masaki fujihata
The artist that I have chosen is Masaki Fujihata. He is a Japanese sound, installation and interactive artist. As a professor at the Faculty of Environmental Information at Keio University in Kanagawa, Makasi Fujihata is one of the pioneers of Japanese new media art. As such, he was an early practitioner of the application of new technologies to the process of art-making.
He is most recognised for his interactive network installations such as Removable Reality (1992), Impressing Velocity (1994) and Beyond Pages (1995).
Masaki Fujihata’s primary concern: “to employ multimedia technology in order to examine the possibilities for communication within virtual spaces”
Chosen Artwork: Beyond Pages, Interactive Environment, 1995
Beyond Pages is an computer-based interactive installation created in 1995 by Masaki Fujihata. In this interactive piece, one enters a seemingly natural situation of a table and chair. He or she sits down and finds a virtual picture book on the table. The pages shows one item each in images and letters. Upon touching an item, for example an apple, someone bites into it, accompanied with sounds of apple biting. Or another example, when a lamp is touched, the actual table lamp will turn on.
Through Beyond Pages, Masaki believes that technology has the potential to shape valuable content through fantasy, concentration, curiosity, and reminds us of the true function of books. A sphere of cognition and imagination is played with in Beyond Pages.
References:
http://we-make-money-not-art.com/beyong_pages/
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/infoarts/links/actobjects/activatedartists.html