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What you’ll hear in this episode:

• How art, technology, and society intersect
• Why the artist’s perspective is essential to building a healthy relationship between man and machine
• Ars Electronica’s fascinating exhibitions all over the globe

“I try to see opportunities and test them,” Gerfried Stocker says, explaining the impetus of his career path. Stocker doesn’t see things in the binary of success or failure, but rather as opportunities. He explains that by testing different things out, you discover “a common story” or theme behind all of the opportunities that you pursue. And for Stocker, this central theme is experience.

Stocker started out his artistic journey as an electronic musician, but was unfulfilled by the presentation of his work, which lacked a performative element in the absence of traditional instruments. So, he decided to pair his music with interactive environments, creating an art installation experience where the room was rigged to play his music in response to the audience moving throughout the space. The audience was awestruck by the interactive exhibit, and Stocker realized his passion for the intersection of technology, art, and audience participation. 

Today he is the artistic director at Ars Electronica, an Austrian cultural, educational, and scientific institute dedicated to the “collaboration of art and technology” to benefit society. Stocker explains that the artist plays an important role in society as we develop new technologies, providing insight into the emotional, interpersonal, and social conundrums that technology presents. While the engineers and developers are only concerned with whether a new technology will function, the artist is able to tackle the subsequent complicated “relationship between man and machine.” 

Ars Electronica runs an annual festival showcasing projects that emphasize interaction and focus on “the position of humans and users in a world that is more and more driven by technology.” Whether it’s a swarm of synchronized drones acting as a screen for a computer-programmed animation or a human-robot performance, their festival is full of innovative technology in creative and interactive contexts. 

Stocker also manages educational initiatives in the Ars Electronica “Futurelab,” where new technologies are developed and tested and people are encouraged to become informed consumers and creators of technology. 

Beyond the importance of interactive, experiential projects, Stocker’s focus on technology, art, and society has taught him that you must always reinvent yourself. Art is the “most dynamic industry,” he explains, and Stocker encourages everyone to integrate a “permanent process of questioning yourself” so that you can always be on the cutting edge of your field, ready to seize new opportunities and experiences. 

Listen to the first episode of rinaLAB for this fascinating discussion and learn more about the importance of art in society and innovation, the magic behind choreographing a swarm of over 100 drones, and the unique relational issues automation poses. And if you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share! 

rinaLAB is a founding_media podcast created in partnership with OST Austria.

Host: Dan Dillard

Guest: Gerfried Stocker

Transcript:

welcome to the rinalab podcast on this show we will be exploring the science behind the research and innovation network Austria also known as RINA this is a vibrant network of Austrian scientist innovators in North America and it’s going to be a fascinating journey that I get to share with you on this first episode I had the opportunity to interview Gerfried Stocker an engineer who often finds himself at the intersection of art and technology he is currently the managing an artistic director of ours electronica and art technology and society festival he also recording consoles with international companies on many topics surrounding creativity and innovation management he has worked on some truly amazing thing so let’s get off this first episode with Gerfried stocker

only know about you when is that you help coordinate they show that do the algorithms for drones yeah so can you like fill me in on the rest just as we can start with the drones and I can yeah so this a reverse engineer my story from from this example yeah we can certainly do that so it’s only one project with of course it ended up to be epic sing and it’s very significant for lots of the stuff that we had two weeks ago so I have a clip here where you worked with Intel to tester John orchestra technology so that’s the interesting point because we didn’t work to test their drones we actually invented and developed this whole story in two thousand twelve me and my team came together to recommend a really inspiring and crazy idea service at a fireworks of the future close to a commission to do a big open air event and we saw the no it’s no longer appropriate specially for organization did this so devoted and dedicated to the teachers of about the trust Phi opera thank Nixon and fireworks what could be a new way of doing fireworks

of course we can obviously socialist and things like this but then somebody is that okay way right down to eat rice reckless this drones the the cut cope those which were quite popular in two thousand twenty in Europe is so at the beginning basically and we said yeah that’s a great idea let’s try it we were joking with at this point the right to live or at least one sweets and then the one in Pittsburgh who well already doing synchronized from flights but only endorse because you need the call tracking system with this kind of thing but we wanted and we needed it out to us for about two hundred thousand people audience so both said the it’s possible but we don’t have enough time or they were asking for a lot of money to make it happen so we are never left is the possibility to do it ourselves and we found that a company in Germany that those producing crowns and they were very was so happy with this idea and collaborated with us so they helped us to implement the GPS into the main board off the phone that was so cool refine the electronics and the software on board of the phones so they’d be actually cooked a chief show at the first one was in two thousand wafers fifty problems where we had the choreography coming from is three D. and check so in the same way as you may kiss three D. animation and dental rented it to the screen we developed a program where you’ll create to a three D. animation but you rented it to a swarm of clones each of the drones was six ripped through his LED lights that are also computer controlled and so they were really like screen flying in sky that’s why we came up with the name specs also space speaks with of course and we found a sponsor industry company in in Austria who was also excited about the idea so we could afford to fifty drones to fly business and then we got the nod to from the company that you collaborated with so we had fifty two thrones weather channel rehearsal of the show ended back totally fine

