Werkhaus / curating online spaces //
CURATING ONLINE SPACES
 
SCREENS / SCREENS

Screens is a series of commissioned online works from notable artists, seeking to redefine the artgame/interactive field with pieces which create new relationships, deal with untouched themes, and utilize on and offline media.

Werkhaus curated, commissioned and presented each work, while co-creator Jeff Nusz assisted various artists to realise their concepts. A site was created, based on the popular Wordpress platform, setting up a flexible, easy to maintain framework. Promotion was done via managed e-mail lists, a Facebook page, and Twitter to ensure each work got maximum exposure. Writing was produced for each work, giving viewers context and access points to each piece.

Visit Screens

WORK_SPACE / Xin Cheng

Over several weeks, artist Xin Cheng developed a multifaceted installation consisting of a vast array of common objects: CDs, shopping bags, cardboard boxes, tubes, pens, and household plants.

Werkhaus worked with Cheng, documenting the entire process through a webcam installation and live web stream. A bespoke slideshow interactive with minimal interface was scripted, allowing visitors to see key stages of the creation process over the course of several minutes.

Certain Sundays / Certain Sundays

Certain Sundays is a monthly salon, where musicians, composers, artists and the public come together over coffee and cake, presenting and performing work in a relaxed, open atmosphere.

Werkhaus developed a look and feel for the unique series: innovative, professional and original, but also warm, welcoming and open to new audiences. A website extends this aesthetic, using bold type and color, together with smart backend systems to automatically keep calendars updated and enable the organisers to easily add new events and document previous concerts.

Visit the Website

You Ain't Wrong / William Boling

For this online exhibition, US photographer William Boling presented 'uncannily paired images' from US auction website, eBay, and it's New Zealand counterpart TradeMe. Toward's the end of the month project, Boling flipped the process again, re-auctioning prints of these works.

Werkhaus worked with Boling and TradeMe, setting up accounts, promoting the sales via special text-ads, running the auctions both online and on-site at a gallery, and distributing the final works when they closed. Coverage on prominent blogs like Rhizome.org eventually resulted in Boling showing work at the New Museum, New York.

View the Archive

The Edge / The Edge

For this arts and cultural organisation, the challenge was showcasing how their four historic venues worked together with their services. Bringing together 3d models from an architectural agency, 360 views from a photographer, and a huge amount of imagery and text content, I worked with Visual New Media to produce a CD-ROM which clearly brought this across.

I designed and scripted a responsive, colour-coded navigation system which made it easy and intuitive to browse sections. I also developed a bespoke content management system, allowing new images, layout and copy tweaks to occur with a few mouse clicks.

Art from Space / Andrew Clifford

An "exploration of art-related phenomena that manifests in interesting ways on Google's aerial maps", Art from Space allows visitors to jump borders and boundaries, viewing a wide array of art sites, monuments, structures, and ephemera. Werkhaus worked with curator Andrew Clifford, creating a portal that quickly gives users a introduction to the project and presents it's aspects. The blog itself was redesigned with a focus on simplicity and legibility, aesthetically lining up with the prominent map content. A custom icon set was created for the maps, another small touch that gave a greater consistency and uniqueness to a fascinating project.

Visit Art from Space

Fifth Wall / ARTSPACE

Contemporary art gallery ARTSPACE is commissioning a series of innovative online work, and needed a interface and presentation system that was equally alternative.

Werkhaus created a unique interactive, with an organic feel that uses code in subtle ways. Each visitor sees a different layout of elements, which are pulled and pushed on interaction. The work of artist Andrew McLeod was also integrated, a sequence of cohesive icons representing works and sections. Behind the scenes, a structure built on standard frameworks like XML allows new artists, projects, and links to be easily added in the future.

Coming soon

Imagination Station / HP

Ready, set, go! Kids around Melbourne dropped into tents HP set up, had their photo taken, and were given 2 minutes to let their imagination go wild: from pirate swords to punk hair, rabbit ears to sparkling jewelery - each child could create a character using dozens of body parts, objects, and backgrounds.

Bubbly and fun, the interface was designed specifically for a touch screen, with a focus on simple and intuitive user interaction. Every action is 'recorded', so friends and family can visit the gallery and see the masterpiece recreated in real time.

Interact with the 'lite' Web version

Process Festival / Process Festival

A 2 day sound and new-media festival at the iconic Ausland venue in Berlin, Process focused on artists working with systems - from live performances using breath, to software that generated rhythms from architecture.

