Marco Ortiga, Christina Dy and Tad Ermitaño: Portrait of the artists as machinists
Once in a while a piece of art or an entire exhibition comes along that knocks the bejesus out of our tired, old ways of defining art. When asked about the collaboration with Tad Ermitaño and Christina Dy for the multidisciplinary art unit billed as Somatosonic and its, er, place in Philippine art, sculptor and kinetic media artist Marco Ortiga shrugs and says, “Right now, we are just making sh*t we like.”
On view until April 19 at Artinformal, Somatosonic’s “Tangents & Secants” features objects and concepts that might be at home in a future world of electric sheep, precogs and mood organs (and not the one we live in now where one of the reasons a lawmaker wants to remix and remaster the Constitution is to prevent maritime oil spills).
“Contact Imperfections” blends drawing with obstacle-detecting robots created by Ermitaño and Ortiga. The robots trace paths around Dy, who responds and interacts with them. The work is a kind of contact improvisation between human and machine, using algorithms to emphasize mechanical imperfections and human design in movement awareness.
Marco describes it as a “duet between Christina Dy and the robots.”
In “Polaroids,” a computer program by Ermitaño tracks Dy’s movement in space. The prints present the final patterns, while videos showcase the lines emerging in real time.
Ortiga’s “The Heisenberg Effect” obscures Dy’s video in response to the viewer’s observation, demonstrating how the act of observation can alter the videos being observed.
“Rogue Reader” sonifies graphics via acts of unauthorized reading: the robot skates over Dy’s painting, transmitting data from its mechanical eyes to a program by Ermitaño running on a remote computer. The program then transforms the data into sound.
Ortiga points out how the piece uses an accelerometer to trace the vibrations and changing directions. The other pieces also have some sound aspect to them such as mechanical cranks and motors.
“Origami Machine” fuses Ortiga’s mechanics with Dy’s origami, unfolding the motion inherent in folded structures.
“Christina initially wanted to make a dance/tech-related video piece, so she asked for my help, but it was a bit out of my skill set, so we got Tad to join in,” explains Ortiga. “From there a drinking group was formed and we became good friends. The idea of making a band came after because of all the DIY instruments Tad and I make on our own.”
Our collaboration relies on how we can make everything work together. Yes, we hope to make this go on. Maybe more gigs and exhibits.
What does the trio hope to evoke in terms of viewers’ emotions? Shock? Awe? Stagger them silly?
Ortiga answers, “We are trying to break new ground by fusing machines and technology with more traditional art. We wanted to experiment with what the three of us could produce since we all come from different backgrounds.”
Those futuristic pieces must have been a bitch to construct. Absolutely, says Marco.
“Technology always wants to return to the sludgy chaos from where it came from. Trying to push it upward and forward is always a challenge. Also, it was our first time working as a group so that also came with its own set of challenges.”
You would think that with these complicated, intricately engineered Somatosonic pieces, the artists would be in lab coats scrawling on obligatory whiteboards with esoteric jottings, labyrinthine calculations, mysterious math and such. Marco describes the process as something else entirely.
“It’s a lot of hanging out and drinking. For the sound component, we just try to plan as much as we could but most of it is improvised. For the art pieces, we all have our own specialties; our collaboration relies on how we can make everything work together. Yes, we hope to make this go on. Maybe more gigs and exhibits.”
For the three artists in Somatosonic who make “sh*t that they like,” the proverbial gears are in spin, dancing and singing the body electric.
“There seems to be a space for it and people seem to be open to it,” concludes Ortiga. “But right now it’s fun and we like doing it.”
* * *
“Tangents & Secants” is on view until April 19 at Artinformal, The Alley at Karrivin, Chino Roces Ext., Makati City.