Very Nervous System is one of Rokeby's earliest works, but one which has been redeveloped over the years. It is also fundamental to understanding how his work has developed both thematically and in terms of technological investigation.
In this piece the viewer enters an empty space; except for speakers; in which a computer translates the gestures of the viewer into an improvised soundscape. As people start to play with the space it becomes obvious that the computer is reading even very subtle gestures and that the sound that is created is not just the product of translating movement into sound, but that it is evolving a complex response to the movement.
The space of the room is mapped onto the computer in a way that every 'pixel' of the space corresponds to a sound. The installation is a complex but quick feedback loop; the loop is subject to constant transformation as the elements, human and computer, change in response to each other. The two interpenetrate, until the notion of control is lost and the relationship becomes one of encounter and involvement.
The active ingredient of the work is its interface. The interface is unusual because it is invisible and very diffuse, occupying a large volume of space, whereas most interfaces are focused and definite. Though diffuse, the interface is vital and strongly textured through time and space. The interface becomes a zone of experience, of multi-dimensional encounter. The language of encounter is initially unclear, but evolves as one explores and experiences.
"Part of the desire that drove me to produce "Very Nervous System" was a desire to slip out of my own self-consciousness into direct, open experience of the world. In the right circumstances, the feedback loop of "Very Nervous System" effectively neutralizes consciousness, and can occasionally lead to states that could best be described as shamanistic. It can be intoxicating and addictive."
(David Rokeby: "The Construction of Experience"; Op. Cit.)
[LESS]Very Nervous System is one of Rokeby's earliest works, but one which has been redeveloped over the years. It is also fundamental to understanding how his work has developed both thematically and in terms of technological investigation.
In this piece the viewer enters an empty space; except for speakers; in which a computer translates the gestures of the viewer into an improvised soundscape. As people start to play with the space it becomes obvious that the computer is reading even very subtle gestures and that the sound that is created is not just the product of translating movement into sound, but that it is evolving a complex response to the movement.
The space of the room is mapped onto the computer in a way that every 'pixel' of the space corresponds to a sound. The installation is a complex but quick feedback loop; the loop is subject to constant transformation as the elements, human and computer, change in response to each other. The two interpenetrate, until the notion of control is lost and the relationship becomes one of encounter and involvement.
The active ingredient of the work is its interface. The interface is unusual because it is invisible and very diffuse, occupying a large volume of space, whereas most interfaces are focused and definite. Though diffuse, the interface is vital and strongly textured through time and space. The interface becomes a zone of experience, of multi-dimensional encounter. The language of encounter is initially unclear, but evolves as one explores and experiences.
"Part of the desire that drove me to produce "Very Nervous System" was a desire to slip out of my own self-consciousness into direct, open experience of the world. In the right circumstances, the feedback loop of "Very Nervous System" effectively neutralizes consciousness, and can occasionally lead to states that could best be described as shamanistic. It can be intoxicating and addictive."
(David Rokeby: "The Construction of Experience"; Op. Cit.)