but then heavy clouds came and you know when you really have heavy cloud stand GPS is not so reliable and more envy programs I work for a once in a way that twenty loose the GPS signal what they do is chest stopping in place and waiting to get the new connection yeah so they were waiting and waiting and waiting until the battery ran out of a horse and then from from from there are really all dropping and too often talked into that then you prefer but lost forever but the rest actively recruit the rescue and repair until the next evening and actually the the the first real flight who was the fifty Crohn’s was already the performance and it rectification and it was really a wonderful experience because it was some sing completing you’ll you’ll never hits you you’ll find you saw it you really didn’t know what’s going on yes and you know the status of course yeah you know the lights or that’s from airplanes and six like this but fifty light points in the sky moving changing the colors informed but then this was really a unique experience we got immediately a lot though if response was the the YouTube video ahead to know immediately hundreds of thousands of creeks and then paramount the pictures got information about this and they asked us if we could do a show in London on the pasta tower bridge in London for advertisement of then you’ll Star Trek movie that

so they asked us to fly the stock trickle go into the sky off long owners which of course was a super it’s the winter was a really great seeing it back perfectly fine and so we got the immediately some other shows with the fly into by for an event and then internal nice recognized what we are doing and they came aboard and for about two years to be a really a very cool sponsor and support office and was the money we were able to operates two hundred drones and develop the choreography and the whole seeing so that we could fly hundred drones simultaneously in one choreography and this was officially the first thing this bull creek court mean visor record this I think thousand three hundred forty seven phones by a Chinese company it’s Intel has now I’m not sure if it’s really a business I think they do it more for public relations and and and and advertisement they made the big stand in the opening of the Olympics in in in Korea South Korea last year and so it’s really became now a big show and there are many companies now doing this kind of scene but the the nice thing is that it was not driven by industrial technology but by a bunch of really inspired artists and engineers and that that we were really able to pull this off and it’s still one of the great sinks into the sea now that this is so popular and that’s and wonderful scene for us it was interesting also because we gain so much experience with this that immediately we could stop a lot of interesting research projects with the industry and we have developed now sensing that this court’s warm operating system that allows us to synchronize different types of drones even some on the floor like reading some of flying to so the synchronize they mean choreographies which is basically the same thing that you need for any type of the cheese sticks that you wanted to be strong and interesting scene

also decide to reverse engineer from the story to our organizational to who I am is is this combination of that it’s a perfect example of a combination of collaboration of art the smaller chi reckon for society and this is what the US electronica is all about so the future left that was that unit that developed a strong shows the specs rules this is one of our departments we also run at the minute exhibition Santa is to education center to help people especially the young generation Austria to get to know better the possibilities of new technologies to become create to us than chest consumers of technology we have a very big festival for artistic knowledge in society extra listen set the nineties next year we have for fortieth anniversary and already in the nineteen seventy nine it was cold festival for artistic knowledge and society and since then our basic mission is to use the means of art the sensitivity the knowledge of tactics to other ones had better understand how new technology is actually changing our culture is really changing our society but more than just letting them know about it the more important thing is of course creating a developing this keyless right and they believe this that are necessary to remain in control so it’s a very important educational work where artists with the city core of feet now education is of what we do for society and this collaborations with the industry and we do a lot of them of course is important way to have the money so that we can afford to act and did you catch

that’s so amazing let’s go back in section of this is an idea so so so what field of study what what what is your title like what when my title in this organization is I’m dead distinct I recommend also managing director from my education I have this nice situation I have a technical education mention your communication technology as it was called then but that was so I had the acoustic Correo ready before I moved into us the Konica and solicit changed the side from being producing artists to be in our minute show for arts and culture organization but it allows me of course in a very good way to communicate with both sides and actually most of our people are this kind of hybrid personality is who sometimes do more artwork than they do more engineering a software development or project management and I think that’s really important to be this kind of high protested again was sounds like you’re just following your heart and it was fun this is really I mean I think by the super the super privilege that position and they had this wonderful coincidence and like a situation that the ninety five already when a slick funny come moved from being just a festive and to also beat this permanent basis they also Konica center this indication of apart to fit this institution I was successful in applying for the job the virtuous the coding for ninety four to nineteen ninety five for a rate is doing this really for a very long time and it was really this was like from scratch because in nineteen ninety five very few people really had an idea of what the digital revolution suddenly would mean in cultural and social downs

