Category: Process

Motivation machine v 2.0

IMG-20160209-WA0055Concept
To parody the idea of ‘mindless’ pursuit. In the midst of trying to
‘climb to the top’, I want to take two steps back and reflect on what
it actually looks like to be ‘driven’.

In our pursuit, are we blind to other things that may be important?
Have we lost sight of the things that we are not in pursuit of?
Things like family, friends, the lives of other people. While we are
so busy chasing these goals, have we perhaps forgotten
something?

 

Device v 2.0 has new add on features.

1. Adjustable Macro lens filters that creates the depth
of field
instead of relying on the eyes.
2. Helmet with side blinds to prevent the subject from
looking away
from their goal.
3. Platform for object of motivation to be place, not
limited to money

AR v0.4 + , Space and Place The Perspective of Experience

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In this exercise, i created a scene from class using a real images and then creating a 3d space using the images as a kind of  background.

I titled it, “I’m trapped in class.”

I am currently also exploring this technique and how we can use it to merge virtual reality and reality to embed layers of meaning in a space.

AR technology allows us to change the way space is perceived, giving a different texture to how we feel about a place.

My goal is to create an augmentation that will enhance the qualities of the space, perhaps even explain how we understand space itself and explain our relationship with the space.

In an attempt to understand space better, i happen to come across a reading recommended by a ex-Prof of mine, Space and Place The Perspective of Experience by Yi-Fu Tuan. I highly recommend this reading as it provide invaluable insight to my own understanding of  space.

 

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When we begin dealing with virtual and augmented reality, recreating this sense of space is essential. For a long time we have been consuming moving images on a static screen, the sense of space can be created through use of lighting, colors and even types of shots.  Using different types of shots to capture the space we see, we begin to change our understanding of how space is perceived.

In Ways of Seeing ,John Berger puts it as such,

 “Photography, in particular the movie camera, changed this. What you saw depended on your place in time and space. The camera changed the way artists saw. Impressionists saw the visible in continuous change [as the light changed so did the appearance of the object] and Cubists no longer recognised a single vantage point [so, for example, they would paint a face with an eye seen from one vantage point and the nose from another.”

Our perception of an image is limited to the way our eye sees it. As explain in my other post, our stereoscopic vision enables us to see things with the perception of depth. A camera would hence remove that perception. A Cubist painting would focus on the idea of having multiple perspectives. All of this attempts to capture what we see in a single moment in time, yet obscuring the other two senses need for us to perceive space , Kinesthesia and touch.

The word kinesthesia or kinæsthesia (kinesthetic sense) strictly means movement sense, but has been used inconsistently to refer either to proprioception alone or to the brain’s integration of proprioceptive and vestibular inputs.

I believe what AR does for the way we perceive photos through lens is what the Cubist movement did for painting. ( Though I am open to opposition.) Not only is it important that we can now perceive an image with a sense of movement , we can even use multiple images to create movement, recreate sound and simulate reality. The context of which has been explored not only in games but also works of art such as Jeffrey Shaw’s Golden Calf.

 

In this short exercise, my goal is not so much as to push the limitations of the technology, but to explore deeper what this technology can create.

One topic that interest me greatly is Emotions.

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Looking deeper into the reading, Yi-Fu Tuan described relationship of space and how our mind creates the association with it to ‘enormous horizon’. Beyond the physical distance, our mind is able to create and feel an emotion that we associate with the space. Being in a vast space makes us feel small in contrast. Walking in an empty space can create a sense of isolation and loneliness. Being in a corner feels tight and uncomfortable. Being in a crowd with faces we do not recognize can make us feel distant. How fast or slow we move through space also creates an emotion.

 

Question.

( How )Can we create a relationship with a space? What would the space be? What is the movement allowed in the space?  Can we convey an idea of the space? Can we understand space better so as to make use of it better ? How does our understanding of space change the way we create works?

If i had not done the reading I did, or attended the lectures I did, would I have created the same works I do? 

More importantly, what did I learn and how do i apply it.

 

AR test v0.1

In this video, I attempted to create a “prison” using Unity’s SDK for android.

My concept for this project is to explore the narrative of space.
What can certain space tells us? How does it make us feel?

By adding a new dimension to a space, the virtual dimension, can we enhance the quality of a space?

Inside a prison because the room itself is small, it creates the feeling of being trapped. When we are inside a small room, it takes away our mobility.

 

The limitation of using an android device to create that augmentation is that it does not allow us to move. So the two options would be to either create a function in which people can move with the device, or to create a space which is design to limit mobility.

