Vector Hack is an international bi-annual multimedia festival of analogue vector graphics taking place in October 2020, and bring together Croatian and international artists, programmers and engineers who use oscilloscopes and lasers in their audio-visual art.

This year’s edition of the Festival will involve two more cities after Rijeka, continuing in the Osmo/za Centre in Ljubljana on 7 October and concluding in Dubrovnik from 9 to 10 October in the Art Workshop Lazareti. Thirty-four artists, researchers and programmers from all over the world are slated to participate in the festival, with a special focus on the regional scene of Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia.

Through interviews, workshops and live performances, the festival will once again bring together experts in the field of laser and oscilloscope art. The festival is an opportunity to experience audio-visual works using unusual, analogue and sometimes outdated technologies.

Due to the circumstances caused by the current global pandemic, the programme is a combination of live performances from physical locations and online programmes. Attractive multimedia performances by Croatian and foreign artists (Philipp Haffner, Bernhard Rasinger, Alberto Novello, Hrvoje Radnić, Branimir Štivić and Ivan Marušić Klif), video art, multimedia installations, laser projections in public spaces, photography exhibitions and workshops are presented at physical locations in Rijeka, Ljubljana and Dubrovnik.

The lecture part of the programme will be held online, with live interviews with the presenters after each lecture. During the workshops, participants will be introduced to basic tools for the synthesis of vector audio-visual graphics. Artists attending the festival use lasers, analogue oscilloscopes, old video game consoles, mechanical drawing machines and other equipment to create audio-visual works that are radically different from what is possible on the digital screen. Lectures and presentations include the Croatian pioneer of vector graphics and creator of the first computer animation in Croatia, Tomislav Mikulić and pioneer of Slovenian video art Miho Vipotnik.

The presentations will build and expand on the topics covered in the first edition of the Vector Hack Festival in 2018. All of this year’s lectures will be published online along with an archive of about twenty lectures from the last edition of the festival.

Topics include mechanical graphics devices, the history of media art, the contemporary art practice of laser artists and recent hardware solutions for analogue vector graphics, with presentations of the NeonCaptain “Radiator” laser synthesiser and the Analog Paradigm modular analogue computer, among others. The history of vector graphics will be presented through lectures on Steina and Woody Vasulka, Ben Laposky and Heinrich Heidersberger.

PROGRAMME:
Thursday, 1 October
5 p.m. – 9 p.m., Kosi toranj (Pul Vele Crikve, Rijeka)
Alberto Novello “Laser Drawing Installation”

SOUND >>>>>> LIGHT is an interactive multimedia installation by Italian artist and scientist Alberto Novello that draws passers-by of all ages into the magical world of audio-visual synthesis. By using simple commands on a tablet, anyone can control an attractive laser projection that creates mesmerising Lissajous curves on the bell tower of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kosi Toranj) based on oscillator sounds. The link between the sound and the movement of the laser is direct and clearly understood by anyone trying their hand at audio-visual creation using this tool, making it both an entertaining and educational experience.

Alberto Novello is a typical representative of the Vector Hack Festival artist. He has a degree in nuclear physics and sonology, and through his work, he is constantly straddling the border between science and art.

Friday, 2 October
10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5, Rijeka)
“Phosphorm AV synthesiser” Workshop

When we synthesize an electrical signal and display it as sound and image on a CRT, oscilloscope or some other vector monitor, we get something called vector synthesis. Vector synthesis is a direct connection between image and sound. While there are multiple methods of displaying vector graphics on X-Y monitors, Lissajous curves are certainly among the more entertaining methods. The generated abstract shapes are simple enough that we can see the basic principles of sound synthesis, but also the living structures / images / shapes that appear by displaying that same signal in the visual realm. The basic principles of vector synthesis, together with exploring a bit of basic theory, are easiest to understand by playing with synthesisers. One such instrument is the PHOSPHORM, an open-source project by American programmer Andrei Jay.

PHOSPHORM is an instrument for simultaneous image and sound synthesis. Twelve oscillators linked into a complex network create sound waves that generate animated Lissajous curves. It is intended primarily for live performances. It runs on Raspberry Pi mini-computers and can simultaneously run HDMI screens and projectors, an analogue oscilloscope and speakers.

The workshop focuses on using, as well as both playing the instrument and playing with it. Prior technical knowledge is not a prerequisite, but any knowledge of the technique and tools is welcome.

The workshop will answer the following questions:

  • How can we see sound?
  • How is the image created on an oscilloscope?
  • What are Lissajous Curves?
  • What is a Raspberry Pi?
  • What are the benefits of open source software?
  • How to do MIDI controller mapping?
  • How do you make music with this type of an experimental instrument?

On the last day of the festival, 4 October, participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned as part of an evening of AV performances in the Exportdrvo hall on a 14-meter projection screen.

The workshop is facilitated by Branimir Štivić, who will occasionally be assisted by Ivan Marušić Klif.

The workshop will last for three days, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day. The workshop is limited to 10 participants. Applications for the workshop should be sent by e-mail to vectorhackfestival@gmail.com until 29 September.

Participants do not need to bring their own equipment as 5 sets will be provided for use in pairs. If you want to bring your own equipment, you will need: Raspberry Pi 3+ or 3b+ (+ power supply, SD card), Korg Nanokontrol 2 (another MIDI controller is possible, but this one will work best)

3 p.m. – 6 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5, Rijeka)
Lectures and presentations
streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/

9 p.m. – 11 p.m., Exportdrvo
AV performance and projections
Hrvoje Radnić /HR/ live
Optokoppler /AT/ live
Tomislav Mikulić / Rue Bainbridge / Potar Anar /
Paloma Kop / Shojiro Nakaoka
Streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/

Saturday, 3 October
10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5)
“Phosphorm AV synthesiser” Workshop

3 p.m. – 6 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5)
Lectures and presentations
streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/

9 p.m. – 11 p.m., Exportdrvo
AV performance and projections
Alberto Novello /IT/ live
Ivan Marušić Klif /HR/ live
Charles Deluga / Anthony Elliot / Derek Holzer /
David Francus / Eric Lennartson
streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/

Sunday, 4 October
10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5)
“Phosphorm AV synthesiser” Workshop

3 p.m. – 6 p.m., Deltalab (Delta 5)
Lectures and presentations
streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/

9 p.m. – 11 p.m., Exportdrvo
AV performance and projections
Branimir Štivić /HR/ live
“Phosphorm AV synthesiser” Live Workshop Presentation
Ted Davis / Cristopher Robin Short / Joseph Hyde /
Michael Honeycomb /
streaming: www.youtube.com/c/VectorHackFestival/