Harvestworks is a not-for-profit arts organization located in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by artists supporting the creation and presentation of art works achieved through the use of new technologies. Its focus is on audio engineering and digital technology. The Harvestworks TEAM Lab supports the creation of art works achieved through the use of new and evolving technologies. Since 2007, Harvestworks has sponsored the biennial New York Electronic Arts Festival.
History
Founded in 1977 by Gregory Kramer and Gerald Lindahl, Harvestworks has helped many generations of artists to create new work by providing an environment for experimentation with project consultants, technicians, instructors and innovative practitioners in all branches of the electronic arts. Harvestworks has presented many experimental music concerts and is the sponsor of the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine project. The Interactive Technology Project offers a laboratory-like setting for the development of interactive computer environments, installations and instruments that foster new modes of perception and performance. In 2014, Harvestworks in collaboration with Vox Novus created the first 60x60 5.1 Surround Sound Mix presented by curator Hans Tammen. 60x60 presented previously only in stereo audio, this collaboration was the first mix to utilize 5.1 surround sound.
The Harvestworks Artist in Residence is a national program that offers American artists commissions to make a new work in the Technology, Engineering, Art and Music lab. New works may include multiple channel audio or video installations, interactive performance systems, data visualization or projects involving hardware hacking, circuit bending or custom built interfaces, as well as projects that use the web. The artist works with a team composed of a project manager, engineer and programmer.
Studio PASS
At the inception of Harvestworks, the Public Access Synthesizer Studio provided access to electronic synthesizer instruments, and continues as part of Harvestworks' TEAM Lab. In 1986, the studio included “a Fairlight, a Roland Super Jupiter, an E-mu Emulator II, a Yamaha YX816 rack, Apple IIe and Macintosh computers, an Otari eight-track recorder, and a few video recorders, as well as the services of a staff engineer.” Studio PASS changed its name in the early 80s. It is now the sound studio available to independent producers, musicians and artists in residence at Harvestworks. Originally, Studio PASS was located in the Flatiron District in Manhattan at 16 west 22 St. It moved to its current home along with the rest of Harvestworks at 596 Broadway in 1987. The studio included advanced instruments like the Fairlight CMI, and proved effective for artists such as Bob Ostertag, They Might Be Giants, David Van Tieghem, Brenda Hutchinson, Marina Rosenfeld and George Lewis and Fred Frith. The board of directors has included people such as Bob Moog and Suzanne Ciani. Everyone who works there volunteers. Paul Geluso is the current director of Studio PASS. Since its inception, Studio PASS has always offered classes and tutorials.
Classes
Since 1983, Harvestworks has offered classes relating to technology and art. In 1983, composers needed to learn about MIDI, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface to be able to control their musical synthesizers. in the 90’s, the community wanted to know about object-oriented programming languages such as Max/MSP and algorithmic music programs such as Dr. T and M. In 1996, Harvestworks offered classes in Photoshop, Macromedia Director, creating CD roms, Adobe Premiere, HTML, post-production and Javascript and taught acoustic engineering, digital art, programming, computational design and sound engineering in 2015. The classes are taught by professionals in their field and have included Matthew Ostrowski, Luke DuBois, Dafna Naphtali and Eugene Kogan.
Harvestworks has sponsored a number of events and projects over the years. In 1983, the Tellus Audio Cassette Magazine was created. The 5th and 6th issues of the magazine in 1984 were compiled into a double issue curated by Claudia Gould, Joseph Nechvatal and Carol Parkinson. The magazine featured Louise Lawler, Richard Prince, Perry Hoberman, David Wojnarowicz, Barbara Barg, Barbara Ess and Rhys Chatham amongst others. In 1987, Harvestworks had its first major show, the Soundwave Exhibition, curated by Gerald Lindahl and Bill and Mary Buchen and exhibited in the former City Gallery at 2 Columbus Circle. In 1992, the first usergroup for the programming language MAX was established at Harvestworks, and an exhibition called “The Interactive Show: New Audio/Video Installation Works” was presented at the Threadwaxing Space, another arts venue in Lower Manhattan. In 1996, the Creative Contact Artist Database was established. In 1998, Harvestworks presented “Screens and Memes: a digital media exhibition.” In 2001, Harvestworks helped produce the first internet2 musical, "The Technophobe and the Madman." In 2002, Harvestworks created its surround sound audio studio and published a compilation of experimental surround sound compositions called Workspace Projects. In 2004, Harvestworks had a weekend-long symposium called “Mixing It Up! The Interactive Technology Project.” In 2006, Harvestworks ran the “New Interfaces for Artistic Expression” Symposium. From 2007 onwards, Harvestworks runs the biennial New York Electronic Arts Festival
New York Electronic Arts Festival
NYEAF is a biennial new media electronic arts festival produced by Harvestworks centered on Governor’s Island. It started in 2007 and has operated in multiple locations across New York City, often at the same time. Notable artists have included George Lewis, Trimpin, Stephen Vitiello, Andrea Parkins, Morton Subotnick, They Might Be Giants, J.G. Thirlwell, R. Luke DuBois, Ikue Mori, Bora Yoon and many others. NYEAF collaborates with The River to River Festival as well. The art varies from artist to artist, with some being spiritual in nature, some experimental and some natural, but all talking about the use of technology in society. The purpose of NYEAF is to provide high-quality electronic and digital art through workshops, concerts and exhibitions. Attendees get an overview of how technology is being used in various artistic disciplines, and have the opportunity to take part in a discussion about how these technologies will continue to shape contemporary art practice.
