PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH FOR SOLVING 21st CENTURY PROBLEMS
The Creative Media & Digital Culture Program specializes in research relating to digital media and serves as a nexus for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations within the College of Arts and Sciences as well as beyond with The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, the College of Business, and the School of Engineering and Computer Science. CMDC faculty are involved in creative practice, cutting edge research, innovative teaching, and community engagement—all aimed at solving problems, thinking critically about the relationship between technology and humanity, and contributing to the betterment of their community.
Current faculty research includes: Dene Grigar's "The Electronic Literature Showcase" for the Library of Congress, April 3-5, 2013, funded by a $5000 Meyer Award; John Barber's "Brautigan.net" , the internationally recognized online bibliography and archive for Washington-born author Richard Brautigan; Grigar and Brett Oppegaard's "A Villager's Tale" for funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities ($50,000), and "The Grand Emporium of the West" for EDSITEment!, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities ($19,418); Will Luers' "Plotting the Database, a multimedia essay produced for the Scalar platform; Michael Rabby and Oppegaard's "The Old Apple Tree App," a comparative analysis focusing on user experience; Brenda Grell's 3D abstract animations and full dome design and development aimed for OMSI's Kendall Planetarium; Nicholas Schiller's article on Search Engine Optimization, knowledge, and information literacy; and Clare Wilkinson-Weber's book, Fashioning Bollywood: The Making and Meaning of Hindi Film Costume Berg, 2013
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
CMDC students are encouraged to work with faculty on research and creative projects. Five students have received funding in 2012 for assistance with the "Fort Vancouver Mobile" and "The Grand Emporium of the West," two projects involving the development of mobile apps for the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, led by Brett Oppegaard and Dene Grigar. In 2011 ten students worked on a team to experiment with mobile app design and development. In 2010 four students were designated as "MOVE Lab Fellows" and worked in Grigar's motion tracking lab. Their project, "Media Scare," was among those awarded "Honorable Mention" at the 2010 International Digital Media & Art Association Student Showcase. The result of these endeavors is a learning community comprised of faculty and students that is dedicated to experimenting with digital media for the production of new knowledge and the betterment of society.
RESEARCH LABS, MUSEUMS COLLECTIONS, & GALLERIES
The MOVE Lab. MOtion-Tracking Virtual Environment for experimenting with multimedia performance, games, and mixed reality experiences, directed by Dene Grigar. WSUV, VCLS 3.The Elit Lab. A media archaeological site comprised of a collection of 18 vintage computers aimed at studying electronic literature, curatorial design, and multimedial exhibits, directed by Dene Grigar. WSUV, VCLC 210.
The Visualization Lab. A lab that experiments with 2 & 3D simulations and visualizations, directed by Brenda Grell. WSUV, VMMC 24.
The Brautigan Library, the collection of manuscripts associated with writer Richard Brautigan and housed at the Clark County Historical Museum, directed by John Barber. The Clark County Historical Museum.
Nouspace Gallery & Media Lounge. The first art gallery in the U.S. Pacific Northwest to specialize in interactive and multimedia art. Exhibits, mounted monthly, range from mobile media works, to video installations, to 3D art to pioneering electronic literature. The gallery will also feature Radio Nouspace, a community-centered, internet radio station that will stream local music, public domain content, live interviews, and performances. The gallery will also host lectures, workshops, and screenings aimed at building an understanding and appreciation of digital media in SWWA, directed by John Barber & Dene Grigar. 1005 Main, Vancouver, WA. It launches on September 7, 2012.
Research News
CMDC Faculty Have Been Busy over the Summer
The entire faculty taught a one-week course in mobile app design and development at the 2012 Digital Humanities Summer Institute at U of Victoria. John Barber's sound art was featured in two international radio art broadcasts—Framework & RadiaLx. Both he and Will Luers exhibited work at the Electronic Literature Organization media art show. Dene Grigar curated the show. Brett Oppegaard & Grigar received a second grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a mobile app that will be part of the NEH's EDSITEment partnership with Verizon and the National Trust for the Humanities.Aaron May Named HASTAC Scholar
Aaron May, the CMDC's Tech and Research Assistant, has been selected as a 2011-2012 HASTAC Scholar. In this capacity he will be reporting about events and activities relating to the digital humanities taking place on campus and the region. CMDC Faculty Focusing Research in Mobile Tech
Dene Grigar, John Barber, Brett Oppegaard, and Will Luers have been invited to host a panel at IDMAa 2011 entitled "Teaching Mobile App Design." They have also been invited to teach a week-long course at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria in summer 2012. This research generates out of the Fort Vancouver Mobile project and the Mobile Tech Research Initiative. Luers Gave Paper at The Database | Narrative | Archive Symposium
Will Luers gave his paper, "Reinventing the Authorial Voice in the Database Narrative," at the The Database | Narrative | Archive Symposium (in Montreal, May 12-15). This conference brought together theorists, scholars, artists, curators and programmers to reflect on recent developments in the theories and practices of new media production, described variously as database documentary, interactive narrative, and experimental archiving. He will also be helping to put together a Scalar peer-reviewed online journal for the symposium.Grigar's Papers Accepted to ISEA 2011 and MLA 2011
Dene Grigar's "Narrative in Social Media" and "Art and Platforms: Artistic Practices of Electronic Literature" were both accepted for the Inter-Society of Electronic Artists conference in Istanbul, Turkey and the MLA conference in Seattle, WA, respectively.John Barber & Nicholas Schiller in Hyperrhiz
John Barber & Nicholas Schiller each have an essay published in this issue of Hyperrhiz. Both focus on the Brautigan Library, with Barber talking about the challenges of archiving digital work, and Schiller responding with a discussion about this new approach to the "library."
