Slide show

The slide show to the left was done by grouping images into an album in Picasa on a Mac updated with mountain lion. It works on other macs however doesn't seem to on PCs browsing with IE.
Back to work on it.

Face recognition?

A programmer, in thinking about how to configure the sound unit, came up with an idea, to use face recognition software to remember the viewer and triger the sound remotely from a computer in the exhibition space.

Nice! However, where to put the sensor on the piece? The idea of a lens peaking out from the side or the middle of the piece is inappropriate for this installation (although I have a thought on where it could exist on a future piece, already in the works). Had the pieces not been  printed on paper, it would make it a possibility but then take away the massiveness of the piece.

The lens could be outfitted on both sides so the sound would exist only as long as a particular viewer lingered in front of the piece, but that affects how the sound would meld with others during the exhibition, altering the collaborative interactive experience.

The fluid blog

Changing images and text, announcing the changes in various social media venues, developing new images have substantially boosted the readership.
Welcoming comments.

This week the prototype comes down

And it was very important. First ideas:
• More room is needed; viewers don't have enough room to step back
• That said, viewers like walking right up to the work to view details
• The gauge of the wire to hang the show also becomes important: How much should the pieces move back and forth?
• The height of the images from the floor becomes critical. Too high, it towers over the viewer. Too low, the suspension effect is lost
• Explore designing and manufacturing stands?

What a nail-biter!

It has become a consuming endeavor to round up potential investors--even friends--and drum up the nerve to get them to invest in the work. I've never done it boldly to a person's face, and I can be rather bold!

Anyway, the Kickstater image page, left, links directly to the site!

Gallery Photos

The show's opening the other evening gave me the opportunity to thank those who came. But it didn't really give me the time to observe those walking through the gallery and how they looked at the work. I'll be going that over this week, starting in a little while.

Also important is recording the attendance, since, another challenge of the work is describing it to those who have never experienced it.

Other Electronic Options

Brought to my attention:
Repurposing an iPhone--or its equivalent--to be the sound unit.
In thinking about it:

A little photo I found on the web.

1) The camera lens could be used as the sensor with the base image being a white field and the viewer stepping into its range and breaking the differential
2) The unit already contains a pre-amp and speaker hook-up
3) It can be programmed with an app

Issues:
1) Proprietary issues
2) Powering the unit; many microcontrollers require much less energy
3) Expense. Microcontrollers are in the $ 35 range, smart phones--even used ones--will run about
$ 100.

And, if I'm not running this remotely, I wonder if it's needed.

The original idea for a microcontroller with chip is most interesting since the unit is stand-alone and the chip could be added without additional programming.