Nadia Susanto – Looking Outwards – 09

I looked at Ammar Hassonjee’s LO 2. He studied a generative art project called “Breathing Wall II” by Behnaz Farahi in 2014, a USC architecture professor. The installation is made out of wood, PVC, and fabric. To capture the hand motions and signals they use many systems like Leap Motion system and DC systems then project contour lines on the wall.

Video demonstrating the Breathing Wall installation

Ammar liked the relationship between movement, light, and color and how it gave power to users to interact with that environment. He also says his favorite types of art are ones that are adaptive and involves user activity. I can agree that this is my favorite type of art as well because involving human behavior brings extra beauty to the artwork.

What I love about this project is that it seems so simple and has a deeper meaning to it. Farahi mentioned how mobile devices used touch and gesture-based languages like swiping, clicking, or dragging for natural control. With the rise of technology and social media, we are entranced by this environment of likes and scrolling through people’s photos with meaningless connections. We forget the real surrounding environment around us, so this project sets a great reminder that those basic controls can be used to control the surrounding environment.

Farahi interacting with installation
A closer look at a user interacting with the wall. Notice also the contour lines on the wall.

To learn more about this installation, click the link below:

http://behnazfarahi.com/breathing-wall-ii/

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