Time travel at Tremough with Dr Johnson’s table

A contemporary interactive artwork celebrating the 300th birthday of Dr Samuel Johnson will be exhibited in the Learning Resources Centre at the Tremough Campus that is shared by the University College Falmouth (UCF) and the University of Exeter, from 1 to 16 October.

Originally commissioned by Dr Johnson's House in London for The House of Words Exhibition, it recreates Dr Johnson's table where he compiled one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language, published in 1755.

Interactive Table and Escritoire is an installation by artist and Course Leader of UCF's BA(Hons) degree in Contemporary Crafts, Jason Cleverly. It is a collaborative research project that has been developed in collaboration with Tim Shear, technologist at iRes UCF's research group in Network Art and software developers from Celtic Internet, supported by UCF's research team in 3D Digital Production, Autonomatic.

"Creating this piece has been a really exciting, and fruitful collaboration with the rest of the team," said Jason. "The continuing aliveness of the work, fuelled by the contribution of words, I hope has been a respectful and playful response to Johnson's incredible endeavour."

The installation updates Dr Johnson's writing table with interactive and networked technology. Visitors are invited to participate in the compilation of a modern version of his dictionary by inputting word entries onto paper using a special digital pen. Entries are then uploaded to a website, which can be viewed at www.drjohnsonsgarret.net

"This is an excellent example of a collaborative research project between academic, business and third sector organisations," said Kate Southworth, who leads the iRes research group.

The installation will be exhibited in the Learning Resources Centre at the Tremough Campus from 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, where related books and dictionaries will be also displayed to support the exhibition.

Head of Library and Information Services, Doreen Pinfold, said: "This exhibition represents the fusion of historical sources and new technology that is reflected in the breadth of information and resources that we provide to assist students and staff in their studies and research."

For more information about Dr Johnson's House please visit www.drjohnsonshouse.org

For further information about BA(Hons)Contemporary Crafts at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/contemporarycrafts, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 214356.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name. It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012/2013 that will be unique to the South West.

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email: jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

Editor's Notes:

Jason Cleverly

Jason Cleverly has produced interactive works for museums throughout the UK including the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro (2007); the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham (2006); the Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent (2004);The Hunt Museum Limerick Ireland (2003) Shipley Museum & Art Gallery Gateshead (2003), as well as public artworks such as The Green Man (2003) for the Midlands Transport Authority, Birmingham. He is Course Leader of BA(Hons) Contemporary Crafts at University College Falmouth.

Tim Shear

Tim Shear is the Research Technologist with UCF's iRes research group. His current technical explorations are focused around: mobile apps, open source network technologies, physical/environmental interactions within network devices and calm interfaces; his programming supports the artists and researchers within the group.

iRes

iRes Research in Network Art is a research group at University College Falmouth. iRes has been researching the relationship between networks and art, art and technology, distributed networks and protocols, new media curating, media art and theory, the impact of digital media on contemporary culture, and the changing relationship between audience, curator and artist. More information on iRes can be found at http://www.ires.org.uk/

Celtic Internet

Celtic Internet is a solutions provider specialising in the development of complex data-driven Internet based applications such as Ticketing Systems, Content Management Systems, Digital Pen & Paper, Information Storage and Retrieval Systems. For more information about the Celtic Internet visit their website at http://www.celticinternet.com/

Autonomatic

The Autonomatic research team at UCF has been successfully exploring ways of implementing computer aided design and manufacture with traditional making skills, challenging perception of the boundaries between craft and industrial production with the aim of developing contemporary craft processes for 21^st century design practice. To find out more about Autonomatic visit http://www.autonomatic.org.uk/

Learning Resources at Tremough

The Learning Resources Centre at the Tremough Campus provides print and digital resources and information services to staff and students from University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter, who share and jointly manage the Campus in an arrangement that is unique in the UK. More information can be found at http://library.falmouth.ac.uk/

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