Principal – Haptic Room Studies

June 26, 2022June 26, 2022

Feathers Prototype

DIMENSIONS

150cm x 30cm

LIST OF MATERIALS

Woojer speakers, ostrich feathers, wooden frame, audio mapping software, amplifier, USB sound cards.

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE?

Multiple feathers, either in an array or in a frame, are attached to Woojer transducers with a piece of copper wire and move when the transducer moves. Software written in Max/MSP calculates the activity in different frequency bands of a sound, and maps this to the available amount of feathers-on-a-woojer. These then vibrate with a frequency between 5 and 20 Hertz, depending on the volume of the incoming band as well as the current settings for that band.

We believe not only translation in the “material sense” is important, but in the “software sense” of translation as well. Using software, anything can be made a control signal for anything else, on any timescale needed – this is an area we’d like to explore in more depth in the future.

HOW IS THIS PROTOTYPED USED

The research behind this prototype started with the intention to locate areas of translating sound that the rest of the WDIH? team were not engaging with. This led to the feathers prototype that translates high frequencies to movement. We tested the behavior of various materials (such as mylar blanket, paper, textile bits, and synthetic threads) under the influence of controlled airflow. During our research we found that the way feathers move, due to their “fractal” structure, feels quite “natural”. We switched from controlled airflow to the physical movement of the woojer speaker coil as a method of engaging the feathers. However, the movement of feathers is still partly defined by their ability to ‘behave’ in a certain way within the air environment.

The feathers prototype can be placed in the line of sight of a person who is simultaneously having a tactile experience of sound through other prototypes. The aim is to enable a more diverse multi-sensory experience within the imagined (architectural) setup, and to focus on very particular aspects of sound, such as a translation of the brightness of sound to movement.

Apart from being experienced visually, the gentle movement of feathers can also be experienced with fingers and palms, triggering tiny hairs on our skin and producing a ticklish sensation.

Testing and presentation at Bradwolff Project Space, Amsterdam

June 26, 2022June 26, 2022

Sink-In Panel

DIMENSIONS

Process: Prototype back side, photo by Andreas Tegnander

64 x 110 x 10cm

MATERIALS

Cotton, wool felt, wooden beams, metal pipes, 4 Woojer speakers, 2 Dayton base shakers, buckwheat, electronics.

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE?)

The panel consists of three parts: a frame, vibrating conductive pipes and the pillowy membrane surface. The frame is rectangular and made of wood. Lengthwise inside the frame are three metal pipes, each connected to the frame with springs on the ends. The metal pipes are hollow and have transducer speakers on each side, sending vibrations through them. The pipes on the sides are similar, while the one in the middle is slightly bigger and uses a different and stronger speaker (bass shaker). Clad onto the pipes is a series of cylindrical pillows, which form the user interface. The pillowy surface is made of two layers of fabric: a thick cotton canvas that is stretched and tacked around the frame and a much bigger piece of wool felt that is sewn directly onto the canvas with horizontal stitches at regular intervals. The excess fabric between the stitches is filled with buckwheat to form a series of short, wide pillows that cover the entire frame.

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE USED?

Testing and Presentation, Bradwolff Project Space, Amsterdam

The prototype has six separate audio/vibration channels that are usually paired into three; left, right and centre. When translating stereo audio, the left and right pipes get fed the left and right audio signals, and the centre pipe acts as the subwoofer, receiving the sum of the two sides heavily filtered to only contain vibrations below 200hz. When a person leans against the soft surface the pressure of their body weight pushes the pillows against the pipes. As a result, the pillows conduct vibrations to the area that is being compressed by the body. All pipes touch all of the pillows, spreading and blending the vibrations into a single complex signal.

The panel is always mounted at a slight angle, in order to facilitate a person in leaning against the interface with their entire bodyweight. When mounted for standing, the panel has a series of springs attached so that it gives a little as one leans into it, allowing the user to find a position that is comfortable for them.

