W3 - Motomichi + The Pool + Final Proposal
Motomichi Nakamura
The speech from Motomichi was inspirational and practically helpful. I always wanted to see how each artist gets to where they are today. I also appreciate how open he was while sharing his experiences. There are a couple of takeaways from his talk last week.
From doing animation to project mapping, he got a lot of unique opportunities throughout his artist career, and a lot of them were invitations from organizations and individuals in the industry. I learned that it is crucial to put yourself out there and get exposure as much as possible. People can only remember what you do and think of you when there are great opportunities.
I enjoyed his "childish" attitude in his work. He hides all the expansive equipment and complicated technical setups and productions behind cute and playful animations. I share similar values in my work too. I enjoy seeing people smile when they interact with things I make.
Furthermore, I admire him for pushing technical difficulties and barriers. For example, he did a projection mapping when the technology wasn't even a thing, but he still figured out a way to do that. And he even managed to make projections on a dark surface. I think these came from years of experience and a heart of curiosity.
The Pool
Last Saturday, I was in Industry City in Brooklyn and remembered a light installation was happening, so I decided to check it out. I arrived there early, around 4 pm, when the sun was still out and bright. I could hear kids screaming from far away, and when I got there, I saw a sea of happy kids running around on the light installation. The installation is a bit generic and underwhelming for me. I saw it got hyped in the news, so I had high expectations before going. The installation consists of three sets of light discs arranged in the shape of flowers. Each disc has a ring of LED lights and a pressure sensor that animates the ring light when standing on it.
One thing I liked about this work was how approachable they are. Kids were naturally happily jumping from one to another. However, I was surprised to see some adults doing so too. Most of the time, adults are more preserved when interacting with the arts in public. The fact that the artist buried the artwork in the sand and the vivid colors help people overcome shyness. I am trying to do a project that welcomes people to interact. I believe I can learn from this aspect of this work.
I revisited the work about two hours later when it was darker outside. The work looked better, as the color was brighter and the surroundings were less chaotic. It shows how important the surrounding lights and brightness are to a light project. How clear and vivid we can perceive the light is significant.
Final Project
I am making an interactive installation with a robotic arm and projections. There will be a robotic arm on a tall white pedestal where projectors will project visuals. I am still working on finalizing my storyline and script. Still, I want to use this class to test possible interactions between the robot and projection.
I am using Touchdesigner as the central control of the robot and visuals.
For example, I can have red blocks rise to cover the pedestal while the robot arm raises. So it looks like the arm is connected and interacting with the visual.
I will develop more visuals and animation when I start making them.
