United Visual Artists

October 22, 2007 11:37 AM

Interview with United Visual Artists: Anyone who saw Massive Attack's 100th Window tour will remember the amazing 'stream of data' graphics they used on stage, these guys did that and other work for the likes of U2 and Basement Jaxx
posted by alexanderj (13 comments total)

I am one of those blurry heads on the floor.

Nice to have something to stare at other than 3d's funny little dances.
posted by cowbellemoo at 11:46 AM on October 22, 2007

That tour was fucking awesome - I caught them at Brixton and the lightshow was superb, starting out very simple and then getting incredibly complex.

Also it kidn of weirded me out spending the day coding and then seeing all that XML and C and stuff pojected(?) onto the screen.
posted by Artw at 11:50 AM on October 22, 2007

then seeing all that XML and C and stuff pojected(?) onto the screen.

Obviously they were reading your mind and projecting it back to you!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:11 PM on October 22, 2007

Nah, my indenting and comments are never that neat.
posted by Artw at 12:19 PM on October 22, 2007

That is soooooo cool.
posted by tkchrist at 12:29 PM on October 22, 2007

I think this is fucking brilliant, and precisely what metafilter does best. I would never have run into UVA on my own. This is the sort of modern art I can really get behind and rave about.

I'll be bugging people down the pub with this, but it'll be wasted breath without the video.
posted by chuckdarwin at 12:37 PM on October 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

I went to see Volume at the V+A after fandango_matt had pointed it out (link above), it was pretty cool. Lots of people interacting with it in interesting ways.
posted by carter at 1:13 PM on October 22, 2007

I met Ash Nehru in '99 when he introduced himself when I was DJing at Tyssen Street Studios in London. He liked what I was playing & thought I'd like to try out a set-up he was working on - aDJing tool called Hummingbird that would allow DJs to remix records live. Way ahead of the game even then.

Really good guy to hang out with and always full of ideas that were both technically & creatively brilliant. Great to see him still doing some excellent work.
posted by i_cola at 2:21 PM on October 22, 2007

One of my favourite videos of all time: UVA's commissioned performance "Echo" (dancers from Mimbre + choreography by Flick Ferdinando + lots of LEDs) at the Tate Modern last year.

UVA are amazing. I love how they utilize brilliantly cutting-edge technology in ways that are never obtrusive. Visual poetry.
posted by myrrh at 3:45 PM on October 22, 2007

The Echo show from the Tate Modern was pretty, until you looked at the Quicktime, when it became mind-blowing.

I want their fucking awesome jobs!
posted by DenOfSizer at 5:13 PM on October 22, 2007

Ooooh, I like, I like.... especially the Battles video/installation thing.

"I think this is fucking brilliant, and precisely what metafilter does best. I would never have run into UVA on my own. This is the sort of modern art I can really get behind and rave about."

My thoughts exactly.

Underworld/Tomato also do some wild visuals at their gigs. I think Karl Hyde is kind of a genius.
posted by ReiToei at 5:42 PM on October 22, 2007

Thank you so much - the display at Massive Attack back in 2001 blew my mind and i have always been meaning to find out more about the people who did it. Awesome, this is why I love Metafilter..
posted by sleep_walker at 5:47 PM on October 22, 2007

I was just listening to the new Underworld album (much, much better than their last) and wondering if they were up to their old multimedia stuff.
posted by Artw at 6:53 PM on October 22, 2007