Oooops, Uh-Oh…….

Up until this week, my thesis consisted of words, plans, and numbers. Not too substantial considering its a study of physical perception/experience.

After weeks of grueling material collection and transport, i finally got down to the nitty gritty wood and screws of it all. It needed to happen, i was feeling totally stifled by ideas and predictions with no means of output.

Anyhoo, the issue of making a “thing” to house an experience which is intended to be the “thing” itself poses a problem. I was thinking (as i do sometimes) that if this is ultimately about the individual experience, it would be ideal if the “container” for the experience could just disappear. But this is not possible.

What i know:
a. the experience needs to be immersive and controlled
b. the user needs to be isolated from stimulus
c. the user needs to be relaxed and comfortable

So, despite my wanting the housing of the system to “disappear, i built a cratebeddiscodreammachine:

Again, despite my reluctancy to consider the “frame” of the experience, i did what had to be done and was unexpectantly pleased with the results. My denial of the “thingness” of the “frame” manifested as lack of consideration in design. It shows, in a good way. The materials are high-grade industrial (from the commercial carpentry shop next door) with no asthetic quality and chosed based on mere availability. The structure is simple a framed out 4×4′ cube fixed to a 8′ platform with wheels for mobility. Its essentially a crate on wheels.

I needed a comfortable surface to lay on. I considered reclining chairs but everything i looked at was too designed. I impulsively and without second thought bought the cheapest foam twin size mattress from ikea. It turned out to be ideal in its mass-fabricated clinical blah-ness.

The only other necessity was sound/interference insulation. I bought a good amount of the sound proofing foam commonly seen in recording booths and sound studios. A purchase rooted in pure function but again, i was surprised when it arrived and i realized the linear geometric patterning of the tiles worked perfectly with the generic lines in the mattress and angular cold quality of the cube space.

Finnaly, it seems, i have all components needed to make a fully immersive sensory depravation display environment. Thanks to the thoughtfullness of MZD, i managed to procure a hollow 1/4″ thick translucent acrylic sphere. I had planned on using the hemi-spheres available at Canal Plastics (and commonly seen on the ITP floor), but the full sphere is better as it has no seams and is already the perfect diffusion surface.

The first iteration of the set-up calls for only strobing light as the stimulus source. I am able to use an amazing custom led fixture from a previous project. This fixture will be controlled be custom software written in MaxMSP, that gathers the serial data from the EEG, analyses the measurement based on set perimeters, and then strobes the light at a precise rate. The rate of strobe will be a representation of the current state of consciousness of the user; if the most active detected mental frequency is Alpha (8-12Hz) the fixture will strobe at the rate associated with the brain state.

Ive yet to have the entire system up-n-running in an integrated fashion, but i have been able to test autonomous elements. I can say with authority that it is an authentically comfy-cozy welcoming mind fry.

I guess it all started here:

Mitch Altmans “Brain Machine” is microcontroller-driven sound and light (AV) device that employes the concept of Binaural Beats to allegedly alter states of consciousness. I was interested in the idea of consciousness-control via technology. It is not an absurd idea that technology itself may be a contributer to the various (and increasingly accepted) pharmaceutically treated “psychological disorders”. To me, it is an active feeling not-needing definition or articulation. The urban/metro lifestyle comes flashing its invasive barrage of media spectacles. Some think it charming. For me, it activates an undeniable sense of un-ease. A feeling that i am not-in control of my mental facilities. I feel it takes effect. It feels like information assault.

Consciousness-control is embraced by popular-culture. As a story, it has inspired countless a sci-fi films/books. As a ideology, it has motivated cult/outsider movements. The subject has warranted extensive scientific, academic and government research, The general interest and investigation begs the question; why is this subject still shrouded in taboo?

The idea that there may be something beyond our understanding is an idea that surely dates further than documentation represents. It dates to that very first moment, the moment of the first conscious doubt ever experienced…. The initial “Doubt”, experienced by some primitive early human who just happened to have a winning combo of sensory development. This lottery win of bio-enviro-electro variables allowed “doubt” to be perceived. And from the first moment of doubt, the endless question was born.

Anyhow, these ideas, in turn, led me to this:

An artwork by James Turrell titled Bindu Shards. Bindu Shards was a continuation of Turrell’s “perceptual cell” series and was designed to emmersively alter a single user/viewers state of conciseness. I was hired to develop the audio and light composition which was based on my research into Binaural Beats. The sphere was exhibited at Gagosian Gallery in London and was an intensive exploration into the effect of stimulus on an individual and the most effective way to design a system/environment to control these specific types of stimulus. At the point of exhibition, we had developed an effective instrument…. But what was left was the need for controlled testing, data feedback and analysis. I wondered what is REALLY going on here??

The “what is really going on ” question has led me to further exploration of the effects of phenomenological stimulus on the individual. And why is it such a popular fringe-notion? Perhaps simply because the very core of an “alternate-reality” is, in definition, ‘alternate’ and unknown to our conscious reality. The innate un-knowability of an idea/hunch/feeling is possibly against current scientific method? “In-conclusive evidence”? A “lack of control in experiments”? “Fuzzy Data”? No one seems to know.

Science aside, I like to think of it as intuitive vs. fantasticle. Too much information makes me feel unease. Its as simple as that. Could there be a way to exercise my cerebral “muscles”? Beef up my intellectual defenses? Is consciousness like a muscle? Could attention and practice allow development of areas we cant yet percieve? And if so, what methods and tools are effective in this exploration? So now its’ my thesis subject.

The results of my organizational “white board production plan”…. (the linear timeline thing wasn’t working’)
Funny thing is that its actually kinda helping….. ?

At First:

And Now:

… and for what it’s worth, the last one was a glitch and not my insanity

re·al·i·ty noun \rē-ˈa-lə-tē\
3 : television programming that features videos of actual occurrences (as a police chase, stunt, or natural disaster) —often used attributively
~ Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

My graduate thesis is an exploration into perceptual experience. I will create an environment which represents the belief(fact?) that reality (visual, physical, aural, olfactory) is the product of an individual internal process. There exists extensive neurological research on this topic, yet I aim to represent independently compiled data, for RE-presentation in the form of a immersive perceptual experience.

Yea, words. At the moment, these tricky little communication devices are my struggle. Somehow, I’ve ended up where i always do, wrapped up in theoretical purgatory. Despite my initial attempt at simplicity (some sort of practical device) I’ve wound up trying to make sense and communicate an extremely heady and complex subject(s). I should know better than to expect anything less.

That being said, please accept my pre-apologies for tangental verbosity. My ultimate goal with this thesis is to communicate ideas that have been present in my life the longest. I see these lifelong ideas as the closest to authentic.

Ill keep you posted.

xxx.