Silent Disco

Interactive...

Following on from my idea of mapping I have been looking at interactive surfaces and the type of technology that is currently available.

interactive projections:

Space Hijackers

I have been looking at organizations such as 'Anarchitects' in particular a group called Space Hijackers..

"Our group is dedicated to battling the constant oppressive encroachment onto public spaces of institutions, corporations and urban planners. We oppose the way that public space is being eroded and replaced by corporate profit making space.We oppose the way that users of space are being put under increasing scrutiny and control by those who own or run it. Be this via CCTV installed to monitor us, or architectural elements designed to control our moods.

We oppose the blanding out and destruction of local culture in the name of global economic progress. Newer and Bigger is not always better, it is usually both impersonal and imposing.

Through our various actions we attempt to raise awareness of issues within spaces and change how these spaces are used and percieved in the future. We intend to destroy heirarchies within spaces and claim back public ownership. Our projects act as another voice within space, and become engrained upon the places we Hijack.

Our aim is to change the way that ownership and usage of space is percieved, to put users of space in a more level position. We want to have a say in how we all exist within public space, on where and how we meet. We are fed up with being treated like criminal cattle by the institutions and corporations that decide on the shape and content of our environment. The Space Hijackers in no way want to become leaders of some kind of resistance movement, our actions detailed on this site should act as a catalyst for others. If we can, you can. However we want to expand our membership in order to create a forum for discussion and development of these ideas. Our agents area is a space where interested parties can meet in a non heriarchical manner and help each other in their quests. "

Midnight Cricket is a game where the Space Hijackers venture into the city, to host Anarchist Vs Capitalist cricket matches on the streets of the financial centre of London. After finding a suitable pub, full of bankers and hedge fund managers, we arrive en mass dressed in our cricket whites and drink with the suits, striking up conversation and then challenging them to a match at closing time.





Greenwich foot tunnel pirate party.

Siesta In The City

Conformity

With my powerful persuasive techniques I was able to cast a number of people to perform and obey my simple requests. These tasks included leading others, manual labour, snacking and pecking the floor.



Obey and Conform from amanda ford on Vimeo.

With my dancing and hand shake experiments, I have found that the social pressure has been extremely difficult for most people to overcome and furthermore, the unwillingness to do so. The way people are so influenced by the perception of others to behave in a 'appropriate' way is limiting and closing off any possible social interaction with strangers. 
For the hand shake experiments I intend to place an obstruction/ something to make people aware of my presence to hopefully shake them out of this compliance to not interact with strangers. 

For the dancing experiments I plan to start off with a group of people then see if that will encourage more people to dance, also perhaps incorporating my study of mapping.

Mapping/ Tracking

Developing on from my dancing experiments, I am interested in the idea of personal space, interaction and tracking.
As a test experiment I filmed myself with cloths soaked in paint and strapped to my feet, dancing on a sheet of paper. To expand on this experiment I want to involve more people each with a different colour paint, so I can map peoples dance moves and further understand the boundaries of personal space and interaction. Here are stills taken every 5 seconds.

'Paint dancing'

Paint Dance Test from amanda ford on Vimeo.

Shake, Hug or Wave?... or Nothing.

Developing on my preliminary research into social interaction by trying to physically interact with strangers through handshakes, hugs or high fives. I recorded myself at 4 different times in the day between 5-15 minutes, standing on one of the Golden Jubilee bridges offering passers by handshakes, hugs, high fives or even just a simple wave.


Shake, Hug or Wave? from amanda ford on Vimeo.

Results:

10.00 AM  (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 62 / Women: 41    Total: 103

• Handshake = Men: 7 / Women: 4       Total: 11
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug = 0
• Wave = Men: 3 / Women: 4

12.00PM (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 171 / Women: 146    Total: 317
• Handshake = Men: 31 / Women: 20       Total: 51
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug =  Men: 1 / Women: 1
• Wave = Men: 7 / Women: 2

4.30PM  (10 MINUTES) 

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 127 / Women: 87    Total: 214
• Handshake = Men: 21 / Women: 6       Total: 27
• High Five =  Men: 2 / Women: 0
• Hug =  0
• Wave = Men: 9 / Women: 2

4.45PM (10 MINUTES)

• Number of people who walked passed = Men: 65 / Women: 79    Total: 144

• Handshake = Men: 6 / Women: 5       Total: 11
• High Five =  Men: 1 / Women: 0
• Hug =  Men: 0 / Women: 1
• Wave = Men: 6 / Women: 5

TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 778

This made my day. from amanda ford on Vimeo.
..and something a little unexpected made standing in the cold so much more worth it :)

Dance With Me?

