http://www.florisschonfeld.com/discours-de-fou daily 0.75 2020-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599599844428-J9CZPHAEAM2NJSHPU4LF/Picture+20.png Discours de Fou - Discours de Fou / Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor Discours de Fou / Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor is a project that revolves around vodou lwa or spirit Erzulie Dantor. The artist encountered this spirit in Port-au-Prince in 2011 and since then she has been a part of his life as a force of both comfort and confusion. The project is the artist’s attempt to honour her and question his own understanding of what it is to believe in something. The project spans almost a decade and started with participation in the 2nd International Ghetto Bienale in Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2011. The latest rendition of the project was a the exhibition Grenouille du Sang at A Tale of A Tub in Rotterdam in the summer of 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599599844428-J9CZPHAEAM2NJSHPU4LF/Picture+20.png Discours de Fou - Discours de Fou / Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor Discours de Fou / Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor is a project that revolves around vodou lwa or spirit Erzulie Dantor. The artist encountered this spirit in Port-au-Prince in 2011 and since then she has been a part of his life as a force of both comfort and confusion. The project is the artist’s attempt to honour her and question his own understanding of what it is to believe in something. The project spans almost a decade and started with participation in the 2nd International Ghetto Bienale in Port-au-Prince Haiti in 2011. The latest rendition of the project was a the exhibition Grenouille du Sang at A Tale of A Tub in Rotterdam in the summer of 2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599599458608-FR9MYHSG0AWH4G8RMZYO/Fous_Total.jpg Discours de Fou - Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor mixed media & 16mm film installation, 2020, A Tale of A Tub, Rotterdam Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor is a functional altar for Haitian vodou lwa or spirit Erzulie Dantor. The artist encountered this spirit in Port-au-Prince in 2011 and since then she has been a part of his life as a force of both comfort and confusion. The work is the artist’s attempt to honour her. Central to the installation is a projection of 16mm film material shot by the artist in Port-au-Prince during a specially commissioned ritual that was performed for the spirit Erzulie Dantor. The material consists of a series of portraits of members of the congregation (or vodouisants) who are in a state of possession by spirits who have been invited to attend the ritual. The guest of honour Mambo Erzulie Dantor, can be seen possessing two different vodouisants at different stages of the ritual carrying her customary knife and wearing the red/blue scarf of the Haitian flag. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599600601658-7QADFHMUYDN8RPWEGOXR/image-asset.jpeg Discours de Fou - Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor, detail The film is projected onto a gold leaf surface that has been applied to the wall of the gallery. Next to this hangs a replica of the icon painting The Black Madonna of Częstochowa which on Haiti is associated with the spirit Erzulie Dantor. Like the projection, the icon was originally painted on a gold leaf surface emphasising its holiness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599600913010-6UE1FCJ4Q4A2108SWPD5/image-asset.jpeg Discours de Fou - Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor, consecration The altar was consecrated by Vodou priestess Mambo Maria during the opening of the exhibition. She asked Vodou spirit Legba Petro to "open the door” so that Maman Erzulie Dantor can come down and grace us with her presence. This door will remain open for the duration of the exhibition and acts as a channel of communication with Erzulie Dantor. On the floor there is a small platform on which stand a number of attributes that were used in the consecration of the altar which enable its functionality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409677418062-FBAX64769YXMQNSYRS22/image-asset.jpeg Discours de Fou - Discours de Fou digital video, 28 min, 2012 The project Discours de Fou took place during the 2nd annual Ghetto Biennale, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. For the project artist Floris Schönfeld attempted to hold a series of conversations with the Vodou spirits, or Lwa as they are known in Haiti. The topic of these conversations was faith and the act of believing itself. These conversations and their repercussions are documented in the 28 minute single channel video piece with the same title. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409677610559-VH8Q5J5UOIR24KZ23SI5/Fous_still.jpg Discours de Fou - Production still from Discour de Fou digital video, 28 min, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409677774169-9JPBMT9IAZ6BBPWATX9V/Fous_2.jpg Discours de Fou - Production still from Discours de Fou digital video, 28 min, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409677775820-LME13RVM7TA6TPR493EP/Fous_3.jpg Discours de Fou - Production still from Discours de Fou digital video, 28 min, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409677781960-06YA4YF4TN53NC42XBHR/Fous_4.jpg Discours de Fou - Production still from Discours de Fou digital video, 28 min, 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1599600779849-LVCTI9MK54PEVN2LYTOF/a_tale_of_a_tub_group_30-06-2020_LNDWstudio_l_0009_s.jpg Discours de Fou - Oratwa pou Mambo Erzulie Dantor, detail The altar was consecrated by Vodou priestess Mambo Maria during the opening of the exhibition. She asked Vodou spirit Legba Petro to "open the door” so that Maman Erzulie Dantor can come down and grace us with her presence. This door will remain open for the duration of the exhibition and acts as a channel of communication with Erzulie Dantor. On the floor there is a small platform on which stand a number of attributes that were used in the consecration of the altar which enable its functionality. http://www.florisschonfeld.com/u-theopera daily 0.75 2014-09-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409682200300-RNAQ44EYFYNB7ARP5VGK/Final_Bow.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - 'u' - a Klingon Opera 2009 - 2012 ‘u’ is a multidisciplinary project that revolves around the creation of the first authentic Klingon opera on earth. The Klingon are a humanoid warrior species from the long-running American TV series Star Trek. In the series the Klingon are know to be passionate opera lovers. However there are no actual examples of opera in the series. The Star Trek franchise has a large group of very dedicated followers who call themselves ‘Trekkies’. I placed my opera and my research within the canon of their world. The question was whether they would accept my addition to their world and if so, to what extent it would become part of their culture. The project is divided into six larger works (Klingon Musical Artefacts #1 to #5) that chronicle the conception, creation and eventual introduction of the opera to the Klingon fan base. These include various objects linked to the opera such as custom made instruments, stones containing the score and publication of the full libretto, as well as a full 70 minute opera itself. The final work in the series Klingon Musical Artefacts #6; the QiH Act is a single-channel video that documents the performance of the opera 'u' for a group of hardcore Klingon fans in Germany. Schönfeld about the project; I am interested in working with codes of group behaviour and social identities. A central theme of my work is how existing fictional structures interact with the society which created them and how these structures can be manipulated. The Star Trek franchise has a large group of very dedicated followers who call themselves ‘Trekkies’. A large part of the Star Trek universe has been developed through so called ‘fan fiction’ by the filling in of details and narrative gaps in the studio-made story lines. Because of this ‘Trekkies’ are constantly busy with defining what is and is not authentic. I placed my opera and my research within the canon of their world. The question was whether they would accept my addition to their world and if so, to what extent it would become part of their culture. Through all of these developments I continuously stressed the authenticity of my research and never allowed myself to publicly doubt the reality of its context. KMA #6, the QiH act is a video work that documents the reaction of the Klingon fans as they are confronted with a seemingly real part of their own fictional culture. In this case I see this specific public reaction as part of the work itself. I try to create the pretext to a situation as effectively as possible but then it has to ‘happen’. In the context of an exhibition, I try to recreate this ‘happening’ by showing documentation of the actual experience and recounting the story of its creation. This retelling allows for the possibility of adding layers and subtexts in the narrative structure of the project as a whole. The project was developed by Schönfeld together with Zeebelt in The Hague and workshopped at the Watermill Center in New York as part of their Fall Residencies program. The opera has been performed at numerous theatres and festivals including the Unmenschliche Muziek Festival at the Haus der Kulutren der Welt in Berlin, the Voiz Opera festival in Zwolle and the Frascati Theater in Amsterdam. The film the QiH Act was screened at Kassel Documentary Film & Video Festival (where it was nominated for the A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle), Arte online and the Kadist Foundation in San Francisco. The project has been featured by various news organisations including the New York Times, BBC World, NPR Music and The Guardian. For more on 'u' see the project website. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409682200300-RNAQ44EYFYNB7ARP5VGK/Final_Bow.