"Inventories of Limbo": Post-Minimal Aesthetics in Cinema From the Readymade to Institutional Critique

This dissertation charts the philosophical premises of post-minimalism in the practices of experimental filmmakers and video artists, exploring specific reorientations of cinematic works since the late 1960s. Post-minimalism refers to a myriad of aesthetic transformations initiated by the conceptual art movement, interrogating the ontology of art from a perspective outside its historical bonds to medium, style, and Kantian aesthetic judgment. I examine three strategies in the progression of post-minimal aesthetic practice: the readymade, institutional critique, and seriality. A central goal of this research is to remap entrenched language and ideas in the spheres of the arts and cinema to point to a profound reciprocity between cinematic technology and post-minimal aesthetic intelligence, perception, and judgment. This research moves away from the problems raised by artificially constructed movements and prescriptive categories which inevitably produce important sites of exception, and look instead to the aesthetic engines of post-minimal artmaking offering opportunities for constant renewal, evolution, and refinement. I follow these aesthetic engines like a knights tour in chess, jumping through history, appearing in unexpected places and at unexpected times to draw continuities in the approach to the heretical breaks from modernism found in post-minimal aesthetic intelligence. I will primarily focus on four objects: William E. Jones Tearoom, Robert Smithsons Underground Cinema, Lis Rhodes collaborative intervention into the Film as Film exhibition, and Christian Marclays The Clock. Examining the use of Marcel Duchamps concept of the readymade, and its profound assault on both medium specificity and authorship, I illustrate radical new ethical imperatives in the presentation of found footage filmmaking. My two core chapters grapple with ontological and locative explorations of cinematic architectures and sites. The two projects discussed engage with institutional critique, a philosophical model of artmaking which directly engages the sites, economic infrastructures, administrative imperatives, and power dynamics of the cinema, museum, and gallery. Finally, I examine a case study in contemporary post-minimal practice through Christian Marclays 24-hour installation The Clock, and will explore its relationship to archival projects engaging in the collection, ordering, and hermeneutic approach to 20th century media. I will explore this installation as symptomatic of both a technologically determined grammar of collection for the now immense digital archive, and an archeological inclination for artists to thematize film history

2013 IMSAloquium, Student Investigation Showcase

This year, we are proudly celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research (SIR) Program. Our first IMSAloquium, then called Presentation Day, was held in 1989 with only ten presentations; this year we are nearing two hundred.https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/archives_sir/1005/thumbnail.jp

Robust and affordable localization and mapping for 3D reconstruction. Application to architecture and construction

La localización y mapeado simultáneo a partir de una sola cámara en movimiento se conoce como Monocular SLAM. En esta tesis se aborda este problema con cámaras de bajo coste cuyo principal reto consiste en ser robustos al ruido, blurring y otros artefactos que afectan a la imagen. La aproximación al problema es discreta, utilizando solo puntos de la imagen significativos para localizar la cámara y mapear el entorno. La principal contribución es una simplificación del grafo de poses que permite mejorar la precisión en las escenas más habituales, evaluada de forma exhaustiva en 4 datasets. Los resultados del mapeado permiten obtener una reconstrucción 3D de la escena que puede ser utilizada en arquitectura y construcción para Modelar la Información del Edificio (BIM). En la segunda parte de la tesis proponemos incorporar dicha información en un sistema de visualización avanzada usando WebGL que ayude a simplificar la implantación de la metodología BIM.Departamento de Informática (Arquitectura y Tecnología de Computadores, Ciencias de la Computación e Inteligencia Artificial, Lenguajes y Sistemas Informáticos)Doctorado en Informátic

Where is the bottle? Cross-linguistic study on side assignment to objects and interpretation of static spatial relations by German, Polish, Italian and English native speakers

