Experimental Interaction – G5

To understand Grand Theft Avatar, we must first understand its medium, the online 3D virtual world, Second Life. While it has a virtual currency, it is technically not a game in that there “is no manufactured conflict, no set objective” (Catherine Smith). It is, however, similar to what we know as sandbox games, and massive multiplayer online role-playing games Read more →

On a November evening in 1980, a remarkable performance art, Hole in Space was held on the two sides the United States. Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz had their two life-sized screens installed at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and the department store at the open-air Shopping Center in Los Angeles. The Read more →

Randall Packer asserts that “The laws of the known world have been all but abandoned in the third space: it is a space of invention and possibility.” Indeed, Telematic Dreaming brings two people, thousands of kilometers apart, together. While it should not be possible that they would both be able to interact with each other simultaneously in a shared space, Read more →

Felicia and I thought of a couple other ideas before settling on our final idea: we thought about playing hide and seek on camera (with penalties), dancing to Bruno Mars songs, or interviewing people in religious places in an attempt to understand different religions better – in the end, we settled on a Tinder-in-real-life concept.

Felicia and I would find guys Read more →

Sherry Rabinowitz & Kit Galloway, Hole in Space, 1980. 

On November 1980, Sherry Rabinowitz and Kit Galloway had set up a live sized two way broadcast connecting the East and West coast through a satellite, called “Hole in Space”. It was unannounced, with no signs, no credits nor explanation to what it is. This installation ran for Read more →

https://youtu.be/nO62nBxlYIw

The Big Kiss (2007) performed by Annie Abraham. Two people, one of which is Annie Abraham, sit in two separate places in front of a webcam. Their two feeds go onto a screen split down the centre, and they ‘kiss’ each other through this screen. This screen is thus the third space which is discussed in Randall Packer’s Read more →

Telematic dreaming is an interactive piece created by Paul Sermon. What’s interesting about this piece is that it requires the audience’s efforts to make it work. Such a medium is unique as the outcome is determined by the public, instead of it being thoroughly carried out by the artist himself.

In this piece, two beds are far apart- by 5000 kilometres. Read more →

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHctMuI_HU&t=181s

ABOUT:

Founded by Linden Lab who first launched Second Life in 2003, it has pioneered to become a virtual world where many transacted millions across this platform. Second Front (2006), a team of 7 live performers, were the first to perform in the online virtual world of Second Life. The main source of influence Read more →

Research Critique on ‘The Big Kiss’ (2007) by Annie Abrahams

‘The Big Kiss’ (2007) is a performance installation by Annie Abrahams. Using webcam technology, two performers engaged in the act of kissing through a split screen. Annie Abrahams is intrigued by the ‘possibilities and limits of communication in general and more specifically investigates its modes under networked conditions’. Hence, her works Read more →

The moment I received this assignment, I went ahead to watch the video Grand Theft Avatar by Second Front. To be honest, I was completely lost in the video because I could not understand what was going on in the video. Upon researching and re-watching the video a couple of times, I think I am able to gain a better Read more →