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - 'u' - a Klingon Opera 2009 - 2012 ‘u’ is a multidisciplinary project that revolves around the creation of the first authentic Klingon opera on earth. The Klingon are a humanoid warrior species from the long-running American TV series Star Trek. In the series the Klingon are know to be passionate opera lovers. However there are no actual examples of opera in the series. The Star Trek franchise has a large group of very dedicated followers who call themselves ‘Trekkies’. I placed my opera and my research within the canon of their world. The question was whether they would accept my addition to their world and if so, to what extent it would become part of their culture. The project is divided into six larger works (Klingon Musical Artefacts #1 to #5) that chronicle the conception, creation and eventual introduction of the opera to the Klingon fan base. These include various objects linked to the opera such as custom made instruments, stones containing the score and publication of the full libretto, as well as a full 70 minute opera itself. The final work in the series Klingon Musical Artefacts #6; the QiH Act is a single-channel video that documents the performance of the opera 'u' for a group of hardcore Klingon fans in Germany. Schönfeld about the project; I am interested in working with codes of group behaviour and social identities. A central theme of my work is how existing fictional structures interact with the society which created them and how these structures can be manipulated. The Star Trek franchise has a large group of very dedicated followers who call themselves ‘Trekkies’. A large part of the Star Trek universe has been developed through so called ‘fan fiction’ by the filling in of details and narrative gaps in the studio-made story lines. Because of this ‘Trekkies’ are constantly busy with defining what is and is not authentic. I placed my opera and my research within the canon of their world. The question was whether they would accept my addition to their world and if so, to what extent it would become part of their culture. Through all of these developments I continuously stressed the authenticity of my research and never allowed myself to publicly doubt the reality of its context. KMA #6, the QiH act is a video work that documents the reaction of the Klingon fans as they are confronted with a seemingly real part of their own fictional culture. In this case I see this specific public reaction as part of the work itself. I try to create the pretext to a situation as effectively as possible but then it has to ‘happen’. In the context of an exhibition, I try to recreate this ‘happening’ by showing documentation of the actual experience and recounting the story of its creation. This retelling allows for the possibility of adding layers and subtexts in the narrative structure of the project as a whole. The project was developed by Schönfeld together with Zeebelt in The Hague and workshopped at the Watermill Center in New York as part of their Fall Residencies program. The opera has been performed at numerous theatres and festivals including the Unmenschliche Muziek Festival at the Haus der Kulutren der Welt in Berlin, the Voiz Opera festival in Zwolle and the Frascati Theater in Amsterdam. The film the QiH Act was screened at Kassel Documentary Film & Video Festival (where it was nominated for the A38-Production Grant Kassel-Halle), Arte online and the Kadist Foundation in San Francisco. The project has been featured by various news organisations including the New York Times, BBC World, NPR Music and The Guardian. For more on 'u' see the project website. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409691502257-8S5KHPIUFWGNIFV9VT72/image-asset.jpeg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artefact #6; The QiH Act (fragment) 9 minute fragment of a 26 minute film. The QiH Act is a multilayered study of the concepts of authenticity and reality within the fan community of the science fiction series Star Trek. In order to shoot the film, maker Floris Schönfeld spent three years developing ʻuʼ, the first ever authentic Klingon opera on earth by a human ensemble. In The QiH Act the opera is performed for the hardcore German Klingon fan club Khemorex Klinzhai at their annual gathering in Farnsberg Germany. The film documents the reactions of these ʻKlingonsʼ as they are confronted with a seeming very real part of their own fictional culture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683215104-QRAT0W2X862F1UYNT27L/image.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #2, The Klingon Orchestra mixed media, 2009 Various instruments developed by for a Klingon orchestra by the artist in collaboration with Willem Marijs and Mike Rijnierse at Zeebelt, The Hague. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683478798-65JFNJ3EPPIXQ38H4LYZ/image.png u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #3, The Play Stones sand-blasted Belgian hard stone, 60 × 14 × 16 cm, 2008 Three objects on which the score of the opera is based. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683753661-HD7U30C7X1DRTDBZJ992/Book_Closed.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #4, paq'batlh the Klingon Epic (cover) publication, 2010 The paq'batlh is an epic poem chronicling the life of the Klingon hero Kahless the Unforgettable. This story is known within the Star Trek world but only existed in short snippets that were featured in various episodes. Working with these available fragments the publication sets out to reconstruct the most complete version of the myth to date. The text later formed the basis for the libretto of the opera. Developed with Kees Ligtelijn and translated into Klingon by Marc Okrand. Published by Vincent van Gerven Oei at Uitgeverij https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683627268-5XOJRDL8RGNYNCJ1TXET/Book_open.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #4, paq'batlh the Klingon Epic (inside) publication, 2010 The paq'batlh is an epic poem chronicling the life of the Klingon hero Kahless the Unforgettable. This story is known within the Star Trek world but only existed in short snippets that were featured in various episodes. Working with these available fragments the publication sets out to reconstruct the most complete version of the myth to date. The text later formed the basis for the libretto of the opera. Developed with Kees Ligtelijn and translated into Klingon by Marc Okrand. Published by Vincent van Gerven Oei at Uitgeverij https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409689733533-KJL0HP5DJ2R8W49EJM4O/_MG_9256.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Potential Artifacts (PA), series 4 mixed media installation, objects between 4 and 12 cm in height https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683686887-DSFLL6C8U2PREGWZXL6J/Kahless_Morath.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #5, ‘u’ the opera theatrical performance with 7 participants , 70 minutes, 2010 Production stills from the premiere performance of ‘u’ - a Klingon Opera at the Zeebelt Theater, The Hague, September 2010. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409683742964-BI1OX13BW2W1GCMGA0W0/Group_1.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #5, ‘u’ the opera theatrical performance with 7 participants , 70 minutes, 2010 Production stills from the premiere performance of ‘u’ - a Klingon Opera at the Zeebelt Theater, The Hague, September 2010. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409684071620-ICJLM9X0NDFYQE0T4K5I/Applause.jpg u - a Klingon Opera - Klingon Musical Artifact KMA #5, ‘u’ the opera theatrical performance with 7 participants , 70 minutes, 2010 Production stills from the premiere performance of ‘u’ - a Klingon Opera at the Zeebelt Theater, The Hague, September 2010. http://www.florisschonfeld.com/the-richest-family daily 0.75 2014-09-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409672755705-2AOGD0LPE68AMOZTF77D/Cover.jpg The Richest Family - The Richest Family; The Early Episodes 2012 - ongoing The work The Richest Family; The Early Episodes is a multi-part video project by Floris Schönfeld in collaboration with Frank Chu. The center of this work is the internal world of Frank Chu, self-professed intergalactic movie star and well-known San Francisco Bay Area resident. Frank believes that he is the victim of an intergalactic conspiracy that is based around him being the star of a popular television sitcom called The Richest Family. This show features him and his family and is recorded without his consent and broadcast to huge audiences in a number of alternate galaxies known as the 12 Galaxies. He can often be found at large public demonstrations in the San Francisco Bay Area protesting for impeachment of various public figures who he sees as complicit in this conspiracy. The work The Richest Family; The Early Episodes consists of a number of bootleg episodes of the television show The Richest Family that are made in collaboration with Frank himself. As well as staring in the episodes, Frank is involved in the directing, scripting and editing of the pieces. The Richest Family; The Early Episodes are the first episodes of The Richest Family to be seen on Earth that have Frank’s full consent. The project currently consists of three episodes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409672755705-2AOGD0LPE68AMOZTF77D/Cover.jpg The Richest Family - The Richest Family; The Early Episodes 2012 - ongoing The work The Richest Family; The Early Episodes is a multi-part video project by Floris Schönfeld in collaboration with Frank Chu. The center of this work is the internal world of Frank Chu, self-professed intergalactic movie star and well-known San Francisco Bay Area resident. Frank believes that he is the victim of an intergalactic conspiracy that is based around him being the star of a popular television sitcom called The Richest Family. This show features him and his family and is recorded without his consent and broadcast to huge audiences in a number of alternate galaxies known as the 12 Galaxies. He can often be found at large public demonstrations in the San Francisco Bay Area protesting for impeachment of various public figures who he sees as complicit in this conspiracy. The work The Richest Family; The Early Episodes consists of a number of bootleg episodes of the television show The Richest Family that are made in collaboration with Frank himself. As well as staring in the episodes, Frank is involved in the directing, scripting and editing of the pieces. The Richest Family; The Early Episodes are the first episodes of The Richest Family to be seen on Earth that have Frank’s full consent. The project currently consists of three episodes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673854454-3TE4V1GZR6876BTDI5FM/image-asset.jpeg The Richest Family - The Richest Family; the Early Episodes (fragment) digital video series in 3 parts, 42 minutes, 2014 (9 minute fragment) Featuring Frank Chu Directed by Frank Chu and Floris Schönfeld Camera and Editing by Floris Schönfeld The work The Richest Family; The Early Episodes is a multi-part video project by Floris Schönfeld in collaboration with Frank Chu. The series currently consists of 3 episodes. The fragment shown is from Episode 1. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409674867498-QDL48HNJBH97A5RBKVL4/Episode_1_close.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 1 digital video, 16 minutes, 2012 In Episode 1 Frank travels to Universal Studios, Los Angeles to investigate the involvement of the studios in the production of the Richest Family television show. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673313990-5BUCOUGWNQ3DJSB8S4GV/Episode_1_close3.