Sonicity: Songs Of Atoms Time And Space

stanza_sonicity_artwork

 

http://www.stanza.co.uk/sonicity/index.html

 

What I love about this artwork is how it uses the data and the space and convert it into sound.

It creates a soundscape that makes us listen to the gallery’s data.

However what makes me even more intrigued is the way the speakers are arranged. The speakers  are places in different planes and on different height. A good use of repetition not only helps to enhance the visual interest of the space, but is also important in defining the parameters of how much space is being occupied.

The wide range of speakers also allow a wider range of data to be heard. The artist also uses software to convert the streams of data into sound.

 

There are a total of 170 speakers,Stanza_soncity-

 

I think how we think about the space is important .

 

What kind of sound do I want to gather? What kind of  feelings will it invoke? If the audience is responsible for creating the sound, then how much freedom are we giving them?

 

Concept for interactive spaces – Building a fan base

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So My concept for interactive spaces’s first big assignment is to create an interactive environment using FANS.

 

 

Exploring with the concepts learned in lesson.

ice_screenshot_20160204-212401

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Quick exploration of organization

ice_screenshot_20160204-212554

 

Exploration of space with hierarchy using size.

 

 

The concept is fairly simple. Place fans around a given space with a grid on to .  Have objects where the audience can create sound and visuals using the fans.

 

Tentative ideas

  1. Paper – paper makes a great sound
  2.  Balloons with objects inside them like bells , when attached with a weight it will rise and fall.
  3. Pipes
  4. leaves
  5. glass?
  6. Balls
  7. Plastic bag
  8. Cardboard – placed between the blades to create a clicking sound.

The objective is to create an interactive soundscape,

We can even feed the sound into a mic system and use the as the background sound.

 

I think that the different kind of sounds can really affect how this project will look.

Further more, we can even enhance the visual treat such as adding glow sticks to the fan blades

 

I think that the space can feel very surreal if we lit it like a neon forest.

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Show me the money

Show me the m

 

 

The artwork aims to make a statement on the irony of motivation.

Many of us have experienced this before. We are obsessed with this idea of  achieving something that we tunnel vision. In the midst of this rat race, we lose sight of what around us.

 

I think this idea can be pushed even more. Is it just money that causes this short sightedness, can this also be a result of things place in front of us to misdirect us.

When we think about the media, even social medias like Facebook, how much of the information we receive is carefully constructed to let us see only what they want us to see? How much of what we know is a result of knowledge being hidden from us?

 

I think it is also interesting that we cannot see where we are heading towards when this tunnel vision occur. I wanted to mock this idea of blinding motivation because even though we are chasing this goal or this object, we will never reach it.  We are merely chasing something that is futile. We look absolutely ridiculous if all we ever do is to chase this futile thing.

IMG_9176 copy IMG_9174 copy IMG_9173 copy

 

 

(In all honesty , I did not anticipate exactly how ridiculous it looks though to put an umbrella on  my head. )

 

 

I think that while I did think about the concept, the execution of the project could have felt a little more solid . I love the idea of changing how our eyes perceive certain things by simply placement of an object. I love how we can draw parallels between what happens physically to our body and what happens in life. I love the metaphors that we can use to help us understand certain choices better and in the midst of this occlusion and distortion, maybe even see a little clearer.

 

 

Color blinded Prototype to Motivation Machine

 

 

Prototype failed

The filter effect was not what I expected.

That’s fine, I have another concept to play with…

Putting an item in front of you to distract you.

I want to create a device that will be placed in front of you.

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The core idea  of this is that we are motivated by what we see in front of us. At the same time everything else is blurred out. I had this idea when something was place in my view and my vision just blurred out and focused at it.

Distorting Space and Time

 

Step inside “Momentum,” the massive installation from United Visual Artists (UVA) at London’s Barbican Centre. The experience is a void of darkness filled with only 12 illuminated pendulums swinging rhythmically from the sky, creating an evolving composition of light and sound. The unexpected contrast of natural and synthetic patterns is designed to distort your perception of time and physical space

 

I think perhaps the most fascinating thing about this project was how simple the construction was.

 

It was 12 lights that swing from the sky.

And yet that idea was able to capture something beautifulUVA_BARBICAN_PRESS_140212_9807 UVA_BARBICAN_PRESS_140212_9797

 

I think the movement of the light really shows when the images are taken with light exposure.

It’s really quite amazing how a space can be changed with some simple moving lights.

 

 

I think one take away for my own project would be to explore the relationship of time and space using lights.

How do we perceive light and how does that distort reality?