The Key_Bored_Lounge, 1998

Case Study 309,1997 Tammy Knipp video/kinetic sculpture/installation A ■ a concern of mine is that technology does not encour­ age social interplay in the physical sense. Without human contact, we may lose that realm of meaning that derives from observing the body language and physiognomic char­ acteristics of others. For Case Study 309, I began by seeking a forum in which technology would facilitate or perhaps insti­ gate a social happening, one that would encourage elements of play, laughter, and humor. I felt I could use technology to initiate an exchange of reactions among real people in real time, and this response could immediately reveal the effectiveness of the artwork. Wanting to avoid the medium becoming the message, I aimed to create a case study revealing the methods by which messages and meaning come into being. Case Study 309 is a kind of performative installation com­ prised of 3D structures integrating video imagery with the reality of the physical and social worlds. The line between 2D time-based imagery and 3D tactile experience is blurred. In this psychosocial reality, the demarcation between virtual risk and real risk breaks down. My work is modeled on research in such areas as hemi­ spheric dominance and cognitive influences of the haptic learner; motivational theories and peak experiences; selective optimum stimuli; kinesic behavior and social language; and perception of risks in virtual environments. In a technologi­ cally driven culture, reality is virtually perceived. The Key_Bored_Lounge, 1998 Beth Carey Internet I he Internet's virtual communities are places where people are at once audience members and participants. In my work, I use the capacity of an Internet meeting place to become an alternative performance space in a way that is reminiscent of performance art, with the same power to draw spectators into the action and turn them into per­ formers. Because music and sound can communicate emo­ tions, moods, and feelings that cannot be expressed through text and spoken language, I often use a sound-based approach in my art. I believe that the new communications media—namely the Internet, text, and graphics—are overused and are quickly losing their impact. Emotion, music, and user-to-user communication are underutilized. The Key_Bored_Lounge is a multi-user environment, a Java applet that explores sound as a communication medium and computer-mediated presence in networked social interac­ tions. An Internet meeting place becomes a performance space where visitors participate in improvised "sound con­ versations" by means of sound samples mapped to their computer keyboards. Participants hear what they play and what every other participant plays; sounds may play sequen­ tially or simultaneously. Participants are visually represented by shapes that move as their cursors move, and thus all participants can in a sense see each other. When a player triggers a sound, her shape flashes. For The Key_BoredJLounge, I carefully chose sounds that I feel express difficulty in human-to-human communication, computer-mediated or otherwise. Most importantly, I think that the sound set I chose expresses something about me— after all, I am making the players talk to each other in my sound language. 476 Digital Salon, Artists' Statements ...