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 1 digital video, 16 minutes, 2012 In Episode 1 Frank travels to Universal Studios, Los Angeles to investigate the involvement of the studios in the production of the Richest Family television show. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673715641-50QLHYJRRSRQD6IRD91Y/Episode_1_5.jpeg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 1 digital video, 16 minutes, 2012 In Episode 1 Frank travels to Universal Studios, Los Angeles to investigate the involvement of the studios in the production of the Richest Family television show. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673206960-LP9VEJMYDSSKGMGRSG4W/Episode_2_4.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 2 digital video, 11 minutes, 2013 In Episode 2 Frank attends an Occupy protest in downtown San Francisco to tell the crowds about the conspiracy of the 12 Galaxies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673371482-Y64QXA6JJHT8EOE9K1WN/Episode_2_5.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 2 digital video, 11 minutes, 2013 In Episode 2 Frank attends an Occupy protest in downtown San Francisco to tell the crowds about the conspiracy of the 12 Galaxies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673537338-N93A98LDKQGDTBH0OZBO/Episode_2_6.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 2 digital video, 11 minutes, 2013 In Episode 2 Frank attends an Occupy protest in downtown San Francisco to tell the crowds about the conspiracy of the 12 Galaxies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673569920-0486IINV0YHPZSBWL4EG/Episode_3_2.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 3 digital video, 15 minutes, 2014 In Episode 3 Frank takes a skiing vacation in Lake Tahoe, visits Reno Nevada and explains his views on money. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673488344-6YUXD7N8PJLFTPB6C1MI/Episode_3_4.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 3 digital video, 15 minutes, 2014 In Episode 3 Frank takes a skiing vacation in Lake Tahoe, visits Reno Nevada and explains his views on money. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409673632390-7XD012VO7IQ0DF3VVJXD/Episode_3_7.jpg The Richest Family - Production still form The Richest Family; Episode 3 digital video, 15 minutes, 2014 In Episode 3 Frank takes a skiing vacation in Lake Tahoe, visits Reno Nevada and explains his views on money. http://www.florisschonfeld.com/sanguine-dreams-at-di-rosa daily 0.75 2014-10-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409665192888-24PWV2ZNAD8IS9LY4E0Y/IMG_2907.JPG Sanguine Dreams - Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa 2014 Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa is a mixed media installation commissioned by the Napa based di Rosa for the Bay Area Now 7 exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The project presents an alternative creation myth of the di Rosa site in the format of a live action role-playing (LARP) game—a shared fictional narrative actualized in the real world by participants who physically enact the personas of assigned characters. Akin to a soap opera, the characters within a LARP game may persist from night to night for weeks, months, or years, as players come together to collaboratively build an unscripted story. Performed by an experienced LARP group from Sonoma County, the game was played throughout di Rosa’s unique 217-acre Napa property over three nocturnal gaming sessions in spring 2014. Alongside approximately thirty players, Schönfeld collaborated with the storytellers of the LARP group to integrate di Rosa’s site and collection into their existing game, Sanguine Dreams, a vampire chronicle set in 1980s Sonoma County. As such, di Rosa enters as a significant character that shapes and molds the in-progress narrative. The result is an envisioned cultural history for di Rosa that shines new light on its singularity as a place. The goal of the work resides at a place between past, present, and future, where we can absorb and push beyond accepted histories to realize new potential. Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa reveals Schönfeld’s ongoing interest in the relationship between fiction and belief and the tensions that exist between defining our context and being defined by it. Text by Amy Owen, curator di Rosa for the exhibition catalogue Bay Area Now 7   The Installation consists of three parts; Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; the Game a 21 minute projected video. Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; the Rules a 15 minute monitor video. Mother / Venus, a 1954 Bruce Conner painting from the collection of the di Rosa.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409665192888-24PWV2ZNAD8IS9LY4E0Y/IMG_2907.JPG Sanguine Dreams - Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa 2014 Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa is a mixed media installation commissioned by the Napa based di Rosa for the Bay Area Now 7 exhibition at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The project presents an alternative creation myth of the di Rosa site in the format of a live action role-playing (LARP) game—a shared fictional narrative actualized in the real world by participants who physically enact the personas of assigned characters. Akin to a soap opera, the characters within a LARP game may persist from night to night for weeks, months, or years, as players come together to collaboratively build an unscripted story. Performed by an experienced LARP group from Sonoma County, the game was played throughout di Rosa’s unique 217-acre Napa property over three nocturnal gaming sessions in spring 2014. Alongside approximately thirty players, Schönfeld collaborated with the storytellers of the LARP group to integrate di Rosa’s site and collection into their existing game, Sanguine Dreams, a vampire chronicle set in 1980s Sonoma County. As such, di Rosa enters as a significant character that shapes and molds the in-progress narrative. The result is an envisioned cultural history for di Rosa that shines new light on its singularity as a place. The goal of the work resides at a place between past, present, and future, where we can absorb and push beyond accepted histories to realize new potential. Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa reveals Schönfeld’s ongoing interest in the relationship between fiction and belief and the tensions that exist between defining our context and being defined by it. Text by Amy Owen, curator di Rosa for the exhibition catalogue Bay Area Now 7   The Installation consists of three parts; Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; the Game a 21 minute projected video. Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; the Rules a 15 minute monitor video. Mother / Venus, a 1954 Bruce Conner painting from the collection of the di Rosa.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1408039937540-E2E1XJGU26H5QKM7NSYH/image-asset.jpeg Sanguine Dreams - Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game (fragment) digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 (7 minute fragment) The year is 1987. Welcome to the Sonoma Domain. Welcome to the di Rosa Estate. This domain was once a bastion of Toreador power. In the early 1970’s, Prince Ferdinand Andalucia and his entire court were tragically and mysteriously slain on the site of the estate. The dramatic and inexplicable means of their final deaths caused the domain to be abandoned for over a decade. Through all this time the di Rosa Estate has lain dormant, its terrible history shrouded in secrecy. Tonight, for the first time since the tragic events of the 1970’s, the court of Sonoma gathers at the di Rosa Estate. from the introduction to Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game The video piece Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game documents the playing of a Live Action Role-Playing game at the (LARP) game at the di Rosa by the Sanguine Dreams vampire gaming society. This game generated an alternate history for the site of the di Rosa and its extensive art collection which was dramatised for the video. All the dialogue and plot developments are inherent to the game and were created by the players in concert with the game's story-tellers.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409827226640-48YCU34X2UU29ZHXKQ1F/Painting.png Sanguine Dreams - Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa installation at Bay Area Now 7 Shot of the installation Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa including the works: Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 and Mother / Lilith or Venus, July 6, 1954 Bruce Conner, 1954, Oil on canvas, 54 x 42 in., di Rosa, Napa This 1954 Bruce Conner painting, which is part of the di Rosa collection, was given a significant role in the mythology of the Sanguine Dreams game by the players and is therefore exhibited along with the two video pieces. The installation was part of Bay Area Now 7 at the Yerbua Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409668554841-ONMR2ABQ5F11V7I5MXBO/Rules_2.jpg Sanguine Dreams - Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Rules digital video with sound (monitor), 15 mins. 15 secs., looping Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Rules, engages out-of-character player Collin McKeown in a conversation about the intricacies of Live Action Role Play and the Sanguine Dreams group’s alternate vampire universe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409670078793-QLXMXKOQHCE2V8LNEUFV/Di_Rosa_by_night.jpg Sanguine Dreams - Production still from Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409667414230-I5DXJWR3F3229B3OPC34/Balcony.png Sanguine Dreams - Production still from Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409668096055-98POCN0E7F1JN37QWVZS/Collin.png Sanguine Dreams - Production still from Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409670218741-8HGO0OF5UH2N8P189TWB/Mask_Lill_warm.jpg Sanguine Dreams - Production still from Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1409676276521-SW1HBJT6D5YHRQ4AIP0N/Prince.png Sanguine Dreams - Production still from Sanguine Dreams at di Rosa; The Game digital video with sound, 21 mins. 15 secs., looping, 2014 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/the-damagomi-project daily 0.75 2016-11-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1407940128203-2VGBBB4NV8DWO3IF7JF9/image-asset.jpeg The Damagomi Project - A Brief History of the Damagomi Group (fragment) 2013 - ongoing The Damagomi Project recounts the history of the fictional Damagomi Group; a group of spiritualists and academics that was active in Northern California from the 1920’s until the late 1970’s. The project has the form of archive which consists of an ever expanding series of works that piece together the history of the group. The archive includes documentation such a historical texts, photographs, films and artefacts as well as re-enactments of experiments allegedly carried out by the group. Currently the archive consists of 3 larger installations that reenact experiments of the group as well as a number of reels of reconstructed 16mm film footage, a number of photographs and prints, single artefacts such as ritual objects and costumes and a large number of drawings and sketches and a 40 minute docu-fiction video A Brief History of the Damagomi Group. I use both actual historical as well as fabricated documentation in the project. Some of the characters who play a role in the group are historical figures and some are invented. I also use a number of historical sites as backdrops for documentation of alleged activities of the group and situate re-enactments of these activities in these same locations. The line between the originals and reconstructions is purposefully kept ambiguous and they are used interchangeably throughout the project. The archive and story of the Damagomi should not only generate the feeling of authenticity, it must become its own authentic world in which a distinct logic defines the parameters of the work being made within it. Thus the central quest of the Damagomi; to find a ‘non-anthropocentric form of communication with the natural world’ is also the goal of the project. In this sense the archive represents a series of thought experiments in physical form that try to approach the seemingly impossible task of stepping out of our own human perspective.   