tesla event at ucl: dr brigitta zics - how to think about art and design in the age of consciousness...
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How to think about Art and Design in the Age of Consciousness Research
Dr. Brigi:a Zics
Transtechnology Research Room B321 Portland Square University of Plymouth Drake Circus Plymouth PL4 8AA
University of Wales Newport School of Art, Media and Design Room J 14 Caerleon Campus Lodge Road, Caerleon Newport NP18 3QT
Technology art interacLon technology-‐based art passive interacLon arLst-‐spectator
Immediacy meaning creaLon human-‐machine acLve spectatorship cogniLve-‐based invisiblity transparency consciousness body-‐mind nexus
embodied knowledge phenomenology mastering the tool knowledge-‐seeking transdisciplinary
biofeedback eye-‐tracking cogniLve-‐feedback loop Transparent Act
The Problem
j
How
Technology as CreaLon Process
and
Technology as Art ( & Design)
understood in contemporary literature, InsLtuLons and among pracLLoners?
InsLtuLonalisaLon of Art does not provide a plaVorm for Technology as Art
Technology-‐based Art
The Problem
The ExisLng Models
DualisLc Approaches to CreaLve PracLces:
ART DESIGN
ART TECHNOLOGY
ART SCIENCE
ART RESEARCH
BEYOND DISCIPLINES BEYOND INSTITUTIONAL FORMS
The SoluLon Critiquing Contemporary Frameworks and Strategies
BEYOND CURRENT CREATION PROCESSES
video: http://www.vimeo.com/11303681
Technology brought radical change
to creaLon processes…
Challenging old form of
disciplines and insLtuLons
DualisLc Strategies loose their Validity
ART DESIGN
ART TECHNOLOGY
ART SCIENCE
ART RESEARCH
ART IN MUSEUM TECHNOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Technology Transdisciplinarity
‘…transdisciplinarity concerns that which is at once between the disciplines, across the different disciplines, and beyond all discipline. Its goal is the understanding of the present world , of which one of the imperaLves is the unity of knowledge.’
(Nicolescu 1997, np.)
Arts Technology Philosophy Psychology Sciences
Technology
How philosophy might help us practicioners to implement technology in a way that is different to
the scientific modality?
Applying Technology not as Science
rejecting the assumption that as technology emerged through a scientific validation process
therefore it only applicable effectively in this context.
Technology
Interactive technology introduces a new potentiality to art, or possibly art uncovers unforeseen
potentials…
The means of aesthetic enquiry might, in this context, reveal or recover yet unknown or forgotten
qualities of human condition and experience.
Technology Recovering New QualiLes of Human Experience
Technology: The Radical Change to CreaLon Processes
• Dynamicity • ArLst – Spectator relaLonship became:
Human – Computer relaLonship
• Thinking about Experience differently • AestheLcs based on human acLon
Dynamic Experience transformed the spectator to active participant
Zics 2007/2008
Artist –Spectator Relationship
RevisiLng DualisLc Concepts of Philosophy:
• Invisible-‐Visible • Ready-‐to-‐hand – Present-‐to-‐hand
(Heidegger, 1927)
• Technology as funcLon -‐ Technology as Meaning
• ArLst -‐ Spectator • Body – Mind
Heidegger’s ‘Tool’ as Technology Invisibility and Visibility
ready-‐at-‐handiness where the user is already a master of the tool
INVISIBILITY
present-‐at-‐handiness describe situaLons
where a person afends directly to
the object with conscious intent
VISIBILITY
Philosophy of Technology
Heidegger’s ‘Tool’ in ApplicaLon Invisibility and Visibility
ready-‐at-‐handiness where the user is already a master of the tool
TECHNOLOGY AS FUNCTION
present-‐at-‐handiness describe situaLons
where a person afends directly to
the object with conscious intent
TECHNOLOGY AS MEANING
BUT NOT AS FAILED FUNCTION
‘ready-‐to-‐hand’ – Technology as FuncLon
‘present-‐at-‐hand’ -‐ Technology as Meaning
‘MASTERING THE INTERFACE’ Acquiring FuncLonal Knowledge
‘ARTISTIC CONTENT SEEKING’ (Meaning CreaLon)
Acquiring Knowledge through AestheLcs
‘present-‐at-‐hand’ -‐ Technology as Meaning Meaning creation here refers to process of the spectator interaction with
the artwork which creates new meaning. ’Exploring the meaning of the interface itself’ (Rokeby 1995, p.133)
As Umberto Eco described meaning in his crucial work Open Work (1989) it is not a ‘content’ or message’ but it is the artist’s anticipation of multiple
engagement of the spectator.
