record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00226
Thesis Title
ocean_v1
Author
Wolf Nkole Helzle
2nd Author
Masayuki Akamatsu
3rd Author
Degree
Akamatsu received his Ph.D. in fine arts from Kyoto City University of Arts
Year
2006/2008
Number of Pages
6
University
International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS), Ogaki, Japan
Thesis Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Frieder Nake, Bremen, Germany
Supervisor e-mail
nake AT informatik.uni-bremen.de
Other Supervisor(s)
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Interactive Media Installation
Copyright Ownership
Wolf Nkole Helzle & Masayuki Akamatsu
Languages Familiar to Author
German, Japanese
URL where full thesis can be found
www.helzle.com/englisch/installation_ocean-e.htm
Keywords
ocean, faces, interactive, mirror, database, camera, 60 fps, media art, collaboration, face recognition, eye detection, visitor, humanity
Abstract: 200-500 words
oceean_v1 An interactive media installation by Masayuki Akamatsu & Wolf Nkole Helzle INTERNATIONAL TEAMWORK The two media artists Masayuki Akamatsu (Japan) and Wolf Nkole Helzle (Germany) designed a new media artwork together. It deals with the recognition of our individuality in relation to humankind and interacts with the audience. INSTALLATION Ocean_v1 is shown on a flatscreen, connected with a face detection system, based on an apple or windows computer. From a database with over 15.000 human faces, which Helzle collected over the last years from around the world, a selection of similar faces is projected on to a flat surface at a speed of 60 faces per second. At this speed, it looks like only one single face is present, even though it is being generated from many different ones. Several similarities can be found, such as the distance between the left and right eye or the distance between the nose and mouth... after a time, another selection is shown. INTERACTION Furthermore the images are moved, scaled and rotated according to the audiences´ face movements. If the audience turns its head, the picture turns its head too. In addition, the speed can be altered and the image size can be scaled to eye- and head movements. EXTENSION The moment Wolf Helzle photograph the visitors in the exhibition, their faces immediately become a part of the database. This can be of interest especially when looking for someone´s face. For this reason, a special selection can also display the last projected portraits, or the portraits projected that whole day. PHILOSOPHY Since we saw the first photographs of our planet from space in the last century, it is actually clear rather that we come into a time of the globalization. It is however still to be observed that individual humans with the globalization and their effects do rather heavily. Contrary to among other things the economy, in which the advantages of global proceedings and markets clearly one recognizes and one use/uses. The advantages for the particular are not so fast obvious, are not nevertheless only them in the commercial, as for example to the easier travel. We stand for the challenge before that we have to understand and to integrate it in our daily actions that everyone of us is a part of entire mankind and that we can survive including our planet only as mankind, no longer only than single or Nation ego. Consciousness, a part of the 6 billion counting mankind to be, is worthwhile/necessary, flows nevertheless the increase in value of the whole one immediately back on the in such a way adjusted particular. With the available work ocean_v1 the artists offer to the public, as it were in each case as particulars with the whole „to play“, i.e. interact playful with „mankind“.