Das Ziel der Dissertation ist, den Gebrauch von sekundären Raumdeixes (‚vor‘, ‚hinter‘, ‚rechts / links von‘) und Referenzrahmen (absolut, intrinsisch, relativ) von deutschen, englischen, italienischen und polnischen Muttersparcher_innen für die Beschreibung von statischen Raumrelationen zu untersuchen. Zwei Experimente pro Sprache wurden durchgeführt. Das erste Experiment untersuchte Seitenzuweisung. Die Proband_innen sahen ein Objekt von der Vorderseite (kanonische Position) und Rückseite (nicht-kanonische Position). Das Ergebnis bestätigt, dass die Proband_innen der vier Sprachen die Außenperspektive für die Seitenzuweisung des kanonisch stehenden vis-à-vis Objektes meistens benutzen. Einige Variationen haben die Pol_innen und Italiener_innen gezeigt, vor allem bei der Zuweisung von der rechten und linken Seite. Dabei wiesen die Deutschen und Italiener_innen signifikante Unterschiede auf. Mit dem Mouse Tracking habe ich die Interpretation von statischen Raumrelationen von zwei Komplexitätsgraden untersucht. Die einfachen Raumrelationen enthielten entweder ein extrinsisches oder intrinsisches Referenzobjekt (belebt; unbelebt) und eine Flasche als lokalisiertes Objekt. Die komplexeren Raumrelationen wurden um einen Agenten ergänzt und mit der indirekten Rede eingebettet. Das erlaubte die Erforschung von Origo-Shift. In allen Raumrelationen wurden die Proband_innen gebeten, die Lokalisation von der Flasche zu beschreiben. Die Deutschen und Italiener_innen zeigten signifikante Unterschiede bei der Interpretation von einfachen belebten und unbelebten intrinsischen Raumrelationen. Bei der Interpretation von komplexeren intrinsischen Raumrelationen haben die polnischen Muttersprachler_innen die Origo am häufigsten zum Agenten verschoben und von seinem Blickwinkel bezüglich des relativen Bezugsrahmens die Relationen beschrieben. Im Allgemeinen, für die Interpretation von komplexeren Raumrelationen ist die Wahl des intrinsischen Bezugsrahmens im Vergleich zu einfacheren Raumrelationen signifikant gesunken. Das heißt, die meisten Proband_innen haben die Origo zum Agenten verschoben und von seinem Blickwinkel die Raumrelationen bezüglich der Spiegelstrategie interpretiert.The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the use of reference frames (absolute, relative, intrinsic) and secondary local deixes (‘in front of’, ‘behind’, ‘to the right / left of’) by German, English, Italian, and Polish native speakers to describe static spatial relations. Two experiments per language were carried out. The first experiment investigated side assignment. Participants saw the object from the front (the canonical position) and the back (the noncanonical position). The results confirm that for side assignments to a canonical positioned vis-à-vis object most speakers of the four languages use the outside perspective. However, some variations occurred for Polish and Italian, especially while identifying the right and left sides showing significant differences between German and Italian. Using mouse tracking, I tested the interpretation of static spatial relations of two kinds of complexity. The simple spatial relations included either extrinsic or intrinsic reference objects (animate; inanimate) and a bottle as localized object. The complex spatial relations were supplemented by an agent and embedded by indirect speech. This allows the investigation of origo shift. In all situations, participants were asked to describe the location of the bottle. German and Italian showed significant differences in interpreting simple animate and inanimate intrinsic relations. Interpreting the intrinsic complex relations, Polish speakers shifted the origo to the agent most frequently and described the relations from his point of view. All in all, for the complex relations, the choice of the intrinsic reference frame decreased significantly compared to the simple relations. That is, most participants shifted the origo to agents’ point of view and interpreted the spatial relations applying the reflection strategy

Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction Methods in Climate Data Analysis

Linear dimensionality reduction techniques, notably principal component analysis, are widely used in climate data analysis as a means to aid in the interpretation of datasets of high dimensionality. These linear methods may not be appropriate for the analysis of data arising from nonlinear processes occurring in the climate system. Numerous techniques for nonlinear dimensionality reduction have been developed recently that may provide a potentially useful tool for the identification of low-dimensional manifolds in climate data sets arising from nonlinear dynamics. In this thesis I apply three such techniques to the study of El Nino/Southern Oscillation variability in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures and thermocline depth, comparing observational data with simulations from coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models from the CMIP3 multi-model ensemble. The three methods used here are a nonlinear principal component analysis (NLPCA) approach based on neural networks, the Isomap isometric mapping algorithm, and Hessian locally linear embedding. I use these three methods to examine El Nino variability in the different data sets and assess the suitability of these nonlinear dimensionality reduction approaches for climate data analysis. I conclude that although, for the application presented here, analysis using NLPCA, Isomap and Hessian locally linear embedding does not provide additional information beyond that already provided by principal component analysis, these methods are effective tools for exploratory data analysis.Comment: 273 pages, 76 figures; University of Bristol Ph.D. thesis; version with high-resolution figures available from http://www.skybluetrades.net/thesis/ian-ross-thesis.pdf (52Mb download

