ART 399 Response Assignment 1

After reading 'Delusions of Dialogue: Control and Choice in Interactive Art' by Jim Campbell I identified 3 main arguments. The first being that a truly interactive experience with a piece of interactive art is impossible with the current level of technology. Next is the idea that it is near impossible to change an emotion into a mathematical equation that computers use in programming. Lastly the idea that something is lost in the transformation data and much art today has come out with the "Photoshop Effect". The piece I chose to analyze is Bondage by Atau Tanaka. With the above frame work it is easy to say that this is not an interactive piece. Atau Tanaka admits as much. The viewers presence activates a loop and silhouettes of the viewer uncover bits of the image but in Tanaka's own words;


"The result is a total environment, a concentrated space where sound meets image, but where interaction is not pushed to the fore. Instead, I attempt to create a magical space, drawing upon the voyeuristic fantasies of the viewer as he tries to access the untouchable woman on the other side of the screen."

Trying to apply the first argument to this piece seems inappropriate. It was never meant to have real viewer participation. I feel that changing an emotion into a mathematical equation shouldn't be an issue for this or any other piece. As an artist you may be trying to evoke a certain emotion through your art but there are no guarantee that the viewer will get that same emotion out of it. The best you can do is use the tools you have and make something you are proud of. I feel Tanaka got his point across with Bondage without have to try to turn feelings into math.


Lastly is the "Photoshop Effect" and loss in transformation. Tanaka is using a third party tool in this piece. Campbell states "... it is usually the third-party software that become the soul of the work -- the "Photoshop Effect" in which the software that  is used was written to create the same effect or responses over and over again. Such software becomes not a tool  but a palette of cliche symbols". Again I don't feel that this is ever the case. I see no loss and no cliched symbols in this:



All software, like the computers themselves, are tools. It is up to the user to know how do use it and use it well.


In my personal opinion I feel that Campbell is mainly upset that using computers for interactive art is not at the standard he would like. Knowledge of the tools you are working with can take years but once mastered you can do almost anything at any level. It should be obvious that I disagreed with a large portion of the Campbell article. I also find it interesting that this article he wrote is not listed on his site in any way. It would be interesting to find out if his thoughts have changed with the advancement in technology over the past 11 years.

353 Final

My starting point

A lot more modeling

Most modeling done

With my men figures

Started Coloring

With everything but lighting.

In the process of trying to render an image with the lighting, my computer crashed taking the save file with it. I didn't feel I had the time to really start over so I'm submitting this as is. I will start again playing with it when I don't have a deadline that I had already passed.

353 3rd Reflective Essay

Here are textures that mimic stone, steel, and some very interesting ground. They give a kind of dark, brooding feel to the image. I know the ground was detailed with clay. I'm not sure about the stone or steel. 

This image has stone, water and crystal textures. When mixed with the colors it gives a cool, damp mood to the image as well as the idea that there may be a musty smell.

LuLu from Final Fantasy X. Embroidery, leather, velvet and fur are some of the major textures. There is also the use of stone and clouds in the background. The leather on the dress as well as the embroidery looks like it could be a lambert that has been tweeked. The fur and velvet almost look like jpgs. The clouds could be a maya fluid container.

353 2nd Reflective Essay

The general compositions is slightly asymmetrical. The foreground uses a repoussoir. The scale gets smaller as things go back and some of the detail is lost. The value contrast between the foreground and mid to back ground helps give more depth.

The Color here is mainly warm. The most visual details are in the foreground. The background on the top left is hazed out with atmosphere. Foreground overlaps the mid-ground. The value contrast goes from light to dark as the ground recedes.

I would say this picture is a fair mix of warm and cool colors. Details in the front. The contrast between foreground and background give a real sense of depth. The value contrast in the tree gives a slight repoussoir effect to the sides of the image.

Animated Button Essay

A button is a form of on/off switch that can be used to make things happen or make them stop happening. In the digital world buttons can restart an action, pause an action, save something, and a variety of other things. The design of a button can give a tone to whatever it is being used on. More graphical buttons can be full of whimsy while more simple buttons can add an air of sophistication or business like professionalism.

I love the Easy Button from Staples.  I also enjoy the fabled red button of doom seen in cartoons and movies throughout the ages.

Animated Dingbat Essay

I think 90% of the experiences in life are interactive. One of my favorites is getting together with my Magic group and having a night of drinking and gaming. Hanging out with them is very subconscious during the act. I follow my instincts and go with whatever flow there is. It is a great feeling to be surrounded by people like yourself, that get the same jokes and like the same things. It is easy to get caught up in it and not want to leave.

The same thing happens to me when I play a really good video game. I get caught in the story and am carried along by the feelings it produces. I get sucked in by the visuals and background sounds to a point that I can imagine myself as the character I'm playing. This is again a very subconscious, instinctive experience.

Again, the same feelings are produced when one reads a good story and visualizes the environment and the motions in the story. It is a much more conscious experience in that you have to focus on imagining to some extent but it is satisfying none the less.

I design my interactive media with that idea that you can just be carried along by what is going on so the interactivity I use is rather minimal.

Final

My Final

I've been having a really hard time with cyberduck so I'm hosting my final here until I figure it out more.