so X. two nobody really knew what this guy said the work which gave us a lot of freedom and since we were very dedicated the richness of solicit both sites the artist community but also the generous society and working with the companies we could establish very fast as strong platform that allowed us to really operate even beyond just the touch ID for running a museum and this exchange was the industry of course all this was a very important source of inspiration innovation rebelled at the thought what’s really going on at the feet of technology and having all the important inspiration from the art from the artist it allowed us to formal date or to develop a very particular point of expertise right in the center of this man machine interface so all expertise that all the projects that we had to we are focused on this question a whole is the position of a few moments of us uses in a world that is more and more driven by technology coined by the US so interesting prime ninety five you you said you’ve got the diverse things as far as art what kind of artist the June thanks for your actually I come from music but the end and I was working with computer music which I really like him minutes conceptually but it’s a completely disappointing for a kick to the S. and I’m still not satisfied because you work for weeks or months in your studio was only like fitment and then you have a wonderful piece of art but how to present it because the only thing you do is to set up loud speakers and then go straight for a play at the mean that’s not satisfying for you as an artist a sink grow specially in music the performance the reality is a very important part and it’s definitely not satisfying for audience

so at this point I is the re discovered my technological schemes and started to develop interactive situations where I’ve basically prepay yet the elements of the sound environment and the music and then created interfaces where the audience when they were coming to explore to see the exhibition installation where they were actually playing this like instrument so if the first big project will set a gallery space suite quite large rooms and people many very seen by us from floor to ceiling and when people were moving it was unavoidable for them to touch the by us every time one of these files were dispatched yeah there was the triga kind of microphone that was going to the computer and triggering assault and of course the people immediately recognize so this is like a big instrumented can play visit this was the nineteen ninety eight and this was the type of art that I was doing and I was working to get over this good friend of mine a colleague who was more to so fifty available I was what how to a developer and together we created this interactive experiences and suddenly seeing the excitement of people that you know was not compatible as a setting of when you played into music from the lots because this a very well done but he is suddenly a not only the experts but ordinary people from the streets of for totally enjoyed this and and this was really the moment where I also discovered that I am definitely very much interested in this participation seeing in educating really working with people and the this is something that I’ve found a perfectly weighted in in my truck for us with twenty two because that’s also our core mission is working for the people and working with people from so fascinating it’s it’s my mind was going on month million miles an hours are telling all this so I want to go back to support

part of what our audience is part of what we want to do with the show is is you know there’s there’s kind of be a mentor to of both kids that are that are starting off their career or even someone this mid career this sentiment on to some different and maybe even give them permission to like Hey it’s okay to follow your heart and do what you wanna do and things will work out even better if you do it that way so what I want to do is is maybe capture your life journey as far as where you started when you in school and then how you kind of you use explain a piece of the thing with the renewal it further back so before the ark like what your guys said I want to study art do you have family in our or do you just you just kinda need I come from a very small rural village in Austria my father was a carpenter my grandfather Steve was a pharma my first idea was to become engineers this was my first indication then I made a key to the not on successful my first steps in literature but soon I found out that this is not what I’m really interested to have into music than is already described making musicals also not the so I I think my whole life also the way how I run a or institution since more than twenty years he’s in a way I don’t know if this is the right in any case it’s opportunistic in in a way that I tried to see opportunities and then try it out they state nothing you know making a big master plan are big business plan and then finally when you have to plan you stop to convince people but even when the idea is still small to try to make a prototype tried to do it and then the early enough you know down front to long in this direction is this for yourself and also was either this way that this is a viable direction or not

if not then I’ll just leave it go to something completely eighties because then a sink worked what you discover is that among all the different ways how you try to to the sea pursuing your dreams your visions there is a kind of common story behind it and this might take a long time to find out what is your common seems your topic historian but the the best way to find it all is the is exploring it and this was also when when when we started in in ninety five ninety six to work for us the twenty cut we immediately also set up and a what’s called to our future left us with twenty confusion that mainly with the idea that we need eight a unit that was able to produce our ideas because when you sync ninety five indirect if art was existing the rest some artists all over the world doing this stuff but there was definitely no company where you could go and say please put USA interactive exhibition for my music so the only way to make him use you really a hundred percent taking directive which was a local boasted without a single and the future levels set up from the beginning not the Singapore agreed that I could design studio something that would make beautiful drawings and renderings in Dade city of right interesting papers we specifically said this is a producing lap and a reproach checked at least needs to enter the prototype this is where we want to going to sink this is this important thing in a dry it out it’s not a I will consider just trust your heart or your cats have been that such a little bit too naive but the point is when you start to try out six you recognize very soon wait a it’s possible you recognize would assume beta it’s too big for you right whether you need so to say to improve your resources operator you needs to change the idea you find it out much better so it’s not just you know plant self confidence the sync would you need this of course a very self critical evidence but then bye bye trying out you really find your way it’s amazing

