Igal, Sindy and I worked on a Python application that allows you to ask Zizek about some topics and generates an answer with words that the famous philosopher would use.

First we created a text file that contains sentences pronounced by Zizek as they were reported on interviews that we found on the internet, such as these:
http://www.lacan.com/perfume/Zizekinter.htm
http://nosubject.com/On_Divine_Self-Limitation_and_Revolutionary_Love

The application we wrote in Python takes those texts to create an answer with the words that Zizek used. You can only ask Zizek to talk about a topic, since the application takes just 1 word at a time. Once you run the module, in order to ask something, you have to call the following function: answer("word"). The software creates random words from Zizek until it reaches a dot.

Here is the python file: zizek_app.py and the text file with all Zizek’s words: zizek.txt

The project starts from the observation of how paper as a medium is more and more associated with the opposite of technology and innovation, and how it’s being threatened by the diffusion of e-readers and portable touchscreen technologies. With my exploration. My purpose is to stimulate a sense of wonder and discovery, in the attempt to re-purpose a fragile material like paper in the context of the more advanced technological communication forms that we are used to.

The first criterion of success of the project is to be able to develop a simple-enough mechanism for sensing the scrolling of paper, which can be easily replicated. I would like to set up 2 or 3 different installations of this kind of interface, in order to be able to show different applications, which could be for information, art or entertainment purposes.

Here are some images and videos that might give an idea of what I would like to achieve.

A possible way would be to use volumeutils form toxi..maybe.

timeline:

WHAT

I am thinking about experimenting with a paper-based interactive screen that would be built into a table. I would like to create a projected screen on a paper / fabric surface on the top of a table. The user would interact with it by moving stripes of rolled paper that would be scrolling on the surface of the table.
The digital applications for this are part of the exploration and they are going to be developed based on the results of some early testing of the physical installation.
For the moment I am thinking about some drawing applications, little games and data visualizations.

WHY

The project is an exploration of the physical and tactile property of paper as an interface for digital applications. I like the idea of scrolling because it’s an interaction paradigm that is very related to both paper and the digital world.

HOW

The first step is going to be a research on the different kinds of paper I can use, trying to find the ones that have the properties that I need. The paper has to be robust enough so that it wouldn’t tear, since it has to be scrolled over and over. It also has to be decided the level of transparency I would like it to have, which is going to determine if I am going to use projection from above the table or below.
The interface is not touch screen. All the sensing will be made using sensors, like using potentiometers that would rotate inside the paper rolls.

This is a rough sketch of what the setup would be like:

MOOD

The idea I have for my thesis is a project about the death of paper as a medium for information and personal expression, as it is being replaced by digital technology. The project is at the intersection between art and play and it will take the form of an installation for a public space, a recycle bin for paper that will collect all the items submitted by passers-by, creating a digital collection of them on a website or interactive screen.

WHY

The installation would create a collective archive of pieces of paper, whose purpose is to raise awareness of our relationship with the paper medium, what kind of paper we carry with us, what information it tells about us (a flyer, a receipt, personal pictures, etc.) and how we can express our creativity to a community of strangers by sharing original paper creations (origami, written messages, etc.).

WHERE

In the physical realm, the project would ideally be installed in a public space such as it could be a train station or a library, a place where you could expect to find a recycle bin. At the same time, though, it should be clear to whoever interacts with it that it is not a regular bin. It should be clearly specified that it’s an installation and I think a few basic interactions should be provided, such as a general idea about what can be dropped inside and what cannot, information about the project and a website URL where people can later go and find the items submitted by everyone.

On the digital side, each scanned image of every piece of paper should populate a database that would be accessible online in a website. The website would make use of data visualization techniques to represent the items by time and date when they were collected. Other visualizations could emphasize the relations between the pieces of paper based on their color (using image analysis) and the kind of information they have.

HOW

At first I thought about using digital scanners, but I would have to hack it to make it talk directly with some sort of C++ or Java application. Since I am not so good in electronics, I could probably design a mechanism that would make every piece of paper slide in front of a video camera and then use image processing code (like motion detection and background subtraction) to extract the video frame and save it into a database of images. Once the image is saved the piece of paper should slide into a container at the bottom of the bin.
The bin would be physically divided in 2 or 3 parts: the interface to insert the piece of paper, a “dark room” where the camera would save the new image and a final container where all the paper would finally go.

INSPIRATION

Ianus Keller’s Cabinet

LUST’s Poster Wall

These are the same words whose position in space is determined by the mystery image, but the pixels themselves are coming from the image of Roger.

And then I tried to see the effect with a black and white image of Woody Allen.