Complementary technical description
Presentation text 1998
The Antirom Performance
All resources of multimedia language are explored on stage
One of the main characteristics of this performance is the use of computer media as the central, controlling element. In this case however the interactivity intended by this media gives way to a new type of sensation, close to that which one might experience in a circus, an opera or at a nightclub.
Two computers have the prominent role in this performance, controlling how sounds and graphic images continuously merge and aggregate as a whole. Live characters explore the dynamics of this audio-visual sequence, with a cause and effect integration unfolding among the various elements. The performance has already been presented in Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Montreal, Hannover and Brussels, occupies surroundings equivalent to a theater stage, with subtle lighting effects.
Performances like this one are a typical example of this British group's adherence to their explorative and playful approach to new possibilities of computer controlled interaction. Most members of the group - artists of different backgrounds including musicians, designers, photographers, fine artists, programmers and producers met at the University of Westminster during classes in a course taught by Andy Cameron, today also a member of the group. From its inception the Antirom has searched for a specific language which could combine talent and technology with a visionary approach. In order to break with the screen's limits the group sought to develop works using performatic language as well as those particular to CD-ROM and Internet formats. Their first work, released in 1995 and financed by the British Arts Council, was a CD-ROM with 70 games. It was an innovative approach at the time: it encouraged the useage of multimedia, like in a forum, attempting to attract new talent and diversified interests and allowing, at the same time, the experimentation of new forms of language through a non-linear and interactive media.
In the beginning of 1996 the nine members of Antirom formed a company with the objective of pursuing their experiences and exploring possibilities within digital media. Headquartered in London, and able to participate in exhibitions at cultural centers in Europe and the United States while, at the same time, amassing a list of clients such as multinational giants Levi-Strauss and Toyota.
ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL, "XII Videobrasil - Festival Internacional de Arte Eletrônica" [XII Videobrasil - International Electronic Art Festival]: from September 22 to October 11, 1998, pp. 79, São Paulo, SP, 1998.