The web was vital to the festival; from the minimal, content-focused website which kept visitors informed, to the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter to spread the news. Arts magazines, events guides and television picked up the interest, resulting in packed audiences and interest in staging of further festivals.

View the site
Watch feature on Artyčok.tv

The Journey / University of Auckland

Can school kids with mild depression re-think it? Working with a psychologist, illustrator, and sound composer over 8 months, Werkhaus created a series of 16 interactive lessons that aimed to do just that. Capturing thoughts with a net, growing a flower, relaxation exercises, a custom meal creator and some mini art projects were just some of the activities.

Each lesson was rewarded with videos, illustrations and a game which brought their custom character closer to the goal. A workbook continued the unique visual style and allowed participants to track their progress.

Interpulsator / Annie Bradley

Exploring the ideas of time, decay, and failing technology, Werkhaus worked with Annie Bradley, producing screensavers for PC and Mac platforms from sequences of video footage. These were distributed via the gallery's website and run on-site via laptop, as well as making their way onto computer's in offices and businesses. Springing to life when the system shuts down, the software provides a compelling reason for letting the computer sleep.

Download for PC

Newcall Gallery / Newcall Gallery

A minimal, straightforward presence for this artist-run space put the exhibitions, photography, and texts front and center, shifting the aesthetic with each new show.

The site has a unique design and structure, but is built on a popular blogging platform - providing benefits like photo hosting, high search engine ranking, and organisation.

Curators were able to easily add upcoming exhibitions, new texts, additional documentation, or info about the gallery to the site.

Visit

Coco Solid / Coco Solid

The projects of prolific hip-hop artist Coco Solid quickly extended beyond the single-page site originally built for her.

I worked with Coco and team, designing a flexible WordPress powered site that lets her easily add new posts, imagery, video clips and other media whenever she drops a new track.

Much work was done to ensure that the site felt unique and simple to use. Bright pastels, heavy custom typefaces and hand-drawn icons depart from the usual blog aesthetic. The structure was stripped down to a minimum, removing extraneous functionality, and putting the focus firmly on the content.

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aDA Website / Aotearoa Digital Arts

ADA, a network for those working with art and technology, had a handful of websites, portals, wikis, and forums, all with their own structure, navigation systems, and aesthetics. From interviews with artists to exhibition reviews, critical writing, and work documentation, the content was fascinating but frustrating to access. Werkhaus assessed the ADA sites across the board and proposed a new system for organising and presenting this wealth of information.

A new Wordpress-based site was setup with tailored categories and sections, allowing articles to be browsed, edited, and maintained easily by ADA staff. A light aesthetic maintained focus on the compelling content while bringing an overall consistency to the website experience. Keyword searching and browse by date allow artworks to be located quickly, while a new List page allows easy signups and displays the latest activity from the mailing list.

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Short Film Festival / Schweppes

To link the iconic brand with film, Publicis commissioned a series of short films from noted directors, to be shown as teasers on TV, with full versions on localised websites across Eastern Europe. Luke brought static designs to life, creating glowing neon, flickering lobby lights, theatre curtains drawing back, and ambient soundscapes. Users can 'order' cocktails from the bar, view films in a darkened theatre (shhh!) or visit the ticket booth to get email notices about the next showing.

With an average session duration of 7 minutes and 30 seconds, the site has enjoyed further success less than a month after it’s launch, winning both the jury and the public first place for Multimedia site at the NIS Petrol Web FEST in Belgrade, Serbia.

Visit

 
  • Short Film Festival / Schweppes
  • Imagination Station / HP
  • Screens / Screens
  • Fifth Wall / ARTSPACE
  • The Journey / University of Auckland
  • Certain Sundays / Certain Sundays
  • Newcall Gallery / Newcall Gallery
  • The Edge / The Edge
  • Art from Space / Andrew Clifford
  • Process Festival / Process Festival
  • aDA / Aotearoa Digital Arts
  • WORK_SPACE / Xin Cheng
  • Interpulsator / Annie Bradley
  • Coco Solid / Coco Solid
  • You Ain't Wrong / William Boling

About

Werk in German can mean an achievement, a factory, or an opus. I work with artists, galleries, museums and cultural initiatives. I research, write, design, develop and curate. I produce sites and scripts, interactives, web platforms, and networked art. Drop me a line.

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twitter.com/werkhauswork

Contact

Luke Munn
Selchower Str. 31
Berlin 12049
luke/munn//gmail/com