No other single person in our generation has made as much of a global cultural impact as Michael Jackson.
Dance is a universal human language of joy and self expression, and there are 5 years olds in every corner of the planet, from the slums of North Korea to the to Amazon Basin, who have learned to moonwalk.
So whilst I'm not really sad - he was past the point of sanity/normality, a troubled soul, and probably a paedo, I think it's nice to remember his gift to the world.
When Michael Jackson first brought the glide/moonwalk to the world Link to YouTube
and 10 year old MJ is his big purple hat singing "who's loving you" Link to YouTube
PS - Reports that Michael Jackson died of a heart attack are false. In fact he was found in a children's hospital having a stroke.
At the risk of sounding old and grumpy, this is a great bit of technology, but the execution of it just looks really boringly obvious. Because of this, I just don't believe that Microsoft will create amazing innovative games that will have the same impact on non-gamers that Nintendo did with the Wii.
To illustrate what I'm thinking, let's say Microsoft had launched motion sensing controllers before, or at, the same time as Nintendo. You know exactly what the games line-up would have been like... classic shooting, sword-wielding, or driving games, which use the controller in the most obvious way possible, with the focus on slick, realistic, overproduced graphics and non-casual play.
Compare Wii sports to any of the newer sports titles on the PS3 or Xbox 360. They may be ostensibly sports titles, but the entertainment proposition is just totally different.
Not to say I'm not a fan of this but the demo here is just really game developer/tech led - there is no insight or human innovation here.
video of our RFID art thing in action at the Science Museum
So I now have video from Neil of our installation in action. It's built on our home made multi-touch screen, which allows users to paint or draw using their hands or an empty brush.
The idea is that users copy a picture and submit it. The software then creates an composite image based on all the submitted user images. As more and more people submit images, the composite image starts to look more and more like the actual image.
It's based on the idea of the Wisdom of Crowds - a theory which basically states than in the right conditions, the averaged guess of a crowd will consistently beat any single expert's guesses. An example of this is sports odds - the odds (which are formed by a huge number of people all guessing and hedging) are a more accurate predictor than any single expert, over time.
I really enjoyed working on this. it's the first bit of interactive art, or in fact any art I have done. I was mostly surprised at how possible it is to build devices that on the outset seem impenetrably complex, and has given me loads of ideas for the future.
Here's the posh write up of it.
Sum of its Parts
Brief Synopsis The Sum of its Parts is an experiment in collaborative art. Over the course of an exhibition, participants take turns to reproduce iconic pieces of art. After each interpretation, the average colour is calculated for each pixel to produce the current collaborative work. This installation was exhibited at the Science Museum's Dana Centre in May 2009.
User Experience In it's rest state, the installation cycles through the original pieces of art. Next to the original, the participants' interpretations are shown being composited together. Once the composite reaches its current state, it pauses briefly before the next original is shown. Participants are instructed to touch the screen to begin. On touching the screen, they are presented with a selection of four works they can reproduce. They select one of the works by touching it at which point it grows to fill the whole screen. On touching the screen it fades away to leave a blank canvas the same colour as the background of the original. There is a menu that allows participants to see the original again, show a palette or submit their painting. After using their hands or a brush to interpret the original and selecting to submit, they see their painting becoming part of the collaborative work. The installation then returns to its rest state.
Tech Spec
Hardware 1 x Laptop running installation software 1 x Multitouch Table Sending TUIO signals over OSC
Multitouch setup for the installation at the Science Museum consisted of:
4 x 780nm 25mw laser 4 x 90 degree line splitter 1 x Unibrain Fire-I Monochrome Webcam 1 x IR Filter 1 x 150cm x 113cm sheet of Perspex 1 x Projector 1 x Sheet of drafting film for back projection
Software The software for the installation is written in Java. The blob tracking was done using Tbeta.
takeaway festival opening night tuesday 19th may 2009
For the past couple of weeks I've been working with Neil and Simeon, building a giant collaborative art touch screen thing. It involves lasers, loads of wood, and cameras, and it's been a nightmare to build so far. I have almost cut all my fingers off numerous times and accidentally shot myself in the eyes with high power infra-red lasers.
This is all for the Takeaway Festival - a fusion of technology, music and art - happening at the Dana Centre, SW London over a couple of weeks starting Tuesday the 19th May. It's without a doubt the nerdiest thing I have ever been a part of, but it feels good.
I would love if it you came down to the Tuesday opening night (they have beer), or if you can't make it, you can see our installation anytime after that for a couple of weeks. See the details below.
Here's a picture of us prototyping the device.
Takeaway Festival Schedule
The Festival opens Tuesday May 19th with our first day of workshops and our Opening Evening 7.00-9.30
The Exhibits and Interactives are open from Tuesday May 19th until Saturday May 30th
Entrance is Free
Exhibition finishes on Saturday May 30th 15:00
Please note: The exhibition is also open on Monday 25th May (Bank Holiday)
Opening times: Monday to Friday 10:00 - 17:00 Saturday 23rd May 12:00 - 17:00 Saturday 30th May 12:00 - 15:00
For workshops and evening events you will need to book in advance so please call 020 7942 4040 or e-mail tickets@danacentre.org.uk
I hereby declare the First Annual Varsity Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race to be a total success. An edited thank you note from Anne Hopkins, Goat Race co-founder:
Thanks to the 300+ of you who chose Goats over Boats on Sunday – it was awesome and ridiculous in equal measures and most importantly raised over £700 for the farm. Thank You.
Our favourite squat-legged friend, Cambridge, barreled in first on the day in front of the rather more willowy Oxford with a time of 52.6 sec. Go the under-goat!
We can’t get enough of giggling at shots of the goats muscling their way along the course, so please do send us your pics (simeonrose@gmail.com) or add them to the Facebook event page or put them up on the net and tag them goatrace2009.
Huge thanks to go to Cookie for his brilliant design work, Ben for winning tunes, Hal for race-calling and general fine-sportsmanship, Paul for playing Bookie, our nimble-needled knitters, La Fromagerie for the cheese (which Sam Williams won…eventually!) AND of course to the Spitalfields City Farm for letting us run with this random idea in the first place.
(Sorry about the drinks bungle, we were there with free booze but the pub wouldn't let us serve it to you due to a miscommunication -- we will make it up to you next time, promise!)