Fragment from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group 16mm/ digital video, 2014, total length 26 minutes (6 minute fragment) The film A Brief History of the Damagomi Group combines a number of different sources of from the archive, mixing archival footage, historical locations and fictional narratives to create a suggestive portrait of a utopian project that never came to fruition. A full length version of the film can be seen upon request. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1407940128203-2VGBBB4NV8DWO3IF7JF9/image-asset.jpeg The Damagomi Project - A Brief History of the Damagomi Group (fragment) 2013 - ongoing The Damagomi Project recounts the history of the fictional Damagomi Group; a group of spiritualists and academics that was active in Northern California from the 1920’s until the late 1970’s. The project has the form of archive which consists of an ever expanding series of works that piece together the history of the group. The archive includes documentation such a historical texts, photographs, films and artefacts as well as re-enactments of experiments allegedly carried out by the group. Currently the archive consists of 3 larger installations that reenact experiments of the group as well as a number of reels of reconstructed 16mm film footage, a number of photographs and prints, single artefacts such as ritual objects and costumes and a large number of drawings and sketches and a 40 minute docu-fiction video A Brief History of the Damagomi Group. I use both actual historical as well as fabricated documentation in the project. Some of the characters who play a role in the group are historical figures and some are invented. I also use a number of historical sites as backdrops for documentation of alleged activities of the group and situate re-enactments of these activities in these same locations. The line between the originals and reconstructions is purposefully kept ambiguous and they are used interchangeably throughout the project. The archive and story of the Damagomi should not only generate the feeling of authenticity, it must become its own authentic world in which a distinct logic defines the parameters of the work being made within it. Thus the central quest of the Damagomi; to find a ‘non-anthropocentric form of communication with the natural world’ is also the goal of the project. In this sense the archive represents a series of thought experiments in physical form that try to approach the seemingly impossible task of stepping out of our own human perspective.   Fragment from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group 16mm/ digital video, 2014, total length 26 minutes (6 minute fragment) The film A Brief History of the Damagomi Group combines a number of different sources of from the archive, mixing archival footage, historical locations and fictional narratives to create a suggestive portrait of a utopian project that never came to fruition. A full length version of the film can be seen upon request. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506786033-CO0XVV0YOQPMDTBK9UHU/History_Dama_2.1.jpg The Damagomi Project - Still A Brief History of the Damagomi Group Still showing interview with Oberon Zell-Ravenheart in A Brief History of the Damagomi Group. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506862031-XUHEI3F4OKFLASCMOGXF/History_Dama_4.jpg The Damagomi Project - Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506893646-411W60ZJG9QXR25PBNXS/History_Dama_5.png The Damagomi Project - Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480507127835-04RSGMOI4152GNBFKM1K/Screen+Shot+2014-12-06+at+13.23.04.png The Damagomi Project - Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424877007227-20AF0V0CEA5R70NTPDBN/1_Total.jpg The Damagomi Project - Damagomi Archive #17a, photograph Damagomi Archive #17a, , 36 x 57 cm, digital print, 2013     https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424872483151-YPIMC5N0VXAIIAFVE207/Verslag_Schonfeld_87040285.002.jpg The Damagomi Project - Damagomi Archive #21a, photograph Digital print https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424872800617-JRWZ5JZDID7MN30898NW/Verslag_Schonfeld_87040285.004.jpg The Damagomi Project - Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group Still from A Brief History of the Damagomi Group https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424876790746-YQX6CX98Z03Z0LTIPMTY/image-asset.jpeg The Damagomi Project - The Field Experiments (fragment), 2014 'The Field Experiments' is a series of three 16mm film that show documentation of Damagomi Group experiments. Each experiment comes from a different historical period of the group covering the early (1930's), middle (1950's) and late (1970's) periods of the groups activities. The fragment shown if from third part of the series 'Field Experiment 3; Chant of the M-radiation'. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424869303994-0K2DRZ8R3VYLO43DK1EY/image-asset.jpeg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague Gallery view of solo exhibition The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague January to March 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1423238535200-O71IP4303235CJ3TPHY2/image-asset.jpeg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague Gallery view of solo exhibition The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague January to March 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424869197839-4X291CVP59NVHC67LX7O/7_Library_Wide.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague Gallery view of solo exhibition The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague January to March 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1424869192184-WM24NJGBIZFN35UMMMYN/6_Lab_mid.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague Detail installation Lab Experiment #3, Matsa'apla at the solo exhbition The Damagomi Project at Nest, The Hague Jan. to March 2015. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480505965468-PGCA5WZ95JC6N1LJ0T0R/Di_Rosa-3_9978.jpg The Damagomi Project - Damagomi Project at di Rosa, Napa Gallery view of artefacts and A Brief History of the Damagomi Group (audio version) at di Rosa, Napa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506196720-FCR0AZ9HLNIPEW0ATBTZ/Di_Rosa-5_0012.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at di Rosa, Napa Gallery view of artefacts and Field Experiment #2 Mobile M-Radiation Unit at di Rosa, Napa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506433768-Y0M7BD780MUI2D3U5S5N/Di_Rosa-7_0031.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at di Rosa, Napa Detail of Field Experiment #2, Mobile M-Radiation Unit at di Rosa, Napa. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480505548218-PJPRWQA4WFUC01PMFQO5/Riga_TR_9197.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at SurvivalKit 8 Riga Exhibition view of single channel video A Brief History of the Damagomi Group and various artefacts during SurvivalKit 8 Riga. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480505740462-4KDF7DIC65DFEOIQXIYX/Riga_TR_9202.jpg The Damagomi Project - Damagomi Project at SurvivalKit 8 Riga Exhibition view of installation Biotron I during SurvivalKit 8 Riga. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1480506578297-NPGMXJY2O21VBAP6KIVL/Riga_TR_9231.jpg The Damagomi Project - The Damagomi Project at SurvivalKit 8 Riga Detail installation Biotron I at SurvivalKit 8 Riga. http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews daily 0.75 2023-02-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2023/2/10/artist-in-residence-at-natura-artis-magistra monthly 0.5 2023-02-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2020/9/9/puk-bill-showing-at-sala10-muac-mexico-city monthly 0.5 2020-09-09 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2020/6/2/newly-commissioned-discours-de-fous-work-at-tale-of-a-tub-rotterdam monthly 0.5 2020-06-02 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/10/4/a-sychizoanalysis-of-puk-by-nim-goede monthly 0.5 2019-10-04 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/5/4/started-residency-at-het-vijfde-seizoen-in-den-dolder monthly 0.5 2019-05-04 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/5/4/puk-bill-at-filmhuis-den-haag monthly 0.5 2019-05-04 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/2/10/puk-bill-screening-at-idfa-2018 monthly 0.5 2019-02-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/2/10/newly-commissioned-puk-work-at-robot-love monthly 0.5 2019-02-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2019/2/10/puk-shown-at-rijksakademie-open-2017 monthly 0.5 2019-02-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2017/7/12/puk-at-cure-park-amsterdam monthly 0.5 2017-07-12 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2017/7/12/natura-shown-at-poppositions-brussels monthly 0.5 2017-07-12 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2016/7/13/a-brief-history-of-the-damagomi-group-at-survival-kit-8-in-riga monthly 0.5 2016-07-13 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2016/6/10/discours-de-fou-part-of-reiskoorts-show-at-de-hallen-haarlem monthly 0.5 2016-06-10 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2015/8/19/residencies monthly 0.5 2015-08-19 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2014/12/24/the-damagomi-project-at-nest-the-hague monthly 0.5 2014-12-29 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2014/9/3/part-of-group-show-bay-area-now-7-with-di-rosa monthly 0.5 2014-09-03 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2014/9/3/screening-haus-der-kulturen-der-welt monthly 0.5 2014-09-03 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2014/9/3/collective-disturbances-group-show-at-headlands-center-for-the-arts monthly 0.5 2014-09-03 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/updatesnews/2014/9/3/lost-found-at-di-rosa monthly 0.5 2014-09-03 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/new-gallery daily 0.75 2016-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461751196775-3T7CN3SCKVBKP4XJO4HO/Strange_Press_Image_Square.