Alessandra Fleck – Looking Outwards – 02

I find the project, Unnumbered Sparks ,presented at TED2014, by Aaron Koblin particularly inspiring because it takes what is one of the most prominent, yet unseen movements in the modern day, and projects it onto a visual depiction that fills the sky when looked upon from below. Stretching 745 feet across, this piece blanketing above ground takes in cell phone signals to draw and play with the color mapping details being projected onto it. Utilizing the Javascript interactive rendering API called WebGL, the user’s motion is able to come to life as it is rendered through shaders and javascript. To get the drawings/movement-associated art projected onto the “blanket,” websockets pass the data from a mobile to rendering browser. Just as the work flows along the lines of bringing a community together, it also does so in a similar language in the way the algorithms utilized connect to one another. What makes this work so interesting is that it is a piece of art that inspires those who are viewing the sculpture to also engage in art. In other words, an art piece that leaves room to branch out and become even more elaborate with the viewers art included into the piece. As a common theme of technological developments today is about sharing information across a larger span, it is neat to see such theme come out in a semi tangible application.