Field Reports #3 (2nd Go-round) pt 2

2. "Deep Walls"

Experiencing this piece made me think of a security guard in a casino watching the public from the "eyes in the sky." It many ways this piece was a sensory overload. There were so many boxes continually playing and changing that I had a hard time focusing on them all. I seemed to pick out one or two and focus purely on their movements/silhouettes until I felt I had gained as much information from it as possible. The hard part was that people would walk up and do a motion and then the boxes changed. This made the gaining of information from it never-ending.

I found this piece to be the most interactive in my opinion. The concept of using silhouettes I think made people feel more comfortable with acting goofy or unique in front of the camera. As McKinnon put it, "anonymous shadows = safety." This in turn makes it a more interesting interaction between the public to the screen and then from the screen to new people just walking in. They will see these wild actions and no-identification (except on a personal level, as you can identify yourself in silhouette) and feel more prone to acting zany themselves, thus continuing the pattern and making this a wheel of interaction and physical communication with others.

This non-verbal communication illustrates the very basics of human interaction with each other. Certain motions can be viewed by others and their interpretation can be seen as "happy, bored, etc." With the group I went with, one girl did a back flip into the camera and immediately the screen showed the results with gasps of amazing by the surrounding crowd. This act of physical movement was gratifying to all who watched just as if people were watching a sports highlight on espn of an amazing baseball catch. Even if it was a simple gesture people could relate. This also made me think of polaroid instant pictures or photo booths and amusement parks. The action and immediate reaction by the technology add in a level of spontaneity and fun.