Dance Series [clips] from amanda ford on Vimeo.

The samba band are regular buskers that play next to the Hungerford Bridge, and after several observations I found that people do stop to appreciate and listen to their music, but hardly ever get involved and start dancing even though in most cases it looks like they want to. I have noticed that especially in England people are generally very reluctant to interact with each other, whereas in Chile where I'm from it is socially acceptable to talk to or interact with strangers to a certain extent.
I wanted to see if I started dancing whether people would get involved and interact with me or still stick to their 'accepted' social behaviour.

Throughout the 45 minutes I spent dancing, 18 people came to dance with me. 12 men and 6 women.

I also wanted to see what the results were if; instead of me (a girl), a boy were dancing, how would the results differ. I conducted a preliminary test but in the short 10 minutes my friend Josh spent dancing no one was willing to dance, though further testing is needed.

Amstel Station, Amsterdam.

This is Amstel train station in Amsterdam, where Dutch designer Frank Tjepkema was commissioned to design furniture for the Central Hall that could initiate social interaction, but at the same time, provide opportunities for more private moments, creating a balance of privacy and openness.

"The playful composition of forms, based on a rigid (rather cubist) framework, was developed with a balance between privacy and openness in mind, inviting people to experience different levels of intimacy or interaction."

 Tjep 

Kissing Bench

The kissing bench, conceived from the idea of capturing the moment when two people meet, it encourages interaction between two individuals in a subtle and seductive way and perhaps will even lead to a kiss....

 

"Play me, I'm Yours"

In June 2010, British artist Luke Jerram presented his artwork "Play me, Im yours" in London and New York. It consisted of placing 21 pianos around central London for the public to interact and play with, he wanted it to be "a catalyst for strangers who regularly occupy the same space, to talk and connect with one another.. Disrupting people’s negotiation of their city, the pianos are also aimed to provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape."
The concept behind his artwork, of how he wanted people to interact with each other and their surroundings is what I want to achieve out of my project. The observation I made on the site through my research is that people seem so disconnected from their surroundings and so reluctant to participate in social interaction, but that hopefully artwork such as Luke Jerram's "Play me I'm Yours" and my final piece will provoke the public to interact and connect with their surroundings, and perhaps create a more relaxed and open society.

ACCESS by Marie Sester

"ACCESS is a public art installation that applies web, computer, sound and lighting technologies in which web users track individuals in public spaces with a unique robotic spotlight and acoustic beam system. The robotic spotlight automatically follows the tracked individuals while the acoustic beam projects audio that only they can hear. The tracked individuals do not know who is tracking them or why they are being tracked, nor are they aware of being the only persons among the public hearing the sound. The web users do not know that their actions trigger sound towards the target. In effect, both the tracker and the tracked are in a paradoxical communication loop. The ACCESS spotlight system travels from one undisclosed public space to another. The exact location of the public space is revealed only after ACCESS moves to its next location. The ACCESS website, which contains the webcam view and spotlight control, keeps an updated list of the locations visited as well as a video archive.

The content of ACCESS calls for awareness of the implications of surveillance, detection, celebrity, and their impact on society. The structure of ACCESS is intentionally ambiguous, revealing the obsession/fascination for control, visibility, and vigilance: scary or fun. ACCESS was primarily influenced by the beauty of the surveillance representations (x-rayed bodies, luggage or vehicles, 3D laser scans, satellite reconnaissance imagery, etc.), the invisibility of the collected data, and the power generated by means of surveillance practices."

http://www.accessproject.net/index.html

"Every Human Being Is An Artist"

"This most modern art discipline–Social Sculpture/Social Architecture–will only reach fruition when every living person becomes a creator, a sculptor, or architect of the social organism."

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys documentary from cordltx on Vimeo.


Beuys wanted to awaken the populace, shake people out of their routines, the acceptable rigors one can pass through life with, unobservant of the disparities and conflicts all around. "...I not only want to stimulate people, I want to provoke them." 