Strategies for pushing nonlinear microscopy towards its performance limits

The requirement for imaging living structures with higher contrast and resolution has been covered by the inherent advantages offered by nonlinear microscopy (NLM). However, to achieve its full potential there are still several issues that must be addressed. To do so, it is very important to identify and adapt the key elements in a NLM for achieving an optimized interaction among them. These are 1) the laser source 2) the optics and 3) the sample properties for contrast generation. In this thesis, three strategies have been developed for pushing NLM towards its limits based on the light sample interaction optimization. In the first strategy it is experimentally demonstrated how to take advantage of the sample optical properties to generate label-free contrast, eliminating the requirement of modifying the sample either chemically or genetically. This is carried out by implementing third harmonic generation (THG) microscopy. Here, it is shown how the selection of the ultra-short pulsed laser (USPL) operating wavelength (1550 nm) is crucial for generating a signal that matches the peak sensitivity of most commercial detectors. This enables reducing up to seven times the light dose applied to a sample while generating an efficient signal without the requirement of amplification schemes and specialized optics (such as the need of ultraviolet grade). To show the applicability of the technique, a full developmental study of in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans embryos is presented together with the observation of wavelength induced effects. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of the technique at the employed particular wavelength to be used to follow morphogenesis processes in vivo. In the second strategy the limits of NLM are pushed by using a compact, affordable and maintenance free USPL sources. Such device was designed especially for two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) imaging of one the most widely used fluorescent markers in bio-imaging research: the green fluorescent protein. The system operating parameters and its emission wavelength enables to demonstrate how matching the employed fluorescent marker two-photon action cross-section is crucial for efficient TPEF signal production at very low powers. This enables relaxing the peak power conditions (40 W) to excite the sample. The enhanced versatility of this strategy is demonstrated by imaging both fixed and in vivo samples containing different dyes. More over the use of this laser is employed to produce second harmonic generation images of different samples. Several applications that can benefit by using such device are outlined. Then a comparison of the employed USPL source is performed versus the Titanium sapphire laser (the most used excitation source in research laboratories). The final goal of this strategy is to continue introducing novel laser devices for future portable NLM applications. In this case, the use of chip-sized semiconductor USPL sources for TPEF imaging is demonstrated. This will allow taking NLM technology towards the sample and make it available for any user. In the last strategy, the light interaction with the optical elements of a NLM workstation and the sample were optimized. The first enhancement was carried out in the laser-microscope optical path using an adaptive element to spatially shape the properties of the incoming beam wavefront. For an efficient light-sample interaction, aberrations caused by the index mismatch between the objective, immersion fluid, cover-glass and the sample were measured. To do so the nonlinear guide-star concept, developed in this thesis, was employed for such task. The correction of optical aberrations in all the NLM workstation enable in some cases to have an improvement of more than one order of magnitude in the total collected signal intensity. The obtained results demonstrate how adapting the interaction among the key elements of a NLM workstation enables pushing it towards its performance limits.La creciente necesidad de observar estructuras complicadas cada vez con mayor contraste y resolución han sido cubiertas por las ventajas inherentes que ofrece la microscopia nolineal. Sin embargo, aun hay ciertos aspectos que deben ser ajustados para obtener su máximo desempeño. Para ello es importante identificar y adaptar los elementos clave que forman un microscopio optimizar la interacción entre estos. Dichos elementos son: 1) el laser, 2) la óptica y 3) las propiedades de la muestra. En esta tesis, se realizan tres estrategias para llevar la eficiencia de la microscopia nolineal hacia sus límites. En la primera estrategia se demuestra de forma experimental como obtener ventaja de las propiedades ópticas de la muestra para generar contraste sin el uso de marcadores mediante la generación de tercer harmónico. Aquí se muestra como la selección de la longitud de onda del láser de pulsos ultracortos es crucial para que la señal obtenida concuerde con la máxima sensibilidad del detector utilizado. Esto permite una reducción de la dosis de luz con la que se expone la muestra, elimina intrínsecamente el requerimiento de esquemas de amplificación de señal y de óptica de tipo ultravioleta (generalmente empleada en este tipo de microscopios). Mediante un estudio comparativo con un sistema convencional se demuestra que los niveles de potencia óptica pueden ser reducidos hasta siete veces. Para demostrar las ventajas de dicha técnica se realiza un estudio completo sobre el desarrollo embrionario de Caenorhabditis elegans y los efectos causados por la exposición de la muestra a dicha longitud de onda. Los resultados demuestran el potencial de la técnica para dar seguimiento a procesos morfogénicos en muestras vivas a la longitud de onda utilizada. En la segunda estrategia se diseñó una fuente de pulsos ultracortos que es compacta, de costo reducido y libre de mantenimiento para excitar mediante la absorción de dos fotones uno de los marcadores más utilizados en el entorno biológico, la proteína verde fluorescente. Los parámetros de operación en conjunto con la longitud de onda emitida por el sistema proporcionan la máxima eficiencia permitiendo el uso de potencias pico muy bajas (40 W), ideales para relajar la exposición de la muestra. La versatilidad de esta estrategia se demuestra empleando muestras fijas y vivas con diferentes marcadores fluorescentes. Este láser también es empleado para la obtención de señal de segundo harmónico en diferentes muestras. Adicionalmente, se llevó a cabo un estudio comparativo entre la fuente desarrollada y un sistema Titanio zafiro (uno de los láseres más utilizados en laboratorios de investigación). El objetivo final de esta estrategia es introducir fuentes novedosas para aplicaciones portátiles basadas en procesos nolineales. En base a esto se demuestra el uso de dispositivos construidos sobre un microchip para generar imágenes de fluorescencia de dos fotones. Esto permitirá llevar la tecnología hacia la muestra biológica y hacerla disponible para cualquier usuario. En la última estrategia se optimiza de la interacción de la luz con los elementos ópticos del microscopio y la muestra. La primera optimización se lleva a cabo en la trayectoria óptica que lleva el láser hacia el microscopio empleando un elemento adaptable que modifica las propiedades espaciales de la luz. Para mejorar la interacción de la luz y la muestra se miden las aberraciones causadas por la diferencia de índices refractivos entre el objetivo, el medio de inmersión y la muestra. Esto se realizo empleando el concepto de la “estrella guía nolineal” desarrollado en esta tesis. Mediante la corrección de las aberraciones en el sistema de microscopia nolineal se obtiene una mejora, en algunos casos de un orden de magnitud, en la intensidad total medida. Los resultados obtenidos en esta tesis demuestran como el adaptar la interacción entre los elementos clave en un microscopio nolineal permiten llevar su desempeño hacia los límites.Postprint (published version

