This irks us: the static drawing of a figure against the fluid backdrop of a post-digital time. While working in an educative art institution, the anachronism of traditional model drawing became clear to us. This division — a separately secluded canvas, artist, model, and audience — had to be opened up, and revolutionised. Three digital technologies were utilised to achieve this: a drawing software application , projections onto large surfaces, and participation over a network. With these, we have pushed the charcoal-drawn figure into the pixelated, frame by frame waters of the post-digital.
The software evolved instinctively. We started working with a straightforward feature, a digital pencil. Black, thickness based on pressure, no eraser. The canvas was a live projection on large screen: a fleeting graphic image. The next features were a continuation of experimental performances. Dancers and musicians were invited. With a jazz-like attitude, the performances were an overlapping of improvisations. The software became a mobile set-up, and the canvas was projected onto the models. Inspired by this collaborative potential, the canvas was adjusted to be accessible simultaneously from multiple devices. This has extended into a large scale participation over a network. Physical presence at an event is no longer a limit, the canvas is shared remotely in real time.
Colors were added, first a limited palette, later the entire RGB palette was made available. To make possible a quick creation of compositions, a shape tool was introduced. From this emerged a swift, ever changing imagery, which became the staple of the software. To push it even further, the canvas was expanded with more frames. Now a frame-by-frame animation was possible. Still, to keep the spirit of the straightforward tool, the software’s features have been kept simple. The software is purposefully low-threshold and user-friendly. A visual common ground, fitting the community-driven ethos of digital networks.
The software of FRAMED is a canvas stretched far along digital networks. Both remotely and physically, the project has travelled far. First in Europe, later in Cuba and South Africa. Among others, it has been part of the Havana Biennial, South Africa Poetry Fest, and is a staple presence at events at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, often in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire. The project was also seen as a tool for non-verbal communication and has been implemented in pedagogical research projects.
FRAMED is a platform that creates a common ground for immersive experiences. It encourages public participation and interaction. The low-threshold approach encourages all to get the most out of their creativity and intuition. It is a stage for performance, one which is based on a shared improvisation in a fluid, post-digital world. The charcoal figure is animated into conscious action by a creative community.