David Rokeby The Giver of Names
David Rokeby, still from the installation The Giver of Names, 1998.
David Rokeby has acquired international recognition for his ingenious technical and artistic use of interactive technologies. Following a residency at OBORO, the artist is presenting an installation that provides on the spot verbal interpretation of assemblages which visitors are invited to create.
The Giver of Names is a computer system that gives names to objects. The installation includes a pedestal, a video camera and a computer system. The visitor is invited to place on the pedestal any number of objects chosen from an available assortment. After processing the visual information, the system constructs a sentence or a phrase. The phrase is neither a literal description of the object, nor a randomly generated one, but floats in the space between sense and nonsense. The installation explores the relationships between perception and language, and between language and imagination.
David Rokeby, still from the installation The Giver of Names, 1998.
David Rokeby has been creating interactive sounds and video installation since 1982. His work has been exhibited across Canada, the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea, in numerous biennials such as Venice, (Italy, 1986); SIGGRAPH’88 (Atlanta, USA, 1988); Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria, 1991); Kwangju (Korea,1995); Florence (Italy, 1996). He was awarded the first Petro-Canada Award for Media Ars in 1988, and the Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction for Interactive Art in 1991. David Rokeby lives in Toronto.