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PUBLIC TALK: The Coppelia Project

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Today's date is Friday, March 29, 2024
The Coppelia Project : Free public talk with Geoffrey Drake-Brockman Other events...
The Coppelia Project is a programme of research, development, and artwork production aimed at the creation of a troupe of four robot ballerinas able to learn and perform dance movements and interact with an audience. The project is being undertaken by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman with assistance from The West Australian Ballet. The Coppelia Project is inspired by imagery and conceptual sources associated with the story about a clockwork girl from the ballet by Delibes written in 1868. The robot ballerinas have articulated head and arm joints, while their legs are fixed in an 'en pointe' pose, but able to rotate on a mount. Each of the Coppelia robots has an aluminium skeleton with a fibreglass shell, and a series of motors to animate it. The motors are linked to specially developed electronics and software that is able to capture and play back a dance sequence. In exhibition-mode the system interacts with its audience via movement sensors and a learning algorithm.

Geoffrey Drake-Brockman (1964) is a Perth based artist specialising in robotics, lasers, and optical interactive installations. His practice investigates the role of technology in mediating contemporary human experience. Geoffrey studied Computer Science at UWA before completing an MA in Visual Arts at Curtin University. He has been exhibiting since 1986 with shows in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Singapore, New York and London. He has had solo exhibitions at Goddard de Fiddes, Fremantle Arts Centre, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Greenhill Galleries, and the Singapore Art Museum. He has also shown work at the at the National Gallery of Australia in 2001 (National Sculpture Prize - Highly Commended) and in 2005 (People’s Choice) along with the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award in Melbourne, The Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth, Sculpture by the Sea (Bondi, Cottesloe, and Aarhus, Denmark), Collaborative Concepts in New York and The Hooper Gallery in London. Geoffrey has completed laser-based public art commissions ‘LaserWrap’ and ‘Transfiction’ for the ACT Government and installed permanent robotic installations at Kwinana Automotive TAFE and Christchurch Grammar School. He is currently working on commissions for The Perth Arena and Northbridge Police Headquarters. Geoffrey won the Sir Charles Gardiner Art Award in 1993, the Princess Margaret Art Award in 2003 and the 1997 AIIA National Award for Excellence in Information Technology.
Speaker(s) Geoffrey Drake-Brockman
Location SymbioticA Room 228, Level 2, School of Anatomy and Human Biology, UWA.
Contact Chris Cobilis <[email protected]> : 6488 5583
URL http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/activities/seminars
Start Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:30
End Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:00
Submitted by Chris Cobilis <[email protected]>
Last Updated Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:18
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