I really like the way you articulate that because yes follow your heart but do testing and one of the things that we have to embrace is the word failure because love these things will fail those failures part of the education process and you’ve got a like as you said pastel build a prototype I like how you never use the word failures like we can build this telephone Centrica doesn’t work I really don’t like that I mean I think it’s important in the in the discourse overs to embrace failure for your conscience things like these but it’s not about fake and nobody wants to make faith I mean when you make your failure no matter where you don’t feel very well and so I think it’s much more important to look at these opportunities it’s it’s not whether you make your favorites you useing seeing an opportunity and at least trying to make sense out of feet to to develop something out is it safe mode to figure out what you my tennis no or it might be a situation where all different conditions are not perfectly waiting so that you really are able to you still right but it’s not really a failure I think the only failure would be not looking for opportunities to do that I think what we all want or so when we talk about this importance of risk taking and a failure couch and there’s lots of discussion Europe you all this looks to United States instead I’d cigna confided to have dysphagia culture and you can fade mail all things like that but I think that the point behind white is his interest is of course the more you are also accepting the failure the more opportunities you are trying out if that’s the the the the solicited the leverage is not the failure or so failure as a way to learn is is quite okay but I think the leverage is really when you are more open to the possibilities of failure to automatically have more chances to try all different directions and different different things they think this is what this really then accelerating innovation did this was exhilarating your personal Brady your collection of experience and the sick at the end it’s all about experience

this is that the best you know senior idea that you might have he’s not really very helpful when you don’t have enough experience how to deal with it and so I think it’s really about beating up his experiences and without his I think it’s not about celebrating failure but celebrating opportunity so like a like a you the business is this scientific testing of ideas and and then gaining experience along the way really I really like the you’ve you’ve you frame that because you’re right I mean here we we say what Phil get comfortable with failure feel often feel fast and but what you just said was completely correct to me even though you said a failed this business and it’s okay it still doesn’t feel right but if you look at the way you’re looking at which is a this is an opportunity here just scientific testing the adult and you know if it doesn’t work MoveOn gain experience we want same thing with Justin apart more positive light in feeling when that happens the game is the experience this is what you’ve been from its own with every area of this attempts you are at the end strongly your bed and this is why I don’t like the vet failure because at the end it’s always a win yes it is true Mr everything in it to see that alone is that no matter what it the end of the day everything is experience and education and the thing that you learn along the way help you build the next thing at the end of the day

yeah what’s the what’s on the horizon for you in the work that you’re doing well first of all what where were you located where’s where’s what do you do you work for it actually we are in Austria small country your folks and in Leeds which is only this at lectures sit in Austria where you cannot really say large because it only has two hundred thousand inhabitants it’s actually you know compared to internet understand that it’s it’s a it’s a very small city but it has of course a lot of advantages because it’s a very strong type network they are you have really good access to resources to people and for one reason or another in nineteen seventy nine this was the place where some people came to Canada and sought the fastest growing because started and for us it’s not a place where we are having a home base but since many years we have a very strong the national program we have since a few years our own ugly twenty catch a bank department which is at the moment is in for people full time breaking only for the Japanese business we have a lot of for relationships and activities going on in Australia just at the moment buy this speaking we have US electronic exhibitions in Berlin Beijing sold and Moscow in the last two weeks we also made us the Konica concerts in processing did also occur so we really and I think again in a in a very typical way of using opportunities we never tried to make us electronica center or something something into the like cooking

