Many of De Marinis' pieces draw on "19th century technologies that are not part of the dominant discourse." For instance, the work RainDance, which he is showing at the festival, consists of overhead pipes that stream water. Walk under the jets with an umbrella and you will hear tunes such as Singing in the Rain, Begin the Beguine and the Blue Danube waltz.
"The thing is," De Marinis said, "You are not used to water being used as an amplifier, but in fact it can amplify as much as electricity." For instance, a stream of 440 water droplets per second creates the note A, whereas 260 is a middle C. When these jets of water hit the umbrella it vibrates and thus a sound is made that the ear can hear.
When asked whether aesthetics followed technology and this is why digital arts are becoming an important medium, De Marinis answered technology not only forms our culture, but also vice versa, culture creates our future tools. Art can inspire scientific innovation, he said.
"Technology comes out of dreams and yearnings. It comes as much from aesthetics as it does from science. There is a kind of breathing, a back-and-forth between the two. Artists see the shadows and make forms and artifacts from them."
As an example he said new cultural forms included digital images or sounds that have been copied, pixilated, distorted and "amplified." They have now become part of the mainstream visual spectrum, from adverts to movies.
Taipei City Government is backing the festival because digital arts fit like a glove around its intention for Taipei to be a leader not just in technology but also in the culture of technology. It has poured in money to bring over international artists such as Benoit Maubrey, whose invited piece Audio Ballerinas will feature performers walking from Zhongshan Hall to the Red House Theater in nearby Ximending wearing "audio costumes."
Kaffe Matthews from the UK will present her ARS Electronica prize-winning Worldwide Bed Project. The US' Golan Levin, Japan's Taro Suzuki and Theo Jansen from the Netherlands will show off their distinctive works, while Taiwan's only improvised dance group, founded by Ku Ming-shen (古名伸), will also perform.
The city government plans to open a Digital Arts Center in October next year and is also offering awards at the festival to encourage young artists. Nominee Lunc Lin (林昆穎) will present his installation Vanish into Space IV, which involves putting widgets in holes to create soundscapes. The 27-year-old represents what the city government hopes is a new breed of local artists spawned in Taipei's technically challenging environment.
"Our ideas are not the same as previous artists. A drawing is just a drawing, but what we do is reflect the mess or chaos around us," Lin said. "Taiwan has a lot of electronic shops and factories so it is a good environment for us."
Another young, local artist, Chen Zhi-jian (陳志建), said tools like computers and digital cameras could create alternative descriptions of our environment and has produced a time-lapse video of Ximending titled Dateline.
"When people see our stuff they like it. The problem at the moment is that people don't know it. So this festival can bring about understanding," Chen said.
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