My definition of “interaction” from a technological standpoint, is “a relation where technology consistently and directly responds to human action”. There are a couple of important aspects of this definition that I derived from the readings we have read, particularly Zack Lieberman’s piece. After reading Lieberman’s, “Open Mouth Effect” and seeing some of the projects he was working on, I noticed a common theme that resonated with me which was that all of the projects of his that I saw had consistent interaction and response to a specific set of human actions. For example, the interaction with the technology was not merely doing one thing, such as pressing a switch and waiting for something to happen. Each piece of technology would change its response patterns as the human interacting with it altered theirs. I believe that with today’s technology, we should have a more demanding definition of interaction and labeling things as “interactive technology” because the boundaries of what we can and cannot do are constantly being expanded.
Anti-Drawing Machine
This project directly relates to my definition of interaction because there is a clear connection between a human drawing and a machine reacting to those drawings. In this project, a person begins drawing on a piece of paper. While they are drawing, sensors pick up the movements of their hands and pencil and react to it by moving the paper. This makes it more challenging for the artist to draw what they want. The purpose of this project was to exploit the idea of imperfections or “imperfect characteristics”. I would consider this to be what Zack Lieberman describes as interactive art that creates an “open mouth effect”. People using this technology for the first time would definitely be seen in awe. The basic ideas and intentions of this project are also clearly shown and it is obvious that the creators began with the basics of brainstorming ideas, as mentioned in Physical Computing, and progressed from there. In general, this project also represents how technology is influencing the way us humans view certain phenomena, by altering people’s drawing and providing them with a different perception of art than the “perfect lines” idealism that is ingrained in us since primary school.
Immersive Art Experience, “The Bomb”
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kvwaw/an-experience-at-the-heart-of-nuclear-annihilation
Overall, this exhibit does not satisfy my definition of interaction. I believe that technology must directly respond as long as there is a human action to initiate things. For this show, I am sure there is someone who pushes multiple buttons and switches in order to start things, but from my standpoint, a majority of the audience is being ignored by the technology that is running the special effects, audio, and video. This project differs from the Anti-Drawing Machine project in that the Anti-Drawing technology automatically reacts whenever there is a person drawing. More importantly, there is a constant connection as long as someone initiates the action and there is mutual reciprocation between both parties as well. For example, in the Drawing Project, the paper is constantly being moved as the person draws and the person alters their drawing in reaction to the paper. For this other project called, “The Bomb”, even though members of the audience may experience Lieberman’s, “Open Mouth Effect”, they are not awed in the same way. In Lieberman’s car/ driver project there is a consistent connection between driver and the car being projected on the screen, but in the 4D art show the audience members may be reacting to the technology, but they are also essentially being completely ignored.
Our product, the “Super Box Boo 3000” not only satisfies my definition of interaction but also reflects many of the thoughts and ideals of the readings from the previous three weeks. This state-of-the-art 22nd century technology, for under 1 bitcoin, allows you to to make your very own style of shoes! For this product, all you need to do is upload a make and model of a shoe with any pre-selected or personally-created design to its database and then allow the box to calibrate your foot size and you’ll have all the shoes you want without ever having to leave your home! This technology satisfies my definition of interaction in that the audience can communicate with it in multiple ways. First, the user can create and upload a design to the Super Box Boo and then put their foot in. As soon as this happens, the box works its magic and 3d prints an entire shoe onto your foot for a fraction of the time that it would take for you to go to the store. I know for sure that this would provide customers with Lieberman’s “Open Mouth Effect”, in addition to it representing the category of interfaces and databases that directly shape human life as we know it. With this shoe-making technology, we can revolutionize how we shop. We already have been through one societal transformation with since the advent of online shopping, but this technology would most surely usher in a new wave of change that would shape human interactions with their environment for the future. Pete Manovich would most surely write about the Super Box Boo 3000 if he were alive to witness its greatness.