Multimedia 450

Macros Novak is a transarchitect, artist, and theorist. He portrays his work as computers generate architecture that does not exist in the physical world. He accomplished his work through his talent and great imagination. In his work, he has allowed the viewers to immerse into the imagination world that he has created and it has intended to user interaction and experience.

The user experience still carries the most important fact through the whole project. It allows the users immerse into this abstract 3 Dimensional space as they interact with the computer while gaining new visual and mind experience. Liquid architecture creates an imagination of cyberspace that also describes as a relationship between authorship and participants. Marcos creates this space as his “Symphony of space” which leads the audiences to experience his creation of world. It is also a space that has become a space that the participants have the power to control its purpose, such that they are the main role of this imaginary world as they enter in. They are given feedback of the project. Not only that, they are the one that control the whole situation and tell themselves the story. Overall, we can say that cyberspace is thus a user-driven, self-organizing system.

Cyberspace enables users to interact with computers, and they get the result from what they have seen so the brain will tell what they will have to do next. Similarly, telepresence allows participants to remotely control object from far away. It gives users to experience what they can do of what they have seen. Because of that, geographic location, size, color, materials are all shrink down into one image, which is the image that the users are interacting. Another relative fact is that users are the main characters in the imaginary world. Like liquid architectures, Osmose enable the participants to experience virtual spaces. They are living in that space temporary and they are telling their lives through their actions in that space. Next, the idea of data mapping also shows that computer can generate a space of visualization even just on one image of migrating all the IP address together. Even though data mapping looks abstract, it just shows another fantasy world was created.

Relating to cyberspace, I think that the new aesthetics of digital media is still based on creativity, clear access, and exploration of new interests, topics and stories. However, art is still art but it should not have limitations for new creations, especially technologies have played a great role to carry the idea of art even further. I think the digital aesthetics had emerged from previous and traditional genres and forms. For example, the painters from ancient world have creating a visual effect through backgrounds and through their thinking of how should a space is like in their pieces. Not only that, we can also see through the modern abstract painters of how they are showing us a space in their minds.

In conclusion, cyberspace cannot exist without architecture. It is a human effort to transit real/ imaginary space to cyberspace that requires combing science and art, the worldy and the spiritual, the contingent and the permanent. Because of that, a whole new experience from a new art space gives the users a chance to see what they never have seen or what they never can do.

# posted by Jack @ 7:01 PM 2 comments

Char Davies, an international recognition for pioneering artworks that employ the technology of virtual reality. Davies developed his work as natural virtual worlds which enable the immersants to experience cyberspace with their body as in human-computer interaction. Again, the changing of one's usual sensibilities of space can prompt powerful emotional and psychological responses.

Davies and her team introduces Osmose (1994-95), an interactive virtual environment that users use a stereoscopic head mounted display, which goes along with three dimensional sound that gradually immerse the participants into another space with their breath and balance. Once the users are interacting with the space, breathing is used as a tool to control locations as up and down and body movement will control directions.

Osmose demonstrate an important aspect of Multimedia while it can lead immersants into a total new experience. Breathing can be considered as a relaxing tool that clam the users into another level. Not only that, Osmose consists many environments and spaces. For example, one of the environment- Leaf is a space designs like leaf, but once the users are immersed into the environment, it really collapse the sense of reality and virtual world.

Next, another fact of Osmose is that the audiences do not have options to change the environment since the environments are settled. The whole point is the experience for the users to interact in a total new space, and it is just like the experience of watching a movie in the theater, which the screen will be the total focus to the participants. The piece can depict as a world of stage instead of world of art. Finally, the responses and expressions from the users will be the experience through the piece.

In short, this article inspires us to look in a deeper depth of the theory of immersion. Especially, in the work of Osmose, it focuses mainly between user experience with the technology, such as three dimensional interface and use of breath. Because of that, viewers' participation is the central to the work, and they are the main characters in the narrative, which they are along in the space observing the environment.

# posted by Jack @ 11:57 AM 0 comments

Telepresence implies the participants who experience the remote action of the environment of cyberspace, which dissolving geographical boundaries. Because of that, art can confine between multiple places in real time, but not just in local space.

Eduardo Kac introduces Telepresence Art in the 80’s and 90’s. Basically, he creates a connection between imaginary and reality world. His work encourage users to experience the communication in personal interaction, functionality, and responsibility of a define purpose of Multimedia. For example, the project called Telerobots allows the participants in city A to control a telerobot in city B. Again, this real time interactive installations, robotics and telecommunication really presents what telepresence is about, while the users immerse in the cyberspace as they enter the virtual image of the partnership between man and machine.

Telepresence and virtual reality can only correspond when the participants immerse into the cyberspace which they can remotely control telerobot and receive feedback from their teleactions. Due to that idea, geographic location, size, color, materials can all take place as one image and that image will be the users who experience the virtual space in real time. This similar idea also relates the projects of Ken Goldberg’s Telegarden and Sherrie Rabinowitz and Kit Galloways’ Hole in Space. Overall, a screen can be a bridge that builds up another space of a new vision possibility, while users manipulate the environment.

Next, users have the power to control the virtual space as a two way interaction between human and machine, but there are some critical points among its purpose. For example, people might be curious if the reality can make telepresence more interesting than just virtual reality. I think participants will be more exciting if the virtual space really exists. They want to feel that they are really handling the virtual environment while also handling the reality. Not only that, the intention of users getting into a new visual environment will be an expectation. The impact of interest leads from a powerful feedback or result. They want to know what they can do or feel in that space. Lastly, the experience of telepresence can be seen as an “imagination” from the users. They see and feel the virtual image through new human technology, and those are mainly psychological impact. In fact, the users who deal with telepresence can not have a direct physical contact towards the virtual space.

Lastly, telepresence art has achieved a new level of human experience though art and technology. The users are able to change the art in their vision of space while they are in that space. Indeed, telepresence leads art out from tradition as it narrow all the possibilities down into an image.

# posted by Jack @ 2:09 PM 0 comments