enwandu-Looking Outwards 12

For my final project, I am interested in creating something generative, and perhaps includes some elements of user interaction. With that in mind I looked at the work “Black or White or More or Less” by Lia, and the project “Messa Di Voce” by Zachary Lieberman, and others. The first project I looked at, is one in which cascades of sliding line segments alternately hide and reveal black and white surfaces, opening and closing apertures into spaces that expand through and behind the virtual canvas in a mesmerizing, infinitely varying interplay of dark and light. Lia’s project is generative in nature but allows for the immersion of the user into the space beyond the canvas. Lieberman’s project is very much interactive because it requires the sound generated by the user; transforming every vocal nuance into a subtly differentiated highly expressive graphic. The audiovisual performance is one that creates a cycle of interaction that fully integrates the performers into an ambiance consisting of sound, virtual objects, and real-time processing.

I admire both projects for the way they created an immersive environment, but in two completely different ways. While Lieberman’s project takes a more direct approach by utilizing the user, Lia’s work indirectly accomplishes this by allowing the viewer to get lost in the work due to the shifting spatial perception caused by the play between dark and light.