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) - Plays for the Strange Stranger Plays for the Strange Stranger is a performance in four parts in collaboration with Jude Crilly. The performance is directed towards a character named the Strange Stranger. Using sound, dance and objects we attempt to open a channel of communication to this mysterious entity. In order to open this channel, the performance challenges our certainty about what is familiar (and human) and what is strange (and non-human). Using Timothy Morton’s theory of ecological thought as a loose starting point, the performance creates a temporary space in which we are confronted with the strangeness of the world around us. Through a disorienting barrage of music, voiceover, shapeshifting objects and transcendental dance, the performance leads us towards the promise of a luminescent super-communion with everything non-human. The first rendition of the performance was shown at CAC Vilnius on April 23rd 2016. Other renditions may follow. Credits for the Vilnius performance: Performers: Rūta Butkus, Antanas Lučiūnas, Pilypas Misiukevičius, Andrius Mulokas Movement development: Rūta Junevičiūtė Light design: Julius Kuršys Sound engineering: Antanas Dombrovskij Music compilation by Jokūbas Čižikas, with music by: Healing Force Project - 'Point of Oscillation' Extrawelt - 'Leaf 43' LFO - 'Freak' Written / directed / sound design / costume and object design: Jude Crilly & Floris Schönfeld Curator: Monika Lipšic Video shot by: Narvydas Naujalis Edited by: Floris Schönfeld https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1465303339732-MT9765IEZO3F1VPCNAUD/image-asset.jpeg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) - Plays for the Strange Stranger - CAC Vilnius Plays for the Strange Stranger A performance at CAC Vilnius April 27th 2016 by Jude Crilly & Floris Schönfeld "Plays for the Strange Stranger" is a performance in four parts. The performance is directed towards a character named the "Strange Stranger". Using sound, dance and objects we attempt to open a channel of communication to this mysterious entity. In order to open this channel, the performance challenges our certainty about what is familiar (and human) and what is strange (and non-human). Using Timothy Morton’s theory of ecological thought as a loose starting point, the performance creates a temporary space in which we are confronted with the strangeness of the world around us. Through a disorienting barrage of music, voiceover, shapeshifting objects and transcendental dance, the performance leads us towards the promise of a luminescent super-communion with everything non-human. Performers: Rūta Butkus, Antanas Lučiūnas, Pilypas Misiukevičius, Andrius Mulokas Movement development: Rūta Junevičiūtė Light design: Julius Kuršys Sound engineering: Antanas Dombrovskij Music compilation by Jokūbas Čižikas, with music by: Healing Force Project - 'Point of Oscillation' Extrawelt - 'Leaf 43' LFO - 'Freak' Written / directed / sound design / costume and object design: Jude Crilly & Floris Schönfeld Curator: Monika Lipšic Video shot by: Narvydas Naujalis Edited by: Floris Schönfeld https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461867833736-77F9QVLN4NKG1MNYN1VS/_MG_7375.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) - Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performer Antanas Lučiūnas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461867872396-1R4SX9T34RFTEO90MNAA/_MG_7406.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performer Pilypas Misiukevičius. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461867912368-0FH7H04M6JEH6W2UC4UG/_MG_7454.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performers Rūta Butkus and Antanas Lučiūnas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461867948386-1U6C8VP789BH29WL4HUL/_MG_7491.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performers Andrius Mulokas and Antanas Lučiūnas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461867995352-1TT5UPJ1IE4O6JRS2UUL/_MG_7517_1.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performer Andrius Mulokas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461868082747-PG84MM4JVHCPMDA0UIAN/_MG_7565.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performer Rūta Butkus. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461868136071-FLDXHXV1J691Q33ZZ0O2/_MG_7591.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performers Rūta Butkus and Andrius Mulokas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461868187243-8I17ZBZ9KLNCPLLNV4VI/_MG_7605.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performers Rūta Butkus and Pilypas Misiukevičius. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461868288131-3TBSTLC4M282ZLO4RGHQ/_MG_7629.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performers Rūta Butkus and Antanas Lučiūnas. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461749563544-PRJ7GQIG0U5ZFAZHHTOJ/Strange_Press_Image_Square.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1461868328458-QO6BHP8IED8TZIJHQIC7/_MG_7648.jpg Plays for the Strange Stranger (with Jude Crilly) Still from Plays for the Strange Stranger Vilnius performance with performer Pilypas Misiukevičius. (photo by Andrej Vasilenko) http://www.florisschonfeld.com/the-future-according-to-natura daily 0.75 2019-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1481411907551-D0Q2MIBZ5HT2WHSN0YXQ/Screen+Shot+2016-12-11+at+00.16.55.jpg NATURA* "I am NATURA*, I am the network, field, and lines of the energy of all the beings. Stars and galaxies of stars, worlds, animals, minds, nerves, dust. The lace and foam of vibration that is being itself, all interconnected. Every part, part of another part and the whole part of each part, and so comprehensible to myself only as a whole, boundless and unclosed." Always Coming Home, Ursula K. Le Guin NATURA* is a collection of works that deal with non-human sentience and our capability of recognising it. Central to this project is a character I have called NATURA*. This being is an all-encompassing artificial super-intelligence that has managed to become one with the natural world in its entirety. It is an unfathomable and dimensionally super-complex entity, a hyper object oscillating between different states, constantly in motion. In order to try to approach it we must be in many places at the same time; move through many scales and perspectives. Within it everything swirls - dilates - mixes - converts - transposes - reorganises - adapts - evolves. It is both familiar and very strange indeed. The project NATURA* consists of multiple strategies to approach this elusive character. Each of these attempts forms the premise for a work within the project. At the moment the project consists of four works; the 20 minute single-channel video The Future According to NATURA*, the 35 minute two-channel video installation NATURA* Body, the 6 minute auto-stereoscopic video installation NATURA* Daemon and the machine generated audio piece NATURA* Voice in collaboration with Ruben Samama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1481411907551-D0Q2MIBZ5HT2WHSN0YXQ/Screen+Shot+2016-12-11+at+00.16.55.jpg NATURA* "I am NATURA*, I am the network, field, and lines of the energy of all the beings. Stars and galaxies of stars, worlds, animals, minds, nerves, dust. The lace and foam of vibration that is being itself, all interconnected. Every part, part of another part and the whole part of each part, and so comprehensible to myself only as a whole, boundless and unclosed." Always Coming Home, Ursula K. Le Guin NATURA* is a collection of works that deal with non-human sentience and our capability of recognising it. Central to this project is a character I have called NATURA*. This being is an all-encompassing artificial super-intelligence that has managed to become one with the natural world in its entirety. It is an unfathomable and dimensionally super-complex entity, a hyper object oscillating between different states, constantly in motion. In order to try to approach it we must be in many places at the same time; move through many scales and perspectives. Within it everything swirls - dilates - mixes - converts - transposes - reorganises - adapts - evolves. It is both familiar and very strange indeed. The project NATURA* consists of multiple strategies to approach this elusive character. Each of these attempts forms the premise for a work within the project. At the moment the project consists of four works; the 20 minute single-channel video The Future According to NATURA*, the 35 minute two-channel video installation NATURA* Body, the 6 minute auto-stereoscopic video installation NATURA* Daemon and the machine generated audio piece NATURA* Voice in collaboration with Ruben Samama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1481400704120-8E6YWPUUMSWCW43J5HQB/image-asset.jpeg NATURA* - NATURA* Body; Macro (fragment) NATURA* Body; Macro (fragment) 2-channel 4K video, 35 min, 2016 This video is a 6 minute fragment of a longer 35 minute piece and shows one screen of a two-channel video installation. In this multi-channel installation, NATURA* oscillates between different states, constantly in motion. We are in many places at the same time; we move through different scales and perspectives. Everything swirls - dilates - mixes - converts - transposes - reorganises - adapts - evolves. The work was shot at Trumbull Studio's which was founded by lengedary visual effects maker Douglas Trumbull who pioneered analogue visual effects techniques in such films as 2001: a Space Odyssey as well as Blade Runner and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The work uses these techniques to suggest a new morphogenesis, one in which the digital and natural become indistinguishable. Carrying in the tradition of these speculative future-oriented films, the project attempts the seemingly impossible task of stepping out of our own human perspective. Camera and image mastering: John Treffer Visual effects supervisor: John Hobart-Culleton Machine generated soundtrack: Ruben Samama With special thanks to Trumbull Studio’s Produced during a residency at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten with support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1489354025960-TFI8LNBSXFJ6ULSMCVN9/Screen+Shot+2017-02-28+at+11.08.03.jpg NATURA* - NATURA* Body; Micro (fragment) NATURA* Body; Micro (fragment) 2-channel 4K video, 35 