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November 28, 2006
path; revealed sketch
Posted by Eugene Ahn at 02:53 AM
November 20, 2006
more on shadow idea
- Strobe light freezes shadows in place
- Phosphorescent screen(aka glow in the dark paper**) hangs on wall
- blue leds can be used to add details to shadow but not necessary; (this(blue) wavelength of light is best to show immediate results on the paper as seen in the video I showed in class)
So the paper can be purchased anywhere.
**In simpler terms, phosphorescence is a process in which energy absorbed by a substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light. This is the mechanism used for 'glow in the dark' materials which are 'charged' by exposure to light. Unlike the relatively swift reactions in a common fluorescent tube, phosphorescent materials used for these materials absorb the energy and 'store' it for a longer time as the subatomic reactions required to re-emit the light occur less often. (wikipedia)
But instead of the glow in the dark nature being of most significance it is the shadow revealed that is the true artform.
Posted by Amber Reed at 07:02 PM
November 16, 2006
imagine this... more descriptions to come
KEYWORDS
curiosity
immersion
voyeurism
miniature
contemplative
transformative
micro/macro
light/color
GENERAL SCOPE
to guide someone through a seemingly obscure path that leads to 'the light at the end of the tunnel'
--go through a tentative, searching journey and find a fascinating world at the other end (a la Narnia/wardrobe)
--the world is a miniature box with landscape or domestic scene that is affected with a manipulable screen behind casting light, color, and movement
INTRO
enter into a 15" world and reflect
UNIQUE
it's mini!
RESOURCES
model (foamcore, miniature train modeling materials, laptop, lightbulbs...)
Posted by Piama Habibullah at 01:53 PM
Project proposal (Elevator Pitch) Eric & Eugene
What are the keywords to describe your project? Labyrinth, path, harmony, residue, visualization, time lapse, movement, overlapping.
General scope of ideas?
Interactive Sound and light installation
What are your intents for the project?
Revealing continuous overlaps of personal paths as harmonious sounds and lighting in everyday space.
What is the starting point for someone experiencing the project?
At first, audience will walk through as they usually go down the hallway without noticing the installation on the ceiling. The movement will be tracked and will generate the sound and visual from above. The audience will realize the artwork and path they just made as well.
What does your project provide that other similar projects do not provide or provide differently?
The sound and visual will remain as a person leaves the space. When another person creates new path, the visual and sound generated by latter one will be added to the previous. Those components will be added up to certain time and will make orchestrated and harmonious sounds and visual.
What are the missing elements for your project?
Small speakers (approximately 20), sensors, camera, will be needed.
Posted by Eugene Ahn at 12:19 PM
Final Project Pitch: The Passageway (Second Post)
Riddhima and Charley
Keywords:
Labyrinth, negative space, shadows, interactive, touch, reaction, response, walkthrough
The Idea:
Imagine a corridor composed of large rods placed at different angles creating a sort of web that presents itself as impossible to pass through. Yet the goal of this project is to render the negative space of the rods as a passageway, and once the user is invited into the web he or she will find the rods moveable, enabling the corridor to be traversed, and the space transformed.
How we introduce the installation is important: The user must feel apprehension at first, but through encouragement to traverse the space, the user will then discover the truth to the elements at hand. Essentially this is about creating a labyrinth experience to confront the user in a pedestrian space.
This project presents several unique characteristics: not only would the structure transform a passageway, it would ask the user to stop and consider their option for navigation – the brave literally pushing forward, while the others would opt to avoid confrontation. Both of these responses are appropriate. This project demands that those who enter the general space make such a decision. Those who pass through the structure would be rewarded by discovering the journey of the labyrinth.
Recycled materials could be used entirely to create this structure, from cardboard tubes to metal poles and wire. It would simply take craftsmanship and a solid plan to realize this project. A 3D blueprint will be composed as the first step in building the Passageway.
Inspiration for this project comes from the Borges text, Buckminster Fuller, and a project by nArchitects (http://www.narchitects.com/frameset-party%20wall.htm).
Posted by Charles Miller at 11:51 AM
Displays of Emotion
elevator pitch:
Can the emotions of group of people be visualized?
