V-TV Verbal Television

V-TV is an interactive networked installation set in the virtual reality of Second Life.(tm) To visit the site directly log in and teleport here: http://tinyurl.com/dzcb5v

By Misprint Thursday, Oberon Onmura and Cinco Pizzicato

Concept:
Digital text communication like chat, email and texting have increased our ability to share ideas with one another. The concept for V-TV, or Verbal Television, is to translate text communication to a visual form of communication. V-TV responds to text input by creating a digital art display which becomes a sort of visual poetry. Connecting the visuals to an emotive sensibility lends a somewhat romantic notion to the idea of exchanges of text communication. The piece, is, however limited in its scope and function to respond which perhaps mirrors the idea of the limitations of non face to face communication. One can only read so much from a text, whereas in face to face contact we can discern through facial expression and body gesture a whole other world of visual communication.

V-TV examines the beauty in both the visual translation of text and the limitations of text communications in these forms.

Design:
Measurements are in Second Life(tm) units:
Gallery Dimensions: 20 meters x 50 meters
Primitives total including gallery: 150

When the piece is activated by chat or email particles emit from the sculptures resulting in a gauzy layered and pulsing flare effect. Modeled after ephemeral signaling in visual communications, V-TV makes use of particle emitters to display temporary intermittent visual messages. Similar to other forms of visual communication like flares or a smoke signals, the particle emission fires up and then fades with each message transmitted. The overall design is based on obejects reacting to key words which trigger the particles to emit. When multiple key words are activated the viewer becomes immersed in the illuminated particles that stand out against the black backdrop of the space.

Interaction:
One can stimulate the sculpture in many ways through text. Just as we use many forms and levels of communication ranging from private to public so too does the sculpture have mulitple modes to accept and engage communication.

1. Through chat in Second Life(tm): V-TV listens to chat on channel 5 in Second Life(tm). To communicate on this channel the user types /5 and their communication. Chat in the form of one or two sentences will be a good start to try. This text is not spoken on the public chat, it is hidden.

2. Through email while simultaneously logged in to Second Life (tm): V-TV will accept, post and respond to e-mail from outside of Second Life (tm). The email text is displayed publicly, while the email sender is not revealed. This option would work if the installation was projected with a presenter logged in and the audience participating with laptops or maybe one person is at the sculpture and another person is not-they can receive and view the message and reaction.

3. Through email while neither logged in nor viewing Second Life (tm): One can e-mail the sculpture and it will activate and post the most recent correspondence as text over a small cube in Second Life. Blindly, the user sends words not knowing who may view or how the piece responds. This is sort of the: "If a tree falls in a forest does anybody hear" version. Philosophers take note!

Thanks to Caerleon Art Collective and Georg Janick for supporting this build and many more in SL. Misprint Thursday is an artist in residence at Caerleon.

ABOUT CAERLEON:
Caerleon Isle is an academic based artist community providing studio and exhibition spaces for artists to explore the unique aspects of creating art in a virtual environment.

From traditional media to advanced technological concepts such as artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, Caerleon Isle continues to nurture and encourage artists to explore, experiment, learn and share their knowledge to create in the virtual those ideas that live in their imaginations.

New Caerleon is the academic heart of the Caerleon Islands sims and is home to an art school, A.I. and robotics lab, science fiction museum, media center and several other educational facilities, many of which feature interactive and self-directed academic studies.

A third island sim is on its way which will expand space for both resident artists and collaboration projects which will encompass A.I., robotics, automation, immersion, interaction, reaction, machinima and performance aspects of art that are unique to the virtual environment.

The Caerleon sims were founded by Georg Janick, the SL avatar of Gary Zabel who has been teaching in the Philosophy Department at the University of Massachusetts at Boston since 1989. His specialties include ethics, aesthetics, political philosophy, and philosophy of science.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Misprint Thursday
• Oberon Onmura
• Cinco Pizzicato
• second life
• SL
• Slart
• interactive art
• digital art
• visual poetry
• machinima
• Georg Janick Gary Zabel

[zim382]

Hey I play Sl care to add me as a friend?