Rorschach Test
‘ready-‐to-‐hand’ – Technology as FuncLon
Known as Design Approach: The learning process of the the technological tool.
The aim is to achieve interactions affording continuous and immersive states.
‘MASTERING THE INTERFACE’ Acquiring FuncLonal Knowledge
Going beyond Heidegger’s concept: Invisibility Versus Transparency
It could be suggested, that a disLncLon can be made between facilitaLng a stage between the purely invisible and visible stages of interacLon, through
understanding the interacLve process as levels of transparency (Zics 2008)
Visibility
Visibility
Transparent Technology
man
transparency
interface
mastering the tool
Transparency in the human – technology relaLonship could
be considered as an oscillaLng process where the arLst allows interacLons that are in a constant state of flux
between reflecLon and pellucidity.
meaning production
Transparent Technology
.
This implies that these interfaces incorporates a reflecLon process (being visible) as a meaning
creaEon into the interacLon, favouring a learning process of the user to inhabit novel meaning.
mastering the tool
meaning production
Transparency ArLst – Spectator RelaLonship
ApplicaLon of transparency implies to produce an immediacy between the arLst and spectator producing novel knowledge
for the spectator.
The creaLon process ( arLst) and experience process (spectator) becomes one cogniLve flow.
spectator
artist
The Transparent Act
.
immersion
reflection
The productive cognitive act of mastering the tool (immersion) and meaning creation (reflection)
anticipated by the artist with an outcome of novel knowledge production.
• The aestheticisation of the artist-spectator relationship
• Level of transparency’ relates to successful cognitive interconnections between artist and spectator
TRANS-PARENT TRANS-DISCIPLINARY
Transparency produce a soluLon to the dualisLc
qualiLes of
• Invisible-‐Visible • Ready-‐to-‐hand – Present-‐to-‐hand
(Heidegger, 1927)
• Technology as funcLon -‐ Technology as Meaning
• ArLst -‐ Spectator Body – Mind
Body – Mind
relates to the qualiEes of material and immaterial and the quality of their
interconnecLon
Body – Mind
the body-‐mind nexus operate as an aestheLc tool in the design of spectator’s experience
Technology-‐based Art
Alva Noë (2001) suggests: Art might not only re-produce an idealistic representation of a room but rather demonstrate the sensation of “being
in the room“.
J. Gibson (1950) Luc Desnoyers (2008) Original by Ernst Mach’s (1897)
Art Works Considering Body-‐Mind Nexus
Click on the pictures
Peter Weibel
Nam June Paik
BIOS team
Peter Weibel
Gordon Pask
Joachim Sauter & Dirk Luesebrink
Alvin Lucier
Shawn Lawson & Wafaa Bilal
Julius von Bismarck
Takehito Etani
The Mind Cupola, An AffecLve Environment
AffecLve/AffecLon Biofeedback Technology CogniLve Feedback Loop Passive InteracLon ( or AffecLve InteracLon)
Affect/ AffecLon
…either word denotes a personal feeling (sentiment in Deleuze and Guattai). ….an ability to affect and be affected. It is a prepersonal intensity
corresponding to the passage from one experiential state of the body to another and implying an augmentation or diminution in that body’s capacity to
act. (Massumi on Deleuze and Guattai 1987, xvii)
Affect/ AffecLon
Applying Affection in Creation Process: …way of anticipating the spectator’s cognitive reactions and setting
up a bodily semantics and aesthetics for each interaction.
