Exhibited in Pavilion 1 of Université Paris 1 – Sorbonne, 2012.
The immersive interactive installation metaphorically addresses how words are called upon to participate in the construction of ideas and concepts, taking part in the transformation of images and feelings into something communicable. In this metaphor, words (or proto-words) that compose a virtual field detach from it and precipitate toward a body. Upon touching it, these words become tangible: their sound can be heard, their image becomes sharper, and they also become bodies in space (they become material). VORTEX(T) also addresses the idea of belonging: whose words are the ones we use when speaking? Do they belong to the speaker? To the listener? Do they exist on their own, possessing a kind of autonomy? Do they merely pass through those who speak and those who listen?
The form chosen to explore this metaphor was that of an interactive installation in which the interactor participates in and interferes with the virtualization and updating of these words. The installation consists of immersion in a “virtual” space through which an avatar (representing the interactor in this virtual world) walks and moves. The interactor controls the avatar’s direction and movements (through motion tracking via KINECT). The space is desolate and somber. In this space, the avatar is accompanied by an ethereal cloud formed by words. Each word has its own trajectory, but all tend to approach the avatar’s head, grazing it before moving away again. The avatar thus functions as an attractor for the irregular orbits of ghostly words. The sound of each word becomes louder as it approaches the avatar’s head. However, from time to time, some words leave their ethereal condition and materialize.
When they materialize, they move toward the avatar’s head and collide with it. At this impact, the sound of the word is heard more clearly. After colliding, the word falls toward the ground, and upon touching it, the sound is heard again. The word, now dense, sinks into the ground and shortly afterward emerges, growing until it becomes an occupiable space through which the user/avatar can walk.
After existing as a “material” entity for some time, this word begins to lose density, floating in space until it disappears, returning to become part of the ethereal cloud of words.
In technical terms, the virtual environment in its imagetic dimension is formed by a composition of several technologies: 1– real-time three-dimensional rendering of geometric objects, textures, materials, and lighting. 2– mapping of geometric entities in a virtual environment that simulates physical behaviors (gravity, mass, collisions between bodies, etc.). 3– application of real-time video filters/effects to the generated image as a whole or to parts of it (scene elements: avatar, words, ground, etc.).
On the sonic level, the installation is constructed through granular synthesis and real-time processing of pre-recorded sound samples, creating a dialogue between abstract, unrecognizable sounds (associated with the cloud of words) and the recognizable sound of the words at the moment they come into contact with the avatar. In this way, the sonic identity of the words is explored as it is updated after detaching from the cloud (which would represent conceptual chaos). The movement of the words in the cloud is driven by an algorithm that defines trajectories similar to bird flight, which is reflected in the spatialization of sounds in the virtual environment.
The 3D environment and interaction are programmed in the dataflow programming environment MAX 6, which, through the OSC protocol, communicates with the sonic dimension of the installation, programmed in MAX/MSP 4.
Exhibited in Pavilion 1 of Université Paris 1 – Sorbonne, 2012.
Technical credits:
Concept, Programming and 3D Modeling: Sandro Canavezzi de Abreu
Audio programming: Daniel Barreiro
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