Theme: Nature
“Nature is the origin of all life and its representation manifests itself in one of history’s most traditional artistic genres: the landscape picture. In history cartography, the term Terra Incognita designates places which—according to the cartographer—have yet to be discovered but whose existence is surmised. Since the invention of photography, the new practical medium was regarded as a necessary ‘documentational device’ for explores and pioneers in the 19th century, an instrument that can realistically capture previously undiscovered exotic tracts of land. Within seconds of something being observed, it became possible to convey impressions, emotions and situations, consequently shaping information concerning foreign landscapes that was largely composed of images.”—– TERRA INCOGNITA Perception of the Landscape Today by KIT
Nature is still a mystery to us. Images serve us the rapid transference of information and messages on nature. What we can experience in the nature is the process of realizing a respect for the overpowering forces of nature. When reality is often constructed and even overly constructed, how to find possible answers to the crucial question regarding the relationship between man and his environment in the 21st century.
We do not stop here: instead we connect “Interactivity” to the “Nature”, and look at interactions and dynamics instead of still objects. Interactions and dynamic behavior from human beings can influence nature as well as nature slowly but certainly change how we understand and interact.
Here we see different kinds of transitions emerging: Some are reluctant and some are forced. Some are invisible and some are deeper. Some conform to a trend or the Zeitgeist. Some result from creativity, and some fade away into extinction. We care about the experiences and results of interaction, and we also treasure the blur gap between existence and extinction for interaction.
A good example is the performance arts where one can see different culturally shaped and formed dynamic principles at work. Performance arts and interactive public installations have much in common: both have a time core to drive the dynamics; both have to manage inside a public space and the space has to be carefully structured for functions and interactions; both have to accommodate active or passive participants with different roles and goals. Performance arts have much to offer and it is time to explore how the elements and techniques could inspire interaction design.
In this workshop, we will try to apply a new design framework “drama-story-production-interaction” for designing interactive art installation in public spaces and to investigate how the installation would blossom when approached from a performance art perspective that essentially includes the users as well as a broader physical or social context.
Schedule
11st May Monday
Morning
9:00-10:30am opening
10:30-12:00pm presentation by Yu (performance theory in interactive&public installation)
12:00-13:00pm lunch
Afternoon
13:00-16:00pm presentation and workshop by Loe
16:00-16:30pm short break
16:30-18:30pm warm-up session
Evening
19:00pm welcome dinner
12nd May Tuesday
Morning
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:15-11:15am presentation by Mathias about graphics, projection mapping and Leap Motion
11:15-11:45pm introduce final project and pressure-cooker session
11:45-12:30pm break+lunch
Afternoon
12:30-15:00pm pressure-cooker session
15:00-16:00pm group presentation and feedback for pressure-cooker session
16:00pm concept development session, go and explore Taicang with the groups
Evening
free
13rd May Wednesday
Morning -Afternoon
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:15-12:30pm Concept development
12:30-13:30pm lunch
Afternoon
13:30-17:00pm concept development
17:00-18:00pm dinner
Evening
18:00-19:00pm first-round concept presentation with feedback session
19:00-21:00pm Arduino workshop by Jun Hu
14th May Thursday
Morning
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:15-12:30pm project development
12:30-13:30pm lunch
Afternoon
13:30-17:00pm concept development
17:00-18:00pm dinner
Evening
18:00-19:00pm second-round concept presentation with feedback session
19:00-21:00pm lecture “Generative Art” by Loe Feijs
15th May Friday-17th May Sunday
Weekend trip
18th May Monday
Morning -Afternoon
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:15-17:00pm concept development and concept frozen before 17:00pm
17:00-18:00pm dinner
Evening
18:00-19:00pm final concept presentation with feedback session
19th May Tuesday-21st May Thursday
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:15-12:30pm Installation building
12:30-13:30pm lunch
13:30-17:00pm Installation building
17:00-18:00pm dinner
18:00-19:00pm presentation with feedback session
22nd May Friday
Morning
9:00am short opening by Yu (objective and tasks for this day)
9:30am-13:00pm exhibition setup
Afternoon
13:00-15:00pm final exhibition
15:00pm documentation of all installations
16:30-18:00pm cleaning up exhibition space and workspace
Evening and night
19:00pm Goodbye dinner