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Art & Artificial Life International Competition | Home | Entry | Editions | References | Español | |
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Unending Closure Abstract: Forty years ago, in the early days of the information age theorists, technologists, and futurists believed that by the 21st century the potential of the technology they where inventing would bring forth a new era, promising innumerous conveniences, adventures, and pleasantries. In a way, they were right, their innovations along with plenty of social and political change did bring a new era, though perhaps not as they expected. What their projections failed to account was the unaccountable; moments in history from which new social paradigms are created. The first three years of the 21st century saw a dramatic shift in the overall psyche and demeanor of the global community. The events that have unfolded since the turn of the century, in addition to the unending technological parade of innovation, and the bloating of Media influence over the world has yielded not a people that enjoy Sunday afternoon picnics on the moon, but a paranoid-delusional society, in constant fear of its own shadow. Using robotics as the primary medium, "Unending Closure" is a response to this accelerated social-trend. Being inherently driven by a sense of curiosity and exploration, the robots that exist in these two wooden columns live in a constant state of suspicion and fear, attempting to "see" what is outside, yet drawing back at the earliest guise of danger. Technical Operation: Each robot is equipped with an IR sensor which it uses to "explore" its world from the small opening near the top of each column. The sensor is mounted on a mechanism that allows for the robot to search both vertical and horizontal space. While they do this, they each make unique searching sounds from a built-in sound generator and speaker. Once they find a viewer, they will focus on them, waiting to see what the viewer does. If the viewer gets too close they will try to get away by shaking around at varying levels of intensity and making distinct warning sounds. If the viewer stays within a certain distance, the robots will try to communicate with them, using sounds and shaking. If they do not find anyone for a long period of time, they will exhibit several types of behaviors, including communicating with each other via a stream of sounds. Medium: Wood, glass, Plexiglas, aluminum, nylon, wire, costume electronics, microprocessor, motor. |
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