Tag: Experimental Interaction

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Research Critique 4-Uncomfortable Interactions

Uncomfortable Interactions are interactions that cause physical or mental distress to those involved. Pain is often associated with agony and according to Freud, humans tend to make decisions with “avoidance of ‘pain’ or production of pleasure”[1] This suggests that suffering is unfavourable and so uncomfortable interactions are to be frowned upon. However, uncomfortable interactions, when “usefully designed into cultural experiences”[2]can be greatly beneficial.

‘Uncle Roy All Around You’ is a gaming experience involving both online and street players. Street players are equipped with handheld communication devices and online players guide street players via audio or text to find Uncle Roy. At the end of the game, they are asked if they are willing to agree to help a stranger in any personal trouble during whenever for the next one year.

https://vimeo.com/7182676[3]

In ‘Uncle Roy All Around You,’ two ways of engineering discomfort are as Benford, Greenhalgh, Giannachi, Walker, Marshall, and Rodden suggested: ‘establish(ing) intimacy with strangers’[4] and ‘surrender(ing) control to other people’[5].

A survey reports the likelihood of a person choosing to not talk to a stranger being much higher than one choosing to avoid talking to a friend[6]. This suggests that interactions involving engagements with strangers will result in discomfort. This discomfort, as concluded by Schroeder and Epley, stems from misguided assumptions of strangers not wanting to connect back and solitude providing a better experience when experimental results prove otherwise[7]. This game then encourages one to reconsider our natural avoidance of engaging with strangers (Is it justifiable?) and to confront with misconceptions on communication with stramgers. This uncomfortable interaction then is ‘a way of promoting certain other benefits, values or worth’[8].

Another way that the game introduces discomfort is depriving the player of control. The game has been termed ‘theatrical’[9] and theatre causes discomfort when it involves ‘surrendering control to the performers’[10]. In the game, players are under the control of a primary performer, Uncle Roy who decides their next move. Online players have control over the street players they guide. This evokes a sense of vulnerability for street players and uneasiness for online players who take charge of the street players’ fate[11].  This discomfort in being controlled, especially through online tracking easily links to the idea of surveillance. Furthermore, ‘All Around You’ suggests an omnipotence paralleling ‘Big Brother’[12]. The game being transmedia and the presence of computers also sets up a parallel for surveillance today where technology provides authorities access to personal information[13]. Hence, this encourages the reflection of a theme pertinent to modern society and is beneficial to deciding the direction that our society moves towards (e.g. Will more or less surveillance benefit?).

In relation to ‘Uncle Roy All Around You’, uncomfortable interactions can create bonds between people (dispel mistrust between strangers) and open up conversations about topics that may otherwise not be so fervently discussed. Hence, when thoughtfully designed and using a medium most suitable and can best attain the intended goals of the designers, uncomfortable interactions can be powerfully beneficial.

[1] Sigmung Freud and C.J.M. Hubback, Beyond the Pleasure Principle (London: International Psycho-analytical Press, 1922), 1.

[2] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[3] Blast Theory. “Uncle Roy All Around You”. Vimeo. Video File. October 21, 2009. https://vimeo.com/7182676

[4] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[5] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[6] Nicolas Epley and Juliana Schroeder, “Mistakenly Seeking Solitude.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2014, 2, 14-16, doi: 10.1037/e578192014-009

[7] Nicolas Epley and Juliana Schroeder, “Mistakenly Seeking Solitude.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2014, 2, 14-16, doi: 10.1037/e578192014-009

[8] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[9] Helen Freshwater and Lois Weaver, Theatre & Audience (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

[10] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[11] Steve Benford et al., “Uncomfortable Interactions,” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012, 1, doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347

[12] George Orwell, Nineteen eighty-four (London: Secker and Warburg, 1949).

[13] Joseph Cannataci et al, Privacy, Free Expression and Transparency: Redefining Their New Boundaries in the Digital Age (France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2016), 19

Bilblography:

Benford, Steve, Chris Greenhalgh, Gabriella Giannachi, Brendan Walker, Joe Marshall, and Tom Rodden. “Uncomfortable Interactions.” Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – CHI 12, 2012. doi:10.1145/2207676.2208347.

Blast Theory. “Uncle Roy All Around You”. Vimeo. Video File. October 21, 2009. https://vimeo.com/7182676

Cannataci, Joseph, Bo Zhao, Gemma Vives, Shara Monteleone, Bonnici Mifsud, Pia Jeanne and Evgeni Moyakine, Privacy, Free Expression and Transparency: Redefining Their New Boundaries in the Digital Age (France: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2016).Epley, Nicholas, and Juliana Schroeder. “Mistakenly Seeking Solitude.” PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2014. doi:10.1037/e578192014-009.

Freud, Sigmund, and C. J. M. Hubback. Beyond the Pleasure Principle. London: International Psycho-analytical Press, 1922.

Freshwater, Helen, and Lois Weaver. Theatre & Audience. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Orwell, George. Nineteen eighty-four, London: Secker and Warburg, 1949.

Slides:

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Micro-Project 2: Crowd Sourced Art

What is the content of the work and who is creating it?

