Lina Maria Giraldo's Blog

What is the question that my piece asks? (if you know the answer to the question itself then its the wrong question)

My piece wants to explore how a distant war can generate overwhelming feelings in individuals who are only spectators. How can a remote conflict that we only know through news and images, touch us and make us feel as if we were involved? I wish to explore what happens when we are given the option of changing the way we receive information we don’t necessarily want to know. Are we more distant and cold to the pain if we are given an option to do so?

What is the experience I want to create for my audience & how does the interaction serve the piece?

I want to invite the audience to interact with the video in order to explore it’s other dimensions. Layering the images of the war and introducing the modified video, gives the spectator an option to “opt out” of the violence and suffering that the images carry. The main story though, continues in the background, just as reality carries on, as we look the other way. Just as the conflict is very complex and involves many more layers than I could name, the video constantly overlaps images and information. It is the same information we are constantly bombarded by in the news and internet.
As the audience interacts with the piece, they might perceive the notion that their only knowledge of the conflict comes from third party accounts, images and footage. Their perception of the facts is built upon their voyeurism, so modifying what we can see, will certainly modify our perception.

Work timeline: create a list of what needs to be done & a breakdown of which tasks will be completed on which day – build in time for the inevitable kerfufle.

Thursday March 5th

Answer the questions for the instructor (Ruth Sergel)
Presenting to the class the prototype. The piece will be built in processing because it offers me the interaction that I’m looking for. Depending on the feedback and the availability of the space at school, I will solve how and where it would be installed.

What are the things you want to explore by user testing the interaction in class?

I would like to explore the curiosity that war generates on us. I like the audience to click and discover what is behind the video, like peeling an onion. I want to see if having an abstract option on the video will allow people to escape from the pain they feel as they are exposed to the suffering both on the audio part, as well as in the visual side. When spectators switch to the text mode, do they still perceive the conflict the same? Is it like reading the news of a far away conflict, that we then turn the page and continue reading about a pop star’s trivial life?

I’m very exited about my next project with Emily and Gordie, bellow is our idea and research, enjoy:

Power Presentation:

Images Observation:

“We spent a lot of time in front of the computer and we only use our hands, which generates a lot health issues like carpal tunnel syndrome. Our idea with this is to create an interface that could help the interaction with the computer from another perspective. We could redesign the computer interface similar to piano pedals and some kind of mouse and switch that could replace many functions of the mouse.

Here, the action is clicking and typing on the keyboard mouse. The medium is the computer program and the changes will be the behavior of the computer. The goal of clicking and typing of the computer is to create, change, modify or delete information.

The physical parameters of this activity are limited to your hands and eyes. The person engaged will only use his hands and eyes, while his legs and arms basically do nothing. The posture almost doesn’t change, so this also generates problems in your back, neck, hips and some cases legs. While working on the computer your focus is mainly on the screen and keyboard. The activity is engaging because we have a constant overflow of information. The stress on your hands wrist and the fact you don’t move the body for a long time”