Spacetime Symphony
During my research, I concluded that the most effective interactive projects are those that stimulate as many senses as possible. I was very much inspired by teamLab’s installations around the world. teamLab’s exhibits are multimedia interactive installations that bring many people together to experience a unique work of art. I was specifically inspired by their exhibition in Shanghai, Universe of Water Particles in the Tank.
It is a giant projection consisting of animated waterfalls and flowers that change position based on your movement. It utilizes interaction between the self and visual elements, as well as background audio. I would love to build off of their idea and create interaction in which one can interact with physical as well audial elements. To trigger as many senses as possible and also give the experiencer the chance to control what their senses are receiving is an experience of definite interaction. With this discovery, for our project, my partner, Robin, and I want to create an abstract work of visual art accompanied by a corresponding soundscape that allows one to experience the intersection of space and time. This intersection challenges society’s common separation of music and visual art, encourages the exploration of artistic genres, and facilitates the communication of the moment through creative expression. We plan to make both the audio and visual aspects of our project interactive in order to allow multiple people to use teamwork to create a transient work of art. The interactivity and randomization of our project ensures that each viewer will never experience the same thing twice. This encourages intimacy and connection between those who seek to come together and design their own unique memory.
Our project aims to create a connection between one’s self and creative ability. By closing the gap between visual arts and music, one who may be acquainted with one calling but not the other will be encouraged to widen their interest. One who is acquainted with neither will be encouraged to explore their untapped artistic side. We also want to create a connection between the disciplines themselves. This intersection of art and music is rarely approached, except in music videos. However, we want to take this rare approach and add interactivity in order to encourage enthusiasm for its existence. We also want to simply create a connection between such people who come together to interact with this project. The creation of art is something usually done alone, but by giving the opportunity for people to come together and create art as a team will not only produce something entirely unique, but it will also create a beautiful moment for them to remember.
In order to establish this interaction, we plan to create background videos, individual animations, background music, and individual sounds. For the stylization of these effects, we have decided on a futuristic, yet natural theme that incorporates a clean aesthetic and possibly even pixel art. Our color scheme will consist of gem tones and our final product should end up somewhere between abstract and surreal. We plan on incorporating pressure sensors to turn on sounds, tilt sensors to spawn animations, distance sensors to control the pitch of the music, and much more. Our first steps are to mix the audio and create the visuals, as well as start on coding the communication between Arduino and Processing. Then we will establish our background visuals and sync it up with our background music. Once the background effects are established, we will work on incorporating the individual sounds and visuals and also work on linking them up to the various sensors described earlier. For our final project, we plan to use speakers and a projector in order to fully immerse our audience in our creation.
I believe this proposal entirely aligns with my definition of interaction. It encourages not only a two-way street of communication between those who are interacting with our project but also a two-way street of communication between the interactors and the audiovisual effects. Not only will the effects be influenced by a person’s participation in the sensors, but the person will also be influenced by their own creative ability being expressed both visually and musically. This project is intended for absolutely anyone who has an appreciation for the arts, especially those who have not yet found their artistic side but want to test it out. It is also meant for anyone to come together with their friends, or even a stranger, to design a work of art together. I hope that under the circumstances our project is successful, future creators will be inspired by the challenge of creating interaction not only within art but also music. The artistic world is always growing and with the influence of technology, we have even more incentive to create, so I hope not only to bridge the gap between visual art and music, but also technology and the arts.