Beuys strongly believed that art had the power to shape a better society and once stated that 'It was simply impossible for human beings to bring their creative intention into the world any other way than through action." This strength of conviction led Beuys to push the boundaries of established artforms to include human action and large-scale sculptural environments exploring universal social concerns. 
I can see the similarities in my thinking with that of Beuys's, In my project my aim is to stimulate and incorporate human action into my final design and I agree to some extent that art has the power to shape and challenge society and the established norms of human behaviour.

EXPERIMENT 1: Social Contact

Would you shake hands with a stranger? from amanda ford on Vimeo.

My idea behind this experiment came from wanting to create an obstruction linked with the environment that initiates social interaction and contact.

What I wanted to achieve through my experimentation was, a physical movement with a meaning: 

• that is directed towards others
• that awaits a response
• that is a unique/ rare interaction

For 15 minutes I stood on the Jubilee Bridge that is connected to the Southbank Centre with my hand open for people to be able to exchange a hand shake with me. I chose the hand shake as it a traditional and cultural action in a situation where you are introducing yourself, but only under certain conditions. I wanted to record people's reaction to this unusual situation and whether I could engage in social contact with the people around me.

Social contact is a pair of social actions with no further consequence - i.e. it is not likely to be repeated. An example would be a failed and not-repeated attempt to start a conversation with a stranger

 Findings:

 26/87 people who passed by in those 15 minutes shook my hand

• 5/26 people, stayed to have a conversation

 1/87 people gave me a hug

Through more experimentation I want to observe:

• What kind of people shake my hand (male, female, tourists, businessmen, students etc)
• What reactions I get in different times throughout the day
• If I change my appearance, how does that affect my results?

I am also looking into other types of social interaction such as silent discos, eye contact and hand gestures.

Proposal

 My line of inquiry for this project is based around the subject of human contact and obstruction, with an objective of ENGAGING passers by to participate and interact with each other or me.

Initial Ideas to be developed:

• Incorporating my experimental work of offering hand shakes to people, an idea would be to create a tool or device that initiates a hand shake between strangers. 

• To create an event, using the music performed under the bridge as a tool to gather people. Design a tool or installation that would encourage people to dance, such as panels on the floor directing the movement of your feet that needed two people to function.

•  A physical obstruction that would force people to engage with a stranger and make some sort of contact. Such as a kissing gate placed on the golden jubilee bridge, its confined space would force people to take notice of its obstruction of their path and encourage its use.

SOCIAL INTERACTION AND CONTACT

Just Dance from amanda ford on Vimeo.

" Forms of relation and interaction in sociology and anthropology may be described as follows: first and most basic are animal-like behaviors, i.e. various physical movements of the body. Then there are actions - movements with a meaning and purpose. Then there are social behaviors, or social actions, which address (directly or indirectly) other people, which solicit a response from another agent. Next are social contacts, a pair of social actions, which form the beginning of social interactions. Social interactions in turn form the basis of social relations."

 Expanding on my observation of the lack of social interaction and contact mostly with commuters and their surroundings on their way to and from work, I then decided to focus my research on the people occupying the space in and around Southbank. I documented when and where this took place; one example of social interaction I found on site was when people where dancing and getting involved through the music performed by a street band underneath the Hungerford Bridge. This is also when I noticed John and Stephen.

John and Stephen

Dancing underneath the steps leading up to the footbridge and enjoying the music being played, I was instantly intrigued by them, they embrace peoples judgements, they're not afraid to express themselves publicly and they encourage people to engage in social interaction.
I decided that I wanted to join in and dance with them. Once I did so, I noticed almost immediately people were stopping to film, take photos or just to watch. It wasn't anything particularly special just moving around to the beat, after a short while a lady in her mid 30's began to join in with us, followed by a couple just before the music stopped.
John, from Glasgow and Stephen, from London answer a few of my questions:

A: What makes you want to dance here?

J: I enjoy the music the rhythm, I used to be a professional dancer. But also because when we dance here it helps the band get more money, when people see us dancing they stay longer and enjoy the music.

S: yeah, it relaxes people, makes them want to dance .

A: How would you describe peoples reactions towards your dancing?

J: Im just here to dance and enjoy the music, people think I'm here as one of those performers and stand and watch us and take pictures. I don't mind.
S: Its good when people take notice of us, it helps the band. People are so far away from life around them. You see, you have come up to us because we were dancing, you are talking and dancing with us. That is how it should be.