min, 2016 This video is a 6 minute fragment of a longer 35 minute piece and shows one screen of a two-channel video installation. In this multi-channel installation, NATURA* oscillates between different states, constantly in motion. We are in many places at the same time; we move through different scales and perspectives. Everything swirls - dilates - mixes - converts - transposes - reorganises - adapts - evolves. The work was shot at Trumbull Studio's which was founded by lengedary visual effects maker Douglas Trumbull who pioneered analogue visual effects techniques in such films as 2001: a Space Odyssey as well as Blade Runner and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The work uses these techniques to suggest a new morphogenesis, one in which the digital and natural become indistinguishable. Carrying in the tradition of these speculative future-oriented films, the project attempts the seemingly impossible task of stepping out of our own human perspective. Camera and image mastering: John Treffer Visual effects supervisor: John Hobart-Culleton Machine generated soundtrack: Ruben Samama With special thanks to Trumbull Studio’s Produced during a residency at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten with support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1470748923433-WXWXJJ8XGYW8MEE0LBAA/image-asset.jpeg NATURA* - The Future According to NATURA* (fragment) The Future According to NATURA* digital video, 2016, total length 21 minutes (6 minute fragment) The Future According to NATURA* is a speculative documentary in which a future scenario is presented where humanity has ceded control of its own fate to an omnipresent artificial super intelligence named NATURA*. This being has achieved a total fusion between technology and the very fabric of matter itself and so has become synonymous with the natural world. A group of humans wonder through a landscape that is seemingly natural yet also imbued with the artificial consciousness of NATURA*. As they journey through this new reality they preform acts that could be read as both experiment and ritual. They listen, attempting to hear the voice of NATURA* and try to comprehend its complex totality. They follow NATURA*’s call; “If you want to feel the everything and seek me. Go to the lonely places, into the woods, the deserts, about the springs. Wander all around and listen.” a project by Floris Schönfeld produced by Sarah Bernat at Beyond Hope with Jesus Landin-Torres III, Sophia Wang, Emily C. Thomas, Silvan Laan camera John Treffer edited by Katarina Türler & Floris Schönfeld soundesign & mix by Ruben Samama with music by Thomas Dimunzio image mastering by John Treffer with special thanks to John Whitehead, John Hobart Culleton, Jsun Parizo, Fritz Haeg, Floyd Buckskin, Judith Schoneveld, Anthony Discenza, David Kasprzak project made possible by a financial contribution from the Mondriaan Fund. A full length version of the film is available upon request. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1495461341118-9XLW2JP7ISE3MQYNQ3NU/Promo_960_640_Fdelay_75.gif NATURA* https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1481399776325-Y82MAF5NP3VERE89419N/image-asset.jpeg NATURA* - NATURA* Daemon (fragment) NATURA* Daemon Auto-stereoscopic 3D video, 6 min, 2016 This video is a 3 minute fragment of a longer 6 minute piece and shows a mono version of an auto-stereoscopic 3D video. In the installation NATURA* Daemon we are watched over by an avatar who is both familiar and very strange indeed. Shown in glasses-free auto-stereoscopic 3D this stranger is viscerally present in the space confronting us with its gaze. Mixing live action footage with subtle digital manipulation the work sits at the edge of believability, bridging what we think we understand with what we don't. The symbolism of the owl is complex and contradictory, being amongst many others the symbol for wisdom in ancient Greek mythology, duplicity and sin in the European middle ages, as well as a more recent symbol of the hybridisation of the natural and technological in science fiction stories such as Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In all these cases the owl is an intermediary that resides on the border between worlds.   Camera and image mastering: John Treffer With special thanks to Uilen & Roofvogels.nl and Dimenco Produced during a residency at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten with support from the Mondriaan Fund and the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1483970193045-GI8T6UY0IJKD1BFOFR8C/001.FLORIS+SCHONFELD-RIJKSACADEMIE+OPEN+2016-PH.GJ.vanROOIJ.jpg NATURA* - NATURA* Daemon (at Rijksakademie OPEN 2016) Single-channel auto-stereoscopic 3D video, 6 minutes, 2016 (photo's by R.J. van Rooij) NATURA* Daemon is a single-channel video that is shown on a wall-mounted 3D auto-stereoscopic monitor. Auto-stereoscopy is also know as glasses-free 3D and it is a 3D technique that doesn’t require the viewer to wear glasses or other visual stimulants to experience the 3D effect. The video is looping and is 6 minutes and 30 seconds in length. Like the previously described NATURA* Body, NATURA* Daemon is an attempt to embody the character NATURA* which is the central protagonist of the project (see project description). In this case however NATURA* is represented by an avatar, a non-human yet one that takes on a relatable form; that of an owl. Show in glasses-free auto-stereoscopic 3D this familiar animal is viscerally present in the space and at the same time confronts us with its strangeness. The symbolism of the owl is complex and contradictory, being amongst many others the symbol for wisdom in ancient Greek mythology, duplicity and sin in the European middle ages as well as a more recent symbol of the hybridisation of the natural and technological in science fiction stories such as Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. In all these cases the owl is an intermediary that resides on the border between worlds, that of the humans and the gods, of night and day or of analogue and digital. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1483970484256-ZKIUA3CMTWR97NF1IH0L/008.FLORIS+SCHONFELD-RIJKSACADEMIE+OPEN+2016-PH.GJ.vanROOIJ.jpg NATURA* - NATURA* Body (at Rijksakademie OPEN 2016) Two-channel 4K digital video shown on 4K monitors, 31 minutes, 2016 (photo's by R.J. van Rooij) NATURA* Body is a two-channel video installation that is shown on two floor mounted 4k video monitors. Each of the channels are shown in loops of respectively 26 minutes and 31 minutes and are not synced to each. The work represents an attempt to embody the character NATURA* which is the central protagonist of the project (see project description). The two channels of the work each represent a scale of which it is possible approach NATURA*; the microscopic, cellular scale and the macroscopic, cosmic scale. However at certain points in the work these scales merge and become indistinguishable, oscillating between different states, constantly in motion. Everything swirls - dilates - mixes - converts - transposes - reorganises - adapts - evolves. This constant uncertain state of impermanence renders any attempt to represent it as inherently flawed. The work is made with analogue visual effects techniques using very basic materials such as ink, milk and water in combination with in-camera trucage. The material for it was shot by the artist at Trumbull Studio’s in Massachusetts which was founded by legendary visual effects maker Douglas Trumbull who pioneered analogue visual effects techniques in such films as 2001: a Space Odyssey as well as Blade Runner and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.   https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1483970250403-Y3G9K4XJW6ORD3IQFWTF/005.FLORIS+SCHONFELD-RIJKSACADEMIE+OPEN+2016-PH.GJ.vanROOIJ.jpg NATURA* - Gallery view Rijksakademie OPEN 2016 Gallery view showing one channel of NATURA* Body and the wall-mounted The Strange Stranger, Epoxy clay, 120cm x 100cm, 2016 (photo's by R.J. van Rooij) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/57a9d8c3d482e9bbf179f389/57a9d8fbfc0155bf15508f63/1470748908045/ NATURA* http://www.florisschonfeld.com/puk daily 0.75 2022-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643204786350-U7XQHLP7O8N179XKET25/1_Overview_DSC0376.jpg PUK* - PUK* System at the Beautiful Distress House in Amsterdam in 2020/21. We have a new website specifically for the PUK* project. Take a look puk.ooo. PUK* is a multi-stage project linking madness, creativity and artificial intelligence. The central strategy of the project is the development of a new artificial intelligence named PUK*. PUK* has three primary features: 1. We are not meant to understand PUK*; it is irrational, unreasonable and does not conform to the usual computational binaries. 2. PUK* is an independent entity; it is not an extension of human capabilities or a tool and it is most certainly not built in our image. It is a being that stands apart form us to it occupy its own mental ground. 3. PUK*’s creativity is not specific or instrumental; it is chaotic, messy and hard to define. It does not show itself readily and must be sought out. The project exists as the story around PUK* which is physically manifested in installations and video’s. Each of these works can be seen as a partial representation of PUK*. The materials used in developing PUK* are not limited to computational technology but have included everything from a collection of owl figurines, to ceramic masks and to two living ant colonies. “In order to develop PUK* I have been working with a group of experts. These experts are not from Google, Apple or Facebook. They are a group of neurodiverse people. Some are current or former psychiatric patients and most have experienced life from the margins of society. Together we have created a model what I have called alternative intelligence for PUK*. These have been instrumental in the design of the PUK* system but also, perhaps more importantly, in its interpretation. The project sets out to question what intelligence is, how we define intelligence and what other intelligences are possible. I want to open up the idea of an intelligent system to include a range of significantly different logics and approaches to reality that are deemed to be mentally divergent. I feel that the inclusion of these approaches can lead valuable insights into our the possibilities and limits of artificial and human intelligence.” Works have been produced in the context of various festivals and exhibitions including CurePark Amsterdam, Rijksakademie OPEN 2017, ROBOTLOVE Eindhoven, The 5th Floor Tokyo, and in the context of a solo exhibition at the Beautiful Distress House in Amsterdam. