PURE FLOW Turns GPS Noise Into Art, Right In The Palm Of Your Hand
PURE FLOW ($1.99) by Duncan Rowland explores the brave new world where art meets technology. Artist Katy Connor and Dr. Duncan Rowland, a Reader in Computer Science at the University of Lincoln, UK, created the application after collaborating on a full scale gallery piece of the same name in 2009.
Connor and Rowland now bring their vision to iOS, with PURE FLOW, a mobile version of the original installation that visualizes the interaction from GPS satellites, 3G networks and Wi-Fi hotspots as an interactive screen that changes with the user's environment.
"I'd always liked the idea that the audience could carry the art work with them, in their pockets," said Connor via email. "PURE FLOW [mobile edition] does just that! It visualizes the noise in the networks that we use everyday to pinpoint our location."
Touching the screen while PURE FLOW operates manipulates the way application presents its data. Invisible noise is now the stuff that art is made of thanks to PURE FLOW's software.
The app may execute simply, but the concept is complex. According to Connor's website: "PURE FLOW subverts the use-value of GPS as a surveying and navigational tool; revealing these invisible data streams and highlighting their increasing ubiquity, as sophisticated military technologies become key components in daily life."
PURE FLOW [mobile] will be launched officially on September 1, in the UK at Brighton’s Permanent Gallery as part of The Brighton Digital Festival 2011. Can't cross the pond to attend? Don't fret. A limited edition print of PURE FLOW will soon be available from the artist’s website: www.katyconnor.com.
PURE FLOW increases the user's awareness of the invisible waves that surround us all. While the screen images are not overly complex, they do draw the user in.
PURE FLOW is like a prettier version of television snow made for the 21st century. The random way that the images change is intriguing because it appeals to a more primitive part of the human brain than iOS apps usually engage. While not as soothing as a campfire, PURE FLOW is almost as hypnotic.