This piece is a soundscape (combined sounds) of the surroundings of Alvin’s friends wherever they are. We/He asked them for a 10 second recording of their surroundings no matter where they are and combined the sounds into a single audio piece.

Where does this work take place?

We asked for the sounds through the social media messaging app Whatsapp and as Alvin’s friends were scattered all over Singapore, we can say that the work took place across the island.

How does this work involve social interaction?

As Alvin had to ask for the sounds from his friends, he actually managed to reconnect with some of his friends whom he hasn’t spoken to in a long time and through the sounds, he’s able to be updated on their lives and know roughly what they are doing and how they are now.

As audiences who are strangers with these friends, we may not actively interact with them but through the sound piece, we can roughly deduce perhaps where they are and what they are doing and how are they as people, who they surround themselves with physically (e.g. that singing diva friend). It’s a glimpse into another’s life and in hearing sounds that we are familiar with, we bring in our own experiences to identify where they are, what kind of a person they are etc. (the sound of MRT doors closing=that person is waiting for or boarding a train) and this is a kind of interaction that may not be active or evident but which is as meaningful. I think that with social media, a lot of focus has been on the visuals, the photos and videos and not too much on sound which is just as important a medium for reconnection and connection.

How is your crowd-sourced project different from one that is created by a single artist/creator?

The aim of this project was to create a connection/reconnection between people (between Alvin and his friends or the audience and his friends). As a person can only be at a place at one time, this combined audio piece strings the experiences of people at different places doing different things together and allows the audience to experience a small piece of a stranger’s life.

Lei mentioned in class that the sound piece sounded like a single person’s story/life in a single person as there are MRT sounds and sounds of people singing and seems to tell the experience of one. I think that this is powerful in showing that a harmonious and cohesive work can be created by multiple artists. As MRT sounds, the sounds of friends singing etc. are sounds that we ourselves are familiar with, there’s a possibility of the audience reflecting on their own experiences upon hearing them. Hence, a sense of unity and connection would surface.  A singular person can only be at a place at one time and at limited areas in a period of time. A singular person can only offer this many experiences and with the time limit given, perhaps only a few similar ones, but with multiple artists, we have diversity and as a an artwork on its own and with the audience coming in to experience, we can then achieve a sort of harmony because of and despite this diversity.

 

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Micro-Project 1: Creating the Third Space

Why did you choose this space or object to photograph?

The picture above shows the entrance of the drawing room. I chose to photograph the drawing room as it reminded me of once when I snuck into it (oops I’m sorry) to film something, broke a glass bulb and reported it. When we went there, I found that the sign being not lit (indicating that a class is not going on) but the room being lit and the door being open (indicating the presence of somebody) reflected my experience with the drawing room. Hence, I chose this photo.

What are some of the characteristics of this alternative virtual space you had created collectively?

This alternative virtual space offers a glimpse at the minds/personality of others that we may not otherwise be able to see from one’s appearance or mere conversations. As we are all taking photos of a same place at a particular time, there is a sense of bonding and belonging when we see posts of things that are relatable or familiar. The comments and conversations that take place in this virtual space is then built upon our idea or experience of this physical space (e.g making a makeshift bed to sleep between lessons).

As not all experiences are narrated and the captions are more or less short or just a hashtag, there is space for interpretation (not just of the photos but a person’s traits can be inferred from the account name, tone of the comments, the likes etc. all reflects a certain personality). This leads also to space for misunderstanding and assumptions and reflects the distance between two persons in this virtual space. While in this space we can feel a certain sense of familiarity tying everybody together, there is also a sense of distance exemplified by the attempts to understand each other’s photos and experiences and the comments in an effort to reach out to another.

This virtual space is also sustained in real time as everybody posts and adds onto it in a same timeframe. The interactions happen across distances (e.g. one at the ADM BBQ, one in class etc.) yet is confined to the screens of our phones.

Under what circumstance will this alternative virtual space change?

I think that this virtual space itself is ever changing, ever transforming with every like and comment and photos posted.

However, if somebody completely unrelated to the class or ADM contributes to this virtual space, the sense of belonging tied to ADM that we’ve built up through the photos might be disrupted. If more joins in, this virtual space may shift and broaden from being a place of congregation for ADM Experimetal Interaction students to a virtual space for people in general.

How does this project relate to what we discussed in the lecture regarding co-creation, the concept of Do-It-Yourself (DIY), Do-It-With-Others (DIWO)?

This virtual space is built upon the memories of each student in the class who has had experienced life in ADM. The sense of belonging that is evoked would not be possible if it was an individual effort.  While we view the artworks (every photo), we are also the artist (creators of photos), hence embodying the idea of doing it ourselves and doing it with others.

Instagram as a social media platform provides opportunities for people to share their lives and stories. It makes me wonder: when everybody does DIY, does it then become DIWO? When does something expand from DIY to DIWO? Sharing our lives in general would not have created this virtual space as this virtual space was created specifically by our memories and experiences regarding ADM and the spaces in it. I think that Do-It-With-Others requires some degree of similar experiences or interests between the artists/creators to bring them together to produce something cohesive and has a degree of completion.