Photos by Danielle McGotty
PULSE Art + Technology Festival rolled through Savannah this weekend, bringing with it interactive and immersive technology-based art. This year, “Wondrous” joined the fun.
“Wondrous” is an installation created by SCAD students taking Physical Computing courses. It sat on the second floor of the Jepson Center in a dark room with three other pieces. Those who entered the room were faced with a white foam core board. While they read the description and instructions on the board, they were already —unknowingly — interacting with the piece.
This installation uses sensors to track the body movements of participants through a Kinect controller. It then inputs those movements into a software program and projects them up above the viewer, onto a star-strewn screen so their steps are projected back to them in the form of a flying kite. Customized sounds and music were designed to accompany the movements.
Festival-goers interact with ‘Wondrous.’
The wonder part, however, happened when the unaware participants first looked up and saw a kite trailing their every step.
The goal of “Wondrous,” as stated in the description, is to “evoke childhood memories,” and “instill in the viewer a sense of childlike wonder and happiness.” Sarah Martin, a local of Pooler, said it did just that.
“It made me feel like a kid,” said Martin. “I could probably stand there all day.”
Up to six people controlled a kite on the screen at one time, each able to tell who was who based on the color of the kites. People who did not previously know one another ran, danced, jumped and connected the dots of constellations together.
“It’s just interesting the things that you can build from things you can buy off the street,” said Jimmy Haggerty, a local engineer who attended the festival and interacted with the piece.
According to Haggerty, the exhibit has made him wonder what he can create at his own home. He stood under the piece, watching as his kite connected the stars. When he stood still, his kite slowly began to disappear, but he kept watching. In place of the kite, a constellation burst onto the screen and he smiled.
“Wondrous” and the other interactive installations left viewers eager to linger at the museum.
“It’s kids’ stuff,” said Martin. “It’s games. [Jimmy] kept asking ‘Are you ready to go?’ and I kept saying no.”
“Wondrous” was conceived and created by SCAD Physical Computing 1 and 2 students William Fagan, Lara Chen, Candace Hinz, Julia Hong Zhu, Chenyuan Cui, Sean Mihaly, Zachary Rudolph, Andy Simon, Shawna Wright, Vicki Lau and Zachary Londres under Professor Josephine Leong.
