The Research of Motifs in Interactive Media Art Concerning the Visual
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The Research of Motifs in Interactive Media Art Concerning the Visual Aspect Penesta Dika Submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April, 2008 Institute of Interface Cultures at the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz, Department for Media Studies Supervisors: Prof. Christa Sommerer & Prof. Oliver Grau Table of Contents 1. State of the Art: Books and Online Sources 2. Introduction to Interactive Media Art Digital art and new media art Forms and origins of interactive media art Origin, meaning and forms of interaction Interfaces as GUI, or as devices and environments equipped with sensors The history of the technology of interactive media art Mechanical calculators, electronic computers Software developments Inventions in form of devices/equipments 3. Introduction to Motifs, Visual Motifs and the Methods for their Research Categories of Visual Motifs 4. Objective Visual Motifs 4.1. Human Motifs: Historical Overview 4.2. Human Motifs in Interactive Media Art 4.2.1. Portrait and Bust in Interactive Media Art 4.2.2. Author‐Visitor‐Portrait and Visitor‐Portrait Invitation to be touched and the Touch ‐ Screen 4.2.3. Interactive Video‐Portrait and Interactive Bust Interactive Self‐portrait 2 4.2.4. The Inside of the body: the trip through our insides 4.2.5. Body Parts Dancing sculptures of legs “Talking” virtual hands and “real” third hand 4.2.6. Résumé 4.3. Animals or Plants as Motifs: Historical Overview 4.4. Animals and Plants as Motifs in Interactive Media Art 4.4.1. Evolutionary Designed Biological Motifs 4.4.2. Animals as a Symbol or as an Entertaining‐Motif: the motif of Butterfly 4.4.3. Animal as Data Input or as Interactive Sculpture: the Motif of Bird 4.4.4. Aquatic creatures based on the rules of the real life of animals, or based visually on real water animals 4.4.5. Virtual pets carry E‐mails or play live games with visitors 4.4.6. Résumé 4.5. Places or Architecture as Motifs: Historical Overview Landscape Architecture (included interiors) as motif in historic art Architecture or environment as motifs in media art 4.6. Places or Architecture as Motifs in Interactive Media Art 4.6.1. Naturalistic Virtual Immersive Public Places 4.6.2. Abstracted Real Cities: Back‐Curating Flight and Visitors as Tramway‐ Driver 4.6.3. Realistic Represented Virtual Interiors: Visiting Historic Interiors and “Revealing” Historic Interiors 3 4.6.4. Abstract Spaces 4.6.5. Résumé 5. Abstract Visual Motifs: Historical Overview Geometric Motifs Amorphous Motifs 5.1. Abstract Visual Motifs in Interactive Media Art 5.1.1. Motion Traces Detections – Linear Constructive Motifs or Amorphous and Geometric Shapes 5.1.2. Liquid Shapes as Motifs 5.1.3. Fractals as Motifs 5.1.4. Résumé 6. General Résumé and the Further Trend of Representing Visual Motifs 7. Bibliography 4 List of Figures Figure 1 Touch Me, 1995. Alba dʹUrbano, Interactive Sculpture, Detail. Figure 2 Touch Me, 1995. Alba dʹUrbano, Interactive Sculpture. Figure 3 Deep Contact: The First Interactive Sexual Fantasy Videodisc, 1984‐1989. Lynn Hershman, Screenshot. Figure 4 Rigid Waves, 1993. Monika Fleischmann & Wolfgang Strauss, Interactive Installation. Figure 5 Portrait One, 1990. Luc Courchesne, Detail of the Installation. Figure 6 Head, 1999‐2000. Ken Feingold, Interactive Sculpture. Figure 7 Visible Human in the Elevator, 1996. Ars Electronica Futurelab, Photography of the Installation. Figure 8 The Virtual Backbone, 1996. Christian Möller, Video Installation. Figure 9 Stomach Sculpture, 1993. Stelarc, Performance; The Artist during the Performance; Scheme of the “Sculpture” and the mechanism for placing it in the stomach; the recording of the stomach. Figure 10 TischTänzer, 1988. Stephan von Huene, Photo of the Installation and Detail of the Wooden Leg. Figure 11 Untitled, 1989‐1992. Robert Gober, Sculpture, Photo. Figure 12 Between the Words, 1995. Agnes Hegedüs, Photo of the Installation and Detail of the Installation with Hands. Figure 13 Third Hand, 1981 – 1994. Stelarc. 5 Figure 14 Interactive Plant Growing, 1993. Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, Interactive Installation. Figure 15 Galápagos, 1997. Karl Sims, Interactive Installation. Figure 16 Life Spacies, 1996/97. Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, Screenshot with Creatures and their Environment. Figure 17 SonoMorphis, 1998. Bernd Lintermann, Interactive Installation, Detail. Figure 18 Subject, emotions encoded, Mock‐up with Computermonitor, 1997. Merel Mirage, Detail of the displayed Butterfly on the Monitor. Figure 19 Mariposa, 2001. Zack Booth Simpson. Figure 20 Butterfly, 1970. Charles Csuri, Photo of the Displayed Butterflies on the Monitor. Figure 21 Doves, 1999. Ursula Damm, Visualization of the Birds and Their Traces. Figure 22 Worms in Sand, 2003. Sinikka Johanne Olsen, Performance. Figure 23 Rara Avis, 1996. Eduardo Kac, Interactive Telepresence‐Work; Photo of the Installation from Outside of the Cave; Detail with the Telerobotic Bird. Figure 24 A‐Volve, 1994. Christa Sommerer and Laurent Migonneau, Detail with “Creatures” in the Pool. Figure 25 PingPongPlus, 2001. Hiroshi Ishii, Interactive Installation. 