At the heart of art and creativity lies the need to communicate. ‘Only connect’ in EM Forster’s words. OSCHII gives artists new ways to talk to their audiences, and gives audiences new ways to talk back to art–by becoming participants. This new technology works with spatial interplay, giving artists a choice of tools to tangibly connect with audiences.
As artists and designers ourselves, we understand that technology is both inspirational and extremely frustrating.
On the one hand, learning something new opens pathways, provides inspiration for new projects and can send us down a rabbit hole of novel ideas and adventures. On the flip side, sometimes we just want to do something that *should* be fairly simple on paper but is actually a bloody nightmare when you start trying to work out the details. It becomes a barrier to innovation and creativity, and the whole project can quickly end up on the cutting room floor of creative inspiration.
As artists and designers ourselves, we understand that technology is both inspirational and extremely frustrating
So how can you use technology to make your art more interactive?
Maybe you’d like to tell someone a story or share some inspiration as they freely move through a space – a journey tailored to objects that they pass, the direction they are headed in, or what they leave behind? Or perhaps you’ve made a game based on retrieving an object that you’d like to find a way to capture digitally?
There are many things you might want to consider when deciding how to go about this, such as from whose perspective you might record the tracking data – the subject, or the object, or all data in an open space. This will decide what devices you have available to use – from cameras to ultrasonic or IR sensors, pressure or RFID tags.
We stand by the principles of open source and many of the developments we make are shared with others with the common goal of culture
What if you were to use real time sensor data to form part of an artwork that allowed for mass participation from people both locally and globally?
We’re not here to lecture you on how to go about creating your installation, nor do we have all the answers for you. But, we do have a tool that will make using technology to connect the artist and audience easier.
OSCHII helps you to process data from a number of different inputs by providing you with a ‘layer of abstraction’ so you don’t have to go away and learn everything. It can process signals from audio patterns, proximity sensors and conductive items to QR codes and hashtags on social media. It can even allow for participation from people around the world through integrations from all over the web.
It’s still up to you how you wish to process this data and create your interactive narrative.
We’re currently developing a workshop that will invite artists and other creatives into our studio to play with some of these sensing devices and processors. This will give them the space to develop ideas, narratives and experiences inspired by their own professions and disciplines. We stand by the principles of open source and many of the developments we make are shared with others with the common goal of culture. We are all artists.
