Archive: interactive art

Your thoughts come to life in Mariko Mori’s UFO

Mariko Mori – Wave UFO, 1999-2002
Brainwave interface, vision dome, projector, computer system, fiberglass
207 x 446 x 194 inches (528 x 113.4 x 493 cm)
Edition of 2 with 1 AP

Viewer’s brainwaves projected on to a screen

How many times do art and science come together? In Mariko Mori’s Wave UFO art and science have come together in a creation that is just fascinating. This artwork uses neuroscience, computer graphics, architectural engineering, and sound to create an interactive experience where viewers can see their thoughts come to life in color and shape.

Wave UFO will take three viewers at a time. Each viewer gets electrodes attached to the head just like an EEG machine. The brainwaves of the viewers are transmitted and projected on to a screen. This will show six orbs, for two of each viewer’s left and right brain hemispheres. A waving line shows the facial movements for the viewer.

Posted in Blog | Tagged 2005, 51th Venice Biennale, Aarhus, ARoS Museum, Brain science, exhibition, interactive art, Mariko Mori, neuroscience, sculpture, Tokyo, UFO | 1 Comment

Jaume Plensa’s giant outdoor sculpture spits out water

Jaume Plensa – Crown Fountain, 2004, Glass, stainless steel, LED screens, light, wood, black granite and water, 16 m, Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Introduction

Within Chicago’s Millennium Park stands an interactive piece of art that the public never seems to have enough of. Designed by Jaume Plensa, a Catalan artist, the fountain is an illustration of how creativity and technology can mingle to form an enchanting piece of work. The work, which was unveiled in July 2004, was executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects and in it, they use black granite which gives the illusion of a pool. The pool on which visitors stand on is an area of space that separates two towers made from glass. Each one of the towers is 50 feet tall and LEDs are used on their surfaces to display inward faces developed by digital videography.

Posted in Blog | Tagged 2004, Art in Chicago, interactive art, Jaume Plensa, LED, Millennium Park, public art, sculpture | 2 Comments

Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s unpredictable paintings on museum walls

Karina Smigla-Bobinski - ADA, 2010, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia, 2013

Karina Smigla-Bobinski – ADA, 2010, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia, 2013

ADA, a kinetic sculpture by Karina Smigla-Bobinski, stands out for being interactive and unpredictable; Imagine a giant ball that is filled with helium gas and its surface covered with charcoal spikes. The helium causes the ball to be suspended in the air and the charcoal sticks provide grips and a medium with which to create art.

Through numerous exhibitions ADA is getting immense attention from visitors and the best part is, you do not have to be an artist yourself to enjoy the experience. Visitors get to push the ball which moves freely in space because it is not attached to anything and as the ball comes into contact with the surrounding walls, the charcoal sticks draw ambiguous lines on them. The result of what is drawn is never predictable and it is perhaps this feeling of suspense that keeps visitors coming back.

ADA is a transparent globe that resembles a molecular hybrid. The helium inside it and the hedgehog like surface give it an autonomous bounce from wall to wall. The ball is covered with 300 charcoal sticks with a spacing of 10 inches from one another. The technique behind it was developed by Smigla-Bobinski purposely for this art piece. Moving the ball to create patterns on the wall is interesting but what is even more enjoyable to do is to watch as people try to control the ball with their weight.

While the charcoal sticks come into contact with the white walls, every stroke is unique because of the direction in which the ball is thrust, the force applied, the level to which it is bent and the angle of contact with the wall. You will be frustrated if you approach this activity with intelligence so visitors are advised to just flow with the energy of the ball as their energy floats with it.

The artist Smigla-Bobisnki might never fully understand the therapeutic nature of what she had created but here is a canvas that was started by an expert and is being completed by anyone who has the interest and time to play with a floating ball of helium.

Karina Smigla-Bobinski – ADA, 2010