openFugitive Moments

University College Chichester, UK: School of Visual and Performing Arts

Sarah Rubidge

Transnet: 17th June 2005

Reader in Digital Performance

Klein

RP10 (1961)

Yves Klein

Turrel

James Turrell Orca [Red] (1969)

Anish Kapoor

1000 Names (1983)

Time & Tide

Time & TideTime & Tide (2001)

Sgfigs

Sensuous Geographies (2003)

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Echoing Traces (2004)

Mirror neurons2

Mirror NeuronsVittorio Gallese et al. University of Parma, Italy, 1996.

Mirror Neurons are a group of neurons located in the premotor cortex which are activated

not only when an action is being performed

but alsowhen a subject is observing that action being executed by someone else.

ReferencesGallese, V., et al, (1996) “Action recognition in the premotor cortex.” Brain 119: 593-609

Rizzolatti, G. and Craighero, L. (2004) “The mirror neuron system.” Annual Review of Neuroscence. Vol 27 pp169-192.

Time & Tide

“primordial, mysterious, beautiful, mesmerising”

“calming and serene”

“a peaceful and meditative experience - intense”

Tt comments

Sensuous Geographies comments

Sensuous Geographies

" an intriguing, elemental, absorbing experience”

“a powerful experience. More liberating than Mardi Gras”

“ my imagination and sense perception were really affected”

consciousness

Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens, 2001, “ Looking For Spinoza,2004;

Gerald Edelman, Consciousness, From Matter to Imagination, 2001

Guy Claxton, Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, 1997

Consciousness and physiology: Feeling what we perceive.

Fugmom

Fugitive momentsA collaboration between Drs Sarah Rubidge and Beau Lotto

Artistic intuitions led to the dream of creating a responsive installationcomprising intensely coloured moving abstract imagery the detail and colour of which is modulated by the physiological responses of the viewer to that imagery.

The programme upon which the installation is based will be an ALife orAI programme which will adapt to the data which is being generated by the viewer’s physiological responses throughout the interchange between viewer and imagery.

process

Artist turns novice scientist…..

…ever trying to maintain her artistic vision

Res process

Fugitive Moments: Research Process

Scientific:• The measurement of physiological response to imagery• the development of non-encumbering sensors appropriate

for use in a public installation

Artistic:1) The development of an AI/AL programme which will evolve in response to the responses of the viewer to installation imagery2) The design and development of a garment which will house the sensors

Res prelim

a) identify previous scientific experiments which investigate the hypothesis that the perception of colour and motion affect human physiological systems directly.

b) develop ways of measuring physiological responses such that: (i) appropriate physiological systems are used to measure the responses (ii) the subtle responses engendered by these stimuli can be used as data

At the same time to forward the artistic research by: c) developing an evolutionary AL programme which will respond with gorgeous

evolving imagery to the data garnered from viewers’ physiological responses to colour and motion

Aims of Preliminary Research

Fugitive Moments

Pros: • known measures of emotional/affective responses.

• consonant with the intention of the installation (to elicit non-conscious responses to stimulus

• the sensors are portable and lack intrusiveness

Cons: the readable level of physiological response to images with medium to low level emotional content is very small

Phys measures

Physiological Measures

Library research has indicated that SCL and HRV are the most effective modes of measurement for my purposes as they are:

Experiment aim

to ascertain:

a) what the most effective, and appropriate, physiological response for initiating and intervening in the evolution of an AL system might be

b) what kind of scaling needs to be written into the software to output data with a sufficiently large numerical variation for responses to ‘low emotion’ stimuli to have an effect on the AL programme

Stage 1: Initial Experiments

Experiment1

Measurement of physiological responses to images with

a) known high emotional content (erotic and horrific images) b) medium to low level emotional content.

The software is designed to evolve a tendency to select the imagery which engenders the most positive response in the viewer.

Stage 1: Initial Experiments

Experiment(2)

Individuals are placed before a large Plasma screen on which are shown a succession of still images taken from one of two sets of a) neutral and b) emotionally arousing events.

Viewers’ baseline physiological state (SCL/HRV)is established, then their physiological responses are measured and charted as they watch the images (former are currently SCL and HRV)

Frequency of occurence of images from each of the two sets is assessed in relation to the physiological data produced by the subject

Stage 1: Initial Experiments

Mirror neurons2

Mirror NeuronsVittorio Gallese et al. University of Parma, Italy, 1996.

Mirror Neurons are a group of neurons in the premotor cortex which are activated a) when an action is being performed AND b) when a subject is observing that action being executed by someone else.

The pattern of neuronal activity incorporates the way the action feels, and is almost identical in performer and observer

This insight had a precendent in dance writer John Martin’s notion of Metakinesis (Martin 1930)

Next (interim )stage

Stage 2: Interim research

1) experiments using still imagery saturated with colour to test intuition that colour has a heightening effect on physiological responses

Precedents on the effect of colour on the physiology: Féré mid-19th century, Detender et al (1999)

2) finding a more aesthetically pleasing means of gaining access to the data

Next stages in this facet of the research will entail:

Next stage

Stage 3: Final?

Experiments using moving imagery of dancers and sports people and imagery which is diffused with colour

Aim: to test intuition that colour and motion have a heightened effect onphysiological responses which elicit feeling, emotion

Precedents on neurological responses to biological motion: Gallese (1996-2004), Buccino, G. et al., (2001). Rizzolatti, G. and Craighero, L. (2004)

Precedents on neurological responses to biological motion specifically groundedin dance:Calvo-Merino et al, UCL, 2005.

The final stage will be to measure the physiological responses to abstracted imagery of human motion, suffused with strong colour

Prototype atoms

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Making Fugitive Moments

•Designing and creating the environment•Designing and creating the garment•Tweaking the AI/AL programme in collaboration with its designer

Next stage

Stage 4: