’ve had the opportunity to exhibit in New Mexico before and I had a great experience. I felt an immediate connection with the place and of course I was very impressed by the landscapes and how welcoming everyone was. The concept for The Paseo is unique and I’m looking forward to sharing my work in a street-party atmosphere.
Learn more about The Paseo and all the attending artists here. Stay tuned to LiveTaos for ongoing coverage, and a great interactive digital map of all The Paseo’s sites!
COMING TO THE PASEO? POST YOUR PHOTOS OF THE FESTIVAL WITH #LIVETAOS AND #PASEOTAOS. WE’D LOVE TO SHARE WHAT YOU SEE.