AppArtAward 2015 – Highlights

In 2015 the AppArtAward has been awarded for the fifth time. When it was inaugurated, back in 2011, only a few art apps existed in the universe of mobile computing, with its various app platforms. These days a Google search with the keyword »Art Apps« turns up more than 400,000,000 results. In only a very short period of time the app format has become a new, important form of distributing artistic productions. This year, around 115 apps from 20 countries were submitted for the AppArtAward. The winner apps of the AppArtAward 2015 as well as a selection of the best submissions can be tested at the ZKM.

The winner of the AppArtAward 2015

Prize for Artistic Innovation: EDMT

(Android, 2015)
by Fader and Mandy Mozart
An audiovisual immersive trip app, which allows to »play« with your phone or tablet to generate mind-expanding graphics and EDM inspired sounds. The magic happens when the two senses – sight and sound – are synchronized to create a seamless performance.

Special Prize for Crowd Art: Radwende

(iOS, 2014)
by Michael Volkmer from Scholz & Volkmer
​Scholz & Volker developed an app that makes cycling routes in Wiesbaden (Germany) visible. They documented the routes they traveled by bycicle, and generated a city map with the data. The map – a bold display of bicycle traffic in real time – shows where bike paths are needed, and can be used as a basis for planning Wiesbaden's cycling infrastructure. Thus, »Radwende« can influence the city's traffic design.

Special Prize for Sound Art: Borderlands Granular

(iOS, 2015)
by Chris Carlson
A futuristic musical instrument for exploring sound with granular synthesis, a technique that involves the superposition of small fragments of sound, or gains, to create complex, evolving timbres and textures.The user is envisioned as an organizer of sound, simultaneously assuming the roles of curaotr, performer, and listener. Gestural interaction and visual feedback are emphasized over knobes and sliders to encourage a sculptural and spatial approach to making music.

Special Prize for Game Art: Sometimes You Die

(iOS, 2014)
by Philipp Stollenmayer
​At first glance, the app seems to be a simple jump-and-rund application. However, instead of a limited number of lives, players have unlimited lives. Colliding with obstacles or taking the wrong path results in death of the character; the gaming piece remains on the spot, and a new one is created. Some of the obstacles can only be overcome if the »dead« gaming pieces, which remain lying about, are stacked into steps, while in the background, a cynical text comments on the action. Death is accepted, as is the way to continue and progress in teh game – only the goal and exit remain uncertain.

More Highlights in the exhibition

Bitpixel

(iOS, 2015)
by JeongHo Park
The app joins visual and sonic abstraction to form a single, overwhelming piece of technology. Take a picture with the built-in camera, and immediately an audio sequence with a maximum of six voices will be heard.

Faces

(Android, 2015)
by Aaron Jablonski
​»Faces« is an audiovisual, augmented reality installation and explores how the facial and emotional expressions of animated faces affect their real counterparts.

Metamorphabet

​(iOS, 2015)
by Patrick Smith
A playful, interactive alphabet for all ages. Easy access and gaming are combined with gorgeous graphics and animations.

Mountain

(iOS, 2014)
by David OReilly
An ambient procedural game, an experimental world in which each player generates a unique mountain based on several drawings he or she generates when first opening the app; each mountain has a unique character and shifting moods. It is designed to virutally exist and develop iin the background of people's lives over long periods of time, favoring mental interaction over physical input, and involving mediation on interactivity itself.

Numen Clock

(iOS, 2013)
by Francis Lam
A mobil app to display time with more than 300 naked men. It has three modes for displaying time and date and users can also touch and draw their own patterns with the characters. »Numen Clock« is part of the series »The Nudemen Series« which is adapted the utopian approach to depict technology, culture, and reality in different forms and media.

Playground

(iOS, 2015)
by Hermutt Lobby
By having this app, people are able to discover electronic music interpretations. The uniqueness of this product is the intelligence behind each element. 

Rec Run

(iOS, 2015)
by Romain Cazier
​This app is a basic sampler wrapped as a visual sound toy, offering a minimalist, yet playful universe.

Ryzmizr

(iOS, 2014)
by Roland Sproll
​An »audiozation tool« for rhythmically analyzing our world, which is saturated with patters, repetitions, and regularities. Equipped with this app, anyone can search for visual patterns, recognize them, transform them into acoustic »ryzmz«, and then share them on the Interent – the aim is to »rhythmacize« the entire world.

SoundShade

(iOS, 2015)
by Valtteri Wikström
​An ambient ambient audio application that allows users to arrange their favorite, relaxing sounds and listen to them. Listeners can choose from existing templates or create their own mix by freely combining any of the 30 sounds of nature and environment that are included.