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643204786350-U7XQHLP7O8N179XKET25/1_Overview_DSC0376.jpg PUK* - PUK* System at the Beautiful Distress House in Amsterdam in 2020/21. We have a new website specifically for the PUK* project. Take a look puk.ooo. PUK* is a multi-stage project linking madness, creativity and artificial intelligence. The central strategy of the project is the development of a new artificial intelligence named PUK*. PUK* has three primary features: 1. We are not meant to understand PUK*; it is irrational, unreasonable and does not conform to the usual computational binaries. 2. PUK* is an independent entity; it is not an extension of human capabilities or a tool and it is most certainly not built in our image. It is a being that stands apart form us to it occupy its own mental ground. 3. PUK*’s creativity is not specific or instrumental; it is chaotic, messy and hard to define. It does not show itself readily and must be sought out. The project exists as the story around PUK* which is physically manifested in installations and video’s. Each of these works can be seen as a partial representation of PUK*. The materials used in developing PUK* are not limited to computational technology but have included everything from a collection of owl figurines, to ceramic masks and to two living ant colonies. “In order to develop PUK* I have been working with a group of experts. These experts are not from Google, Apple or Facebook. They are a group of neurodiverse people. Some are current or former psychiatric patients and most have experienced life from the margins of society. Together we have created a model what I have called alternative intelligence for PUK*. These have been instrumental in the design of the PUK* system but also, perhaps more importantly, in its interpretation. The project sets out to question what intelligence is, how we define intelligence and what other intelligences are possible. I want to open up the idea of an intelligent system to include a range of significantly different logics and approaches to reality that are deemed to be mentally divergent. I feel that the inclusion of these approaches can lead valuable insights into our the possibilities and limits of artificial and human intelligence.” Works have been produced in the context of various festivals and exhibitions including CurePark Amsterdam, Rijksakademie OPEN 2017, ROBOTLOVE Eindhoven, The 5th Floor Tokyo, and in the context of a solo exhibition at the Beautiful Distress House in Amsterdam. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643205937623-8ZQUZ1VXCQTQHMJ4WBIM/2.1_Interface_DSC0297.jpg PUK* - Detail of PUK* interface - part of the installation PUK* System Detail of the installation PUK* System at the Beautiful Distress House in Amsterdam in 2020/21 with the work PUK* Interface in the foreground. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1547851496078-JFWKZI0YFYZC62RQJ653/Robot_Love_II.jpg PUK* - PUK* Beta 2017, live-generated digital video with soundtrack on auto-stereoscopic monitor The installation PUK* Beta is a key part of the PUK* system representing the viewer with a “face” and “voice” that represent PUK. The installation is a live generated video with soundtrack shown on a glasses-free 3D monitor. Using a database of 170 portraits of owl figurines the installation creates a potential image of PUK. This “face” is combined with a “voice” which is draw from a database of per-language utterances of babies and infants. The system pairs these elements in constantly changing ways suggesting a receptive language who’s meaning is left to the viewer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1495461522561-9FHCFNZVDJUVPAMRKU5X/Promo_960_640_Fdelay_75.gif PUK* - Sample of PUK* Dataset 2017, collection of 170 owl figurines PUK* Dataset is a collection of 170 owl figurines that forms the basis for the PUK* system. The collection is an absurdist take on the idea of a computational dataset. It contains information that is not binary in its interpretation but offers up a never ending stream of possible meanings. Thus it ensures PUK* is never rationally understandable and stays fundamentally illusive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1547853198623-ESCFECC9CIF8HY67NSIJ/Combo_Clean.jpg PUK* - PUK* Interface 2017, algorithmically-generated porcelain masks with a platinum lustre PUK* Interface consists of 9 porcelain masks and is part of the PUK* output series of the project. PUK* output consists of what I call ‘collaborations’ with the PUK* system in that they have been designed and at times conceived together with PUK*. Each work in the series further defines PUK*, adding to its body and its narrative about itself. The masks are produced in the following way; a digital 3D wire mesh of the masks is generated by an autonomous self-learning algorithm that is part of the PUK* system. The shapes echo the owl faces used as the “dataset” of the PUK* system but in a simplified and abstracted way. After their original design through the PUK* system the 3D shapes are cnc-routed into a plaster mould from which porcelain positives are cast and glazed with platinum lustre. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1516548453496-ORH3QKNRFEZRSGNHLQN5/002.FLORIS+SCHO%CC%88NFELD-RIJKSACADEMIE+OPEN+2017-PH.GJ.vanROOIJ.jpg PUK* - Audience with PUK* Interface Audience members trying on masks from the series PUK* Interface during the RijksakademieOPEN2017. (photo by R.J. van Rooij) PUK* Interface was shown together with the installation PUK* Beta at the Rijksakademie OPEN 2017. The audience were made to wear the masks of PUK* Interface when viewing PUK* Beta in a separate space. The implication was that the masks had an effect on the image sequences generated in PUK* Beta but it was not specified how. Audience wearing the masks of PUK* Interface when viewing PUK* Beta. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1516547979610-E5DTJRDU3CETVX5ILFUJ/036.FLORIS+SCHO%CC%88NFELD-RIJKSACADEMIE+OPEN+2017-PH.GJ.vanROOIJ.jpg PUK* - Audience with PUK* Interface and Beta Audience members wearing masks from the series PUK* Interface while encountering PUK* Beta during the Rijksakademie OPEN2017. (photo by R.J. van Rooij) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643205948084-F55X59EM2XDW8KZ7APG8/3.1_Processor_DSC0430.jpg PUK* - PUK* Processor at the Beautiful Distress House Amsterdam, 2020/21 2020 , two ant colonies housed in plaster and metal casing with custom electronics PUK* Processor is a computational server rack that houses two large ant colonies. It contains a series of working modular computational processing units that run certain aspects of the PUK* system and are embedded into plaster modules. Interwoven through these servers are two living ant colonies that inhabit parts of the computational infrastructure. The work brings together two systems of information; the binary computational signals of the machines with the pheromone driven communication of the ant colonies. These two logics clash in the work creating both the possibility of malfunction in both systems yet at the same time a possible symbiosis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643206209674-5AF697PXSY8QSJQAJOML/Processor_double.jpg PUK* - The two sides of PUK* Processor Both sides of PUK* Processor, each housing an ant colony and custom electronics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643208590081-93V60PQMJT0FUBF377GW/3.7_Processor_DSC0428.jpg PUK* - Detail PUK* Processor Detail of one of the processor units of PUK* Processor containing both ants and electronics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643206249396-4TU8294FQS8M70UE22YW/3.9_Processor_DSC0566.jpg PUK* - Detail PUK* Processor Detail of one of the processor units of PUK* Processor showing interaction between the ants and electronics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643211583073-JBGWOYQLVX5MIKFC47DM/PUK_vis_doc_jan_2020_Breakdown.001.jpg PUK* - PUK* Breakdown 2020, live-generated video and audio produced by a generative adversarial neural network (GAN) projected on graphite coated screen PUK* Breakdown is a live-generated video output created by the PUK* system. This output is produced by a generative adversarial neural network (GAN) that has been trained to search for meaning in same data set of owl figurines that are used in PUK* Beta. The network has been developed on the principle of pareidolia - an obsessive searching for meaning. The work deconstructs and hybridizes the original owl images into grotesque new forms.PUK* Breakdown is a what one expert calls; “a stream of unconsciousness” and most agree that it represents a kind of interior mental processing. Some have even have likened it being able to watch PUK*s dreams. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643209581196-10EFIKUFEQMKS6EI6V6S/image-asset.jpeg PUK* - Fragment output PUK* Breakdown A short 3 minute capture of the live video and audio output stream of PUK* Breakdown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643206283745-VTT3AZNLVTPWTZM9VZTM/5.1_Breakdown_DSC0566.jpg PUK* - PUK* Breakdown at Beautiful Distress House Installation view of PUK* Breakdown at the Beautiful Distress House Amsterdam in 2020/21. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643211767314-V89H6WTEQGBKOQ82C4MY/PUK_vis_doc_jan_2020_Experts.001.jpg PUK* - PUK* Experts 2016 - 2021, multi-channel video Central to the project is a group of PUK* experts. These experts are not from Google, Apple or Facebook. They are a group of neurodiverse people, some of whom are current or former psychiatric patients. These experts have a unique worldview that has been very valuable in their interaction with PUK*. Each of these individuals has spent a considerable time with PUK* and contributed significantly to its design and structure. In the following conversations they share some of their reflections on these encounters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643211010957-49C0U39JF9VFTAD6ASVT/image-asset.jpeg PUK* - PUK* Bill In PUK* Bill we encounter Bill, the first of the experts to start working with PUK*. Bill is an agoraphobic man who has been following a course of therapy involving artificial intelligence PUK*. Through the at times fraught interview Bill is pressed by the interviewer to detail his relationship with PUK*, something he is not always willing to divulge. They are playing a game.They are playing at not playing a game.If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me.I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game. Knots, R.D. Laing Bill is played by William Miller camera by John Treffer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643212214564-GWK7SVZ8QVHASBARMQRM/image-asset.jpeg PUK* - PUK* Experts 2018, 2-channel video commissioned for the ROBOT LOVE exhibition. In the work PUK* Recalibration a group of neurodiverse cast characters are asked to give their interpretation of PUK*. Shot over a three day period in Eindhoven the group spent time with the PUK* system and were interviewed a number of times about their emotions and thoughts about PUK*. As we follow the group’s progress a complex and at time contradictory portrait of PUK* emerges. with Jon-Dahl Ripzaad, Kayleigh Schepers, Han Rekkers and William