A display can be created which shows the emotions of the crowd.
keywords:
infrared, camera, display, video, projection, emotion, motion
general scope of ideas:
Is it possible to visualize the emotions of a group through computations of detected behavior and biometric information.
parts of general scope in project:
Body heat and motion will be used to create a reading of the emotion of visitors.
intention:
Create a greater awareness of our bodies and inadvertent emotional information.
starting point:
What sort of emotional signals do humans give off intentionally or inadvertently? To what extent technology be used to enhance our understanding of these processes?
audience/users:
Visitors to any public space, museum, gallery, etc.
resources:
infrared camera, projectors, computer, MAX/MSP/Jitter
Posted by Andrew Doro at 11:40 AM
pneumatic introduction
keywords:
3-D media, big pixels, collaboration, Goldberg (Rube), ITP Welcome, networks, pneumatic, signage, spatial structures, tubes
introduction:
The project greets visitors to the 2006 ITP Winter Show and draws them out of the elevator and into the gallery space with a short mechanical animation sequence. As visitors exit the elevators, a recorded poem briefly introduces the birth of an idea and its subsequent high-energy journey into the world of collaboration. A single (red?) vibrating ball appears as the narration begins. As the narration evokes the collaborative process, the ball leaves its small sphere and joins a larger spherical mass of similarly vibrating (multicolored?) balls floating in space. At the climax of sequence, the spherical mass explodes and the balls flying away from the mass implant themselves on a sign to form the letters "ITP". As visitors disperse into the lobby, the sequence resets in preparation for the next wave of visitors. The entire sequence serves as a metaphor for my understanding of the creative process at ITP.
intentions:
- Draw the audience into the ITP winter show in 15 seconds
- Rapidly convey an impression of the collaborative process at ITP
- Experiment with air pressure to produce motion
similar projects:
My project could be accomplished by producing a pamphlet or a short introductory video, but I believe the 3-dimensional rendering of a concept in space has the potential to deeply engage viewers.
Posted by Michael Chladil at 11:04 AM
The LumE-Shades
Keywords:
Enhance – Design – Signature Space – Informational – Beautify – Touching.
The Product: The LumE-Shades
I would like to tell you about the LumE-Shades (Luminous Enhancing Shades). These shades(blinds) would beautify any area while enhancing the space with its luminous dividers painted with moving scenes and / or static images which are projected onto it. You can Design your own signature space consisting of a collage of patterns and/or images, videos, or just information about your environment. Your message will be experienced by all who walks in and get in touch.
Here’s how it works:
This blinds which made of a translucent material, such as acetate, can be arranged either vertically or horizontally (again you can design your signature space), enhancing a space in order to encourage variants of movement, positively adding character! Images would be projected onto the blinds and filtered onto the floor or any other surface giving life to any stagnant object within its reach. If a person interacts with the blinds, for example via touching, they can modify what they see by navigating to different views projected. Sounds could also be a reward to their interaction. This allows the participant to further explore and induce information…
Its Application:
This new form of space enhancement can and should be applied beyond traditional art spaces. Waiting areas at doctor offices, hotel lobbies, nightclubs, airports, recording studios, our homes, even elevators, and other areas where you want a mild separation yet it inspires curiosity. You are encouraged to further explore the imagination or desires. It’s very easy to redesign the setup and display contents, some with the click of a button or wave of your hands. It can also be used as an advertising tool providing information or inspiration to others. Or just to make many people feel good. You have the means at your fingertips. Please take my information and have a look at the website, and feel to stop by and experience the LumE-Blinds.
Posted by Allistar Peters at 04:08 AM
November 15, 2006
Ｆinal Project Proposal - LET'S EAT!
Keyword:
Screen
Projected object/surface
Food
Photorealistic
Virtue world
Real world
In these 2 months at ITP, I found that the moment which can gather most people together is the Friday evening food time. However, within limited budget, there is always a situation of not enough food. So, I decide to make a semi-virtue food table in the reception area where they can stay at the entrance, eat and look at the work.
I will put a table with white fake food. By projecting photorealistic textures, the fake food will look “real”. I hope I can put some real eatable food around so that people can take some and it looks like we are serving a lot of food to the visitors. It will be put in the entrance of the floor.
