Don Ritter (born 1959) is a visual, sound and media artist known for his interactive electronic installation works.[1] His works of art use digital media in architectural projections, immersive video-sound installations, performances and prints. He currently lives in Montréal, Quebec.[2]

Don Ritter
Born1959 (age 64–65)
Known forinteractive installation artist,
electronic artist
Notable workOrpheus, Intersection
Websiteaesthetic-machinery.com

Life

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Don Ritter was born in Camrose, Alberta.[1] He studied electronics engineering at The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, fine arts and psychology at the University of Waterloo, and visual studies at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies and the MIT Media Lab.

During his studies at M.I.T. he was paired with George E. Lewis and he made an interactive video to go with his trombone playing.[2][3]

Ritter worked abroad for 23 years as an artist and academic in Boston, New York City, Berlin, Seoul and Hong Kong.[2] Among his appointments, he was a professor in the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong.[4]

Work

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Ritter's work brings together computers, sensors, and the human body to create interactive experiences for audiences.[5] Ritter has said that "the experience of interactive art should be an aesthetically pleasing experience not only for the mind but also for the body".[6] His software Orpheus (1987), which enabled an improvising musician to control the narrative projection of video, is an early example of an interactive video installation.[7] In his 1993 interactive installation Intersection, viewers cross a virtual highway in a large darkroom . The highway is represented by the computer-controlled sound of cars passing and coming to a screeching halt.[8][9][10][11]

Ritter has exhibited internationally since 1988 at museums, festivals and galleries in 23 countries, including the 2010 Winter Olympics (in Vancouver) and the Ars Electronica Festival (in Linz).[2]

Honours and awards

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In 2024, Ritter was awarded a Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Artist/Maker Name "Ritter, Don"". Canadian Heritage Information Network. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Winners". en.ggarts.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ^ "George Lewis CS/EP". UC San Diego. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Faculty: Don Ritter, Professor". School of Creative Media. City University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ Art Inquiry: Recherches Sur Les Arts. Łódzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe. 2003.
  6. ^ Dominic Lopes (10 September 2009). A Philosophy of Computer Art. Routledge. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-1-135-27743-7.
  7. ^ Roger Dean (2003). Hyperimprovisation: Computer-interactive Sound Improvisation. A-R Editions, Inc. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-89579-508-3.
  8. ^ Karen Collins; Bill Kapralos; Holly Tessler (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-19-979722-6.
  9. ^ Arthur Kroker (2004). The Will to Technology and the Culture of Nihilism: Heidegger, Nietzsche and Marx. University of Toronto Press. pp. 196–. ISBN 978-0-8020-8573-3.
  10. ^ Robert Rowe (January 2004). Machine Musicianship. MIT Press. pp. 359–. ISBN 978-0-262-68149-0.
  11. ^ Hans-Joachim Braun; International Committee for the History of Technology (2000). Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 217–. ISBN 978-0-8018-6885-6.
  12. ^ "Winners". en.ggarts.ca. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 15 March 2024.