This prototype can be used for direct sensory translation of any audio piece (e.g., music, field recordings, voice). It can also be paired with other vibrotactile interfaces, each receiving only part of a signal, for example only translating the voice of a movie through the panel, allowing one to better separate the different layers of sound.

June 26, 2022June 26, 2022

Tactile wall

DIMENSIONS

4 elastic bands 91cm long, each band holding 3 speakers, wooden frame 91 x 210cm

MATERIALS

12 Dayton base shakers, wooden frame, elastic bands, joystick or drawing pad, laptop running Linux OS, electronics

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE MADE?

A tactile wall panel that can be easily moved or reconfigured. It uses 12 transducers and 12 audio channels. It is controlled using a drawing pad and a Linux computer running a Pure Data patch. It is currently configured as a 3 x 4 transducer grid, but different shapes or configurations could be created.

HOW IS THE PROTOTYPE USED?

Testing and presenting at Bradwolff Project Space, Amsterdam

The tactile wall activates a surface that the body can lean against, as against a wall. A participant can use a joystick or a drawing tablet to “draw” a vibration pattern in the wall. The pattern can be saved and replayed. The patch allows a user to either play a sound file through the wall or play tones through the wall. The tactile wall is meant to feel comfortable for people, and is adjustable to different heights of users. Future plans for this prototype include the possible incorporation of a movement recognition system that could track the movement of performance artists or dancers and translate them into a sound and/or vibrotactile experience on the wall.

May 24, 2021

Sensory Translation in Art – Research Project 2021 – 2024

What does it mean to translate an artwork to another sense? What is the difference between a

description or explanation of an artwork and actually sensing the artwork through another

sense with the help of technology? Is it possible to create an alternative way of experiencing

artworks by transferring this experience between different senses, inspired by the transfer of

linguistic and cultural meanings between different languages in the practice of translation?

This research project is a multinational collaboration to explore formative and theoretical

questions of accessibility and inclusivity through sensory translation in the exhibition of art.

The initiators will work with various individual and institutional partners on this long-term

project wherein artistic and theoretical research feed one another continuously, and where the

aesthetic and conceptual autonomy of artistic research (translation between the senses) meets

the social purposefulness of speculative design (redesigning accessibility in art exhibitions).

Our aim with this research is to develop and disseminate possible future solutions to present

artistic work in an inclusive and perspective-shifting manner. By “inclusive” we refer to

making works accessible to audiences with physical impairments. “Perspective-shifting”

refers to modes of interpreting (for creators) and experiencing (for audiences) art that, in

addition to enabling access for these particular audiences, also open up new creative,

aesthetic and theoretical challenges in exhibiting art for any artist, curator and visitor. We

work in two parallel paths towards realizing this vision:

a book publication and a series of collective research projects and their application in ‘capsule exhibitions’.

Book:
Over the next few years we will work on a book about the future of artistic presentation practice, focused on creative visions and practical options to make and present art through sensory translation. This book will include theory, our own research, and input from across the field, considering the incumbent consequences and opportunities that arise from technological and social developments.

More specifically, this publication will document both our theoretical research into translation between the senses, together with

and of using (technological) tools for this translation in the future of the presentation of art.

texts derived from, and reflecting on, the

practice-based research we will carry out, and observation of our interactive presentations

(see ‘Collaborative Research & Capsule Exhibitions’ below). Through a survey of the field,

we want to bring a concept of translation to bear on the visions and fantasies of designers,

artists, architects, and other makers. We will assemble and contextualize their conversations,

research and fantasies, imagining the possibilities for shifting between movement, sight and

acoustics,

Parallel to this, we will look into thinkers who reflect upon the meaning and operations of

translation. Just like complete and unaltered translation between languages is an essentially

impossible task, we acknowledge that we cannot re-create identical experiences across the

senses. Yet the impossibility of the single perfect translation opens up the way for

experimentation, potentially offering an intellectually and aesthetically challenging

experience in another ‘language’ or sense.

