In Action Day 1 and 2

The word TELEPHONE comes from the Greek words

tele = far

phone = voice

a communication device used to transmit and receive sounds.

DAY 1

I first installed it in the hallway outside the studio on a Monday, with the sign to call Dr. Juma in Africa he can help you solve any problems. I recorded a soundtrack with the idea to irritate the listener enormously. You were put on hold, and to the next operator and again, and finally end up at Dr Juma’s office but only his answering machine would pick up…

it I should also mention, that in my sound track I tell people which numbers to hit next in order to get to the next level. Most of the time I tell them more numbers like 2937. They don’t know that actually only the last digit “7″ would be activated in this case and all the other numbers are nonsense! “THE DARK SIDE OF INTERACTION”. On Tuesday I made on number so long that you had problems remembering it – funny – people actually replayed it in order to memorize the numbers…

Monday Sound

Here a few videos – what actually happened. I set up a video camera connected via Airport to my computer and I could watch what was going on outside. Surprisingly a lot of people just walked past the installation. Some also tried to work it alone, which of course defeated the whole purpose. Maybe the lack of interest was due to the hall way, the rush at the end of the semester, this art center factory set-up…. or my installation did not create enough attention. So for Tuesday, I changed the story and…

DAY 2

Tuesday Sound

… I decided I needed to not add some ringing sound, this would probably make people pick up the phone… right! Unfortunately not! People ignored the ringing, it was unbelievable. The ringing was not connected to the computer, it was me sitting behind the door manually pushing a button to make the phone ring outside (some little device I got at radio check, where you can record a 20 sec. sound and play it by the push of a button – i just had to extant the wires). So every time I saw someone walk down the hallway I rang the phone and once they picked it up I would stop the ringing. If they didn’t stop I would just let it ring, driving everyone insane, but still they would not pick up the receiver.

I also made a little embarrassing video showing how I made it work and the  “dark side of interaction” my new favorite thing – tricking people. (in a good way)

if you haven’t had enough by now I have one more. While I was going through my video-recordings I found this, I had no idea. Someone was adopting my project. A little crazy.

building a box isnot that easy

After all my electronic work I had to build a little house for the dialing pad, which turned into a big mess. It probably collapsed 5 times and  the wood glue was all over me. Afterwards I spray-painted it and trilled it into the wall outside the studio.

receiver as an extended speaker – done

It is not so easy to buy a coiled-guitar chord. They are outdated. Apparently coiled chord are not as durable for stage activity and break easily. Well after lots of phone calls I finally found a little shop in Alhambra that had some (with dust). I also learned that the chord was “mono” which only makes sense. Anyways I only had a little “stereo” jack left so i just used that and it works. So yeah my output is done.
For the input I soldiered a few little buttons, laser cut a pad, attached the whole thing and put it into the dialing pad. Hooked it up to my make controller for some testing and it works. Oh and it looks like I don’t need any scripting at all – rock on.
What is left is the operators voice recording, make a box for the dialing pad, I’d also like one button under the receiver that makes a sound when you first place the receiver to your ear. Plus I was thinking maybe having an LED close to the receiver that blinks every time the other person dials …….
Here some photos of my work today.

Turning a phone receiver into a headphone

Today I experimented with the sound and the thought – how could I possibly get my recordings in the receiver. So I figured I just used the receiver as an extended speaker from my computer. Attaching a jack to the phone cable with the result that I was listing to my iTunes on the phone today. Unfortunately the cables inside the receiver are very old and brittle, which made it almost unbearable to work with, soldering this whole thing would be impossible. So I decided – tomorrow first thing I’ll buy a long guitar cable and solder it to the speaker inside the receiver.

CAll DR. JUMA in Africa

One phone, but only two people can operate it together. You want to call Dr. Juma in Africa then find this second person to help you!

This week I took a phone apart which was super interesting. Here are some photos:

The shell of the phone with one button – a simple push and activate button motion.

The dialing pad, which I will have to change – only using the plastic buttons.

