 |
Art & Artificial Life International Competition | Home | Entry | Editions | References | Español | |
 |
|
Original Purpose of Production Iconic elements are the basic building blocks of a world literally made of language. Six elements from this language relate to unique pictorial styles and soundscapes used to represent the world, ranging from plastic knowbots and surreal iconography to electronic abstraction and the dirt of the real world. These elements are used as the base of an artificial life model which runs the world, the behavior of the objects and lifeforms within it. The work has the capacity to evolve, change and mutate through human interaction and it's own evolutionary process. Visitor's to the world can create, construct and manipulate objects, influence the evolution of societies, and discover new language elements. Communication with the residing lifeforms occurs via the iconic language on which the world is based. The multiplicity of Iconica is experienced through this interaction - simultaneously a cyberspace, a mindspace, an abstract world, and a stylised reality. Salient Features A generative model is used to recombine libraries of images, sounds, and animations representative of these realities. This recombination process is based on a genetic algorithm, resulting in endless variations of image and behavior. The six views of reality are represented by species of artificial life who shape the space according to their beliefs. This space does not model a real-world space or biological model, but instead intends to model a metaphorical space with it's own rules of existence and being. Lifeforms from the space essentially "speak" their own audiovisual language, and so visitors to the space must learn parts of this language to communicate with the lifeforms. The dual-screen installation presents one possible world and the lifeforms that exist within it. During the period of installation the space evolves, changes and mutates through visitor's interaction and though it's own artificial evolutionary processes. Genetic programming is used in the behavior of the lifeforms within the space, so that they may evolve and adapt to new situations. Parts of the world die and decay, other's thrive bringing new entities and forms into the space. Communication with the entities occurs via the system of icons that make up the language of the world. When an entity is selected for interaction, an additional interface allows the user to construct questions and statements that are spoken to the entity. It will then respond with it's own answer or statement, which the user must decode from it's iconic form. A simple set of grammatical rules is used for the construction of meaning from the basic set of icons. For example, the group of icons on the right represents the statement “I need some food.”: A high level of interaction with the world is central to the experience of the work. Visitors to the installation can build and manipulate forms in the space. They can communicate and interact with entities, influencing a lifeform's knowledge of their environment. They may also discover new language elements and "memes" to expand the possibilities of the world. Through this navigation of the space and the engagement with the forms and entities within the iconic world, the visitor develops a complex relationship with a constructed reality. Software features: Based on unique language of icons and grammar for combining groups of icons. Icons used as building blocks for an artificial life model. Icons can also be used for visitors to communicate with the artificial life forms. Work is constructed from a library of images and sounds representing six abstractions of reality. User may add forms and entities to the world, as well as manipulate existing structures. Evolution of world depends on user interaction, internal cycles of the alife model, and connectivity with web site. Exhibition System Description Iconica employs two large projections. The first screen displays a direct interface to the world, and may be scrolled in eight directions. Interaction with forms and entities also occurs on this screen. Iconica's second screen is projected onto a set of thermoformed objects which represent the topography of the world. This screen represents a map of the entire world and all of the forms and entities within it. Each screen is run from a single computer, with communications via an Ethernet network providing the information to the map screen. This link means that at the user interacts with the first screen by moving and activating objects, the second screen reflects these changes. A surround sound system plays both the atmospheric sounds of individual spaces in the world, and the voices and other sounds of the forms and entities. Interaction with the work occurs via a mouse which is placed on a podium at the entrance to the space. The space is structured in such a way so that numerous visitors can experience the audio and visual components of the work once within the space. Equipment 2 x Apple Power Macintosh G3 200Mhz (64MB RAM, 1GB HD, CD-ROM drive, OS8.1) 2 x Apple color monitors (for testing) 2 x mouse / keyboard 2 x Data projector and cables 1 x 10-BASE T Ethernet hub and cables 1 x 5 speaker Dolby surround sound system with amplifier |