Through this diverse and in-depth exploration of ideas and experiences, we want to create

space and initiate a discussion around new ways of experiencing and translating senses in the

arts. This includes thinking about: questions around inclusiveness; modes of re-presenting

and interpreting artworks; the ideology of the original and unique artwork versus art as a

practice and an apparatus for experimental and mind-shifting approaches to the world

(inspired also by Marcel Duchamp); the function of the museum as a space that hosts art; and

how to create a space for new, individual artwor

“translation of senses” as part

of their conceptual and practical goal.

prototypes of technologies that make it possible to take input from one or more senses and express it in another sense. For example, these tools could be

physical elements in the exhibition space which transform sound vibrations into tactile vibrations (see ‘What do I Hear’ below).

The results of each research investigation will be presented to the public in ‘capsule

ks that include

Collaborative research & Capsule exhibitions:

To identify possibilities and to formulate concrete proposals for other ways of facilitating

inclusiveness and accessibility, our plan is to realize a wide range of research and practical

applications through design, technology, testing, and studying audience interaction. In the

next four years, two to three collectives of artists and scientists will come together to explore

questions around translation between the natural senses and the possibilities this opens up for

alternative experiences of existing artworks. To achieve this, these collectives will create

‘tools’ for sensory translation –

exhibitions’. These exhibitions are small presentations based around a single artwork or

group of artworks which are displayed and ‘translated’, demonstrating the capabilities and

potential of the sensory tools in practice.

For some capsule exhibitions we will apply our experimental technologies on existing

artworks; for others we will take existing artworks as departure and inspiration point to

develop technologies; and in other ones, new artworks will be created and presented with

translation between the senses as their main concept. The choice between these options will

differ each time depending on the collective decision of the involved individuals and

collaborating institutional subjects. Ultimately, all outcomes will enable experiences of

existing and new artworks that broaden accessibility, including for audiences whose physical

impairments usually limit their possibilities to experience sound, visual or spatial forms of

art.

Our long-term vision and intention with this project is to create technological tools and methods of exhibition design, that in the future could inspire and be used by artists, designers, dancers, musicians or cultural institutions, opening up new opportunities in creative expression through the senses, and which will also facilitate alternative, speculative ways of thinking about art and how it is exhibited.

January 16, 2019February 8, 2019

The OtherAbilities

An artistic proposition that challenges our perception of ‘dis’-ability

Did you know that you can ‘hear’ through your body? Listen to the sounds of braille letters? Feel someone’s smile in the palm of your hand? The OtherAbilities presents the innovative works of artists, musicians, designers and scientists challenging our perception of ‘dis’-ability. A three day program with an exhibition, performances, talks and a workshop.

As human beings, our culture regulates us both in the ways we think as well as in the ways we perceive and connect to our reality. It is only when we encounter those individuals with sensing abilities different than our own, like visually impaired people or the hard of hearing, that the illusion of uniformity becomes challenged. The plasticity of our bodies creates incredible answers to sensory challenges and it is the richness of those solutions that The OtherAbilities will be focusing on.

The OtherAbilities is conceived as a three-day festival. It will bring together art and science professionals who create objects and situations that enable people to share experiences and activities whether or not they share the same physical abilities. We hope to signal the possibility for a paradigm shift from disability to otherability. By merging art and technology we are exploring the possibility of creating cultural events and artifacts that are not specifically meant for disabled or non-disabled audiences, but from which no body is excluded.

Participating artists, musicians, designers, scientists and scholars include: Andrea van Beek, David Bobier, Simon Dogger, Gershon Dublon, Marleen Hartjes, Anja Hertenberger, Adi Hollander & Claudio F Baroni, Wendy Jacob, Rebecca Kleinberger, MAZE Ensemble, Marlon Miguel, Alessandro Perini, Colin Riley, David Smeulders and Jules Sturm.

The OtherAbilities is organized under the direction of artist Adi Hollander and art historian Eva Fotiadi (PhD). The follow-up workshop is organized in collaboration with Waag ‘Technology & Society’ and STEIM Studio for electro-instrumental music.