6 Figure 26 Post Pet, 1998. Kazuhiko Hachiya, Email Software distributed by Sony Computer; Detail with the Teddy; The Four Charakters used for this Software. Figure 27 Alive, Version with the Dog Silas, 1993. Pattie Maes and Bruce Blumberg, Augmented Reality. Figure 28 Place ‐ a userʹs manual, 1995. Jeffrey Shaw, Interactive Environment. Figure 29 Be Now Here, 1995‐1997. Michael Naimark, VR – Installation. Figure 30 The Visitor – Living by Numbers, 2001. Luc Courchesne, Interactive Environment. Figure 31 Virtual Balance, 1995‐1997. Fleischmann & Strauss, Interactive Installation. Figure 32 Karlsruhe Moviemap, 1991. Michael Naimark, Interactive Installation. Figure 33 Schloss Schönbrunn, 2005. Ars Electronica Futurelab, Detail of the Interactive Animation. Figure 34 Displaced Emperors, relational architecture 2, 1997. Rafael Lozano‐Hemmer, Detail of the projected Hand in the Facade. Figure 35 Perceptual Arena, 1993. Ulrike Gabriel, Interactive Environment. Figure 36 Dialog with the Knowbotic South, 1994. Knowbotic Research, Interactive Environment, Detail of the Interface and the Projection. Figure 37 Boundary Functions, 1998. Scott Snibbe, Interactive Installation. Figure 38 Trace Pattern I, 1997. Ursula Damm, A Detail of the Results. 7 Figure 39 Gravicells – Gravity and Resistance, 2004. Seiko Mikami, Interactive Installation. Figure 40 Motion Traces ‐ a1 lounge, 2004. Scott Ritter, Ars Electronica Futurelab, Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman; Interactive Environment; Amorphous Shapes in the Pink Background; Geometric Shapes in the Blue Background. Figure 41 Hidden Worlds of Noise and Voice, 2002. Golan Levin and Zachary Lieberman, Interactive Installation. Figure 42 Molecular Bubbles”, 2002. Zack Booth Simpson and Brian Sharp, Interactive Installation, Photo of the Installation. Figure 43 Fractal Zoom, 2006. Zack Booth Simpson, The Shadow of the Hand as a Magnifying Glass. Figure 44 Audio Fraktal, 2004. Joachim Goßmann, Interactive Audio‐ Visual Installation. 8 to my tolerant and patient husband Tomor, to my greatest parents Lunike and Agni, and to my lovely sisters Anda and Flaka. 9 Abstract: The visual motifs used by artists both in the past and the present to represent different artistic themes generally are in a developing process. In interactive media art, which is an art form including computer‐graphics and animations, net‐based artworks, telematic artworks, AI‐based artworks, video‐installations and virtual‐reality‐installations, the development process of the visual motifs used depends not only on the aesthetic requirements, but also on the technical evolution. For example, animals were already used as motifs in art in caveman paintings. But different to then with digital technology it is possible to represent the animal not just as static, but in its movement, in its living environment and not just this, it is even possible to represent its creation process. Furthermore, it is possible to create a virtual life of a virtual animal, the parameters of which are defined by the artists, but which are given their definitive shape by the user/observer.1 “The nature of technological art can also be illustrated through the examination of attempts made by artists to implicate the spectator in the creative process and, in particular, through analysis of the transformation that was effected when they passed from a simple invitation to participate to an appeal for a more elaborate interactive involvement.”2 1 See for example interactive artworks of the scientists and artists Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau. 2 Frank Popper. Art of the Electronic Age, Thames and Hudson, London, 1993. p. 8. 10 1. State of the Art: Books and Online Sources Interactive media art, which is part of new media art, developed out of art forms that dominated the 60s, for example installation, happening, fluxus, and conceptual art. Some media art critics mentioned this fact in their writings. For example, Christiane Paul advances her opinion like in the following: “Digital art did not develop in art‐historical vacuum either, but has strong connections to previous art movements, among them Dada, Fluxus, and conceptual art. The importance of these movements for digital art resides in their emphasis on formal instructions and in their focus, event, and audience participation, as opposed to unified material objects.”3 Digital art is also inspired by art forms such as