‘ready-‐to-‐hand’ – Technology as FuncLon
‘present-‐at-‐hand’ -‐ Technology as Meaning
‘MASTERING THE INTERFACE’ - INVISIBILITY
‘MEANING CREATION’ – REFLECTION
ACTIONS PREDICT NEW MEANINGS
If we understand the ‘mastering the interface’ processes as producing new meaning through particular body states we might find a more effective way of interaction.
INHABITED ACTIONS of the BODY
Transparent Act in the Mind Cupola
The success of the mastering of the interface is based on the success of the arLst in implemenLng the cogniLve qualiLes (‘AFFECTIONS’) of the user in such a way that the technological engagements become embodied, producing new knowledge.
Affective Technology: Biofeedback interface
Interaction: through cognitively inclusive
sensorimotor capacities of the user
Cognitive-driven Interaction: self-regulating processes In the user’s experience
Biofeedback ApplicaLon for InteracLon Producing Aesthe7c Experiences
Bioofeedback Art Archive on MediaArt Tube: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C51BC89CDE587C1F
Laura Colmenares Guerra - Lungs: The Breather 2008
BIOS - Bidirectional Input/Output System 2002/03
Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau: Mobile Feelings 2002/03
Andrea Polli: Intuitive Ocusonics, Eye-driven sound interface 1998
These artistic works investigated the
interconnection between cognitive processes and
aesthetic meaning production
Measuring bodily funcLons: facial expression
EEG for brain acLvity
ECG for heart rate EMG for electrical discharge in the muscle fibres
eye-‐tracking EOG for the resLng potenLal of the reLna
GSR for electrical qualiLes of the skin
Biofeedback and InteracLon
Meaning Production:
Evaluating the Cognitive Qualities of the Spectator
Passive Interaction>< Active Interaction
ACTIVE INTERACTION: Bodily Controlled Interface; full body immersion, active bodily
motion. tangible interfaces
PASSIVE INTERACTION: Cognitive Response Evaluation of the Spectator
Digital Luthiers: Reactable, 2003/05
Iwai Toshio, Nishibori Ty: Tenori-On 2005
Squidsoup - Driftnet, Responsive Environnent 2007
Examples of Active Interaction:
Brigitta Zics - Mirror_SPACE 2004/05
video: http://www.vimeo.com/7062293
Passive InteracLon Passive InteracEon refer to interacLon that acLvate
parLcluar body-‐awareness of the sepcectators; it applies affecLve bodily responses as meaning creaLon.
The terminology is used to diffrenLate art works from acLve interacLon that uses tangible or full body interfaces) since passive interacLon parLcularly intersted in the cogniLve
responses and their evaulaLon of the spectator. Technological applicaLons are affecLve compuLng or instant
affecLon technologies.
The Mind Cupola: Passive InteracLon
Users are invited to step into the immersive surroundings and relax.
The interacLon process fluctuates between the natural reacEons of facial and eye movement and controlled responses through which the user learns to produce meaning.
The Mind Cupola interface is formed of three interconnected systems: • a biofeedback percepLve system (face/eye capture system) –AffecLve compuLng
• a frequency-‐generaLng affecLve system – Instant affecLon technologies • real-‐Lme visualisaLon / digital readout – AffecLve visualisaLon
Passive InteracLon Self-‐reflecLve Process Meaning
The Transparent Act is a result of self-‐reflecLve process when the user re-‐evaluates his/her
knowledge of ‘being-‐in the-‐world’ afaching new meaning to it.
through self-‐reflecLon the user might start to act against his/her embodied acLons
This new meaning producEon:
fluctuates with the insLnct and unconscious acLons of human acLon which helps to maintain the
cogniLve flow in the interacLon.
CogniLve Feedback Loop
InterconnecLng AffecLve CompuLng (monitoring the user)
with Instant AffecLon technologies (affecLng the user) to subject the parLcipant to intenLonal decisions to operate the system.
