......// [C0D3] the mechanics of the spell
http://www.hci-fun.org.uk/projects/c0d3/
....// Conceptual keys
- Parallelism between magic spell and
computer code
- Parallelism between shamanism and
virtuality = Disembodiment
- Techno-conceptual evolution of time
- Technological + informational extentions of our body =
hyperbody
[C0D3] was triggered by a performance that conceptually and
technically gave birth to the piece; it is a music piece represented by the
artist wearing homemade data gloves and an infrared sensor acting as a
Theremin. The motion generated by
the performance is captured through data gloves and sensor; then translated into the 3D
landscapes, visualizations and sounds.
The resulting virtual spaces and objects are thus a graphical
re-presentation of the physical body - the artist generating the movement - and
time - the movement happens over time.
The piece can also be interacted with online. These virtual spaces become gathering
places for the users´ virtual representation to interact with.
The piece is Caen´s take on the theme of Disembodiment: our virtual
existences happen without our physical body and through body-extensions. He highlights the relation between shamanism
and virtuality, between incantations and computer code: how a certain
combination of symbols - letters, words or code -.pronounced on one level of
reality will affect the other.
An important moment of our evolution towards telepathy, on our path to perfect communication highways,
is the fusion of word and action.
The virtual reality where we spend a considerable amount of our daily
lives is driven by a new sort of
"... magic
word: the commands you type into a computer are a kind of speech that doesn't
so much communicate as make things happen. They are incantations, in
other words, and anyone at all attuned to the technosocial megatrends of the
moment -- from the growing dependence of economies on the global flow of intensely
fetishized words and numbers to the burgeoning ability of bioengineers to
speak the spells written in the four-letter text of DNA -- knows that the
logic of the incantation is rapidly permeating the fabric of our lives." [1]
Caen´s background as a musician is behind
his approach to computers: the physical contact that musical instruments
require inspired him to seek the same kind of `relation´ with other
music-making devices. It is also behind
the idea of "Time Mixing" that he presents here (see below)
....// HCI
Caen has conceived [C0D3] as a "Time
Mixer";
different moments in time gather together in this virtual space: the online
user; server; real time processing of data; stream. Again, these are all concepts analyzed in HCI research. Caen highlights the physical distance
that separates these different entities integrating a certain delay into the
equation. He highlights the `extensiveness´
still present in the `intensive´ time of our virtual exchanges nowadays (Paul
Virilio [2] ).
....// Technology
Caen´s physical relation - Gestural Control - with machines
happens through low-tech motion-capture devices such as data gloves or floor
pads, "cannibalized" by the artist himself. Once the installation is running, users online and in the
Media Lounge can also interact with the piece using their voice.
The information received from the capture devices - data gloves,
pads AND microphones (in situ and online) - is analyzed and mapped onto the 3D
landscapes and sounds. A set of
MaxMSP patches triggers these organic 3D visualizations and sounds. This generative installation will continue to
grow for as long as it receives input from users.
