james george
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Microsoft's Studio 99 marries art and science, inspires Kinect tools for non developers (video)
Art and science, science and art, art-and-science. To some, the two words are like oil and water, you can put them together, but they don't always seem to fully blend. Not the case for the minds that reside at Building 99, part of Microsoft's research facilities in Redmond. More specifically, Studio 99, which is a gallery space that fuses the two disciplines as only a tech company would. Stage one? Getting James George to join Studio 99 for a three-month tenure as artist in residence. Among the usual data-based murals and interactive Kinect installations (see the video past the break for more), George worked with the Kinect for Windows/Microsoft Open Technologies teams on more tangible projects too, such as developing the Kinect Common Bridge -- an addition to the Kinect for Windows SDK that makes it more accessible to artistic applications. While George's time at Studio 99 may be over, the researchers at Building 99 felt that it uncovered two key similarities that art and science share: the peer review process, and how both interact with the community. In fact, the team in Redmond felt there was so much benefit to the projects, and creativity, that it plans to continue the artist in residence program going forward. Threshold skinned by Banksy? Maybe not yet.