1. AffecLve CompuLng AffecLve compuLng invesLgates the relaEonship
between emoEon and cogniEve processes and how the tracking and evaluaLon of this informaLon helps to produce more qualitaEve interacEons between
human and machine. (Picard 2000)
Mainly focuses on: facial qualiEes and how parLcular affecLons reflect on the facial physiology
Customized Open Source Eye-tracking System Track Eye v2.0
AffecLve VisualisaLon
AffecLve VisualisaLon through Eye-‐tracking
• The visualisaLon engages the user with percepEve affecEon that requires both insLnctual and conscious control to form a relaLonship through interacLon.
• Whilst the user might look for hidden messages on the display by using the gaze of their eyes as a control mechanism, at the same Lme they change their environment through the behavioural analysis of the system.
SemanLcs of the VisualisaLon
Neuro-linguistic Application
SemanLcs -‐ E-‐Trans Board Applied by Paralyzed People as
CommunicaLon Device
E-‐Trans comprises a sheet of perspex a bit bigger than A4.
Lefers of the alphabet are grouped in each corner of the board. Within each corner group, all the lefers are a different colour. There are also
six coloured blobs arranged around the board.
Source: hfp://www.eyelife.org/
SemanLcs of ImaginaLon
New Scien7st describes a 46-‐year-‐old woman who was totally locked-‐in.
CommunicaLon through measuring the pH of saliva.
They trained the woman to change the acidity of her spit by imagining either the taste of lemon, or the taste of milk.
She learned to push the pH one way to say "yes", the other to say "no".’
2. Instant AffecLon Technologies are Technologies that affect the spectator's cogniLon instantly as a response
( by meaning creaLon) to their interacLon with the system
Electromagnetic Devices:
Sound, Vibration,
Radiations, Mechanical Vibrations
and Affective Visualisation System
Instant Cognitive Affection of the User
AffecLve Environment
These affection devices generate a spectrum of electromagnetic frequencies of sound, hot and cold stream and visual affects to guide the person towards an optimal experience.
An amplification of everyday affection of environment of human cognitive faculties
Passive InteracLon as CogniLve Feedback Loop
The mastering of the Mind Cupola implies that the user learns and lives the rules of
interacLon that is built upon the percepEve/a:enEve qualiLes and thermodynamic/electromagneEc
qualiLes of the body, through which they have the potenLal to control their own
responses.
The system, is based on behavioural analysis and the thermodynamic
features, afempt to balance the user’s response with heaEng and cooling his/
her face.
New Applications: Enhancing Well-being
Mind Cupola offers a radical knowledge practice acting through bodily capacities that establish a heuristic quality to learning.
As this kind of passive interactions produce new embodied knowledge with increase of psychophysical control of the body, they might provide potential therapeutic and health-promotion applications which provides a main
objective of future research into biofeedback art
TRANSDISCIPLANRY SOLUTION: situated at the intersecLon of art & design, arLficial intelligence and consciousness studies.
APPLICATION in NEW DESCIPLINES: providing a learning process that evaluates and afends to the level of cogniLve immersion
and stress on the user and alters levels of affecLon accordingly.
Although the Mind Cupola was formulated on the basis of being an arEsEc intervenEon as opposed to a ‘designed’ purpose as a transdispilnary soluLon provide new insights
in Design, Science and Philosophy.
Produced a SoluLon to
• Invisible-‐Visible • Ready-‐to-‐hand – Present-‐to-‐hand
• (Heidegger, 1927) • Technology as funcLon -‐ Technology as
Meaning • Body – Mind
• ArLst -‐ Spectator
DualisLc Strategies loose their Validity
Transdisciplinarity
ART DESIGN
ART TECHNOLOGY
ART SCIENCE
ART RESEARCH
ART IN MUSEUM TECHNOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Technology brought all disciplines to the same plaVorm. Understanding Technology Consciousness Research
All PlaVorms and Disciplines can benefit from Consciousness Research.
Current PracLces challenging the boundaries of disciplines, approaches, modaliLes and ideologies.
Call for the need of a re-‐evaluaLon of insLtuLonal formats and plaVorms.
TRANS-PARENT TRANS-DISCIPLINARY
© David Coppit
@ Dr Brigitta Zics TransTechnology resreach University of Wales Newport / University of Plymouth/ www.zics.eu [email protected] or [email protected]
Art and Design in the Age of Consciousness Research