cycle 3 : playful practices : katie O
Posted: December 14, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »For cycle 3, I chose to continue adding elements of interactive and participation into the work. I created a control panel where participants could change the settings of the image being projected, such as zoom, spin, shimmer, kaleidoscope, and others. I also implemented some textures from my previous work that would add different imagery into the space. The last element I added was my canon 70D camera on a tripod, which I set to a long exposure setting and people could take photos of the space if they wanted. This was in relationship to previous cycles, which included a handheld camera, a phone using NDI watcher, faux Fresnel lenses, a tucked away pico projector and camera feedback loop in micro scale, and emergency blankets.
Part of me wondered if the set up would be too chaotic and if there were too many options in the space. Seeing as this was a very process-oriented course, I decided to keep all the elements out as the idea of pairing down could come in later iterations. It does make me think about my work and how my process tends to involve laying many options out and then slowly scaling back as needed.
I’m excited by how this work has a wide mix of digital elements, software systems, physical interactions, and tangible items. The Isadora patch is surprisingly less complex than I imagined it would be, as it contains a video watcher and an NDI watcher and a movie player. The complexity comes through the triple head set up and matrix connection, and then the rest is left to what choices are being made in the space.
I was considering what aspects of the space participants truly get to interact with. It seems at times that interactive art lets you experience your body’s movements causing change in the space, but distance between participants and the technology itself is still a large divide. In this set up, especially since this group is trained to work with technology, I wanted to let them have their hands on as much tech as possible in addition to experiencing the result. This idea manifested as the participants got to hold the cameras projecting the live feed, they were able to push the button that took photos, and they had the chance to be at the computer and choose which filters to add to the projected images.
While watching participants interact with the space in cycle 3, I noticed how I was beginning to feel drawn to this type of work as a pedogeological method, or as a process in creative making. This differed from my original intention which was thinking of it as an installation or interactive performance. There was a clear sense of curiosity and playfulness in the interactivity of participants, which left me feeling like there was no sense of a wrong choice in what they were drawn to. Instead, it seemed that they followed their instinctual interests and felt free to change their interaction whenever they wanted. As an instructor, I’m inspired by bell hooks theory that learning comes from a place of deep joy, which occurs when you are genuinely interested in what you’re doing. Education can be a place of creating space for students to follow their curiosities, which I felt emerged from this cycle.
I was surprised, considering my previous concerns, in the feedback following this cycle that some people wished for more elements to interact with. After I heard that comment, I thought about my experience in Other World, and realized that it never felt like too much, and that I wasn’t too worried if I didn’t interact with every element. I like the idea of letting ideas flow easily in and out of my process and being able to try something and let it go or realize that may support my work at another time even if it’s not today.
I feel much more confident in this work after cycle 3. It didn’t fully resonate that I was able to fully set up this space alone – not that I always want to work alone, but that I feel a deeper sense of understanding as I cultivated the ability to set it up on my own. I’m very grateful for Alex’s patience and interest in teaching, and his genuine commitment to helping students achieve their goals.