ANAT’s fourth National Summer School was held at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology for four weeks during January 1992. The primary aim of the school was to facilitate the acquisition of computer based skills by artists. Additional aims were:
- To assist the professional development of Australian artists through the acquisition and development of new technology-based skills
- To facilitate technology-transfer, enabling participants to impart acquired knowledge to other parties
- To promote ANAT’s primary mission – ‘Interaction between arts, sciences and technology’
- To introduce artists to a range of practical and theoretical issues associated with the use of new technologies
- To inform and influence participants arts practice in order to create a body of ‘new’ artworks
- To exhibit the results of this and other ANAT related programs in exhibitions and conferences nationally and internationally
- To present a successful model for future educational and skill based programs for artists in the area of new technologies
1992 participants included:
- Josh Banks (SA)
- Matthew Perkins (TAS)
- Leon Cmielewski
- Ken Bull (WA)
- Jim Pipp (WA)
- Emma Palmer (TAS)
- Csaba Szamosy (VIC)
- Moira Corby (NSW)
- Elizabeth O’Shea (NT)
- Katie Pye (QLD)
- Barbara Wulff (VIC)
- David Burke (VIC)
- Mary Hudson Ewington (TAS)
- Peter Randall (VIC)
- Wayne Mowska (SA)
- Genah Karagianni
Each student had an individual computer work station, and in order to compliment the core skills based program, a number of satellite events introduced participants to other new technologies and future orientated issues through hands on workshops and demonstrations, visits to industrial and research facilities and seminars.
Tutorials were given by ATEC and Dale Nason, Jon McCormack, Trevor Smith and Ian Haig, some of Australia’s most respected computer artists. Over three weeks students were taught 2D and 3D animation; image generation and manipulation on Amiga, MacIntosh Computers and Silicon Graphics. Equipment available to participants included high end Silicon Graphics3D solids modeling and rendering programs, MACii computers running authoring and animation program Macro Mind Director and a suite of Amiga’s running paint and animation programs. These programs were able to be interfaced with video equipment, scanners, video frame grabbers, slide output devices and colour printers.
Following on from the summer school, some participants have been offered unlimited access to RMIT facilities to develop their projects under the Invited Artists program at RMIT. Other participants have maintained contact and have been successful in producing electronic based artwork which has been exhibited in a variety of exhibitions around Australia.
The school was supported by; the Royal Melbourne Institute for Technology, Advanced Computer Graphics Center; Cybex Computing; South Australian Department for Arts and Cultural Heritage; Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board; Western Australian Department for the Arts.
Tags: 2D and 3D animation, image generation and manipulation, modeling and rendering programs