Inspired by the Niemark installation, I found that projected objects are always being ignored in the space. Usually, audience will even ignore the existence of the physical screen or projected surface. In my work, I want to display the real and virtue world in one setting, By putting in real objects with photorealistic projections, it combines the real and semi-virtue world.
Resource available:
3D printing in the Advance media Studio (their material is non reflective)
Further development:
At first, I want to make a semi virtue rotating sushi table (because I miss those sushi shop so much……) Since those sushi shops are always in long queues, I think it will be a good idea to make a virtue table projecting what’s new in the shop so people can think about it during the tedious lining up period. Further information of the ingredients of different sushi can be added or even used for take out order.
Posted by Catherine Tai at 11:45 PM
Touch Labyrinth
Keywords:
Play, Touch, Feel, Search, Discover, Interact, Pillow, Body, Organ, Puzzle, Game
It is a project about the sense of touch, puzzles and the idea of play.It is a game that encourages people to physically interact with each other in order to solve a puzzle. With the use of fabric and materials of different textures, players will have a rich tactile experience.
My project will be a game where people have to find something hidden inside a labyrinth. They cannot see inside the labyrinth, and have to explore it through touch. Participation of more people and physical interaction between them is encouraged, as it makes the puzzle easier to solve.
Player enter the labyrinth by inserting their hands into holes on the surface of a big, pillow-like sack that feels (and smells) like a pillow. The holes are entrances to tunnels made of materials with varying textures. When their hands meet inside the labyrinth, light shines either internally or externally to reveal a clue: the clue can be either a map of the underlying structure of the labyrinth or a clue as to where to "look".
The audience will be people visiting ITP's winter show. Similar labyrinth projects may have been done before, but it is unusual for them to engage the sense of touch.
Resources available:
scrap material, thread, LEDs, aluminum foil for switches
Missing elements:
more material, thread, perhaps EL tube
Plan:
This project doesn't require too much funding for its completion. Visit to fabric stores to buy scrap material.
Posted by Kyveli Vezani at 11:18 PM
without a Shadow of a doubt
Keywords:
Inverse
paint
light
shadow
flash
strobe
silhouette
freeze
frame
graffiti
capture
General Scope:
To allow the community to visualize an otherwise ignored feature of themselves. To admonish the factor of appearance in order to begin to appreciate ones true self. To create an inverse aspect of play that allows users to explore the creative and to encourage use of both sides of the brain.
Parts of general scope:
inverse aspent of play
How to introduce:
Do you remember how fun it was to play with glow in the dark objects? Well now you can paint, pose, create on a shadow capture wall...Imagine yourself as Peter Pan finally able to catch his shadow...actually freeze those shadow puppets in their place...not creative enough for you?!??! Draw some graffiti art using specialized pens, and much much more!
Your intentions:
To allow people to experience the beauty from within
Starting point:
stand in front of the phosphorescent paper and strike a pose.
Audience:
for ages 0-infinity
Project provide:
It allows users to think in a different way, being that you are using the glow in the dark qualities to view the non glow in the dark areas. Lets users draw on a space otherwise noted for other a cleanly appearance.
Resources available:
flash lights used for photography
LED's
Missing elements:
Phosphorescent paper
How do you plan to provide these elements:
make it : http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/glowinthedark.htm
buy it: http://www.misterart.com/store/view.cfm?group_id=2265&store=001
Posted by Amber Reed at 03:29 PM
November 12, 2006
Complimentary Color Lamp
Brief: This project incorporates Bauhaus professor Johannes Itten's ideas on color harmony into a mobile light installation.
Elevator Pitch: In his seminal book on color theory "The Art of Color" ("Kunst der Farbe"), Johannes Itten outlined how to find complimentary colors using the red yellow blue (RYB) color wheel.
Itten designed a Color Star to give students of art and design a means for creating harmonies in their compositions by selecting colors on the wheel that lay in specific relation to one another (120 degrees, 90 degrees, etc.).
This light installation uses Itten's Color Star as a basis for selecting four harmonious colors - each of which will be displayed in one component of a moving lamp. As the lamp slowly rotates, the color wheel will also rotate, selecting four new harmonious colors.
The lamp will have 4 circular bulbs, each of which will display its own unique color. The bulbs will intersect with one-another in the center. The base of the lamp will stand on a motor, rotating the lamp in 360-degrees. The base will be mounted from the ceiling.