Visual Cortex

The neurosciences have experienced tremendous and wonderful progress in many areas, and the spectrum encompassing the neurosciences is expansive. Suffice it to mention a few classical fields: electrophysiology, genetics, physics, computer sciences, and more recently, social and marketing neurosciences. Of course, this large growth resulted in the production of many books. Perhaps the visual system and the visual cortex were in the vanguard because most animals do not produce their own light and offer thus the invaluable advantage of allowing investigators to conduct experiments in full control of the stimulus. In addition, the fascinating evolution of scientific techniques, the immense productivity of recent research, and the ensuing literature make it virtually impossible to publish in a single volume all worthwhile work accomplished throughout the scientific world. The days when a single individual, as Diderot, could undertake the production of an encyclopedia are gone forever. Indeed most approaches to studying the nervous system are valid and neuroscientists produce an almost astronomical number of interesting data accompanied by extremely worthy hypotheses which in turn generate new ventures in search of brain functions. Yet, it is fully justified to make an encore and to publish a book dedicated to visual cortex and beyond. Many reasons validate a book assembling chapters written by active researchers. Each has the opportunity to bind together data and explore original ideas whose fate will not fall into the hands of uncompromising reviewers of traditional journals. This book focuses on the cerebral cortex with a large emphasis on vision. Yet it offers the reader diverse approaches employed to investigate the brain, for instance, computer simulation, cellular responses, or rivalry between various targets and goal directed actions. This volume thus covers a large spectrum of research even though it is impossible to include all topics in the extremely diverse field of neurosciences