The receiver, microphone (i wont’ use it) and speaker (which I will use). I thought it was funny that the receiver had a strip of metal in its handle to make it heavier for a better feeling.

the dialing pad right out of the phone. It might look cool no the wall just like this, maybe I don’t even need the shell.

the shell pf the phone again

The little plastic dialing-number-buttons

Trying to hook the bell of the phone (solenoid switch) to the make controller with a button to activate (input, output) unfortunately I was not successful.

Since I have no idea on how to work the electronics in the phone I decided to strip it and use some of the parts that I am familiar with and make it my own.

I also tried to get the bell to work – but unfortunately no success.

The dialing pad – every single little number-button that I want to have a function, will get it’s own button underneath and will be connected to the Make Controller. A simple on and of function which then triggers another function at the receiver part (like a new sound prompt)

The receiver will have a speaker in it which will tell the listener what to do (an annoying operator) – this person then has to tell the person at the dialing pad what to do. The person on the receiver will not know that there is no microphone in the receiver after all.

After a while of playing and communicating – they will be put on hold (annoying music) – back to the operator – and eventually if they have not given up yet they will get to Dr. Juma’s answering machine telling them he can’t take the call right now / he is over booked / or out of the office they should try calling back in little bit.

Since the little number-buttons have their own little connection underneath I will have the possibility that actually change the numbers around “3=7″, “6=9″ which all add frustration to the whole game and test the two person-tolerance. Here are some images to explain the scenario.

Phone in the hall way of Art Center

One Person trying to operate the dialing pad – not possible

One person trying to operate the receiver – not possible

Person found another person to help – no they operate it together and try calling Dr. Juma

Again wall at Art Center – getting people to operate the phone

Scenario of working the phone

How the system works

What it might look like in real.

Listening to the prompts in the phone – computer operator.

Person A telling person B what to do

Person B is dialing. The shell of the phone might not even be necessary.

Person B is getting annoyed, wants to know what is going on – what is person A listing to.

how could an object disconnect or connect 2 people

We have this swing on campus and I was wondering if I could use it for testing my question.

What about changing the water fountain

strapping  chairs together

Changing the skin of the bathroom doors, will this affect your choice, in which you go?

Two phones but the receivers are mixed around – so you would need two people to operate it

A bench that controls where you sit

does a certain object in someones hand change your perception of this person

I probed a few people by showing them images. Three times the same person holding a different object each time. How does this object change your perception of this person.

Here are the images (they are a little artificial looking, but i just wanted to quickly test something:

Responses were great… for example “…wow he looks really evil now…” see the video for this, which I’ll post n a few minutes

images / ideas / things I came across – wow you guys!

Go ahead and have a look –

The Big Umbrella by Aleksandra Mir

The Big Umbrella, twice the radius of the biggest men’s umbrella on the market, was designed to shield up to 16 people from the rain. It was a cheerful and simply idyllic structure, but did 16 people want to crowd together to avoid getting wet? Does bad weather affect people differently in different parts of the world? To find out, I took my big umbrella on the road between 2003-2004, visiting Paris, London, Dresden, Copenhagen, New York and Martinique.

http://www.aleksandramir.info/projects/bigumbrella/bigumbrella.html

Modern Art and Modernism: “The Aesthetic Hypothesis” By Francis Frascina, Charles Harrison

Great extract!

“… Only those for whom are is a constant source of passionate emotion can possess the data from which profitable theories may be deduced; but to deduce profitable theories even from accurate data involves a certain amount of brain-work, and, unfortunately, robust intellects and delicate sensibilities are not inseparable…

… On the other hand, people who respond immediately and surely to work of art, though, in my judgment, more enviable then men in massive intellect but slight sensibility, are often quite as incapable of talking sense about aesthetics… Why should they bother to examine their feelings when for them to feel is enough? Why should they stop to think when they are not very good at thinking. Why should they hunt for a common quality in all objects that move them in a particular way when they can linger over the many delicious and peculiar charms of each as it comes?…
If they are no curious about the nature of their emotion, nor about the quality common to all objects that provoke it,…
… The starting-point for all systems of aesthetics must be the persona experience of a peculiar emotion. The objects that provoke this emotion we call works of art.

What quality is shared by all objects that provoke our aesthetic emotions? “

By Francis Frascina, Charles Harrison