Demo: View a Quicktime Movie.
Keywords: Light installation, lamp, color wheel, ambient, complimentary colors, mobile, Bauhaus, Johannes Itten.
General Scope: Exploring the impact of ambient modulate-able lighting in a space.
Intentions: To use lighting as a way of modifying the appearance and mood of a space. As such, the installation should be put in a space where it will have a great impact (the center of a room, the corners of a space).
Audience: Could be used as an illumination system in a public space or as a art object in a home lighting system.
Comparison: It's fairly different construction than the the disco ball, which is used primarily in clubs and concert venues. Traffic lights only have 3 colors - nor do they rotate. And it's far less practical than a lamp or chandelier, because the lights are constantly changing color and direction. I'm not familiar with the history of light installation, so any references would be greatly appreciated.
Resources: I already have the majority of the physical computing technical requirements available to me (8 RGB LEDs, 1 Arduino microprocessing board, 2 shift registers, 1 DC motor, 1 potentiometer). I could use some additional direction to the industrial design of the project - wether or not to use rounded plexiglas or glass bulbs(or other light diffusing materials). I plan to visit some lighting shops, Canal Plastics, the NYU AMS and consult with my fellow students with backgrounds in industrial design.
Posted by Jeremy Rotsztain at 03:21 PM
November 10, 2006
MInsky
Its funny to read the Minsky paper because I have done some research in a bioinformatics lab doing some imaging work with cells and neural maps/networks of axons and boutons...to read the brain in such a light as linkage to nerve endings is exactly how I think of it. The fact that the brain only functions in these capacities is only logical because of its fundamental purpose. But then when I think about the brain again I see it as this diverse tool that you can train in different realms depending on the task...making the difference using the right or left sides. The unconscious/mind is a powerful thing that from the simplest alter can cause someone to go crazy. With the capabilities that exist its no wonder UNCF uses the phrase "the mind is a terrible thing to waste." So yes the brain sits inside of the skull hidden from the light, but it serves sooo many purposes we have to protect it from harm.
Posted by Amber Reed at 06:49 PM
November 09, 2006
Final Project Brainstorm
PROJECT PROPOSAL: CRAZY PEOPLE SNATCHING DEVICE
The ITP Winter Show is a crowded, or very crowded experience.
I want to sort of work with that to single out a single element of the crowd every once in a while. Somehow change that person's sense of space by spontaneously transforming that person's relationship with the others in the crowd.
One way to do this is to transform someone into a performer ephemerally.
In my opinion, a really good way to this is to try to suck them with a vacuum cleaner nozzle into a nest of snakelike nozzle embedded in the ceiling above. Structurally, there is a long vacuum cleaner tube curled really beautifully in the ceiling space above, with a fairly large nozzle. This nozzle would move horizontally like the head of a UFO Catcher system, and then every now and then drop down and turn onto max power, futilely trying to suck up the head of an attendee into the otherworld above.
This invites an attendee to perform for his audience.
I'm not even kidding! If I was king...
OR:
Another idea is to use an UFO Catcher kind of claw as the snatcher, and even place controls for it somewhere accessible and in another room with a video feed of the entrance. This is an equally good idea, and provides a lot of familiarity as a gimmick: people can think "Fuck! I'm in a fucking UFO Catcher!" and one other person might think "Holy shit I playing a people catcher!". However, I'm not sure how the metaphor would weaken when if don't allow the snatcher to descend far enough to actually grab people.
Posted by Kunal Gupta at 12:24 PM
Final Project Pitch
Riddhima and Charley
What are the keywords to describe your project?
Labyrinth, negative space, shadows, networks…
What is the general scope of ideas?
Our inspiration is drawn from the Borges’ labyrinth, yet we want to create a space that feels impossible to maneuver through yet providing many paths through the negative space and a finite end.
What parts of the general scope are specifically covered by your project?
Conceptually, everything is covered – but execution might ask of us to refine our scope.
How to introduce your project?
Perhaps a large hanging model that asks the pedestrian to either duck under or step through the space.
What are your intents for the project?
To take our labyrinth model and build one on a larger scale. We want to create a labyrinth experience to confront the user in a pedestrian space.
What is the starting point for someone experiencing the project?