Grigar and Oppegaard Awarded an NEH Start Up Grant
Dene Grigar and Brett Oppegaard have been awarded $50K from the National Endowment for the Humanities Start Up grant to fund Phase 2 of the Fort Vancouver Mobile project. The grant has been seeded by two Historic Promotions grants and a WSU Research Mini-Grant. This phase of the project will tell the story of the women who lived and worked at the site.
Fellows for the Mobile App Design and Development Announced
Ten CMDC undergraduates and one visiting post-doctoral scholar have been selected for the "Mobile Tech Research Initiative" (MTRI). These fellowships have been provided by Dick Hannah Dealerships. Participants include Hunter Crawford, Samantha Goelze, Natalya Gruntkovsky, Kerri Lingo, Anaya Martella, Chad McClure, Artem Popov, Michael Sasser, Kathleen Schultheis, Margarete Strawn, and Kathi Berens.
Faculty, Staff, and Students are Showcase 2011 Bound
Five research projects created by CMDC Faculty, staff, and students have been accepted for Showcase 2011 taking place at WSU in Pullman, WA, on Thursday, March 25, 2011. Works include: "The Brautigan Library", database and interface by Dr. John Barber, Jeannette Altman, and Christina Roberts; "Collegetown," a social media environment by Aaron May, Joe Aldred, Stephanie Roche, Rick Fisher; "Fort Vancouver Mobile" , mobile apps and multimedia content by Professor Brett Oppegaard and Dr. Dene Grigar, and Brady Berkenmeier; "Media Scare," sensor-based virtual environment by the MOVE Lab Fellows (Aaron May, Nicholas Hill, Samantha Goelze, Geoff Wallace); and "Translating Interfaces," mobile site translated from screen-based website by Hunter Crawford and Margarete Strawn.
Will Luers Invited to DNA Database Narrative Archive Conference
Will Luers has been invited to the "DNA Database Narrative Archive: An International Symposium on Nonlinear Digital Storytelling," taking place at Concordia University in Montreal Canada from May 13-15 2011. He will be talking about his most recent digital media work, The Father Divine Project. The conference generates from the Concordia Interactive Narrative Experimentation and Research Group (CINER-G) and focuses on "recent developments in the theories and practices of new media production, described variously as database documentary, interactive narrative, and experimental archiving."Dene Grigar Published in Authoring Software
Dene Grigar's essay about her Twitter-based fiction project, The 24-Hr. Elit Project, is now online in Judy Malloy's publication, Authoring Software.John Barber's Soundscape Featured at RadioFutura
John Barber's soundscape, "Analog Memories :: Digital Futures," was featured at "RadioFutura," a special broadcast event that took place at the Future Places: Digital Media and Local Culture in Porto, Portugal. An international conference addressing the potential and impact of digital media on local culture, "Future Places" is a collaboration between the Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal and the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on interdisciplinary research, education, and capacity building in advanced digital media.
CMDC Faculty Receive Historical Promotion Grant
Brett Oppegaard and Dene Grigar were awarded a 2011 Historical Promotion Grant amounting to $19,953 to create Phase II of the Fort Vancouver Mobile Project, multimedia content delivered via the two mobile apps for the iPhone and Android developed in Phase I of the project. Their research is aimed at informing and promoting discussion among Fort Vancouver visitors about the issues facing women of various ethnic groups at the site in the Victorian era and complements the work Oppegaard has already undertaken on Hawaiian workers at the Fort. The development of the Fort Vancouver Mobile app and the buzz around it has attracted attention from such prominent entities as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, ARGFest (Alternate Reality Gaming Festival) and numerous scholars around the nation. This grant marks the 3rd awarded to the project. Students in Oppegaard's fall 2010 course (DTC 354 Digital Storytelling) helped to create content for Phase I, while those in Grigar's spring course will participate in creating content for Phase II. Documentation of Phase I, created by student Aaron May, can be seen here. This video was one of five student projects recently recognized with an "Honorable Mention" award at the 2010 International Digital Media & Art Association Student Showcase.
Grigar Invited to University of Western Sydney
Grigar was one of six scholars invited to the University of Western Sydney to develop international standards for metatagging works of electronic literature across platforms and lay the groundwork for an online annotated directory of Australian new media writing. Her trip was funded by the Australian Research Council through a grant entitled "Creative Nation: Writers and Writing in the New Media Culture" awarded to "Writing and Society Research Group" members Anna Gibbs and Maria Angel. As Vice President of the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) and Coordinator of its Consortium of Electronic Literature (CELL), Grigar helped to negotiate the agreements among the Scandavian-based research group "ELMCIP" (funded by the Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) JRP for Creativity and Innovation), Likumed (Media Upheavals research center at the University of Siegen in Germany), the ELO, and scholars at UWS. The next meeting will take place in September in Istanbul, Turkey at ISEA International's conference.
John Barber Brings Brautigan Back to Washington State
John Barber has led the efforts to bring The Brautigan Library, a unique collection of nearly 400 unpublished manuscripts inspired by Washington-born author Richard Brautigan, to the Clark County Historical Museum and will work closely with the Museum to turn the collection into a permanent, interactive exhibit. Future plans call for digital submissions of manuscripts and a number of community outreach programs and activities. The relocation of The Brautigan Library to Vancouver results from a partnership between The Creative Media & Digital Culture (CMDC) Program and the Clark County Historical Museum. Both organizations have negotiated with the estate of the late author for nearly two years to finalize arrangements. The Brautigan Library was unveiled on October 7 at a special event that brought the late writer's daughter, Ianthe Brautigan, and the founder of the liberary, Todd Lockwood, to Vancouver.
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