Interactive Art Installation
About
A thesis project while studying physical computing at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU-Tisch.
I explored the concept of architectural interiors reacting to human movement. As a proof of concept, I designed a laser-cut pattern onto mirrored plexi and affixed the mirror facets to soft Tyvek material. A Kinect sensor detected movement, while servo-motors behind the mirrors created a flowy motion based on calculations of passerby positions and moment. The result was a shimmer of reflected light trailing passerbys.
Shortly after this thesis project, I was contacted by Tekserve to create an interactive window installation with a snowflake shape for a holiday commission called Make Art Happen. I entitled the installation Origami Snow. A part of the art project was to build the installation in the window over the course or several weeks to exhibit the work in progress in public.
“Atop its base, Origami Snow stands five feet tall by four feet wide. It is covered in mirrored fragments, laser-cut and beveled so the mirrors can move freely while attached adjacently to a flexible polymer. Servo motors on the back of the sculpture pull and push on selected nodes to create movement in the mirrors. Kinect sensors will detect street movement, and the mirrored surface will react, sending shimmers of light across the piece. A default feature will be installed to provoke movement when there is no activity – so that the sculpture may be ‘alive’ through the night.”