Photo courtesy of Telfair Museum
Written by Emilie Kefalas
The 2016 “PULSE Art + Technology Festival” officially ignited the Savannah arts scene this Wednesday at the Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center. The festival will continue to exhibit an array of interactive and innovative examples of technology-based art through Sunday, January 31.
This year marks the event’s 10 year at the Jepson Center. The Telfair Museums’ Senior Curator of Education, Harry DeLorme, said he first showed PULSE at the Telfair in the early 2000s following a request from a SCAD professor and friend to showcase interactive works by students at the event.
When the Jepson Center was built, DeLorme knew he wanted to reach a young audience and engage with new modes of expression.
“In our first year of operation I put together an ‘Art and Technology Week’ which was a big hit with youth and family audiences and the idea grew from there,” DeLorme said.
The festival’s name is meant to embody the connection to technology, life and the “now,” according to DeLorme. DeLorme thinks there are different ways in which people can approach interactive and digital art.
“Artists certainly don’t want to be pigeonholed as technologists, they want to be shown in an art context,” DeLorme said.
“The great thing about this type of work, however, is that it can appeal to people who might not otherwise be interested in contemporary art. Interactive work is particularly engaging to that audience they often want to participate, to have some agency in the process of experiencing the art. Technology is such a part of our daily lives that people are not as intimidated by digital works the way that they might be by other art forms.”
DeLorme’s favorite part about organizing PULSE is the enjoyment he receives in finding amazing work that connects with him and that he hopes will connect with the people as well.
“I would definitely like to ‘wow’ them, and inspire them,” DeLorme said. “I love seeing young people try out technology in ways that they had not previously.”
DeLorme hopes SCAD students will enjoy and take advantage of the programs PULSE has to offer.
“We really try to put together a schedule of opportunities for audiences of all ages from children and families to students of all ages and adults,” DeLorme said.
During this year’s events, there will be two presentations by festival artists. Events geared more towards students which offer opportunity for discussion.
“Although we intended these originally for high school and college students, we have seen participation from local elementary and middle schools, especially those focused on STEM and STEAM,” he said.
DeLorme would love to see the festival become a greater platform for STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics – education in Savannah.
“A number of pieces use face recognition, which is now in use in all sorts of real world applications,” DeLorme said. “We were among the first to show VR projects in Savannah and I hope that we can continue bringing new forms to this community for all to experience.”
Asked what he would say to encourage students to come experience PULSE, DeLorme said the event is a chance to meet both international and local artists and find out more about what they do and how they do it.
“We often show work made locally by students and professors to promote this kind of dialogue,” DeLorme said.
“This is the present and to some extent the future of art. It takes a while for work like this to enter the mainstream, to be more prominent in museums and galleries. It took a long time for photography to truly get that recognition and the same for video art so it may be some years yet before we see interactive art forms become accepted and shown widely in museums and galleries.”
The technologies shown at PULSE are a combination of older and newer mediums.
“One of our key goals for the festival is engaging young people and helping them make the transition from consumers of technology to creators,” DeLorme said.
Admission to PULSE is free and open to the public. Those interested in attending can visi their website for more information about the festival’s schedule and list of events.