I’m going here and there because we we much more preferred to work out of the situation and seeing you know if if the conditions are right and let’s go there and do something else about to ask you how do you pick an X. location is sounds like there is no formal now we’re going to take over the city is that city it’s like the opportunity shows up and if it all makes sense you just do it I mean of course this also has some aspects that you have to learn to deal with because at that they have like in our case almost all the pro checked wait a week to go there with exhibitions was our cultural programs well wait a wee reckless be companies August by request we don’t do any acquisition so you always have to be very ably are that your success of course can become the great this the problem in danger for you because suddenly you have a certain way of doing things it works here it works there okay and why should you think twice again okay we with it this way baking let’s do this also and soda things like so I think that’s also important in this whole issue of innovation culture how you really implement in your structures with a a small company or institution of whatsoever how you implement a kind of the man and the process of questioning yourself is say sing your position and reinventing the synths and we are of course we have disadvantage with a cloth with art and artists and this is the most dynamic field so things are changing bearer a remains every year and this helps us a lot or so to to not get you know too much on our way of doing things which I think is the really the the biggest enemy of innovation actually the success I mean this is thousands paradoxical couldn’t agree more is like you got it and I’m gonna be quicker to slow the work that we do with businesses in the small business start up and it gets bigger and it’s still nimble and does things fascinate gets to a certain place fast to get certain funding and I guess to certain size and slows down pretty but processes in implementations and standard operating procedures and all these things that have to happen in in it the innovations laws now it could still be obviously a big company making a lot of money and all that but the innovation in the store purchasing by acquiring because the small companies are still being innovative and flexible

so it’s interesting that the same thing is what you’re looking as was is you have to stay nimble and have just weeks not be stuck on your ways and again what I think you have to find like the core of your vision and this is what you have to maintain but not the expressions of sufficient thank you we also have to learn to give up things easy but not to give up the core of your vision the that something that is pretty clear with us because we come from this country back round and this combination of no indication of where I can that this the correct this allows us exes to a certain kind of expertise that is now becoming incredible value also for the industry especially large companies like a calming effect they are actually in a big crisis because they know in the end and if you hear us the whole ecosystem of their business is going to change everything’s becoming teacher though the whole thing of a ton of those cars the electrification of cars and they are really in a in a very exciting out for me I would say exciting for them of course is a is a terrifying situation because everything is changing and the D. a sink are the ones that now really need to look for you with directions and in particular I think it’s a business where from chest producing technology like a car they are producing now the knowledge the machines that are starting to leave to get up with us I mean you could say also believed to get a was the car because we even built a garage for it then when you see the people on the weekend you know carry sink that cars it’s a very emotional relationship but it’s still in a different way because the car was out our operation is just that that machine but the new type of cars and and many more machines will have is in a certain way of course very limited but in a certain way if they would have their own life but because the the the the the oldest o’donnell was cursing only makes sense if this because really in a network in this warm start to operate this without us and this of course puts a completely new challenge on this whole relationship of man and machine

what will it be for people who are walking on the street when you suddenly approached by one of these travelers robots ghost in a constant Melissa robots and feels that if that’s what it is and we have so many ways how we are totally got used to you know to have a kind of confidential thrust system with this technology when I’m a pedestrian and they want to cross the street in the comes the car I know exactly what to do you know I look into the car who is the guy or the the woman in the car I assisted with some might say oh this is the old guy maybe he should try effect I’ve seen others might say with this is I don’t know of a young guy with dreadlocks and do they insurance ending the interesting thing here is no matter how wrong attachment is it gives us fifty this you know we believe in our judgment no matter how wrong it is it helps us to deal with the situation the next thing is that we’re looking at a card we make eye contact the next thing is we have body language and we waive his our hands and if everything isn’t working then I will be hung because something so it’s a very been established communication tools which is no longer breaking the moment there is no drive and a cop of the contracts so how can you create the situation of communication that you have for kind of informants trust for the pedestrian that the person knows the car is not stopping because the batteries empty what a computer is so broken down or something but the cast oaks really to be fuel your right of way right and this is something where artists have a lot of ideas engineers in the industry for then you should be this question is not even existing because for them the only question is okay the rate Ascenso has depicted this is the best man not the hydrant for example so the cow stops the cast for the engineer business done because he knew that the car has words together machine works perfectly efficient but for the human outside its chest what should I do what is going on so there’s a lot of things missing and this is a very important research area actually and the area where it is special as in knowledge and expertise of the artists suddenly becomes increase is incredibly important

and when we think now this is just the example of this instrument kind of when we think of the smart cities of the future all this internet of things ideas they’d be recognized that there will be more and more and more and more machines that needs a kind of direct communication not only was the person who uses it that was the whole environment for everybody and testing for designers this is completely new love to go in and of course also French units but the they really need to sync the the support to coming from the creative thank you for free for being with us thank you have thank you again you’re free it was such a unique conversation about how creativity is key to innovation and just as important to remember when research and development stage the renewal of podcast team includes me Dan Dillard producer Mariah gossip an audio engineer Jake Wallace angel thanks to robin Tim Weiss and the amazing team at research and innovation network Austria if you enjoyed our first episode makes you hit that subscribe button and maybe leave us a review on I tunes so other science and innovation fans can find us thank you for listening