For my research project, I decided to write about Reza Ali. He is a computational designer, software engineer, and creative director. He is highly accomplished currently works at Google full time, on webXR its a google owned VR platform. His main position there is as a UX designer for AR/VR experiences. Along with that Reza is an artist in residence for Auto Desk. He uses technology and code to express himself, creating visual art sculptures and interactive installations.
Reza creates and collaborates with a lot of people and different companies. His work normally does not stay in one field or one area of interest. One of the fields that he works on the most with is Augmented Reality. My favorite Augmented reality peace from Reza Ali is called Paper Galaxy. Paper Galaxy is a collaboration between Reza and Jeff Linnell. They use iPads to scan 3D objects and putting them into a 3D AR artwork that can be searched. Reza said “It’s about bringing students together and building communities through the use of creative coding and data visualization. ” https://vimeo.com/105421711
Reza also makes interactive artwork, one of his most interesting 3D art pieces that I found was entitled BioRhythm and as its name implies it is a biofeedback installation. Which means that it takes feedback from the body to create movement in the artwork. The art piece is controlled by a users PPG which is the pulsating of the user’s blood tissues. The biological content of the artwork was the reason that the artwork was made to look organic. You can also change the sliders on the side to get more color options which I found relating because, just a week ago we learned to use the DOM library. http://www.syedrezaali.com/#/biorhythm/
He also has used processing multiple times, one of the artworks he has created from processing is an audio-reactive visualization. The particles in his sketch repel and attract to one another so he could make them look like microorganisms in his opinion. http://www.syedrezaali.com/#/a-drifting-up/
Reza has also been known to dabble in generative works, he created a generative terrain maker called FLuid Scapes. He generates these renders and 3D prints them. http://www.syedrezaali.com/#/fluidscapes/
The BioRhythm piece sounds really interesting – I’ve never heard of interactive artwork that responds to the user’s own blood tissues. It would be great to know Reza Ali’s process in creating these artworks.
Awesome post! I love the Paper galaxy piece and how 2D images were used to create a 3D object and an entire solar system. The interactive Bio Rhythm sounds cool as well! Thanks for sharing
His work is really cool, I also especially love the Paper galaxy piece! I also like how his pieces have an interactive quality, where he shares his work with others by allowing them through his code to help create his pieces. I wonder what his code looks like, and because he specializes in AR/VR, what his work accomplishes outside of just the art world and more in real world situations?
Wow, how did you find this guy? He’s so talented. This is really dope! I love how as an artist he creates through different mediums, and also loved the Paper Galaxy piece you spoke about. Thank you for sharing.
His work sounds really interesting! For his piece where he used the user’s PPG, do you know what technology or device he used to detect the user’s blood tissue?
I thought that the biorhythm piece was really cool because I like the use of interaction with code and technology. Additionally, it looks so natural and fluid that you would never think it was code based which is awesome.