Archive for December 21st, 2009

Decode: Digital Design Sensations

This caught my attention as I entered Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. This exhibition is in Porter Gallery from 08/12/2009 to 11/04/2010. It is not free, 5 pounds for adults and 4 pounds for students :) My lucky day.

The gallery displays different design/art work that is derived from technology. The artists used different tools to make their pieces interact, whether be it sensors, evolving programs, cameras, Internet and social networks, web applications, etc.

As you enter, these fiber optic are filled on both sides of the entrance and light up and make sound when touched. I made up this name for them, because they remind me of fiber optic cables, but maybe they have motion sensors they light up when moved and depending on speed and direction of movement, sound is formed.

Below are graphics representations which are sensitive to sound, I tried whistling ;)

With this piece you can move around dimensional graphics which ever way you want.

These screen display time from pictures uploaded by Internet users that represent numbers.

This one uses twitter data to form conversations based on a word you type in its search box using a wii console.

I took the shot before realizing what those pictures were, the piece is called Make-out. They are making out scenes from the Internet and they start making out when you move in front of them!

The one below, enables you to paint using your hands, just moving them around.

This piece interacts to your presence, just like a mirror, notice how the pieces change colour to form my head :)

In this piece, an object moves around, until it bumps into you, your casting shadow and sprinkles rain :)

Pick up the blow dryer, point and blow away :D

With the touch screen, choose a location and it’ll start recording and displaying the video.

These are organisms that hide under the sand, once you brush off the sand and expose them, they move to another location and hide under the sand.

There was this one piece, where in an area they’ve installed sound sensors and mapped the data and you can see the live interaction. Also, some kind of crystal cylinder that forms words from what the sensors pick up off one of the streets.

It is really amazing and because it is dark, I couldn’t take that many pictures and I’m not sure if I understood all the pieces but they were magnificent, I really love this. There are so many others that I didn’t mention, if you have the chance to go have a look, don’t miss it.

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London: Day 2

First thing I decided to have today is breakfast. Then I headed to my bus tour, to continue from yesterday. I decided to get off at the Victoria and Albert Museum. I lost track of time in there, spending more than four hours roaming from one exhibition to another, but one caught my eyes first and I’ll talk about it in a while.

After finishing off, I waited for my tour bus outside and it was raining but it eventually turned to snow! I have been waiting for over 30 minutes, so I decided to call it a day and head to a tube station that’ll take me back to my hotel. As I crossed the traffic light, what do I see after me waiting pointlessly for 30 minutes! The Big Tour Bus. You know when you stop to think about something you already made up your mind about and you know what you are going to do! Then why are you thinking about it … RUN … With an open umbrella, I didn’t run, I jumped, big huge steps running back to the bus stop and just as I was boarding, the doors close on me, but I jammed them with my shoulders, I didn’t care, I am getting on this damn bus! Thankfully I did and the driver apologized for not seeing me :P

The snow was getting thicker and the tour ended at Marble Arch bus stop, I went for dinner and when I got out of the restaurant, I didn’t want to walk back all the way to Paddington. Let me just take the tube and walk to my hotel from there. I go down and the ticket booth was closed due to staff shortage, I had to get one from the machines and they are pretty easy to use :P As we were standing, there comes smoke from one side and someone tells the staff that there is something burning, and this girl beside me says: “I’m not getting on the tube to be blown up today!” The staff person says, this has nothing to do with the tube this is the trash section and something must’ve caught fire. I did NOT give a damn, I want to get on the tube and be in my room! Unfortunately, Paddington was not part of the Central line nor Zone one, I got single zone one ticket and got off at Lancaster Gate and safely walked back to my hotel room :D

Check out my next post about the gallery I was blown away by :D I walked through it two times ;)

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Compare the Meerkat Bloopers

In one of my lectures, the lecturer decided to take a break and show us some videos, they are so damn funny :)

It is a new way of advertisement for a site that deals with car insurances (comparethemarket.com), so they have this other site (comparethemeerkat.com) and base their advertisement on it.

Check them out, they are the ads bloopers :P

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