Some of the things I take away from my research:
- He does not like the term "collective intelligence" (Pierre Levy), prefers "connective intelligence" (Derrick de Kerckove). This seems to be a reaction to the utopian ideas behind collective intelligence. We agree.
- He currently has two streams of work: relational architecture, and sub-sculptures. Relational architecture being transformations of public spaces to promote new relationships and sub-sculptures being about dynamic and chaotic systems.
- Likes the idea of being surprised by public participation.
- Works off of Duchamp's premise that "Le regard fait le tableau" (the gaze creates the painting). Loves the dialogue between artwork and public. Sees artwork as having awareness.
- Likes the idea of temporarily changing public spaces, putting it back into the hands of the public, subverting the usual commercial or political purposes of such spaces.
- Is inspired by current scientific thought.
- Likes to reveal the mechanisms of surveillance, even in his own work.
- Shadows are an important aspect of many of his works.
- Vectorial Elevation is a work that has been enacted in other locations. If he could do a work specific to Vancouver, or one that more specifically involved its architecture, what would it be?
- In Vectorial Elevation, how does the delay affect the piece. How would real-time interaction change the piece?
- Why shadows? I have my own ideas but it would be nice to hear him talk about it.
- The tension between analog and digital in his sub-sculpture work.
- What does he think about AR? A lot of his work is about making the virtual visible in grand public gestures. I wonder what he might think about the private nature of most AR work (as in one device, one person...each having their own view of the world).
- Would like to hear more about spin-offs from his work (open software, other tech). He said in an interview that if artists had the budget of the defense department they would produce more innovation. I tend to agree. But I think that applies to a lot of fields. The defense department is overvalued.
- Sound does not feature prominently in his work. Or at least does not seem as deliberate in most cases. Why is that? Does he see that changing?
- Would love to hear his thoughts on the claustrophobia that can result from computer work. His work is so spacious, it seems an antidote to email apnea.
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You raise some excellent questions. I hope that you will report back here.
ReplyDeleteDid this happen already? I'd love to know what his answer is to "why shadows"? I'm writing a paper right now, and am trying to cite him, after discovering hsi work the other day (from reading your blog). Unfortunately the way he describes things is pretty opaque to me, and I can't figure out his motivation for explorign shadows.
ReplyDeleteI never got to the question about shadows. Given the discussion in the morning, it seemed like the wrong kind of question to ask. I do now regret now asking because it is such a prominent part of his work.
ReplyDeleteHe said during his talk that he likes the fact that everyone intuitively knows how to 'use' their shadow. Having an intuitive interface is an important aspect to all his work. He's also said in one of his documentation videos that it's a convenient way of mapping the 3D'ness of the body into a 2D plane for interaction with video or surface. He's also said he likes the plastic nature of shadows and their potential for play.
Metaphorically I feel like the use of the shadow is interesting because normally the shadow obscures rather than reveals. He has said he likes the idea of using the shadow as a window into artifical reality. The use of the word shadow in psychotherapy typically refers to unconscious psychological motivations. In one of his work he uses the shadow to trigger people 'kissing' in videos all taken from the internet. There is something poetic about that, in the sense that our shadow selves are often motivated by sexual urges (at least according to Freud).
He gives his inspiration for using shadows as coming from early phantasmagorical work by Samuel Van Hoogstraten, The Shadow Dance, 1675. Discussed his this text with a picture of the work: http://www.installationart.net/Chapter3Interaction/interaction03.html