Seeing the large model, the user would might initially think the labyrinth is impassible. But being forced to pass through the corridor, the user will find options to navigate. There is no either route to the other side other than to attempt to navigate the labyrinth.
What does your project provide that other similar projects do not provide or provide differently? Intrigue of a route or path, self-discovery, draws the onlooker into the work, forced interaction. No defined linear path, user may find easiest way to pass.
What are the resources available to you today for this project?
Buckminster Fuller among others.
What are the missing elements for your project?
Proper materials to build our model on a larger scale.
How do you plan to provide these element?
Research and searching for elegant, cheap, strong materials.
Posted by Charles Miller at 12:03 PM
Minsky
Really interested in the Minsky article. I actually own the book at home but I am ashamed to say I've never bothered to read it. This reading reminded me of the sort of things I studied as an undergraduate. I was interested in how the mind works. The frustrating thing is that the deeper problems of understanding cognition don't have any easy solutions. I liked the quote from Samuel Johnson regarding the problem of defining a word like "bitterness." The dictionary winds up being circular because although everyone knows what "bitter" is it can't really be explained.
I'm fascinated by the way the brain creates a mirror universe of the outside world, and that which we can't perceive with our senses.
I'm surprised to read that Minsky called AI "brain dead." Since the invention of computers brain researchers have been using computers as the latest metaphor to help understand how the brain works. But it's interesting to look at the differences between the brain and computers, and what sorts of things each is good or bad at.
The Wired article is too short for me to really get a sense of Minsky's feelings about AI. Maybe computers are just autistic. In any case, it's difficult to get computers to do certain things humans can do, but it can be very informative. But part of me says we shouldn't try to force computers to do things they aren't good at! Computer intelligence is good for some things and human intelligence is good for others, and it would be far more productive to create better human-computer interfaces.
Posted by Andrew Doro at 12:51 AM
November 07, 2006
Brain Dead
Marvin Minsky appears to discourage us from developing systems for artificial intelligence or more simple systems for sensing of human activity. It's a shock coming from one of the founders of MIT's Media Lab. But I've learned that he's called the field of AI that he helped to pioneer "brain dead". So he's cynical (realistic?) and also has a sense of humor. Apparently, he hasn't given up yet.
Minsky points out the complexity of human thinking and sensory mechanisms, showing a simplified structure of society that is far more complex that what the average programmer or engineer can teach a robot. He points out that while it is very easy to teach a machine how to recognize the color red, it's nearly impossible to teach it the plethora of meanings that or any particular color has in different contexts.
Strange. Minsky actually built the first Artifical Neural Network simulator in the early 1950s, well before writing "Society of Mind". Neural networks are system that mimic the connections in the human brain. They could be fed information, gather and organize it, and make sense of the multiple meanings and relationships of the color red or any other topic for that matter. Perhaps he saw views his invention as a flop.
Minsky also encourages us to build machines that have multiple-sensing capabilities - be they depth or color or perspective - that can make better sense of the world than a single touch or distance sensor. Good consideration for future PComp projects ... or even our Spatial Design final. A two-dimentional video sensor just doesn't show enough information to figure out the size and distance of an object, but two cameras pointed in slightly different directions (like the human eyes) would.
Personally, I have little interest in building multi-sensory machines that mimic human intelligence. I'm perfectly content with making specialized mechanisms (machines or software) that perform specific tasks and do them well.
Posted by Jeremy Rotsztain at 11:52 PM
November 05, 2006
victims II
The details of this annotated story kept me hanging inch by inch trying to figure out what was next in the path of the man and the woman. Not reading this story before, I imagined an ending that would be a "big bang" or something I wasn't ready for...the author did a great job in leading us through the labyrinth of diction. Every word had a twist or turn and a different path. I could grasp what we were to compose with our assignment.
With such detail and accuracy I hope Piama and I are able to pay as much attention. The weaving of our lives is a delicate balance between the real and the imaginary and to explore these concepts is a complicated one in which can leave someone crazy I think. It leads me in a circle. I think thats why people have faith...to believe that God or Jesus or the devil or such and such did something for mankind and thats just the way it is leaves people satisfied with their lives to not have to explore the reason why they live further. Is it bad for me to say that I am not truly convinced?
Posted by Amber Reed at 10:25 PM