There were a few digital pieces that I found interesting in chapter 3. The first one was the work by Sommerer and Mignonneau called Life Species. The art consists of a website and a physical environment. People that visit the website can type in words or messages that become the genetic code for virtual creatures. The piece represents the fluid transition between digital information and the programming of the code. The visitors also interact with the piece through body movements, motions and gestures.
I really enjoy the idea of having a creature that is created from words and messages and having the ability to interact with those created creatures. It is very exciting that every creature is different depending on the information you have given it.
The second work that I really enjoyed from this chapter was the piece called Autopoeisis by the artist Kenneth Rinaldo. The sculptures have sensors that react to visitors’ movements by moving their arms towards them, only to stop inches from their face. They also have tiny cameras that project their views onto the wall space around the exhibit. The sculptures also make telephone dial tones, conveying all sorts of emotions.
I was really drawn to this piece because I find it so interesting that these technological sculptures communicate with each other and the visitor. The idea of machines talking one another, and conveying emotions such as stress, fear or relaxation is a little creepy t o me. I feel like we are in the technological age to where we will start communicating with machines on a regular basis through emotions. The dependence we have on technology is a little terrifying, but completely necessary. The terrifying part is that everything is run by technology, the Y2K flop that happened could be realized in full if cyber terrorists wanted to do it. Even our president is so connected, it would be possible to hack into his Blackberry and find all sorts of valuable information about national security and diplomacy. The sculptures in Autopoeisis remind me of the close-knit interactions we have with technology.
The last piece that really stood out for me is called Striking Feeling by Kennith Feingold. A head modeled after the artist sits in a flowerpot, representing the growth of an “organic human”. Visitors can talk to the head and their dialogue is projected onto the screen behind the piece.
I just thought this piece was strange. The concept behind it is very interesting; the wonder of “why is this head here?” and “what does it mean?” is very intriguing. I feel like the head is there because it is a mixture between technology and the human being, an idea that may be very widespread by the end of our lifetime.