A: Do people normally join in when you dance?

S: Not with us under here, but people sometimes dance in front of the band
J: They just watch except for you. After you're done with this you can film our rap.

John and Stephen from amanda ford on Vimeo.

Whilst I was filming I noticed that a crowd started to gather behind me, it made me think whether it was because I was holding a professional looking camera and carrying a tripod that people assumed that what I was filming must be worth filming, or if they were genuinely interested in John and Stephens rap. I asked the person behind me why they decided to come over and film it, they replied " I saw you start filming, are you a photographer for a living?"
 After filming it was suggested that we meet again at the same place and bring more people to get involved and create an impromptu street party. I said I would bring snacks, Monday 1st Nov at 3pm (providing its not raining).

Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges

 The Hungerford Bridge was first designed by Isambard Brunel as a suspension footbridge in 1845. It was bought in 1859 by the railway company to extend the South Eastern Railway tracks into Charing Cross Station. The suspension bridge was then replaced with a design by Sir John Hawkshaw and it was opened in 1864, walkways were added and taken away as they were considered dangerous for being too narrow and dilapidated.

In 1996 a competition was held to replace the walkways with new structures either side of the railway bridge. Architects Lifschutz Davidson  and engineers WSP Group won the design concept. However there were certain complications in the construction of the bridges, firstly was the need to keep the railway bridge fully operational during the construction of the new footbridges, and secondly the problem of the underground tunnels passing only a few feet directly under the proposed foundations of the new bridges. Furthermore, there was also the threat of unexploded World War II bombs in the riverbed. London Underground was unwilling to accept these risks, despite extensive surveys of the area. The design was then modified so that the support structure on the north side was moved out onto Victoria Embankment, instead of originally being within 15m of the tube lines. The complex design of the structure is held in place by exploiting the tensions between the pylons and the various stay rods and struts. 

   

SOUTHBANK

Our site, the area in and around the Southbank Centre, once full of industrial enterprises has now been converted into one of London's top tourist destinations. County Hall, the Festival of Britain, the Hayward Gallery, the National Theatre, Tate Modern and the London Eye all contributing to its successful regeneration. The riverfront pedestrian walkway from the London Eye to the Tate Modern was designed by Architects and Urban Planners, Lifschutz Davidson in 1996, to make it more welcoming and attractive to visitors and Londoners. 


My initial observation of the site was the amount of people in the area, on any day it was constantly busy. Mainly with tourists and performing artists, but also with commuters walking to and from work.
While watching the commuters pass by on the bridge, it reminded of worker ants following a set path, it was all about getting from A to B, cutting off any social interaction. It also seemed like they were unaware of their surroundings, as their commute was so predictable and familiar to them. I am particularly interested in the commute over the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridges, either side of the Hungerford Bridge. I wondered what would happen if an obstruction was placed in the way, how would people react to that unexpected and unfamiliar situation? I found this to be very interesting, and started to look into social interaction and the built environment. 


Another observation I made was the amount of people taking photographs, equipped with professional cameras, yet not even paying attention to the subject of the photo they were taking. With the option of taking as many photographs as you like and being able to delete the ones you don't want, digital photography is turning into a 'trigger happy' luxury especially as technology has advanced so much that almost everyone carries some form of camera with them (phone/ipod). Meaning the subject and composition of the photo is no longer seen with much importance as you don't just have 26 pictures anymore you can have a GB's worth with no developing costs, so I decided to take pictures of these 'camera happy' tourists.

'Camera Happy'

Riverwalk

About me..

I am interested in interactive art installations, the concept of a structure being activated through its contact with people. I want to create installation-based art that involves a spectator in some way as to achieve its purpose, I like the idea of creating a secret and mysterious experience that may only be enjoyed and known by one other person. Furthermore, I want to investigate social behavior and try to challenge existing rules, patterns and views through my work. 

I find sustainable design and architecture fascinating, and coming from the Atacama Desert in Chile where there is no shortage of sunlight, I then find it even more relevant for me to be able to incorporate sustainability into my designs. My other interests are drawing, painting, photography and the futurism movement in art. Here are some examples of my previous work:

La vita è breve

Terremoto

Filmed on Rockingham estate, Elephant and Castle on Paranoia.