Reading about classic physical computing projects, I was struck by how these interactive experiences allowed creative personalization. I was greatly inspired by how simply notions of time space and senses could be creatively challenged and it is a task that I intend to do in my phyiscal computing projects going forward.
The theremin-like instruments idea resonated greatly with me. I’d love to explore creating music through hand gestures, adding subtle layers that shift tone and pitch, channeling emotions through motion. Similarly, the glove-based instruments brought to mind using gloves to play sounds with a touch or pinch, bridging the digital and physical in a poetic way. Hands are the way we interact most closely with the world, and having them be the bridge that transcends the physical and virtual is inherently poetic.
The video mirror section made me think about my interest in using computer vision thoughtfully in art. I’d love to create a mirror that captures shadows or movements subtly, making it feel like a shared, non-intrusive moment.
The yell-activated projects felt liberating, inspiring thoughts on using sound to create splashes of color, encouraging expressive, even chaotic, engagement with tech. The passion involved in a scream or a loud sound, uncaring for your environment and showing vulnerability, are all themes that I wish to explore further.
Reading about these timeless projects has me excited to experiment with ways to make them my own. Physical computing offers an amazing canvas, and I would love to take a deeper dive into these topics so that I can hopefully inspire someone too like I was inspired reading about these projects.
Tom Igoe’s article, “Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen,” emphasized that artists should let their interactive artwork speak for itself, rather than over-explaining it. According to Igoe, artists often script or interpret every part of their work, potentially limiting participants’ personal engagement. Instead, Igoe argues that interactive art should initiate a dialogue, allowing the audience to explore, interpret, and react in their own way. He compares this to a director’s approach with actors, guiding without dictating emotions, letting authentic responses emerge. For interactive art, setting up the experience thoughtfully, then stepping back, creates a collaborative process where the audience completes the piece through interaction. I realised that often in my own work, I do not allow the space for that creativity which hinders how interactive they can be. If the observer is first faced with my viewpoint and then the art itself, they will only be able to see it from my eye. This reading gives me motivation to learn to separate the art from the artist in my own and other’s art and let my work flourish and have a voice of its own.