Nato.0+55+3d explained

NATO.0+55+3d was a software application for realtime video and graphics, released by 0f0003 Maschinenkunst and the Netochka Nezvanova collective in 1999 for the classic Mac OS operating system.

Being one of the earliest applications to allow realtime video manipulation and display, it was used by artists for a large variety of purposes, prominently for live performance, VJing^[1] and interactive installation.

Design

Running in the framework of Max (a visual programming interface for rapid prototyping and developing of audio software), NATO.0+55+3d extended Max by allowing to access and manipulate all the media types that QuickTime supports (films, images, 3D models, QuickTime VR, etc.).^[2] The functionalities included image generation, image processing, control over MIDI and numerical data, integration with Internet, 3D, text and sound.

History

At the time of its release (the summer of 1999^[3]), NATO.0+55+3d was in demand as it appeared several years before other similar infrastructures such as GEM and Jitter (released by the makers of Max/MSP in October 2002). Earlier software such as Image/ine developed in 1997 at STEIM was drawing in a similar direction,^[4] but the fact that NATO.0+55+3d was operating inside the Max/MSP framework, using its "visual programming" protocol, provided at the same time greater ease of use and more flexibility,^[5] allowing the user to create their own applications and tools. It gained popularity among video artists and performers, who were using it for a large variety of purposes, prominently for live performance and interactive installation.

The last version of NATO.0+55+3d modular was released in November 2000, while additional NATO objects were developed until June 2001.^[6]

Version history

Name	Release date	Release information
NATO.0+55	June 1999	Initial release
NATO.0+55+3d	July 1999	Adds control of 3d models
NATO.0+55+3d modular (first distribution)	March 2000	Features 80 objects
NATO.0+55+3d modular (second distribution)	July 2000	Features 112 objects
NATO.0+55+3d modular (last distribution)	November 2000	Features 126 objects

Applications

Artists used the software to "manipulate video for live performance and installations" (Mieszkowski 2002). The flexibility of the interface provided artists with "a uniquely suitable environment for the creation of new synesthesiac applications and experiences" (Meta 2001) and "opened up tremendous possibillities for working with realtime video" (Gilje 2005).

As NATO was distributed with a software development kit,^[7] several artists and programmers created third party extensions (e.g. the PeRColate^[8] and Auvi^[9] object libraries), or developed entire applications based on NATO.

NATO.0+55 pilots

Some of the most prominent users of NATO.0+55:

• 242.pilots (Kurt Ralske, HC Gilje, Lukasz Lysakowski)  - live video improvisation ensemble, winners of the Transmediale award 2003 in the category "Image" for their video performance DVD Live In Bruxelles, released on the Carpark imprint in November 2002.^[10]
• Farmers Manual  - the Austrian collective was among the first artists to integrate NATO visuals into their performances. Their twelve-hour performance "Help Us Stay Alive", which was presented and awarded at FCMM festival in Montreal, October 1999, was using the NATO software. The group held a max/nato/pd workshop at Avanto festival in 2001.
• fiftyfifty.org  - media art collective based in Barcelona. Its members Pedro Soler and Mia Makela (aka SOLU) were very active promoters of NATO, organizing numerous workshops and using the software in live performance.^[11] http://www.fiftyfifty.orghttp://www.solu.org
• Johnny Dekam  - founder of VIDVOX. Used NATO to create 'Revision History', an artistic software that autonomously downloads and transforms images from the Library of Congress' Database. https://web.archive.org/web/20070620040223/http://www.movingimage.us/alt/texts.html His commercial VJing software VDMX (released in 2001) was originally based on NATO.0+55. http://vidvox.net/
• The Builders Association  - American multimedia theater company. Used NATO for their piece Xtravaganza, performed in 2000 at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the New York Guggenheim Museum.^[12] During the piece, "live actors [were] keyed into old movie footage".^[13] http://www.thebuildersassociation.org/

Notes and References

1. Book: Thomson-Jones, Katherine . Image in the Making: Digital Innovation and the Visual Arts . 2021 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-756761-6 . en.
2. [#Meta01|Meta 2001]
3. [#Gilje05|Gilje 2005]
4. Web site: Kosnik . Marko . an open letter to imag/ine and nato users and developers . 55 mailing-list . 2 February 2002 . 2009-08-26 . dead . https://archive.today/20130222180818/http://mail.bek.no/pipermail/55/2002-February/002807.html . 22 February 2013.
5. "Jitter is far more complicated and more made for engineers/programmers than Nato, which was basically a video object library for max/msp, and more fun - it seemed always so fragile, and easy to lose." - Mia Makela, aka SOLU, in: Web site: Solu Dot Org : VJ Interview . 2005 . 2007-08-24 .
6. https://www.nettime.org/Lists-Archives/nettime-bold-0106/msg00027.html announcement of 242.nasdaq
7. Web site: A discussion of NATO.0+55+3d modular. Bernstein . Jeremy. 2001 . 2011-09-12 .
8. Web site: Trueman . Dan. DuBois . R. Luke. PeRColate - A collection of synthesis, signal processing, and image processing objects. 2001 . Columbia University . 2011-09-12.
9. Web site: Ralske . Kurt. Description of the Auvi Objects. 2011-09-12.
10. Web site: 2003. 242.pilots : a real-time video improvisation ensemble. live. 2016-02-17. 2021-04-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20160217022326/http://www.bek.no/~hc/242pilots/.
11. News: Makela . Mia . Mia Makela . Brusadin . Vanni . Vanni Brusadin . Small is Beautiful  - a packet switching conversation . Subsol . 2001 . 2008-01-20 .
12. News: Morey . Jeff . Jeff Morey . Xtravaganza avec nato @ Guggenheim . MaxMSP Mailing-list . 8 December 2000 . 2008-01-20 .
13. News: Bacalzo . Dan . Dan Bacalzo . Xtravaganza . theatermania.com . 25 April 2002 . 2008-01-20 .