“The Machine of Dreams”
\nProposal
\nMarch 22nd<\/p>\n
Project duration: March 13th – May 13th<\/p>\n
Design Statement:<\/p>\n
WHAT: To design an interactive installation that uses computers to de-construct and re-construct the human activity of “dreaming”.<\/p>\n
HOW: Through interactions with the computer, viewers can experience the infinite possibilities and unpredictabilities in the world of dreams.<\/p>\n
WHY: This mysterious\/holy brain activity is often associated with the “mind” and the “soul”. Yet by letting computers “dream”, the installation blurs, or stirs, the boundary between man and machine.<\/p>\n
WHY: It poses the controversial question of whether “consciousness” can be artificialized & how much consciousness can\/do machines posses.<\/p>\n
WHY: Design also provide an opportunity of dream interpretation – human’s strive to understand self; curiosity of peeping into the future.<\/p>\n
Design Details:<\/p>\n
Medium<\/p>\n
Material \/ Medium:
\nquestion: what kind of material can deliver:
\n– the feeling of dream? (translucent plexiglass; textile; wire mesh; smoke; water; )
\n– the unpredictability of dream? (particles; smoke; noise; )
\n– the flexibility or possibility of dream? (elastic fabrics; shadows; gears; )<\/p>\n
Software:
\ncan generate algorithms that make possible of morphing, evolving, and manipulating.
\n– Processing, Arduino
\n– Max\/MXP
\n– Aptana \/ django(?)<\/p>\n
Settings \/ Context<\/p>\n
Space:
\ndesigned for a gallery space; with multiple viewers in mind.
\n– controlled light source: dark space or enclosed spacial structure.
\n– full-sensory experience with light, sound and<\/p>\n
Interactions<\/p>\n
Actions:
\nproject invites physical interaction between viewers and installation:
\n– sensor-embedded objects trigger interactions. (miniaturized people+items)
\n– re-arranging objects stimulates different consequences. (pre-determined structure with an open-endings)
\n– puppet master. ARE USERS PLAYING THE ROLE OF GOD? floating vision. (lucid dream; controlling dreams)
\n– role-playing: react to the evolving dream. (part of an on-going construction)<\/p>\n
Research \/ Inspirations:<\/p>\n
movie “Brazil” —<\/p>\n
absurdity of machine’s interruption of natural human life.
\nvisual oddness of machinery, internal parts made external \/ exposed.
\npersonal relationships in a giant system.<\/p>\n
movie “Waking Life” —<\/p>\n
quote: “They say dreams are real as long as they last. Couldn’t you say that about life?
\nquote: “Are we sleep-walking through our waking state, or wake-walking through our dreams?<\/p>\n
question: if we are awake and aware, have free will and power to change, then:
\n– what do we want to be? where are we heading to? do we live what we dream about?
\nquestion: what is the most universal characteristics of human kind? — in life and in dream. (fear? laziness?)
\nquestion: how to quantify your experiences? how to validify them?
\nquestion: is “dream” an active response to life? not to observe but to take direction?<\/p>\n
similarity between dreaming and living: your life\/dream is yours to create.
\nsimilarity between cinema and dream\/life: story telling; specific time+space+characters\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 to capture the “holy moment”. why holy?
\ndifference between dreaming and living: in which state are we more aware of our “self”?<\/p>\n
Brain Show, American Museum of Natural History —<\/p>\n
the “wire jungle”: visually, poetically analogize digital data with neuron activities.
\nthe elastic screen: creates a dream-like atmosphere.
\nthe “sound effect”: how brain interprets the same data (sound) differently.
\nthe “neuron table”: interactive installation for visualizing neurons.
\nthe “emotion face”: an inserted space dimension, its size loudly claiming its presence.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 the “round table”: dynamic interface. unusual viewing experience.
\nthe “wire cloud”: visually aesthetic and metaphorical transformation from trash to art.
\nquestion: what is “love”? how to find your “mate for life”? how does brain work in such emotional decision-makings? subconscious vs. conscious.
\nshort-term memories and long-term memories: how brains store them and utilize them.
\nfeelings: are controlled by chemicals in brain. physicality of feeling: the complex chemical system (input\/output) dictates your feeling and emotions.
\nsingularity: machine-reinforced brain.<\/p>\n
movie\u00c2\u00a0 “The Matrix” —<\/p>\n
“plugged-in”
\nquestion: are we living in a supermachine’s dream?
\nin dream nothing is impossible, if you believe you are dreaming.
\nphysical experiences vs. brain’s perception<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“The Machine of Dreams” Proposal March 22nd Project duration: March 13th – May 13th Design Statement: WHAT: To design an interactive installation that uses computers to de-construct and re-construct the human activity of “dreaming”. HOW: Through interactions with the computer, … Continue reading