Idea:
Our group’s idea derives from the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”. It was quite an interesting idea to have the happiness of a whole utopia based on the suffering of a single child. This inspired us to create something a machine that will absorb all the negative energy from individuals, rather than the child bearing all the pain.
Brain Storm:
In the beginning, everyone was on board with making a helmet. Our original idea was for this helmet to be worn by everyone, but we thought it would take too much time to make 5 helmets. If all 5 helmets were made we thought that it would be cool whenever the helmet detects negative energy it will absorb that and transfer it to big storage in the middle of the city. The machine will sort out the negative energy into a brainwave and write it on a big monitor seen by all. As this process repeats throughout the whole day, it will present many brainwaves at the end of the day. In a way, it is making a form of art with the users involved. I was thinking at the beginning about how this will fit with my definition of interactiveness and that was what I came up with. It does not have a set pattern and everyone’s brainwaves are different. When there are no set variables and it is all up to the user to make the artwork, I regard that as interactive. Our group thought that if there is a set variable every time the user does it, it will not be considered interactive. But sadly we were not able to make it such grand. So instead we made one helmet. It will be worn by the child to remove the sadness that he has absorbed from the whole city. We also thought that it would be cool to have it be connected in some way to modern times. So we decided to make one helmet and add extra parts to it to make it look more futuristic.
Make:
We began by choosing a groupmate head we want it to fit on. Also since cardboard is so flexible, it was also easy for it to fit on some of our groupmates’ heads who are bigger. We first cut two half circles out from cardboard. We then cut slits around the half circles, in order for it to curve inwards when we hot glue it. We also cut out rectangles for the side of the helmet. Using the same process, we cut slits and folded them in. After completing that we have the back of the head part of the helmet complete. We then attached the other circle to the front, to create the top and front of the helmet. We also added more rectangles parts to the front to create the side of the helmet. As this was only the base of the helmet, there were many not-pretty parts. There were a lot of hot glues present throughout which made the aesthetic of it look ugly. To cover this up, We started using cardboard of different sizes to make the design and also cover up a lot of flaws on the helmet. We called this part the decoration part. Also, the part that makes the helmet look more futuristic, is where many of the functions and buttons got put in. To make it not look so flat, we layered the cardboard on top of the cardboard. For example, we stacked a big circle on the button and then layered it with two more circles of smaller sizes to make it look more full. We did try at the end of the making process to add an eye shield for the helmet, but we found that the helmet was too short of the sides to have it put on. We did try to make it but it also became hard to move it up and do when the hot glue was put on it. So we just scratched it out of our idea. We thought that overall our final design and the helmet came out decently. We thought it would’ve been cooler if we had added colors onto it, compared to other groups.
Reflection:
I felt that everyone made it clear what the strengths are at the beginning of the project. We made sure that everyone made a contribution to the project as a whole. We had two groups, one group was focused on making the groundwork of the helmet and the other group was focused on making the outer decorations of the helmet. We also combined everyone’s thoughts to come up with the design at the end. I was part of the group putting down the groundwork of the helmet. I also gave some of my thoughts on the design of the helmet as I came up with the idea of layering the helmet and making it more sophisticated. I also helped out cutting pieces for the design of the helmet, which I really enjoyed. For the performance, I had a clear idea of what we are going to do. I made sure to make everyone’s strong suits shine. I also directed the rehearsal and made sure everyone had a clear idea of what they are going to be doing. In the end, I felt everyone came together really well and the performance was performed decently, with only a few minor flaws.
Performance:
We began this performance in the Utopia of Omelas. We wanted to explain the background of the story a little and how our machine was used in the story. We used the helmet to help the child remove all the sadness in him so that he can be happy like everyone else. Then we transformed the time period to the modern time. We had two people form a door, it is like a detection door students see when they enter NYUSH. The door itself detects negative energy and when it is detected, the guards will be notified. They will then send the individual to a one-on-one meeting session. In that session, the doctor will have his assistant put the helmet on the patient. We had another group member behind the patient to act as the monitor. As a way of absorbing the negative energy and writing out the brainwaves. The triangles behind the helmet are the Bluetooth that sends the data to the monitor. We also have another individual act as the technician. We then will upload these data to “Sicko Mode” the big brain that keeps all these data and stores them for future use. We thought that it was gonna be cool to have an audience come up and try it. So we called an audience to come up and try our machine. Overall I give our performance an 8/10. I do wish that the doctor would’ve sat on the side of the patient, rather than in front of the audience. That way the audience will also be able to see the expression of the doctor. So that was one of the flaws of our performance.
Assessment:
I felt that Lesley’s group was the most interesting and engaging compared to the rest. The idea of a VR and taking a further was really interesting. They also gave it the ability to touch and smell its surroundings. So I felt that their overall performance and idea were the best out of the rest of ours. It was also really cool how one of the members acted as the sea sound and like a thought bubble. The overall design of the project was also very unique and interesting. I was surprised that they were able to make a pair of gloves. Also, the color they used for their piece was also eye-catching. Their stories were also the same as ours. I felt that although the kid might be able to remove his sadness for a bit and make him forget about it. It will still come back. But it could also get rid of the negative energy forever. Because if I remembered correctly, it will just make them forget about the stuff they are going through by transporting their minds into a real-life place to relax. I feel that their project perfectly fits the criteria for this project. It was really interactive for the user and they were able to do anything they want in this virtual world. Without them explaining the use of the artifact, just watching the performance gave me a clear image of what its purpose was. Overall I would give their performance a 9.5/10 because it was a truly wonderful performance. My only suggestion would’ve probably been adding parts for the leg and feet. So when they are walking on the beach their feet will also feel the sand. Making the whole artifact a full body interaction.