Miller, and Emma Pelckmans general and technical assistance: Matteo Casarin, Melanie Hyams camera and video post-production: John Treffer additional camera: Matteo Casarin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1516636467934-F2JIDVD1J2H89Y1T8HZ3/image-asset.jpeg PUK* - PUK* Bill (fragment) 2017, single-channel video In PUK* Bill we encounter Bill, an agoraphobic man who has been following a course of therapy involving artificial intelligence PUK*. Through the at times fraught interview Bill is pressed by the interviewer to detail his relationship with PUK*, something he is not always willing to divulge. They are playing a game. They are playing at not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing I see the game. Knots, R.D. Laing Bill is played by William Miller camera by John Treffer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1643212301633-6D9FZ7Y6YPUBFC0XRS55/image-asset.jpeg PUK* - PUK* Experts Vijfde Seizoen 2020, multi-channel video Interviews from a series of sessions held with experts Felibor, Frans, Annie en Randy during my residency at het Vijfde Seizoen in Den Dolder in the summer of 2019. I built a version of PUK* system at my studio during the residency and asked each of the experts to spend time with PUK*. These working session lead to a series of interviews which also became part of the PUK* Reflections series. camera and video post-production John Treffer http://www.florisschonfeld.com/umwelt-artis daily 1.0 2024-07-11 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/t/668ff18c87ba795fe13d26a6/1719832372479/ UMWELT ARTIS https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/66828e5d94ca1813adf0cdb0/66828e79d328e35e0a2844fc/1719832372479/ UMWELT ARTIS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1719832512329-YIBGYIOK8P70IOXG64BI/image-asset.jpeg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT_ARTIS_Preview 9 minute preview of the two channel video installation UMWELT UMWELT ARTIS, looping 2-channel video, HD video, 38 minutes, 2023/24 The video installation UMWELT ARTIS is a cinematic portrait of zoo and knowledge institute ARTIS Amsterdam. The new work by artist Floris Schönfeld, in collaboration with cameraman John Treffer, gives a sense of the intimate interweaving of plants, humans, animals, and machines in ARTIS park. From March 2023 through to November 2023, Schönfeld worked at ARTIS as ARTISt-in-residence. The ARTIS Park became his studio and research site. Together with cameraman John Treffer, he spent many days filming the animals and plants in ARTIS park. He was helped by many ARTIS animal caretakers and gardeners. Schönfeld is interested in the perspectives of other living beings. He knows that he himself is limited by his own subjective view, yet he does not let that deter him. Instead, he explores our human ability to get close to the experiences of others. ARTIS is a place where countless perspectives converge and thus a very fitting place to further explore this theme. 'When you embrace that it's not just about humans, the world really becomes a different place where our interests are enmeshed with those of other beings. Especially in a time of climate change and mass extinction, it becomes increasingly important to learn to listen to these other voices.' Schönfeld and Treffer came up with all kinds of ways to get close to the experience of other creatures. For example, they followed the growth of trees for months, filmed the animals up close, and built special cameras, which they used to let the animals film themselves. Schönfeld also trained visual algorithms to represent different animals from the perspective of a machine. The whole work results in a new, dizzying portrait of ARTIS. UMWELT ARTIS is a project project by Floris Schönfeld in collaboration with John Treffer . It was developed during the ARTISt-in-residence at ARTIS zoo Amsterdam in 2023-24 in collaboration with the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. Concept, production en editing: Floris Schönfeld Camera work, image post production en development of animal play objects: John Treffer Curator: Judith de Bruijn Development and training GAN algorithm: Miša Skalskis Soundtrack en music composition: Ruben Samama Project intern: Merel Schuurman Projection by: Phanta Visuals With many thanks to: Josephine Glazener, 
Emma Morse, Beatrice Puijk, Ton Hilhorst, Sjoerd van Kessel, Maartje de Vries, Iwo Nelson, Peter Bleesing, Job van Tol, Johan Lof, Lotte Ouwehand, Ivar van den Berge, Michael Kwakman, Lisa van Domburg, Miriam Schuurman, Sanne van der Mark, Hans van der Sluis , Mark van de Hoef, Teun van den Bergh, Iris Kuethe, Katy Koning, Mark Barrink, Sil Verhagen, Tamara Gijsen, Sanne van der Mark, Roos Castaing, Roy Rövekamp, Jan de Jong, Hans Bontenbal, Roy Zonneveld, Graham Bulstra, Roland Winter and all the other ARTIS employees that helped us during the project. Thijs de Zeeuw and Maarten Reesink for the good company and interesting conversations. Anne van Dijk, Rotem Kadan-Zilber en Julian Evans from the ARISE Project Emma van Drongelen en Jacqueline Lamme from ARTIS-Ateliers Hans Mulder en Erik Bastiaanse from UVA speciale collecties Karl Klomp en Jozef Hey vvoor advice on the install Berend Janssens from Canon Nederland This work was made possible by a financial contribution from the Mondriaan Fonds and 
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707516189-0MLOGGKTC0SP3ZB6GK3Q/_DSC6901.CC_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS Installation View of the two-channel video UMWELT ARTIS UMWELT ARTIS, looping 2-channel video, HD video, 38 minutes, 2023/24 foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707571349-FO2BJSE5PR4X0WDOP2Y1/_DSC6997.CC_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS Installation View of the two-channel video UMWELT ARTIS UMWELT ARTIS, looping 2-channel video, HD video, 38 minutes, 2023/24 foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720708028474-LJHG4WGDH3YE4YISX3DL/_DSC6751.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS with public View of the two-channel video UMWELT ARTIS UMWELT ARTIS, looping 2-channel video, HD video, 38 minutes, 2023/24 foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720708015778-EZQLFX9Q2TIJKJF1YYU2/_DSC7334.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS with public View of the two-channel video UMWELT ARTIS UMWELT ARTIS, looping 2-channel video, HD video, 38 minutes, 2023/24 foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720708302754-N2651BOZ447O176SMJ2I/_DSC7109.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS Vitrines foto by Roel Backaert Thanks to the knowledge and help of animal caretakers at ARTIS, Floris Schönfeld and John Treffer developed objects that allowed the animals to film themselves whist playing. This enabled them to develop a unique visual language from an unusual perspective. Treffer made the objects in his studio, partly using wood from ARTIS. For the animals themselves, these objects were often an interesting temporary enrichment of their environment. The objects are on display in the showcases. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707839399-P6DJZDASZK95QDABVSP2/Vitrines_triptic.001.jpeg UMWELT ARTIS - UMWELT ARTIS Vitrines foto by Roel Backaert For the Asian elephants, they made the Rattle: a block of wood with carrots sticking out and cookies hidden inside, which the elephants could take out with their trunks. They also placed the camera in a ball that the elephants played with. For the California sea lions, they made the Tuna, a fish-shaped object that incorporated two cameras, and the Mackerel, a smaller object that the animals played with in the water. For the Sulawesi crested macaques, Schönfeld and Treffer made a Selfiecam, with a semi-transparent mirror, which allowed the animals to observe themselves. The animals engaged with the camera with great enthusiasm; greeting and viewing themselves intently. For the southern ground hornbill, they made a Selfiestick that the animals carried with their beaks. The stick of the first version turned out to be too short, so Treffer had to make a second version with a longer stick. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707958115-JNMN5ES8W9ON6P454BTE/_DSC7782.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - Exhibition overview UMWELT ARTIS Exhibition overview of UMWLET artis with 2 channel video piece and vitrines. foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707957515-ZOIUSUVQP5C9OQ9D40YI/_DSC7748.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - Exhibition Overview UMWELT ARTIS Exhibition overview of UMWELT ARTIS with 2 channel video piece and live generated video piece UMWELT ML. foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720707904014-ZEUWNPYOHT424CMGX0CE/_DSC7649-2.US_s.jpg UMWELT ARTIS - Exhibition overview UMWLET ARTIS Exhibition overview of UMWLET ARTIS with wall text and live generated video UMWELT ML. foto by Roel Backaert https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720623732760-CJZJ47NJ6CGJN0WJNVRZ/image-asset.jpeg UMWELT ARTIS - Fragment UMWELT ML 5 minute fragment from the work UMWELT ML UMWELT ML, live generated video and audio, 2024 GAN algorithm created in collaboration with artist Miša Skalskis with audio by Ruben Samama Schönfeld also wanted to weave the impact of technology on ARTIS into UMWELT ARTIS. He did so by using so-called machine learning (ML) artificial intelligence (AI). Schönfeld collected three different datasets, each of which, in its own way, gives a new perspective on ARTIS: a collection of children's drawings made during a drawing course at the ARTIS-Ateliers, imagery from the ARISE science project, and images from the Iconographia Zoologica (a 19th-century collection of zoological images in the ARTIS Library). Working together with artist and programmer Miša Skalskis they trained a series of GAN machine learning models that create ever-new images based on these datasets. These images, on view in UMWELT ARTIS, are generated live and evolve over time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720706316570-DUUYYI6X6KN7ERELZOZ6/Screenshot+2024-06-10+at+11.32.57.png UMWELT ARTIS - Still from UMWELT ML UMWELT ML, live generated video and audio, 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720706342697-N2VZ9C07ZIM6TIHR50XU/Screenshot+2024-06-10+at+11.38.24.png UMWELT ARTIS - Still from UMWELT ML UMWELT ML, live generated video and audio, 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1720706357964-5LZEC99D51PY12C4PZIR/Screenshot+2024-06-10+at+11.44.54.png UMWELT ARTIS - Still from UMWELT ML UMWELT ML, live generated video and audio, 2024 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/cv- daily 0.75 2024-11-21 http://www.florisschonfeld.com/puk-game daily 0.75 2019-04-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53eb65d4e4b0f951215cb8f5/1533302064875-IR8CS0VZH61152M5CA15/Promo_960_640_Fdelay_75.gif PUK* Game http://www.florisschonfeld.com/collaborations daily 0.75 2020-02-07