By Margarita Kompelmakher, PhD
Photo (left, right): Simón Hanukai, DATAPRINT (Kaimera Productions)
In this second installment of a series of interviews with Lucas Artists Fellows working in performance, I chat with Co-Artistic Director of Kaimera Productions Simón Adinia Hanukai about his new installation project, DATAPRINT , which will premiere this weekend at the Tech Museum of Innovation in downtown San Jose, California. Working with a group of collaborators across the disciplines of data science, video game writing and data ethics, Simón is taking some major risks with a project that sits on the cutting edge of new media installation work. Listen along as he shares his thoughts on collaboration and describes the challenges involved in mounting a simultaneous presentation of DATAPRINT in two global capitals of technological innovation—Bangalore, India and Silicon Valley, USA.
On September 22 and 23, 2018, after weeks workshopping the work at Montalvo, Simón Adinia Hanukai will present his newest work, DATAPRINT, at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California. He and his team are running on fumes after weeks of rigorous production work—including a week of beta-testing in Montalvo’s Project Space and workshopping the production at an Open Access event — and yet I find Hanukai full of energy and generosity as he welcomes me into his LAP studio. He hands me a glass of water as I set up my tape recorder and he somehow manages to take advantage of the few moments in which I fumble with the technology to send out last-minute emails. He is a master juggler of people and projects, but still it is clear that Hanukai has a lot going on.
Now based in Paris, Hanukai—whose family emigrated to the US from Azerbaijan—spent his teenage years and 20s in the Bay Area. He was a Lucas Artists Fellow in 2006 and his artists collective headRush helped prototype and launch the teaching artist program at Montalvo. He left the valley to pursue an M.F.A in theater directing from Columbia University and later co-founded theater company Kaimera Productions , which creates socially astute projects, often in collaboration with partners from around the world. In this first clip, Hanukai explains the genesis of DATAPRINT and his intention to open up a public dialogue about “data as currency and data as cookies” in our society. The project was possible because of his past and present relationships in the Bay Area with educators and curators who encouraged him to pursue data as an artistic topic.
Now based in Paris, Hanukai—whose family emigrated to the US from Azerbaijan—spent his teenage years and 20s in the Bay Area. He was a Lucas Artists Fellow in 2006 and his artists collective headRush helped prototype and launch the teaching artist program at Montalvo. He left the valley to pursue an M.F.A in theater directing from Columbia University and later co-founded theater company Kaimera Productions , which creates socially astute projects, often in collaboration with partners from around the world. In this first clip, Hanukai explains the genesis of DATAPRINT and his intention to open up a public dialogue about “data as currency and data as cookies” in our society. The project was possible because of his past and present relationships in the Bay Area with educators and curators who encouraged him to pursue data as an artistic topic.
The Knowledge Gap Between Experts and the Public (2min 42sec)
DATAPRINT is a unique project not only because it was developed through residencies in two capitals of technological innovation—Bangalore, India and Silicon Valley, USA —but also because it will be presented simultaneously in these two locations in spaces accessible to the general public, for free. Listen to Hanukai explain the significance of this intercontinental collaboration and the power of presenting this piece at the Cubbon Park Metro Station in Bangalore and at the Tech Museum in San Jose.
A Tale of Two Silicon Valleys (3min 11sec)
In this next clip, Hanukai describes what you can expect from a visit to the DATAPRINT installation at The Tech from September 22-23. DATAPRINT is the name of a fictional company that is testing a new product on you. As you move through the installation, you are asked to make an avatar of yourself and launch it into competition with other participants’ avatars. It is fun and interactive, with key moments of performance and choreography. You can see a trailer of the 2016 work-in-progress presentation here .
Listen to Hanukai discuss his team’s approach to creating an art piece on the topic of data ethics that is productive rather than reductive. “It’s not a black and white project…we do not preach anything,” he adds.
Listen to Hanukai discuss his team’s approach to creating an art piece on the topic of data ethics that is productive rather than reductive. “It’s not a black and white project…we do not preach anything,” he adds.
“Not a Black and White Project” (4min 50sec)
It’s not long before I realize that Hanukai speaks about his work through others. He invokes members of the production team, the performers, advisers on the project, museum curators and the public — part and parcel of Hanukai’s philosophy of collaboration. In this clip, he speaks about his role as a facilitator who creates a space of trust and rigor in which no one person owns the project.
“Whose Idea Was This?” Thoughts on Collaboration (4min 32sec)
Hanukai is working in the uncharted (or at least murky) waters of new media art. He and Jonathan Camuzeaux , the co-artistic director of Kaimera, are not “techies” per se and are taking on a topic that leaves even the most technically savvy of us dumbfounded. Earlier in the interview, Hanukai asserts that DATAPRINT is meant to be confusing because the general public is likewise in the dark about the transformation of our data within algorithmic systems.
While those who attend DATAPRINT are asked to embrace confusion, it’s an uncomfortable space for a production team trying to mount a show. In this clip, Hanukai describes the biggest obstacles that needed to be overcome in order for coders, video game writers and choreographers to work together. He also talks about the importance of having an advisory committee of experts in digital privacy and data rights that assist the team throughout the process.
While those who attend DATAPRINT are asked to embrace confusion, it’s an uncomfortable space for a production team trying to mount a show. In this clip, Hanukai describes the biggest obstacles that needed to be overcome in order for coders, video game writers and choreographers to work together. He also talks about the importance of having an advisory committee of experts in digital privacy and data rights that assist the team throughout the process.
Challenges on the Frontier (6min 45sec)
Within days of the premiere, Hanukai is in full-blown production mode. But before we part ways, I ask him to take a step back from the project and reflect on his time at the Lucas Artists Residency and Montalvo Arts Center.
Lightning Round (3min 08sec)
DATAPRINT will be shown September 22nd, 2018, 11am-3pm (Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California ) & 11am-6pm (Cubbon Park Metro Station, Bangalore), and September 23rd, 2018, 11am-5pm (both locations). Admission is FREE. It will also be live-streamed from both locations on Facebook .
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Margarita Kompelmakher is a scholar, lecturer and producer who specializes in global performance and media arts. She recently completed a PhD on the topic of human rights media in Eastern Europe and teaches in the theater and film department at West Valley College in Saratoga, California.
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