Lately, the metaphor of plants growing toward a light has really resonated with me, and how spirituality can mirror this. People will grow and transform as they turn towards the light. For my light art project I want viewers to have a spiritual-like experience by activating the art piece through thoughtful positions of their hands and body. I’ve sketched two possible positions below. I’d also like to consider how putting one’s hands over their heart could activate the piece.
For the artwork, I want to have a centerpiece glow, and then its surroundings to grow toward the light in the center. The medium that is most in my comfort zone would be to have the interactive piece be entirely digital, but I am open to the center piece being physical and the rest being a geometric projection.
Something else I’ve been considering is how the output could incorporate real time light painting instead, though this is more of a technical desire, it doesn’t exactly fit with my concept just yet. I was thinking about how the Makey Makey touch points could activate LEDS on the gloves and a feedback effect on the output.
Part 1 – Set up a live camera, and activate its feedback effect with the Makey Makey via hand formations
Part 2 – Create cloth (gloves) with LEDS that are the “paint brushes”
The viewer will probably feel like a wizard if this one works.
So, to summarize:
Input: Touch points on hands, using Makey Makey or something similar
Output: A Light centerpiece and artwork growing toward the light. Brainstorming the exact medium of this, but the default is digital one (projector or screen). I wanted to include some wind chime-like sounds to nail a feeling of peaceful, thoughtful growth.
Some artist questions:
- Which concept speaks to you the most? Geometric alignment, organic growth, or light painting?
- Should the output be completely digital? (Presented on a screen) or a physical digital mix?
- Where can I get a projector or screen for this type of thing?
- How do I get touch points to the hands but hide the wires? Could I make this wireless somehow (cheaply)?
Here’s the presentation from class: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18YQTnd45PJuR-el-a2SYX6r_XlCUDRNTqWwXPDoWvgw/edit?usp=sharing
It’s pretty hard to do real-time light painting without over exposure with conventional methods. You can probably find some luck if you’re using something like a xbox motion sensor.
I liked the geometric visuals the best. I think it would be cool to incorporate EL Wire or leds in the gloves that also come to life along with the visuals as the user makes different hand shapes. Have you considered using something other than makey makey to make it wireless? I think Zihang mentioned an option that doesn’t need a ground wire.
I also like the geometric one. Even if the output is completely digital, you can still make the piece more engaging by looking at the output device. It would be amazing if the screen is also decorated and be a part of the installation.
I’m going to “third” the other two: I like the idea of the geometric visuals the best. It would be so powerful to see everything align and connect based on your actions. All three are great ideas though, can’t wait to see which one you choose.