This week’s reading particularly piqued my curiosity, as I have often heard/read about computer vision, but never in the context of Interactive Art. The reading adequately introduces the difficulties within the field and brings up notable artworks that utilize technology like this. It was interesting to see the different ways computer vision could be used.
The pieces that caught my attention were the ones about surveillance. My favorite piece was Sorting Daemon. The composition of the given snapshot generated by the project reminds me of many avant-garde artworks, which is not only aesthetically pleasing – but also eerie, considering that the artwork is being generated from real people’s faces, regular unaware passers-by. I can not imagine how odd it must be to see a machine reconstruct your physical self, using your likeness to construct silhouettes that only appear vaguely human. The existence of this artwork in of itself feels like a paradox – critiquing surveillance while enabling it as well.
Another piece that causes similar conflicting feelings is the morbid Suicide Box. I think the art piece, while exploring themes of surveillance, presents ethical questions at the cross-section of technology, art, and interactive media. Does the piece’s intention – measuring the ‘despondency index’ – justify the technology used?
Both these pieces inspire a conversation about computer vision in interactive media art – not only raising the question of how far we should go, but also if we should.