So Why This Concept?
“Connection” for me resonates with my ties to people. Regardless of who you meet in life, a connection is formed, and this idea is perfectly conveyed by the Chinese proverb my piece is centered around.
“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break.”
Breaking It Down
In this piece, the dual component is that in order for people to grow the string, they both have to interact with it. The fading component of the string animation is in place to represent that connection requires both parties to be involved. So without effort, the “connection”(thread) slowly fades away.
I wanted to display how people’s lives become intertwined through the morphing of this “red thread” shown on the screen. The animation showcasing the red thread morphing in all types of directions-without breaking is to convey the stretch and tangle but not breaking, like the proverb mentioned.
I used a laptop touchpad (or touchscreen) so two users can utilize the animation. The users both control the growth of the string, which is the output. Another output is the sound which is meant to resemble the sound of touching yarn/string.
Final Documentation
The Input:
(Users touching the touchpad by taking turns)
The Output:
I have a permissioned opinion — I think it would be really cool if both users could edit it at once (like if each user had one end of the string that they were drawing with). I love the proverb you based this off of and it’s a very neat concept!
I actually tried to make that happen but I couldn’t seem to figure it out :/
Maybe I’ll try it again
I really like the animation of the line, it is really soothing to watch.
The animated lines are very captivating and add a lot to the visuals of this interactive art piece. Very cool.
Red Thread is a very well-known idea in China and is usually used to describe the romantic relationship between couples. So I think it is a very good way to convey the sense of connection. I like the concept very much!
You could create some really cool shapes with this. Permissioned Opinion: what if the red thread never completely fades, and just grow dull, or a dark gray to show its shadow? As people interact, the shadows would build up giving it a sense of being “tangled”.