Sketch Installation - Time

Concept

I wanted to take the opportunity to address a time based work in a public space. To make this piece approachable to the public, I want to make a sort of photo booth that can be used to grab stills at will. The way that I plan to incorporate time into the piece is to have the image degrade over time. I would like o have the presence of the viewer start a timer that will degrade the picture a bit more every second. The viewer will be able to take a snapshot at any time and print them Photo Booth style (3 - 5 images, 6x2 strips). There will be a counter superimposed on the screen so that the viewer correlates their time in the space with the degradation of the image. In further explorations of this, I would like to work new triggers and filters for multiple bodies detected in the space.

Space

I have decided to install my piece in the main lobby of the Conway center. This works great because most of the people loitering in this space are working on homework or studying and are often looking for a quick escape. Since I can not mount or hang this installation, I will have to create a stand that can support a TV and have chosen to create it based off of the the dimensions of the semi circular desktop in the lobby area.

Installation

After measuring the desk height, depth and rise of the "backsplash" lip and its depth. I then used the measurements to attach the mount to my stand that I constructed at home and ensured the TV and met the opposite end of the structure. I used a color CCTV camera and a GorrilaPod to mount on top of the extended TV and the feed was imported into Isadora. The visuals created by the patch were then output via VGA. In order to increase the fidelity of the Blob detection, I had to create a dark black backdrop and increased the threshold of that image in the patch.

Sketch Installation - Living Element

Concept

Chris and I decided to work together this in this sketch and in doing so we decided to work off of the comment that was made during Chris's responsive installation of him needing to be in the work. In this piece Chris would be the living element and our concept was that in our society today, people are to immersed in the digital realm. The only thing that is tactile is the device that mediates their interaction. The goal was to have a living being be the device and through the physical touch, they could activate the space. 

Chris is such a great subject because he is quite approachable and and his ideals fit well within the concept of the human spirit. In talking we decided to use the Makey Makey again but instead of using a device that can be handled by the viewer, Chris would become the device. In order to trigger the patch, the viewers would have to engage with Chris and only when they create a bond between their skin and his is when new videos would play.
The way we wanted the interaction to work out is for Chris to initiate contact with the viewer by extending his hand for a hand shake. This would set the ground and he would not allow them to release from his grip. The goal then was for them to trigger the the sensors along his chakra. The triggers were placed along his 3rd eye, heart and Naval. There was a 4th trigger on his left hand that was meant to create a full circular connection.

Space
We used the Raw space to have the access to the large projection screens that were created over the summer by Chelsea and Brent. We wanted to have the viewers feel hugged by the screen and planned on having chris stand right in front of them. This worked out well because it divided the space well enough to create our own smaller division of the room. We hung a short throw projector from the bars on the far wall in hopes that the viewers would all cast their own shadows onto the screen projection.

Installed