Nanyang Technological University Singapore and University of Ansbach, Germany conceived cross-cultural media arts exchange between students for Ten Square landmark tower in Singapore in November 2022. Artists from both NTU ADM as well as Ansbach University, under the mentorship of Professor Ina Conradi (Singapore) and Professor Verena Kraemer (Germany), were asked to consider the architectural dimensions, typology and location of the Ten Square building. Artists were asked to create multimedia artworks that respond to the idea of a positive outlook of the future for the earth, climate change and sustainability. Works from both universities responded to the same brief but contextualized to their own cultural understandings and aesthetic sensibilities. This cross-cultural collaboration further strengthened existing bilateral ties between Singapore and Germany – showcasing the power of media arts in inspiring and promoting creativity across borders.

Media architecture has become a ubiquitous presence in public spaces worldwide, but all too often it serves as a vehicle for commercial advertising. Yet the potential for these technologies to enhance the aesthetic experience of our built environments and challenge established cultural ideas cannot be ignored. Enter Ten Square, a revolutionary 15-floor car vending machine & tower in the heart of downtown Singapore, featuring the first-ever energy-saving LED 3 billboard. Total of 23 artists took place in this exhibit with 18 media works. The project started in Singapore in 2021 and in Germany due to semester difference in May of 2022. The aim of this media installation is to add a digital layer as a spatial illusion to the location and to blur the boundaries between technology and reality. Using innovative 3D technology, an immersive experience is created that gives the viewer the feeling that the billboard disappears and the space of the screen expands into infinity. This technique allows the characters to break through the "fourth wall" and interact with the real environment. What sets this exhibition apart from traditional white-cube spaces is its responsiveness to the architecture and environment. By enabling artists to create works that are site-specific, the exhibition captures the attention of passers-by and brings art into the public realm. This democratizes the access to technologies used by media and advertising industries, and inspires students to produce higher quality artworks. Moreover, this cross-cultural collaboration taught students to navigate challenging and highly demanding computer-mediated professional and social environments, while increasing their sensitivities to location and cultural differences. By showcasing the power of media arts to connect people and ideas across borders, the project represents a truly unique achievement in the world of public art. Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Art sponsored and made the trip to Singapore possible for students from Ansbach University of Applied Arts. Premier in Singapore was joined by Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. PARTICIPATING ARTISTS FROM GERMANY Cem Ünaldi, Chooi Wen Long Sui, Christian Scherzer, Ediz Mielke, Johannes Schmidl, Kim Le, Luca Alessandro Dünkel, Lucas Ott, Markus Kenderes, Maximilian Hammelmann, Minh Tu Nguyen, Nicole Klaus, Shaina Milde, Tim Napiwotzki Supervised by Professors Verena Kraemer and Christian Barta PARTICIPATING ARTISTS FROM SINGAPORE Andronicus Koshy, Belinda Yeo, Benjamin Lim, Danielle Martinez, Jonathan Tan, Kiyasatina Azib, Xuan Ying Leow, Rachel Lim, Ziling Chew Supervised by Professor Ina Conradi

https://entangled.mediaartnexus.com/

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/767987013

https://vimeo.com/785023594

Poster

Details

Team members : Ina Conradi, Verena Kraemer, Gary Hong and Christian Barta

Supervisor : Ina Conradi, (Assoc Prof) School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Verena Kraemer (Prof), Christian Barta (Prof), Ansbach University of Applied Arts, Department of Visualization and Interaction in Digital Media, Germany

Institution : NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY SINGAPORE and ANSBACH UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES GERMANY

Funding agencies : Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Art, Embassy Of The Federal Republic of Germany, NTU Singapore ADM, Ansbach University

Partners : Ten Square landmark of Good Singapore and Embassy Of The Federal Republic of Germany

Descriptions

Technical Concept : The Ten Square building tower is featuring large scale size (21.2m by 14.4m) 3 sided LED screen that wraps around the building. The set up of the screen and design enables implementation of the latest 3D technologies and animation, and 3D Anamorphic video or Naked-Eye 3d works. Such larger-than-life platform for multimedia artworks encourages artists to consider not only the aesthetics of their artworks but also the technicalities required to calibrate the best viewing angle and distance by reconstructing their works according to perspective elements. The Size of the screen is 21.2m by 14.4m The resolution at W2,120 x H1,440 Pixels

Visual Concept : Works from both universities responded to the same brief but contextualized to their own cultural understandings and aesthetic sensibilities. Borrowing the idea of an “entangled future” by Karen O’Brien, artists were asked to create multimedia artworks that respond to the idea of a positive outlook of the future for the earth, climate change and sustainability. While NTU ADM students focused on creating multimedia works with a 2D cinematic approach, Ansbach University students introduced anamorphic geometries that played around with optical illusions and effects. For both institutions, the intention was to create artworks that would transform a flat LED display screen into a hyper-realistic artwork that could transform a three-dimensional space.

Credits

Ina Conradi, Verena Kraemer/Photo by Quek Jia Liang/Artwork by Benjamin Lim

Ina Conradi, Verena Kraemer/Photo by Quek Jia Liang/ Artwork by Luca Alessandro Dünkel

Ina Conradi Verena Kraemer/ Videographer: Quek Jia Liang, Artwork Benjamin Lim

Verena Kraemer, Ina Conradi / Photo by Quek Jia Liang / Artwork by Markus Kenderes, Lucas Ott

Ina Conradi, Verena Kraemer/Photo by Quek Jia Liang/ Artwork by Chew Ziling

Ina Conradi, Verena Kraemer/ photo by Quek Jia Liang, Artwork by Kim Le

Ina Conradi, Verena Kreamer

Verena Kraemer, Ina Conradi / Videographer: Quek Jia Liang, Tim Napiwotzki, Johannes Schmidl