Daniel Soltis
Shinyoung Park
You are the Universe
Play with cells!
Can you feel the transition of emotions? Is that theirs or yours?
http://blog.withrona.com/entry/you-are-the-universe-proposal
You Are the Universe is an interactive installation that considers an object on the screen as a living creature--specifically a human figure with cells moving through the body. The installation uses a combination of genetic algorithms and the distance between viewers and the screen to express emotion through the human's and the cells' movements.
Since Baudrillard asserted the destruction of the original by technology, virtual space has been claimed to be a threat to the real world. Sometimes technology confuses people by confusing them with illusions. However, we believe technology can help artists to liberate people\'s minds, let them dream, and make them happy by having a moment of peace in their busy lives.
There is a notion of the relationship between human and universe in Buddhism that asserts that \"Each human being is one small universe,\" that human beings are all connected to the infinite energy of the universe. A person should feel confident that everything will come true if a person believes it will be, because we have infinite resources connected to the universe.
Any viewers of a screen based installation, predominantly individuals and small groups who walk by or look at the screen.
When viewers are far away from the screen, they see a small moving figure. As an individual gets closer to screen, the figure grows, and becomes visible as a figure of a human body with different types of cells moving within it. If a viewer approaches even closer, the human body expands until it is larger than the screen, and the cells grow and fill the entire screen.
The movements of the figure and of the cells change over time in response to the distances of viewers from the screen, and the cells additionally evolve over time to better express their emotions.
The installation is screen based, written in Processing and Arduino, and uses an ultrasonic rangefinder to track distances of viewers to the screen.
As viewers approach the screen, the rangefinder tracks the distance of the nearest viewers to the screen, and the program categorizes the distance as too far, at a comfortable distance, or too close. Each distance is associated with an emotion (sad, happy, and angry, respectively), which controls the movements of the human figure and influences the evolution of the body\'s cells\' movements, using a combination of flocking algorithms and genetic algorithms.
Since Baudrillard asserted the destruction of the original by technology, virtual space has been claimed to be a threat to the real world. Sometimes technology confuses people by confusing them with illusions. However, we believe technology can help artists to liberate people\'s minds, let them dream, and make them happy by having a moment of peace in their busy lives.
There is a notion of the relationship between human and universe in Buddhism that asserts that \"Each human being is one small universe,\" that human beings are all connected to the infinite energy of the universe. A person should feel confident that everything will come true if a person believes it will be, because we have infinite resources connected to the universe.
Any viewers of a screen based installation, predominantly individuals and small groups who walk by or look at the screen.
When viewers are far away from the screen, they see a small moving figure. As an individual gets closer to screen, the figure grows, and becomes visible as a figure of a human body with different types of cells moving within it. If a viewer approaches even closer, the human body expands until it is larger than the screen, and the cells grow and fill the entire screen.
The movements of the figure and of the cells change over time in response to the distances of viewers from the screen, and the cells additionally evolve over time to better express their emotions.
The installation is screen based, written in Processing and Arduino, and uses an ultrasonic rangefinder to track distances of viewers to the screen.
As viewers approach the screen, the rangefinder tracks the distance of the nearest viewers to the screen, and the program categorizes the distance as too far, at a comfortable distance, or too close. Each distance is associated with an emotion (sad, happy, and angry, respectively), which controls the movements of the human figure and influences the evolution of the body\'s cells\' movements, using a combination of flocking algorithms and genetic algorithms.